The Utah Jazz became the fourth team with a head coaching vacancy in the NBA this summer on Sunday afternoon when Quin Snyder announced his resignation from the team after eight seasons at the helm. Under Snyder’s guidance the Jazz became a consistent presence in the top half of the West during the regular season, reaching the playoffs six straight years, but never made it beyond the second round, with three first round exits including this year to the Mavs.
Entering the offseason, the Jazz faced the question of “where do we go from here?” Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s strained relationship has been discussed for a few years now, and after another early exit it’s clear that duo simply isn’t working as hoped. Whether there’s a fix to that on-court fit that involves shuffling pieces around them and building a new supporting cast or if they just need to split the two up and build around one (with Mitchell as the apparent in-house choice) is the million dollar question of this summer. For now, the Jazz are insistent they aren’t trading either, but Mitchell’s confidence in the franchise is reportedly wavering after Snyder’s exit and it’s hard to see how the organization can sell running it back once again to either the team or the fans.
The future in Utah is incredibly murky and that apparently was a deciding factor for Snyder, who spoke with Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune about his decision to step down and said, simply, “In the end, I just couldn’t see a clear path forward.”
Snyder also says he doesn’t need banners to validate what they accomplished in his tenure, but it’s clear that he could see the stagnation of this group coming and that wore on him this past season. Now, the relationship between the two top stars seem strained beyond repair and whoever takes this job this summer better be willing to roll with just about anything when it comes to the future of the Jazz, because there’s not an obvious route to take for the organization.
