Utah Jazz Ownership: ‘No Intention’ of Selling Team

Ever since word got out that the Utah Jazz may soon go on the market, their owners have aggressively shot down the notion. From the Salt Lake Tribune: “[Greg Miller, chief executive officer of the Jazz and Larry H. Miller Group of Companies] on a report he could sell the Jazz: ‘I … I get frustrated whenever I see that. Because my Dad has said since he bought the team in 1985 that the Jazz will be a part of the Salt Lake landscape and the Utah landscape as long as they’re not a burden on the other businesses that we depend on to keep our employees employed and feed our families and so on. Ever since 1985, we’ve been fortunate that we haven’t been threatened with the Jazz being a threat to the other businesses, and that is still the case today. When we spent the money that we did last year on our players, that was by design — it wasn’t an accident. We knew where we stood. There’s nothing that’s an accident. It’s all deliberate. Now, there are certainly things beyond our control that sometimes change your plan in midstream. But it basically worked out as we expected it to economically. It certainly didn’t work out the way we expected it to competitively. But even with the numbers with the way they were, it was by design; it was a conscious decision. We have absolutely no intention of selling the team. Again, I’m going to echo what my Dad said: If it ever gets to the point where it’s a burden, then we’ll reserve the right to do what we need to do to protect our other interests. But we’re not even in the realm of consideration of that right now. And I must add that is due primarily to wonderful support from our fans and wonderful support from our sponsors.'”