Sports Illustrated Sam Amick interviewed Jerry Sloan and their talk is up on the SI site -- you can see it all here. There are a number of interesting points made in it. Our cousins over at Rufus on Fire, the SBN Charlotte Bobcats site, already put their take on the interview here. We're all praying for Cardboard Gerald, and I think the points he focuses on are things I honestly did not think of. As a Bobcats fan they are concerned with Jerry Sloan, not from the point that he's super oldschool and does not tolerate tanking -- but because they fear he has no experience with coaching a rebuilding team. (Yes, it was a pleasant surprise to know that concerns of Bobcat fans aren't the same concerns as Jazz fans)

In the interview with Amick, Jerry dispels that concern succinctly:

SI.com: You spent most of your coaching life going to the arena expecting to win almost every single night. Do you think it would be quite an adjustment to take on a job like Charlotte (which finished with a record-low .106 winning percentage)?

Sloan: You've got to realize that I played on an expansion team in my second year [the 1966-67 Chicago Bulls]. We were supposed to win 10 games. And you deal with a bunch of guys who are willing to work and put in a lot of effort, you never know what can happen. We won 33 games, and I think we were the only expansion team to make the playoffs.

That, to me, was an interesting thing to be involved with. I don't mean to say that [the Bobcats] are an expansion team, but they've struggled some and you never know. Maybe the minds work together and something comes out of it. Maybe they don't. I don't know.

There's more to it than just the challenge, or going to a place bereft of expectations. Jerry talks about his health and how he's feeling great. He talks about the other teams that may or may not be interested in him (the Orlando Magic and possibly Portland Trail Blazers). But most of all, he does talk about being interested in coaching again. Period.

Check out the full interview here. And check out the Bobcats coverage of it here.

Utah Jazz sophomores Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors were both added to the USA Select Team, according to multiple sources (press reports, media members, and players own tweets). Good stuff. It's the right progress for these two 2010 picks.

BREAKING- Derrick Favors and Gordon Hawyard (sic) named to the USA Select Basketball Team

— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) May 14, 2012

Congrats guys, you are huge parts of our futures, and your progress so far in your young careers deserves recognition. Next step -- to be part of USA Basketball's Men's training camp.

Andrei Kirilenko is having a great season, personally, and professionally. The former Utah Jazz All-Star proved that he still as a lot of game left, especially when playing healthy and free flowing basketball. Kirilenko plays with the same motivation on the court, regardless of what jersey he is wearing; and perhaps some observers have underestimated his appreciation and affection for our little team.

This year he is one win away from being at the top of his game again, having lead his CSKA Moscow team to the finals. For his team this year he played 29.6 mpg, and averaged 14.2 ppg (59 2pt%, 40.4 3pt%, 75.8 ft%), 7.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.0 bpg, and 1.4 spg. These are vintage AK numbers. I don't think he was the problem on Utah, just the ever present "communication issues" that would seem to prop up from now and then. (Sound familiar?) When used right he's a weapon. After all, you can't use an actual Ak-47 as a sniper rifle, it's built as an all-purpose tool for, among other things, CQC. And we know from first hand experience that you can't use THE Ak-47 like a Bruce Bowen and in the corner and hit threes defender. He obviously still has a lot of game left, he keeps racking up awards for playing professional ball against other pros.

His latest was his MVP award. He did everything, especially win games.

A few weeks ago it seemed like the New Jersey Nets had Andrei in the bag, I even wrote that it was the case. Apparently that's just not the case yet. Read it and weep, Nets fans. In fact the Chicago Tribune (via Reuters' Zoran Milosavljevic) just posted an interview with AK where he talks more candidly about the facts.

"Having played here as a youngster I found it easy to fit in and adjust to the European game because I've always been a team player and I am happy to trust my team mates and let the game come to me rather than to force the issue."

Still uncertain about his future, Kirilenko faces the same dilemma at the end of the season when the time comes for him to decide which of his two passions to follow.

"I have a huge history with the Utah Jazz and they are a priority for me among the 30 teams competing in the NBA, while CSKA are just as close to my heart in Europe and when the Final Four is over I will weigh my options and make a decision."

Check out the rest of the story here.

I'd love to have AK back. He is a) a better player than the veterans Josh Howard, Raja Bell, and also C.J. Miles. and He is b) more professional than all three of them. And c) he could come off the bench, or start or whatever, and not make a fuss. And those three guys combined to cost $9,090,000 on the salary cap this past season. Andrei should be $1m to $1.5 less than that. Clearly, in a perfect world the Jazz will also see Andrei as a "priority." With how they've brought back a number of guys for second stints (David Benoit, Blue Edwards, Howard Eisley, and now recently Raja Bell), there exists a historical precedence for this.

It's all very unlikely, but a fan can dream. Andrei would give us bench depth, versatility, and the defense and leadership that Raja/Josh did not this year. And again, he shot 40% from three this year.

I love our Utah Jazz fan community, and I wish I did more to participate and share great stories from other websites. It's pretty clear that I love Spencer ( @TheUtahJazzBlog ) and the rest of his crew at TheUtahJazzBlog.com. What I really appreciate is how each of us bloggers bring a certain spin to what we write. Well, spin is the wrong word; I mean we bring our critical tools from outside sports and use it to view the Jazz. As an educator Spencer viewed our play as a series of lessons. I think that's cool, because I look at our team in a more cold, clinical way that rubs people the wrong way. (Insert your own #KGTrashTalk here)

Check out this small excerpt:

"What did we learn about our situation?

First, making the playoffs is a helluva lot better than not making the playoffs. Ask Wesley Matthews who has been tweeting "would you rather" tweets for the past week and a half, "Lion King or Toy Story 3."

Second, We are getting better. We have made progress. We have learned from some of our mistakes.

Third, Gordon Hayward was not scared of the playoffs. I didn’t think he would be, but let’s be honest ,he played a good game in what is usually a bad situation for young players.

Fourth, our situation will get better..." - Spencer, at TheUtahJazzBlog

Please take a look at it, it's a very good read that helps us see our team and our teams' strengths/weaknesses/challenges in a more logical and reasoned way . . . (in comparison to my bombastic statistical onslaughts). You can catch it all here.

Utah Jazz Forward/Center Derrick Favors was recently interviewed. It's a pretty good insight into the young player and his experiences growing up. You can check the interview here in podcast form. (Opens up in new window)

I love this. How can you not?

Via: @GregInUtah twitter account

"Not in the House Larry built!"

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Also the assist for this post goes to @SurlyMae

Steve Luhm wrote a very measured and logical piece about potentially selling the Jazz name to the New Orleans Hornets. Well, they already hung up Pistol Pete Maravich's number in their stadium -- despite him never playing for the Charlotte Hornets -- so I think it is pretty clear that they wouldn't mind having the rest of OUR history to call their own. You can read his piece here.

Do I think that the Jazz should sell their name to New Orleans? I don't think so, but often the ideals of logic are often trumped by the necessity of money. At the very least, the Jazz always have their name, their history, and their pride . . . but I guess for the right price Luhm argues that they could sell that too.

I'm not a fan of the idea. Part of being in sports is to have nonsensical nicknames. Our rec-league hockey team back in undergrad had a team name that I can't even type out without offending people. (Think of a law enforcement cat) The Washington Redskins still exist. Which is offensive. The Los Angeles Lakers will never give their name and history back to the Minnesota region. The Toronto Raptors were named after antagonists in a PG science fiction movie -- despite the Toronto basketball city having it's own historical team name that used to lace them up against the New York Knicks back in the day: the Huskies. (Look it up.)

I like Luhm's piece. I just don't really want the Jazz to sell the name. New Orleans wants it though, and Luhm isn't saying the Jazz should sell it. He's just stating the facts. As a fan I find it funny how we were talking about this on the site a few stories ago too. If the Utah Jazz franchise sells the name, and adopts something that means nothing to me (I grew up a Utah Jazz fan, not a fan of the Utah Bumblebees or Utah Friendly Neighborhoods or something like that) . . . it would be really tough for me.

What do you think?

Today Jerry Sloan is 70 years old. For a guy who seemed to be perpetually getting heated at refs, I think it would be unfair to demand that he still coach at his advanced age. (He does have some peers who still do coach, like Doug Collins, though) I love Jerry Sloan. He was tough, and he demanded toughness. He was not perfect, but you can still be accurate about someone's limitations while still seeing his greatest strengths. A lot of younger Jazz fans grew up with Jerry Sloan being the ONLY coach of the Utah Jazz until Tyrone Corbin got the field promotion last season. I think it is only fitting that Sloan got the head coaching gig with the Jazz from a similar field promotion when Frank Layden felt like he could not relate anymore, in his press conference Frank was talking about how it was a "young man's game" . . . once again looking at the carbon dating on Jerry, it only confirms that it was the right time for him to move on; even if we would never have wanted to let go of him.

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