The Note

David Locke sits down with Jazz CEO Danny Ainge to discuss the steps to finding a new head coach.

Jazz head coach Quin Snyder played and coached for Mike Krzyzewski. At a press conference earlier this year, Snyder reflected on his recruiting visit with Coach K. UtahJazz.com’s JP Chunga spoke to his teammates - Jay Bilas and Johnny Dawkins - on the legendary coach’s influence.

What makes Donovan Mitchell’s connection to Louisville special? UtahJazz.com’s JP Chunga examined why the Cards remain a fixture for the Jazz star even five years out of college.

Mike Conley and Rudy Gay started their careers together - in Memphis. Key members in the Grizzlies transformation, they’re reunited in Utah. UtahJazz.com’s JP Chunga discussed their reunion and looked back at their days starting out with former NBA head coach Lionel Hollins.

A lot has changed since Dr. Dunkenstein arrived in Salt Lake City back in 1980. On this episode of The Note podcast, Darrell Griffith joins us to reflect on the frustration of his early years in the NBA, playing for Frank Layden and Jerry Sloan, and his relationship with current Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

New Orleans was Frank Layden’s favorite place to scout games as a matter of convenience. Back in the 1970s, Layden was an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and Louisiana was just an hour’s flight away. He could fly in, watch his team’s upcoming opponent, and be back in his own bed by midnight. Perfect. The affable coach from Brooklyn couldn’t have known back then where those trips to the Big Easy would eventually take him—or just how hard that journey would be. On this episode of The Note podcast, Layden reflects on the early days of the Jazz’s move to Utah; the trade that brought Adrian Dantley to Salt Lake and the decision to send the legendary Pistol Pete Maravich away; his choice to hand the coaching reins to Jerry Sloan; and why, 40 years later, Layden still calls Utah home.

Tony Bradley visited the Capitol West Boys & Girls Club. Georges Niang hosted his second annual Turkey Giveaway.

The Jazz will host the All-Star Game in 2023. UtahJazz.com’s Aaron Falk and JP Chunga caught up with Commissioner Adam Silver after the announcement to get a state of the league. 

A rundown of the episode:

0:30 — The announcement

3:50 — Adam Silver explains why Utah will host the 2023 All-Star Game

5:10 — Remembering 1993

8:35 — Possibility of a midseason cup

11:35 — Donovan Mitchell

13:30 — Local television ratings

15:30 — NBA handshakes

After two trips to the NBA Finals, a pair of MVP awards for Malone, and two decades of perspective, the Utah Jazz’s mountain logo now represents some of the most significant moments in franchise history. But it wasn’t always beloved.

Jazz art director Ben Barnes and Jay Francis, the LHM executive who led the Jazz’s marketing department at the time of the logo change in 1996, join The Note podcast this week to discuss the history of the iconic logo, and share their thoughts on bringing back the purple mountains this season.

There was one year that Walt Perrin decided to keep track of the number of basketball games he attended.

“I was so astonished by the number,” he says, “that I quit. I don’t do that anymore.”

Suffice it to say, Perrin, the Utah Jazz’s vice president of player personnel, works tirelessly each year to prepare for the NBA Draft. With draft night just a few days away, Perrin joined The Note podcast to discuss the scouting and pre-draft workout process, and to share his thoughts on this year’s class.

A rundown of the episode:

6:00 — When do draft preparations begin, and changes to league rules on events scouts can attend

8:55 — What is the life of a scout like? How big is the Jazz’s scouting network?

13:00 — How important are pre-draft workouts? The Jazz 100, the Stockton Drill, and things that make workouts in Utah unique.

19:00 — Memories of Donovan Mitchell’s and Rudy Gobert’s workouts

24:00 — Why Perrin thinks the prediction he once made for this year’s draft could be wrong, and what are the Jazz looking for in this draft

29:30 — What is the war room like on draft night?