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SALT LAKE CITY — Danny Ainge entered the press conference room on Friday alongside Justin Zanik and Ryan Smith wearing a black pullover and a white cap.
Another outfit may have been more appropriate.
"I was going to wear my elk shirt," Ainge said with a smile.
The quip was a nod to the ado made over his comment about the Jazz going "big game hunting" this summer. Utah's biggest free-agent acquisitions were Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills. Not exactly mantle-worthy additions.
"When those opportunities come up, we're ready for them — there weren't any," general manager Justin Zanik said. "So we decided our plan was to completely throw our focus into our young guys and the best player on our roster in Lauri Markkanen."
Over the last two seasons, the messaging from the front office has been mixed — at best. It's pretty clear this time: The Jazz plan to try to grow a future contender around Markkanen and their group of young players.
Utah locked up Markkanen this offseason by signing him to a five-year, $238 million contract renegotiation and extension. Now, it's about finding who of Utah's first-, second- and third-year players can become a core piece next to him.
"I think you've heard the quote, 'pups can't raise pups,' so when that became apparent that we couldn't find the right pairings to add to Lauri … we had to pivot the other way and develop our young guys," Zanik said.
Those pups? Walker Kessler, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski. All are 23 years old or younger. The Jazz have kept just enough veterans so the young players don't have to do all the heavy lifting.
Even Utah's free agency acquisitions point to future development. Eubanks is a high-energy and physical center — traits Kessler has sometimes lacked over his first two seasons. Mills is a veteran guard who was a locker room leader in San Antonio even when playing alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. He'll be a vocal leader on a team full of introverts.
"It's always good for a coach to have those veterans they can lean on to show the young guys how to play and the team because our young guys have a lot to learn," Ainge said. "We talk about development a lot. Development is big, but the biggest thing in development is learning."
That doesn't mean the new vets won't see the court — same for returning veterans Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, and Collin Sexton — but the message from Friday's press session was the young players will get ample opportunity this season.
"I can't sit here and tell you who's going to play, who's not going to play, but our growth is going to come from developing our talent base so that we can win more games now and in the future," Zanik said. "That doesn't happen overnight, but what's important about development is playing."
So the young players will do just that, and that's how Utah hopes to build its next contending team.
"I looked around the league, and 90% plus (of title teams) have been homegrown," Smith said. "That's the business we're in, so we better get really good at it, and we also want as many shots as we can at it."
The youth movement will continue to have a youthful coach, too. The Jazz picked up the fifth-year option on head coach Will Hardy on Friday. The 36-year-old coach is entering his third year with Utah — all of which have featured some form of a rebuild.
The Jazz brass expressed confidence in Hardy to lead the Jazz through what could be a long road to contention.
"It was pretty easy," Ainge said of the decision. "We love the direction he's taking, we love the teammate he is. He's really excited for this year with a chance to develop these young players."
