Quin Snyder's Future With Utah Jazz In Question
The Utah Jazz have a lot of questions to answer as an organization in the offseason.
Not only have All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert been discussed in trade rumors, but head coach Quin Snyder’s future is now a question looming large over the franchise.
The last several years, Utah has worked hard to turn themselves into a true contending threat at the top of the Western Conference standings after finishing last in the conference during the 2013-14 season.
Following that dreadful season, Tyrone Corbin was dismissed as head coach of the Jazz and the organization hired at the time Atlanta Hawks assistant Quin Snyder to take over as their new head coach, Snyder’s first opportunity to be the head coach of an NBA organization.
Since then, he has led the Jazz to a 372-264 record in eight seasons as their head coach and he has taken them to the playoffs for six consecutive years now. However, the team has failed to advance past the Western Conference Semifinals during his tenure and the Jazz as an organization have not advanced past the semifinals since they lost in the Western Conference Finals in 2007.
While he still has two years left on his current contract with the Jazz, including an option for the 2023-24 season, many reports over the last few months have concluded that Snyder is currently mulling his future.
Long-time NBA insider Marc Stein reported back in March that Quin Snyder and the Jazz front-office have talked about a possible contract extension to keep him in Salt Lake City long-term, but Snyder has been noncommittal to such contract offers.
Now, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon are reporting similar details to this situation, stating that there is still no clear answer as to what Snyder is looking for.
Owner Ryan Smith and CEO of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge have held discussions with head coach Quin Snyder over the last several weeks, but they have yet to receive a commitment from Snyder on his return for next season, according to ESPN.
“Quin Snyder is one of the best coaches in the NBA,” Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik told reporters during the team’s exit interviews in April. “There is no other partner I would rather have as a coach and as a leader of our players and as a partner in our front office than Quin Snyder.”
Since these comments, Snyder has found his name attached to multiple other team’s coaching searches, including that of the Los Angeles Lakers, who recently hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham.
While Snyder has stated that he is not interested in these other opportunities and that there is no truth to them, there does not seem to be any truth whatsoever as to what the Jazz head coach is thinking about long-term.
Through eight seasons with Utah, he is tied with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr for the third-longest tenure with a team amongst active head coaches in the NBA, trailing his former mentor in San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
With rumors swirling around the long-term futures of Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and others currently a part of the Utah Jazz roster, it seems like things are starting to unravel for this franchise after a few years of playoff disappointment.
After finishing with the best record in the NBA during the 2020-21 season, the Jazz fell in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Clippers after leading the series 2-0. Then this season, they finished with three fewer wins during the regular season and drew the 5-seed in the playoffs, losing to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the first-round.
The constant strain of not growing and progressing as a franchise, plus the many changes in the front-office over the last few seasons, has left a feeling of insecurity amongst many that have been with the Utah Jazz, including Snyder, during his tenure.
As ESPN states, it is possible that Snyder could elect to take a break from coaching and not coach at all during the 2022-23 season, making him the most sought after coaching candidate in 2023 and beyond.
With close to three weeks until the 2022 NBA Draft and free agency being just over a month away, the Utah Jazz do not have a clear picture as to what the future holds for them as uncertainties surrounding head coach Quin Snyder grow larger every day.
