Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) takes a moment with head coach Quin Snyder during the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Jeff Swinger)
Quin Snyder recently announced that he will be stepping down from the position of the head coach of the Utah Jazz.
Quin Snyder had been the coach of the Utah Jazz for the past 8 years. He transformed this franchise into a western conference powerhouse. They weren’t able to find much success in the playoffs, but Utah was always seen as a dangerous team throughout the year.
Things were quite disgruntled in Utah throughout this season. After they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 1st round, there were continuous talks regarding the split of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Surprisingly, it was their head coach who called it quits first. This was a very surprising decision from Snyder, and nobody saw it coming. Talking about his exit from Utah, coach Snyder was pretty honest with the reasons why he is stepping down.
Snyder said, “After eight years, I just feel it is time to move onward. I needed to take time to detach after the season and make sure this was the right decision,”
Quin Snyder believes that the team needs to evolve, and maybe a new voice in the locker room can improve them. Snyder added, “That’s it. No philosophical differences, no other reason. Thank you to our always supportive and passionate fans. We only want the best for you and to see you raise a championship banner.”
Danny Ainge had joined the Utah Jazz as their CEO prior to this season only. It seems like he will have a lot of major decisions to make in the off-season because of Snyder’s exit. Star players like Mitchell and Gobert could potentially be traded away from the team. The interest in them is quite high around the league.
Talking about the exit of Quin Snyder, Ainge said, “We have spent the last few weeks talking, Quin and I, a lot about a lot of different things, And I think it’s pretty clear, we desperately wanted him to stay.”
He added, “And at the same time, I’ve walked away from coaching and I walked away from being a general manager after 18 years in Boston, and so I trust that Quin knows more what’s best for him and his family, much more than we do.”
Ryan Smith, the owner of Utah Jazz also spoke on the exit of their long-time head coach. He was very thankful for Snyder for developing this Utah team from a lottery team to a title contender every year. He also talked about what he will in the next coach before selecting him for the job.
Smith said, “There’s not really a playbook when it comes to this, I’m super fortunate to be in an organization that Quin has helped build up. He’s left this organization a heck of a lot better than he found it. But more than that, he’s built a foundation that we can go build from.”
Quin Snyder played a huge role in bringing Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles to Utah. Even though Ingles is no longer a part of the franchise, he still wrote his letter of appreciation to his former coach.
Ingles wrote, “Coach Q was the only NBA coach to believe in me & give me a chance 8 years ago. He will be back & I can’t wait for it.. His dedication & care is hard to find. I’ll forever have so much time for Q as a coach & as a friend. Thanks coach!”
Rudy Gobert also showed his gratitude towards coach Quinn vis his Twitter account. Rudy was the 27th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and nobody knew much about him because he was from France. Gobert has transformed himself into an all-time great defender, and much of the credit will go to Quin Snyder for backing him.
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