A sharp decline in winning percentage.  A shift in command of the franchise.  A chance at the ultimate prize…the NBA Championship.

How about all of the above?

While the first two are almost certainties, and the last, a hopeful possibility, there’s a lot to be said about the resignation of Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan.  He had been the master of his craft, spearheading Utah’s consistent playoff participation for the past 23 seasons.  Sloan is often identified by his two primary offensive tendencies, the pick and roll (made famous by John Stockton and Karl Malone) and cutting, screening and constant-movement sets.   

Of course, we all recall that Sloan would have possibly won two championships during the late 90′s.  But, of course, both of them were foiled by the man – MJ – who kept so many others (including Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning) title-less during his decade of dominance.

But all in all, the Jazz have not managed to win a title in any of those other years, either.  Sure, Utah has continued to field good teams year after year, but isn’t the ultimate goal to win an NBA Championship?  Sloan is third on the all-time wins list, and has compiled a total overall record of 1221-803 (.603).  With Utah, his mark has been 1127-682 (.623)  Sustained excellence has been the story of Sloan’s coaching career.  He’s never won an NBA Coach of the Year award, often being overlooked for a coach who has either guided a team to a more dramatic win-loss turnaround or led a team to an outstanding regular season mark.

Even with Stockton and Malone, Sloan was unable to coach the Jazz to a championship.

Although Sloan has amassed commendable win-loss records, he has managed to do so without many individual stars.  Malone and Stockton were Jazz staples until about 2003, and then a new Utah group became centered around a collection of individual talents (Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams).  But regardless of the players wearing the uniform, the Salt Lake City crew maintained that typical Jerry Sloan-level of success.  That is, first- and/or second-round playoff appearances were still the norm.

But with a blooming cast of characters, there was no adjustment to Sloan’s coaching philosophy.  Much like Phil Jackson, Sloan held true to what his coaching was all about – a team brand of basketball that displayed little favoritism to the individual strengths and weaknesses of his players.  But unlike Jackson, Sloan’s system had not delivered a single championship (let alone, multiple championships).  And also unlike PJ, Sloan did not have a player with the talent to break the system…in an effective way (A.K.A. Jordan or Kobe Bryant).  The best teams in NBA history were successful because of their propensity to get the most out of their players.  And how do you accomplish that in the NBA?

By milking your most talented player(s).  There’s currently a ton of speculation in the tabloids, suggesting that perhaps it was Sloan’s deteriorated relationship with two-time All-Star Deron Williams that may have accelerated his canning by the organization.  While that may or may not be true, Williams has suggested displeasure with Sloan’s coaching style – desiring to control the reigns of a more uptempo squad. 

D-Will wants to push the rock and get more shots like this one.

But the request by Williams is not an uneducated one stemming from selfish desires.  The Jazz are one of few teams with more than an 11% decrease in effective field goal percentage when attempting a field goal at the beginning of the shot clock as opposed to the end of it.  Without a dominant back-to-the-basket presence or super-scoring wingman, getting good looks early and often would seem to be vital to Utah’s offensive success, indeed.

Of course, Sloan was probably the same as he always has been: predictable.  It’s a safe bet to assume that he wasn’t about to transition from a system that has given him a consistent level of accomplishment based upon the concerns of one player.

So, as effective as he’s been in his two plus decades in dedication to his craft, Sloan has failed Utah – and himself – in the ultimate goal that exists for an NBA head coach.  But a true master of his craft knows when it’s time to make a change.

He has been fortunate enough to have flexible players who were always able to spurn their individual desires for what Sloan indicated was the greater good of the team.  And now, in the end, it was Sloan’s inability to do the same that forced him to abandon his position.

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