Cleaning up the Crumbs from Jerry Sloan retirement

There are a ton of leftovers from the Jerry Sloan retirement, so I’ll just start with the first thing I see – just the way I do with Thanksgiving leftovers.

Assistant coach Phil Johnson, who recommended Sloan be hired in Utah, retired on the same day. That’s how it was with those two. Johnson was an assistant coach in Chicago when Sloan played for the Bulls. (Johnson is a few months older than Sloan.) The two have been on the Jazz sideline for 23 years.

When Sloan turned the microphone over to Johnson at Thursday’s press conference, Johnson quipped, “It’s about time he let me do something.”

He went on to say, “I came with (Sloan) and I’ll leave with him.”

General Manager Kevin O’Connor said until about 10 minutes before the 3 p.m. press conference, he and the Millers were trying to talk Sloan out of leaving.

O’Connor said the Jazz will continue to do things the way they have been and “in 2034 (23 years from now) we’ll have another one of these.”

As for whether a confrontation with Deron Williams triggered his retirement, Sloan said, “I’ve had confrontations with players since I’ve been in the league.”

And finally, Sloan on the celebration after John Stockton’s shot in 1997 sent the Jazz to the NBA Finals for the first time: “I wanted to go hug them, but I was afraid I’d get hurt.”