One of the most important elements of this site, the thing I find close to sacred, is that we don’t censor what we say or do. That is for other sites or reporters to do, whether it’s to stay in the good graces of the team’s PR department or of their sources. At SLC Dunk, we don’t sugarcoat.
But that doesn’t mean we just criticize (I’ve definitely said some things on my show, or written them here, in the heat of a terrible … win … during this rebuild). It means we also have to call out the good when
we see it, and I have to show some appreciation for Ryan Smith.
This Tom Dundon situation in Portland is bad, really bad. It may not seem like it now, with him being a fresh owner, but the stories of him looking for cheap options for a wide array of options are not going to create the image he wants.
If you haven’t heard, here’s a list of things reported…
Looking for the cheapest option for head coach
Apparently, Dundon only wants to pay $1M for his next head coach.
By the way, Tiago Splitter is seeing all this while being the current head coach. Not great. And apparently, he’s fine just bringing in any sort of coach, and that will somehow work out for the team.
He’s also allegedly offering coaches the position at his cheap rate and getting turned down.
Ryan Smith deserves a ton of praise for finding a great head coach in Will Hardy, paying him market value, and signing him long-term when it was clear he was a great coach. Knowing that the Jazz don’t have to deal with this kind of nonsense is a great reflection on ownership that appears to learn, grow, and evolve with each decision they make.
Dundon isn’t flying his two-way players to playoff games
Dundon is apparently trying to save money on flights after paying billions for an entire basketball team.
It’s pretty wild that a person could be willing to spend this amount of money on a team but then cut minor costs like this, especially with your own players. What kind of message does this send to them?
He’s also apparently not flying out team photographers?
For Utah, we have an owner who has included all of these players. He’s allowed the front office to make multiple signings, and we don’t hear about players missing games for any reason other than to get playing time with the Stars. These are not things to be taken for granted, but they probably do. Thank you, Ryan!
Apparently, Dundon doesn’t even love Oregon
This one’s really not great if I’m a Blazers fan. To have an owner doing cheap-o cost-cutting like this, and you’re hearing he doesn’t even love Oregon? I’d be nervous.
Could you imagine Ryan Smith saying anything other than “Utah is great”? It’s one of his most well-known missions to sing the praises of Utah. As a fellow lover of Utah, I appreciate it! I don’t know if Ryan Smith’s moves have made monumental changes, but there are signs that it’s going well, and more and more players are making it clear they enjoy it here. It’s good work by a very good owner!
Dundon wants to fire a mascot
The economy is bad, but I guess it’s really bad when you’re going to fire Blaze the Trail Cat or Douglas Fur.
Jokes aside, firing a mascot is not a sign of caring about the fan experience. Who doesn’t like mascots?
This report comes a few weeks after the Utah Mammoth’s Zammoth unveiling. It’s a Zamboni that doesn’t actually … zambone …? Is that what it’s called? It’s purely cool and fun, and it improves the fan experience. And I bet it was expensive. This is another win for Ryan Smith and a sign that Utah has an owner who gets it.
This is a reminder not to take for granted when you have a good owner. Owners make more decisions and are more involved than fans probably realize. When you have an owner that doesn’t care, one that’s cheap, one that’s corrupt, or just a bad one, it can make it impossible for a team to get over the hump.
If there’s one moment in Jazz history that could go down as a hugely important one, it’s when Gail Miller set up a trust that eventually sold the team to Ryan Smith.
Now, this isn’t to say that Smith hasn’t made mistakes, because he has, but from my perspective, he’s always been willing to pivot quickly and evolve. It’s a great trait and one that I personally appreciate.
So, thank you, Ryan Smith, you’re doing great, and Jazz fans should appreciate you! I know I do.
