Deron Williams made Carlos Boozer into an All-Star, and now he hopes to do the same with Al Jefferson. The Jazz acquired the services of Jefferson today for two future first round picks. Utah, who saw Carlos Boozer leave via free agency to Chicago earlier this month, obtain a motivated big man who is looking to silence the doubters who feel he won’t be able to come back from his torn knee ligaments suffered last season. There were many teams that were in the hunt for Jefferson, including the Mavericks, but in the end Utah was able to seal the deal.
In other news, former Cavs center Zyndrunus Illgauskaus has come to terms to join the Miami Heat for the veterans minimum. Big Z played alongside LeBron James in Cleveland the past seven seasons, and will be looked on to provide much needed size on the front line. While the Heat front office attempt to put together a mix of veterans and rookies able to fill out a roster on the cheap now, they have already been dealt their first loss of the off season. Derek Fisher will reportedly return to the Lakers, after turning down an offer by Miami.
The 2 time defending champion Lakers announced today that coach Phil Jackson will be back for one more season, in hopes of capturing his third 3-peat of his career. Jackson put to rest any doubt that he would ride into the sunset after the Game 7 title victory over the Boston Celtics weeks ago. Now that the Lakers know Phil is back, their focus will turn to acquiring some point guard help, as Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, and Derek Fisher could all potentially be gone via free agency.
In other news, the Minnesota Timberwolves are desperately looking for anyone interested in Al Jefferson, and are hoping teams that strike out on landing Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire will then look their way. The Knicks, Nets, and Heat all are in the market for a dominant big man, and while Jefferson would certainly be down on their list when comparing to Bosh or Stoudemire, there is hope Minnesota thinks someone will take the bait.
Talk out of Atlanta is that the Hawks will in fact re-sign Joe Johnson, though overpaying for his services. Atlanta is expected to give Johnson $119 million dollars to keep him in their uniform. Why? Who knows. For that money, they better hope Joe delivers them more than a first round playoff loss for the next seven years.
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