Let's Get A Gun.

The big NBA buzz of the day comes from Utah. The Jazz have apparently come to grips with the mediocrity of their current roster... as such, they're looking to make some moves and shed some payroll, with only Deron Williams deemed untouchable. There are two caveats: they'd like to remain somewhat competitive, and they want to shed payroll this year, to limit their luxury tax penalties. That makes things a bit tricky, as plain old expiring contracts will not help them. The only way they can significantly ease their '09-'10 burden is by acquiring contracts they won't actually have to pay in full: non-guaranteed contracts, partially guaranteed contracts, and contracts that are largely covered by insurance.

Happily, we have one of the latter: Speedy's contract! His expiring deal nets him $5.2 million, but as his injuries have prevented him from playing, insurance covers 80% of that cost. In other words, Speedy has a $5.2 million cap hold but only a $1.04 million price tag, making him an automatic money-saver for any team that acquires with him with real contracts. This is exactly the kind of deal the Jazz are looking for, and there aren't many like it in the league.

In other words: pick up the phone, Larry Riley, and get Kevin O'Connor on the horn. It's time to try to leverage Speedy's contract into a deal that helps us. It's time we tried to clear our future books... and it's time we tried to land a stud in the process. A complementary player better-suited to our needs than almost any other. A guy who doesn't need the ball in his hands to be an effective player. A guy who doesn't need a coherent scheme around him to be a defensive asset; a guy who defends the rim, and yet has a better assist/turnover ratio than any Warrior except for CJ. A guy whose winning ways are evinced by his having led his perennial playoff team in net plus-minus in five of the last six seasons.

It's time we finally landed this whitest of whales. It's time we got ourselves an AK-47. It's time we went full speed ahead on a trade offer we've mentioned before: Corey Maggette and Speedy Claxton for Andrei Kirilenko.

Just to reiterate: I love Corey Maggette. He's a very underrated player, and this year, he's been our best player. But his contract stinks, and as a volume scorer who's weak on D, he's redundant with the rest of our roster. Kirilenko is a vastly better fit and has a vastly better contract. It's an absolute no-brainer for us.

It is not nearly so simple on Utah's side. They're smart enough to see through Kirilenko's low point totals and grumpiness; they know he's a really good player, and that Maggette, though also good, would represent a downgrade. The three-and-a-half years left on Maggette's contract would make them wince. But this trade would save them around 7 million dollars this season and another five next season, and importantly, it eases their burdens without depriving them of Boozer, their best trade chip.

My guess is that the Jazz would still blanch at this offer, that they'd feel more comfortable looking for a better deal elsewhere. As such, we need to be willing to sweeten this thing a good bit. We should not hesitate, for one second, to include CJ in this trade if that'd get it done; adding in a CJ/Ronnie Price gives the Jazz a big upgrade at backup PG and a bit more savings this year and next. We should be more than willing to take on the last two years of C.J. Miles's deal if the Jazz insist. Wright and Azubuike should be on the table, without question. We should be willing to throw in Ronny Turiaf, who they'd probably love as Millsap's backup once Boozer goes. And as much as it would hurt, we should be willing to throw it... I'll say it... Anthony Morrow.

Turning Corey Maggette into Andrei Kirilenko would represent nothing less than a masterstroke. It would make our roster make a lot more sense, and it would rid us of the only long-term negative on our books. A Curry/Monta/Kirilenko/Randolph/Biedrins/'10-draft-pick nucleus and an essentially clean slate for '11-'12 would be worth giving up a lot for... without any exaggeration, they'd be worth giving up everything else we have. Any trade that turns Maggette into Kirilenko, and doesn't cost us one of our four young pillars or our draft pick, is absolutely worthwhile.

Pick up the phone, Riley. It probably won't work. But given the potential upside, you absolutely have to try.