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SALT LAKE CITY — Quin Snyder caught himself before he got too deep into the answer.
During his end-of-season media availability Tuesday at the Utah Jazz practice facility, the coach was asked to address the ongoing rumors of his job status and whether or not he wanted to remain in Utah.
He began his answer in a past tense way, but then quickly realized people may read into that.
"My family's loved it here," he said before pausing to add, "and don't judge my tense when I speak. My family loves it here, how's that?"
It was a necessary fix. There's been reports for months about other teams' interest in Snyder, and he's been most commonly linked to the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs if Gregg Popovich opts to retire.
With that as the backdrop, any hint of emotion from Snyder and any use of past tense — which he often uses during interviews — seemed a bit like a goodbye.
Was that simply reading too much into things? After Monday's 40-minute press conference, it's hard to say.
In some aspects, Snyder, who had hip-replacement surgery last week and needed crutches to get in and out of the Jazz press room, didn't sound like a man that was ready to leave.
He spoke openly about his appreciation of his time in Utah and the experience his family has had here. He lauded everything about the Jazz franchise, from owner Ryan Smith down to the fans who fill up Vivint Arena. He talked about his love of his players and his desire to reach the ultimate goal with them.
Yet, when given a chance to squash the reports of him potentially leaving, he chose to deflect — or, at the very least, not fully commit to being on the team next season.
"I continue to maintain that I'm not going to discuss my contractual situation publicly," Snyder said. "This is not something that I want to do or I'm comfortable with."
Snyder has at least one year left on his contract, and multiple reports have stated he rejected a contract extension ahead of the recently-completed season.
The reason to not discuss the issue might simply be about privacy, something Snyder has highly valued even while performing a very public job. For example, it was a rarity in his first years coaching the Jazz that he ever brought up his wife or kids, and even refused to talk about his personal life.
This could be another case of that. Or he could just be wanting to keep his options open.
Whatever the case, he made it clear he has enjoyed his time in the Salt Lake Valley.
"Whether it's school, the community, Salt Lake, the city, the experience has been and continues to be a great one," Snyder said of his family's time in Utah before he transitioned to his time with the team. "I'm privileged to coach a group of players; I'm reminded of that consistently throughout the year. We're not perfect, but I'm grateful for that. And I really like our players.
"Additionally, from an ownership standpoint, I appreciate the things that Ryan's doing. I have great respect for him and his vision for the franchise. And then working with (team executives) Justin (Zanik) and Danny (Ainge), obviously I have tremendous respect for them."
It was a ringing endorsement of his time in Utah, and he followed that up by saying he was planning on meeting with Zanik and Ainge to analyze the 2021-22 season and figure out ways to get better in the future.
That sounds like the plan of a guy who is expecting to be around next season. He just didn't confirm that.
