Almost caught up…
On the sixth day of Christmas, the Utah Jazz gave to me…
Dee Brown’s gone
Sad news spread across most of Jazzland when they announced that they were signing Jason Hart and Ronnie Price. Those two signings led to fan-favorite Dee Brown’s last days as a Jazz man.
Dee Brown went into the summer of ‘07 without a guaranteed contract from the Jazz. They offered him a qualifying offer and a chance to make the team through his performance in the Rocky Mountain Revue. But some say that they really had no intention of signing him to a guaranteed deal. And that the real reason he was on his way out was because Larry Miller thought that he was a bad influence on Deron Williams.
While I can’t think of a single person that didn’t like Dee, some fans didn’t seem to mind that he was leaving. They didn’t think he quite had what it takes to be in the NBA. And to back up their statements, Dee wasn’t picked up by any of the other 29 NBA teams either when he was let go.
Others were infuriated and scared. Why did they release (effectively) one of the most popular Jazz players? Surely Brown was at least a competent third PG who knew Utah’s sometimes complicated offense? He’s probably not as good as a shooter as Price and Hart (although this season might show otherwise), but he’s mainly a pass-first PG with speed who could run the offense should there be an injury or foul trouble with Williams.
But probably the biggest reason for concern in a lot of fan’s eyes was that by letting Dee go, and not treating him well in the process, that they would tick off his best friend Deron Williams. What effect would this have on Deron wanting to re-sign with the Jazz once his rookie contract was up? It wasn’t worth it.
As it turns out, Deron stated that he didn’t have a problem not playing for the Jazz, but he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t catch on with any NBA team.
So Dee was off to Turkey to play for the Galatasaray at the recommendation of Turk Mehmet Okur. And so far he’s been playing pretty well there.
And despite knowing that he probably wouldn’t be returning to the Jazz, he still went on the Jr. Jazz tour throughout Utah and surrounding states, dropped a new CD, and participated in Deron’s charity golf tournament. Couldn’t ask for a nicr guy. Now if we only could have gotten him married when he was here in Utah.
Well, my cell phone pictures from my trip to Tucson and the UofA game are pretty disappointing. You can’t really tell if it’s her or now. Plus the original pictures don’t who her very well. Is it her? Probably not. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for what it’s worth and these grainy pics. The Loch Ness, UFO, and Big foots pics are probably more convincing.
I debated about whether to put these up at all, but since I’ve nothing today, here you go. Here are the pics from the Revue (click for larger):
And the great pics from my cell phone:
Great, huh? It could have also been one of these two and you could probably make more of an argument for this picture than the others (and they were amongst the youngest in attendance):
So there you go. One interesting thing though is I got the following in my server logs:
Someone from Turkey is looking for Dee’s girl. I thought it might be him at first. Anyway, on to the links:
Since the last post, the Jazz have posted two blowouts and a gritty win against the Raptors of Toronto. Why such the long delay? A business trip with 12-days and a lost power cord.
I flew out last weekend to Tucson for a client. And of course when I flew home, my laptop power cord was left plugged in to the wall. But all wasn’t completely lost. We attended the University of Arizona home opener. Good game, but what has it got to do with the Jazz? First of all, not to do with the Jazz, but the average age of the crowd had to be 65+. If you take out the student section, it was the annual AARP convention. I knew seniors flocked to AZ for the winter, but it was as if the citizens of Springfield Terrace had descended on the place.
Anyway, the Jazz connection. As I was doing more geriatric gazing, sitting right behind me was, I swear, Dee’s girlfriend that was at the Revue. I don’t have my pictures yet (refer to lost power cord), but here are the ones from the revue, http://flickr.com/photos/basketballjohn/page2/. And since the pictures in Tucson were taken with my camera phone, they may not be conclusive. But I sat next to her for four days at the Revue, and when I turned around at the UofA game, it was a little déjà-vu. If it wasn’t her, they were separated at birth. But if it was, she’s certainly not moving up in the boyfriend class. Watch for an update in the next couple days or whenever Holiday Inn can get my cord back to me.
As for the Jazz, let’s pick it up with tonight’s game v. the Cavs. Cleveland is down Jones, Marshall, and Hughes. So what does that mean? It’s all LeBron and Z. They’ve split four games since losing to the Jazz on the 7th. The Cavs couldn’t stop Boozer and Millsap and probably won’t be able to tonight. We’ll hear more boos for Boozer, or Loozer as they like to call him. Deron Williams had an off game last time, minus the layup at the end. He was only 4-12 with eight turnovers. If either him or Okur have a solid game, this one shouldn’t be so close.
So now I’m back in full-effect. I’ll get some videos up after the game.
Previews:
Other links:
So apparently, Memo was responsible in part for Dee ending up in Turkey. Dee tells Today’s Zaman (clever little logo they have) that he communicated with Okur over the summer and was convinced to play in Istanbul:
Mehmet told me to go to Turkey without any doubt. He recommended it; I came here. We have corresponded over the Internet for a long time and he told me: ‘Go to İstanbul. You will not have any problem. It is a big city like Chicago and New York. Turkish people are warm and hospitable.
When I was at the Rocky Mountain Revue, I listened in as reporters would ask Dee about his contract situation and specifically one comment from Ross Siler about how he couldn’t leave because there were too many 11 jerseys worn by fans. To which Dee responded that there would be a lot more 8 & 6 jerseys (why isn’t that an ies ending?). But Dee really loved it here and the fans reciprocated:
Fans loved me at Utah. They never wanted me to leave. You can see that in my personal blog. But the club did not renew my contract, so I started searching for a new club.
I think that he’ll always enjoy a loyal fan following from Utah no matter where he goes, much like his following of illinois fans.
UPDATE: Welcome TrueHoop readers. Thanks to the PCA for passing this along to Henry Abbot. Be gentle.
So I finally got the final interview up on YouTube.
I think AK was pretty honest in his interview. He didn’t backtrack on any of his previous quotes and didn’t contradict anything that I noticed.
Andrei still thinks he’s going to be traded. He’ll be at the media day today and you should get sick of the AK questions faster than, well, something really fast.
And getting away from AK, Dee Brown has already started playing in the land of the white and dark meat.
When Dee said a few days ago that he would be out in Utah to “handle a little business,” I figured something was up. It looks like the One Man Fast Break will be heading to Turkey to play this year. I guess we should have seen it coming. He’s playing golf this weekend at Thanksgiving Point? Turkey? Should have seen it coming.
He didn’t mention the team he would be playing for, but it would be in the TBL. I couldn’t find much on Wikipedia or other sites about signings.
Is Memo still in Turkey? Maybe that’s why he has to be there by Wednesday. And if Okur is pimping Dimes, what will Dee pitch?
Glad to hear that he’s got somewhere to play. I really think he could have done well in Milwaukee if they hadn’t resigned Bell. He could certainly even end up back in the NBA this year if he plays well enough. There’s always some body that needs a guard due to injury or poor play. If he tears it up there, it will be hard for NBA teams not to notice. I hope he keeps up his blog.
Technorati tags: dee brown, utah jazz
September 23rd, 2007 by Basketball John Dee Brown
On his whirlwind tour of Utah and Idaho for the Jr. Jazz program, Dee stops off for some fishing. Apparently this is his first time. And being from Idaho/Utah, the idea that someone hasn’t done something as simple as fishing before, when I’ve done it pretty much my whole life, is baffling. I know he’s from Chicago, but there’s Lake Michigan. And it can’t be too far to find a stream or something. But I know a lot of people that come out here from NY, Chicago, etc. are amazed at the cows on the road and things of that nature. Here’s an older post from his tour a couple months ago:
The long drives are beautiful, there’s people from where I’m from (Chicago/Maywood) that would never believe what I’m seeing. The view of the mountains, trees, deer in the middle of the road, buffalos, horses on the side of the road, driving through National Parks, driving through tunnels in the mountains, being 9600 ft in the air driving through the mountains and clouds.
If course if I went to a big city, I would be walking around staring up at the buildings all day while everyone there would be yelling at me to look where I’m going (or rob me blind). Heck, I don’t even remember seeing a black guy in real life until I was 10 or so.
Amazing how much you’ve never seen or done in your life.
On a related note, the Bucks matched Charlie Bell’s offer from the Heat which means Dee won’t be signing with them.
Technorati tags:
dee brown,
utah jazz
September 21st, 2007 by Basketball John Dee Brown
From his blog, Dee Brown gives the first player’s response to AK’s trade demand that I’ve seen. From his blog:
I just read the AK 47 story about this request to be traded from Utah. I was on the team last season so reading the story was very interesting. I love his game, he is a great person and he was a great teammate to me so I wish him the best of luck and he knows its nothing but love and support from his boy Dee Brown.
I’d love to see them both back with the team, but unfortunately, I don’t see either happening. Dee’s also going to be out in Utah playing at Deron’s charity golf tournament. If I had the $4k entry fee for the team, I would have played. Too bad I didn’t know about it earlier. Maybe I could have rounded up a sponsor. I’ll have to remember that for next year.
He’s also pretty optimistic about signing with someone while he’s out here. I hope he gets signed somewhere soon. With the Charlie Bell situation in Milwaukee, he could still end up there.
So what’s Dee been up to in addition to traveling around Utah and Illinois? According to Mixtape, his not really released album, he’s been Hoopin’ his Dream. And if you haven’t read his blog, you’re missing out.
Adblock
September 11th, 2007 by Basketball John Dee Brown
To begin the links, I hope this doesn’t turn into a I-told-you-so, but Williams is ticked. He’s not very happy about Dee not being back. Of course I think SJF has a valid point. He’s not going to be moving up in Utah and could earn a better spot somewhere else. I don’t think he’s a starter, but he’s still a capable backup. Dee didn’t really do much in the Revue though to boost his cause. He didn’t do anything either to damage his case. I guess if he’s not improving, everyone else is passing him by. Deron will cool on this though.
- Chris Mannix grades the FIBA players - Although as stated in a previous post, I would have to give the nod to Williams and Mannix does with his grades but not his explanation.
- AK-47 makes a lot of money - He’s #3 on the overpaid list this year. And if you were to base it solely on 2006-2007, definitely. But thanks to some off-season bonding, I think AK is back on track this year. And never mind that I need him to be in a Jazz uniform for at least two more years or until my boy grows out of his Kirilenko uniform.
- And he loves the Mormons - If I updated more frequently this summer perhaps I could have come up with a witty comment here. As it is, it would be wasted with this old news.
- All the Jazz TV you want - Between KJZZ and Fox Sports, you’ll be able to see all of the Jazz games this year. FSN will have nine of them in HD, but KJZZ doesn’t have HD equipment yet. I emailed the production manager last year and he said it’s still cost-prohibitive. He stated that it’s coming, but it will be a bit. Let me tell you that HD OTA is sweet.
- That was a ballsy attempt - The Hall of Fame Utah Jazz Bear shows us why men still cringe, even though it was a mascot in a padded suit. It doesn’t look like it helped him though.
- The latest on Dee Brown - Here’s this comment from Dee, “No deals from other teams have came up, Utah Jazz deal is still on the table. Like I said before, I have so much to say about this situation but I will beat my tongue on this one.” He later goes on to say he’s going to wait to comment until he’s signed with a team. So we may never know how he feels.
- Is this the route to the hospital? - Boozer didn’t participate in the FIBAs as he and his wife are expecting twins. That was announced back in May. Where are they? I thought she was due at any time. Hope all is well. (And his info was obtained through public records).
