***Official new head coach search thread*** (merged)
- Thread starter Beantown
- Start date
I agree, green. The Jazz have the athletes to run but for some reason they chose to slow it down. I would be fine with Longabardi. However, I am more intrigued with Blatt and Messina.
Fishsticks
Banned
Landing 5 possibly has consequences here as well. While there is all star material at 5 in this draft, we are out of range of a super star. Could sway someone who was considering us to look at other options.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
No coaches have been beating down our doors. Kerr wasn't waiting on us, SVG didn't consider us. I doubt the #5 vs. the #3 makes any kind of difference. A superstar coach isn't going to land in Utah. Whether it's Boylen, Longabardi, Messina or whomever, they'll agree to coach for a reasonable contract.
Sean
Well-Known Member
Don't kid yourself. It'll make a difference. It might not be the deciding factor for a guy like Boylen or Longabardi - but I'd wager it could sour Messina or Blatt on coming here.
So, no, it won't impact whether the Jazz get a superstar coach, but it should impact whether they get a coach who's somewhat in demand. Boylen would have been an option, even if the Jazz dropped, because he doesn't have many options to make the leap to the head job. Messina and Blatt, though, can probably wait things out a bit now. I'd be surprised if either two are really interested in the Jazz.
My guess is it's still Boylen. Jazz could have, though, made the case intriguing for someone like Fred Hoiberg or Lionel Hollins, had they moved into the top-two. With the fifth pick, neither is going to give Utah any serious look - and who can blame 'em?
You really think Messina or Blatt getting the chance to double or possibly triple their annual salary would turn the Jazz down because they have the #5 vs #3 pick? I don't.
fishonjazz
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jazz are not the only nba team looking for a new coach though
green
Well-Known Member
The good news is there aren't any markets looking for a coach that are more attractive than Utah right now....*snicker*
Agreed. #5 is still decent. If we had gotten #7 - #8, I think it's when it starts to have an effect.
Sean
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. That chance just doesn't begin and end with Utah. It may force 'em to wait another season overseas, but a market will open up that offers them a better opportunity than anything the Jazz have right now. Let's be honest, even with a top-three pick, Utah is still one of the worst NBA markets out there. If you're a coach, that does factor into your decision because, at the end of the day, you're going to sink and swim based on the talent you can draw to the team. That's the beauty of the NBA draft - outside rare instances where a player refuses, whomever you draft is going to be playing - it's not really all that optional.
Plus, no one actually knows if Blatt or Messina are even interested in the Jazz job. We hear Utah might be interested in both - but there is nothing, beyond that butchered quote by Messina, that proves this isn't just all one-sided.
Every little boost helps - and grabbing a top-two pick almost assures the team of grabbing a game-changing player that has the workings to be a superstar. That's not to say you can't get it with the 5th pick, but it's not near the sure-thing, it would seem, as Parker and Wiggins. That right there is going to be of interest to any potential coach who's eyeing a team that has, since 2010, pretty much been mediocre at its best.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
You have a 26-win team with solid, but not spectacular talent. Adding not a superstar, but an all-star quality player at #5. And another solid backup at #23. GM has said the Jazz have a MAX slot available even after giving a substantial raise to Hayward. He restates today that the team has $30M in salary space.
26 wins: ABSOLUTELY zero risk. Just about anyone out there could get the team to 35 wins. And there's the upside of possible COY if you can take the team to 45+ with the picks, internal improvement and likely a FA addition at SF. You get your foot in the door, sign a 3-yr deal, and step away into a better job after that if you want. All you've got to do is improve a team that is adding talent and gaining experience. If you can't do that, you don't deserve to be a head coach.
26 wins: ABSOLUTELY zero risk. Just about anyone out there could get the team to 35 wins. And there's the upside of possible COY if you can take the team to 45+ with the picks, internal improvement and likely a FA addition at SF. You get your foot in the door, sign a 3-yr deal, and step away into a better job after that if you want. All you've got to do is improve a team that is adding talent and gaining experience. If you can't do that, you don't deserve to be a head coach.
Sean
Well-Known Member
You pretty much just reinforced my point - a coach coming in here is going to have to overachieve in his first couple seasons just to get the ball rolling - especially in the competitive west. What you just outlined is a franchise with uncertain prospects and, at least right now, a fairly low ceiling. It's going to take, most likely multiple years to establish anything of note - and that's without having the luxury of a superstar. Frankly, I'd be begging to take the Cleveland job right about now. Utah? They'll get a decent assistant, probably Boylen, but could have gotten someone better. Then we've got to hope Boylen actually works out (I don't think he will).