This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This is the time of year when NBA draft prospects visit Utah and declare their love of the state, admiration of the Jazz organization and respect for coach Jerry Sloan.
It's all very reassuring and validating, except that the visitors are either lying or naive or simply shrewd businessmen, knowing now is not the time to offend anyone with millions of guaranteed dollars at stake.
The truth about the perception of the state and its professional basketball team is more readily found in a recently published Sports Illustrated survey, asking 248 active NBA players which team they would least like to play for.
The winner? Your Utah Jazz. And convincingly so. The Jazz claimed 27 percent of the votes, trouncing the closest contestant, Toronto (16 percent).
The question is whether this is just an innocent conversation topic or something that should worry the Jazz and their fans about the team's ability to attract free agents and put a contending club on the floor.
"It really doesn't deter us," said Jazz president Dennis Haslam. "It's not an issue that we're overly concerned about."
Still, the survey says something. Why would 67 players list Utah as their least preferred NBA home?
One of these five explanations is absolutely correct; I'm just not sure which one.
1. Well, they had to answer the question.
This is not a new subject. It has been nearly 10 years since Dallas guard Derek Harper dismissed the idea of being traded to the Jazz by saying, "You go live in Utah."
As Haslam said, that quote "has been chasing us ever since."
Even a WNBA prospect, Tamecka Dixon, once cited "anywhere but Utah" as her hoped-for draft destination. So when forced to name a place they wanted to avoid, many players probably just had "Utah" pop into their minds, with no hurtful message intended.
2. The state's image may never change.
When he chatted with draft candidates recently, Jazz legend Karl Malone told them to disregard Utah's reputation and judge the place by his positive experience. The words were unsolicited and appreciated, Haslam said. Then again, there's a reason the Mailman was compelled to speak.
The perception of Utah as lacking diversity, nightlife and other attractions for rich, young men, particularly African-American athletes, is still difficult to overcome.
"I think people who say bad things about the Utah Jazz and Utah don't know Utah," Haslam said.
Frank Layden agrees. The former Jazz coach and executive once offered to do television commercials portraying himself as the modern Utahn: an Irish-Catholic Democrat from Brooklyn who loves living in the state.
"I don't think the powers-that-be do a good enough job of getting the word out that this is a great place to live," Layden said. "And when I hear that athletes don't want to play here because of the nightlife or whatever, I'm not sure I want those players on my team, anyway."
3. Sloan is viewed as too demanding, too old-school, too inflexible.
This is a touchy one. Is it possible that having major league sports' longest-tenured coach is as much of a liability as a strength?
From the outside - and the inside, for that matter - playing for Sloan hardly resembles an afternoon on the clubhouse veranda. It's not surprising that Phoenix was viewed favorably, considering coach Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced approach. It's also true that San Antonio plays a somewhat similar style of basketball to Sloan's, and the Spurs were narrow winners as the most attractive team.
"Many, many players would love to play for a coach like Jerry Sloan," Haslam said.
4. The Jazz are perceived as not going anywhere.
They have not made the playoffs for three years and the competition in the Western Conference is only intensifying. Look at the other least desirable choices: Toronto, Atlanta, Milwaukee, New York, New Orleans, Charlotte, Portland. Only the Bucks made this year's playoffs, as a No. 8 seed. Players want to believe they have a chance to win a championship.
"I don't think it just has to do with basketball," Layden said, going back to the perception of Utah.
5. Another interpretation: Hey, this means 181 players did not say they wouldn't want to come here!
Really, nothing has changed in the Jazz's 27 years in Salt Lake City. It's still a small market, it's still a franchise that has to overachieve to succeed, it's still a case of trying to find players who fit into the structure of the team and the town.
They were restricted free agents, meaning they at least partly used the Jazz just as a negotiating mechanism, but Jason Terry and Corey Maggette were once willing to sign Jazz offer sheets (so, almost, was Elton Brand). As long as the Jazz keep issuing checks with lots of zeroes, they should be able to fill the roster every year.
Besides, nobody's making them live here permanently; they just have to come and play basketball for six months a year- or slightly longer, if the Jazz ever return to the playoffs.
"All of the players who come here, I think, like us," Haslam said.
The trick is getting more of the good ones to make that discovery.