In the final interview of the season with Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, the session started out with a question from broadcaster Craig Bolerjack. He asked Ainge what kind of players the Jazz needed, what attributes the Jazz were looking for. Ainge then posed the question back to Bolerjack. He wanted to know what Bolerjack thought the Jazz needed.
“I think obviously youth is one, athleticism would be another, length would be one, defending would be, I think another high level need or want. But I only call games and you get to solve the players,” he said with a laugh.
Ainge wasn’t being confrontational at all. He wanted us all to understand that the problems with the Jazz, and the holes on the roster that we all see, are the correct ones.
“It was a good answer,” Ainge said. “You answered your own question. I tell my grandchildren that all the time, ‘You can answer that question.’”
On a bit of a deeper level, I think it’s obvious that the Jazz want to put together a team that is built for the playoffs, and that means getting players that are not one-dimensional. The Jazz don’t just want a player who is young and athletic, or another player who is long and a defense-first guy. They want every player to have all of those attributes. They want versatile players that will sustain long-term careers and make the team successful when the games really matter in the postseason
It’s what I’ve been thinking a lot about as I’ve been watching the first round of this year’s NBA playoffs. What works, and what doesn’t work?
“Optionality of being able to do multiple things is a huge factor for me as you get to the playoffs,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “I just don’t think you can throw fast balls the whole playoffs and win. You have to be able to pivot to something else on both sides of the floor, because certain matchups give you different problems. We are building a foundation with our players of being able to switch their mindset in a game or before a game.”
So as we continue to move through the playoffs and we get nearer to the draft and free agency, it’s important to look at what players end up on the Jazz roster. We don’t have to try to talk ourselves into believing that a one-dimensional player will end up on the roster long term. There are going to be plenty of players over the next couple of years that are with the Jazz short term.