"Everybody Goes Through It" | Utah GM Justin Zanik To Lead Jazz Through Interesting Offseason

Just over 12 hours after Utah’s season came to a crushing end in game six of their first round playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks, Jazz general manager Justin Zanik walked into the press room at Zions Bank Basketball Campus to answer some difficult questions.

Ever composed, Zanik walked local media through Utah’s thought process for the upcoming offseason, addressing rumors regarding head coach Quin Snyder and star players Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. 

“Quin Snyder is one of the best coaches in the NBA,” Zanik said. “There is no other partner I would rather have as a coach and as a leader of our players and as a partner in our front office than Quin Snyder.”

“I think Donovan and Rudy, along with some of our other players, are hugely important to the success of this organization,” he added. “When you’re talking about building a championship house, it doesn’t exist just on a foundation, it exists on everything else as well. Those two are three-time all-star players, consecutive all-stars, Defensive Player of the Year, all-NBA candidates. And any time that we can add to that, complement that, strengthen that — because this competition is a team game, and they’ve been huge contributors for us.”

Sure enough, this offseason will go down as one of the most important in Utah’s incredible legacy — and Zanik will be one of the foremost men leading the Jazz to stay a legitimate title contender for years to come.

“There’s also so many times in the past — with COVID, with interrupted breaks, small breaks, where it just made everything a lot harder,” Zanik said. “Even though we had good guys and guys that care about each other and the coaching staff is great, there was just a lot more of a grind. Everybody goes through it. … We’re not special that way. But being able to take a collective deep breath with this offseason coming, I think will be good for everyone.”