What's the Status on Burks?

[Bawse Dawg]

My official position:

The Jazz FO is not saying "Burks is perfectly fine and we need him, but let's not play him"

They are also not saying "There's a perfectly legitimate reason why he's not playing that would be in now way detrimental to inform the fans of. But **** the fans man, We hate them and want them to suffer."

So even though it may not be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I'm going to just say that in my opinion the FO's official statement is more or less what is happening.

 

[fishonjazz]

Great read guys.


Quick question: would you rather be mad at the organization on this, or mad at the player?

When the same thing happened with Boozer, he said some stupid stuff and everyone hated him. When this happens with Burks, the organization is the one taking the blame, not the player. I think it is better this way, as now we don't all hate Burks the player. Injuries just take a long time to heal sometimes.

Ya, good take.
And if the injury is taking longer to heal then I'm cool with that. I wish they would just say that though. Instead they have said that the surgery went great and that he is totally healed. Just a fishy situation going on all around

 

[fishonjazz]

I'm going to just say that in my opinion the FO's official statement is more or less what is happening.

So basically Burks is healed and ready to go but we are worried he might get hurt so we aren't playing him.
And you are ok with that. Fine.

If he is out to start the season next year and the official statement from the jazz is that Burks is fine and ready to play but we are worried he might get hurt would you still be ok with that statement too? Or would you have some questions?

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I think it's a medical staff being ultra conservative and then guys like Locke and others pitching it as innovation. I get ramping up slowly and total body recovery is ideal but if the ankle has healed and there are no setbacks (which is what I've seen reported) then part of recovery is actually playing and testing things.

If there are still structural issues and moderate risks that the bone didn't heal as expected then just back off.

 

[Bawse Dawg]

So basically Burks is healed and ready to go but we are worried he might get hurt so we aren't playing him.
And you are ok with that. Fine.

If he is out to start the season next year and the official statement from the jazz is that Burks is fine and ready to play but we are worried he might get hurt would you still be ok with that statement too? Or would you have some questions?

Did you see the rest of my post? You seem to be acting needlessly hostile.

You're position seems no different than mine. Are you collecting signatures for a 'Jazz FO should tell us more' petition?

Otherwise it just seems like you REALLY want me to just say that there is something they are not telling us. And you want to know what it is. Well that's not gonna happen. So whether or not I acknowledge it seems irrelevant. I've told you my stance.

If you are asking if I would be more suspicious that someone would be held out of the opener after a healthy offseason than I am of someone being held out after an injury that took months to heal... Yes, I would be.

 

[fishonjazz]

You're position seems no different than mine.

It is different and that's ok.

Yours is in your post quoted below.

I'm going to just say that in my opinion the FO's official statement is more or less what is happening.

My position is that that the front office has not told us what's happening so how can I say that the "FO's official statement is more or less what is happening."?

I have no idea what's happening so I think it's impossible to agree with what the front office is saying because they are not saying anything.

You seem to think that's ok.
I don't.

 

[Bawse Dawg]

It is different and that's ok.

Yours is in your post quoted below.



My position is that that the front office has not told us what's happening so how can I say that the "FO's official statement is more or less what is happening."?

I have no idea what's happening so I think it's impossible to agree with what the front office is saying because they are not saying anything.

You seem to think that's ok.
I don't.

You just seem so annoyed that they aren't giving the whole story. When it's really not unusual.

Do we have any reason to doubt that the FO wants to win just as much as we do? Do we have any reason to doubt that they are doing what they think is best for Burks and the team as a whole?

Then who cares?

 

[fishonjazz]

You just seem so annoyed that they aren't giving us any story or info at all.

Fixed.
And yes that's true

I don't think it's common though.
Can you give me an example of a jazz player being held out for months after a successful surgery that the player healed from with no real explanation?

I can't

 

[Gameface]

You just seem so annoyed that they aren't giving the whole story. When it's really not unusual.

Do we have any reason to doubt that the FO wants to win just as much as we do? Do we have any reason to doubt that they are doing what they think is best for Burks and the team as a whole?

Then who cares?

We care. It's frustrating. Of course we may not have any right to expect all the information, but that doesn't mean we don't want it. We expected Burks back just after the ASB. We don't know why that didn't happen. We wait another month and he seems no closer to returning now than he did then. We don't understand why and we want to understand why.

I think Fish is expressing his frustration in regard to the situation, and that's okay. I don't think he's hostile to you other than you're telling him he has no reason to be frustrated and he should just get over it. I think there is a reason to be frustrated, but yeah, we should get over it because we don't have any control over it and whatever is going to happen is going to happen.

But I know that if Burks isn't going to play anymore this season I would have liked to know that sooner rather than later. We're getting to the point where it would actually be weird for him to play, so we're getting a little antsy wanting the Jazz organization to just let us know if he will or won't...and it'd be nice to know why.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

The Burks and Favors things are just really weird. Again, if something is structurally wrong then hold him out... if we were at the beginning of the season and it would allow him a better chance at being 100% within the season then hold him out... If you are worried about him pulling or straining something because his whole body isn't 100% (which is the story being told by Locke... and he is really the only one putting stuff out there) then that is stupid. There are only a handful of opportunities left for him to test it in a game this year. Sure there are risks, but it doesn't seem like they are long-term risks.

I also don't think they owe us information, but if they aren't going to put new information out there it is totally fair to question what is going on.

 

[Gameface]

HH brings up a good point. So what if Burks comes back and DOES get hurt? Okay, then he gets an entire offseason to heal. The risk seems small. If he's gonna come back he really ought to come back ASAP, otherwise the usefulness of his return is questionable.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

We care. It's frustrating. Of course we may not have any right to expect all the information, but that doesn't mean we don't want it. We expected Burks back just after the ASB. We don't know why that didn't happen. We wait another month and he seems no closer to returning now than he did then. We don't understand why and we want to understand why.

I think Fish is expressing his frustration in regard to the situation, and that's okay. I don't think he's hostile to you other than you're telling him he has no reason to be frustrated and he should just get over it. I think there is a reason to be frustrated, but yeah, we should get over it because we don't have any control over it and whatever is going to happen is going to happen.

But I know that if Burks isn't going to play anymore this season I would have liked to know that sooner rather than later. We're getting to the point where it would actually be weird for him to play, so we're getting a little antsy wanting the Jazz organization to just let us know if he will or won't...and it'd be nice to know why.

Basically this... D day is coming and I kind of feel like the medical staff knows this and is punting.

 

[homeytennis]

Basically this... D day is coming and I kind of feel like the medical staff knows this and is punting.

I thought the reason Burks had the surgery was to speed the healing process up. I think the surgery slowed it down.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Just wondering where to send flowers for his funeral?

Actually, I thought I read somewhere he's favoring the injured foot still and that puts stress on his other leg. Jazz need him to be balanced before he returns. I'll try to find where I read that.

 

[fishonjazz]

Just wondering where to send flowers for his funeral?

Actually, I thought I read somewhere he's favoring the injured foot still and that puts stress on his other leg. Jazz need him to be balanced before he returns. I'll try to find where I read that.

Well that's some good info!

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

HH brings up a good point. So what if Burks comes back and DOES get hurt? Okay, then he gets an entire offseason to heal. The risk seems small. If he's gonna come back he really ought to come back ASAP, otherwise the usefulness of his return is questionable.

An entire off-season to heal instead of an entire off-season to work on your game is huge, especially when he missed the most of last off-season too.

 

[mellow]

Maybe the FO learned a lesson from that Boozer episode. Maybe less info is more and it's better to have fans angry at the faceless Jazz organization than at a player.

It is such a smart move on many levels. First of all the organization has long term good will capital, so it doesn't impact them much. But it impacts the organization even less again because who can the fans get mad at? Quin is saying he wants Alec back but wants him to behealthy, who can argue with that? Dennis says they want Alec back but they trust the doctors, again who can argue with that?

So now Alec is not a bad guy, plus the team can tell him, "look we stuck our necks out for you because you are part of our family". Maybe that is not a big negotiating point, but it is a big relationship builder, and if they didn't do it it would be a huge problem. Boozer took all the heat and he never considered resigning here.

 

[Getting Traded]

At this point, we should look at the long term. If there's any doubt about his readiness, that there's a chance to re-injure himself, then I think they should shut him down. We're not going to go that far if we make the playoffs anyway. So, why take the risk. Next year is when the cake will be nearly done.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

It is such a smart move on many levels. First of all the organization has long term good will capital, so it doesn't impact them much. But it impacts the organization even less again because who can the fans get mad at? Quin is saying he wants Alec back but wants him to behealthy, who can argue with that? Dennis says they want Alec back but they trust the doctors, again who can argue with that?

So now Alec is not a bad guy, plus the team can tell him, "look we stuck our necks out for you because you are part of our family". Maybe that is not a big negotiating point, but it is a big relationship builder, and if they didn't do it it would be a huge problem. Boozer took all the heat and he never considered resigning here.

I have no clue wtf we are talking about in all this nonsense. If Alec came out and said I don't feel ready... I doubt anyone would be mad. I don't think anyone thinks he's slacking or not committed to the team. We were given a rough timeline and told the surgery was too speed up the process of getting him back. No one has mentioned a setback so we are no approaching do or die time for the current season.

I really don't see this as a good will thought out type of plan. I think he's probably not at 100% strength or balance wise and that they are holding out until he is. Or they are covering their butts and trying to string this out a little longer to shut him down for the season. If he comes back and gets hurt these guys will get the blame... If he doesn't come back these guys are viewed as patient and long term thinkers. There is only downside for them. I few it as minimizing their personal liability... Medical folks do it all the time.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

An entire off-season to heal instead of an entire off-season to work on your game is huge, especially when he missed the most of last off-season too.

Doubt he misses the entire offseason with a strained muscle or something of that variety. That is what I believe they are trying to sell with the getting his body completely right, is that he won't strain a hip or some other soft tissue due to overcompensating. If he had someone land on his legs and sustained a knee injury that would be unrelated to his current injury.

I also think it's important for his offseason progress to get back in a game and start trusting his leg again. Even if only for a few minutes a night. There is a mental aspect that is important.