After 8 years of good and loyal service in the Salt Lake City franchise, Quin Snyder announced this Sunday that he would no longer hold his coaching position. The man behind the Donovan Mitchell – Rudy Gobert duo is therefore the first big domino to fall in Utah, in a summer that should sound more like rain than jazz…
We expected it, but the news is still shocking.
After a regular season clearly below expectations and above all a disastrous Playoffs exit, Quin Snyder could not stay in his post for too long. Far beyond the questions of manpower, management or context in the Western Conference, the elimination against Dallas was the drop of water – or rather the ocean – which broke the camel’s back. A bad for a good ? The future will tell. But first, let’s get the facts straight.
Arrived in Utah 8 years ago after notably honing his skills alongside Mike Budenholzer on the Hawks bench, Snyder was a young rookie coach with undeniable potential and a surprising grip. Goodbye Enes Kanter as pivot holder, hello Rudy Gobert and his insane ceiling, the coach laid down a first base which inevitably appealed to fans of the franchise. And after notably seeing Tyrone Corbin offer three terrible seasons following the divorce between Utah and the iconic Jerry Sloan, this glimpse of a bright future gave hope to the people of Utah. The following ? A first return to the Playoffs and not just on tiptoe, the Jazz leaving the Clippers in the first round behind the band of Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, Gordon Hayward and others. We felt the good plan in the franchise, what was needed was to confirm this beautiful preview.
Hayward will then leave Utah, but nothing to discourage the Jazz since a young rookie by the name of Donovan Mitchell will completely explode, taking the reins of the team and becoming the star of tomorrow, with Gobert freshly named Defender of the Year in the NBA. Impossible is not Jazz, and impossible is not Snyder. The Thunder will even pay the price in 2018, exiting in the first round behind the provocations of Joe Ingles and a Ricky Rubio perfectly installed at the lead of the franchise. With a formidable defense, a few cheeky pieces in attack and a group that believes in its coach, Snyder quickly became one of the darlings of the NBA. Twice in the Playoffs and twice he reached the semi-finals by improvising from right and left? The ring will be out in a few years, it’s only a matter of time.
Then the machine will derail. And not just a little. Utah resumes its mad march, management integrates Mike Conley and signs Bojan Bogdanovic, Gobert and Mitchell become All-Stars… but the pandemic arrives. A crack in the group? Not sure, we’ll see. The Playoffs in the Orlando bubble will confirm the sentiment, with Jazz leading 3-1 against Denver but finally collapsing in the first round to exit through the very small door of Disney World. Fuck. It’s nothing, it was a special year, let’s pick up where we left off, right? And vlatipa that the Jazz take us out of the regular season sick in 2021, best record in the entire NBA, 52 wins in 72 games, Quin Snyder watching Tom Thibodeau leave with the Coach of the Year trophy with a sigh. We will pay in the Playoffs, right? And vlatipa that the Jazz goes out in the semi-final against Clippers orphans of Kawhi Leonard, with Terance Mann in the role of the unexpected executioner. Pointed out, Snyder promises to do better, to go all the way.
We know the rest.
Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder is planning to step down, sources tell ESPN.
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 5, 2022
Only fourth in the Western Conference, and with teams going to punish the Jazz where it hurts, the group will eventually break down and Snyder will lose control of it at the worst of times. The defensive efforts of yesteryear? An ancient story, indeed. Offensive application and group adjustments? To oblivion. While Joe Ingles watches this collapse away from his old franchise, Quin can’t count on his management to make the necessary changes to the trade deadline and the bus crashes into the wall in a rather obvious way. End of the season in the hands of Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson, in the first round of the Playoffs, when you have the home advantage. Fuck.
It’s Monday, June 6, and Quin Snyder has officially announced he’s stepping down. Its track record is, as you have just read, excellent. All of this could not have happened without his decisions, without his determination, without his innovations. Snyder had his limits, that’s for sure, but he made the most of what was given to him, and that seems to be a shared certainty of all. The big question will therefore be in two stages, from now on. The first is what is Quin going to do? As of this writing, it would seem more like a break than resuming a job as a head coach elsewhere, but who knows. Snyder is in any case part, like Kenny Atkinson, of the coaches who will receive dozens of proposals as soon as they announce their availability. He can therefore land next summer with a well-rested head and choose a position that suits him, like in San Antonio, for example, where a post-Popovich transition is expected with chattering teeth. Nothing is certain at the moment, but what is certain is that Quin will be wanted regardless of the timing of his return to the market of available coaches.
Second question, what’s next in Utah? Because we can witness the beginning of a great upheaval, or a simple change of coach that makes the difference. We have more the feeling that this is just the beginning, in the sense that a big head of the franchise could be transferred this summer, but nothing has been officially mentioned by either Rudy or Donovan regarding their career intentions. . Maybe there will be Mike Conley or Bojan Bogdanovic to deal with before that, but we know that the change of direction in Utah and the recent arrival of Danny Ainge do not indicate a status quo. There will be movement, and it has already started in the coaching position. Who will take over from Snyder, and which players will he have, it’s still very vague…
Quin Snyder was one of the coaches with the most longevity on their bench in the current NBA. Eight seasons with Jazz is now in the history books. To see when and where we will find Snyder soon, and who will take his place in Utah, summer is definitely going to be hot in the salt lake region…
Source : Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN.
