Is It Difficult To Welcome Players To The Jazz At The Trade Deadline?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 pm ET and though it seems unlikely for the top team in the league, the Utah Jazz could choose to make a move that welcomes a new player to the roster.

Before facing the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, Jazz coach Quin Snyder discussed the deadline, and the nuances when welcoming a new player mid-season.

“I don’t pay attention in my day-to-day life to the trade deadline,” Snyder said. “I know it’s going on, I couldn’t give you the exact date. I don’t know whether it’s Saturday or Tuesday.”

Buy, sell, or hold, what should the @utahjazz do at the trade deadline?#takenote https://t.co/3UQC2ZuWSi

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 23, 2021

Rather than focusing on the deadline, Snyder insisted he’s more concerned with improving the team he already has on the floor. But, included in that roster is newcomer Ersan Ilyasova who signed with the team during the All-Star break, and is working to adjust to the Jazz system.

For players like Ilyasova who join a team that has a half-season under its belt and a well-established identity, Snyder said he does try to take one consistent approach to how he welcomes players to the roster.

“One of the key things is to really make sure that their identity as a player, you’re finding a way to have that be expressed,” Snyder said. “And that provides them a comfort level.”

Ilyasova hasn’t seen the same floortime as other midseason acquisitions like Jae Crowder who was traded to the team in February of 2018 and played 28 minutes in his first game with the Jazz, or Jordan Clarkson who joined the roster in December of 2019 and was the team’s go-to sixth man the moment he stepped on the floor.

The #UtahJazz have great chemistry right now and that's something you don't want to mess with. The addition of @Ersan Ilyasova to the roster won't affect that according to Quin Snyder. He fits the Jazz style and adds depth and experience to the bench.#TakeNote l @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/FUisMLa2hI

— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_KSL) March 13, 2021

But Snyder said he tries to handle players with caution, whether they’re brought along slowly like Ilyasova, or thrown immediately into the fire.

“There’s always things that you want to try to tweak, but I think at least for myself, you want to be careful not to try to reinvent someone as a player.”

That isn’t to say the Jazz haven’t transformed or improved players under Snyder’s guidance, as Clarkson has become the best sixth man in the NBA while veteran point guard Mike Conley made his first All-Star game a record 13-years into his NBA career, but that the changes can be brought upon gradually without trying to reinvent the player themselves.

“Jordan’s been more aggressive from the three-point line, he’s at the rim finishing a lot, his shot profile is something that we’ve talked about that he’s embraced,” Snyder said. “But that wasn’t something that we talked about last January or February. I just wanted him to continue to attack and I didn’t want to change his mindset.”

So as the Jazz bring Ilyasova along, and whether a new player is added tomorrow at the trade deadline, fans can expect Snyder to make their identity as players a priority as they transition into the team’s rotation, rather than radically changing the player’s role to fit the team.

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