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Tony Jones No Longer Covers Utah Jazz

I only read Tony and Andy articles about the Jazz. This is a huge blow for the Jazz community but can't be more happy for Tony to be closer to family. Much love from the one of the last forums out there.
 
Y'all remember Eric Woodyard? I think he was the Desert News person (for like maybe 2 or 3 seasons) before they hired Sarah Todd (he works for ESPN covering the Detroit Lions now). He was honestly the best writer that's ever covered the Jazz.

I think Andy is the best at doing tough questions/critical reporting.

Tony was the best at delivering credible rumors/giving you an idea how the FO is thinking (and podcast appearances).

I dont have anything against Sarah Todd, I think she's fine. I just dont really ever find myself looking for her work. Nothing about her work has stood out to me as being particularly strong. Seems more like a well-rounded beat reporter.
 
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Tony Jones said:
Since some know about this, I feel I have to say something. But, yes. I am no longer covering the Jazz on a day-to-day basis, and, yes, I have moved out of the market, as of two weeks ago. I relocated to Philadelphia, where I will cover the 76ers, beginning this season.

A couple of things. I haven't said anything on twitter or other forms of social media yet, because I haven't been given the go ahead by my bosses at The Athletic. So, please don't share this note, especially on twitter or instagram. I will anounce there when given the green light. Secondly, this is very bittersweet for me. I am excited to cover the Sixers, because they will be one of the biggest storyline teams in the league this season. I am excited to move back to Philly, mainly because I will be close to my mother, who is now 71 years old, and other family. But, I am very sad to leave Utah. I legit saw myself living in Salt Lake for the remainder of my life. I loved living here that much.

The Athletic approached me two years ago and asked if I wanted to move to Philly. I said that I would rather stay in Utah. That's why I was given the Denver Nuggets responsibility, along with the Jazz. Utah had simply become a market where readership fluctuated with the success of the team. And once the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert/Quin Snyder era ended, it also in effect ended a lot of the readership. The Mountain region beat worked, but the Sixers needed a fulltime writer. Last summer, the company asked me again. Once a company asks you something twice, it's probably no longer an ask. So, I agreed. That's also why you saw me covering a bit of the Sixers last season. I was integrating.

Moving to Salt Lake changed my life. I covered high schools, Utah State, Utah football and basketball, and then the Jazz for the last 10 years. I will miss the city, the state, the region. I'll miss the pickup basketball out here. I've already found a few games in Philadelphia. But, most of all, I will miss the fanbase that I wrote for and the players that I covered and forged working relationships with. I'm sad that my days in Utah are over, but I'm so happy that it happened in the first place.

I look forward with still remaining a member of this board, and engaging. I thank you, because you have made me a better reporter. Even through occasional disagreement. So I appreciate that this board keeps it 100 and kept me accountable with my work. Love, peace and blessings to all of you.
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Thanks Tony. I'm sure your work will get more eyes in Philly. Good luck with everything.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Y'all remember Eric Woodyard? I think he was the Desert News person (for like maybe 2 or 3 seasons) before they hired Sarah Todd (he works for ESPN covering the Detroit Lions now). He was honestly the best writer that's ever covered the Jazz.

I think Andy is the best at doing tough questions/critical reporting.

Tony was the best at delivering credible rumors/giving you an idea how the FO is thinking (and podcast appearances).

I dont have anything against Sarah Todd, I think she's fine. I just dont really ever find myself looking for her work. Nothing about her work has stood out to me as being particularly strong. Seems more like a well-rounded beat reporter.
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Eric was good and was a much more unique style. I think he went on to cover football or something somewhere with ESPN, at least from here, but could be wrong on that. He should be on a larger stage to have more things to choose from on "beyond the sport" type coverage.
 
@Tony Jones Thank you for your hard work, insights, and for being a bridge between players, the front office, and fans like no one else has. All the best in your next adventure. Godspeed.
 
Tony Jones said:
Since some know about this, I feel I have to say something. But, yes. I am no longer covering the Jazz on a day-to-day basis, and, yes, I have moved out of the market, as of two weeks ago. I relocated to Philadelphia, where I will cover the 76ers, beginning this season.

A couple of things. I haven't said anything on twitter or other forms of social media yet, because I haven't been given the go ahead by my bosses at The Athletic. So, please don't share this note, especially on twitter or instagram. I will anounce there when given the green light. Secondly, this is very bittersweet for me. I am excited to cover the Sixers, because they will be one of the biggest storyline teams in the league this season. I am excited to move back to Philly, mainly because I will be close to my mother, who is now 71 years old, and other family. But, I am very sad to leave Utah. I legit saw myself living in Salt Lake for the remainder of my life. I loved living here that much.

The Athletic approached me two years ago and asked if I wanted to move to Philly. I said that I would rather stay in Utah. That's why I was given the Denver Nuggets responsibility, along with the Jazz. Utah had simply become a market where readership fluctuated with the success of the team. And once the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert/Quin Snyder era ended, it also in effect ended a lot of the readership. The Mountain region beat worked, but the Sixers needed a fulltime writer. Last summer, the company asked me again. Once a company asks you something twice, it's probably no longer an ask. So, I agreed. That's also why you saw me covering a bit of the Sixers last season. I was integrating.

Moving to Salt Lake changed my life. I covered high schools, Utah State, Utah football and basketball, and then the Jazz for the last 10 years. I will miss the city, the state, the region. I'll miss the pickup basketball out here. I've already found a few games in Philadelphia. But, most of all, I will miss the fanbase that I wrote for and the players that I covered and forged working relationships with. I'm sad that my days in Utah are over, but I'm so happy that it happened in the first place.

I look forward with still remaining a member of this board, and engaging. I thank you, because you have made me a better reporter. Even through occasional disagreement. So I appreciate that this board keeps it 100 and kept me accountable with my work. Love, peace and blessings to all of you.
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I am not super active here, or on twitter in terms of posting, but I've greatly appreciated your work for a long time. I have a lot of respect for your insights on basketball and your resistance to speculation about what the Jazz were doing - I always knew that if you were putting something out there, it was reliably true. On twitter I enjoy it all, between the basketball reporting, Washington Commandos fan tweets, rap album recommendations, and even the fantasy football griping.

Good luck with the move! I will miss your reporting on the Jazz, but now I know who to go to for anything on the 76ers.
 
I know that I will be downvoted. However, certain things deserve to be said. Tony Jones as the Jazz reporter was pretty forgettable. He had no unique, interesting style of delivery and no particularly interesting basketball insights. I have never felt the urge to specifically search for his content and have no lasting memories of any of his articles. There are sports journalists on the national level who are different. And even in SLC there are Lock and Monson who are way more memorable.

Now, I am not saying that Tony was a bad reporter in any way: just your regular, replacement-level beat writer. And it is not an easy achievement to become an average sports reporter: it takes a lot of time and effort to become average in such a competitive field. But I hope that in Philadelphia Tony manages to become someone a level above. He has everything to be that special basketball guy.

Good luck to you, Tony.
 
Tony Jones said:
Since some know about this, I feel I have to say something. But, yes. I am no longer covering the Jazz on a day-to-day basis, and, yes, I have moved out of the market, as of two weeks ago. I relocated to Philadelphia, where I will cover the 76ers, beginning this season.

A couple of things. I haven't said anything on twitter or other forms of social media yet, because I haven't been given the go ahead by my bosses at The Athletic. So, please don't share this note, especially on twitter or instagram. I will anounce there when given the green light. Secondly, this is very bittersweet for me. I am excited to cover the Sixers, because they will be one of the biggest storyline teams in the league this season. I am excited to move back to Philly, mainly because I will be close to my mother, who is now 71 years old, and other family. But, I am very sad to leave Utah. I legit saw myself living in Salt Lake for the remainder of my life. I loved living here that much.

The Athletic approached me two years ago and asked if I wanted to move to Philly. I said that I would rather stay in Utah. That's why I was given the Denver Nuggets responsibility, along with the Jazz. Utah had simply become a market where readership fluctuated with the success of the team. And once the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert/Quin Snyder era ended, it also in effect ended a lot of the readership. The Mountain region beat worked, but the Sixers needed a fulltime writer. Last summer, the company asked me again. Once a company asks you something twice, it's probably no longer an ask. So, I agreed. That's also why you saw me covering a bit of the Sixers last season. I was integrating.

Moving to Salt Lake changed my life. I covered high schools, Utah State, Utah football and basketball, and then the Jazz for the last 10 years. I will miss the city, the state, the region. I'll miss the pickup basketball out here. I've already found a few games in Philadelphia. But, most of all, I will miss the fanbase that I wrote for and the players that I covered and forged working relationships with. I'm sad that my days in Utah are over, but I'm so happy that it happened in the first place.

I look forward with still remaining a member of this board, and engaging. I thank you, because you have made me a better reporter. Even through occasional disagreement. So I appreciate that this board keeps it 100 and kept me accountable with my work. Love, peace and blessings to all of you.
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wow. what a great post. thanks for sharing and good luck in philly! don't be a stranger to JF
 
I watched Jones, go unhinged, on a beta dude in a South Jordan gym about 8 years ago. It totally changed how I look at him as a person, especially one I don't know who writes for the Jazz.

No one is the same person they were 8 years ago, but it was something that stuck with me. I don't even remember what the guy did to piss him off, but he was a easy target to bully and petty af. He was pushing balling back then, age wise, so I doubt he's still playing. He seemed/was a nice dude except for that. Totally changed my opinion on him.

He was nice to me, but that gym was toxic af.
 
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Archie Moses said:
I watched Jones, go unhinged, on a beta dude in a South Jordan gym about 8 years ago. It totally changed how I look at him as a person, especially one I don't know who writes for the Jazz.

No one is the same person they were 8 years ago, but it was something that stuck with me. I don't even remember what the guy did to piss him off, but he was a easy target to bully and petty af. He was pushing balling back then, age wise, so I doubt he's still playing. He seemed/was a nice dude except for that. Totally changed my opinion on him.

He was nice to me, but that gym was toxic af.
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Tony still plays
 
I always enjoyed Tony, but he blocked me on Twitter for merely disagreeing with him. Legitimately didn’t say anything rude, just disagreed and explained why. Always had good intel, but super soft and gets into Twitter fights frequently, and then deletes everything. Odd behavior.

Good luck in Philly.
 
RandyForRubio said:
I always enjoyed Tony, but he blocked me on Twitter for merely disagreeing with him. Legitimately didn’t say anything rude, just disagreed and explained why. Always had good intel, but super soft and gets into Twitter fights frequently, and then deletes everything. Odd behavior.

Good luck in Philly.
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He is going to be blocking a lot of Philly fans. They a different breed over there
 
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