AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
It will be interesting to see all the fallout from this. Hopefully after the press conference some of the reasons for it will become more clear. It certainly seems that it was not Sloan's choice... everyone's using the word "resign," but it's just spin control for the Jazz management and ownership, I think... they don't want to own up to actually "firing" a legend like Sloan.
I'm pretty down right now. I still believe Sloan is the right coach for this team. We've been through losing streaks before on his watch, and always managed to turn it around. This year has been particularly difficult with the loss of Boozer, the near-total absence of Okur due to numerous injuries, and an infusion of new players who were still trying to learn the Jazz's complex system. Sloan must certainly take some responsibility for the hole we've dug for ourselves this season, but I still tend to think most of it was beyond his control. I'm forced to wonder with this decision, most of all, whether this ever would have happened if Larry were still alive. When push came to shove, Larry was loyal to both his star players and his star coach, almost to a fault. But I've admired the Jazz as an organization for a long time in large part because it historically hasn't made quick reactionary moves to adversity; they've had remarkable consistency from top to bottom, from the management to the coaching staff to the players. They were perhaps the only team in the league where the inmates (players) weren't running the asylum (the team). And now I can't help but feel that the Jazz are beginning to lose their identity, and joining the rest of the NBA's culture of the players claiming all of the glory while deflecting the blame to someone else, whether it be the coach, the GM, or some other teammate. A sad day indeed.
And if Williams is the primary cause here, I've just lost a lot of respect for him. He should know better than anyone that he's benefitted from being in an offensive system that centers so heavily around the PG. Bitter as he may have been that Sloan gave him little time in his rookie year, he has benfitted enormously since then. And Sloan, to his credit, learned from the experience, playing promising rookies to a far greater degree than he had done previously. Williams is undeniably a great player, and I certainly don't want him to leave the team, but this is looking like a troubling instance of a me-first attitude that the Jazz have always sought to avoid and overcome.
Time will tell if this was the right decision. But I can't help but feel right now, at this moment, that this is a mistake. I hope I'm wrong.
I'm pretty down right now. I still believe Sloan is the right coach for this team. We've been through losing streaks before on his watch, and always managed to turn it around. This year has been particularly difficult with the loss of Boozer, the near-total absence of Okur due to numerous injuries, and an infusion of new players who were still trying to learn the Jazz's complex system. Sloan must certainly take some responsibility for the hole we've dug for ourselves this season, but I still tend to think most of it was beyond his control. I'm forced to wonder with this decision, most of all, whether this ever would have happened if Larry were still alive. When push came to shove, Larry was loyal to both his star players and his star coach, almost to a fault. But I've admired the Jazz as an organization for a long time in large part because it historically hasn't made quick reactionary moves to adversity; they've had remarkable consistency from top to bottom, from the management to the coaching staff to the players. They were perhaps the only team in the league where the inmates (players) weren't running the asylum (the team). And now I can't help but feel that the Jazz are beginning to lose their identity, and joining the rest of the NBA's culture of the players claiming all of the glory while deflecting the blame to someone else, whether it be the coach, the GM, or some other teammate. A sad day indeed.
And if Williams is the primary cause here, I've just lost a lot of respect for him. He should know better than anyone that he's benefitted from being in an offensive system that centers so heavily around the PG. Bitter as he may have been that Sloan gave him little time in his rookie year, he has benfitted enormously since then. And Sloan, to his credit, learned from the experience, playing promising rookies to a far greater degree than he had done previously. Williams is undeniably a great player, and I certainly don't want him to leave the team, but this is looking like a troubling instance of a me-first attitude that the Jazz have always sought to avoid and overcome.
Time will tell if this was the right decision. But I can't help but feel right now, at this moment, that this is a mistake. I hope I'm wrong.
