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Millers sell the Jazz

Let me state the obvious Larry Miller saved the NBA in Utah. I had season tickets back then and it was on life support. Come on they were playing home games in Vegas .
Larry being homegrown also mattered significantly as he would never sell or move in his tenure.
I see the franchise as a low chance to ever relocate. They survived all these years not being a preferred free agent destination . Would have to be a Pistons or Tampa Bay like drop in fan attendance for a few seasons to really make that viable.
 
green said:
I agree. Billionaires are not good people. Sure, once they get there they can change, but to get there...it's statistically impossible. And sacrifices have to be made. And this idea that billionaires will just start giving money away or don't care about getting more money...it's false. You don't become a billionaire by giving money away and you don't become a billionaire without pinching every penny that walks by you. They care. Didn't Gates used to send out notices to the other billionaires in the top 10 every year reminding them of where they ranked? They care. They joke about it. They want to be #1. They aren't like you and I, which is why they get there and we don't.
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I don't know Billionaires... but I don't love the sentiment that the wealthy lie, cheat, and steal to get where they are. I imagine it is a lot like politicians though and its hard to stay "clean" the higher you go up the ladder.

I have personally helped many clients funded by Gates Grants that go to causes with no possible economic benefit to his companies... they are all about serving third world countries and issues they have with clean water and issues similar to that. So I don't think all of these guys are consumed with getting and keeping every last dime (I know he gets to write it off but still there is a net cost for him).

I think many wealthy folks are likely the power hungry guys that took advantage here or there... I don't agree with painting with broad strokes and saying they are all bad people or all greedy. I've known some extremely generous and fair wealthy folks... maybe they are the exceptions.
 
cowhide said:
My only concern is does he understand the NBA business and is he going to be an owner who let's his people do their jobs or is he going to micromanage like the owner from the Kings. I am glad he is a fan but sometimes that is not a good thing. lol.
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Oh fo sho... remember when Vivek wanted to play 4 on 5 and have a cherry picker or when he crowd sourced the draft and took Stauskas... or when he hired and fired 12 coaches and ended up with Luke Walton...

It can be bad... if he hires D-Will to be GM to hang out with one of his old heros we will be in trouble.
 
NUMBERICA said:
Sorry, had to stop there. Having a billion dollars in wealth is grotesque. Point blank, full stop. It should be the privilege of any person with such fortune to give away enough that they don’t maintain (or grow) such wealth for themselves.

I understand teams are worth billions these days and my criticism of their owners is implicit in the argument. Considering the excess that most people criticize professional sports with, it sits fine with me. Players shouldn’t be making hundreds of millions of dollars, and the only way that is fair is if owners also make less profit and have less wealth. The money that grows the league comes from people, and it is increasingly freezing out people that don’t have (or shouldn’t spend) the money from going to games or even having cable packages necessary to legally watch games. Why do they need more, any of them?

There has to be a point where wealth should be overwhelmingly seen as ****ed up. Just one billion for a person is well-beyond what is even remotely sensible or sensical, especially given the exponentiating plight of the planet and the people that inhabit it, and the subsequent necessity to do something meaningful to address it.

But sure, Bill Gates does good things with his money.
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I'm just not sure what you'd like them to do. Does them building a business have to come at the expense of everyone else? Are there others that benefit from it? I get that it is absurd and they should find more ways to give back but at what level is acceptable? Can they keep $100M? That's still absurd.

They build a company are they just supposed to shut it down because it gets big and brings them a ton of wealth? What are they supposed to do with their time? What if it is something they enjoy?

I get that the excess is crazy, but I don't think it makes them a bad person or mentally flawed. My personal view is that money provides utility and there is a point for me where more money doesn't provide any meaningful benefit... so I'd likely shut down and do stuff I like... at least I think I would. My number is likely much lower than many but maybe that is why I'll never get there.

You are probably right and we should all be more altruistic.
 
I'm not buying the fact he'll sell the team just to make some more money. The guy could live anywhere in the world, but he chooses to live n Utah. He must like it there. Why would he throw away all the goodwill of living in a place he likes to make more money that he doesn't need?

I mean, if you say this:

"I grew up watching the Jazz. This is the team I cheered for. I played Junior Jazz. I dreamed of playing for the Jazz, and that didn't work out. But as I was sitting there this week in the Junior Jazz program you guys started, with hundreds of kids running around, the legacy you've created is untouchable. We're all incredibly grateful for that. The Jazz are a gift to this whole community, and that's how we view it. That's 100 percent how we view this."

And then sell the team, that's some pro wrestling level heel stuff there.
 
Nate505 said:
I'm not buying the fact he'll sell the team just to make some more money. The guy could live anywhere in the world, but he chooses to live n Utah. He must like it there. Why would he throw away all the goodwill of living in a place he likes to make more money that he doesn't need?

I mean, if you say this:

"I grew up watching the Jazz. This is the team I cheered for. I played Junior Jazz. I dreamed of playing for the Jazz, and that didn't work out. But as I was sitting there this week in the Junior Jazz program you guys started, with hundreds of kids running around, the legacy you've created is untouchable. We're all incredibly grateful for that. The Jazz are a gift to this whole community, and that's how we view it. That's 100 percent how we view this."

And then sell the team, that's some pro wrestling level heel stuff there.
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His wife has a successful dance studio business as well. Their roots are here... so they move the team and would almost certainly need to move because everyone in Utah would hate they ***. I could just see my wife being pissed at me for making everyone at her studio hate her.

He built billion dollar company here... he likely thinks he can increase the value of the franchise without moving.
 
Ryan's wife also "would not let him explore opportunities (to own teams) outside of Utah".

Having been married for 15 years I feel comforted by the fact that his wife seems to want to stay here.

I will make a declaration now... This team will not be moved under Ryan Smith's ownership. If he needed to do it he would sell it to someone else and let them move it.
 
One small prediction... we buy a second round pick this year as a sign for everyone to point to how committed Ryan is to the program. A "he's putting his money where his mouth is" type of gesture that DL and Locke can go on and on about.
 
Sad day for Jazz Nation. The Millers, And Gail specifically was great owners. The new guy seems like a fan from here so he probably will be hands on and firing people left and right and making a types of trades and turn this glorified franchise into a basement dweller with no stability.
So let's all hope he stays in background and hires a great bball mind to do his thinking. Just the thought of the Jazz owner trying to be like Cuban and be hands on scares me.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
One small prediction... we buy a second round pick this year as a sign for everyone to point to how committed Ryan is to the program. A "he's putting his money where his mouth is" type of gesture that DL and Locke can go on and on about.
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That be a waste of money since most 2nd rounders don't make it. Also who cares that it makes the fans see he cares. Is the goal of this franchise to win a chip or just satisfied the fans by making a types of senseless trades?
 
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