After a decade in the league, including a trip to the NBA Finals, Jeff Green has a good idea of what a team needs to be a contender. And the NBA veteran thinks his new squad has them all: Depth. Veterans who have won. Young stars. Do-it-all role players. Bigs who block shots and run the floor. A great point guard. A great coach.
“We have it all on paper,” Green said. “We just have to translate that on the court.”
How quickly that can translate will be one of the big questions as the Utah Jazz begin training camp this week.
The Utah Jazz reloaded. So did the rest of the West. That’s why Jazz vice president of basketball operations hopes to see his new roster jell quickly.
“Certainly, we’ve erred on the side of continuity the last few years,” Lindsey said. “But we’ve had a change. Luckily … some of the more important pieces are experienced. They’re grizzled veterans that have seen a lot of NBA basketball. And they’re all hitting the stage of their careers when winning is most important to them. Not that it wasn’t, but when you reach your early 30s, you start thinking about leaving the NBA with a ring.”
There are plenty who think the Jazz have a legitimate shot at winning one this year, but Donovan Mitchell cautioned against looking toward June now.
“I think it’s really tough to block it out in today’s world with how much we're on our phones,” Mitchell said. “The biggest thing for us is to just focus on what we can do. We control what we can control. Moves have been made in the West and people are going to say what they want to say. But for us, we have to start over. We have eight new guys, I think. We have to start from scratch. We have a platform, a base, but we have to build on that. I don’t think any guy in the locker room is thinking, ‘We’re going to be this in the West or that’. That’s setting yourself up for failure. We’re focusing on tomorrow.”
New point guard Mike Conley agrees.
“I think we’ll be fine. The guys we’ve brought in are good vets,” Conley said. “Luckily we’ve been together for a while. Other than the guys that were overseas playing all summer, we’ve been playing together the last couple of weeks and getting a head start on it. We know each other a little bit. I think it will be pretty easy for us to figure out things as we go. We’re just trying to be as quick of learners as we can and hopefully start it off right.”
How will Quin Snyder use his new additions?
Transactions to acquire Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jeff Green, Ed Davis, and Emmanuel Mudiay will add a much-needed punch for the Jazz. Quin Snyder’s task is to integrate all the parts. According to the head coach, it’ll be an ongoing process.
“We can try to put them in positions to accelerate that and maximize it. We also have to be adaptable when it comes to that,” Snyder said.
Still the new group won’t compromise the Jazz’s main tenets.
“For me I appreciate that he’s a defensive first coach. That’s what I lay my hat on every night. Defensive end and rebounding,” Ed Davis said.
“Our identity doesn’t change. We’re still a team that baseline wants to be an elite defensive team. That’s what we want to work towards. Personnel may dictate that you play differently particularly in certain situations because that’s playing to personnel.”
Every great duo needs a nickname
How will Mike Conley help Donovan Mitchell?
One’s from the East Coast. The other joins the team from Memphis with origins in Indiana. Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley will complement each other in the Jazz backcourt, but the most notable tidbit from the 13-year NBA veteran might come off the court to Utah’s young star.
“Just being around him, going about his day. It’s eating right,” Mitchell says before ribbing the club’s new point guard. “He moves at his own pace. I make fun of him. ‘You’ve been in Memphis. Way down south, everything’s slower. I’m from New York where everything’s quicker.’ Just being able to apply that to my life and my game.”
Are there fatigue concerns after the FIBA World Cup?
Joe Ingles, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert should be in game shape after this summer’s World Cup in China. But will it impact them as they prepare for the start of the NBA season?
“I only landed 36 hours ago, so I’m fatigued either way right now,” Ingles said. “I haven’t sat down with the medical staff yet to work that out. … But with me and the national team, I’ve done it every year since I was 17. It’s not really too different for me. Zero concern from my end on that.”
Gobert and Mitchell said they believed the competition will only help their games. Mitchell said the tournament was a chance to refocus and improve as a perimeter defender.
“I was really happy Donovan got to do it this year,” Gobert said. “I think it will help him in the long run.”
What is Danté Exum’s status?
Exum has spent the summer rehabbing from knee surgery.
“I’m feeling really good,” Exum said. “I’m ready to start training camp.”
As training camp begins, Lindsey says Exum is moving well but will likely be limited in how much contact he sees for now.
“He’s at the stage where it’s just clinical,” Lindsey says. “He’s passed everything related to doctors and orthopedics and he’s moving very well. … Contact will be limited for right now. I don’t want to box him in with timetables, [but] we’re going to be very conservative. It’s a long season.”
Exum, meanwhile, said he is open to expanding his role this season as he fights for minutes at the 1, 2, or 3.
“One of the biggest goals for me coming into this season was to have an open mind,” Exum said. “We’ve got a really deep team. Where I fit into that is going to be game-dependent. I can guard 1-3. … It’s going to be a competitive team and I’m going to fight for minutes. If that’s the 1 or the 2 or the 3, I’m going to accept it and go in and fight.”
There will be a new coaching rotation
With assistant coach Tony Lang’s departure to Cleveland, Snyder will employ a three-man rotation for the third spot on his bench. Assistants Lamar Skeeter, Zach Guthrie and Vince LeGarza take turns in the role this season, based on scouting assignments.
“The reason for that is I think all those guys are really talented coaches,” Snyder said. “We have a very talented staff, from an individual development standpoint, a tactical standpoint and from a relationship standpoint.”
How can the reserves take another step?
Royce O’Neale clawed from fighting for a roster spot to a rotation player. Georges Niang and Tony Bradley played for the Salt Lake City Stars before making appearances with the Jazz.
Niang wants to add to his game beyond shooting, “I want to show people that if I do get chased off the line that I have an ability to get to the rim, kick out, and make plays for others, and still be able to guard multiple positions on the defensive end.”
Emmanuel Mudiay cited the Jazz’s development staff as a key reason for signing in Utah.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things and I’m not saying that. Everybody tells me how smart of a coach Coach Snyder is. Witnessing first hand, I’ve never seen a coach so detailed. He pays attention to every detail. He makes it so you understand it.”