On the surface… this seems to be a nice little story about how the Utah Jazz and the NBDL’s Utah Flash are similar. Those stories are always fun for a writer from a small newspaper because you get to pretend you’re just like the big boys. But then we get to his one line:
The Flash can actually get players from two teams: The Jazz and the Boston Celtics, which requested to be affiliated with the Flash.
Danny Ainge has, in his infinite wisdom, requested to be affiliated with a team in Utah. Look, it’s not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it’s certainly a piece to the puzzle. Danny obviously chose to be affiliated with Utah because he’s a mormon. This isn’t a knock on his religion… I don’t care about that at all. But when he’s making basketball decisions… however benign… based on things other than basketball… that’s a sign of a problem.
It all boils down to what type of person that would make a decision like this. A clear-thinking, reasonable person would look at the NBDL teams and say “Hey, there’s a team in Indiana. Let’s see if we can be associated with them… this way I can take a short flight to check on the progress of some of my guys on an off day… and if someone gets hurt the day of a game… it’ll be easy to fly in a replacement.”
Danny Ainge says “let’s hook up with a team in Utah… this way when I go check out a player, I can do other stuff, too… who cares if its 3 time zones away.” Is Danny really considering what’s best for his team here… or is he considering what’s best for himself? And if he’s using this kind of logic for this decision… is he using it for other decisions? It’s a question worth asking.
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Whoa dude. You are making an awful lot of assumptions here. Has Ainge or any member of the organization ever given a reason for the Utah affiliation? And can a team just pick which NBDL team it wants to affiliate with? These are important questions which need to be answered before you throw out broad generalizations like this.
Ainge is just following Agent Zero’s lead and getting his young guys used to high-altitude conditions … for all those C’s games in Salt Lake and Denver. Utah is also conveniently devoid of alcohol, nightlife, and gentleman’s clubs.
(And Mercedes has nothing on this Ford.)
I went to BYU as well and I can tell you this is not a big deal. All people who attended BYU and are (mormon) enjoy going back to Utah to visit with friends and family. Since Ainge is so popular in the state he has many friends and many people who like to visit with him. He enjoys being there. Lets not make this bigger than it is.
I’m not trying to make it bigger than it is. I’m sure Utah is a nice place…
The only thing I’m calling into question is WHY would the team that happens to be as far east as you can possibly be in the US…. choose a team in UTAH for its NBDL affiliation.
My whole point is that Danny is thinking too much of himself in making a decision like this… and not about the team.
Grand scheme of things… this isn’t a big deal…. but it’s a sign that Danny isn’t think about the best interests of the team in every decision he makes about the team.
D-Mac’s Ford is HOT
utah is two time zones away (mountain, not pacific), not three. just thought you should know.
oh… it’s only 2 timezones? Well then… nevermind.
Yeah- 2 timezones. It’s not that big of a mistake except it just shows that you didn’t research what you wrote at all. Nothing you wrote has any backing and is just wild speculation. Indiana is CST which makes UT and Indiana one time zone different. Not quite as dramatic as you make it appear.
Also, the Utah Flash are the best run organization in the D-league with some of the smartest people in the business. It’s the only team that has a GM and the GM and the PR guy have been working for the NBA for over 20 years each. They are so connected that they bring in great NBA support for the guys and have scouts at almost every game. They get more fan support in their inaugural season than any other d-league team.
I spoke to Danny at the game yesterday as a matter of fact and while I’m not overly impressed with him as a person, he knows what he’s doing and there is logic behind the choice. Know your facts before you write.