Neither one of these centers are gonna make any impact on the Jazz team during the 08-09 season we need a trade to happen neither one of these athletes are the answer

If Fess doesn't get it now, maybe he won't ever get it. He went through summer play last year, preseason and played and practiced with the main team last year. Apparently he has the same problem that the rest of todays youth have--not wanting to pay their dues to be successful. It seems they want immediate success without putting in the time that has made others suuceed. Conditioning is all about working out and if he isn't conditioned and ready to play this year I think its time to cut the ties. Lazy people don't deserve success.

It sounds like we have the re-birth of Greg Ostertag.

Fes, welcome to America/NBA and real basketball vs. the pick-up Ukrainian league. Sad at this point that his conditioning this bad. He spent last year with the organization and he knows what the expecatations are. This shows a BIG lack of motivation on his part.

Very disheartening. Fes has the body but not the drive.

It sounds like Coach and the organization are desperate to get through to him but he seems more concerned about his hair color than his conditioning.

Sounds like Koufus is in better shape--in hindsight I guess this is why they drafted him--they saw Fes and what his worth ethic has been and he is a gigantic ?

Great.

I can just imagine you drinking your prune juice and reminiscing about the Great Depression while writing that post. I'm also sorry about you having to walk to school 20 miles uphill both ways without any shoes. Truly unfortunate. Anyway, I think Fes and Koufos will develop well together. Two athletes working towards the same goal will push each other, and I think Koufos will make Fes work harder and foucs more. If not he'll be back down in Orem for another season.

to re reality, and he will continue half stepping and thinking the world owes it to him and then end up pumping gas for byu students

Re:Reality. I'll answer for Reality. You don't get it. Fes should have been working his butt off, and it's obvious he hasn't. Success does not come to the lazy. If Fes doesn't figure it out soon, and show some serious improvement, he will be looking back in a few years and wonder what happened. Sloan is right on. Oh, and your Depression thing. It's coming back again.

Come on people its always the ones with natural ability that do not work hard and the ones with no ability that work hard never get anywhere because they are simply not gifted kinda like that kid in gym class that hustles but is just awful this reminds me of the BYU basketball team every year they try so hard to win but just dont have what it takes they are like that kid in gym class

I might disagree with you on comparing the BYU basketball team to the kid in the gym class who hustles but is no good, I would compare the BYU basketball team to the kid in the Gym class who talks a good game, but can't back it up with the his play.

You negative Nancies are forgetting how young Fess is. I'm not saying he WILL catch on and buckle down. But it's premature to condemn him after 1 season. Sloan is going to be on his, and other rookie butts, no matter WHAT shape they are in! Look at Deron's first year. That is SLOAN! So give the kid (literally) a chance. Kirilenko's hair used to be the topic of conversation. Now it's Fess' dye job. Who cares? Hair color doesn't make you play better or worse. If you want to criticize work ethic, go after C.J. He should know better by now!

Another big loopy guy with no intensity..Fessenko
Ostertag...I blame the Jazz staff for drafting a
guy without the work ethic or Sloan-like qualities.
Who goofed? The Ukranian Ostertag or Kevin Give Me
A Guiness O'Connor.

Joe, what a goofy post. Regarding ability v. hard work, hard work will ALWAYS win out in the end. Ever heard of John Stockton or Jeff Honacek. Personally, I have a son with an over the top IQ and nearly photgraphic memory, he can't keep a job because he's lazy. On the other hand I have a daughter with severe learning disabilities, who barely made it through high school that is a college grad. It all comes down to desire and hard work. By the way, REALITY has it right. As a successful business owner, I see these kids coming out of college with no experience and a POOR work ethic and they think they deserve the same considerations as someone who's worked their whole lives building a career and paying their dues. It's pitiful!

OK..so Fess is not in game shape? How old is the kid? 19? How long has the kid been in the US? About a yr?

Get real--Fess moved to the US, is learning the culture, the language, the game....and Sloan's system, as well as Sloan's personality. It is going to take a while. Even good college centers-Shaq, Hakeem and David Robinson for example, did not peak until 5 yrs in the league.

Dont misunderstand me..I love Sloan as a coach, and he has every right to be tough on him..but Sloan's approach sometimes alienates players as it did with DWill in his first season, as it did AK..and yeah..I think the oft criticized O-Tag would have been much more productive had he not been a whipping boy of Sloan's...and as bad as Sloan can be Karl Malone was much harder on O-Tag.

Concerning Fess--he can get some good pt this yr, in very limited minutes, if he works and is handled correctly. He is not going to be a defensive stopper the Jazz need, but can be atop 5 center, if he works, and is handled properly.

I think Jazz management has done a nice Job of hedging their bets. Between Fes, Kosta, and Tomic they should end up with at least one serviceable Center.

@ WHO CARES???

I have to agree with you, the Jazz need to upgrade their size and froncourt athletisism immediatley if they want to be a true contender next year.

Here's what I could see happening to the Jazz after next season if the Jazz don't make a move or two.

Boozer leaves in Free Agency, Memo Opts out but the Jazz resign him, Korver stays put @ 5 Mil, Harpring retires, CJ is gone, and the lineup looks like this:

Williams/Price
Brewer/Korver/Almond
AK
Memo/Millsap
Kosta/Fes

Leaving the Jazz with two open roster spots and roughly $60 Mil in Salaries, meaning if they wanted to sign a free agent all they would have is a mid-level exception.

To me the best case scenario is the Jazz are able to keep Boozer and Okur, one of the three young centers develops quickly into a contributor, and the Jazz pick up a veteran swing man who is tough defensively and can play the SF & SG positions.

Gosh! Read the article! Fez is 21!

Some people play basketball becuse they love the game, others do it because they are 7' and have natural physical ability. Superstars are those rare individual who have been blessed with great physical ability and great work ethic. ie Michael Jordan.

I agree with Sokel that Kevin brings in players with no work ethic and no defensive inclination and expects Jerry to turn them around.

Relax, its summer league, he has 4 months to get in great shape. Plus, he's here working out with dwill and kosta, he'll be fine. Now if he shows up to training camp out of shape there will be a problem. I didn't detect sloan being any more upset than necessary

i like your thinking! would you agree with me we can do better than keeping collins?

@ RE: JAMES
Read the article! IT'S FES. With an S! No Z involved at all!

Anyway.... does anybody else miss the good ol' days when players ALWAYS gave 100%. I'm only 24 years old but I have already noticed a dramatic difference in the way players approach the game. The NBA players used to like, work, breath basketball. Now they are more concerned about their shoe deal and where they're gonna go on vacation next season. Many only play their HARDEST during a contract year so they can get some extra cash. I just miss the days where players were all about the love of the game.

I guess I'd have to see him play, but my personal opinion, Fes just looks like a goof.

Shaq make it to the finals in his 3rd season and as a rookie was a starter in an allstar game that had 9 players who had already gotten gold medals in the olympics and had reserved a place in the Hall of Fame. Fes is no Shaq and will never be. He is lazy and if Harpring can't get him in shape and teach him hustle and intensity then no one can and the kid is a waste. Dump him now and find someone who wants to play cause this kid doesn't. And who cares what color his hair is. His hair doesn't alter his production. Look at Rodman. Who knows what was going on with his hair but he is one of the greatest rebounders ever and he played hard nosed d no matter what color his hair was. His hair is the last thing to worry about. If he produces then let him have pink hair. Let him have it if he doesn't produce. but get rid of him and quit wasting time cause he doesn't want to work hard and produce. DUMP HIM PLEASE!!!!!!

I agree that perhaps Fes lacks some drive, but I think that your generalization of "kids these days," is unfortunately not accurate to describe every "kid" these days. It's such generalizations that make certain segments of society fail to acknowledge anything good that doesn't come from their group.

I'm praying for Hiram Fuller. My thoughts are with him and his family.

Sounds like sloan is ruining another young player.

What a great coach!

First he drives them into the doghouse then out of town.

And the blind an dumb fans continue to follow sloan.

How many young players does this have to happen to before the jazz fans are willing to see the truth?

Fes may be a big kid but he can shape up in 10 days of intense work. He is young and can turn it on. He is in better shape this year than last year. His attention is also better.

Sloan is sending a clear message that he wants a lot more now. The Jazz need Fes to develop fast. That is why Sloan is on his case.

This is his year to step up. The Hornets just got a lot better with Posey. The Jazz either get the Western Championship this year or they will rebuild the year after that due to salary cap problems.

Fes can be a great shot blocker with a little experience. However, the Jazz need him to be a whole player so he does not foul up the team defense and contributes on offense.

I think Koufos will be ready by next year. He already has a shot and some D. He will get better as the year goes on. Fes will get it in gear or be gone next year in the rebuild.

I get a kick out of all those with Greek Heritage posting on this site about how great Koufos will be. Those same people, however, are attacking Fes...

Hmmm...do you people not know that the Cold War is now over, and that Ukrain is OUR ALLY!?

Fes will be fine. There are a lot of Russians/Ukranian athletes who have lived in Florida, died their hair blonde, and went on to greatness (Kournikova, etc). Go FES!

Where are D-Will and Boozer in this Fes matter? Aren't they the team leaders? Don't they have a vested interest in Fes tapping his potential? Why aren't they texting him every morning at 6am to say, "Come and lift with me today"???? (Okay, Booz hasn't been here all summer... but you get the point. The team leadership - not just the brass - need to be pushing Fes.)

I think Fes and 2-guard are going to make us or break us this year. Brewer can't shoot, Korver can't defend (or get himself open now that the secret is out - he can shoot). If Almond or CJ aren't pushing for minutes and Fes isn't pushing for minutes, the Jazz are going to get really tired in February...

Sloan is not ruining another young player. He's trying his best to save Fez from himself. Probably the saddest case I ever saw was Nick Wickizer at USU. He had an NBA body, a fine shooting touch, and excellent coordination for a seven-footer. But he lacked the drive to play basketball. He never would have worked as hard as he would have needed to work in order to become a starter in the NBA, but he had all the skills to make $50 million.

the jazz need to quit trying to get players that fit the Utah mode and get more athletic players, dump Collins, he has been here a lought longer than Fes and has not done anything for the Jazz.

Cocah Sloan has always loved Players that try hard but can't quite get the job done: Adam Keefe, Jarron Collins, Matt Harpring, Korver etc. Meanwhile, this stubborn old-school hard-ass played Keith McLeod and Milt Palacios ahead of Deron Williams his rookie year.

It's obvious that Sloan doesn't have any long term plan or vision of how to take a team to the next level. Playing time has very little to do with results and trying to win, basically Sloan plays who he likes personally and everyone else is in his dog house. This is part of the reason Sloan wouldn't win a championship if he could live to coach another 20 years.