Demps in Utah

[UNO Gracias]

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1...126232580?s=21

[Taker597]

Assistant coach... Huh.

[ozwego15]

i thought that was a typo at first. this could be interesting.

[As I See It]

Guess there was no interest in his front office abilities.

[UNO Gracias]

Guess there was no interest in his front office abilities.

You can only kill so many pets before people ask you not to pet sit for them.

[MichaelMcNamara]

Demps preferred to coach. He wanted that over scouting or FO jobs -- I know of at least one FO job he turned down.

Being a GM isn't just trades and signings. Its overseeing game operations, being involved in business meetings, ticket sales, etc.

He loves the game and players. When you are in the FO, you actually are encouraged NOT to have relationships with players. That isn't his personality. I actually think coaching is a better fit for him

[UNO Gracias]

If im not mistaken I think a few GMs have gone on to be coaches, most notably Pops.

I wonder how Jazz fans feel right now. Last night Mitchell was talking about BLM, and today the franchise hired both Demps and Keyon Dooling to their organization. Their worlds must be turned upside down right now wondering what they did for this to happen to them.

[Eman5805]

Watch Demps be awesome at it.

[UNO Gracias]

Watch Demps be awesome at it.

And then In 3 years he gets hired To be HC of the Pels.

[13 - 3]

And then In 3 years he gets hired To be HC of the Pels.

Signed

Jeff Bowers.

[Pelicanidae]

Wish him the best. Obviously things didn't work out here but from what I know (evidently a limited amount in respects to these things) Demps was a good guy. Hopefully this works out for him and he enjoys it and has a ton of success.

[Ltdee2019]

Assistant coach... Huh.

Maybe Pelican should have hired him as an assISTANT coach BECAUSE HE SUCK AS A GM

[AusPel]

Demps preferred to coach. He wanted that over scouting or FO jobs -- I know of at least one FO job he turned down.

Being a GM isn't just trades and signings. Its overseeing game operations, being involved in business meetings, ticket sales, etc.

He loves the game and players. When you are in the FO, you actually are encouraged NOT to have relationships with players. That isn't his personality. I actually think coaching is a better fit for him

Do you agree that Demps hands were tied the whole time he was at NO with respect to his roster decisions?

[13 - 3]

Maybe Pelican should have hired him as an assISTANT coach BECAUSE HE SUCK AS A GM

To be fair it was not a Benson hire.

[MichaelMcNamara]

Do you agree that Demps hands were tied the whole time he was at NO with respect to his roster decisions?

I think thats WAY too simple of a summary.

He was told that ownership didnt want a slow rebuild that resulted in many years of missed playoffs. They wanted the team to be competitive almost instantly, and strongly urged him to look for difference makers in 2013, as opposed to building through the draft.

But just because they wanted to win doesnt mean he didnt make a long of bad choices of his own doing. In the coaching search, he narrowed in on Gentry and Del Negro, despite Thibs, Van Gundy, Cal and several other more accomplished guys trying to get the job. He vastly overpaid Asik. He zeroed in on Solomon Hill and kept bidding with Utah as a few playoff games made his price go up.

Many people could have had similar mandates and performed much better. Heck, most owners dont want a slow build and want playoffs sooner than later, and many GM's find better ways to get there. Dell wasnt as bad as many think, but he made a lot of mistakes. He couldnt accept sunk cost and he had optimism bias, and that more than ownership was his downfall

[AusPel]

I think thats WAY too simple of a summary.

He was told that ownership didnt want a slow rebuild that resulted in many years of missed playoffs. They wanted the team to be competitive almost instantly, and strongly urged him to look for difference makers in 2013, as opposed to building through the draft.

But just because they wanted to win doesnt mean he didnt make a long of bad choices of his own doing. In the coaching search, he narrowed in on Gentry and Del Negro, despite Thibs, Van Gundy, Cal and several other more accomplished guys trying to get the job. He vastly overpaid Asik. He zeroed in on Solomon Hill and kept bidding with Utah as a few playoff games made his price go up.

Many people could have had similar mandates and performed much better. Heck, most owners dont want a slow build and want playoffs sooner than later, and many GM's find better ways to get there. Dell wasnt as bad as many think, but he made a lot of mistakes. He couldnt accept sunk cost and he had optimism bias, and that more than ownership was his downfall

What do you think drives a ridiculous contract like that of Asik's when he's just bidding against himself? Or were there other suitors?

[MichaelMcNamara]

What do you think drives a ridiculous contract like that of Asik's when he's just bidding against himself? Or were there other suitors?

Asiks agent knew Dell wouldn't let him walk because he had just traded a first for him, and so he completely dragged Dell in that negotiation. But I will say that Dell got better later in his career. In that Boogie trade, he walked away from the negotiation at one point and was ready to let the deal die because the Kings were asking for too much.

Like a player, he was getting better after a few years. But he had done far too much damage already to recover from

[ozwego15]

Part of me wishes Dell didn't give a max contract to Eric Gordon...wish he did a sign and trade with Phoenix

[As I See It]

Dell and Omer will forever be linked together in the NBA History Book in the chapter entitled: "Inept NBA Duos". Hell, they may well be the headliner for that chapter.

[donato]

Part of me wishes Dell didn't give a max contract to Eric Gordon...wish he did a sign and trade with Phoenix

I thought that wasn't an option? Phoenix signed him and then there was nothing the Pels could do or something like that? Maybe I'm imagining that.

[MichaelMcNamara]

I thought that wasn't an option? Phoenix signed him and then there was nothing the Pels could do or something like that? Maybe I'm imagining that.

No - prior to officially signing with Phoenix, the Suns engaged us numerous times on a sign and trade. We said no, Gordon then said he would wait to do his surgery in season if we didnt sign and trade him and/or if we matched. It was ugly behind the scenes. All fans know is the "heart in Phoenix" comment, but it was very, very ugly.

But Dell refused to trade him, thinking he could get more later for Gordon. And he never did. And he also lost the opportunity cost of making moves with that cap space. For example, because we didnt have enough space, we had to make Lopez part of the Tyreke signing. And with no Lopez, we traded a 1st for Asik. And because we traded a 1st for Asik, we overpaid when we re-signed him.

It could all be traced back to the Gordon decision. That said, it makes me a little upset when people say they wish we would have sign and traded him because literally NOBODY agreed with that at the time. Nobody. Every time I brought that up, the answer was the same, "You cant just lose the guy who was the centerpiece of the CP3 trade"

This is why I am so adament about cutting bait on Lonzo. No, its not exactly the same but it is eerily close.

[Silverfoxx]

No - prior to officially signing with Phoenix, the Suns engaged us numerous times on a sign and trade. We said no, Gordon then said he would wait to do his surgery in season if we didnt sign and trade him and/or if we matched. It was ugly behind the scenes. All fans know is the "heart in Phoenix" comment, but it was very, very ugly.

But Dell refused to trade him, thinking he could get more later for Gordon. And he never did. And he also lost the opportunity cost of making moves with that cap space. For example, because we didnt have enough space, we had to make Lopez part of the Tyreke signing. And with no Lopez, we traded a 1st for Asik. And because we traded a 1st for Asik, we overpaid when we re-signed him.

It could all be traced back to the Gordon decision. That said, it makes me a little upset when people say they wish we would have sign and traded him because literally NOBODY agreed with that at the time. Nobody. Every time I brought that up, the answer was the same, "You cant just lose the guy who was the centerpiece of the CP3 trade"

This is why I am so adament about cutting bait on Lonzo. No, its not exactly the same but it is eerily close.

Did you know why Gordon despise N.O. so much? Thanks for the insight Mac.

[Eman5805]

So the ultimate question...is Griffin the same kind of eternal optimist that Demps was?

[MichaelMcNamara]

Did you know why Gordon despise N.O. so much? Thanks for the insight Mac.

I mean, they stunk. Its not a glamour city. Ownership had just been a nightmare. Franchise at that time had a rep for being really cheap. Oh, and Kaman used the N word in the locker room that season and for all those reasons there was just a funk around the team that everyone wanted to flee from.

Admittedly, that is different with Lonzo. He wants to stay.

[MichaelMcNamara]

So the ultimate question...is Griffin the same kind of eternal optimist that Demps was?

I have said yes in the past but some people who know him or know people who know him tell me its not the case. I think we will learn a ton this summer.

Dell was just a different level of optimist. I will never forget being at the airport when Dell called me after the Gentry announcement and literally the first question I asked him was, "So, with this hiring, I guess that means you're moving on from Asik" and his response was, "No, I think he can be for us what Bogut was in Golden State."

I know we talked about more that call. I had time to kill for a delayed plane. But I honestly can not remember one other thing because that line put me into a state of shock. I will never forget it.