Mike Elliott (Head of Medical) Leaves Utah Over Mitchell Dispute

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I actually think the second part might have been why Donovan was originally unhappy. I think they may have misdiagnosed it originally. Again... as you know... total guess. It also may have been jammed/dislocated and not just a sprain.

It all sucks... the hamstring... the ankle... it sucks. Pray we can manage this and be healthy this year.

Teams underreport things all the time at the behest of the player's management (see the thing with Zion recently). A history of foot injuries makes your value drop way more than some sprained ankles. Mitchell probably got frustrated with it because it made him look soft for sitting so long with just an "ankle" injury.

Again, speculation, but knowing what he know about Donovan and how obsessed he is with his brand, I would bet on it.

 

[SteakNEggs]

They didnt blindside the team man. Mitchell got himself cleared through his own medical team that leaked it to the media over the chain of command for clearing that stuff.

I'm not @oneye, but this is Mitchell being extremely power hungry. Elliott was proven right almost immediately and it probably led to Mitchell having a diminished off-season in terms of ability to train at 100%.

I don’t agree with Cy much but he’s spot on here.

 

[enchilada_style]

Juicy


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[NUMBERICA]

I don’t agree with Cy much but he’s spot on here.

Nah. Edging into oneye territory.

There's no valid reason for how the playoffs were handled. They clearly had no actual plan on how to proceed or the stones to see it through, and then compounded the issue by not being transparent with the team, let alone the media/official reports.

The circus of how it played out was inexcusable. I still don't see the utility of sitting Mitchell in playoffs at all. Either Mitchell's injury was serious enough to shut him down for the season, or he could've toughed it out a game earlier. I really think the idea of contextually sitting him *some* games on a team with no depth and wear/injury issues with players that could pick up the slack was silly.

 

[LogGrad98]

I'm not sure honestly. I imagine Conley's hamstring would've still gone out, especially with the heavier load. I also don't think we would've won both games in Memphis.

Yep. Pretty sure his hamstring is made of cotton candy.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Nah. Edging into oneye territory.

There's no valid reason for how the playoffs were handled. They clearly had no actual plan on how to proceed or the stones to see it through, and then compounded the issue by not being transparent with the team, let alone the media/official reports.

The circus of how it played out was inexcusable. I still don't see the utility of sitting Mitchell in playoffs at all. Either Mitchell's injury was serious enough to shut him down for the season, or he could've toughed it out a game earlier. I really think the idea of contextually sitting him *some* games on a team with no depth and wear/injury issues with players that could pick up the slack was silly.

All of this. I also think its fairly clear Elliot was using the stage to his advantage here and wanted it to be a story. I think he knew he was out and it was a bit of a screw you guys. He was likely already leaving.

 

[Jazzman12]

Yet another sign that we have one to three years before all the organizational shake-ups coalesce into a serious rebuild—from players to staff.

This is 100% true and while the thought of it probably sends most Jazz fans into a panic, I’m feeling pretty calm about it.

If 3 years from now, the Quin Snyder led Jazz have failed to reach the Finals with a team structured around Rudy and Donovan, it’s pretty much proof positive that it’s time to try something else.

 

[Jazzman12]

They didnt blindside the team man. Mitchell got himself cleared through his own medical team that leaked it to the media over the chain of command for clearing that stuff.

I'm not @oneye, but this is Mitchell being extremely power hungry. Elliott was proven right almost immediately and it probably led to Mitchell having a diminished off-season in terms of ability to train at 100%.

Wasn’t Donovan actually practicing with the team prior to the Game 1 fiasco?

Going off of memory, it seems like he was absolutely taking part in team practices- which made the Game 1 medical decision all the more perplexing. Kinda hard to push the narrative that Donovan and his team were the puppet masters behind the scenes if Quin and the powers that be felt he was healthy enough to take part in practices prior to the series beginning.

 

[Mongoose]

I have a friend who went to BYU who is a chiropractor and a jazz fan. I bet he'd do it

BYU you say? Seems qualified... How much of his staff can he fill with other BYU alum? We want to have the most diverse white BYU alum staff in the NBA.

 

[gomretat]

Yeah like I said, I get it's part of the price to have a guy like Donovan. Wish it wasnt. I think it's a big reason why the Spurs were so good because they never had a guy who forced those compromises. I accept it though.

Until Kawhi. The new era of superstar is mostly prima donnas. I blame it on LeBron. Oh for the good old days.

 

[framer]

BYU you say? Seems qualified... How much of his staff can he fill with other BYU alum? We want to have the most diverse white BYU alum staff in the NBA.

I mean BYU football player Keenan Ellis was mostly dead on the football field opening day and is possibly playing this next week. Whoever was in charge of putting him back together should get the Jazz job. It seems like all of our injuries take twice as long as they should to recover from.

I kid, kind of. . .

 

[LoPo]

You think Mitchell doesnt have the power to clear himself off the injury report if he presses the right people? Have you see what is being done for him organizationally? Dont kid yourself. This wasnt the Miller's Utah Jazz were things are organized and done with clear power structures.

This is so stupid.

The organization is responsible for listing any potential injury issues from minor to major. Claiming that Donovan forced his name off that list is incredibly inflammatory.

The team cleared him then decided to keep him out. It cost us a game and also Don (and teammates too of course) a little trust in the medical process.

If Don had forced his name off the list (like you are saying) then the team just sat him anyway, there would have been much more drama to the situation than what transpired.

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