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SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe it's because Danny Ainge is 63 and doesn't worry about job security. Or he could have been in the mood to veer from the typical canned responses and wanted to unequivocally state his motives.
Either way, the Utah Jazz top executive put it out in the strongest terms why the team decided to dump two perennial All-Stars still in their prime this summer. Hard to argue once Ainge explained the reasoning to undertake a massive rebuilding job that may have the team missing the playoffs for the foreseeable future.
In a statement that surprised some Jazz brass, Ainge said during a Monday press conference that last year's team lacked the belief necessary to compete for the championship. Seated a few feet to Ainge's right, general manager Justin Zanik referred to repeated playoff failures to support the relative controversial decision to trade center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell.
"What I saw during the season was a group of players that really didn't believe in each other," Ainge said. "I think individually they have resolve. I just don't believe that collectively they did."
Ok, then. His statement falls short of calling individual players quitters, which he didn't come close to saying, but it does indicate the team had serious issues.
Rumored to be a part of owner Ryan Smith's management team shortly after he stepped down from a similar role with the Boston Celtics in June 2021, Ainge officially assumed his position last December. He has had a longstanding relationship with Smith, who agreed to buy the Jazz from the Miller family in Oct. 2020.
In effect, even though he followed the Jazz from a distance, Ainge didn't even need one full season to blow it up. Stumbling down the stretch, during which the Jazz repeatedly squandered big leads in losses, another playoff collapse was enough evidence.
"We saw a lot of players trying to do it on their own, as the belief in one another wasn't as great as other teams I've been on and around," he said. "So, when we got to the playoffs, I thought, well, this is a team that's had some disappointing playoffs and maybe they're just waiting for the playoffs.
"And so, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. But it was clear the team did not perform well in the playoffs again."
First off, bravo for being bold. Secondly, thanks for saying what only the fiercest of Jazz fans wouldn't admit.
This team, led by the two stars who struggled to get along, was headed for another nice regular season followed by playoff failure.
In 2020, playing in the bubble in Orlando due to COVID, the Jazz blew a 3-1 series lead in a first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets. It only got worse from there.
The following season, which netted the overall No. 1 seed, the Jazz lost 4-2 in the second round to the Los Angeles Clippers. They failed to stop journeyman Terance Mann from pouring in 39 points in the series clincher for a team that didn't have injured superstar Kawhi Leonard the final two games.
Last season was even worse, as the Jazz couldn't contain 6-foot-1 role player Jalen Brunson in a first-round exit to the Dallas Mavericks. They only won one of the three games first-team all-NBA guard Luka Doncic missed with an injury.
What's the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Yes, the Jazz would have been crazy to run back the same broken record again, all the while trying to again convince us Mitchell and Gobert were good buddies.
Even if they were best friends, the odd couple wouldn't have changed anything this season. Once Gobert was shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it made sense to trade Mitchell, who was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month.
Privately, management knew Mitchell had little intention of staying with the Jazz once his player option was up in three years. The trades gave the Jazz draft picks and young players, in addition to salary flexibility, to reshape the roster into what they hope is finally a championship contender.
