Ty Corbin did a lot of things right in his first full season as the Utah Jazz’s head coach. Even though the Jazz were swept in convincing fashion by the Spurs in the 1st round, the team did make the playoffs the year after Hall-of-Fame coach Jerry Sloan left mid-season and superstar point guard Deron Williams was traded at the deadline, which is no mean feat, especially considering that Derrick Favors, the centerpiece of the trade that sent Williams to New Jersey, appears to be making good progress under Corbin.
Still, not every Jazz player was thrilled with Corbin at the end of the season. Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune has the story:Raja Bell
Bell does not expect to return to Jazz next year.
Bell hopes the Jazz do the right thing and move him before the 2012-13 season. He was open to it before the trade deadline but never asked for trade.
Bell said Corbin was “unprofessional” at the end of the season. According to Bell, Corbin made things personal by playing everyone in the playoffs except for him and it was obvious.
Bell said if he’s still on Jazz at the start of next season “we’ll cross that bridge” then.
C.J. Miles
Miles said the team was put off by Al Jefferson’s pre-Game 4 comments about no one beating the Spurs in the playoffs and San Antonio being better than Utah.
Miles loves the Jazz, the team’s fans and thinks Corbin will evolve. But he never knew what was expected of him this year.
Miles said communication was much better with former coach Jerry Sloan, and Corbin has struggled relaying his message to team.
Miles: “I don’t even remember us naming a captain, but they wanted leadership.”
Miles wanted to play in Game 4 but said he wasn’t allowed to.
The 35-year old Bell, who has always been a role player, probably wouldn’t have done much to prevent the sweep in anybody’s wildest imagination, but the fact that he was the only player not to get on the court for the Jazz does seem to show that Corbin doesn’t have much of a personal relationship with him. Miles is just 25, but he’s also a role player on the court for the Jazz, so it wouldn’t seem like he would have much leverage if he forced the Jazz to choose between him and their coach.
Miles is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Bell’s 3.5 million dollar contract expires after the 2012-13 season.