Media Day: The Best Lines From Utah’s Main Guys Ahead of a Big Year

Jazz coach Quin Snyder spoke at length with local media as the Jazz prepare to start their season.

It’s not exactly the same things as talking about basketball, but after Monday, we get to talk about people talking about basketball. That’s close enough.

After a short offseason, the Utah Jazz got back together this week to prepare for their 2021-22 season. It’s a relatively high-stakes year for the Jazz. They’re coming off another postseason disappointement and they’re spending at unprecedented levels as they try to exorcize playoff demons. But more than anything, this is a big year because their blend of youth, experience and contract timelines could make this a fairly important year to start feeling like they’re close to the NBA’s mountaintop.

At Monday’s media day, several Jazz players and personnel spoke about that growing sense of urgency. Other themes emerged throughout the day, from the squad’s added depth, to health issues that derailed the club after a historically successful regular season run.

To recap the more than six hours of dialogue, here is the best, funniest or most interesting quote from each of the dozen or so Jazz players we’ll likely see the most this season, plus the two decision-makers who are trying to set the table.

General manager Justin Zanik: “Some people would say we’ve tried to improve around the fringes. Well, the reason you try to improve around the fringes is because the core is really good… so taking that and trying to add a little more versality (and) depth.”

You can tell that Zanik is excited about the makeup of this group, and thinks the ingredients are in place.

Like others on that podium throughout Monday, he referenced the way health altered the Jazz’s chanced in 2021. Luck plays a factor, he acknowledged, and the Jazz’s good injury luck seemed to run out on them all at once. The Jazz made some changes to their health and performance staff, but Zanik said that restructuring wasn’t a reaction to health mishaps that were largely just wrong-place-wrong-time situations. “Injuries happen,” he said.

The fact that he referenced “return to play” protocols specific probably raised some eyebrows about the now famous Game 1 decision involving Donovan Mitchell. But anybody who’s been picking up hints from this writer knows that the theory here is that the tumultuous weekend in May was just the tip of the iceberg. Health decisions are always a lot more complicated than most fans realize, and the way many have chosen to characterize Mitchell’s return for the playoffs is likely way more binary than the way it played out in reality. And even beyond that single weekend or Donovan himself, there were myriad other injury issues that tripped the Jazz up in significant ways, even before their series against the Clippers.

Which is a long way of saying that Zanik is acutely aware of the role that chance plays in all of this. And when asked for the vital ingredients to a title run, he started there:

“Health. Talent. Being connected.

“We have absolutely everything here to give us the best chance to win,” Zanik concluded. “Now all of those things have to come together.”

Mike Conley Jr.: “[T]his doesn’t last forever. This window is not going to be here forever… (Last year) we felt like we were right there, and how different things can be just like that…  Guys who have been in the playoffs the last five, six, seven years have all learned lessons from heartbreak and loss. Hopefully we continue to build around that and use that as motivation (and) treat it like that.”

Conley extended Zanik’s thoughts by musing about just how quickly destinies can change, and just how much these windows of contention should be valued.

This, too, was a recurring theme throughout the day: the Jazz are well positioned with multi-year commitments from their three All-Stars, a well-respected coach, and unprecedented levels of financial support from team ownership. But Utah’s three best players are 34 (next month), 29 and 24; their optimal competitive windows don’t really overlap by that much. Additionally, all of the pressures that apply to teams with young superstars could come into view quickly if the Jazz continue to underperform in big moments. So there is a bit of a sense of a ticking clock that accompanies the broad optimism.

They’re really dang good — but because of the makeup of all the things that make them good, it’s kind of important that they give it their best shot now.

Rudy Gobert: “We really have an opportunity to do something special here over the next few years. You don’t get many of those windows in your career.”

Here, Gobert echoes that same sentiment.

But perhaps just as interestingly, he spent a bit more time than most of his peers looking back at the Clippers series. That’s probably because he bore an unfair (to these eyes) share of the blame among analysts who somehow failed to see what REALLY derailed the Jazz defense. Short version: Gobert’s defense was mostly stout, even when he was asked to show his versatility and guard in space; the house of cards tumbled because nobody else could stay in front of the ball.

“It was a mix of a lot of things — injuries, and you also have to give credit to the Clippers, who played great,” Gobert said. “We all had time to reflect and see what we can do so it doesn’t happen again.”

One place he did take some responsbility: he said he’s got to be able to punish switching defenses better on the other end — “and not just rebounding.”

Quin Snyder: “I am not fond of the expression ‘run it back;’ that’s not what we are trying to do… There’s a balance between doubling down on the things that you do well, and understanding that anytime you have some success in a certain part of the game, the NBA adjusts to you.”

Snyder went on to say that the Jazz have a pretty good idea of who they want to be as well as how they want to continue to improve. In other words, he expects this team to carve out its own identity based on new personnel, developing players, and the way the rest of the league prepares for them this season.

It’s a good reminder that “run it back” is a bit of a myth. Every season unfolds in its own way, and that’s especially true this year: the 2021-22 season will have a very different cadence and backdrop than the last couple of campaigns, and we don’t know yet how that will affect one team versus another. 

Donovan Mitchell: “I think there’s another level I can get to. Obviously being able to be more efficient… It’s turnovers, it’s defense, when I’m on the floor, you know, your presence is felt. Being able to be a leader on the floor (and) picking it up defensively as well.”

He’s right. Mitchell is already on a pretty special trajectory as a scorer, and he has improved his game every year he has been in the league so far. Last year was his best year yet as a scorer, passer, rebounder, as well as career-high levels in free throw frequency, per-shot efficiency, usage, and several all-in metrics. He’s gotten better in more qualitative ways, too, such as solving defenses with greater ease. He is undeniably still on the upward curve.

He’s also right the the biggest way to really ensconce himself as one of the game’s premier wing talents is to improve his defensive process and outputs. He has the tools to be a plus defender, and strengthening that part of his game would be a sure way to vault himself into the discussion as a top-10 all-around talent.

Joe Ingles: “I feel like I’ve got a lot left in me.”

It’s still perplexing that there are people who feel like Ingles regressed in a major way in his age-33 season. Empirically speaking, it was his best season yet: he matched his highest season scoring average, had one of the best 3-point shooting seasons ever, posted an absolutely bonkers .672 true shooting efficiency, and overall was one of the two best bench players in the entire league, all for a No. 1 seed.

Ingles also added that winning an Olympic medal was “energizing” and clears his mind a bit as he looks to add to that success. “You want more and more of it.”

Also, don’t miss his very human and vulnerable answer about being far from his family support system during the pandemic and what that has meant for him, for his wife Renae, and for the Ingles kiddos. 

Rudy Gay: “One thing about playing in the league 15 years, it gets harder to get up if you don’t have a purpose. It’s harder to get in, come in and do extra work, put up extra shots and do all those extra things to keep yourself involved if you don’t have a purpose. I still have a purpose: I want to win. I want to be a part of a champion.”

For as good as Gay was at his peak — he averaged 20-6-3 over a 5-year span — he has only ever participated in three playoff series, all losses. So it makes sense that he’s still hungry to be part of a winner. He spoke at length about why Utah was an easy choice (among several options) because he saw not only a chance to join a contender, but also he saw very clearly how he could help. In a 45-minute conversation with Snyder, the Jazz coach told him he had always admired his approach, his humility and his willingness to contribute in any way.

That conversation is at least part of why Gay will lace up for his 16th season with the Jazz note across his chest.

“You gotta be a little crazy to play this long,’ Gay quipped, “because it ain’t easy.”

Royce O’Neale: “I think we’re going to pick up right where we left off. Everybody’s bought in to what we’re trying to do here… I think defense is what everybody’s going to pride themselves on.”

After a playoff collapse that came down mostly to defensive failings, this is an encouraging talking point. Too many Clipper ball handlers just got right around their defenders in isolation and completely destroyed the integrity of Utah’s defensive game plans. As a result, they had to beg Gobert to scramble, which opened him up to another offseason chorus of criticisms. But the problem at its core was about defense at the point of attack, and the Jazz can’t clean that up without a bit more pride and focus from everyone — even O’Neale, their best perimter defender.

Jared Butler: “This training camp is big for me. Just for any rookie in general, but also for me because I feel like I can impact this team.”

Enough people offered unsolicited praise of Butler on Monday that it’s starting to seem like he really could play a role in year one. The nine man rotation appears pretty set as of now, and Butler seems to get that, telling reporters that he wants to be ready “when guys need rest.” But one thing we’ll have to see unfold in camp is the pecking order in terms of who that 10th guy is who will fill in whenever a guard or wing has to miss time. Last year, that role belonged to Miye Oni, but it’s up to Butler (or even Elijah Hughes) to see if he can play his way into some of those emergency minutes, at minimum.

Eric Paschall: “I don’t know what my role is just yet… but I’m just trying to bring energy, bring a different mentality here. Just try to be a dog at all times.”

Meanwhile, Paschall appears to be the main candidate for the equivalent rotation spot up front: the guy who will find himself playing whenever one of Utah’s centers or forwards has to sit. The other option is Udoka Azubuike, but an ankle injury really kept “Dok” from developing much last season. On the other hand, Paschall has played 2,300 NBA minutes, and he scored more points than any other Warrior in 2019-20.

Hassan Whiteside: “He (Snyder) is nothing like I thought he was. I thought he was gonna be this super strict, angry guy… On the bench he looks so stressed out and angry all the time. I’m like, man, y’all up 30!! What are you stressed up about?”

Biggest laugh of the day went to Whiteside, when contrasting the ever-intense sideline Snyder with his mild-mannered alter ego who won the big fella over with another down-to-earth phone conversation where he made it clear how Whiteside could help his team.

Bojan Bogdanovic: “I feel way better. My wrist is way better. Now I know how bad I was at the start of last season… I’m gonna look like my first year with the Jazz.”

Again, I don’t think most people realize just how hurt Bogey was for much of last season. The Croatian forward had some options in terms of how he could manage his rehabilition after wrist surgery, and it sure seems like the path he took led to some lingering issues. He still managed to match his career 3pt% even with a bum wrist, but his percentages in close dropped significantly. If he can truly return to his level of shooting from his first Jazz season (41.4%) and also get back to creating efficienty in certain other contexts, the Jazz will have another weapon they can use to combat different defensive looks.

Jordan Clarkson: “Before we start, y’all want me to spell my name?”

Ahh, there’s no better sign that Jazz basketball is almost back in our lives than hearing the ever-vibing Clarkson ooze coolness all over the room.