Why I (maybe) want the Jazz to lose.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:16 pm
I just finished reading some of your comments about how this Jazz season is simply just not as fun to watch as previous ones. I agree with the general consensus. Even at their best, this team is awkward, dry and simply boring to watch. A variety of factors converge to make it this way - a clunky, crowded front court, a shortage of minutes for certain young players, extended periods of apparent complacency on the court, and just a funky team dynamic...a lack of chemistry.
This team is lucky to be in Utah...their record would be worse almost anywhere else.
For me, there's another factor in the equation - I'm not so sure I want this team to really win games. I mean I watch every game and I cheer for them...but if they lose? Not so upset. The reason why: as long as this team is in playoff contention, the likelihood of Millsap, Jefferson and whoever else being traded to make way for Kanter, Favors and Burks is much lower.
The rhetoric of the front office is that their #1 priority is to win now - and I think they mean it. If we're in contention of a playoff spot, Al and Paul's veteran status will be considered of value. The FO will want them as veteran weapons in the playoffs. They want to win as much as possible. But if we play all these veterans, limit the young guys' minutes and this team STILL sucks? Still misses the playoffs? I think the Jazz would be much more motivated to proactively seek a trade.
Now, there's another way to look at this - if your veterans aren't playing big minutes and putting up good #'s, what happens to their trade value? It obviously decreases significantly. So if the FO is smart, they'll maximize the value of these veterans and trade them right before the deadline when teams are getting desperate. I'd like to believe this would happen...but I just don't know. Frankly, these suits really seem to value these first-round knockouts in April. I actually have some faith in O'Connor and Dennis Lindsey - they're smart men who've come through before. I just hope guys like Greg Miller and Randy Rigby know to let them do their job, even if it means winning less and making less money in the short term.
But hell, what do I know?
This team is lucky to be in Utah...their record would be worse almost anywhere else.
For me, there's another factor in the equation - I'm not so sure I want this team to really win games. I mean I watch every game and I cheer for them...but if they lose? Not so upset. The reason why: as long as this team is in playoff contention, the likelihood of Millsap, Jefferson and whoever else being traded to make way for Kanter, Favors and Burks is much lower.
The rhetoric of the front office is that their #1 priority is to win now - and I think they mean it. If we're in contention of a playoff spot, Al and Paul's veteran status will be considered of value. The FO will want them as veteran weapons in the playoffs. They want to win as much as possible. But if we play all these veterans, limit the young guys' minutes and this team STILL sucks? Still misses the playoffs? I think the Jazz would be much more motivated to proactively seek a trade.
Now, there's another way to look at this - if your veterans aren't playing big minutes and putting up good #'s, what happens to their trade value? It obviously decreases significantly. So if the FO is smart, they'll maximize the value of these veterans and trade them right before the deadline when teams are getting desperate. I'd like to believe this would happen...but I just don't know. Frankly, these suits really seem to value these first-round knockouts in April. I actually have some faith in O'Connor and Dennis Lindsey - they're smart men who've come through before. I just hope guys like Greg Miller and Randy Rigby know to let them do their job, even if it means winning less and making less money in the short term.
But hell, what do I know?