Saw this in the SLTrib, when asked if he would look into bringing Neto over:
"More than likely, no," Lindsey said.
The Jazz selected Neto in the second round of last June’s draft, but he is under contract to Lagun Aro GBC in Spain.
Lindsey says the cost involved in getting Neto to Utah this season is not the "prominent issue."
Instead, it’s a case of the Jazz not wanting to raid the Spanish team and lure away "one of their more important players. ... They don’t see themselves as a training ground for the NBA."
I take exception with his statement that "they don't see themselves as a training ground for the NBA". That's fine. I don't either. This is business, not a charity. If he wanted to come back and say that the cost would be too high, that's an argument I get. Club sports in Europe is far different than here. Contracts be bought, traded, etc, team to team and league to league. It's how business is done over there.
I know Lindsey knows how business is done over there. This tells me that they either don't want the cost (fine), don't want to ruffle feathers with Spanish teams (if there is a business argument for this, then fine... perhaps the league is putting that pressure on us), or that they just don't think he's ready for this step (fine).
But to say that we don't want to take a player away from them because he is a star in their league and we don't want them to feel like our training ground? No. If they want to hire someone away from the NBA, let them do it. It's business.
"More than likely, no," Lindsey said.
The Jazz selected Neto in the second round of last June’s draft, but he is under contract to Lagun Aro GBC in Spain.
Lindsey says the cost involved in getting Neto to Utah this season is not the "prominent issue."
Instead, it’s a case of the Jazz not wanting to raid the Spanish team and lure away "one of their more important players. ... They don’t see themselves as a training ground for the NBA."
I take exception with his statement that "they don't see themselves as a training ground for the NBA". That's fine. I don't either. This is business, not a charity. If he wanted to come back and say that the cost would be too high, that's an argument I get. Club sports in Europe is far different than here. Contracts be bought, traded, etc, team to team and league to league. It's how business is done over there.
I know Lindsey knows how business is done over there. This tells me that they either don't want the cost (fine), don't want to ruffle feathers with Spanish teams (if there is a business argument for this, then fine... perhaps the league is putting that pressure on us), or that they just don't think he's ready for this step (fine).
But to say that we don't want to take a player away from them because he is a star in their league and we don't want them to feel like our training ground? No. If they want to hire someone away from the NBA, let them do it. It's business.