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Millsap also squashed any notion of re-signing with the Jazz during the season. “After this (past) summer that was it,” said Millsap. “After that, we haven’t talked anything else about it. Now it’s just playing out the season and seeing what happens.” RealGM

Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Paul Millsap 

The Hawks and Indiana Pacers are also dark horse contenders to sign Millsap if Josh Smith and David West are not re-signed. RealGM

Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Trade, Paul Millsap 

Jazz forward Paul Millsap has been mentioned non-stop as a possible trade candidate for the Jazz, but he still sees promise in his upstart Jazz team. “[We can be] as good as we allow ourselves to be,” Millsap told HOOPSWORLD. “It just depends on how we come out and play and how focused we are when we get out there. A lot depends on focus, especially with a young team. Coach [Tyrone Corbin] is always telling us focus, got to keep our focus and if we do that we’ll be fine.” HoopsWorld

Utah Jazz, Trade, Paul Millsap, Tyrone Corbin 

League sources peg Al Jefferson as the would-be free agent most likely to stay in Utah, mainly because they can pay him more money. The problem is will the Jazz value Jefferson as a max level player like maybe some other teams will? The Jazz have maintained from the start of the season that they would need their depth to compete in the postseason and that trading off Jefferson and Paul Millsap would only weaken the team, regardless of what they got back for them. The Jazz are currently 14-13 and sitting just outside the Western Conferen HoopsWorld

Utah Jazz, Trade, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap 

It's a working assumption in front offices all over the league that the Jazz will trade Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap for a front-line point guard at some point during the next 10 weeks. For two reasons. 1. Jefferson and Millsap will be free agents in July, meaning that Utah risks losing both without compensation if they're still on the roster beyond Feb. 21. 2. Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter are the undeniable power players of the future in Utah, even though Jefferson is one of only five players this season averaging 17 and 10 -- along with Dwight Howard, David Lee, Kevin Love and Zach Randolph -- and despite Millsap's status as the most productive forward from the 2006 draft not named LaMarcus Aldridge. ESPN.com

Utah Jazz, Trade, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap 

That he’s unhappy with his role. That he’s not getting enough playing time. That he’s not as effective as he once was. And the whispers, some of them, are true. "I’m human," he said after Wednesday night’s win over Orlando, a game during which he scored more than 20 points for the first time in forever. "Of course frustration is there. You’re going to get frustrated at times. But it’s what you do after that. My teammates give me confidence. I’ve just got to continue to stay positive and stay with it and hope it turns around." Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Paul Millsap 

They've assembled the deepest young frontcourt in the NBA with Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors, who is the most promising of them all. The problem is money. Millsap and Jefferson, both 27, are going to be free agents in the summer. Can the Jazz afford to maintain their frontcourt in an expensive market that will pay Millsap and Jefferson eight figures each per year? "The possibilities are always there," said Dennis Lindsey, in his first year as GM of the Jazz. "Is it realistic? We'll find out in time." SI.com

Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Trade, Dennis Lindsey, Paul Millsap 

Here's one man's guess for how this plays out: They trade Jefferson at the deadline only if they receive an explosive perimeter scorer (which is a need) or a dynamic young point guard in return. But the Jazz won't have to make a deal, because their frontcourt depth enables them to survive Jefferson's departure as a free agent while using the cap space created to address needs elsewhere. They re-sign Millsap as a cornerstone whose value to the Jazz is greater than it would be for any other team. They turn Favors into a center, which will enable him to flourish against that weakened position. And they bring Kanter off the bench as a 6-11, 267-pound project who is still finding his way after missing 2010-11 in an NCAA eligibility dispute and then losing 50 pounds last summer. SI.com

Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Trade, Paul Millsap 

Then again, they could lose both Jefferson and Millsap; or they could yet decide to keep Jefferson as a low-post complement to the athleticism of Favors. No matter what the Jazz do, the likelihood is that this problem will once again turn out to be a good thing for them. The rest of the league is dying for talented size, and it's the team in Utah -- the franchise that shouldn't be able to compete -- that has more young big men than it can afford. SI.com

Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Trade, Paul Millsap 

The Lakers end up finding a permanent replacement, among the names most commonly floated is former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. Folks around the Jazz were skeptical that the Hall of Famer would end up with the Lakers. "I doubt it happens," forward Paul Millsap said, "but it sounds good. It would be good to look over and see Coach Sloan over on the bench, but I doubt it's in L.A." Salt Lake Tribune

Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan, Paul Millsap, Hall of Fame 

In short, the guy who dressed up as President Barack Obama for Halloween is considered by some to be the president of the Jazz locker room. “I’d have to go with Mo Williams for the president (of the locker room), because he talks a lot,” center Al Jefferson said Wednesday, the day after Obama was elected to a second term in office. “Vice president would probably be Paul (Millsap) because he doesn’t talk at all.” Standard-Examiner

Utah Jazz, Maurice Williams, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Barack Obama 

The instruction extends beyond Kanter. Jefferson works with Derrick Favors, Jeremy Evans and other post players. But those relationships aren’t the same. They don’t seem to have the same playful admiration. "It seems like they were made for each other," forward Paul Millsap said. "They bond real well, they get along real well, despite the rookie hazing he was doing with him last year." Asked after Saturday’s win how he would reward Kanter for being a receptive student, Jefferson said, "I’m gonna knock him on the side of the head. That’s what I’m going to do for him. Tough love." Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Al Jefferson, Derrick Favors, Paul Millsap, Jeremy Evans, Enes Kanter 

Jody Genessy: Paul Millsap has rejoined the Jazz after spending the weekend with his family for his grandmother's funeral. The team is practicing now. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Utah Jazz, Paul Millsap 

Millsap said Monday that he would "absolutely" like to re-sign with Utah. It raises, however, the question of how the Jazz can commit to both Millsap and Favors. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Paul Millsap 

Millsap’s fully aware this could be his final year with the Jazz, an organization that drafted him No. 47 overall in 2006 and has been the only team he’s ever played for. With Favors on the verge of a breakthrough and Utah stacked in the frontcourt, Al Jefferson and Millsap could soon become casualties due to the promise of youth. But after an attempt to negotiate an extension last summer — the Jazz offered a three-year maximum deal worth about $25 million — big money and an unpredictable future temporarily have been pushed to the back of Millsap’s mind. Even the thought of testing the free market is on pause. "It’ll sink in when it happens," Millsap, 27, said. "But right now, I’m still with the Utah Jazz. I’m still going to go out there and play basketball for them and give it everything I got." Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Paul Millsap 

Has it started to sink in he'll likely be a free agent this summer: Not at all, not at all. It'll sink in when it happens. But right now, I'm still with the Utah Jazz. I'm still going to go out there and play basketball for them and give it everything I got. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Paul Millsap 

How he'll handle the situation if the Jazz end up starting Derrick Favors at power forward this season: I know what I can do. I know my capabilities. Everybody else do, too. Just get out there, don't really think about it. Haven't really thought about it thus far, and it's helping me out. Just continue to get out there and just try to get better, that's my main focus. Get better and get ready for training camp, and whatever happens after that just happens. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Derrick Favors, Paul Millsap, Training Camp 

Jazz offseason additions of Mo Williams, Randy Foye and Marvin Williams: We got lucky. We got a ton of a great talent, especially with the veteran guys we've got coming in. We've got a lot of veteran guys, but we've also got a young nucleus. It helps us out in both facets. With those guys coming, we added a lot of ballhandling; we added some shooting; and a lot of leadership. Those guys are going to bring a lot to the table. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Randy Foye, Marvin Williams, Paul Millsap, Training Camp 

Initial contract negotiations quietly began between the small-market organization and longtime power forward Paul Millsap. The sturdy six-year veteran was offered a three-year extension worth about $25 million, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned, which is the maximum extension Millsap can receive under the new collective bargaining agreement. The proposed deal features an annual 7.5 percent raise, would kick in after Millsap's current contract expires June 2013, and could keep the career Jazzman in a Utah uniform through June 2016. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Paul Millsap 

Initial indications are Millsap won't agree to the extension, though, preferring to enter free agency in 2013 with plans to cash in on an inflated 2012 market that saw mid-tier forwards such as Gerald Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, Nicolas Batum and Ryan Anderson recently receive lucrative multiyear contracts. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Paul Millsap