This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Greg Miller, chief executive officer of the Jazz and Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, discussed Wednesday a recent report the team could be sold. Miller spoke to The Salt Lake Tribune after participating in a Thanksgiving event at EnergySolutions Arena that fed more than 4,000 homeless and low-income people from the Salt Lake City region.The Tribune ran an in-depth, three-part project Oct. 22 documenting a variety of factors that should contribute to the Jazz being owned and operated by LHM for the foreseeable future. The articles also documented how the Jazz are better positioned than most small-market teams to emerge from the NBA lockout in a position of strength.
Read the articles:
Jazz, Larry Miller's empire keep on bouncing, driving
In Utah, Jazz are still king of the mountain
Car sales are driving diversified LHMMiller on a report he could sell the Jazz: "I … I get frustrated whenever I see that. Because my Dad has said since he bought the team in 1985 that the Jazz will be a part of the Salt Lake landscape and the Utah landscape as long as they're not a burden on the other businesses that we depend on to keep our employees employed and feed our families and so on. Ever since 1985, we've been fortunate that we haven't been threatened with the Jazz being a threat to the other businesses, and that is still the case today. When we spent the money that we did last year on our players, that was by design — it wasn't an accident. We knew where we stood. There's nothing that's an accident. It's all deliberate. Now, there are certainly things beyond our control that sometimes change your plan in midstream. But it basically worked out as we expected it to economically. It certainly didn't work out the way we expected it to competitively. But even with the numbers with the way they were, it was by design; it was a conscious decision. We have absolutely no intention of selling the team. Again, I'm going to echo what my Dad said: If it ever gets to the point where it's a burden, then we'll reserve the right to do what we need to do to protect our other interests. But we're not even in the realm of consideration of that right now. And I must add that is due primarily to wonderful support from our fans and wonderful support from our sponsors."Brian T. SmithTwitter: @tribjazzbsmith@sltrib.comfacebook.com/tribjazz