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The Downbeat #1932: The Great Frank Layden

Frank Layden was recognized as 2016's Distinguished Utahn.

By Mychal Lowman
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Frank Layden was recognized as 2016's Distinguished Utahn. What a great honor for a great coach.

Moni had some great transcripts of Frank Layden.  He had something in reference to what fans really pay for.

I think it’s important that you go [to games] and you have a good time, but we’re buying hope and we don’t want to spend more money, all right, if we’re gonna pay the coaches millions of dollars, and that is gonna come back to me and how much money I have to spend to see the Jazz or see the Utes or whatever it is.

I want results. I buy hope, and that’s what they’re selling. They’re selling hope. How about the Jazz? It’s not like the Jazz — are we happy to make the playoffs? We fired that, what’s his name, a couple of years ago. Tyrone [Corbin] — and we haven’t moved up. We’re in the same spot. You know, it’s unbelievable, you know?

While I know what he's referring to the Utah Jazz are in a much different position than what they were in with the Tyrone Corbin coached teams.  Corbin did not have the buy in from those teams.  He had the trust of a few players but the locker room was lukewarm on his coaching style and leadership.  Development of the younger players was not a high priority of his until it was forced upon him in 2014 when the Utah Jazz did not re-sign Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.  The team is in a better position with a higher ceiling.

What I do agree with is what fans buy.  Fans buy hope. Fans buy happiness.  Why buy tickets to a game that will frustrate you?  Why buy tickets to something that doesn't make you happy?  But that doesn't mean it has to be a championship team.  Is the team bringing hope?  Do they make you happy?

Some teams will make people happier than others.  Personally my favorite Utah Jazz team was the transition team right after Karl Malone and John Stockton and before Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.  I absolutely loved the Andrei Kirilenko team with Raul Lopez, Raja Bell, and Ostertag.  It was a complete hodgepodge of a team but they were scrappy.  They played with heart.  They embodied the Utah Jazz culture more so than any other team.

Gary Woeful seems to think Thon Maker could sneak into the 1st round of the NBA Draft.  Not only sneak into the 1st round but into the lottery.  The first spot he could go might surprise you.

"I think he could go as high 12,’’ a Western Conference scouting director said of Maker. "I got him between 12 and 18.’’


Added an Eastern Conference assistant general manager: "I think he goes from 15 on down to 21 or so.’’

As crazy as it sounds, is it out of the realm of possibilities Maker could go even higher than what those NBA officials project?

Maybe.
If Thon Maker is thought to possibly go as high as #12 that would seem to point to the Utah Jazz targeting the High School big man.  Taking Thon Maker this early would be a huge risk.  This might be Utah's smokescreen to get a team who is higher on the big man to reach up to trade with Utah for it. Thon Maker might be targeted by Utah for when Utah inevitably trades back when they use their pick to find a veteran to fill their bench.

It appears Shelvin Mack is becoming an RSL fan.

Soccer flow ⚽⚽⚽⚽@Realsaltlake

A photo posted by Shelvin Mack (@shell859) on

If you could sum up last season in one picture what would it be?  I ask this because I found a picture that perfectly sums up how I felt about last season.

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