In some of his most expansive comments about the Jazz's basketball operation since taking over the leadership of the franchise, Greg Miller comes across as somewhat condescending, insulting and arrogant.
Probably not the attitude he intended to project, right?
I'm still glad he said something.
Remember that overriding belief, as I pick apart his words and wonder to whom he thought he needed to respond: Those who have justifiably booed his team at EnergySolutions Arena lately? A random talk-show caller? His imagined average Jazz fan?
Using the forum of an internet posting Tuesday, Miller showed he understands that fans want to know what he's thinking when the Jazz are struggling. His father, the late Larry Miller, was continually willing to offer opinions -- sometimes too bluntly, but always honestly.
When the Jazz are underachieving, as clearly happened in recent home losses to Denver and New Orleans, everybody wants some assurance that ownership is taking the losses as personally as the fans are, and that something might be done about it.
So the timing was good for Greg Miller to profess his quarter-century of love for the franchise, to say he's frustrated and not just accepting the current state of things. Among his declarations: "We have the talent to win right now."
The players needed to hear that, and they need to respond -- and soon, beginning today against Memphis.
There's some logic in everything Miller wrote, including the complexity of making trades in the NBA and how many factors are involved in personnel decisions.
He just went a little too far at some points in his list of "facts," such as reminding us, "It is not as simple as calling another team and telling them to send the player you want."
Or "we are not sitting on our hands."
Or "do not assume we are not pursuing trades just because there haven't been any."
That's not what anybody, whether astute about the NBA or not, wants to be told. Fans expect results, if that means actually consummating a trade before the Feb. 19 deadline and preferably sooner, or prodding the coaching staff and players to deliver production resembling their abilities.
Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and others keep insisting this is better than an 18-16 team, to which the only response can be the old Bill Parcells football truism: "You are what your record says you are."
Or the wisdom of former Jazz coach and executive Frank Layden, who always said, "We are who we are."
In that sense, much of Greg Miller's address is timely and accurate. He needed to come out and say the organization is paying players more money than ever as a commitment to winning, and the current roster unquestionably constitutes a playoff team, no matter what early 2010 appearances suggest.
At some point, this franchise simply needs to get more out of Andrei Kirilenko, beginning with some veteran leadership that's missing in the absence of Derek Fisher and Matt Harpring from recent Jazz teams. If not, general manager Kevin O'Connor needs to go and get it. He landed Kyle Korver just before New Year's Day in 2008, and the Jazz proceeded to go 38-12 the rest of that season.
Maybe that move was "well thought out and deliberate," to use Miller's phrase. Maybe it was mostly a "knee-jerk" reaction to Gordan Giricek's feud with coach Jerry Sloan, even if that's something the Jazz never do.
Regardless, the trade illustrates that transactions really can occur in the NBA, even involving the Jazz, no matter how tough Miller says it is. So I would tell him this: Do not avoid making a deal, just to show you're not panicking.
And one more thing: Whatever you do, keep in touch with the fans, via any avenues you can, including old-fashioned newspaper interviews. Your backers appreciate knowing you're suffering as much as they are with every defeat, even if there's no other supporting evidence.
