# Utah Jazz



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Just saw that the Jazz have been sold to Ryan Smith the founder of Qualtrics.

They are staying in Utah according to the report 

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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Maybe the Miller family could see some potential for future problems with the NBA, and decided to get out while there is still value?

Smart move by the Millers.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

PBH said:


> Maybe the Miller family could see some potential for future problems with the NBA, and decided to get out while there is still value?
> 
> Smart move by the Millers.


......OR their car dealerships, movie theatre, etc. were bleeding money and they needed money for their other businesses. Ryan is a great person, has more financial assets and I think will make an amazing owner. Millers will retain 20% ownership. There was a lot of murmurs the Millers were going to struggle to spend much money. What you have to hope is Ryan is a guy willing to spend money, and be hands off as far as ownership and let the FO do their job. This is a good thing IMO. Larry Miller always said he would never sacrifice the well being of his other businesses if the Jazz became a liability to them. Ryan looks to be a Mark Cubanesk owner. Super rich, an actual fan of the team, and loves Utah. This guy was buying 50 meals a day from local businesses for over a month to feed people to support local businesses and nothing more. He grew up a Jazz fan, and loves the team.

PS, the team just sold 80% for $1.66 billion as one of the smallest markets in the NBA. The NBA is in quite okay shape in the future, but obviously in a bad place like everyone due to covid short term.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I’d love to see the Jazz bring in some big names for once. 

Expand the fan base and increase playoff wins or even a championship.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Bax* said:


> I'd love to see the Jazz bring in some big names for once.
> 
> Expand the fan base and increase playoff wins or even a championship.


I think as long as Ryan isn't a super hands on owner, this will be a popular move for the players. They all loved the Millers, and Gail has been very supportive of the players, Ryan will be even more supportive of being outspoken on the issues that are important to our players, specifically the Jazz's budding super star who is one of the most outspoken athletes there is. The NBA is looking at one more season of pretty difficult financial implications of Covid and I think the Millers knew they couldn't withstand all the losses approaching.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

PBH said:


> Maybe the Miller family could see some potential for future problems with the NBA, and decided to get out while there is still value?
> 
> Smart move by the Millers.


IDK if the Jazz and the NBA has imminent or future problems, but the other Miller entertainment holdings, (movie theaters, restaurants, etc..) are probably hemorrhaging cash right now due to the pandemic. It may have been necessary to protect their overall nest egg. Also, Gail Miller is getting on in years and maybe the kids didn't want to run the franchise.

One of the Smiths is a client and while they are as advertised in their wealth, the one I know spends a lot of time in California and Europe. I guess I have slightly heightened concerns that they could move the team under certain circumstances.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

#1DEER 1-I said:


> PS, the team just sold 80% for $1.66 billion as one of the smallest markets in the NBA. The NBA is in quite okay shape in the future, but obviously in a bad place like everyone due to covid short term.


I agree the NBA is fine. They aren't hurting. The downfall of the NBA has been predicted due to many factors for decades. That said, the 1.6B is not just the Jazz. They got the arena, the Bees, Smiths Ballpark, etc. While the Jazz is the biggest piece of the pie, it's still just a piece of the pie.

I think the real motivation here is Gail is in her late 70s and she already saw her son trying to screw this up when he was running things, that's why she made the changes a few years ago. Strike while the iron is hot, get out of the basketball business before it's too late. (Got the family, not the NBA being in trouble.) The Miller name gets to be held in very high regard now forever in NBA basketball both in Utah and around the Association.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Who are the JAZZ? Oh ya, I remember....Its a band from "Norlens" I apologies to all you Jazz fans for what I'm about to say.....I gave up on the NBA and the Jazz after the BS the players pulled with the names on the Jerseys.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> Who are the JAZZ? Oh ya, I remember....Its a band from "Norlens" .


I laugh whenever I hear people bring up the Jazz name in respect to Utah vs. New Orleans. I always wonder if they realize that the Lakers came from Minnesota - the land of 10,000 lakes. Atlanta "Hawks" were originally the Blackhawks (Davenport, IA). Golden State was the Philadelphia Warriors. The LA Clippers started out in San Diego, where a popular type of ship during the 19th century would commonly be found in the bay (a clipper!). How many grizzly bears do you find in Tennessee? Historically, none. They came from Vancouver. The Sacramento Kings? Sorry -- That's a reference to Kansas City.

I'm good with Utah retaining the Jazz nickname - and if it's ever switched back to New Orleans, I would hope that LA would also return the Lakers to Minnesota.

Time will tell on ownership. Hopefully this is a good move -- as long as the color scheme isn't changed to reflect a more BYU centered theme. ;-)


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I still prefer the Utah Stars....


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> Who are the JAZZ? Oh ya, I remember....Its a band from "Norlens" I apologies to all you Jazz fans for what I'm about to say.....I gave up on the NBA and the Jazz after the BS the players pulled with the names on the Jerseys.


Must have been so traumatic for you. Curious did you ever consider giving them up when they were giving away free lunches, taking pics with people, spending time at local high school and college games or just when they fought against racism? Just curious.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Catherder said:


> IDK if the Jazz and the NBA has imminent or future problems, but the other Miller entertainment holdings, (movie theaters, restaurants, etc..) are probably hemorrhaging cash right now due to the pandemic. It may have been necessary to protect their overall nest egg. Also, Gail Miller is getting on in years and maybe the kids didn't want to run the franchise.
> 
> One of the Smiths is a client and while they are as advertised in their wealth, the one I know spends a lot of time in California and Europe. I guess I have slightly heightened concerns that they could move the team under certain circumstances.


Obviously the chance of them moving isn't zero, but I highly doubt they would move. The NBA is more likely to expand than move teams at this point. Ryan loves Utah from everything I've seen, he also wants Utah to become a very large tech hub. He has also mentioned how much potential Utah has, but that Utah can be awkward for a lot of people he's found when they come here. PS as much as the Miller's have backed the players in their causes, expect Ryan Smith to be even more supportive, and vocally supportive of it. I feel he is very committed to Utah, and wants to see Utah grow and change for the better. He now has a platform to move toward that. Ryan was considering buying RSL (maybe still is idk) but has been interested in the Jazz for a long time, even saying his wife has told him to wait multiple times on other opportunities. His dream was to own the Utah Jazz, and now he does. He is also from what I've seen a motivated winner. I do expect him to be willing to spend more than the Millers were.

Larry's mantra was that he would never let the Jazz hurt his other businesses. In the world of social media, the Miller's probably didn't want to prioritize sports jobs, over their other businesses which are obviously hurting. Laying off Jazz staff/employees will gain all kinds of national bad press, so I think they wanted to avoid that and not be favoring Jazz jobs over car dealership employees as well. This gives them plenty of capital to keep their other businesses afloat during the pandemic. Which it seems according to the NBA is likely to impact the finances next season as well and fans won't be in the building again, at least until a vaccine is developed. The NBA lost $1.5 billion in revenue, and will likely loose something close to that again next season. I'm guessing the Miller's just simply knew they couldn't withstand 2 full seasons of lowered revenue like that. Ryan can, and Qualitrics is obviously less susceptible to the issues facing the Miller's businesses right now.

The $1.66 billion for 80% surprised me tbh. Ryan must have really really wanted the team. It was valued at around $1.4 billion in February, obviously the arena and a few other things came with this sell but that is a big price.

The Jazz give Utah and SLC a world stage. There are many things that may not have happened in this state had Larry Miller not put everything on the line TWICE to keep them here. Thanks to the Miller family. I'm excited for Ryan's ownership. So long as Mitchell is in a Jazz uniform the franchise is in very good shape......now hopefully portions of the fanbase can be a bit more open minded to some of the messages and a little less defensive, cause Ryan not only is going to support the players, I've seen him on his social medias actively push their messages as well. Good on him, and I actually believe Smith will be more in line with the modern day NBA players causes as well. Gail was supportive, Ryan will be actively supportive. Think of him as a Mark Cubanesk owner IMO.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

#1DEER 1-I said:


> Must have been so traumatic for you. Curious did you ever consider giving them up when they were giving away free lunches, taking pics with people, spending time at local high school and college games or just when they fought against racism? Just curious.


I had season tickets in the late 80's for five years. (My mother was a fan and she used the tickets mostly) I gave up the seats after the price increased to an amount I wasn't willing to pay.

I wasn't a "fan" and going to a game was just a thing to do for me for entertainment if I wasn't planning a hunt the next morning. So it doesn't matter to me if the Jazz did move from the state. It could be the best thing a new owner could to do as far as an investment. Move to a larger market area to increase the possibility of salary caps and a championship. "Star players" really don't want to come to Utah simply because of the lack of "nightlife" and what the organization requires of the players to take part in the local spotlight.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Dang 1eye, you sure have some deep insight into what individuals are thinking!

And the NBA stands to lose MUCH more in 2021 than they did last year. Remember, they had fans in seats for 60+ games last year before the shut down. If fans can’t attend, they are screwed for the short term future. It will rebound. But teams and players will feel this one for the next few years.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> I had season tickets in the late 80's for five years. (My mother was a fan and she used the tickets mostly) I gave up the seats after the price increased to an amount I wasn't willing to pay.
> 
> I wasn't a "fan" and going to a game was just a thing to do for me for entertainment if I wasn't planning a hunt the next morning. So it doesn't matter to me if the Jazz did move from the state. It could be the best thing a new owner could to do as far as an investment. Move to a larger market area to increase the possibility of salary caps and a championship. "Star players" really don't want to come to Utah simply because of the lack of "nightlife" and what the organization requires of the players to take part in the local spotlight.


It's more than nightlife promise. What you're saying about small markets is always going to be the case. Where would you move it exactly? Small markets will always exist and 20/30 teams face pretty similar issues as far as being small markets as the Jazz do. With revenue sharing in the NBA the financial stuff isn't as lopsided as you think. It is more about how rich the ownership is.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Dang 1eye, you sure have some deep insight into what individuals are thinking!
> 
> And the NBA stands to lose MUCH more in 2021 than they did last year. Remember, they had fans in seats for 60+ games last year before the shut down. If fans can't attend, they are screwed for the short term future. It will rebound. But teams and players will feel this one for the next few years.


I agree 100%, basically the NBA wants to start in December and just get this next season over with. They're banking on having one more bad season, I think the Millers knew they couldn't withstand that and keep competitive with certain players/money they'd have to spend. The NBA wants to get back to the October start times and want to rush this next season through. So yes for 2 seasons they'll lose plenty of revenue but big picture the NBA is the 2nd richest sports league in America and has a huge worldwide imprint as well.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

1 Deer.... I actually don't know much about how the NBA is ran financially and in reality...I could care less if the JAZZ disappeared to another State or Country. Teams come and go all the time, as has been mentioned in a prior post.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

PBH said:


> ...as long as the color scheme isn't changed to reflect a more BYU centered theme. ;-)


Ugh. Seriously, this is just wrong. I hope that Smith doesn't have anything to do with this. What a horrible way to alienate Jazz fans. This is just wrong.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020...nd-someone-created-a-jersey-combining-the-two


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

PBH said:


> Ugh. Seriously, this is just wrong. I hope that Smith doesn't have anything to do with this. What a horrible way to alienate Jazz fans. This is just wrong.
> 
> https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020...nd-someone-created-a-jersey-combining-the-two


UGH, thanks for the morning headache. That's just not right, as you said.

Donovan will put a stop to that by adding a social justice message to the jersey and all the MAGA type cougarfans will lose their minds, ending the experiment.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Guys, I’m not certain about much, but I’m 100% confident the Jazz will not be wearing a jersey that says “BYU” across the front. Step away from the ledge. It will be okay.


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