The Utah Jazz have a coaching vacancy to fill, too. This might have gotten lost in the shuffle as all the talk has been focused on the job openings in New York and Golden State. It appears the Jazz will be considering a wide range of candidates and plan to reach out to John Stockton to gauge his interest.
Via ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Jazz — who decided not to bring Ty Corbin as head coach — are considering more than 20 candidates including Stockton:
The Utah Jazz, as part of a broad coaching search expected to feature some 20 candidates, plan to reach out to Jazz legend John Stockton to gauge whether he has any interest in the position, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Sources told ESPN.com that Jazz officials intend to at least pose the question to the Hall of Fame guard about his willingness to move into coaching, while mindful of Stockton’s lack of previous coaching experience and the fact that he has long loathed the sort of spotlight associated with the job.
Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey declined comment Tuesday night about Stockton or any other prospective candidates when reached by ESPN.com.
This sounds like a pretty exhaustive search, but makes sense given that the Jazz are just beginning what will be a multi-year rebuild and likely want to make sure they’re bringing in a coach that can grow together with the team.
This is why Stockton makes sense, as he has no previous head coaching experience but given his stature in Utah and his obvious basketball IQ, it will allow him time to grow into the role. Of course, the question may be whether Stockton is interested at all, and reports are that he is weary of the media demands that come with being a head coach.
However, if Stockton is interested in getting back in the game, he only needs to look at what former teammate Jeff Hornacek did in Phoenix this season, and consider what Jason Kidd has been able to accomplish in Brooklyn especially after the Nets’ slow start. The Jazz may not have the most appealing roster among the teams with a head coaching opening, but for a rookie coach like Stockton, it might be the perfect situation.
(via ESPN)
What do you think?
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