In a pair of recent stories, veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein linked Jazz head coach Quin Snyder to head coaching jobs in San Antonio and Los Angeles, writing that he has repeatedly heard Snyder’s name mentioned as a possible successor for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and as a potential replacement for Lakers coach Frank Vogel.
Asked on Wednesday about those reports, Snyder told Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune that he feels as if he’s disrespecting the Spurs, the Lakers and their respective coaches by even discussing the rumors.
“To be honest, having to address this type of question in any form, in my view, is disrespectful to the teams that are mentioned themselves,” Snyder said. “I think specifically, these types of discussions are also disrespectful to coaches. And I love the guys that I coach. I love these players. And frankly, my focus is on our guys and our team. And as I said, addressing hypotheticals in these types of questions in any form I feel like is disrespectful. And that’s how I would characterize that.”
In his most recent story, Stein said it’s unclear when exactly Snyder’s deal with the Jazz expires. While the belief is that Snyder is under contract at least through 2022-23, Stein indicated that Utah’s efforts to extend him beyond his current agreement have been unsuccessful. Speaking to Larsen, Snyder declined to offer any clarity on his contract.
“I’ve never talked about my contract from day one, and I’m not going to,” he said. “That’s not something that I’m going to comment on now, nor at any point in the future. That’s not something that the Jazz have done. I personally don’t want to or believe in getting into public contract discussions.”
While Snyder didn’t outright dismiss the rumors about his eventual exit, he did heap plenty of praise on the Jazz for how the organization has treated him since he arrived in 2014, suggesting that he’s happy in his current position.
“I think the fact that I’ve been here eight years speaks in and of itself. And I’ve been lucky to have been a part of an organization that has been supportive of coaches, generally and of me in particular,” Snyder told The Salt Lake Tribune, adding that he has felt “embraced and supported” by the community. “And I’m grateful for [new Jazz owner Ryan Smith]. He’s doing some terrific things with the franchise and has a vision for how it can continue to grow.”
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