Things just aren't what they used to be at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz. Scott Layden is no longer around to man the phones through the morning, skip lunch and hit the treadmill for his daily five-mile run. His father, Frank, will soon be packing out mementos from his office — the lithograph of Ebbetts Field, the replica of the space shuttle Endeavor, the poster of "Love Letters" starring he and his wife. Tim Howells, the businesslike general manager, has vacated his tidy office on the second floor in favor of working from his home in Sandy.
An era is quickly passing in Salt Lake City. The first step came last summer when Scott Layden left for the New York Knicks after 18 years with the Jazz. Then came the departures of Howells and Frank Layden in December, within two weeks' time. A group that had been together more than a decade is parting ways. It isn't unlike going through high school, assuming you'll all be close friends forever. Then one day graduation arrives and you go different directions, pursuing different dreams.
Howells left for a business/humanitarian opportunity, Scott Layden for professional advancement and cultural advantages, Frank Layden to spend precious hours with his greatest loves.
It was an amicable separation. There were no bitter words, no accusations, simply people moving on to the next phase of life. The younger Layden, in the prime of his career, couldn't resist the challenge of the nation's biggest market. His father was approaching 68 and wanting to enjoy family, attend the theater, read. Howells will be involved with a business that includes a youth ranch.
The next time owner Larry H. Miller sits in a management meeting with the Jazz staff, it will be a surreal experience. "If you look from the outside at the team and look at three guys who are as key as Scott, Tim and Frank, all choosing to change their situations, it does raise the question: Do people think we're on the down side here?" says owner Larry H. Miller.
"I worry how it looks," he continues. "Those things are so unusual around here that when it happens like this, it naturally raises questions."
The departures do conjure up an image of sailors abandoning a sinking ship. Was there internal friction? Did the old guard simply give up? Not so, says Miller. It was simply a coincidence the changes came so rapidly.
Whether the team itself is on a downward swing is debatable, and can't be fully answered until the playoffs. If you ask most of the Utah media, it's a foregone conclusion. Yet Miller says he is "puzzled" by assumptions that the long run is over.
Still, he does allow things are different, and a year from now will probably be even more so. Jeff Hornacek's contract expires after this season, John Stockton's the following. Stockton isn't one to play beyond his productive years. If he isn't pleased at the end of this season, there's an outside chance he could walk away along with Hornacek.
The next departure, though, may well be coach Jerry Sloan. He considered retiring after last two seasons, since learning of his wife's breast cancer. Miller allows that while he has "the deepest respect for Jerry, it takes its toll. I've seen Jerry change as Bobby has gotten ill."
Although Sloan's desire to win hasn't changed, his preoccupation with basketball has. Faced with the prospect of coaching ever-younger players — some of whom don't completely buy into Sloan's warrior approach — he might even decide to step down after this season.
If Sloan leaves, who knows? Maybe Malone will follow. Though he isn't likely to walk away from his enormous new contract, he may not want to play in Utah. In a year or two he could be without his mentor (Frank Layden), his two most important teammates and his head coach for well over a decade. The image of Malone carrying on under those terms seems uncomfortable, if not thinkable.
In any case, the old, comfy Jazz are rapidly giving way to a new look. For years the front office people were friends, trying to first earn some respect, then challenging for a championship. Now they have a new director of basketball operations in Kevin O'Connor, who was hired in August but is already being teased about being a senior member of the organization. The search for a new general manager is on, which could bring more change.
"I guess, in a way, it's like a little kid who thinks things will go on forever," says Miller with a sigh. "With the Jazz, we've been so consistent and so well established — and I might add successful — that it kind of seemed like it would never end."
Whether the Jazz's successful on-court show is over remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Those old familiar faces are rapidly moving on. Whatever the Jazz do from here will be with a changing cast of characters.