Jazz woes: Readers weigh in on what's wrong with team

Oh, my. What did we start?

A simple question — "What's wrong with the Jazz?" — generated more than 150 e-mails. And it wasn't the volume that was so impressive, but rather where the responses came from that was surprising.

We expected more than a few letters from Puerto Rico after guard Carlos Arroyo was shipped to the Pistons. But the international responses also came from Turkey (Mehmet Okur's country), Canada, Greece, Israel, Brazil and South Africa. Who'd have thought the Jazz woes were a concern in South Africa? E-mails also came from Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Florida, California, Washington and New York.

In addition to the letters, we asked Dan Jones and Associates to do a more scientific sampling and help us with the answers. Among those contacted for the Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV Poll, a third (32 percent) say the reason for the Jazz slippage this season is the team's youth and inexperience. Another 12 percent cite injuries to key players. Just 9 percent blame coach Jerry Sloan for the Jazz woes (though you wouldn't know it by the e-mail volume); 14 percent cite some other reason, and a fourth of respondents (26 percent) had no opinion. Below is a sampling of some of the responses. We'll post the whole batch online for those who want to read and commiserate with their fellow Jazz fans — worldwide.

Plan for next season

The Jazz need to play out the year and hope for a top-three pick in the lottery. They also need to make some trades before the deadline to plan for next season.

Jeremy Fairbanks,

Sandy

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Pass the baton, Jerry

After following the Jazz for years, I think that Jerry Sloan should do what Frank Layden did in the late '80s: Pass the reins to someone else. Phil Johnson may need to go as well and not because they are horrible coaches. These guys could use a change and the team as well.

Alana Jones,

Murray

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Hire FranklinCovey

The Jazz flop appears to be a lack of motivation rather than lack of talent and ability. I gather this from statements from the players, the organization and the media.