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Sloan is smarter than us all.
Posted by: KCJones on February 11th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.I still don’t know completely what to think about Sloan’s abrupt mid-season retirement.
Some throw the blame on Deron Williams 100%.
Some clamor to hold Deron Williams blameless.
I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. There were clashes between Sloan and Williams. Both Williams and Sloan admitted such in their interviews yesterday. Yet both also acknowledged that it wasn’t anything more than usual. Raja Bell acknowledged clashes between them, yet also said that he’s seen worse tiffs between players and coaches. Everyone in the organization from top to bottom expressed that Jerry was not forced out by anyone.
My own emotions as a fan have been up and down over this. I admit, I felt a pang of ill-will towards Deron when I first heard reports of halftime clashes, plays not being run like Jerry drew up. D-Will’s recent veiled comments about running the same plays, not watching film, not improving as a team, Jerry not listening to his suggestions all came to my mind. It appeared for a moment that perhaps Deron WAS behind this. Honestly, that scared me. Not letting players bully them into things (cough…Boozer…cough) was something I loved about the Jazz organization, and I feared the results of caving to the whims of entitled players (see 2011 Cleveland Cavaliers).
At the same time, I thought about my recent comments/criticisms on working Al Jefferson in. I suggested that perhaps the system needed to adjust to AL’s talent and skills instead of expecting him to completely change his game to fit the system. I’m sure Deron and some of the other players felt the same way about the inflexibility of Jerry’s system.
In the end, I think it came down to Jerry doing what Jerry did, and the players weren’t responding to his coaching like he required for his system to work. And, being 68 years old, he just didn’t have the energy to continue to fight that battle to get them back to buying in. And in Sloan’s mind, that meant he wasn’t working at Head Coach position anymore, and that meant it was time for him to step down.
After a day of thinking and listening to the press conference interviews, reading speculation and accusations, and Deron’s response, I came to the conclusion that Jerry may be smarter than us all. He recognized what was going on, and actually made the best decision for everyone involved. Jerry had a few more years coaching in him at best, and he made the tough decision based on what he knew of himself, his team, and the organization, again holding the group well-being above his own ego.
I respect Sloan, I admire him, and I am sad to see him go. I thank him for all the great memories over the years. The way he left, so abruptly mid-season is not how I feel it should have been, but it was on his terms. And, like he said many times yesterday, we need to look forward, move forward. And I think Sloan’s decision to take himself out of it is going to open the door for some needed change. I think a younger, more energetic, smart coach in Tyrone Corbin is going to make some changes for the better.
And out of my disbelief, anger, sadness and acceptance that Jerry won’t be on the sidelines anymore, I am starting to feel something new: Hope.
And as for Deron, he has the passion, skill and desire to win. He may have had different ideas about how to get those wins than Sloan. But he’s our man, our backbone and our future and we need to back him going forward.
Go Jazz!
Replies: 11
Views: 497
11 Responses
Excellent Post. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I have nothing but respect for Sloan AND Johnson. Thanks for such great years………………….. Does anyone know whothe new assistant coaches are?
Words from a wise man KC…… even if i’m not sure if i can accept a player who decide by himself to change his coach tactics, too many lack of respect for the essence of the game to me……
Amazing post well said!!! Go jazz
I’m suffering from a bad case of “foot-in-mouth” syndrome right now over my last post but I will say this: I 100% agree with your post. After allowing myself to calm down over night I see there were a lot of things that went into this decision. I think you’re right when you say he made his decision with the best interest of EVERYONE involved. I no longer believe he was forced out by anyone. He wants this franchise to be successful with all his heart and believes they have a better shot without him now. He gave us 23 great years and we’ll never be able to thank him enough for what he’s done. Thanks again Jerry! Thank you for all the great memories that will stick with me the rest of my life. A new era begins tonight, hopefully one that’s as successful as the last. GO JAZZ!!!
This post was a little of me removing my own foot from my own mouth as well, AG. I’m looking forward to the new Corbin/D-Will era.
There’s no shame guys. Anyone who speculated that Deron may have done this, is only being honest. Everyone wondered. Also it was a shock to everyone. Now we’re good, and we pull together! GO TEAM!
Of course everyone speculated. I had my doubts before the press conference, but they were all wiped away afterwords.
Make sure to let D-Will know we support him by cheering for him louder than ever before tonight.
10 years ago, had this clash stuff happened, sloan would have stayed, the man is 68 years old, he doesn’t have the energy.
Awesome post, and I enjoy the honesty from everyone. I don’t think there was a single Jazz, myself included, who didn’t initially think something was very wrong, and D-Will could be at the front of it. But after all of the facts have come out, and everyone has cooled down, the truth (as much as we will ever know), has surfaced. So lets all unite, get behind coach Corbin (that sounds kinda weird) & D-will, and cheer on our guys tonight. Go Jazz!!!
Every one at times puts their foot in their mouth or want to change the things they said or did. That is why they put erasers on pencils. Again as much as I liked Jerry and Phil I think this was the right time. Maybe he felt that this team could go a long way if all were in the same page. With a younger Corbin maybe they can..