The point of the opening post seems to be missed by many.
It's not just an issue of the move made yesterday, but rather how the Jazz got to that point at all. And that's by mishandling or interpreting every major issue surrounding the team, the franchise and its future, going back to July.
Letting Boozer go was a big mistake. Likewise, Korver and Wes. The fact that they showed no interest in re-signing any of them is a pointer towards mismanagement that is near-negligent.
From there, they then expected too much from too little; the idea that the Jazz were supposed to contend with all these new players, a lack of post-facilitation or outside shooting, is laughable.
And it's not just the fact that these issues became manifest, but that nothing was done to fix any of them.
I also think that there's a sense of Miller being a hypocritical egomaniac that expects 'good soldier'-like mottos and loyalty while never showing anything of the sort toward his major employees. Going back to Boozer, you can see evidence of emotion clouding judgment; management was angry at Boozer, and never moved beyond that anger. Not only trying to convince the fans, but also themselves, that he was overpaid and irrelevant; that Paul Millsap could fill his role.
At the time, I found it hard to believe that they believed it. But perhaps I gave them too much credit.
Even worse, was whatever the hell went down with Sloan. Yeah, it was likely a big issue with Deron but, more than that, it was management again becoming involved in the worst way. They didn't support Sloan, which led to his leaving, only to then turn on the team's franchise player in less than two weeks?
Really.
Miller can talk about Deron not committing all he wants, but what commitment has he shown to winning, now or in the future?
Just look at the last 3-4 trades this team has made. None of them have been moves to make the team better. And with the team floundering, particularly on shooting, was there any type of move to make a mid-season pickup? You know, similar to what the Mavs or any other *serious* management group does to help propel their team forward?
No. There's a lot of empty PR to, first, stay the course, only to schizophrenically blow the entire team up within weeks when staying the course doesn't lead to an immediate turnaround or at least bankable mediocrity.
For all that complain about Deron -- and I'm one that had *major* problems with him after what went on with Sloan -- this team is still being controlled by an owner. The problem is, that owner cares less far less about winning than the two cornerstones that have been shipped out in the last couple of weeks.
It's amazing, really, how quick and aggressive the Jazz were to ship Williams out. As contrasted to improving the team -- making a major move with, say, Kirilenko's contract years ago -- when they were a piece or two away from real contention. When they had cornerstones that could lead to deep playoff runs.
No, see, then they just sat. And waited, year after year, to see what the Jazz 'had' when 'healthy' or whatever agitprop.
So, evidently, it was easier for Greg Miller to ship Williams out, let Sloan walk, and give the entire fanbase the finger than to make a move on a player like Stojakovic; after all, another signing would just add to payroll.
Better to blow it up than pay even a million more. This is the type of thinking that will kill the franchise.
And it's basically Greg Miller's argument when he says that the organization and Williams were after different things.
