SALT LAKE CITY -- The
Jazz unveiled one of their two newest off-season acquisitions on
Thursday, but team officials were hesitant to call Donyell
Marshall the answer to Utah's playoff woes.
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Marshall
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"People have
asked me what's wrong with Utah?" Jazz owner Larry Miller
said at Marshall's press conference at the Delta Center.
"Now we have four very good veterans to help us out and
answer that question. There's nothing wrong with Utah."
The Jazz picked up
Marshall from Golden State as part of the first four-team trade
in NBA history, which was finalized Wednesday. The team also got
7-foot-2 center Bruno Sundov from Dallas and has signed Danny
Manning, John Starks and John Crotty in the past two weeks.
As part of the
four-team deal, the Jazz sent Howard Eisley to Dallas, forward
Adam Keefe to the Warriors and gave up their first-round draft
pick in 2001. Eisley, who was the primary backup to John
Stockton in Utah, passed on a five-year, $20 million contract
last week.
"I haven't
looked forward to a season upcoming this much in six or seven
years," Miller said.
The Jazz entered the
offseason at a crossroads. After losing to the Portland Trail
Blazers in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, it
became clear the current nucleus of aging players Utah had
depended on for years just wasn't working anymore.
Once again,
36-year-old Karl Malone and 38-year-old John Stockton will
return for the Jazz, but increasingly it began to look like
there wouldn't be an NBA title to reward their standout careers.
The loss to Portland
marked Utah's shortest playoff appearance in five years, leaving
the team with a sense of resignation that a championship might
not be meant to happen.
Miller's reluctance
to promise that success this season wasn't his alone. Marshall
also was hesitant to say how his addition might improve the
team.
"I'm not going
to put pressure on myself and say I'm the element to get them
there," he said. "But with the pieces we've put
together in the offseason, we're definitely going to go
far."
Marshall was the
fourth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, but was traded by the
Minnesota Timberwolves to the Golden State Warriors midway
through his rookie season for Tom Gugliotta. In 32 games with
the Warriors, Marshall averaged 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds and
was named to the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team.
In 1995-96, Marshall
averaged 5.5 points per game and 3.4 rebounds. He followed that
with 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game the next season before
making a run for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award with an
average of 15.4 points per game and 8.6 rebounds in 1997-98. He
finished third in voting for the award.
Marshall began losing
playing time in 1998-99 to Warriors' rookie Antawn Jamison,
averaging 11.0 points per game and 7.1 rebounds. He improved
again in 1999-2000, averaging 14.2 points per game and 10
rebounds, but was plagued by tendinitis in his left knee and
played in only 64 games.
Jazz Vice President
Kevin O'Connor said Marshall had cleared a physical and has been
given the go-ahead to work out with Utah. "It has been a
problem and we'll continue to monitor it," O'Connor said of
Marshall's knee.
"I've been
lifting with my knees," Marshall said. "I've been
feeling pretty well. Obviously they're not where I want them to
be yet, but I've got six weeks to get them there."
Marshall said he was
disappointed to leave the Warriors, who finished 19-63 last
season, just as the troubled team seemed like it might start
coming together. But the regret can't compare to his excitement
at being part of championship-caliber team.
"I haven't even
made it to the playoffs yet and I'm already nervous about the
first game," he said.
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