NBA Lockout: How the Lockout Has Affected Each Utah Jazz Player's Career

As the NBA lockout continues and the likelihood of seeing any real games this season lessens, the long lasting repercussions of the work stoppage continue to add up.

Fans, players, employees and anyone involved in any way with the NBA are having to find other things to do at this time of year when the talk should be about team and individual performances and matchups during an NBA season.

The Utah Jazz have been relatively quiet during the lockout, but like other teams in the league, the Jazz are losing money, practice time and fan support.

While the team is losing, individual players are also missing out on things that could have an effect on each of their careers.

Let's take a look at how the current lockout will impact each Jazz player.

Enes Kanter and Alec Burks

For Enes Kanter, Alec Burks and all of the other rookies drafted last summer, the lockout could not have come at a worse time.

Not only are these guys unable to fulfill childhood dreams of playing in the NBA, they have had to wait to sign their first contract.

Instead of buying a house and a car they are stuck waiting to get the paycheck that they have earned by being drafted into the league.

They are also unable to have the time needed to learn the Jazz playbook, gain valuable practice time or work with an NBA coaching staff.

For Kanter, it is especially critical that he have practice time as he already carried a question mark due to his not playing much basketball in the last couple of years before the draft.

There is no time to waste in developing young players, especially a big man.

The lockout may not have the same long-term effects for these rookies as it has for others, but it makes the start of their careers difficult.

Paul Millsap

After finally gaining a full-time starting job after Carlos Boozer left the team for the Chicago Bulls, Paul Millsap finds himself in a logjam at the forward position and possibly the odd man out.

Instead of working hard to win the battle for playing time in the Jazz frontcourt, Millsap must wait to show the team why he is one of the forwards to keep on the team.

Millsap is more than capable of being the guy in Utah, but is losing out on valuable time to show that he needs to stay with the organization.

If there is a shortened season this year, he will have less time to prove to the Jazz that he is worth keeping instead of trading away.

If he can prove that he deserves to stay in Utah, it would be a good option to keep him (due to his having a moderate salary) if the team is looking to drop salary at the end of the next season.

Unfortunately for Millsap, he will have a shorter time to prove his worth once again to the team.

Devin Harris

After joining the team as part of the shocking Deron Williams trade last season, Devin Harris got off to a bad start with the team.

From the first day as a Jazz man, Harris did not get a fair opportunity to show what he can do. The lockout is only prolonging the process of playing for the Jazz and the fans only know him from the little playing time he had at the end of last season.

While Devin Harris may not be the long-term answer for Jazz at point guard, he deserves the benefit of having a full season to learn to play with the team, understand the offense and avoid injuries.

If he can do these things, he will be able to improve his image and show fans that he is a better player than he was last season. His performance this season will be the one that defines his career.

The lockout is only postponing that for him.

Al Jefferson

When Al Jefferson joined the team last season, it was expected that it would take some time for him to learn the offense and adjust to the team.

Jefferson was able to do that and began playing very well near mid-season.

After the retirement of Jerry Sloan and the trade of Deron Williams, Jefferson seemed to take the team on his back and be the leader.

There were several nights where he would score 30 or more points in efforts to help the team be competitive and win.

After spending time in Boston and Minnesota, Jefferson was beginning to show that he can be one of the better front court players in the league.

Like other front court players for the Jazz, Jefferson needs to prove why he should be in the future plans of the team. With the big contract that he carries, he needs to play at a level that justifies his staying in Utah instead of being traded to another team.

The lockout is delaying that process for him.

Andrei Kirilenko

Technically Andrei Kirilenko is not a member of the Utah Jazz as his huge contract expired just before the lockout, but because he spent so many years with the team, I put him on the list.

Like all of the other free agents out there, the lockout has made it so that Kirilenko is unemployed.

He has stated that he will play in his home country of Russia during the lockout, but there is a chance that he may not come back and that his NBA career is over.

Before the lockout, it was likely that there would be a team that would overpay once again for Kirilenko. Depending on how things turn out before the players can return to the court, he may not now make the same amount that he would have and will stay in Russia.

If he does return to the Jazz, it will be for far less money than he has made during the last few seasons.

Derrick Favors

Towards the end of last season, Derrick Favors showed some signs of his athleticism and ability that led the Jazz to trade away All-Star Deron Williams for him.

As one of the youngest players in the league, the lockout will not have a profound effect on Favors, but he is missing out on valuable time that he could be spending with the Jazz coaching staff to improve his game.

Favors will have an increased responsibility with the team and will get more playing time. The Jazz want to develop Favors to the point that their other frontcourt players can be used in different ways to help the team.

Favors will not benefit from missing out on the practice time and real-game experience that he should be getting right now.

He will also have an increase in pressure to perform at a higher and faster level if there is a shortened season.

Raja Bell

Raja Bell has been the most outspoken and involved of all Jazz players regarding the lockout.

Bell has the most to lose as this lockout continues and is most likely in the middle of the last NBA contract he will be offered.

After the disappointing season that Bell had in his second stint with the Jazz last season, it is clear to see that his best basketball days are behind him.

The lockout is only taking up time that Bell could be using to make up for last season and perhaps prolong his career.

If this whole season is lost, Bell is going to have a very difficult time staying in the league when his current contract ends.

Mehmet Okur

Due to his battle with injuries over the last couple of seasons, Mehmet Okur is the forgotten man of the Utah Jazz.

With his high salary and low level of production, the lockout is not helping to prolong his career.

Unless Okur can get back onto the court consistently and return to the form that earned him the nickname "Money," he will not be with the Jazz much longer, and will be looking for another team to play for.

If the league does play this season, it is likely that the Jazz will try to trade him away and dump his salary at the trade deadline.

Okur needs time on the court to prove to the Jazz that he is one of the big men that the team must keep, and the lockout is not giving him that opportunity.

He has said that he may play in his home country of Turkey during the lockout, and may return to play there when his current contract expires.

Gordon Hayward

It took him most of last year, but Gordon Hayward finally began to show Jazz fans the reason that he was drafted with the first-round pick from the New York Knicks that the team had waited for.

Hayward is poised to have a great sophomore season, but must wait for that to happen.

Like Derrick Favors, the lockout will not slow down Hayward's career as much as others, but he too needs the game experience that he was getting while he showed improvement at the end of the season.

Now that he has shown what he can do, he will have expectations among fans to perform well every night. If he could have started the season out slowly, it would have helped him.

If there is a shortened season, he will be expected to perform immediately.

C.J. Miles

Even though is seems like this is said every year, this year is supposed to be the one where C.J. Miles finally becomes the consistent player and contributor to the team that everyone has been waiting for.

The Utah Jazz picked up the relatively inexpensive team option that they held on C.J. Miles to bring him back for one more season.

At just 24 years old, Miles is a six-year veteran who the Jazz have waited on to develop.

The lockout is keeping him off of the court and denying Miles of the opportunity to have that breakout season that fans are waiting for.

How well he plays when the league starts up again could mean the difference of millions of dollars in his next contract.

As young as he is, it is likely that he will stay in the league for several more seasons, but it would help him to be playing at this point as his next season is a contract year.

Jeremy Evans

Due to injuries to his teammates and the coaching change from Jerry Sloan during last season, Jeremy Evans received more playing time than many second-round rookies have in the past.

Evans is a player who has great athleticism but has a long way to go to play consistently in the NBA.

Like the rookies, Evans needs to practice and learn from the Jazz coaching staff more than any of the other players on the team.

When a season starts, Evans will be in the second year of his rookie contract. He is missing out on valuable time on the court that he could use to develop into a player that stays in the league.

His athleticism helped him make it to the NBA, but he is going to need time to learn more so he can stick around.

The lockout is not giving him that time.

Coaching Staff

Tyrone Corbin and his coaching staff had only 28 games to lead the Utah Jazz after the surprising retirement of Hall of Fame head coach Jerry Sloan.

The lockout is making them wait longer to build on the 8-20 record that Corbin and his staff earned at the end of last year.

The thing that the coaching staff is missing the most is the opportunity to slowly go through summer league games, training camp and a full preseason.

This young team is loaded with talent and potential, but the lockout is robbing them of the time needed to play together and learn Corbin's system.

If there is a shortened season, Jazz fans may have to endure another difficult season because these young player will simply not be ready for life in the NBA.

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