John Stockton has retired. Karl Malone has moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers. Basketball in Utah as we have known it for most of the past two decades is no more.
Still, the Jazz's beat goes on.
The vitality of an era punctuated by good times in general and two great players in particular may be sapped, but signs of life — however faint — are buried deep within the heart of an NBA franchise now clearly in transition.
That in mind, and with training camp for the first season beyond Stockton-and-Malone starting in earnest Wednesday, let's address 10 questions facing a team that in one dark summer lost so much of its soul:
1 — Was the Jazz's offseason of woe really as bleak as it seemed?
As widely predicted, the Jazz made an all-out effort in the league's July free agency market to lure Los Angeles Clippers power forward Elton Brand into the shoes vacated by No. 2 all-time NBA scorer Malone.
Instead, Brand signed a lucrative offer sheet with Miami that the Clippers later matched.
Another rejection followed when highly regarded former University of Utah point guard Andre Miller spurned the Jazz's advances, instead opting to leave the Clippers for Denver rather than step into the empty sneakers of NBA all-time steals and assists leader Stockton.
Utah did get both Clippers shooting guard Corey Maggette and Atlanta combo guard Jason Terry to sign its offer sheets, but both restricted free agents had those offers matched by their respective teams.
The Jazz's biggest acquisition of the summer: big man Keon Clark, a reserve in Sacramento who came via a trade with the salary-dumping Kings.
Forward Michael Ruffin also was signed, point guard Carlos Arroyo was re-signed and shooting guard Raja Bell has agreed to terms, but none of those three is the sort of high-profile player Utah had hoped most to land.
Not exactly the summer owner Larry H. Miller seemed to have in mind — especially considering the Jazz had more than $20 million in available salary to spend.
2 — With Stockton and Malone both gone, who will step up as the Jazz's go-to guy?
Good question.
Returning starting small forward Matt Harpring has a shot, but first he must prove he is more than a mere beneficiary of having played with Stockton and Malone.
Clark should post improved numbers with significantly increased playing time compared with his days in Sacramento, and the carrot of his contract expiring after this season should serve as a motivator.
But the likeliest candidate to step up could be young Andrei Kirilenko, who appears poised to take his game to the next level.
Kirilenko is the star of the Russian National Team and is anxious to assume that same role in Utah. If he continues to improve, and continues to stay in coach Jerry Sloan's good graces, there seems to be no obvious reason he cannot.
3 — Is Sloan really up for the challenge of a team with no Stockton, no Malone and no chance whatsoever of contending for an NBA title?
When Stockton announced his retirement in the aftermath of Utah's first-round playoff loss to Sacramento last season, the long-time Jazz coach did not immediately commit to returning for the coming season.
After a brief break to decompress on his Illinois farm, however, Sloan did announce he would be back for a 16th season as head coach.
With vigor.
He did so before free agent Malone firmed up plans to leave for L.A., but that does not seem likely to adversely influence his attitude toward this season.
The reason: Sloan has suggested often in the past that having Stockton and Malone stymied his ability to learn just how good of a coach he can be.
Now, nothing is in his way.
4 — What is the status of the Jazz's trio of injured players from last season?
Point guard Raul Lopez, rehabbing from his second reconstructive surgery on the same knee, and center Curtis Borchardt, recovering from pin-replacement in his previously fractured foot, both saw restricted action last July with the Jazz's Rocky Mountain Revue summer-league team.
Both former first-round draft picks, however, should be ready to go full-bore when training camp formally begins.
Big man Jarron Collins, recovering from major knee surgery, was not ready to play in the Revue. He, though, has been cleared to participate in all camp activities.
5 — What jobs and roles are at stake during camp and the preseason?
First off, with Stockton gone, a new starter at the point must be named. With Miller off to Denver and Terry staying in Atlanta, Arroyo and Lopez will vie for that starting spot.
Kirilenko, Harpring, Clark and returning starting center Greg Ostertag should all contend for starting jobs.
That leaves Bell, DeShawn Stevenson and 2003 first-round draft pick Sasha Pavlovic to fight for remaining playing time at shooting guard.
Kirilenko and Harpring should get most of the minutes at small forward, with one or the other perhaps playing shooting guard if Sloan wants them on the floor together while Clark plays power forward and Ostertag is in the pivot.
Former starter Collins, Ruffin, Borchardt and seldom-used veteran John Amaechi must battle, then, for big man minutes behind Clark and Ostertag —- with virtually any one of them a potential starter should either of the aforementioned two falter.
6 — So how many roster spots really are available?
Point guard Mo Williams, a second-round draft pick out of the University of Alabama, can win a guaranteed contract with a solid camp. He may be pushed by local favorite Jermaine Boyette of Weber State, a longshot to make the team.
If Williams earns his deal, and once Bell signs, the Jazz will have 14 players with guaranteed contracts — and just one unclaimed roster spot.
Camp invitees Paul Grant, Lavor Postell, Demetrius Alexander, Ben Handlogten and Ademola Okulaja will contend for it — though the Jazz have enough salary flexibility that they could instead bring in an experienced, unsigned veteran at any position.
7 — What about a trade?
Anything's possible, but because the Jazz have such limited resources in terms of personnel, and they don't seem willing to depart with Kirilenko any time soon, it's likelier that any sort of major deal would come closer to the league's February trade deadline than right away.
Still, because it is well under the NBA's team payroll salary cap, Utah can be a major player in the trade market — either this season or next offseason.
8 — How much will the kids play?
With Stockton and Malone out of the picture — and veterans like Calbert Cheaney, Tony Massenburg and Mark Jackson all gone as well — Sloan no longer has a wealth of vets to turn to in times of need.
That's all part of Utah's rebuilding plan, making the apparent answer "plenty."
Arroyo and Lopez should both get ample opportunity to prove themselves, and Williams, too, for that matter. Ditto for Stevenson, who at 22, is in a make-or-break season with the Jazz.
Pavlovic probably will have to show he is NBA-ready before getting major minutes, though, and Borchardt may be brought along slowly, too.
But then there is Kirilenko, who, it is easy to forget, is just 22 himself. Only injury, or unanticipated selfishness, should prevent him from logging gobs of minutes.
9 — How do outsiders see the Jazz?
Not with very kind eyes.
Many pundits are predicting a dismal season for Utah, with some even suggesting the Jazz could be bound for the worst record in the league this season.
If nothing else, Sloan's stubborn pride would seem to stand in the way of that. Yet some are saying even that won't be enough to keep things from getting ugly.
10 — Does that mean the Jazz's amazing string of 20 consecutive playoff appearances is in peril?
Sure looks that way, huh?
Key dates as the Jazz prepare to begin the 2003-04 NBA season without John Stockton and Karl Malone:
Tuesday: All players report for media day.
Wednesday: Training camp formally opens at the Jazz's practice facility, closed to the public.
Sunday: Preseason opener vs. Dallas at Mexico City.
Oct. 11: First preseason home game, vs. Seattle at Delta Center.
Oct. 24: Eight-game preseason closes at Orlando.
Oct. 29: Regular-season opener, vs. Portland at Delta Center.
E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com