Every year, the NBA polls each of the 30 General Managers on a series of questions regarding the upcoming season. The results are given in a percentage style format and are completely anonymous.
These polls tend to be interesting, to say the least. Most of the time, GMs are a terrible source of information, giving soundbite after soundbite of ‘I believe in this team’, and ‘We are looking into it.’ That being said, this poll gives the suits a chance to make a statement without concerns for bad PR.
When it comes to the Utah Jazz, there were a few poll questions and results that give some insight into how the league views the organization. I was surprised to see the Jazz come up so much in the polls, but it does serve as a good reminder that this Utah squad is actually really, really good.
We’re going to break down the results with The Good, The Bad, and Quin Snyder.
The Good
The first poll question I’d like to examine is probably the one that Jazz fans should be the most excited over. Over half (53%) of the GMs voted for the Jazz to place second in the Western Conference, and 13% of them voted for a first-place finish. The favorites of the GMs to win the conference? The Lakers. I’m shocked.
Coming up next is a result that shouldn’t surprise any Jazz fans, but Rudy Gobert was voted best interior defender, and it wasn’t particularly close. Gobert received 77% of the votes, while the next closest, Giannis Antetokounmpo, received 13% of the votes.
Continuing the theme of defense being Utah’s forte, the Jazz was voted the second-best defensive team in the league, getting 33% of votes. Milwaukee got first place, but not by much, only getting 7% more votes.
Mike Conley was involved in a somewhat strange poll, getting voted fourth in ‘Which active player will make the best head coach someday?’ Conley has been known for being a gritty floor general with a high basketball IQ, so the statement makes sense, although the question may catch some off guard.
To round out The Good, we have something that won’t shock many longtime Jazz fans- Utah was voted the team with the best home-court advantage. The first-place finish came courtesy of 47% of the vote, over doubling the second-place Denver Nuggets. Perhaps the advantage is due to the overwhelming amount of Jazz fans in the building, but my gut tells me that some general managers have heard more than one complaint about the nightlife in Salt Lake on a weekday.
The Bad
There is only one result under this category, but in my eyes, it’s pretty significant.
Rudy Gobert was voted the second-best defensive player in the league.
In and of itself, second place isn’t so bad, but he only received 17% of the votes. That correlates to five votes, and it is probably safe to say that Justin Zanik, GM of the Jazz, voted for Rudy, which leaves us to four votes from opposing GMs- not a great number.
Now, the first place finisher was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is, to me, a much better defender and player overall. That much is pretty undebatable. However, the Jazz have Rudy on a $205 million dollar contract, while Giannis is being paid only slightly more, and he’s the best player on a championship roster. It’s gotta sting, even just a little bit, to realize that Rudy is costing the Jazz almost as much as last year’s Finals MVP, and he isn’t even the best player on the team.
Rudy finishing so far in second place hurts because the only reason Utah gave him this massive contract was his defensive prowess. He has more than proven himself in that category, winning Defensive Player of the Year three times and being selected to five NBA All-Defensive First Teams.
That much understood, Rudy being one of the most dominant defenders in the has yet to yield a championship, which should be the aspiration of the Utah Jazz. If they do not come closer to that goal this season, we will have even more cause to wonder why our defensive star is getting that kind of money, when it seems like those dollars could be better spent.
Quin Snyder
Quin Snyder finished third for who general managers believe is the best coach in the league, receiving 14% of all votes. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, even though Quinn is a very good coach. He seems to get the best out of his guys and has been in charge during some of the most successful seasons in Utah’s recent history, but I assumed that most of that would be overshadowed by Budenholder’s recent championship or Popovich’s reputation.
Snyder placed higher than both Budenholder and Popovich, finishing only behind Miami Heat coach Eric Spoelstra (55%) and the Phoenix Suns’ Monty Williams (17%). To say that he may be one of Utah’s biggest advantages would be an understatement, and these votes are proof.
Despite how much the Jazz are renowned for the defense, Quin earned himself a first-place finish in an offensive category: best offense. The Jazz coach received 27% of votes, narrowly beating out Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who got 23% of votes.
That wasn’t the only poll Snyder was featured in. He placed fourth in voting for best at in-game adjustments and third in best defensive schemes. The love from opposing GMs just kept rolling in for Quin, which is great news for Jazz fans.
Wrap-Up
Honestly, the Utah Jazz (and their fans), should feel pretty good about this poll. It shows that the league has given the Jazz much more respect than in years past, a respect that is well-earned. Utah has a great organization, a great team, and a great coach. All of this bodes well for the Jazz’s upcoming season. Despite the fears I expressed about his contract and value, Rudy Gobert remains a powerhouse on defense, and I expect that to stay the same for years to come.
If you want to read more about this poll and some of the results I did not cover, the full article from NBA.com can be found here.
