Dwyane Wade Shares Thoughts on Jazz Rebuild

Dwyane Wade became a member of the Utah Jazz ownership group four years ago—an agreement that came about due to Wade’s new golfing habit at the time.

Wade’s legacy as a player in the NBA is cemented and the Hall of Fame guard is now trying to build a new legacy as an investor in the league. For the most part, Wade has remained in the shadows within the Utah organization, but recently offered some insight on his motivations for joining the franchise in his current capacity.

“When I decided to come into this, I came in as an investor,” Wade explained. “I didn’t come into this trying to have a job in the NBA in a management position (laughs). I’m learning and building a relationship with Utah. I’m on the investor side of my life. It’s not something that’s a part of my future [management].”

“It’s something that Ryan [Smith] and I talked about early on. What roles did we want to play in this? Neither one of us wanted to play a management role. He wanted to play the governor, and I wanted to play the investor role.”

Jazz majority owner Ryan Smith has been someone who Wade credits as his mentor throughout their partnership with the franchise. Both are working towards building a special NBA organization that produces excellence both on and off the court for the city of Utah.

Wade also affirmed that the process of a rebuild is one that will take time but ultimately yield positive results in due season.

“We brought in a new coach in Will Hardy, Danny Ainge, and Ryan as a new governor,” Wade said. “Everything is new, and you have to have patience. You have to be patient in your rebuild. I think that’s what the Jazz have been doing while trying to build a culture and put together an organization that practices a championship mindset from the top and eventually trickles down to the players.”

The three-time NBA champion believes in what Utah is building and certainly knows the makings of a potential championship team.

The Jazz are experiencing growing pains when it comes to their young core of players consistently winning games, but saw positive skillset development from players like Isaiah Collier, Keyone George, Kyle Filipowski, and Brice Sensabaugh.

As these players continue to build on the foundation they have set and the Jazz continue to draft well, the organization will be ready to compete for a championship sooner rather than later.

“It’s a slow burn,” Wade said. “It’s a slow build. But you’ve got to be in this for the long haul. You don’t just walk into this and win championships and be successful. I think we’re all seeing that together. We’ve got a great leader in Ryan, a great leader in Danny, and a great leader in Will.”

Wade understands that the road to a championship is a difficult one to trek, but with a promising young core and a culture of positivity, the Jazz are setting themselves up for a bright future.