"It's good, though. I'm up and running. My body's telling me to go to sleep, but it sees the sun."

The Jazz arrived in London midmorning Sunday after a long flight made even longer as they spent approximately an hour and a half waiting behind 60 planes to take off following a stopover in New York.

Several players walked into The O2 arena for practice with video cameras, determined to document the experience of the Jazz's first trip to Europe. As part of the day, coach Jerry Sloan even sat down for an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.

"I told them a little bit about John [ Stockton ] and Karl [ Malone ]," Sloan said.

The Jazz went through a casual practice before returning to their hotel along West India Quay, which also is hosting the Bulls and the Fulham Football Club. The bus ride from the airport was especially memorable, since the British drive on the left side of the road.

"I kept on looking outside of the bus, looking down and seeing people sitting still without driving or anything, it was kind of different," Ronnie Price said. "You see it on the movies and stuff like that, it's my first time seeing it in person."

Andrei Kirilenko , Mehmet Okur , Deron Williams and Kyle Korver were set to attend the Chelsea-Liverpool soccer game. Miles, meanwhile, was hoping to play tourist as much as possible, expressing a goal of seeing "everything" while in London.

The Jazz allowed players to bring their wives on the trip, with several doing so. The traveling party also included members of the front office, dance team, stunt team, stat crew, the Bear mascot and EnergySolutions Arena officials.

"We haven't been here that long," Price said, "but I can already tell that it's going to be different and a new experience."

Deal breaker

As much as his name was linked to the Jazz this summer in trade talk surrounding Carlos Boozer , Chicago's Tyrus Thomas insisted Sunday that he was unmoved by the possibility.

"It wasn't crazy for me at all," Thomas said. "That's what happens when you're in the NBA."

The Jazz ultimately opted to bring back Boozer, while Thomas stayed with the Bulls. Two fans did wear fake Boozer/Thomas jerseys to the Jazz's first preseason game, along with a "Trade Us" sign.

"It don't surprise me," Thomas said when asked if he'd heard about the scene. He also denied the authenticity of a Facebook post attributed to him this summer expressing a desire to play with Williams.

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Long division

The NBA long has discussed the possibility of someday expanding to Europe, with the Jazz gaining a new perspective after making this trip. Even if an entire division of teams were added, the logistics of international travel still are daunting.

"I don't think that's going to happen in my lifetime in the NBA," Sloan said.

rsiler@sltrib.com