It takes a bold man to make a passing judgment about an entire city. You'd think that bold man would make a comment when they have something more worthwhile behind their name. A legacy that would seem to benefit from such a sweeping and dynamic cutting down. An ego that's deserved, even justified. Someone whose name cuts to the core of an entire league.
Not someone who barely plays 13 minutes of action for his career. Paul Reed is that man, and Reed decided he was going to rip Salt Lake City for not having "nothing in Utah". Reed was on Run It Back talking about how the Utah Jazz nearly acquired him with an offer sheet before the Philadelphia 76ers decided to match it. That's when Chandler Parsons prompted Reed with a question on whether he was happy or not to have stayed in Philadelphia, prompting the response from Reed. That said, Reed, to his credit did say he'd make the best of the situation had he ended up in Salt Lake City.
While Salt Lake City isn't cheap to live in, it's a lovely area with a lot to do, especially for sports fans. So you would think more people would be interested in living here. Not Reed, and while Reed's comments were shortsighted, the disrespect wasn't his to bear alone.
.@ChandlerParsons: "How hype were you that [the Sixers] matched so you didn't have to go move to Utah?" 😂@Bball_paul: "I was super hyped...Ain't nothing in Utah for real." 😂 pic.twitter.com/Dj2z94ZfWE
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 18, 2024
Parsons asked Reed how "hyped" he was that he didn't have to go to Utah, which elicited a stern dismissal from Michelle Beadle, who was taken aback by the moment and had to laugh off the absurdity of the question.
Parsons is not one who should be throwing shade, as much like Reed, he didn't do much in his NBA career to warrant dismissing entire cities. While he made a lot of money, he only played in 440 games out of a possible 738, missing nearly 40% of his career due to injuries. He's often considered one of the biggest busts and most overpaid players of all time, to the point that many claim he essentially "stole" money from teams due to how much he was paid but with how little work he put in.
As for Reed, he's proven to be a solid defender, but an all-around average player who the Utah Jazz never should have put an offer sheet in on in the first place. Not landing him didn't negatively impact the team at all.
The disrespect of Salt Lake City needs to end. The town is getting a brand new hockey team. They have two major soccer teams the men's Real Salt Lake and the women's Utah Royals, not to mention the upcoming Olympics. There's a lot to do in Salt Lake, and if you can't find something to do that's fun and engaging, that says more about you than it does about the city.