Former Member
Banned
I do want to point out that Greg Miller has gone over the luxury tax far more than his father ever did.
The Utah Jazz have an extremely high payroll for a small market team.
Is anyone else tired of the JAZZ's lack of trying to contend for a ring?
- Thread starter Lakers_Slapper
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I do want to point out that Greg Miller has gone over the luxury tax far more than his father ever did.
The Utah Jazz have an extremely high payroll for a small market team.
addictionary
Well-Known Member
Nope. Jazz looks OK for the future right now. The roster lacks a solid 3 pt'er, already includes athletic players like Burks and Evans (Evans jumps for JB's instead of Kanter the Granite Man-That-No-One-Can-Single-handedly Move-Aside) and the center position will be filled easily filled with solid players in 3-4 years. Chemistry build up will also help this newly created team.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Because of contracts that were put in effect before Larry H died and his refusal to trade AK. Since then, the payroll mess has been unwound, with only 4 players under contract for next season (+ Marvin with a player option).
they do? source?
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Larry H. stated several times that his primary objective was to make money. And the last time I heard him interviewed on the topic, he said the Jazz had operated in the black every year (that was several years before his death). And I don't blame him for that. He saved the franchise, but was certainly not in the realms of the the Allen's, Buss', etc when it came to net worth. Nor did he have the mega netwrok and merchandising revenue that comes to teams in major markets.
Jazz DID try to win championships. When you have Stockton and Malone, you don't completely overhaul your roster, you build around them. Never did a major FA accept the minimum to come to Utah to play for a title. In fact, a couple flat-out refused trades (Harper, Seikaly). What's unfortunate is that in the years the Jazz had a dominant defensive center (Eaton), the league was ruled by Magic vs. Bird. Jazz genereally had terrible SG production, but they kept making trades and drafting prospects until Jeff Malone finally begat Jeff Hornacek. But then Utah had holes at SF and C. Carr and Russell just weren't enough to get by Jordan, his teammates and the refs.
In hindsight, could Larry H have opened up his wallet and acquired a player or two to put the Jazz over the top against Chicago, or gotten Utah past Hakeem in the Jordan-free years? We'll never know. Maybe he tried and those players turned him down.
What I will give the Millers credit for is keeping the team in Utah and trying to always remain competitive. It would have been understandable to just cut payroll after Malone and Stockton left and been content with several losing seasons. It happened to Boston, LA and Chicago. But Larry H allowed KOC to go out and spend big $. First year a couple of teams matched the Jazz' offer sheets. Next season, KOC got Memo and Boozer. Jazz went all the way to the WC finals. Unfortunately, I think that success hid the flaws we refused to fully acknowledge.
Now the team is rebuilding again, yet still remaining competitive. I don't know how many teams can do that. Kudos and thanks to the Millers. Yes, I'd like to see "my" team win a championship. But more importantly, they've kept the team in Utah and the team has been relevant in all but a few seasons.
They stumbled backwards into LT territory because of AK. But they have made amends for it since then
Well for me personally "keeping the team in Utah" is not a big criterion. I mean, they wouldnt be hanging onto this franchise if they didnt think that they will be making money out of it now and then, and just so because they can keep this team in Utah for the sake of the state and the fans. They are not philanthropists that way. And I would have rooted for Sloan/Stock/Malone even if they were the Las Vegas Jazz.
Yes they have done a good job of remaining "competetive" and I have already mentioned that several times in my posts earlier. The question is, are they probabably just happy with that, or do they want to go beyond that at any cost?
2013-2014 will be the year to see if the Jazz are on pace to be a championship team. Utah's young four will hopefully be their Big 4 and they will have tons of free agent cap space. If Utah's model will work, that is the year to really see it. This season is about developing the young guys more, figuring out what future free agents (Millsap, Mo Williams, Jefferson, etc.) fit into the Jazz's future, and getting a Top 6 playoff seed. 2013-14 is when all bets and the gloves are off for this team.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Agree. The Jazz will have some cap space and likely 2 1st-round picks. I see them trying to package both to move up and get an impact player. I also see the Jazz going after 2-3 FA's, which may or may not include Millsap and/or Jefferson. Mo is likely going to re-sign and I predict Marvin will opt in. If all that happens and the Jazz feel like they got a great player in the draft, maybe just minor moves are made in free agency.