2020/2021? off season

[Xiao Yao You]

Who knows when the draft/free agency/next season happens but here we go

[Xiao Yao You]

Mitchell and the Jazz will finalize a max extension when free agency opens in mid-October, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The Nuggets overcame a 3-1 first-round series deficit by winning Game 7 on Tuesday night. They face the Los Angeles Clippers (+275 to win it all at BetMGM) in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs starting Thursday. “It was a great battle,” Murray said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless. [Mitchell] played so good in every game. He put pressure on our defense to mix it up. He played with that fight, he played with that heart.”
– via Chris Haynes @ Yahoo! Sports

so much for the Knicks?

[Xiao Yao You]

That mostly meant promoting guys up the bench. Niang and Tony Bradley, intended to be deep bench specialists, got regular roles. Around the same time, desperate for second-unit shot creation while Conley sat, they acquired Clarkson.

Niang the only vet 4 on the team and that is only because he is too slow for the 3. Bradley did well. Should have had a cheap vet behind him

Clarkson is sort of in his own weird subcategory here; he was far more valuable than the rest of the bench guys and provided something the Jazz desperately needed at that point: just a bucket-getting robot with very little conscience. But because he mostly contributes as a scorer, things get a little tenuous for him when his shot isn’t dropping. He’s fairly average for his positional grouping in terms of points per shot attempt, but he is in just the ninth percentile for assists relative to his usage rate, and he gives up a lot on defense. When he is making shots, the Jazz feel very fortunate to have him. When he isn’t, he doesn’t add a ton else.

doesn't fit. Thinks he's the only option no matter who is on the floor. Bye bye

Look, if Clarkson is your 8th best player, you’re probably in pretty good shape, and that’s what he’ll be if Utah makes one more solid addition and also gets Bogdanovic back. But if you need him to be your 6th best, which Utah needed during this playoff run, there are going to be nights he leaves you wanting more. Give him credit: he performed far better this time around than in his only other postseason experience, and he really cleaned up his shot profile after arriving in Utah. But he’s still a bit of a one-skill specialist, and the Jazz aren’t as desperate for that one skill as they were in December. If they can keep him for a price that is commensurate with the 7th/8th-man type of role that he’s best suited for, I think they will. But they have other priorities this offseason that rank far higher on the list, like big man depth and shoring up the perimeter defense.

be surprised if they didn't keep him given their track record despite their needs

After Clarkson, the Jazz could probably stand to upgrade just about every rotation spot. Niang had his moments in the regular season and playoffs, but still has a giant target painted on his chest on the defensive end. Bradley improved some, but is still far from being a playoff asset — and Quin Snyder evidently agrees since he phased Bradley out of the rotation as the series went along. Fans clamored for a bigger role for Morgan, but he was relentlessly targeted in his playoff appearances. Jarrell Brantley, Rayjon Tucker and Miye Oni showed flashes, but none cracked the playoff rotation. Mudiay struggled in his brief playoff action, while rookie guards Nigel Williams-Goss and Justin Wright-Foreman barely saw any playing time this season.

the rookies should have gotten a shot. They'd probably be playing the Clipps.

It seems pretty clear: Utah needs a couple of bench upgrades to complement their still-improving stars. Most real contenders have seven or eight guys who could start on most teams. The Jazz had six, and with Bogey on the shelf that was more like five this past offseason. They need another grown-up or two for their rotation, specifically in the frontcourt and on the wings.

Need a starting 4

Utah doesn’t need another star to turn the corner. They’d take one if one fell into their laps, but a couple of smart upgrades in key rotation roles should be enough. We’ll be speculating in the coming weeks about who they might target for those acquisitions.

need size, D and depth

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/looking-fo...-7-heartbreak/

What we just saw from Mitchell was incredible. So incredible that he has already secured a max extension from the Jazz, per reports.

You really think that wasn't happening anyway?

Count this writer among those who have long believed that Gobert has been the Jazz’s most valuable player, and he remains special in his ability to impact games on the defensive end. But in this series the mantle shifted. Mitchell meteoric run was historic and, more importantly, unstoppable. Denver tried so many things to slow him down, and none of those tactics yielded any sustained success. That makes Mitchell pretty close to an unschemable scorer with the ball in his hands, and that is the hardest type of commodity to obtain in the modern NBA. Yes, he’ll still need help, and teaming with a top-15 impact guy will only make his job easier. But Mitchell has moved into a different stratosphere.

still not convinced he's not sitting at home with Devin Booker without Gobert. We already know Gobert alone makes a team competitive

He still has things he need to clean up. His handle is lose on some of his pet dribble moves — such as when he pushes the ball through a trap or on that pirhouette move that was poked away in Game 7. But as several tweeps pointed out on Tuesday night, there is no reason to believe he won’t use these next few months to hone his craft. He came back after his first offseason with improved defense. After his second offseason, he was a much-improved pull-up shooter. And he returned from this spring’s lengthy stoppage with better passing and pick-and-roll decision making.

defense?

Mitchell’s arrival as a bona fide megastar is enough on its own to justify optimism about Utah eventually finding a way to break through the crowded Western Conference into true contention.

mega star not getting out of first round despite playing with one of the best layers in the league and a supposedly great coach

The Croatian forward authored some of Utah’s most exciting moments in the regular season, and he provided a consistent second scorer while Conley was in and out of the lineup. As Conley ages — he’ll be 33 next month — Bogdanovic may be more important to Utah’s long term. As for right now, Utah is fortunately to have two borderline stars flanking their two superstars. That is a 4-man core that would make a lot of teams extremely jealous, especially if Don sustains his recent leap, Conley comes back more healthy and consistent, and the two Europeans keep doing what they’ve been doing.

The same 4 who lacked size and D all year long. No one is jealous

When the season started, Ingles was supposed to be the pick-and-roll facilitator in the second unit. But he struggled, in large part because Utah would quickly discover they didn’t really have a logical P&R partner for him. Then Conley got hurt and his role changed again. Then they acquired Jordan Clarkson and his role changed again. Then they reorganized the reserve unit and once again they needed different things from Joe. Then Conley came back and his role changed, and finally Bogdanovic’s absence from the bubble dictated yet another adjustment for Joe. Wow.

Bradley and Gobert are good in the ick and roll

O’Neale is a bit more of a specialist than Ingles, but otherwise the two have a similar macro identity: both are consummate glue guys, the type of contributor I’ve always referred to as “role player plus.” They’re better than a generic bench player, and indeed both guys would play starter minutes on the average NBA team. They’re not quite stars, but you still need them to play well to have a chance to beat really good teams.

they play starter minutes on this team as does Clarkson. That's the problem

Last year’s version of the Jazz was undoubtedly deeper, but had less firepower at the top of the roster. Utah’s brass knowingly made the tradeoff to acquire Conley and Bogey even at the expense of the back of their rotation, but they thought they could steady thing with the value signings of Jeff Green and Ed Davis. Those signings, to put it mildly, didn’t work out. Dante Exum didn’t grow like they expected either, and Emmanuel Mudiay is not really a point guard. So they had to reconstruct the back half of the rotation on the fly

Davis didn't make sense when they needed a 4. Expecting anything from Exum! Mudiay was good. I'd rather have him than Clarkson. Ridiculous to have 6 rookies on a team that is supposed to be playing for a title. No excuses

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...oronavirus-nba

“My expectation going forward is that the Millers will fully fund any request that we have regarding player personnel,” Jazz executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said.

The Jazz’s first order of business this offseason will likely be to get rid of Davis’ contract via trade. In doing so, they’ll want to make it so that whatever they bring back in salary is on a non-guaranteed contract that they can waive so it doesn’t count against the cap and they can open up that $5 million that Davis is currently occupying. The Jazz will probably let Mudiay walk if he wants anything more than a minimum contract, and they’ll deal with Brantley and Wright-Foreman in pretty quick fashion by either waiving or signing them to new two-way deals.

good luck getting rid of Davis and it not costing you! Got to bring Brantley back. Rather have Wright Forman and Mudiay than Clarkson

With his contract gone and Clarkson’s cap hold the only one left to worry about, the Jazz agree to a three-year $34 million deal with Clarkson. Since the Jazz have his Bird rights they can stagger each year so that next year’s salary is roughly $10.8 million with 8% increases the next two seasons.

let's hope they are smarter than I think they are and he's gone

After next season it’s very likely the Jazz won’t be able to build a contending team without paying some luxury tax so, even if the Jazz have to splurge a little extra to keep Clarkson around while staying under the apron, they should do it. Utilizing the more valuable exceptions in order to bring in some role players is not something the Jazz will be able to do if they become a luxury tax paying team, so getting them on the books now is a good idea.

wouldn't count on them paying it or contending. Had my hopes up this year and see where that got me again

The starting unit is not the issue with the Jazz. Once Bogdanovic returns from injury and the Jazz have a full season to really go for it, with Conley having more time to gel with everyone, it’s the bench that needs to be beefed up. Keeping Clarkson is the first step there, and getting some more athletic bodies and firepower could do the trick to keep the Jazz in the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

their D sucked and they don't have a starting 4 and are too small

[Xiao Yao You]

Isaac: It’s hard to ignore the last three games but those first four were fantastic. Mitchell showed his ceiling is higher than we imagined, which has me optimistic. Conley was great throughout his time in the series. But I was disappointed in O’Neale and Joe Ingles, two role players who didn’t produce at the levels I usually expect. The Jazz are about where I thought they were, able to compete in the playoffs but not able to go far.

role players playing huge minutes is the problem. 6 rookies no PF no size little D

Mark: Other than health luck, the Jazz bench desperately needs defensive chops. Acquiring Clarkson was a move to simply boost the offense of a bricktastic bench, but the defense still made the Jazz bench a sore, sore weakness. Don’t forget, the Jazz bench defense was a relative strength when Utah had the luxury of keeping defensive stalwart Derrick Favors on the floor as a rim protector. Contending teams typically are able to have star power on the floor at all times, and at the very least the Jazz should make it more difficult to score for those stars than its current iteration.

their starters D sucked as well

Isaac: It would be great if the Jazz could catapult their way into contention the same way the LA teams did, by getting the best players in the league to sign with them in free agency and force trades there. Since neither of those is likely to happen, the Jazz’s most pressing need is the same type of player every team is trying to find: multi-talented wings who can defend multiple positions and are a threat on offense. Luckily, they have the same MLE as many other teams entering free agency and the NBA in its infinite wisdom gave the Jazz the losing tiebreakers for the playoffs and the losing tiebreakers for the upcoming draft. (Sorry, not feeling great about the team right now.)

don't expect immediate help from the draft. The 6 rookies maybe

Trevor: The answer should be obvious that the Jazz’s number one need is length and size, without sacrificing shooting if possible. If they do need to sacrifice shooting, they’ll need to be an elite defensive team once again. The power forward position is screaming for a change for this reason. It’s just really tough to not get killed on the boards with a shooting guard sized player at the power forward position, and it hurts defensively even if that guy is your defensive specialist. The Jazz need to do everything in their power to get Derrick Favors back on the team. It would help Ingles a ton, and that’s basically a guarantee as we have already seen plenty of film on his chemistry with Favors. We also have a good idea that the Jazz can be an elite defensive team with Gobert and Favors sharing the floor. If you couple that with the superstar offensive power of Mitchell, I’d like to see what would happen.

God no on Favors. They finally fixed the offense. Why screw it up again?

Clark: The Jazz need one to two more guys that can play two way ball in the playoffs. One of them should be a wing/guard defender. One of them is Bogdanovic.

Bojan is a two way guy?

Jake: Assuming the Jazz keep Conley and Clarkson, they need to shore up their bench with a solid backup center and an athletic wing that can guard a variety of positions. I don’t think the G League players are there yet. That was pretty apparent over the last few weeks. And like many Jazz fans, I can’t stop thinking about bringing Favors back. He would be a perfect fit.

Definitely think some of the rookies can help. They actually defend! Bradley is fine.

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/staff-scri...-go-from-here/

Kincade Upstill: This post season will be remembered as the time Mitchell exploded. He went from being a border-line All-Star, to the verge of superstardom. His two, fifty point performances in a playoff series were so impressive that only two other players have ever accomplished it, Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson. Game two of the series might have been one of his best performances ever, as he completely controlled every aspect of the entire game. The Disney Bubble will hold a special place in Jazz fans hearts, despite the round one loss, as being the time Mitchell became their next elite franchise player.

they lost

2. Only 12 teams have lost a series after being up 3-1. What one factor most changed the trajectory of the series in Denver’s favor?

they went big. Made adjustments. Snyder didn't

Isaac: Murray going super nova to a degree I doubt he will ever replicate. That is what won Denver games 5 and 6 and once it went to game 7 it was anybody’s series. I also think that the officiating got in Royce O’Neale’s head in game 5 – the Jazz had a solid lead and let up, and Royce was over aggressive to a fault, especially on screens.

Murray will never replicate and Mitchell is superstardom

Clark: There were so many issues that led to the comeback, but I’d say the Jazz’s mental immaturity in not closing out the Nuggets in game 5 was the biggest factor. That’s something you learn and the Jazz aren’t a veteran playoff team yet. They are coming though.

6 rookies no PF and no size and little D

Mark: I think the Jazz offense would have been so unstoppable that they would have either handled Game 1’s business with relative ease — even without Mike Conley — or they would have done enough in Games 5-7 to get one more win. The blowouts would have been arguably worse. Bogdanovic would replace virtually all Georges Niang minutes, relegate Clarkson to a tertiary offensive role, and certainly would have been a more capable than Juwan Morgan at filling in the middle once the Jazz went away from Tony Bradley. Even if just for that fateful last possession — where O’Neale was left completely unguarded in the corner, allowing Jerami Grant to make Mitchell hesitate and turn it over — Bogey in the corner would cause Grant to instead be glued to him to give Mitchell a more decisive opportunity. Alas.

Bojan at the 5

Trevor: Much different. While most people see Bogdanovic as just a lethal three point shooting threat, he is also basically the Utah Jazz’s only post up threat in mismatches. Had Bogdanovic played, the Jazz would have likely targeted Jamal Murray and forced him to battle Bogdanovic in the post quite a bit. That would take a heavy toll on his body and I don’t think he would have put up superstar numbers if he had to play that type of defense. In addition, Mitchell would have been able to take a lot more plays off and save his energy for the stretch runs of games. There is also something to be said about replacing the minutes of end-of-rotation players with a player of Bogdanovic’s caliber.

Niang is a better post up player. Jazz don't post up

Kincade: Bogdanovic would have completely changed the series, giving the Jazz another offensive weapon to help out score the Nuggets. The Nuggets were without two of their better defensive players in Barton and Harris (until game six) and couldn’t stop the Jazz. Imagine how unguardable Jazz offense would have been with Bogdanovic in the mix. The Jazz, without Bogdanovic, were a pretty small team, starting O’Neale as the power forward and he is only 6-foot-4. Even though he isn’t known for his defense, a little more size and length would only have helped the Jazz defense out.

needed more D not less and Bojan gives them less

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/2020/9/1/214...one-year-later

Despite an active offseason, Donovan Mitchell still shoulders the burden of Utah’s offense.

Juwan Morgan. That Fesenko-like surprise in Games 1 and 2 allowed Utah to put forward a bruising defensive identity. When he’s on the floor, Utah’s defensive rating drops to below 90Utah’s success right now rests on Donovan Mitchell’s shoulders. Just his. The offensive help? A slight upgrade over what they had before and as dependable as before. One year later, Donovan Mitchell still has to carry Utah on his own in the playoffs. Win or lose tonight, Utah can’t put Donovan in this situation for the fourth time in four seasons. He can almost do it by himself, but he shouldn’t have to.

Morgan, Brantley, Tucker and Oni all play D. Where were they?

points per 100 possessions. Moving Ingles to the bench and Morgan to the starting lineup could allow Utah the first minutes of the game to disrupt Denver’s flow and prevent them from getting in rhythm. But that still may not be enough to slow down Jamal Murray’s next level scoring.

and yet it was Rudy that once again carried them

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...n-contract-nba

Despite the uncertainty of next season’s salary cap, start date and a lack of big money to be spent by the league no matter how everything pans out, Clarkson’s time with the Jazz will earn him multiple suitors this offseason.

hope to see you elsewhere!

[Xiao Yao You]

https://sircharlesincharge.com/2020/...an-mitchell/2/

Rumors have begun to circulate that Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz plan to agree on a max extension come free agency in mid-October. Any Jazz fan has to be ecstatic that they’ll be seeing Mitchell as the face and leader of the franchise for the indefinite future.

still Rudy's team. Lottery without him

Without Bojan, Mitchell didn’t get a ton of help on the scoring end, with only defensive-minded Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, and sixth man Jordan Clarkson being the key contributing scorers alongside him. Although some of the numbers put up by the supporting cast weren’t terrible, Bojan’s scoring ability exceeds anyone else on the team behind Mitchell and was definitely missed badly during the restart.

Conley was arguably better 2nd option

[Xiao Yao You]

Tony Jones: Sources tell me that if Derrick Favors came back to the Jazz, he knows he wouldn’t be a starter.
– via podbay.fm

That's good anyways long as it's strictly at the 5 though I guess Bradley could camp in the corner while Favors dives to the rim. They have a good cheap option in Bradley anyway. Get a vet to be the 3rd center

[Xiao Yao You]

The bi-annual exception was slated to be $3.8 million, it too will slip as a result of the cap decrease. But it allows the Jazz to add a fringe rotation player to the roster. Boban Marjanovic, Stanley Johnson, and Markieff Morris were among the players added using the bi-annual exception last season around the NBA.

wing/guard

Nigel Williams-Goss, Miye Oni, Juwan Morgan, Georges Niang, and Rayjon Tucker are all under contract for next season, but all are non-guaranteed. The Jazz could waive any of them this offseason to use their roster spots.

you sure none of them are partial?

That extension has the plus of locking in the Jazz’s franchise player for the foreseeable future, but it does come with a downside: tying up cap room that would otherwise be open in the offseason of 2021. Because Mitchell’s cap hold is just $15.9 million, the Jazz might be giving up $12 million or so in cap space that summer. They could use that to improve the team.

need to wait!

Rudy Gobert is also eligible for an extension, his at the supermax level of approximately 5-years, $221 million. But at this point, both parties know that Gobert is worth somewhat less than the supermax — he isn’t going to get that huge number. They could still work out an extension that reflects a lesser but still very real value to the team, at some large percentage of the cap but short of the supermax level. If they don’t work out an extension at some point, Gobert will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021, able to go wherever he pleases.

goodbye playoffs!

Mike Conley also has a choice to make, but it’s a relatively easy one: whether to make $34.5 million in 2020-21 or to become a free agent. Conley’s next contract would be far smaller than that, so he should opt in. Conley can’t be traded until he opts in to next year.

and he Bojan and Ed need to be shopped as well as the non/partial guarantees. Sign and trade of Clarkson if it makes sense. Starting PF/vet 3rd center/vet backup or 3rd pf depending on if Mudiay is back/vet wing or forward. Don't expect much to change though. Sign Clarkson, 1st round pick, and maybe the exceptions.

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2...re-headed-big/

Most mock drafts are still a ways away, but The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony both have the Jazz taking Josh Green, a wing from Arizona, with the No. 23 pick as things stand.

need to look center than pg

The biggest is Jordan Clarkson, who played a huge role off the bench after being acquired in a Christmas Eve deal with the Cavaliers. Now, though, he’s an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. The Jazz have his Bird rights, which means they can offer any amount in order to keep him. But Clarkson also has the right to go anywhere he chooses, and may choose to either stay in Utah or leave. Even if he leaves, the Jazz would have no additional cap room to sign other free agents, so signing Clarkson is going to be a top priority for Utah if he’s willing.

let him go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Backup point guard Emmanuel Mudiay is also a free agent, but because he signed just a one-year deal with the team, they don’t have Bird rights for him. Instead, the Jazz can only sign him to 120% of last year’s minimum contract. Will the Jazz want to do that for the mercurial point guard? Will Mudiay get other offers elsewhere greater than that? We’ll see.

rather have him than Clarkson

Two-way players Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman are also free agents, though both are restricted. That means that the Jazz can match offers for both from other teams if they were to come in. Wright-Foreman hasn’t shown much, and was even sent home for the playoffs so that the Jazz could add another coach. Brantley, though, has a lot of potential thanks to his size, length and skillful versatility, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him come to terms with the Jazz on a deal that makes him a full roster player this season.

Wright Forman was all GLeague the first part of the year. He showed he can score. Rather have him than Clarkson as well

Brantley should be in the mix for the rotation

Beyond that, the Jazz have two mechanisms to add players to the roster via free agency: the mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception. The mid-level exception was supposed to start at $9.7 million, though the cap havoc that the pandemic created means it’ll end up being lower. Still, it represents a valuable chunk of change that the Jazz can use to add a rotation player to the roster. It will be interesting to see what Dennis Lindsey and company consider to be the most pressing need with that MLE: do they go with a big man to back up Rudy Gobert? Do they add a defensive wing player? A guard? Or just the best player that they can sign with that money?

starting PF. Did no one else watch this team play this year with their 6'4" PF?

[Xiao Yao You]

the only serious strike against q is his connection to coach k
so if the jazz fire him, fire him for that

Posted by letter to the Corinthians on Sep 7, 2020 | 8:52 AM

That has certainly been an issue with both Hood and Allen.

When somebody suggests dumping a player, they usually also suggest a player they’d like to see instead and how to go about getting them, not to mention how they think it would improve things.
I think the same level of detail should go into suggesting a coaching change.

Posted by Benjamin A. Sorensen on Sep 7, 2020 | 9:08 AM

Why? Who thought Stevens would be a great coach? College coaches have mostly failed. Lots of people can coach. Quin has been hyped a lot but without Rudy the franchise has sucked including Lindsey as well

Also, the Jazz just didn't have a wing defender who could slow down Murray--other than O'Neale (who was pretty ineffective overall) or Mitchell (whose energy was needed on offense).


Perhaps Oni could have played that role, but there was probably a reason Quin didn’t have enough confidence to play Oni in a playoff game. It was interesting to me that Donovan was the player who was finally able to slow down Murray on the defensive end, but I think that affected his offensive ability by the end of the 4th quarter when he seemed absolutely gassed.
I think the Jazz need at least one more wing defender on this team. Perhaps the Jazz can develop that player from within—in Oni. However, just like good stretch-4 PFs, good wing defenders are very difficult to find, and generally must either be obtained through the draft, or signed in free agency for a lot of money (but even that is difficult, whereas since they are in high demand, they get to pick and choose their team).

Posted by Fesenko for President on Sep 7, 2020 | 9:45 AM

we don't know that that. Tucker, Oni and Brantley have all shown the ability to defend

The biggest thing the article did not say was where the team salary is in relation to the Luxury Tax.
If the numbers don’t change too much it is already BAD. Right now it’s (LT) at $139,000,000.
IF the Jazz use the MLE and B-AE, bring back the same core that are committed and have
the max 15 contracts the total 2020-21 Jazz Payroll will be $143,000,000!!!! That is over the Luxury Tax
This is before any DM or RG extensions. I have a hard time thinking the Jazz FO will want to pay the Luxury tax for the "This" team that is on the books. Something will be done to get the salaries down. What improvements can be done without major changes???
The other topic to consider is how the Western Conference will be stacked and 10-14 teams fighting for 8 spots.

Posted by AdMan59 on Sep 6, 2020 | 9:39 PM

yep. Shop Bojan, Conley and Davis. Let Clarkson go. Shop the non guarantee/partial guarantees Starting pf. Vet backup center. Vet pg either behind Mudiay and Mitchell or behind Mitchell. Maybe one more end of the bench vet. Draft a center, then pg if they get another pick

Well when you don’t like and support nba athletes you settle for Joe ingles and Niang and prospects from Yale. So horrible how Utahs discrimination holds it back from real contention every year.
Then Donovan Mitchell. We sign Conley,Foreman/Clarkson/Nigel Gross/Mudiay/Rajon Tucker/
All smaller and similar to him for what?
I hate watching my Jazz team live this way.

Posted by muLLet astronaut gaNg khef thugn 55 on Sep 7, 2020 | 9:56 AM

I like all those guys. The question is why a team that says they are contending went into the season without a starting 4. Spent their money on a backup 5 instead. Carried 6 rookies that didn't get a chance to play instead of more vets?

[Xiao Yao You]

At what point should we have gotten rid of Sloan for his over-reliance on Stockton and Malone that kept on getting them booted out of the playoffs for fifteen years?
I’ll honestly take that over a coaching carousel like we see in some other franchises.
A more substantial question would be:
If they got rid of Quin, who could they get that would unquestionably do a better job?

Posted by Benjamin A. Sorensen on Sep 6, 2020 | 6:45 PM

Sloan should have been gone the first time he went from 1st to 3rd if not sooner. I think their Gleague coach was better. Maybe Jensen? Lots of people out there that can coach defense. I certainly don't think he's some defensive genius. Rudy made him look like one at times

But I might be in the minority in saying that we should have gotten rid of Sloan earlier than we did. He was very stubborn and old school and still operating on the assumption that you should basically ignore the 3 ball on both ends of the floor. Obviously the 3 ball in 2005-2011 wasn’t what it is now but it was still an important – and growing – part of the game then.
(Also, I love Jerry. So many good memories. Please don’t misinterpret this comment as Jerry hate.)

Posted by J-Note on Sep 6, 2020 | 7:57 PM

one of Jerry's problems sure. Let the other team dictate things. Never kept up with the times. His way or the highway. Had guys that could have helped that he wouldn't let play. Liked to foul!. His best coaching job was when he got away from the flex and built around the players he had.

A lot of the problem with Sloan's teams was that Larry Miller didn't have the resources to put the right players around Stockton and Malone.


Out of financial necessity, the Jazz put together teams on the cheap for most of the careers of Stockton and Malone. Those teams were a lot like this year’s team for the Jazz—2 superstars/all stars, another 4-5 competent starters and/or rotation players, and then a bunch of G-League players. I remember Sloan talking about how the Jazz needed to play with the "next man up" mentality, but that was impossible with a bunch of "stiffs" in the starting lineup and on the bench. It was only when the Jazz got Hornacek and Antoine "Big Dawg" Carr, along with 3 or 4 other competent players that the team was able to get to the finals.

Posted by Fesenko for President on Sep 7, 2020 | 9:34 AM

Miller had the resources. Didn't use them. Carr should have been gone after season 2. Was great for 1 year. Another problem they had was sticking with guys past their usefullness

Who could they get that’s indisputably better? Who would we choose that’s a definite upgrade on Quin Snyder?

Posted by Benjamin A. Sorensen on Sep 6, 2020 | 9:55 PM

anyone? What makes him so great? Without Gobert they have sucked! The hated Corbin did more with less

Also – the minutes Niang was getting? C’mon…

Posted by J-Note on Sep 7, 2020 | 4:15 AM

putting Niang back at the 3 especially. I love George too. He's had no problem playing rookies when they weren't ready before why did he not give those guys a look when defensively they might have made a difference.