Jazz Not Changing Identity Despite New Players
Oct 3, 2019, 9:47 AM | Updated: 11:52 am
Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder yells during the final minutes of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 4, 2019. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Jazz have signed or acquired five new key players to the roster, but head coach Quin Snyder isn’t changing the teams’ identity.
During the off-season, Utah signed veterans Jeff Green, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis and Emmanuel Mudiay as free agents, while acquiring point guard Mike Conley Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for draft picks, Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver.
The players the Jazz are bringing in have a lot of NBA experience with various teams. With all of that in the equation, Snyder isn’t changing the identity or their approach heading into the 2019-20 season.
"Our identity doesn't change. We still want to be an elite defensive team." Quin Snyder #UtahJazz #TakeNote
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 30, 2019
“Every team is different, even sometimes when certain combinations are the same, just like certain things you do against opponents,” Snyder said at Jazz Media Day. “More specifically, our identity doesn’t change. We still are a team that wants to be an elite defensive team and that’s what we want to work towards.”
The Jazz have been a top 5 defensive team since Snyder became the head coach, which is because of Snyder’s emphasis on defense, while also having the players buy into his philosophy. That has led to center Rudy Gobert being named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons.
“I think it’s unusual to trust a player so quickly but he’s earned that. That’s who he is.” – Quinn Snyder on Mike Conley #TakeNote #KSLSports pic.twitter.com/kRyqLGY4HA
— Sam Farnsworth (@SFarnsworthKSL) October 2, 2019
“We are still going to emphasize transition defense, it doesn’t matter who is on the floor,” Snyder added.
“Offensively, we are a team that has been unselfish. That can apply to a lot of different things conceptually on offense, whether it is somebody taking a good shot, somebody getting an offensive rebound and kicking it out, a high pass to the rim, all of those things manifest themselves that may look a little differently with different personnel. From an identity standpoint, we like who we are and I think it’s something that our players will embrace.”
The Jazz will begin the preseason portion of their schedule on Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena against the Adelaide 36ers at 7 p.m. on AT&T SportsNet.
