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Jazz Close To Hiring a New Asst Coach -- It's Michael Sanders

nightmare3983

nightmare3983

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RT@tribjazz: Jazz are on the verge of hiring an assistant coach to replace Scott Layden, SL Trib has learned. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey confirmed a hire is near but said nothing is official.
Lindsey said coach Corbin led the search process, & Lindsey fully supported Corbin's decision & list of candidates.
Brad Jones' name has come up multiple times as potential candidate for open Jazz assistant job. Ties to Lindsey with Spurs' D-League team.

I'll also note that Brad Jones used to coach the Utah Flash and is Jerry Sloan's nephew by marriage.
 
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Brad Jones would be a little.....underwhelming. Shame on whoever started us at the high of Eric Musselman. Not saying I have any clue on whether Jones would actually be a good coach or not....I don't.
 
At first I thought it odd the Jazz might offer the job to Brad Jones, because he was "fired" as head coach of the Flash. But I looked it up. He apparently was let go with no input from Jazz management.

"The Utah Flash, Orem-based NBA Development League of the Jazz, announced Saturday that they've decided against offering a new contract to head coach Brad Jones.The firing was solely the decision of the Flash, and the Jazz had no input into it."

And then Jones landed with the Spurs' D-League team the following season so both KOC and Lindsey are familiar with his body of work and coaching ability. Jones was successful with the Flash and with the Toros. If I had to place a bet, I'd put it on Jones getting the job. And it wouldn't be a bad choice at all.
 
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MoTown16 said:
At first I thought it odd the Jazz might offer the job to Brad Jones, because he was "fired" as head coach of the Flash. But I looked it up. He apparently was let go with no input from Jazz management.

"The Utah Flash, Orem-based NBA Development League of the Jazz, announced Saturday that they've decided against offering a new contract to head coach Brad Jones.The firing was solely the decision of the Flash, and the Jazz had no input into it."

And then Jones landed with the Spurs' D-League team the following season so both KOC and Lindsey are familiar with his body of work and coaching ability. If I had to place a bet, I'd put it on Jones getting the job. And it wouldn't be a bad choice at all.
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Given the tweet and the fact that Jones is known by KOC and Lindsey, he would seem to be the front-runner.
 
But... why was he fired? He should have been able to keep a DLeague job if he was NBA caliber. I get that he'd be good because he uses the Jazz system, and maybe the Flash wanted to use a different system, but still.....
 
cctrackstar said:
But... why was he fired? He should have been able to keep a DLeague job if he was NBA caliber. I get that he'd be good because he uses the Jazz system, and maybe the Flash wanted to use a different system, but still.....
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I think the fact that he stared coaching the Austin Toros just a couple of months after being let go by the Flash show that he's a good coach.
 
cctrackstar said:
But... why was he fired? He should have been able to keep a DLeague job if he was NBA caliber. I get that he'd be good because he uses the Jazz system, and maybe the Flash wanted to use a different system, but still.....
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Probably wanted a raise. The Flash were on their last legs and were cutting corners to survive. Jones had led the team to the D-League playoffs 2 out of 3 years, including a trip to the "Finals." No reason was given, but I'm sure they brought in a rookie HC at the minimum salary.

There could have been other reasons behind it, likely an internal struggle between the Jazz and the Flash. If the coaching change was indeed made without even consulting their NBA affiliate, that to me says there were problems.

That Jones was then picked up by the SA Spurs' organization is good enough for me. The previous Toros coach, Quin Snyder, moved up to the NBA opening up the position for Jones. This really is no big deal. The third assistant probably carries the clip board, makes sure the ball racks are full and puts together scouting reports. Maybe even stays in the gym until guys like Murphy and Carroll are finished taking extra shots. There's no line of succession. He doesn't necessarily move up in seniority when the other three guys die or retire.
 
Jazz normally do a good job with assistant coaches, but then again we were spoiled with a former NBA coach of the year being our assistant forever.
 
all signs point to jones. i'm ok with that, he's apparently pretty good at working with young guys and helping kids develop.

also, let's remember that the flash was practically being owned and run by a teenager who thought it would be cool to own a basketball team with his daddy's money. i don't think the jazz were ever happy with how that team was managed.
 
jones' credentials / career timeline:

- four year member of lambuth university basketball team, and the school's male athlete of the year as a senior.
- head coach at lambuth from 1995-2001, won two mid-south conference titles and two COY award in his league.
- coached five consecutive 20+ win seasons and lambuth and took them to the first NCAA tourney appearance in school history.
- became a jazz scout in 2001.
- in 2007, was hired to be the head coach of the flash, where he compiled an 84-66 record over three seasons and made the playoffs twice.
- after being let go from the flash, took over the toros, where he won a d-league title in his second season.
- has a master's degree in health & phys ed, and for a while held the lambuth school record for 3 pointers.
 
theNBAnerd said:
jones' credentials / career timeline:

- four year member of lambuth university basketball team, and the school's male athlete of the year as a senior.
- head coach at lambuth from 1995-2001, won two mid-south conference titles and two COY award in his league.
- coached five consecutive 20+ win seasons and lambuth and took them to the first NCAA tourney appearance in school history.
- became a jazz scout in 2001.
- in 2007, was hired to be the head coach of the flash, where he compiled an 84-66 record over three seasons and made the playoffs twice.
- after being let go from the flash, took over the toros, where he won a d-league title in his second season.
- has a master's degree in health & phys ed, and for a while held the lambuth school record for 3 pointers.
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missed this one:

- along with randy livingston, was selected as a "court coach" for USA basketball's training camp in preparation for the 2011 pan am games.
 
IMHO either Jones or Livingston would be a good choice. Both know the game and both know the Jazz system. The one thing that Livingston could bring to the table is that he ran the triangle as a player under current Utes Coach K.
 
Ok, I can't find it anywhere, does anyone know how old Brad Jones is? Basically I'm trying to see if he's an upcoming young talent or an experienced vet coach.
 
cctrackstar said:
Ok, I can't find it anywhere, does anyone know how old Brad Jones is? Basically I'm trying to see if he's an upcoming young talent or an experienced vet coach.
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graduated from college in 1990. if we assume he was 22 then, he's 44-ish now.

what i'd love to know is what position he played. livingston is a nice choice and all, but i'd prefer someone who can provide a little more specific coaching to the bigs. we haven't had a "big man" AC since corbin was promoted. not that corbin was a low post nightmare in his playing days either, but that was the specific assignment he took on in terms of preparing the players before a game. it just seems odd to have a former PG (liv) or a former SG (horny) sitting down with the bigs at shootaround and telling them, "here's what you need to do when guarding duncan in the post..."
 
cctrackstar said:
Ok, I can't find it anywhere, does anyone know how old Brad Jones is? Basically I'm trying to see if he's an upcoming young talent or an experienced vet coach.
Click to expand...

and in terms of the experience question...

6 years as a college coach in a small conference
6 years as a pro scout
5 years as a d-league coach

so not exactly a veteran of the pro coaching ranks, but someone who has definitely paid his dues and put in his time.
 
Just a random note to add to what theNBAnerd has awesomely dug up, Brad Jones played for and coached at Lambuth University, which ceased operations in 2011. It was acquired by the University of Memphis and is now simply known as the Lambuth campus of the University of Memphis.
 
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