Patience is a valuable commodity in a point guard. Turns out, it's a real asset in the front office, too.
   
By refusing to fill his backup point-guard vacancy until training camp had already started, Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations, managed to secure one of the league's all-time great passers. The payoff for his patience? Mark Jackson, a 15-year veteran who agreed to a one-year contract worth roughly $1 million with Utah on Tuesday.
   
"We were hoping this would fall into place," O'Connor said after Jackson cleared NBA waivers and struck a deal with the Jazz. "It's a good feeling."