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Jazz put Harpring, Boozer on block
http://www.probasketballnews.com/exclusive_jazz.html
An NBA general manager familiar with the situation told ProBasketballNews.com late Sunday that the Utah Jazz have made swingman Matt Harpring and forward Carlos Boozer available for a possible trade.
The GM, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Jazz could deal Harpring and Boozer in separate deals, or ship them together as a package.
Atlanta, Boston, and Dallas are the three teams that have expressed the most interest, according to the GM.
"It's no secret that (Jazz owner) Larry Miller was unhappy with Boozer, and from all indications, Boozer is unhappy in Utah," said the GM. "As for Harpring, everybody associated with the Jazz likes him ... it's just the matter of having to give up something to get something in return."
Utah senior vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor denied reports of a possible trade in a Salt Lake City newspaper, calling it "an absolute lie."
The GM was not specific about players who Utah might receive in a deal, "Although from what I hear, (Atlanta forward) Al Harrington's name is being mentioned," he said. "But with the current ownership mess in Atlanta, Utah may turn to somebody else."
Boozer averaged team-highs of 17.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last season, his first in Utah after signing what turned into a controversial free-agent contract following two years in Cleveland.
But injuries limited Boozer to just 51 games in 2004-05, prompting Miller to publicly criticize Boozer's effort -- and question the Jazz's decision to sign him.
Harpring averaged 14.0 points in 78 games, his lowest output since arriving in Utah before the start of the '02-03 season. He also shot a career-low 21 percent on 3-pointers.
The Jazz finished 26-56 and in last place in the Northwest Division last year, missing the playoffs. They have already made a couple of trades this summer, sending center Curtis Borchardt to Boston, Raul Lopez to Memphis, and Kirk Snyder to New Orleans, and bringing in Greg Ostertag from Sacramento.
"It would be surprising, shocking even, if getting Ostertag was the only move they made before the start of training camp," the GM said. "In fact, this isn't something they're going about secretly. It's known league-wide that Miller wants to make some more moves and get back into the playoff chase.
Boozer and Harpring are both names that have been mentioned to me, as far as guys they are wanting to trade."
大意:爵士打算交换这两位前锋,可能在同一桩交易,也可能是在不同的交易里。小牛,老鹰和凯尔特人都对他们感兴趣
Boozer上赛季平均17.8分9板。Harpring平均14分,这是他來到爵士之后的最低得分。
爵士上赛季26胜56负,在西北组垫底。夏天他们已经进行了几项交易,包括将中锋Curtis Borchardt送至凯尔特人,将Raul Lopez送到灰熊,将Kirk Snyder送至黃蜂,同时从国王换回老中锋Greg Ostertag
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