FanPost

Response to Yucca's FO Thank You

I started just trying to respond to Yucca's well though out post on why he is happy with the FO.

http://www.slcdunk.com/2013/9/22/4757996/my-thanks-to-the-jazz-front-office

I started expressing my disagreements and it go too long for a comment, so I decided to post my thoughts.

As many of you know I am one who has seldom agreed with this blogs view on things. I had no problem enjoying and seeing the best in the Al/Sap Jazz era. I also really enjoyed the Memo, Boozer, Deron days, and still love to think about the glory days. I don't just love the Jazz though. I love the game. I love the league. I love looking at teams and players and the way they work. I try to see what makes some great and what makes some so bad. I believe these are the greatest athletes in the world and I love watching them play what I view as the best game in the world. But I look at things very different than many fans on this site including the best writer, in my opinion, on this site, Yucca. I'm not saying I'm right and you are wrong on this, I just don't see things the same.

First off I don't think the Jazz FO is being courageous. I think they are taking what is viewed popularly as the only way to become a contender. The thought that so many have that, "You have to bottom out before you can reach the top" is garbage to me. Does it help? It could, but it might not. I know some Jazz fans have been begging for the team to do this since the Deron trade, but I would argue that they wanted to try to fight until there was a draft that would turn the odds more in their favor. I don't think it is by chance that the Jazz are going into full blown rebuild mode in the same year that projects to be the best draft since LeBron & Co. in '03. If you think it is an accident that this is a year we are in position to have a high lottery pick than you haven't been paying attention.

That said I don't share Yucca's optimism for this season, not because our guys aren't good, but because the FO didn't put them in position to succeed this year. We could have still turned the ball over to the young fellas and still given them solid support, rather than just expiring contracts and a career 3rd stringer. Our 2 best bench players are both coming off of major injuries and it isn't clear when either of them will be ready to contribute. I think Yucca's win total is high because everyone in the organization is saying publicly that we aren't judging things this year by wins and losses. You don't send that message out there if you are planning on winning. If you don't plan on winning in this league, you don't win. Heck the Lakers planned on winning a lot last year and they still only won 2 games more than us.

It is a risky move to do what the Jazz are doing this year. To turn the team over to 5 young guys and see what happens. It is exciting, but the long term effects could be risky. People always talk about the "treadmill of mediocrity" and fail to mention that the harder thing to overcome is the lottery stink. I know OKC did it, but more haven't than have.

Yucca's post said, "I didn't feel like the team's decisions matched what great teams do." when talking about the Jazz for the last few years, but now he feels we are moving the right way. Well do you know what strategy good teams don't do?Play for the lottery. I found that sentence ironic because what good teams don't do is what the Jazz are doing. The strategy that the Jazz are implementing is what the Kings have been doing since the exit of C-Webb, It is what the Clippers did for 30 years, it is what the Bobcats did after making the 2010 playoffs and getting swept. Teams that feel like they aren't in position to be in title contention that didn't want to be stuck in mediocrity, ended up stuck in the lottery. Good teams stuck in mediocrity found ways to get back into contention.

I would rather be a team like the Pacers that went into mediocrity. When other teams make the courageous decision to stop measuring things by wins and loses and went to the bottom, the Pacers added players with late lottery picks and second rounders. They added solid players through FA and basically told the rest of the league "you guys go bottom out. We will try to build a team." They were within 2 seconds of the finals last year. That was the courageous decision, keep pressing forward, not playing the lottery. You know there are rich people in this world that won the lottery and there are self made millionaires. I know which I think is more courageous.

Last point. Yucca made fun of people that said be glad we aren't the Bobcats, well we are following their plan. They made the playoffs and got swept out of the first round. Rather than try to build that team up they desided to be bold, as Yucca puts it, and blew that team up. They weren't title contenders and they didn't want to get stuck in "mediocrity" so they stopped judging things by wins and losses and decided to devlop their young guys. 4 years ago they were a playoff team, now they are a punchline with a lot of lottery picks that have had tons of playing time and not any success. During that same season the Pacers were 32-50. The 32 win team decided to build off of what they had, the 44 win team didn't want to be stuck being mediocre. The team that didn't want to be mediocre just over paid Al Jefferson hoping he can get them back to mediocre and to build from there. The team who continued to play for wins is a serious contender for the title.


All that said if we win the lottery and Wiggins is as good as advertised I will be happier than a kid a Disneyland.

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.