- Jazz coach Quin Snyder received a lot of criticism last season for keeping his main rotation players on the court too long, and Sarah Todd of The Deseret News looks at whether that practice is likely to continue.
The clocking is ticking on the Jazz to deliver a championship, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News writes. They have become a luxury tax-paying team and made some major front office changes along the way. The additions of Rudy Gay, Hassan Whiteside, Eric Paschall and rookie Jared Butler should make them deeper, but they also have some players near the end of their careers and All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are on max extensions, Todd notes.
We have more on the Jazz:
- Irv Roland has been added to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff, according to a team press release. Roland was on the Rockets’ staff from 2017-19. He began his career with the Celtics in 2004, assisting with video analysis. In 2005, he joined the New Orleans Hornets, also in the team’s video department, and worked there until 2010. He was also an assistant with the Suns from 2013-17.
- Conventional wisdom would suggest that Snyder won’t ride his rotation players as hard as he did last year, when the club finished as the top seed but struggled through an injury-marred postseason, Todd speculates. It will intriguing to see if Snyder changes that philosophy and if the main players will buy into it, she adds.
- The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen has been rankings teams heading into training camp and places the Jazz at No. 4. Feigen notes the team didn’t make any major offseason moves, other than re-signing Mike Conley.
- Jazz coach Quin Snyder isn’t likely to tinker too much with his lineups and rotations this coming season, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News speculates. Snyder isn’t the type of coach who does a lot of experimentation but he will play to the strengths of his personnel and there are some new faces, so that will require some flexibility, Todd adds.
Another NBA big man is headed to Israel, as Justin Patton has agreed to sign with Hapoel Eilat, according to a report from Yakov Meir of Israel Hayom (via Twitter). A source confirmed the news to our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
Word of Patton’s agreement comes on the heels of former No. 10 overall pick Thon Maker signing a deal with Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem.
Patton, 24, was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft and began his career with the Timberwolves, having been included in the deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. However, a series of foot injuries limited the center’s availability in his first few years in the NBA as he bounced around from Minnesota to Philadelphia to Oklahoma City to Houston.
In four total seasons, Patton has appeared in just 22 NBA games. Thirteen of those appearances came in 2020/21, as he spent several weeks on a two-way contract with the Rockets, averaging 5.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 19.0 minutes per contest. He was released in April, then suited up for the Jazz and Knicks in Summer Leagues in Utah and Las Vegas earlier this month.
Trade rumors have been swirling around Damian Lillard since the Trail Blazers were knocked out of the playoffs, but backcourt partner CJ McCollum believes Lillard is “all in” for the new season, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Appearing on a podcast with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, McCollum discussed Lillard, new coach Chauncey Billups and several other topics.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but having a close relationship, he and I talk every day, or every other day, from sharing memes to sending videos to each other to serious talks about our season, what it takes to win, what it’s going to takes to win a championship, I have a pretty good sense of where he’s at,” McCollum said of Lillard. “And I think his goal is to win a championship. I think, at the end of the day, that’s what we all want. We want to put ourselves in the best position to win a championship. But I mean, he’s all in. I think at this stage I can say that he’s all in. He just wants to win at the end of the day.”
Lillard held a press conference last month while preparing for the Olympics to deny a report that he was about to ask Portland’s front office for a trade. Although he hasn’t demanded a deal, Lillard has communicated his desire to upgrade the roster to give the Blazers a better chance to compete for a title.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Michael Rand of The Star Tribune examines the latest rumors about the Timberwolves‘ interest in Ben Simmons, concluding that Minnesota would like to acquire Simmons but doesn’t have the assets to make a deal. Rand suggests an offer of D’Angelo Russell, Jaden McDaniels and at least one first-round pick, which he concedes still may not be enough to interest the Sixers. Daryl Morey, Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, is looking for a star in return, so the Wolves might need to get other teams involved to have a chance at Simmons.
- March is a “reasonable target date” to expect Nuggets guard Jamal Murray to start playing again, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. That would be 11 months since his surgery for a torn ACL. Denver targeted a scoring guard in the draft to make up for the loss of Murray, Singer adds, and came away with Bones Hyland.
- Jazz owner Ryan Smith tells Ben Anderson of KSL Sports that fans shouldn’t read anything into his golf outings with former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. There have been rumors that Ainge might be considered for a position in Utah’s front office, but Smith says they have been playing together for a long time. “I’ve played golf with Danny Ainge for 20 years,” Smith said. “I know the media likes to write about it like there’s this thing going on with Danny, but Danny has been a mentor and a friend for 20 years.”
Makur Maker has signed with Australia’s Sydney Kings, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The 6’11” Maker, who attended Howard University last season, withdrew from this year’s draft but missed the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline. He’ll join the NBL’s Next Stars program with the aim of improving his draft stock.
“I can’t wait to learn from Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut, probably the best two big men in Australian basketball history who both were NBA champions,” he said. “Furthermore, under the leadership of our head coach Chase Buford, who is also of NBA championship background, and the front office with the CEO Chris Pongrass who was with the Memphis Grizzlies, I feel that this is my best pathway to becoming an NBA lottery pick next year.”
We have more from the basketball world:
- Following the schedule release on Friday, the Nets were listed by Caesars Sportsbook as the favorite to win the most regular-season games, David Purdum of ESPN relays. Brooklyn’s projected odds are 54.5 victories, just ahead of the Bucks (53.5), Lakers (51.5), Jazz (51.5) and Sixers (51.5). The Pistons (25.5), Magic (23.5) and Thunder (22.5) sit at the bottom of the projected wins list.
- Former NBA forward Johnathan Williams has signed with Italy’s Dolomiti Energia Trento, Sportando relays. He played with Germany’s Niners Chemnitz last season. Williams appeared in 15 games for the Wizards in 2019/20 and 24 for the Lakers in 2018/19.
- Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen has decided to become a prep coach, according to The Associated Press. Allen has been hired as the director of boys and girls basketball at Miami’s Gulliver Prep, and will also coach the boys varsity team.
- The Jazz have added Erdem Can to their coaching staff, according to a team press release. Can joins Quin Snyder‘s staff after serving as an assistant coach for Fenerbahce in the Turkish first division from 2012-21. He has also assisted the Jazz’s summer league coaching staff five times in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
Jazz guard Elijah Hughes is concentrating on his defense during the team’s summer league play this month, as relayed by Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. Hughes is in the midst of his first-ever summer league stint with the franchise.
“The typical Syracuse stigma is that guys don’t play defense and guys can’t guard, so I want to break that stigma,” Hughes explained. “Also I have a lot of pride. I want to hold my own. If people are trying to get me on switches, I want to be able to hold my own.”
Hughes, 23, was drafted with the No. 39 overall pick last December and is under contract entering next season. He appeared in 18 games this past season, albeit for a total of 64 minutes.
“Eli has a big body, and for him it’s learning to play angles defensively,” Jazz summer league coach Bryan Bailey said. “If he continues to learn to play angles and cut guys off with his size, he’ll be a good defender.”
Here are some other notes from the Western Conference tonight:
- Rockets guard Armoni Brooks has returned from the league’s health and safety protocols, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Brooks is playing summer league with Houston, coming off a strong 20-game stint with the team last season.
- The Rockets‘ rookies have brought a breath of fresh air this month, Feigen writes in a separate article for the Houston Chronicle. The team’s rookie class is led by No. 2 pick Jalen Green, who had an impressive summer league stint before getting shut down due to hamstring soreness.
- Christian Clark of NOLA.com examines the career paths of Kira Lewis Jr. and Herbert Jones, who are now teammates with the Pelicans. Lewis is coming off his rookie season, while Jones was drafted by New Orleans with the No. 35 pick last month.
- The Summer League emphasis is on developing young talent and finding players for the upcoming season, but the Jazz are also focused on winning a title after a 3-0 start, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I don’t think development and winning are mutually exclusive,” coach Bryan Bailey said. “They can go together. Part of the development is learning how to win. You want to see things, want guys to work on things. But it’s all together, it’s all intertwined.”
Jazz 2020 first-round selection, big man Udoka Azubuike, was hampered by a severe ankle sprain in his rookie campaign, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. Azubuike suffered the injury during the Salt Lake City Stars’ first game in the G League bubble last season. “It was tough, it was really tough for me going through that injury, that process,” Azubuike said. “Not being out on the court practicing or learning, doing what a regular rookie like me would do.” He’ll likely compete for backup center minutes this season with veteran acquisition Hassan Whiteside.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The King’s young players are not the only ones going through a learning process during summer league action. Bobby Jackson, the team’s summer league coach, is also gaining valuable experience, Jason Jones of The Athletic writes. “I can get better in late-game situations, understanding who to have on the floor, the substitutions, all the stuff that comes with it,” Jackson said. “But me and my stuff, just like the players have to do a better job, we’ve got to do a better job of making sure we have the right personnel on the floor. But it’s a growing experience for me, I love it.” Jackson was also recently named the head coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings.
- McKinley Wright IV received a two-way deal from the Timberwolves last week. The former Colorado standout grew up in Minnesota and is thrilled to play in his home state, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I didn’t know that I was going to be coming home,” Wright said. “I didn’t know that Minnesota was this interested in me. … I told my family, ‘We didn’t hear my name called how we initially planned, but this is better for me, going undrafted, betting on myself, and I continue to look forward to proving people wrong.”
- Jeff Green’s versatile offensive game, which is built around 3-point shooting and elite finishing around the rim, should be a major boost for the Nuggets’ second unit, Eric Spyropoulos of the team’s website writes. The veteran big man signed a two-year deal with Denver in free agency.