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Extra Insight: Donovan's Power Move Destroyed the Lockeroom

In the same press conference where it was announced that Mike Elliot was let go for personal reasons, Justin Zanek made the declaration that the team, management and *trainer staff* was 100% vaccinated (note that Mike's replacement had not yet been hired so him leaving was very noteworthy) and it was the only team in the league to achieve it (who would be impressed by this personal health status that was currently in the office; maybe a message to players before training camp started?). Zanek also said strongly that Mike Elliot was not let go due to the controversy around Donovan's ankle during the playoffs.
Give it up MT Steve. I said Zanik said "personal reasons". I think vaccination status falls under that. I honestly don't get your lying accusation. He may have been artful with his words but he wasn't lying.
 
Give it up MT Steve. I said Zanik said "personal reasons". I think vaccination status falls under that. I honestly don't get your lying accusation. He may have been artful with his words but he wasn't lying.

... I posted the exact quote from Zanik before. Here's the relevant part: Mike decided he wanted to pursue some other opportunities."

You're just being obtuse at this point.
 
Not sure who it was, but I heard something similar last week on Utah sports radio(it was one of the beat reporters - possibly Andy Larsen, but not 100% certain) - a lot of players loved Mike Elliot and were upset because he was let go. I think one of the players that was specifically mentioned was Joe Ingles who specifically mentioned Elliot when he got injured in relation to his recovery, even though Elliot had already been let go.

I'm not sure how much the locker room toxicity is attributable to Donovan wanting Elliot gone and pissing off teammates who loved the guy, but IMO there is at least a little bit of smoke there...
 
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Not sure who it was, but I heard something similar last week on Utah sports radio(it was one of the beat reporters - possibly Andy Larsen, but not 100% certain) - a lot of players loved Mike Elliot and were upset because he was let go. I think one of the players that was specifically mentioned was Joe Ingles who specifically mentioned Elliot when he got injured in relation to his recovery, even though Elliot had already been let go.

I'm not sure how much the locker room toxicity is attributable to Donovan wanting Elliot gone and pissing off teammates who loved the guy, but IMO there is at least a little bit of smoke there...
Ingles rehabbed with Elliot I believe.

Players' bodies are their career. You **** with that and you piss them off. Donovan got a highly respected trainer fired. He ****ed with everyone's health because of his feelings.
 
Ingles rehabbed with Elliot I believe.

Players' bodies are their career. You **** with that and you piss them off. Donovan got a highly respected trainer fired. He ****ed with everyone's health because of his feelings.
Someone wants to **** with my body, well.... I'm open to it.
 
Not sure who it was, but I heard something similar last week on Utah sports radio(it was one of the beat reporters - possibly Andy Larsen, but not 100% certain) - a lot of players loved Mike Elliot and were upset because he was let go. I think one of the players that was specifically mentioned was Joe Ingles who specifically mentioned Elliot when he got injured in relation to his recovery, even though Elliot had already been let go.

I'm not sure how much the locker room toxicity is attributable to Donovan wanting Elliot gone and pissing off teammates who loved the guy, but IMO there is at least a little bit of smoke there...
It had to contribute to the locker room issue if others like and trusted Elliot. It also brings back up the Tony Jones comment when Joe was traded about Joe being the only person in the locker room who could stand up to Donny. Smith gave Donny the keys and I am not sure he was ready to drive. I really believe some of the locker room issue is on the way Smith handled Donny.
 
It had to contribute to the locker room issue if others like and trusted Elliot. It also brings back up the Tony Jones comment when Joe was traded about Joe being the only person in the locker room who could stand up to Donny. Smith gave Donny the keys and I am not sure he was ready to drive. I really believe some of the locker room issue is on the way Smith handled Donny.
I just think it’s really funny how some fans can hear the organization’s mouthpiece and varnisher of truth, Tony Jones, tell everyone that Donovan Mitchell is someone that requires standing up to and they think we need to build around that garbage.
 
I just think it’s really funny how some fans can hear the organization’s mouthpiece and varnisher of truth, Tony Jones, tell everyone that Donovan Mitchell is someone that requires standing up to and they think we need to build around that garbage.
Tony Jones isn't any kind of trusted source on tangible information. He's good at hinting at feelings, but I don't trust him to be unbiased. He's like a fan with a voice instead of a true news source.

His comment about "Joe is the only one who could tell Don no" could have 100 different connotations - on court, off court, menu, arguments, personality, likes, dislikes, 1 on 1, whole team, locker room, etc etc etc etc etc. Implying that Don got a yes from everybody in the entire organization except for Joe Ingles for everything Don wanted is so incredibly bogus.
 
Tony Jones isn't any kind of trusted source on tangible information. He's good at hinting at feelings, but I don't trust him to be unbiased. He's like a fan with a voice instead of a true news source.

His comment about "Joe is the only one who could tell Don no" could have 100 different connotations - on court, off court, menu, arguments, personality, likes, dislikes, 1 on 1, whole team, locker room, etc etc etc etc etc. Implying that Don got a yes from everybody in the entire organization except for Joe Ingles for everything Don wanted is so incredibly bogus.
Idk, Don's behavior on the court changed dramatically after Joe left. He became a black hole on offense, especially at the end of games where he became the worst clutch player in the league by a mile. No way to know how much was Joe's influence, but it sure is interesting we see a true change on the court after we trade Joe, even when he hadn't been playing for a while due to his injury and the play hadn't really changed that much until he was actually traded. Then the blender stopped, and the end of game melt-downs became not just more frequent but damn near inevitable. If Joe were a solid locker-room presence, for whatever reason, then what we saw on the court sure makes sense in that context when he left.

Point is there is actual tangible documented and data-driven evidence as to a change in the team and DM's play. Now whether it is causation or correlation is fully up to debate, since we weren't in the locker room. But guys like Jones, even if he is just a glorified fan, had access we did not. So even if he is spinning this nicely, it still is pretty damning and fully fits the evidence available to us.
 
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