Is Quin Snyder The Secret Weapon For Jazz To Land Top Free Agents?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz have a lot of things to figure out and consider this offseason with who to keep, or not keep, and what players to target as free agents.

There is a stigma about the ability of the Jazz to land top free agents, but perhaps that could change with head coach Quin Snyder. Snyder is a coach that is well liked from players across the league and was voted as one of the top coaches to play for from non-Utah Jazz players.

What this means is that the Jazz can offer a bit more than they have in the past to bring in free agents. Winning is great and playing alongside Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert is a great thing, but to have a coach that is universally liked is an added bonus.

Does a top end coach matter?

There are plenty of stories about having coaches that players like from across a variety of sports and for a variety of reasons. Having a coach like Snyder who gets along with players makes the team more cohesive and great atmosphere.

KSL Sports Jeremiah Jensen says a coach really can make a difference in bringing in talent.

📹| Walt Perrin, VP of Personnel for the Utah Jazz, talked after today’s workouts about what he looks for in a prospect:

“Does he fight through fatigue? Does he listen? Does he understand? can he implement what the coaches are telling him to?"

» https://t.co/bJo8LgK31u

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 4, 2019

“Absolutely. If you look at any sport where there is success and where guys want to go play. Do they want to play for a guy they don’t respect? The answer is no,” Jensen said on KSL’s Unrivaled.

“Maybe what LeBron James did this summer is the exception. Did he go to Los Angeles because of the coach? No. He went there because he has his own interest in business and entertainment. In my opinion, LeBron decided to look toward his next chapter in his career.”

Each player has their goals and James at this point in his career might be content with his past title success and is just look forward to post-basketball but he is the exception in this scenario. Then there are others who want to win an NBA title.

Jensen goes on to say that there have been just a few coaches in NBA history that have been able to mesh talent and egos to win championships.

“Phil Jackson with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls teams was able to manage those egos and have everyone come together for what is better for the team than better for the individual.

“Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs are the perfect examples of building a culture of other players wanting to be a part of,” Jensen said. “They had the big three in [Tim] Duncan, [Tony] Parker, and [Manu] Ginóbili. They had other guys that had success around the league and wanted to come there to be part of that and win titles.”

Can Quin Snyder do this?

During the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz series, Snyder was sticking to his guns by guarding James Harden in a very unique defensive style to guard him from the side and sometimes from behind. Yet, Snyder stuck with it and it sort of panned out as the Jazz won a game and had two very close loses.

On KSL’s Unrivaled, Scott Mitchell points out how leadership and managing talent is key for great teams.

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— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 4, 2019

“It is that willingness and leadership and not just X’s and O’s,” Mitchell said. “That leadership can sometimes be a lonely place it is having the uncomfortable conversation or melding personalities. It is not just a one way fits all process. When you have it you have it, and a lot of guys just don’t have that greatness within themselves.

Snyder does appear to have some of those tendencies as Popovich, Jackson, and even Steve Kerry, and it helps that players across the league like him, but he will need to use his charm to convince those players to come to Salt Lake City and help build a title team within the next few years.

“It appears to me but if you watch these little signs that Snyder does with these players and has gotten the most out of the Jazz players. He has gotten them to buy into defense which is not mainstream thinking and getting them bought into unselfish play.”

Tune into KSL’s Unrivaled every Monday through Friday, 7-9 p.m., or download the KSL NewsRadio app to subscribe to the podcast.