Now that we've established that Karl Malone is definitely gone, we can look down the road to the next intriguing question: Will he be welcomed back?
     
And that doesn't mean welcomed back to the Delta Center, where he'll likely get a mostly warm reception from Jazz fans when he and his Laker teammates ? you were aware that Malone plans to play for the Lakers, right? ? show up in Salt Lake next season.
   
No, the welcomed back referred to here refers to his ever playing in a Jazz uniform again.
     
In a Thursday press conference to announce Malone's defection, Jazz owner Larry H. Miller was asked what would happen if his longtime star forward and business partner won a title with the Lakers this season, then wanted to return to Utah to play one season and break the all-time NBA scoring record.