Things are about to get interesting in Utah.

Forward Carlos Boozer is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract before the end of the month, and his talented backup, Paul Millsap, is a restricted free agent.

According to a New York Post report, Boozer is eyeing Detroit and New Jersey as possible landing spots. And as the Deseret News pointed out, the Pistons have the necessary salary cap space to sign Boozer (especially with Allen Iverson and possibly Rasheed Wallace coming off the books), while the Nets would have to work out a sign-and-trade.

Now there are reports that the Pistons may be more interested in Millsap -- although the Jazz have made it clear they will match any offer.

As for the Nets, Newark Star-Ledger NBA reporter Dave D'Alessandro wrote that a scenario involving Boozer doesn't seem likely.

"[I]f Detroit has cooled on Boozer, he's going to have to scramble to find anything like the ($60 million over five years) he's looking for -- or thinks he deserves," D'Alessandro wrote. "Can't see it. Not in Jersey, perhaps not anywhere."

He also wrote: "We asked (Nets basketball boss Rod) Thorn point-blank whether he's spoken to his good friend Kevin O'Connor (the Jazz's general manager) in Utah lately (yes, he understood we were hinting about sign-and-trade scenarios), and his reply was a terse, 'nope, not a single conversation.'"

Interestingly, Boozer's free-agent stock seems to be dropping, considering that regardless of where he plays, he always seems to have one eye on the door.

FOREIGN POLICY

NBA general managers and scouts spent the weekend overseas at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. If you're not familiar with the camp, just know it's the international version of the pre-draft combine held last week in Chicago.

All participants are between the age of 18-21.

Top prospects at the camp and names you might hear called in this year's draft:

Swingman Joe Ingles (Australia); guard Nando De Colo (France); guard Daniel Hackett (Italy); forward Jonas Jerebko (Sweden); forward Vladimir Dasic (Montenegro) and guard Rodrigue Beaubois (France).

Among the coaches: Houston assistant Jack Sikma, Milwaukee assistant Joe Wolf, former Bucks coach and current Dallas assistant Terry Stotts, and ESPN analyst and former college coach Fran Fraschilla.

JACKSON STILL HAS BUG

Former NBA point guard and current ABC analyst Mark Jackson said that, yes, he would still like to become a head coach.

"I'm just waiting for an opportunity for the right spot present itself,'' Jackson said at an ABC breakfast at the Renaissance Hollywood before Game 2. "I look forward to that day.''

Jackson has no prior coaching experience at any level, so it might not be a bad idea for him to take an assistant job before getting his hopes up. In fact, the man sitting next to him in the broadcasting booth, Jeff Van Gundy, is more likely to be a candidate than Jackson -- simply because Van Gundy has already coached in the league (New York and Houston).

Still, Jackson isn't deterred.

"I trust in God," he said. "The right situation will come and I look forward to making that guy who has the courage to pull the trigger, I'm looking forward to making him look awfully good.''

ALL-STARS TO ORLANDO?

The league announced Sunday that the 2011 All-Star Game will be held in Los Angeles -- and it could be hosted by this year's other Finalist the following season.

NBA commissioner David Stern said in April that the game would be held in the Magic's new arena three years after opening. It is scheduled to open in October of 2010.

THIS & THAT

* Orlando assistant Brendan Malone told the New York Post he has yet to have a real conversation with his son, Cleveland assistant Michael Malone, since the Magic eliminated in the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. "But he left a nice message," Brendan Malone said.

* Indiana president Larry Bird said he would like to see Pacers assistant Dick Harter have more of a say in the team's defense under Jim O‘Brien. Harter was an assistant and defensive specialist when Bird coached the team. Meanwhile, O'Brien indicated that Harter will have as much say as he's always had. But don't read too much into it -- Bird and O'Brien clearly have, at worst, a solid relationship.

* Stephon Marbury has said he will work out in Hollywood Hills this off-season, and while he hasn't ruled out a return to Boston's bench, he is more likely to seek a team that will offer him a starting role. Hey, come to think of it, don't the Knicks need a starter?

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.