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Post by Andrei Kirilenko on Jan 20, 2015 14:06:15 GMT
Salt Lake City, Utah
Josh Barber was fired as GM of the Utah Jazz yesterday after a 2 and a half year stint with the organization. Barber led the Jazz to the lottery for two straight seasons after making the playoffs in his first year. Many are skeptical about the move for the Jazz, as the team recently acquired a plethora of young assets under Barber, including Jeff Teague, Lance Stephenson, and Jabari Parker, and seems to be going in the right direction. When asked about the firing, Jazz owner Adam Smith noted that Barber was "too eccentric" for Salt Lake City and did not share the same vision as the community by "repeatedly referring to himself as God in press conferences".
The firing could not have come at a better time for GM Barber, as he was immediately hired by the Brooklyn Nets, a franchise that Barber led to the D5 championship in 2009, and the D6 championship in 2013. Also accompanying Barber to Brooklyn will be his longtime favorite players, guards Lance Stephenson and Ishmael Smith. When asked about the sudden move, Stephenson, a Brooklyn native, told YES Network that he is "excited to get to hang out with black people again." Ishmael Smith posted on his Twitter that he is excited for the opportunity.
Barber, who previously served a brief stint as Assistant GM to the Indiana Pacers in 2012, as well as GM of the New Jersey Nets from 2007-2011, will make his first appearance in Brooklyn later this afternoon.
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Post by Ian Noble on Jan 20, 2015 14:18:53 GMT
Stephenson, a Brooklyn native, told YES Network that he is "excited to get to hang out with black people again." Brilliance.
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