The Cornucopia of Possible NBA Logo Changes

[The Golden One]

I'm not sure how much it has been talked about here. But because of the Warriors logo being leaked. The Warriors had to scrap their plans for the reveal at the draft. Instead they are doing a contest on their website to reveal 1/9th of the logo each day. The final day is the 31st.

But from what they have revealed there are slight differences from the leak already. ESPN even wrote an article of how the warriors had to change things up because of fan leaks online.

The Leak:

The dubs contest:

It's hard to tell exactly because the contest is at an angle. But if you rotate the logo straight. I used my phone to turn it and compare.

Look at the trusses on the left. The leak has them a a lil bit more on angle than the contest. Though both are at an angle when turning the contest logo straight.

It also doesn't matter how much you turn the logo the bottom of the tower isn't straight.

We will know Monday exactly how the bridge looks.

[CubsFanBudMan]

I mean, that'd look nice and all if we hadn't already seen it under not one, but two completely different color schemes.

Shouldn't the green and navy be reversed if they want to capitalize on the popularity of the green throwback?

Are NBA teams that cash strapped that they can't just pony up the money and really change the ing primary as opposed to introducing new secondaries ersatz primaries?

Apparently the fines are $1,000,000, if not much more for a team to change their whole identity. Now I don’t know if that’s at any point in time or within a certain window after their last logo update/change.

Does anybody know the reason behind this moronic policy?

This has been repeated so often it's becoming a game of telephone, and with each retelling, the story gets more elaborate. Back in April, I responded to a question from Jazz new logo thread No. 2 in Jazz new logo thread No. 3. Since this is the NBA thread and has plenty of Jazz talk here now, too, I'll repeat it here via paste:

Success! Halfway through Page 10 of "Atlanta Hawks to be completely re-branded in '07-08", DEAD! posted an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story from June 24, 2007:

Changing the logo was as involved as changing the uniform.

Because logos are ubiquitous around the NBA, the league assesses a $500,000 fee if a team abandons its primary logo. The Hawks avoided that charge by retaining their 12-year-old logo of a mostly red hawk clutching a basketball, albeit changing the typeface and the secondary colors (out with yellow, black and brown; in with blue, silver and white).

That familiar logo, with the colors updated, will continue to be prominently used, including on the Philips Arena court. But it is not the logo that will appear on the new uniforms — or on the caps that Thursday's draft picks will immediately don.

Would it be wrong to add this info, as well as the yearly Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Bucs questions to the FAQ just so we have an easy place to point to? They certainly are frequently asked questions.

[andrewharrington]

C'mon. If you're talking angles of the support cables, you're looking at tenths of a degree. I'd say the work done was pretty good considering what he had to go off (the small watch image).

[The Golden One]

C'mon. If you're talking angles of the support cables, you're looking at tenths of a degree. I'd say the work done was pretty good considering what he had to go off (the small watch image).

haha I know. It was great work just going off of that leaked watch with the minute and second hands in the way. Just pointing it out. Since did notice tiny difference. If you look at the original leaked watch logo now, you can see they curved the bottom of the tower on purpose for some reason. I wish there was someone we could ask why they decided on the stupid off centered circle.

Just more of the point I think it's awesome, that it affected the warriors whole reveal plans. As a warrior fan, there is so much hate for this front office/ownership. I have talked to someone in the know about how pissed the Warriors are about the leak.

[The Golden One]

I think I like the ball better without the full horizontal line. It just looks like it's in too many pieces now to me.

Agreed.

Since I haven't been on for a few days. Going through and looking at the horizontal line conversation on the jazz logo.

At the end of the video where it says Confidential and has the Jazz note behind confidential. The horizontal line does go all the way through. Haven't seen that pointed out. So just wanted to mention it.

[Delux247]

Well it was just confirmed to me that the Utah Jazz Primary logo will remain the same outside of a recolor and a different font for the ?UTAH? above the mountain tops. The Secondary logo is the logo that everyone saw on the watch photos. The plan is the use the secondary logo in more places than the recolored primary, so you could honestly argue that the new secondary is the primary! Also, the wordmark that?s currently on the baby blue alternates has been recolored and thrown into the logo mix as either just a wordmark logo or an alternate logo. I?m pretty sure they?ll slap it on a new green uniform 2 years down the road!

Am I really reading this right? I want to know who exactly confirmed this. I don't want to believe my Jazz are actually THAT stupid. If this very scenario goes through, I hate to say it, but it will go down as the dumbest marketing move in sports history.

Unfortunately I share the identical sentiment.

[andrewharrington]

Well it was just confirmed to me that the Utah Jazz Primary logo will remain the same outside of a recolor and a different font for the “UTAH” above the mountain tops. The Secondary logo is the logo that everyone saw on the watch photos. The plan is the use the secondary logo in more places than the recolored primary, so you could honestly argue that the new secondary is the primary! Also, the wordmark that’s currently on the baby blue alternates has been recolored and thrown into the logo mix as either just a wordmark logo or an alternate logo. I’m pretty sure they’ll slap it on a new green uniform 2 years down the road!

Am I really reading this right? I want to know who exactly confirmed this. I don't want to believe my Jazz are actually THAT stupid. If this very scenario goes through, I hate to say it, but it will go down as the dumbest marketing move in sports history.

Unfortunately I share the identical sentiment.

That's a nice mountain you guys made out of that molehill. So you'd rather have Greg Miller pay the NBA $500,000 to basically open Adobe Illustrator, move the music note from the box that says 'secondary logo' into the one that says 'primary logo,' and click 'Save Changes' instead of, say, using it to pay the salary of a draft pick or to update the graphics in and around the arena? Even if the only logo you see on merchandise and TV is the music note? No offense, but that's the dumbest common sense move in sports history.

[Lights Out]

In the long run, though, it makes the franchise look cheap and muddles their already-lax identity standards even further, which doesn't help the franchise's image. So it is still a semi-dumb marketing move.

[rams80]

Well it was just confirmed to me that the Utah Jazz Primary logo will remain the same outside of a recolor and a different font for the “UTAH” above the mountain tops. The Secondary logo is the logo that everyone saw on the watch photos. The plan is the use the secondary logo in more places than the recolored primary, so you could honestly argue that the new secondary is the primary! Also, the wordmark that’s currently on the baby blue alternates has been recolored and thrown into the logo mix as either just a wordmark logo or an alternate logo. I’m pretty sure they’ll slap it on a new green uniform 2 years down the road!

Am I really reading this right? I want to know who exactly confirmed this. I don't want to believe my Jazz are actually THAT stupid. If this very scenario goes through, I hate to say it, but it will go down as the dumbest marketing move in sports history.

Unfortunately I share the identical sentiment.

That's a nice mountain you guys made out of that molehill. So you'd rather have Greg Miller pay the NBA $500,000 to basically open Adobe Illustrator, move the music note from the box that says 'secondary logo' into the one that says 'primary logo,' and click 'Save Changes' instead of, say, using it to pay the salary of a draft pick or to update the graphics in and around the arena? Even if the only logo you see on merchandise and TV is the music note? No offense, but that's the dumbest common sense move in sports history.

Considering their current payroll (and that of any NBA team really), that is literally pocket change. Pocket change that is well spent from a branding perspective, and yes doesn't make you and your ownership team look like a bunch of foolish tightwads like these decisions do. It's a one-time opportunity cost that can pay great dividends.

[IceCap]

Well it was just confirmed to me that the Utah Jazz Primary logo will remain the same outside of a recolor and a different font for the ?UTAH? above the mountain tops. The Secondary logo is the logo that everyone saw on the watch photos. The plan is the use the secondary logo in more places than the recolored primary, so you could honestly argue that the new secondary is the primary! Also, the wordmark that?s currently on the baby blue alternates has been recolored and thrown into the logo mix as either just a wordmark logo or an alternate logo. I?m pretty sure they?ll slap it on a new green uniform 2 years down the road!

Am I really reading this right? I want to know who exactly confirmed this. I don't want to believe my Jazz are actually THAT stupid. If this very scenario goes through, I hate to say it, but it will go down as the dumbest marketing move in sports history.

Unfortunately I share the identical sentiment.

That's a nice mountain you guys made out of that molehill. So you'd rather have Greg Miller pay the NBA $500,000 to basically open Adobe Illustrator, move the music note from the box that says 'secondary logo' into the one that says 'primary logo,' and click 'Save Changes' instead of, say, using it to pay the salary of a draft pick or to update the graphics in and around the arena? Even if the only logo you see on merchandise and TV is the music note? No offense, but that's the dumbest common sense move in sports history.

$500,000 is pocket change to a professional sports team (well ok, not for the Phoenix Coyotes). Pocket change that could be spent to remove all traces of the old identity that the team apparently wants to move away from and achieve some sense of brand solidarity. A one-time payment of $500,000 for an organization that spends millions every day seems to be a pretty reasonable price for brand unity, wouldn't you say?

[fonz]

Wordmark:

[Conrad.]

yeah, we figured that to be the wordmark. makes me sick to my stomach looking at it...

the warriors had to change things up because of fan leaks online.

i'm glad i could impact the NBA with my graphic design somehow

[chakfu]

Shouldn't the green and navy be reversed if they want to capitalize on the popularity of the green throwback?

I would think the Jazz wordmark should be navy as well. If the J-note wordmark/logo can't be the primary, at least make the wordmark in the primary the same color...but yellow doesn't seem good for either the mountains or the circle. Hmm.

[Wasatch]

i dont believe you, post some pictures

Sorry man, I don?t want to get into trouble. It?s ok if you doubt me, but the truth will come out June 15th.

Am I really reading this right? I want to know who exactly confirmed this. I don't want to believe my Jazz are actually THAT stupid. If this very scenario goes through, I hate to say it, but it will go down as the dumbest marketing move in sports history.

The switch/recolor will grow on you. After starring at it several times the past 24 hours, I've grown to really like it!

So the Jazz are maintaining the mountain logo, but won't be using it? What's the point? Can this team do nothing right when it comes to their identity? Just pony up the cash to use the J/note full time if that's the look you want to with.

I agree. You'd think the million dollars or whatever the fine is would be nothing to these guys, but it proves to be something to most teams.

So the Jazz are maintaining the mountain logo, but won't be using it? What's the point? Can this team do nothing right when it comes to their identity? Just pony up the cash to use the J/note full time if that's the look you want to with.

This is ridiculous, yet honestly not that surprising

Well, really, what's the difference in these two scenarios:

1. The music note wordmark is the designated 'primary logo' and it appears on the jersey, as well as all merchandise.

2. The wordmark w/ mountain is the designated 'primary logo,' but the music note wordmark appears on the jersey, as well as all merchandise. 99% of people outside the organization and its licensees never see the style sheet or whatever anyway and thus don't even know that the wordmark w/ mountain is the 'primary logo.'

From the outside, everything looks the same; there's no difference, and from the inside, it saves the team a lot of money in fees and makes them a lot of money by going back to the 'big-seller' of Jazz identities. Win-win-win as far as I'm concerned, and a good idea if indeed the fee is the reason the primary logo is allegedly staying the same.

Andrew, you summed that up nicely!

I think I like the ball better without the full horizontal line. It just looks like it's in too many pieces now to me.

Agreed.

Since I haven't been on for a few days. Going through and looking at the horizontal line conversation on the jazz logo.

At the end of the video where it says Confidential and has the Jazz note behind confidential. The horizontal line does go all the way through. Haven't seen that pointed out. So just wanted to mention it.

But it also doesn't have the accent at the right side of the J-note, so it's easy to point out that watermark is just the current secondary logo of the Jazz.

[Wasatch]

For all you Jazz fans out there, be prepared for the best uniforms the franchise has ever used!!! It's really a breath of fresh air, considering how they could have just brought back the same identical uniforms they used in the 80's up until '96.

[Lights Out]

Unless they're recolored versions of these...

...they can't be the BEST unis Utah ever had.

[Wasatch]

Unless they're recolored versions of these...

...they can't be the BEST unis Utah ever had.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that?s yours, while I think most Jazz would disagree with you. That old copper Mountain logo is something we?d all like to forget, but unfortunately it?s tied to the best years the franchise has ever had!

I have a pair of those authentic purple shorts and you?ll never catch me wearing them out in public again!

[andrewharrington]

Well it was just confirmed to me that the Utah Jazz Primary logo will remain the same outside of a recolor and a different font for the “UTAH” above the mountain tops. The Secondary logo is the logo that everyone saw on the watch photos. The plan is the use the secondary logo in more places than the recolored primary, so you could honestly argue that the new secondary is the primary! Also, the wordmark that’s currently on the baby blue alternates has been recolored and thrown into the logo mix as either just a wordmark logo or an alternate logo. I’m pretty sure they’ll slap it on a new green uniform 2 years down the road!

Am I really reading this right? I want to know who exactly confirmed this. I don't want to believe my Jazz are actually THAT stupid. If this very scenario goes through, I hate to say it, but it will go down as the dumbest marketing move in sports history.

Unfortunately I share the identical sentiment.

That's a nice mountain you guys made out of that molehill. So you'd rather have Greg Miller pay the NBA $500,000 to basically open Adobe Illustrator, move the music note from the box that says 'secondary logo' into the one that says 'primary logo,' and click 'Save Changes' instead of, say, using it to pay the salary of a draft pick or to update the graphics in and around the arena? Even if the only logo you see on merchandise and TV is the music note? No offense, but that's the dumbest common sense move in sports history.

$500,000 is pocket change to a professional sports team (well ok, not for the Phoenix Coyotes). Pocket change that could be spent to remove all traces of the old identity that the team apparently wants to move away from and achieve some sense of brand solidarity. A one-time payment of $500,000 for an organization that spends millions every day seems to be a pretty reasonable price for brand unity, wouldn't you say?

You know, On the surface, I couldn't agree more, but if $500K really is pocket change for an NBA franchise, it seems really odd that this will be the ninth time this decade that a team has pulled this stunt. There was reportedly even an earlier attempt by the Warriors to change their logo, but it was put on hold because of the fee.

Two or three times, I could see that as maybe just a cheap franchise or ownership group. Nine times!? In one decade? That's a pattern and a telltale sign that that money means more than we think it does to a franchise.

ATLANTA - 07/08

CLEVELAND - 10/11 (Allegedly)

DENVER - 03/04

DETROIT - 01/02

MILWAUKEE - 06/07

NEW ORLEANS - 08/09

TORONTO - 08/09

UTAH - 04/05 & 10/11 (Allegedly)

Minnesota sort of did it when they implemented their mew look, and Denver altered the colors in their logo recently, but didn't change the colors themselves.

[jimbojohnny56]

JAZZ=CHEAP

[Wasatch]

JAZZ=CHEAP

It?s true, the Jazz come a crossed as a very conservative team, until you look at their payroll for last year! My only wish as a Jazz fan was that they were more aggressive on the trades and acquisitions!