O'Connor's complete statement on Okur

Jazz center Memo Okur will not play again during the regular season, general manager Kevin O'Connor announced after Utah's 119-104 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

It's possible Okur could be back if the Jazz qualify for the Western Conference playoffs, O'Connor said.

Okur suffered a torn Achilles tendon in last spring's first-round playoff series against Denver. He returned in December but played only 13 games before being sidelined again with a sore back.

Here is O'Connor's complete statement:

"[We] just wanted to get everything on the table. We're going to shut Memo Okur down for the rest of the year. We've tried everything. He's tried everything. He's disappointed and discouraged he couldn't be back.

"He tried. He wants to help the team. But the Achilles has been a situation all year long, obviously. And then the [sore] back was probably due to the Achilles. Then, subsequent to not being able to really run and work out, the Achilles goes again. It's been a catch-22 all the way around.

"We're at the point now we're going to go back treating it like an injury and rehab it. There's just not enough time left in the regular season. Who knows after that? But it's to the point where he can't run. Therefore, he can't keep the Achilles strengthened and so it goes back-and-forth and around-and-around.

"Rather than have him asked about it every day ... we just said, 'Hey, Memo, let's just go back to the rehab.' We had rehabbed it. We thought it was getting better and then he went back out on the court. Then the Achilles got sore. Then the back got sore. It's just not working right now. He needs time to rehab it."