Sidney Lowe Talks about Tanking

[Joe Bagadonuts]

After listening to the interview I see two possible scenarios which explains the present situation..

1-There is a huge disconnect between the front office and the coaches. The FO wants them to develop the young players at the expense of wins and losses. The coaches want to win as many games as possible to secure their future in Utah or elsewhere. If this is the case then WHY THE **** IS THE FO LETTING THIS SITUATION LINGER ON???? If you're DL you need to either fire Corbin immediately or extend him for one season and tell him to lose out the the rest of the schedule to secure the BPA in the draft. He will then be judged next season completely on win and losses.

2- The FO is on board with what Corbin is doing. They'll continue to play .500 ball for the rest of the season. Secure a pick in the 8-11 range, overpay to keep Hayward, replace Jefferson and probably Williams with two more service-able veterans. Jazz win 40-44 games next season, miss the playoffs again and we get to argue about whether or not to match on Kanter/Burks.

I fear that you're right. My interest level has plummeted since they began winning after their great (in the pathetic sense) start. I was so excited when they appeared to have strong front office leadership and a long-term plan, but now they just seem to be satisfied with mediocrity. I hope they somehow pull a rabbit out of their hat in next year's draft. If they don't I think my days as a rabid fan of the Jazz are done.

 

[franklin]

https://1280thezone.com/index.php/audio/listen/the_big_show_utah_jazz_assistant_coach_sidney_lowe5?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Audio_UtahJazz+%28Utah+Jazz%2C+1280+The+Zone%29#When:00:39Z

Fast forward to 13:50. Basically he says he understands why fans want them to lose (for a star player in draft), but says that they are coaches. Says that he and Corbin are put in a position where they will be evaluated, and so they need to win and show improvement with the players they have. Etc.

The most interesting thing to me was his acknowledgement of their pending evaluation, and how they are basically putting their own careers ahead of the future of the organization. He quickly masks his comment with an argument of needing to develop and do right by the young players we already have (which is something I totally agree with), but if that were the case, Enes would be playing more than 25 minutes a game (last 10 game average is 22.5), and the core 5 as a starting unit wouldn't be dismissed before it's been tried (that unit has seem the least amount of time together out of all lineups).

You're mad that an individual puts his interests ahead of his corporate bosses?

Your constant assault on the coaching staff has gotten pathetic. I look forward to negging.

 

[franklin]

After listening to the interview I see two possible scenarios which explains the present situation..

1-There is a huge disconnect between the front office and the coaches. The FO wants them to develop the young players at the expense of wins and losses. The coaches want to win as many games as possible to secure their future in Utah or elsewhere. If this is the case then WHY THE **** IS THE FO LETTING THIS SITUATION LINGER ON???? If you're DL you need to either fire Corbin immediately or extend him for one season and tell him to lose out the the rest of the schedule to secure the BPA in the draft. He will then be judged next season completely on win and losses.

2- The FO is on board with what Corbin is doing. They'll continue to play .500 ball for the rest of the season. Secure a pick in the 8-11 range, overpay to keep Hayward, replace Jefferson and probably Williams with two more service-able veterans. Jazz win 40-44 games next season, miss the playoffs again and we get to argue about whether or not to match on Kanter/Burks.

3. The Jazz are winning with the young and there's not much you can do about that. "At the expense of wins and losses" is a false dichotomy set up by fans who haven't the slightest clue how to develop top 400 in the world level talent.

 

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3. The Jazz are winning with the young and there's not much you can do about that. "At the expense of wins and losses" is a false dichotomy set up by fans who haven't the slightest clue how to develop top 400 in the world level talent.

When your major free-agent acquisition is John Lucas III, then you aren't trying to win games. If the FO's vision isn't being realized, then there are things they can do about it.

As for me, I've become worn out with the hype of this draft class. I like that the young guys are getting better, and that the reigns are in their hands. But it sucks that we're playing ourselves into no-man's land. I wish that were different. JL3 FTW!!!

 

[candrew]

3. The Jazz are winning with the young and there's not much you can do about that. "At the expense of wins and losses" is a false dichotomy set up by fans who haven't the slightest clue how to develop top 400 in the world level talent.

That's not a scenario. That's really just you contradicting your 8000 previous posts regarding tanking the season.

 

[sgjazzfan]

I bet Corbin makes less than 1 million per.

I'll coach the Jazz for 2 years at just less than 1 million per and walk away and retire at 34. Then again, I don't have the style needs that Corbin does.

 

[Stifle Tower]

When your major free-agent acquisition is John Lucas III, then you aren't trying to win games. If the FO's vision isn't being realized, then there are things they can do about it.

As for me, I've become worn out with the hype of this draft class. I like that the young guys are getting better, and that the reigns are in their hands. But it sucks that we're playing ourselves into no-man's land. I wish that were different. JL3 FTW!!!

I think this was always the scenario the Jazz FO had expected. Our slow start was due to Burke's injury. Had the Jazz gone out and put together a decent bench, they'd be fighting for the 8th seed. Instead, Lindsey guaranteed Utah would be in the lottery. It was a nice dream about Wiggins, Parker, etc. but that was never a realistic possibility - unless there were significant injuries. The Jazz simply have too much talent compared to the likes of Milwaukee, Orlando, Boston, etc.

The FO is fully on board with what Corbin is doing, namely, the starting five will be anchored by Hayward, Favors, Burke. Kanter and Burks will be the "go-to" players off the bench. Subtract Jefferson and Williams and add the two first-round picks + Neto. That's 8, with an additional big in Gobert and Evans for short stints/fill-in. That really leaves just one rotation spot open, either a starting SF or stretch 4 (whichever one does not come via the draft). I predict Lindsey will add that player either as a FA in the summer or possibly via the trade of RJ, MW or the expirings of Biedrins or Rush - just depends on who is available at the deadline.

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved a Wiggins, Parker or Exum on the team. But all along, I've been predicting a 5-8 pick. Perhaps the Jazz can still add players, for example, like Gordon or Vonleh and then trade up to get a shooter like McDermott.

We should be happy the "core5" are showing decent progress. If the Jazz were in the running with Milwaukee and Orlando, it would have likely meant 2 of those guys were really bad and had to replaced. And that kind of negates a top pick if that player is simply replacing a "bust."

 

[Zulu]

The Tank is Coming!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[8]

Y'all are a bunch of whiny babies. I'm always excited when the Jazz win. Who knows what the future holds if they get the 1st pick or if they get the 10th pick? The answer is no one. Yes, it'd be kinda cool to get the #1 pick, but obviously the Jazz are too good to do so, which is pretty refreshing. The Jazz already got a break in the 'tanking' race when Burke was injured, so they prolly are overachieving in this whole tank thing anyhow.

I don't care to blame the coaches at all. If I was in their position I'd be doing the exact same thing. Have them play hard and try to win every game. Hmm... Seems this was a common call to action in previous years. Now that the Jazz are doing it more consistently (and even on the road) people are complaining. I realize that this year is different than those others because the team is certainly headed to the lottery, but I still find it slightly hypocritical.

 

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Y'all are a bunch of whiny babies. I'm always excited when the Jazz win. Who knows what the future holds if they get the 1st pick or if they get the 10th pick? The answer is no one. Yes, it'd be kinda cool to get the #1 pick, but obviously the Jazz are too good to do so, which is pretty refreshing. The Jazz already got a break in the 'tanking' race when Burke was injured, so they prolly are overachieving in this whole tank thing anyhow.

I don't care to blame the coaches at all. If I was in their position I'd be doing the exact same thing. Have them play hard and try to win every game. Hmm... Seems this was a common call to action in previous years. Now that the Jazz are doing it more consistently (and even on the road) people are complaining. I realize that this year is different than those others because the team is certainly headed to the lottery, but I still find it slightly hypocritical.

one of the worst posts I've read in a while.

there's nothing hypocritical in hoping that previous Jazz teams would win, and hoping this jazz team gets a high draft pick. Wanna know why this isn't hypocritical? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT TEAMS.

This team wasn't designed to make the playoffs. /topic

 

[Stifle Tower]

one of the worst posts I've read in a while.

there's nothing hypocritical in hoping that previous Jazz teams would win, and hoping this jazz team gets a high draft pick. Wanna know why this isn't hypocritical? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT TEAMS.

This team wasn't designed to make the playoffs. /topic

Nor was the team designed to get the #1 pick in the draft. There was NO WAY with talent like Hayward, Favors, Kanter, Burks and Burke the Jazz were ever going to finish with under 20 wins...unless the team had major injuries or a couple of those players were busts. Some of you simply got unrealistic expectations after the Jazz struggled without Burke.

Regardess of whether Burks and Kanter come off the bench or start (and leave Utah with a weaker bench), this team is much stronger than the worst 4-5 teams in the league and probably on par with the next group. The schedule has been a bit easier and then it turns again. Utah will get a pretty good player whether they draft #5 or #10. Jazz have room under the tax, even IF Hayward is retained. DL is likely to sign a decent veteran to start at SF or the stretch-4, depending on who the Jazz draft. The future still looks bright, even without "insert the name of your favorite 2014 college player here."

 

[8]

one of the worst posts I've read in a while.

there's nothing hypocritical in hoping that previous Jazz teams would win, and hoping this jazz team gets a high draft pick. Wanna know why this isn't hypocritical? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT TEAMS.

This team wasn't designed to make the playoffs. /topic

Umm, yes, I seem to recall saying that it was very different in that this team was certainly headed to the lottery. And yes, I did mention that it seems slightly hypocritical, which is a pretty weak statement and most importantly, SUBJECTIVE.

I would be complaining if they weren't playing hard, so it seems the Jazz are making a calculated decision on which set of fans they wouldn't like to upset.