The Utah Jazz are one of the few teams in the NBA with a vacancy at head coach after parting ways with Tyrone Corbin. Although there are plenty of viable candidates available, the Jazz are considering one of the best players in its franchise’s history to return to Utah as the head coach.
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According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Jazz will reach out to Hall of Fame point guard, John Stockton:
The Utah Jazz, as part of a broad coaching search expected to feature some 20 candidates, plan to reach out to Jazz legend John Stockton to gauge whether he has any interest in the position, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
As of right now, the Jazz haven’t been mentioned as a likely destination for any of the top tier coaches available on the open market. The New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers have more attractive head coaching vacancies, making it difficult for the Jazz to bring the right man in after another disappointing season resulting in a record of 25-57.
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Stockton retired as a player back in 2003 and had his jersey retired by the Jazz the following year. Five years later, Stockton was inducted in the Hall of Fame and is widely considered one of the best point guards to have ever played the game.
There’s only a handful of candidates mentioned to be in contention for the open position for the Jazz, according to Stein:
Other candidates who have been mentioned include Chicago Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin, current Jazz assistant Brad Jones, former Missouri coach and veteran NBA assistant Quin Snyder (who worked with Lindsey in San Antonio), and European coaching legend Ettore Messina.
With Stockton having no coaching experience, it is uncertain if he’s considered a top candidate. Jones, Snyder and Messina all have considerable experience, but it’d be safe to say the team has nothing to lose at this point and may roll the dice on a familiar face in Stockton if he’s interested in the job.
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