John Stockton hasn't been involved with the Utah Jazz for over two decades now. The Jazz and NBA legend has kept a low profile since his NBA career ended (for the most part), so he hasn't kept tabs on the Jazz. However, he recently commented on the Jazz's tanking efforts and didn't have the best thing to say about it. in so doing, he may have given the team the motivation they need long-term.
During his appearance on "The Ultimate Assist," Stockton criticized the organization for the approach, believing that doing so does not create the same winning culture he played in back when he played for the Jazz.
“I haven’t been tracking them. I know that there doesn’t seem to be a mission to win,” Stockton said. “If that’s true, that’s frustrating, because I think that culture is so hard to come by. I knew how hard it was for the Utah Jazz to become a winning organization to begin with, and I came in on the tail end of that. I got to build from that with my teammates.
“I wouldn’t give up that fight to try to win every single game, every single quarter, for anything — for draft choices, for future anything. Because the future, it moves.”
To be fair, Stockton actually said this five months ago, but it's only just recently started making the rounds. There is some validity to what Stockton said. Considering it took Utah three years after they blew up their squad to commit to the tank because they hadn't truly committed to it before.
However, his comments also reflect on how times have changed. The reason why the Jazz are going this route is that it is the least risky way to build a contender. They lucked into Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert during their respective drafts, and before that, they stumbled upon Deron Williams because they had an injury-plagued season that caused an unintentional tank.
But now, with Stockton's words out in the open, this could give the Jazz the edge they need.
The Jazz have the opportunity to prove a legend wrong
With Stockton's skepticism, the Jazz can now use this to show him they made the right move by tanking. They won't necessarily prove him wrong right away, but Utah is prepping itself for a glorious era, even if that is being developed at a snail's pace.
The right players get motivated best by proving someone wrong, and in the Jazz's case, one of the franchise's best players ever just said that how they're building their team is wrong. Now might not be the time to prove he's incorrect, but now is the time to start building towards doing that.
This upcoming season is likely going to be rough for anyone who wants to see wins, but a true winner takes time. All it needs are the right ingredients, and getting dissed by a legend can definitely be one of them.