Jazz finally bought into losing


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz team has finally bought in — to losing.

That’s what head coach Tyrone Corbin said after the Jazz lost to the Lakers on Monday.

“These guys have been through a lot this year with all the talk about where we are and what’s going on and what we’re trying to do and it wears on them,” Corbin said. “I thought tonight we gave into the talk a little bit.”

Jazz rookie point guard Trey Burke disagreed.

"I don’t think so, I don’t think we bought into that,” he said.

Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on the court with 
Utah Jazz CEO Greg Miller watching on the far 
right as the Utah Jazz lose to the Los Angeles 
Lakers 119-104 in the last home NBA basketball 
game of the season Monday, April 14, 2014, in 
Salt Lake City.
Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on the court with Utah Jazz CEO Greg Miller watching on the far right as the Utah Jazz lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 119-104 in the last home NBA basketball game of the season Monday, April 14, 2014, in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Tom Smart, Deseret News)

This is a battle Corbin has been fighting for months. Corbin wants to win and some fans want to lose in hopes that the team gets a high draft pick this year. It’s not a crazy wish because the 2014 draft could be the most talented class of athletes since the LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade draft of 2003.

Although Corbin is the lightning rod for the Jazz struggles this year, there’s plenty of blame to give everyone in the organization a shocking dose of reality.

The problem stems from Corbin being in the final year of his contract. The Jazz decided to let Corbin coach out his current contract. That put Corbin in a terrible position. He was asked to invest in the team’s future when his own future was in doubt.

Investing in the team’s future meant developing the promising young players, with the accompanying growing pains and mounting losses.

The other choice was to play the best players available and try to win each game, regardless of what was best for the future of younger players. This was the attitude that Hall-of-Fame coach Jerry Sloan and Phil Johnson lived and taught to their protégée Tyrone Corbin.


These guys have been through a lot this year with all the talk about where we are and what's going on and what we're trying to do and it wears on them. I thought tonight we gave into the talk a little bit.

–Utah Jazz head coach Ty Corbin


Corbin played veteran players ahead of younger players who were in desperate need of development. Marvin Williams and Richard Jefferson played many minutes that Jazz fans thought were earmarked for Alec Burks, Enes Kanter, Jeremy Evans and Rudy Gobert.

It shouldn’t be a surprise which path Corbin followed. He sacrificed long-term development for a short-term and ultimately unsuccessful gain because that was how he was taught.

Couple that with the fact that he had no long-term assurances and Corbin must have known that the only chance he had to save his job was to put together a season like Jeff Hornacek had in Phoenix. Like the Jazz, Hornacek’s Suns missed the playoffs, but Phoenix won nearly double the games. Hornacek could easily win the Coach of the Year award and might even receive a contract extension, despite this being his rookie coaching season.

Corbin coached each game this season as if it were his last. He agonized over each defeat and was never at ease with the mounting losses. He never bought into the tanking mentality.

Corbin is not blameless for this brutal season, but he was put in a bad position and it will likely cost him his job.

Give Corbin credit, he coached the team to the end and if the team truly gave up in game 81 of 82, then that is an accomplishment worthy of another contract — even if it's not with the Jazz.

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Dave Noriega

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