Time to Compete: The Most Intriguing Quotes from Locker Clean-Out

Gobert says the Jazz are ready to contend, while Mitchell talks improvement. (Melissa Majchrzak via espn.com)

There are a lot of empty lockers at Zions Bank Basketball Center in Salt Lake City. The Utah Jazz’s season came to a quick end after five playoff games, and the club has now parted for the offseason — maybe never to return in exactly the same form.

Everybody knows this is a pivotal summer for Jazz brass, who saw their team make measurable progress in a lot of areas but still find itself outside the NBA’s top tier. Because so much is riding on decisions that will be made over the next three months, it was impossible to listen to season-ending interviews without mining for the subtext behind every word, every gesture, every pause.

Here is a collection of the spiciest quotes from each of the key Jazzmen on locker cleanout day, along with a high-level look about what each could mean to Utah’s big picture.

Rudy Gobert

“We all need to have a championship on our minds, but not when the playoff starts. It starts right now.

“There’s not a lot of teams that can do what we do… We’re right there. We missed a few things that are going to take us to the next level, and the next level is competing for a championship.”

This is noteworthy for a few reasons. First, it’s clear that Gobert feels his Jazz are already capable of accomplishing special things. He went on to comment that Utah is “definitely” a better team than it was a year ago, and in a lot of ways, that’s hard to argue. They won more games despite a brutal conference, an uneven schedule, and growing pains to their best offensive player. Rudy’s quote makes it clear that he things they’re a few minor adjustments away.

The other reason Jazz brass should, ahem, take note is that their best player just set the bar. Contention. 

Gobert will be a free agent in 2021. That is not that far off. When he speaks up about his expectations for this Jazz team, Utah’s brain trust should be paying close attention. The team has two seasons to show him that they can compete for championships, and while a lot of that improvement can still come from inside the locker room, it’s clear that Utah has a bit of a deadline when it comes to fulfilling Gobert’s expectations. 

Donovan Mitchell

“If I had to say myself, I only had really a few good months…

“I appreciate this season in so many ways because through all the struggles I went through and all the struggles we went through as a team, we had 50 wins, were in the 5th seed and battled the Houston Rockets really good.”

The first part might sound a little harsh, but Mitchell’s self awareness has already helped him improve throughout his two-year career. Mitchell was a bona fide star from about January 5 on, averaging 27, 5 and 5 on 45-41-82 shooting numbers, while his team went 31-12 (a 59-win pace). Simply put, he was superb.

But to Mitchell’s own self-critical point, he averaged just 20-4-3 leading up to that point, with sub-30% shooting from deep and overall shot efficiency that was far below league average (50% true shooting).

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey — from whom we’ll hear more in a second — remarked that the Jazz expected a slow start from their rising sophomore after he spent the early part of the offseason resting an injured toe. But his protracted struggles cost the Jazz in the standings.

Like he said in that second part of the quote, though, he and the team bounced back, and as others commented throughout the day, the season was a step forward in a macro sense, despite the quick playoff exit.

Dennis Lindsey

“Interesting season. Every season’s nuanced… We sit up here today disappointed, not defeated, and very grateful in attitude toward the season that we had. We had the 16th 50-win season in Utah Jazz season. And also the character of the group and its unique connection to the fans… 

“We want to move the group forward. While we have a very good team, the results told us that we don’t have a great team. Is a great team in the offing?”

You can always trust Lindsey to offer a great macro perspective.

Way back in October, I said on a few different podcasts and radio hits that it was possible for Utah to win more games, make important progress on several key fronts, and then still wind up with a tough playoff draw and exit the playoffs after a round. If they did, I posited then, many Utah fans would get stuck on the top-line results and treat it as a step backward (or at best a treading-water season).

That’s precisely what happened. But Lindsey is smart enough to not base his analysis entirely on 10 days in April. 

Mitchell made huge strides as a primary weapon. Gobert grew even more dominant on both sides of the ball. Royce O’Neale further ensconced himself as a high-value rotation option. Utah’s small-ball lineup completed another year as one of the league’s best 5-man squads. Dante Exum started to put things together before another health setback.

In short, there was a lot of progress made. Climbing the mountain isn’t always linear — you don’t always go from winning a playoff series to winning a conference semi to winning in the WCF, etc. John Stockton and Karl Malone didn’t. Michael Jordan didn’t. LeBron James didn’t. Instead, Utah will look back on this season as the season that several key guys enhanced their game ahead of potential future runs.

Don’t get me wrong, they’d rather be playing still. But losing to a team that’s still a half tier above them isn’t an outcome that should prompt them to throw the baby out with the bathwater. James Harden is historically elite, and yet for 3.5 games, Utah was able to make him and Rockets supremely uncomfortable with their defense. They simply couldn’t make enough shots to keep their season going past game 87. That doesn’t mean the season was a waste, or a setback, or a disappointment.

More Lindsey

“We’ve had a lot of things that have come up that would probably be deemed as win-the-press-conference type of move, and a name, and someone who can score. And then we’ve looked at the cost… (or) maybe they can’t guard, maybe their expectations are here in shots and reality is here… So we’ve had quite a few opportunities to say yes.

“For us, we’d rather look at it fundamentally instead of emotionally.”

Despite all of the above, Lindsey’s most newsworthy quote on Thursday was this gem, when he suggested that Utah has had marquee players lined up to play in Salt Lake, and ultimately deemed those opportunities a poor fit.

I’m not going to speculate on who that might have been; I’m sharing this quote because it’s a good illustration that Lindsey and his staff are going to be pickier than you might think about the guys they target.

In the age of daily fantasy and NBA2K GM mode, it’s easy for fans to think that free agency is a purely additive exercise: you’re this good, and then you add a player who’s that good, and now you’re THIS good. That works sometimes, but basketball is a team sport, and the pieces also have to fit together. For Utah, that’s often going to mean that they’re not going to pursue someone who is going to be an ill fit in the locker room or who’s not going to defense. So if people who know the Jazz’s thinking keep nixing your favorite offseason target idea, it might be because they have a sense for what Lindsey’s dealbreakers are in terms of player attributes and mindset.

Ricky Rubio

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, that (had an) effect. We are people and we have feelings, and when you’re name is out there in the media and you’re thinking, ‘Is this going to be my last game?’ Imagine you’re going to work and it doesn’t depend on you whether you’re gonna be here tomorrow. It feels uncomfortable… I tried to stay as positive as I could and focus on the team and what we’re doing here, but it’s hard.”

In a lot of ways, this was a really good season for Rubio. His 3-point shooting slipped back to his pre-Utah career norms, but he still found ways to keep his scoring up (12.7 ppg, just trailing last season’s career-best 13.1) while delivering more assists. He had a positive impact on the offense overall despite not being a shooting threat, because he’s a smart player who makes quick reads and knows how to dissect a defense.

But let’s be frank: one of the biggest questions for Utah this season will be whether they will choose to run it back with Rubio at the point. Lindsey spoke about Rubio’s character and “Jazz DNA,”  but the reality is that skill-wise, there are times when someone with specific other skills could impact the defense differently.

It probably depends on what else they do. Some of Rubio’s liabilities matter less in an environment where Utah has another creator on the wing or a scoring four. (Remember, they originally acquired him to be a complement to Gordon Hayward.) But it will be nearly impossible salary cap-wise to add that type of player without parting with at least one (and maybe both) of Rubio and Derrick Favors.

Speaking of Favors

“I’d prefer to come back here. The grass is not always greener on the other side. I’m not going to look at it that way, saying I could start on most teams and I want out or whatever… If I’m back here, I’m excited. I’m going to come back and work hard and try to improve on last year… I’m happy in the situation I’m in.”

You could make a pretty cogent case that Favors was Utah’s third best player this season. He had his most efficient season ever as a scorer, and he terrorized second units as a pick-and-roll threat while also playing winning basketball in his few minutes each night alongside Gobert. He also played a big role in signature wins.

If Utah moves on from him, they almost definitely will not be able to replace him with someone at that caliber as an elite backup center. And yet by holding onto his $16.9 million salary¹, they find themselves in a tough spot in terms of creating the cap flexibility to add another impact player.

This is a fascinating decision. It helps that Favors sounds legitimately content with the way his role as a nominal starter and bench destroyer has taken shape. “I kinda bought into it a little bit more as the season went on.”

Joe Ingles 

“It was the first time in my playing career I’ve been played that way: heavily forced right, blowing up of every handoff or pick-and-roll, or blitzing or whatever it was. It kind of hits you in the face… It still kinda kills me inside that I wasn’t able to help our team as much as I thought I should have and could have. So obviously going into the offseason, it definitely motivates me…”

Ingles also had some great, very human quotes about the difficulties he and his family dealt with this year, struggled that made it “by far” the toughest season for him.

“Nothing else really mattered at that point,” Ingles said of dealing with his family situation.

But in terms of looking forward, this X-and-O quote matters greatly. Ingles is officially a guy teams scheme for now. Houston made him a priority in their game plan, and he never really found a response. After averaging 12 points, six assists and 39% 3-point shooting for the season, Houston held him to six points, five assists and 28% — yes, twenty-eight — from downtown.

Again, this isn’t about making macro assessments based on five games. But it’s a signal that Ingles is going to get more attention, especially as long as he remains one of Utah’s primary offensive facilitators. 

Kyle Korver

“The organization is better than it was the first time I was here. The city is better. A lot of things are better. To be able to come back and be a part of that was a nice surprise…

“The organization has evolved and keeps on getting smarter. I think they’ve really examined all the details about how you make a team great. Quin (Snyder) and the coaching staff just keep evolving. I think Quin is, if not the best, then one of the best coaches in the NBA in terms of how he reads the game and communicates the game to his players, game plans. He’s really, really good, guys.”

OK, this clearly wasn’t the most newsworthy Korver quote, but that’s a nice bit of praise from a guy whose previous stint in Utah included playing with multiple All-Stars, working for a Hall-of-Fame coach, and joining a team fresh off a WCF appearance. That he feels like this version of the Jazz is in a far better place definitely says something about all of the improvements the Jazz have made — big and small — to appeal to players.

Korver, part II

“It’s a loaded question. I still love playing basketball. I think for me personally, it’s been a long few years, with a couple trades, a couple long seasons ending in heartbreak, my brother dying. It’s been a lot in the last few years…

“There’s a real cost as you get older, what you need to put into the game, but there’s also a family cost. And that’s probably where I’m at is weighing that cost… There’s a part of me that wants to (take advantage of a long offseason to work), and there’s a part of me that’s tired right now.”

But yeah, this was the breaking news tweet from the elite shooting wing. Kyle sounded like a guy who is really completely unsure of whether he’ll keep lacing them up.

If he does step away from the game, Utah will still be on the hook for the remaining $3.44M of his contract that is guaranteed. They can use the stretch provision to spread that cap hit over three years if they so choose. They can also talk to him about taking a buyout, but there’s very little precedent for a guy taking a buyout to retire. Usually guys are willing to surrender some of their salary as a means of getting their freedom back so they can switch teams. There’s no such carrot there for Korver, who would just be handing back, out of the goodness of his heart, money that he had earned by ascending to All-Star status.

If he does decide to keep playing and the Jazz keep him, Korver will cost Utah $7.8M next season.

Jae Crowder

“The league is getting smaller, faster, so we feel like we need to improve our playmaking ability and have guys who can put it on the floor and make plays for themselves and one another. I’m going to do my part, and work to be one of those guys, but you can’t have too many playmakers (with) the way the NBA has changed.”

During long stretches when Utah had multiple point guards out, Crowder did help the Jazz by bringing the ball up and initiating some sets. But that’s very different from being a consistent playmaker. He finished just 38 plays all season as a pick-and-roll ball handler (and produced just 0.58 points per possession when he did). And just 10 plays (at 0.6 points per possession) in isolation. He isn’t really a shot creator, or at least he hasn’t been up until now.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe famously wrote that Utah could be really, really good with a version of Crowder that was just 10% better. Instead, Crowder went the other way in the postseason, getting slightly worse as a scorer, 3-point threat and an overall true shooter. His teammates still unanimously laud his intangibles, like leadership, toughness and veteran know-how, but he could help the Jazz unlock another level by being more consistent.

And yet even having said all that, Utah’s four-starters-plus-Jae lineup was still the best high-minute lineup in the NBA last season. 

Royce O’Neale

“I won’t say (Harden’s) exact words, but words of motivation and encouragement… Just that respect from him, that’s a big moment for myself. That’s a lot. It just goes to show all the hard work i put in isn’t taken for granted. Just earning that respect from him… made me feel embraced and becoming somebody in this league.”

Without a doubt, one of the bigger success stories in Utah’s season was Royce continuing to look like a high-end rotation player. His 3-point shooting got better on a meaningful sample, and after a rough start, he got back to impacting games with his gutty perimeter defense. All of that culminated him getting props from the MVP, a player he helped frustrate in Utah’s 5-game playoff series loss. In games 3 & 4 in Salt Lake City, Royce held Harden to 21.7% shooting on the 78 plays where he ended the play on him, and Houston’s ORtg on those possessions was 85.

Dante Exum

“My goal is to be 100% by camp, but obviously I’m going to do that safely.” -Dante Exum

Exum explained that he has an appointment coming up to find out when he can resume basketball activities. If all goes well, fans could see the Australian guard back in action when the club reconvenes this fall.

That could potentially be a nice boost for Utah. Remember, multiple people who are familiar with Jazz brass’ line of thought have said that the plan was to have Rubio help bridge the gap until Exum became ready to play a bigger role. That plan was finally looking like a decent bet when Exum put together his best six-week stretch in December and January, and then more unfortunate injuries hit. First his ankle and then a torn patellar tendon kept the lightning-quick guard from being a factor in the Jazz’s playoff push. But they may have seen enough to pencil him in for a bigger role moving forward, depending on what other offseason moves they make.

Value veterans

“I’m going to keep my options open and see what makes sense… I had a great experience here for two years, and it would be great if I can come back and keep working with this group and keep evolving.” -Thabo Sefolosha

“I didn’t get the opportunities that I wanted, but I was with a great team, a great organization. I was able to build relationships that will last for a lifetime. Just continue to get better and see what happens this summer.” -Ekpe Udoh

Neither of Utah’s bench veterans headed into free agency sounding very positive that they’d be back. In fact, both responded to questions about their future with answers that made it sound like they were recapping their respective two-year stints.

Frankly, the Jazz probably need to clear their cap holds to pursue a difference-maker. They have to reserve a $6.8M slot on their cap sheet to keep Thabo’s rights, and $4.4M for Ekpe. That’s $11M and change they might need elsewhere, so this duo’s time in Utah might have come to an end, unless at least one is willing to stay on at the minimum after Utah’s done with it’s July spending.

Lindsey again

“We’re not far away.”

After a pivotal summer, we’ll find out soon enough.