NBA PM: Is D-Will Leaving Utah?
What Went Wrong?
"This is a little bit tougher than I thought it’d be," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told the media as he officially resigned—along with longtime assistant coach Phil Johnson—on Thursday afternoon.
With tears in his eyes, Sloan thanked the various members of the Jazz family, before getting directly to his point.
"Today’s a new day," Sloan said. "I get this over with, I know I’m going to feel much better."
As sad as Sloan seemed at the beginning of his press conference, he still managed to get a few laughs and was apparently relieved to put this team in his rearview mirror.
And you didn’t need the Hubble Space Telescope to see the cracks in Utah’s façade. I wrote on some of Utah’s most-pressing problems on Jan. 20, following an embarrassing loss to the Nets. Sloan told reporters after the game that his team’s defense suffered from a "lack of effort" and he went on to question whether his players were taking care of themselves off the court.
Whatever the causes, the Jazz were swimming in problems even after their 24-11 start. The pick-and-roll defense was terrible, they ranked in the bottom third in rebounding rate, and the usually reliable offense suddenly began to fail. Did anyone notice that Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap are the team’s most-accurate 3-point shooters?
Making matters worse, the players were reportedly as unhappy as their coach was. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein was told by two sources that star point guard Deron Williams and Sloan had a halftime argument stemming from the former’s refusal to follow the latter’s play calling in Wednesday’s loss to the Bulls.
Yet Sloan denied that player confrontations had any effect on his decision to resign.
"I’ve had confrontation with players since I’ve been in the league," he said. "My energy level is not as high as it used to be."
Jazz CEO Greg Miller went on to say that no player, coach or executive pushed Sloan out.
But as bad as things got in Utah, nobody ever thought it would turn into this.
"Up until 10 minutes ago, we were still trying to talk Jerry and Phil out of leaving," executive vice president Kevin O’Conner said.
Sloan could always coach again in the near future. Detroit, Cleveland, Charlotte, Washington, Minnesota, Sacramento and Houston might all need a new coach this offseason, but it’s more likely that Sloan joins a franchise as an advisor before ultimately deciding when and if he would like to return to the bench.
New Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin thanked Sloan and Johnson and remarked on the "bittersweet moment."
"I will miss these guys a lot," Corbin said. "I want to thank you guys."
"I have no desire for you to fill Jerry’s shoes," former owner Larry Miller’s widow Gail told Corbin. "I want you to stand on his shoulders."
Both O’Conner and Greg Miller stressed that Corbin does not have an "interim" tag associated with his position. He is the head coach of the Utah Jazz.
What to do About Deron?
Sloan’s departure from Utah might as well be a starters pistol, signaling the free agent gold rush of 2012. Sure, we haven’t even hit the 2011 free agent market yet, but 2012′s bonanza is way more interesting: Magic center Dwight Howard, Hornets point guard Chris Paul and, of course, Deron Williams of the Jazz.
So how does today’s news affect the 2012 free agent market?
Sloan had "lost the trust of the team," wrote Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Brian T. Smith. But more importantly, Sloan had lost Williams. According to Smith’s sources, Sloan and Williams had at least three altercations this season and there was a belief within the organization that the star point guard would leave if Sloan didn’t quit.
But Sloan’s exit doesn’t mean Williams will stay around forever. As former Jazz beat writer Ross Siler wrote on his Twitter account, Williams could still be on his way out in Utah.
"Deron’s gone," Siler wrote. "There’s zero percent chance he stays in Utah if his legacy is Jerry’s departure."
If Paul and Howard decide to stay put in 2012—which is likely, depending on how the next collective bargaining agreement turns out—than Williams suddenly becomes the biggest prize on the market.
That means his name will surface before the Feb. 24 trade deadline. He won’t likely be moved, but Jazz fans should take a peak at what Denver’s been dealing with all season, because that’s what next year could look like.
{AUTHOR_BOX}And Speaking of 2012…
Chris Paul is still definitely on the Knicks’ radar, a source told ESPN.com’s Ian O’Conner.
"Go back to the wedding toast," the source said, referring to Paul’s suggestion at Anthony’s wedding that a "big three" could surface in New York that included himself, Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire.
"Nothing’s really changed since that night," the source went on to say. "The feeling is that Carmelo will be here this year, and Paul will be here in 2012."
The Knicks and Nuggets aren’t exactly on the verge of a deal at this moment, so anyone considering ‘Melo to be a forgone conclusion needs to get their head checked. In any case, O’Conner’s piece is a friendly reminder that the Knicks aren’t done shooting for the stars.
Del Negro to Bledsoe: Shoot the Ball
Clippers rookie Eric Bledsoe was struggling. He scored 10 PPG in his first full month in the NBA, but saw a significant drop off in December and January. That’s why coach Vinnie Del Negro sent him a message: shoot it.
"For me, I was just passing up open shots that I wasn’t taking," Bledsoe told HOOPSWORLD. "Coach was getting on me. Instead of taking them, I was trying to pass them. I just need to take the easy and open shots."
The Clippers were without point guard Baron Davis for much of the early portion of the season, which is what allowed Bledsoe to get off to such an impressive start. However, as Davis returned and Eric Gordon went down with an injury, the needs for the Clippers shifted. Los Angeles had their distributor back, but they needed someone who could hit open shots.
"Yeah, I had to change it a little bit, especially with [starting guard] Eric Gordon going out," Bledsoe continued. "We just got to get all the easy shots we can."
Bledsoe is particularly proud to be playing alongside Davis, who he watched with the Hornets when he was growing up in Alabama.
"He was an All-Star, so I watched him play," said Bledsoe, who played with John Wall at Kentucky. "I just treat him like playing with John. He plays unselfishly just like John, he’s always looking for the open man to pass to. I just got to try and knock shots down and get to the open spots. When I’m out there, I just try to feed off of him."
Bledsoe did that on Wednesday, taking 13 field goal attempts in a win over the Knicks. He finished with 16 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds.
Check Out:
The Celtics and Lakers face off on TNT tonight and Ray Allen has a chance to break Reggie Miller’s all-time career 3-point record. Allen is three shy of Miller’s 2,560 career threes. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. and Miller should be calling the game for TNT.
More Twitter: HOOPSWORLD has launched a new Twitter module where we will be releasing more breaking news and insider-type information via Twitter. Make sure you are following all of our guys to insure you are getting the very latest from our team: @stevekylerNBA, @AlexKennedyNBA, @jfleminghoops, @TheRocketGuy, @EricPincus, @joelbrigham, @alexraskin82, @stephenlitel, @TommyBeer and @YannisHW.
NBA Chats: HOOPSWORLD rookie Lang Greene will host his NBA chat tonight at 8pm EST. Lang covers the Atlanta Hawks and the Eastern Conference. Get your questions in early. You can always find the next NBA chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.
Loading ...
