I've had more people call me names, insults, be generally aggressive than on any other sports board in a decade. I've tried to be civil at all times, maybe it hasn't always felt that way, and I sure am a contrarian on many issues.
You long-time Jazz fans have had exciting playoff seasons just recently, with deeply frustrating outcomes of course. Whereas the Finnish contingent - that mainly follows the NBA through Lauri (even if I for example have been watching the league since Reggie Miller dragged the Pacers to the Finals) - has been forced to watch some truly awul teams and basketball. If I never have to hear Zach LaVine's name, I'll die happy.
Lauri's NBA career started with a dude punching a teammate in training camp and breaking his jaw. And the puncher staying with the team. Mike and Kessler were/are the easiest teammates to cheer for in Lauri's whole career, by miles and miles. And of course everything has been clicking both for Lauri and the team. We Finns always being someone's "little brother" in one sport or another loooooove an underdog story. I'd think it's safe to say the Finnish Lauri/NBA fans are much, much more invested in the Jazz than they ever were the Bulls or the Cavs. People aren't following the team only for Lauri and bitching about every single time someone didn't pass to an open Lauri.
But, still, we want to see Lauri in the playoffs sooner rather than later. His teams have on average won something like 25 games. If it's with the Jazz, that's super and means everything went to plan. If not, most won't shed many tears. No-one on this board is crying for Don or Rudy, quite the opposite - it seemed there were loads of people hoping they both get booed on their respective returns to Utah. So, there's no loyalty in this game other than for the jersey from the fans, that's all.
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And the last couple of pages seem in parts a bit strange for a fan base that claims to love Lauri more than anything and be 100 % committed. Not even a 4th option on a decent team. Clearly a worse player than Jaylen Brown, Darius Garland, De'Aaron Fox, Jrue Holiday. Only good because he's in Hardy's system and getting more touches than he could anywhere (despite Lauri being #39 in FGA).
Why would you even want to keep him long-term if he's just barely maybe a top50 player in your opinion?