[GameForAnyFuss]

Good get!

Now, give me a concurrent announcement of a $12 million NIL fund specifically for men’s basketball and I’ll be over the moon.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Smith and Ainge have not exactly covered themselves with glory, but I would say the NBA itself has destroyed the Jazz just as much as those two have. Utah is a small market and a state with no “street cred”, making it hard to get free agents to come. That’s the result of the NBA doing what the NBA does, and it seems to suit them fine.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Contract has been sent to Jensen.

https://x.com/AMarkhamRivals/status/1896729804633985142

[GameForAnyFuss]

Did we really expect things to change? We still have the caliber of players that we were willing to pay for last offseason.

Getting rid of Craig was not suddenly going to improve the quality of our guards or turn the boys into stellar free throw shooters.

This will take time and money.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Three possible reasons why you do it now:
1. So players don’t have a visceral reaction and hit the portal before you have a chance to show them the benefits of staying.
2. You want to lock up a good candidate before he’s in greater demand once the firings begin at season’s end.
3. You have someone in mind already but you’re afraid he’ll cool off or get poached if you wait.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I’m pretty ambivalent about this news. Craig just did nothing for me. Didn’t love him, didn’t hate him.

All that matters now is:
1. Who do we get?
2. Will some booster step up and give us some damn NIL?
3. Will any of this make a difference, or will we still remain the same 40th-percentile team we’ve been for the last 6 coaches?

[GameForAnyFuss]

The streak would be even longer than that if COVID hadn’t happened. The 2020 natty was in the bag with 1 race remaining when COVID cancelled it on the final day.

[GameForAnyFuss]

If you’ve ever been involved in the contract review process, and the attorneys who review them, you’ll know that it could easily take weeks. Having a contract reviewed and executed within 2 business days is pretty much unheard of.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Hmmmm…I’m not sure TBH. The evidence suggests the players liked Craig – they were playing hard for him – but I’m sure there was some animosity from some of the players who probably couldn’t understand how minutes were being divvied up. Can you imagine Keanu Dawes watching Zach Keller get big man minutes ahead of him?

I hope the effect is a net positive on the boys.

[GameForAnyFuss]

There’s no scenario in my mind where I can even contemplate either Gonzaga or SMC having the ability to outbid Utah.

I guarantee you that Gonzaga is deploying more NIL money in men’s basketball than Utah is. John Stockton’s NIL contribution alone is going to be more money than Utah’s total spend.

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