The Utah Jazz have agreed to be sold by the Miller family to Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith for $1.66 billion. The deal will include Vivint Arena and is pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors. 

The Millers have owned the Jazz for 35 years. Larry Miller passed away in 2009 at the age of 64 with his widow Gail Miller running the team in the subsequent years. 

Smith is a lifelong resident of Utah who sold Qualtrics to SAP for $8 billion. 

Smith has a longstanding relationship with the franchise.

"I've approached Gail and the Millers a couple times," Smith said at a news conference Wednesday morning inside Vivint Smart Home Arena. "There's no secret about my interest in the NBA, and there's really no secret about my interest in the Jazz.

"I grew up watching the Jazz. This is the team I cheered for. I played Junior Jazz. I dreamed of playing for the Jazz, and that didn't work out. But as I was sitting there this week in the Junior Jazz program you guys started, with hundreds of kids running around, the legacy you've created is untouchable. We're all incredibly grateful for that. The Jazz are a gift to this whole community, and that's how we view it. That's 100 percent how we view this."

The Utah Jazz have hired Sergi Oliva to its coaching staff.

Oliva joins the Jazz after spending the past six seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, most recently as Vice President of Strategy. 

A native of Gelida, Catalonia, he first joined the 76ers in 2014 as a Basketball Operations Analyst after he’d earned multiple degrees from Polytechnic University of Catalonia, including a PhD in Computational Complexity and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science.

Oliva spent 12 years previously as a head coach at the youth and senior amateur levels in Catalonia. He is also a regular collaborator of the Catalan Basketball Federation (FCBQ), particularly as a lecturer in their coaching certification courses.

Donovan Mitchell spoke of his eagerness to begin the next NBA season due to the manner in which the Utah Jazz season ended.

The Jazz, up 3-1 against the Nuggets, lost in seven games after Mike Conley missed a last-second three pointer in game 7.

"We're ready for the season to start, next month if it had to. I think we're fired up, and I think that's the proper mindset to have ... I think for myself and a lot of the guys on the team -- all of the guys, I should say, and coaches -- we're ready to go," said Mitchell on ESPN's The Jump.

Mitchell said that he's fueled by the manner in which the Jazz lost, adding that the team continues to meet on conference calls throughout the offseason.

Mitchell said watching the Nuggets' run in the playoff gave him extra motivation.

"Those guys really did their thing. But at the end of the day it really kind of pisses you off, I'm not going to lie. You know, we were right there. At the end of the day, that's what it is -- we were right there."