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Mike Elliott (Head of Medical) Leaves Utah Over Mitchell Dispute

MT Steve said:
I'm not sure honestly. I imagine Conley's hamstring would've still gone out, especially with the heavier load. I also don't think we would've won both games in Memphis.
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Yep. Pretty sure his hamstring is made of cotton candy.
 
NUMBERICA said:
Nah. Edging into oneye territory.

There's no valid reason for how the playoffs were handled. They clearly had no actual plan on how to proceed or the stones to see it through, and then compounded the issue by not being transparent with the team, let alone the media/official reports.

The circus of how it played out was inexcusable. I still don't see the utility of sitting Mitchell in playoffs at all. Either Mitchell's injury was serious enough to shut him down for the season, or he could've toughed it out a game earlier. I really think the idea of contextually sitting him *some* games on a team with no depth and wear/injury issues with players that could pick up the slack was silly.
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All of this. I also think its fairly clear Elliot was using the stage to his advantage here and wanted it to be a story. I think he knew he was out and it was a bit of a screw you guys. He was likely already leaving.
 
FAILED STATE said:
Yet another sign that we have one to three years before all the organizational shake-ups coalesce into a serious rebuild—from players to staff.
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This is 100% true and while the thought of it probably sends most Jazz fans into a panic, I’m feeling pretty calm about it.

If 3 years from now, the Quin Snyder led Jazz have failed to reach the Finals with a team structured around Rudy and Donovan, it’s pretty much proof positive that it’s time to try something else.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
They didnt blindside the team man. Mitchell got himself cleared through his own medical team that leaked it to the media over the chain of command for clearing that stuff.

I'm not @oneye, but this is Mitchell being extremely power hungry. Elliott was proven right almost immediately and it probably led to Mitchell having a diminished off-season in terms of ability to train at 100%.
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Wasn’t Donovan actually practicing with the team prior to the Game 1 fiasco?

Going off of memory, it seems like he was absolutely taking part in team practices- which made the Game 1 medical decision all the more perplexing. Kinda hard to push the narrative that Donovan and his team were the puppet masters behind the scenes if Quin and the powers that be felt he was healthy enough to take part in practices prior to the series beginning.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Yeah like I said, I get it's part of the price to have a guy like Donovan. Wish it wasnt. I think it's a big reason why the Spurs were so good because they never had a guy who forced those compromises. I accept it though.
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Until Kawhi. The new era of superstar is mostly prima donnas. I blame it on LeBron. Oh for the good old days.
 
Mongoose said:
BYU you say? Seems qualified... How much of his staff can he fill with other BYU alum? We want to have the most diverse white BYU alum staff in the NBA.
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I mean BYU football player Keenan Ellis was mostly dead on the football field opening day and is possibly playing this next week. Whoever was in charge of putting him back together should get the Jazz job. It seems like all of our injuries take twice as long as they should to recover from.

I kid, kind of. . .
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
You think Mitchell doesnt have the power to clear himself off the injury report if he presses the right people? Have you see what is being done for him organizationally? Dont kid yourself. This wasnt the Miller's Utah Jazz were things are organized and done with clear power structures.
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This is so stupid.

The organization is responsible for listing any potential injury issues from minor to major. Claiming that Donovan forced his name off that list is incredibly inflammatory.

The team cleared him then decided to keep him out. It cost us a game and also Don (and teammates too of course) a little trust in the medical process.

If Don had forced his name off the list (like you are saying) then the team just sat him anyway, there would have been much more drama to the situation than what transpired.

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Handlogten's Heros said:
Its also a scenario where Donovan may know its never going to be perfect so its time to go even if it is not going to be great.

Even if its just Donovan's team that clears him Mike can still put him on the report... can still tell management that he won't clear him if he doesn't feel great about it... the players can plan appropriately. If he's in the dark and has the final call he can always say "not so fast guys". The messaging after was that everyone was blindsided.
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Great post

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I suspect he was originally going to be on the report, and Donovan saw it and said, "Nah, I'm good to go" and his crew all agreed and whatever inter they spoke with who was in charge of delivering the list scratched him off without getting confirmation.

Nothing nefarious or anything, just bad communication and wishful thinking.
 
Jazzman12 said:
Wasn’t Donovan actually practicing with the team prior to the Game 1 fiasco?

Going off of memory, it seems like he was absolutely taking part in team practices- which made the Game 1 medical decision all the more perplexing. Kinda hard to push the narrative that Donovan and his team were the puppet masters behind the scenes if Quin and the powers that be felt he was healthy enough to take part in practices prior to the series beginning.
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Yep

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gandalfe said:
I suspect he was originally going to be on the report, and Donovan saw it and said, "Nah, I'm good to go" and his crew all agreed and whatever inter they spoke with who was in charge of delivering the list scratched him off without getting confirmation.

Nothing nefarious or anything, just bad communication and wishful thinking.
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I mean for someone to not confirm that would be pretty bad seeing as you can be fined to high heaven for not disclosing stuff. Gambling is big money and they want no BS. Aint like some intern is just writing this stuff on a whiteboard.
 
gomretat said:
Until Kawhi. The new era of superstar is mostly prima donnas. I blame it on LeBron. Oh for the good old days.
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Didn't the training staff tell MJ to sit the flu game out because he had a fever and was supposedly sick as a dog?

All player power situations stem from Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Nobody can argue otherwise.

Punch a teammate - gets team to cover it up

Want more money than the salary cap - NBA allows it

Want to play even through you have the flu - go ahead

Don't like how the Pistons play you - complain until refs change their stance

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Handlogten's Heros said:
I mean for someone to not confirm that would be pretty bad seeing as you can be fined to high heaven for not disclosing stuff. Gambling is big money and they want no BS. Aint like some intern is just writing this stuff on a whiteboard.
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Just think: It was very obvious there were separate camps forming in the FO with how much upheaval has happened. There was a lot of "old guard" from the Miller days from way back who just got axed. I dont think this stuff is coincidental. My guess is Donovan and his medical team talked to the right people (the ones who are still here) and got his name off the list. Then the medical staff saw it, and then they spoke to the old guard and got it changed back. Ultimately the old guard included Dennis Lindsey and so they had final say, plus Quin (according to Andy Larsen) had great respect for Elliott. Then Game 2 happens and the highest up (Ryan Smith) pressed the "I own all of you, do what I say" button.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Just think: It was very obvious there were separate camps forming in the FO with how much upheaval has happened. There was a lot of "old guard" from the Miller days from way back who just got axed. I dont think this stuff is coincidental. My guess is Donovan and his medical team talked to the right people (the ones who are still here) and got his name off the list. Then the medical staff saw it, and then they spoke to the old guard and got it changed back. Ultimately the old guard included Dennis Lindsey and so they had final say, plus Quin (according to Andy Larsen) had great respect for Elliott. Then Game 2 happens and the highest up (Ryan Smith) pressed the "I own all of you, do what I say" button.
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I think the Ryan part happened for sure... The rest could have just as easily been... Mike hasn't worked with Donovan because he is didn't like the treatment program. Mike didn't include Donovan on an injury report because he hadn't had a chance to evaluate him. Mike evaluates him and decides he will not clear him. Mike does not care because he just spent 2-4 weeks semi-feuding with Donovan and his trainers. Mike likely knows he is leaving one way or another the following year... so Mike does not communicate to anyone that he has not cleared him and is the one with final authority. He doesn't let them know there is a real chance he may not clear him... he might even say "if I had been working with him the whole time I'd be more comfortable clearing him but as it stands I can't". The front office and team get smacked upside the head because they didn't think this would happen and Mike wasn't walking around announcing to everyone that "hey I may not clear this guy" somewhat intentionally. It all comes crashing down... Mike says "sure Ryan you can have him play but I am putting it in writing that I think he shouldn't".

Mike is protected from exposure if Donovan gets reinjured... the bond with the team star was already broken so he was going to leave one way or another. Whether he believes it or not he gets to stand on the side of "better safe than sorry". His ego is stroked a bit after having it damaged when a player went to another medical/rehab team.

Donovan may have been being a diva and searching for a yes man... but he has more at stake by playing hurt than a trainer does in clearing him. A trainer making a scene and not clearing a guy in a window that makes planning possible is also some diva ****... whether he had valid concerns or not.

There are many possibilities. Was donovan shopping for a diagnosis or treatment plan he liked better... yup probably. Was Mike pissy that a player wasn't listening to him... yup probably. We know Mike is respected but he also could be an egomaniacal *******... I know two doctors personally @infection and my brother in law and both are arrogant schmucks.
 
Don’s probably the least likable guy on the team. He is for me at least. And it’s really not even close. Maybe Whiteside will take that crown idk.
 
Wes Mantooth said:
Don’s probably the least likable guy on the team. He is for me at least. And it’s really not even close. Maybe Whiteside will take that crown idk.
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I think that says more about you than Don. I don't know if he will stay past his current contract or not, but the guy has a gut full of fire to win, and win here. He is involved in our communities. I don't think bad of him because he actively creates and promotes his brand, I think that also brings attention and tv's to our team. He is a superstar and a pretty good guy, but more than that I think he plays pretty good team ball and cares about the fans here.

He's not Hayward. We don't need to assume he's leaving the first chance he gets. We need to take the good he brings and build on it.

At the same time we need to learn from the Hayward experience. If he leaves, he leaves. As long as he's up front about it and doesn't lie about it and leave a bomb behind like Hayward, then if he does leave I won't boo him when he comes back. I'll probably cheer for him, but not nearly as much as for our team.

Saying that, I really hope he doesn't leave. If he ends up being a lifer, he could own this state. If he, Gobert and crew bring in even 1 title that will be a fact.
 
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