Possible Big Man for the Jazz

[erudite23]

There is no preference for the color of their skin. Rather, they prefer a certain type of player and there is a correlation between that and the color of a person's skin.

Still, you ain't goin' nowhere in this league without plenty of brothers to get you there, and the Jazz have been carried by black players in such a way that there is no possible argument for discrimination based upon the color of skin.

It is a little strange, though, that they have had so many fair-skinned black guys lately. D-Will and Booze are both bi-racial boys with black heritage. Fisher was the same. In fact, we run out lineups that look like white washes from the stands on a regular basis.....but that doesn't change the fact that our two main players are black.

[Bob Ortegal]

And who cares if they prefer white players? Its their team and it seems to be working for them.

[The_Pope]

So what, you think the Jazz are run by Mormons? I don't think so.

I reckon the current Jazz GM (can't recall his name) has to be one of the best in the league, and certainly the most underrated.

[DBurks2818]

I just think it's funny, and something to think about. No one's going to convince me that skin tone has nothing to do with their personnel moves; there's just too much evidence suggesting otherwise.

[d-will8]

Certainly, given the fact that the Jazz have historically had significantly more white players than other NBA franchises, it would be naive to say that race doesn't factor into their personal moves at all. That being said, it's overly simplistic and quite unfair to suggest that anything resembling racism is at the root of this. Here's some reasons why:
When they drafted AK near the end of the 1st round, they got an incredible steal. It's very rare to get an all-star that low in the draft, but they did, and, according to you, they only drafted him because he's white. The closest example I can think of to anything resembling institutional racism on the Jazz's part was their decision to sign Harpring instead of keeping Marshall, but Harpring was a perfect fit for Sloan's system and mentality and he's had some very good years here. As for the Boozer and Okur signings, I was pumped that the Jazz were able to lure two players with so much promise to Utah and to suggest that these signings were racially motivated is somewhat ridiculous. It's true that white (and bi-racial, maybe) people are more likely to come to Utah than black people, but don't forget that a lot of that money would have gone towards signing Jason Terry and Corey Maggette the previous summer if their respective teams, the Hawks and Clippers, hadn't matched the offer sheets. I also have a hard time believing that the Jazz picked Williams, the perfect point guard for their system, not because he was the perfect point guard for their system, but because he was bi-racial while Paul, who refused to work out for them, was black, that they traded for Fisher, a much needed veteran leader, because of his (relatively) light skin tone, or that they traded for Korver, the available sharpshooter that they desperately needed, because he was white.
It's true that it's not a coincidence that the Jazz have more white players than other teams. For one, it is a fact that a lot of black players don't want to play in Utah and they're aware of this. Secondly, they do not put the same premium on athleticism that other teams do, but rather are content with fundamentally sound players who fit into their system, even if they aren't super athletic (see Harpring, Okur, Korver.) A lot of white players happen to fit this description and some bi-racial ones do too. So be it. It's worked out pretty well.

[deeney0]

The proof is in the pudding.

Vanilla pudding?

[Kayariel]

[Kayariel]

[carrottop12]

For DBurks

Tim Duncan
Manu Ginobili
Tony Parker
Brent Barry
Matt Bonner
Fabricio Oberto
Damon Stoudamire
Ime Udoka
Tiago Splitter

All light skinned guys, reguardless of their backgrounds. Nobody calls the Spurs out.

It's called ignorance people.

[CAE15]

I just think it's funny, and something to think about. No one's going to convince me that skin tone has nothing to do with their personnel moves; there's just too much evidence suggesting otherwise.

Jazz tried to Get Brand before Boozer they were unsuccessful. This thing about utah preferring a lighter skinned player is just plain stupid. Are you saying every GM other then KOC would've taken Chris Paul at #3? are you saying the only reason the Jazz drafted Deron is because he is lighter then paul? What darker skinned player could they have drafted over almond? That has around the same potential? Why didnt the jazz draft Bill Wennington over Karl Malone in 85? Why D Griff over Mchale? Why Stevenson in 2000?

[TaylorJ]

YEah, I heard that this past off season the Jazz rejected an offer from the Lakers of Kobe for AK because they wanted Luke Walton instead. Give me a break. The players need to want to go there as much as the team needs to want them. Give the Jazz credit for trying to find players who want to play in Utah (like Maggette, Terry, etc) regardless of their nationality. I also think it's hilarious that people would try to argue that the Jazz aren't against blacks playing for them, just blacks that are dark-skinned. Is that why the Jazz traded Giricek for Korver, cuz Korver is a whiter white than Giricek? Give me a break.

[DBurks2818]

Whatever you want to believe.