Jazz head coach Will Hardy anticipates a “vicious” competition for the starting point guard job in training camp, likening the upcoming battle to “the Hunger Games,” writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. As Larsen notes, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Jordan Clarkson, Kris Dunn, and rookie Keyonte George are all expected to be in the mix.
“Those five guys are gonna go at it at training camp, and I love that. But we’ve got to make sure that it’s within a team construct,” Hardy said. “Individual motives are good and powerful, and we need to lean into those. But we also have to remember that we have 82 games coming, where we’re all wearing the same jersey.”
Many of the Jazz’s backcourt players aren’t traditional point guards, which Hardy says he’ll keep in mind when considering potential lineup combinations and backcourt duos.
“We have a lot of really good guards, and I don’t want to say, ‘You’re the point guard and you’re the (shooting guard).’ I don’t think that fits our group best,” the second-year head coach said. “It’s more about viewing them as pairs. I’m not relying on one person to bring it up each time and sort of initiate what we’re doing. That flexibility is going to be an adjustment for us.”
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Newcomer John Collins said on Monday that he has found the Jazz’s “lack of ego” and emphasis on playing team basketball “refreshing,” adding that he’s looking forward to getting a fresh start in Utah this season, Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune. “In some ways, I feel like a rookie again,” Collins said. “To meet new staff, new teammates, this new environment … to get myself together in a new city.”
- Utah added several new pieces to its roster this offseason, including Collins and a trio of first-round picks. It’ll be up to the coaching staff to determine how all those pieces fit together, as Tony Jones of The Athletic details. “I’m really excited to see how training camp plays out, because we’re going to have a lot of internal competition,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “I will say it won’t be all figured out by the beginning of camp. This group has a collective resolve to compete with each other but to also pull for each other and help each other improve and develop. And that will be a season-long thing. There has to be a culture of flexibility among the group, because we have a lot of depth and not everyone can play every night.”
- In a separate article for The Athletic, Jones takes a closer look at Lauri Markkanen‘s experience completing his mandatory military service for his home country of Finland this offseason. Markkanen believes his time in the military made him more resilient, helped him deal with new situations, and could make him a better leader.
- Jazz assistant Scott Morrison would be the next man up if Hardy is ejected from a game this season, according to Larsen, who adds (via Twitter) that Jeff Hornacek has remained in his role as a coaching consultant for the club.
Carlik Jones
Kenneth Lofton
Huff, 25, began the G League season playing for the South Bay Lakers before joining the Capital City Go-Go when he signed his two-way deal with Washington in 
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, since Dunn had emerged as an important rotation player in Utah during a pair of 10-day contracts with the team. His second 10-day deal expired on Monday night and players aren’t permitted to sign a third 10-day pact with a single team, so the Jazz had to sign him to a standard contract in order to retain him.