I think this all-star draft is overblown. Gobert is the opposite of what you are looking for in an all-star game and Mitchell just fell for whatever reason. It is two guys drafting and Kyrie Irving was the #2 overall pick. It is no big deal, .....but

Utah has a reputation in the league for some of the worst fans in the entire league. Kind of like going to a Ute game there are several reports of hate being spewed at the players. You have the Jordan pizza incident and now more recently the Westbrook drama.

Many Jazz fans I know wear this as a badge of honor and brag about why no NBA teams want to play in Utah (which is true to an extent). But then wonder why many in the league don't like the fans and organization.

The other part of that is that Utah is one of the whitest states in the union. Most basketball players are black. When making a choice of where to play and live for the majority of the year I would imagine that plays a big role.


Ultimately the biggest thing that hurts Utah in recruiting talent is that they are one of the smallest market teams. The big money is not here off the court. Even for as good as Stockton and Malone were did they cash in with ads? Less than most.

How do you change all of this? The first is to keep growing and get bigger. Check. Then you need to keep your stars and keep them happy. Mitchell could be this guy. Certainly if he won a title in Utah and stayed that would help immensely. Lastly try to keep your fans a little nicer at games. Be loud and cheer for your team but welcome opposing teams and fans. Yelling Lebron you bleepity bleep you suck isn't psyching him out and just makes you look bad IMO.

The Jazz have a fun team this year. Have fun and realize your team is respected. All-Star game drafts are just dumb and have as much to do with who the drafter's friends are as anything else.