Greg Miller Pulls a Michael Corleone

The Godfather is one of the 5 best films of all-time.  One of the many things that makes it one of the best films of all-time is it's incredible ending. During the course of the film we watch as Michael Corleone struggles to do the right thing. He yearns to live a normal, legitimate, American life. He tries to keep his distance from his troubled, powerful, and wealthy family. In the end though, Michael cannot escape his destiny and succeeds his father as the new Godfather. In the climax of the film Michael stands in a church taking part in the baptism of niece. As Michael recites the holy oath we watch as his henchmen carryout his icy plot to take out all of his competitors and enemies, giving him total control of organized crime in America. This includes the killing of his brother-in-law whose child Michael just helped baptize.

It's an incredible ending to an amazing film. Yesterday, Greg Miller made his Michael Corleone move. He eliminated everything in his path to taking total control over the future of the Utah Jazz. His power play included some Corleone-like icy-ness. Michael's move did not turnout entirely well for him. He lost many family members, and pretty much lived out the rest of his life miserable. No one knows how Greg's will turn out. That hinges on two things: the development of the youngest player in the league Derrick Favors, and what Deron Williams is able to accomplish during the rest of his career. Regardless, this was an attempt by Greg to take control.

Here's what happened as far as I can tell: After the death of his father Larry H. Miller, Greg Miller began overspending to keep many of the Jazz's core players in an attempt to keep the Jazz competitive in the Western Conference. This pushed the Jazz deep into the luxury tax, something that Larry H. Miller vowed that the Jazz would never do because financially it would cripple the team. The Jazz's finances became bloated and the team never could climb out from the middle of the pack and become a true title contender.

This season, Deron Williams' attitude and confrontational nature had been grating coach Jerry Sloan all season. Phil Johnson recently told the Tribune that Sloan had been saying since the beginning of the season that he was so frustrated that he felt like he didn't have the energy to finish out the rest of the season. With the reassurance from Johnson, Sloan quit. I think that this, coupled with Jazz fans' reaction to the resignation and Karl Malone blitzing into town, guns blazing, in an awesome and idiotic series of interviews, deeply troubled Miller. He clearly agreed with one aspect to Malone's country ramblings, the inmates were in his mind running the asylum. The players with the Jazz and elsewhere had proven that they had the upper hand over coaches and management.

As Deron stood glibly next to Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony during All-Star weekend, coldly refuting to talk about what exactly his intentions or desires were, I think the wheels in Greg's head began to turn. I don't think Deron knew whether or not he would resign with the Jazz in two years. He couldn't and didn't give the Jazz any indication one way or the other. Because of this, the next season with Deron was going to be hounded by questions about his impending free agency which always, always, always have negative impacts on teams. No team has ever won a title with such questions floating around all season in the modern era.  The Jazz have been watching Denver closely. They saw that a team that had been a top 4 team in the West for the past couple of seasons toil at the bottom of the playoff pack due unquestionably to the lack of passion brought on by Anthony's trade demands. In the end Denver was forced to accept a less than ideal package for Carmelo because of his refusal to accept a trade to the Nets that would bring them a far superior package.

There is also a very important question about how good Deron was going to be in the future. Wrist injuries have begun to become a recurring problem with Deron. He was injured it each of the past three seasons, and every single time he does his jump shooting disappears. Deron's frustrations with the team, coaches, and system were also beginning to effect his play. He lost agressiveness. After the Sloan debacle and getting booed by the same fans that have worshiped him since 2005, I think he was mentally unable to perform to his highest standards. I think there is a fair and legitimate concern that Deron may not ever be the same player ever again.

In the aftermath of the Carmelo-Knicks deal, the Nets' package for Carmelo was sitting on the table. With that in mind Greg Miller decided it was time to take control. There have been a lot of fair questions regarding the timing of the trade. Deron still had one more year left on his deal which hypothetically could have given Deron incentive to stay. The team could continue to develop and turn things around and the Jazz would could become a legit contender. Also with the uncertainty of the CBA, Deron might have favored to optin to his last year of his current deal because the 18 million he was scheduled to make could be well above the max-salary allowed under a new stricter CBA. The CBA also could institute a franchise-tag similar to the NFL, which would have again prevented Deron from leaving. The timing also seemed odd considering Deron's wife living in Utah is due to give birth to their third child in a few weeks.

The reasoning behind the deal is shrewd though. The uncertainty of the CBA could result in Deron sticking around a little longer true, but it also could have prevented the Jazz from gaining anything before he departs. If the NBA loses the 11-12 season, Deron could walk leaving the Jazz without the ability to make any kind of favorable trade to build in his absence. They were also able to capitalize on New Jersey's desperation. The where able to pry away their Carmelo offer, even though Deron seems to have a lot more leverage on the Nets than Carmelo, because he isn't even eligible for an extension until July. The Jazz could not have done better than they did IF they were going to trade Denver.

A lot has fairly been made of both Deron's wife's pregnancy and also the fact that Deron learned of the trade on SportsCenter rather than a phone call from his agent or management. The pregnancy element is unfortunate, but the Jazz had to make a business decision. Sad, but true. The Jazz could not have let Deron know sooner though. If Deron had gotten word before the deal was done, he could have gone to the media to voice his unwillingness to play or later sign with New Jersey which undoubtedly would have given New Jersey cold feet. Deron also could have resisted and tried to convince the Jazz to wait which would have been a great risk to the Jazz. The Jazz were unwilling to do this because there was going to be no better package out there for Deron. Second, it would have put too much power in the hands of Deron. Deron would to a large degree control the Jazz's future. So Miller and Kevin O'Connor pulled a Corleone.

It was cold, calculated, risky, but I it is possible that it was the right move for the Utah Jazz. This doesn't make it any easier to swallow. It was the worst day of my Jazz fan life. Deron was without question my favorite Jazz player since 2005. He is in the prime of his career, though again I worry that his prime may be behind him. Although like a good Jazz fan I will accept the new team, I truly do feel like Jack at the end of the third season of LOST.  We have to go back. Back to the island with Boozer, Brewer, Korver, Hurley, Memo. All those guys.

Greg Miller is Michael Corleone. I just can't decide if Deron is Connie's husband, or the Alex Rocco character.