In a game they had to win -- literally -- the Utah Jazz downed the, well, the Utah Jazz Monday night at the Delta Center, 69-64, in front of an estimated 15,000 enthusiastic fans.
But in a game the Jazz know all-too-well about losing -- the game of recruiting players from the free-agent market -- it's wait-and-see time. The Jazz want LaPhonso Ellis. Ellis, by all accounts, is seriously considering playing for the Jazz.The problem for Utah is that he's also considering the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks. Already in this abbreviated signing period the Jazz have come in second or third place in trying to woo Sam Perkins, Mario Elie, Antoine Carr and Johnny Newman -- which has done them no good whatsoever. If they don't get Ellis, the Jazz may be shut out on the free-agent market completely since there are few quality free agents still out there.
The Hawks flew the 28-year-old Ellis and his wife, Jennifer, to Atlanta from Denver on Sunday night and took them on what was essentially a collegelike recruiting trip on Monday. Hawks general manager Pete Babcock took them to meet the mayor, to visit the site of the team's new arena that is being built, to visit an elementary school, to talk with coach Lenny Wilkens and to look at high-rent neighborhoods where some of the other players live.
The Jazz would like a similar opportunity with the former Nuggets star. Jazz owner Larry Miller, who talked with Ellis himself last week, has a standing offer to bring him to Salt Lake to check things out. As of Monday night, Ellis hadn't committed to make the visit, but the Jazz were still hopeful he'd sign with Utah.
Ellis' agent, Tom McLaughlin, "called me (Monday) morning and told me that (Ellis) had narrowed it to Atlanta, Milwaukee and here," said Miller. " . . . I've invited (Ellis) and his wife to both come and visit us and see what we are about."
All three teams on Ellis' short list can offer similar amounts of money -- about $1.75 million per year. The Washington Wizards may be another last-minute suitor, although they reportedly can only offer Ellis their $1 million free agent exeception.
The 6-8 forward has said that he wants toplay for a contending team, which makes sense since he was a member of that 11-win fiasco in Denver last season.
"I was very impressed with him," said Miller. "He's articulate and sensible and family oriented, and he thinks the way we like our players to think. On both parts -- as far as his citizenship and his basketball -- he would be a terrific addition to our team if we could find a way to get him here."
Ellis is expected to make a decision by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Jerry Sloan is only concerned with the players the Jazz currently have in training camp. The Jazz coach was an observer on press row during Monday's scrimmage during which the Karl Malone-led Purple team pulled away in the final minutes to down John Stockton's White team by five.
"It was just a practice game, but we still wanted to win because Stockton would have never let us live it down if we would have lost," said Malone. "It got really competitive at the end, and that's what people wanted to see."
Malone, who received scattered boos among thousands of cheers when he was introduced, led the Purple team with 19 points. Jeff Hornacek added 16. Thurl Bailey, playing a game in a Jazz uniform for the first time since 1991, scored 13 points with a team-high seven rebounds for the victorious Purple. Shandon Anderson's 19 points topped the White team, while Stockton scored a dozen during the game that consisted of four 8-minute quarters.
"It showed that most of our guys can play a 30-minute game physically," said Sloan. "I was pleased with that. It was interesting to see our young guys lose their energy so quickly because of all the excitement. They'll learn with experience how to handle themselves a little better."
Each team had only seven players since Greg Foster (ankle fracture), Adam Keefe (strained lower back) and Bryon Russell (strained groin) sat out.
About 20,000 tickets were given away with no assigned seats, so people started lining up hours before the scrimmage for a chance to sit courtside. Even though it was only a practice, the fans made noise like it was a playoff game.
It was all part of the new fan-friendly NBA. The league is trying to win back fans after putting many off during the lockout. Jazz stars Malone, Stockton, Hornacek and Russell all took part in on-court promotions during the game. The entire team stayed afterward to sign autographs. NBA entertainment was there with five cameras so they can show the country that people still love the NBA -- at least in Utah.