The best quotes from Jazz Media Day


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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz media day was Monday, officially kicking off the 2015-16 season. That means that fans heard a lot from general manager Dennis Lindsey, head coach Quin Snyder, and the entire 20-man Jazz roster.

Here are some of the themes of the day, and what the Jazzmen had to say.

On building on a good 2nd half of the season last year:

Quin Snyder: "It's like riding a bike, hopefully you never forget how to do it, but if you haven't ridden a bike in a while, you gotta put the chain back on, the seat may be too low, it's rusty, the tires are flat. We need to get our bike back in shape."

Dennis Lindsey: "Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University coach] was in our building a few weeks ago during open training period, optional training period. And he had something really good to say, that Quin and I hung on to, that standards are better than rules. We're trying to create those standards and have them carry over multiple seasons."

Dennis Lindsey, on high expectations: "[In San Antonio], I never heard Gregg Popovich come in and say 'we're going to win a championship this year.' It's just not the way we went about our business."

On the point guard position:

Dennis Lindsey: "The production may not be glamorous, but if it's efficient, and connected, and heady, and energetic, and all of them are moving forward, we'll stand by those results."

Quin Snyder, on PG roles: "What'll be interesting to see is what our team needs at various times. So what kind of defender is Raul? Because he's a bigger player than Bryce. Bryce is a dynamic player offensively. Neither one of those guys played the significant minutes and have been in the pressure situations that Trey has been in the league. So when Trey gets a late clock 15-footer in the clock with the game on the line, there's probably a pretty good chance of it going in. I've never seen Bryce or Raul have that shot. So we're going to grow with these guys. For me, that position's not really that much different from where our team was last year."

Trey Burke: "I'm not going to go into it thinking I'm the starting point guard. I know it's a battle, a competition, so that's how I'm going to go into it. But I'm a competitor, so that's second nature to me."

Dennis Lindsey: "Bryce led our summer league efforts and was very good. His speed, and ability to create a shot is significant. We think Raul, in time, will be a good defender. He plays with very good imagination. I think the first conversations I had with Raul during summer league was 'Rodney Hood is good. I gotta find him the ball.' Quin was a proponent of signing Raul in this offseason."

Dennis Lindsey: "It's a bottom line business, as you mentioned, and if we're not getting those results, we've got close to $7 million in cap that we are authorized to use, but we want to use that well. We have a significant pick and asset base built up that we can address a deficiency as it comes up on the roster, whether that's at point guard or any of the other positions moving forward."

What did the Jazz's big three of Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Rudy Gobert work on this summer?

Derrick Favors: "I just kept adding range to my jump shot. Getting different offensive moves in the post, the mid-range area, the free throw line area. Just trying to extend my game."

Gordon Hayward: "I think I worked a lot on shooting again, I think you can always be a better shooter until you hit 100% of your shots. So I did a lot of shooting this year. A lot of ballhandling as well, I think improving my handle is something that will open up the floor a lot for me. And then I worked a little bit on a post game, trying to be able to take advantage of switches in the NBA. They're starting to switch a lot of things, so hopefully being able to take advantage of some mismatches when I have a little bit of a size advantage."

Rudy Gobert: "For me, the main thing was working on my body, keep getting stronger. To be able to bang in the post offensively. I worked on my post game and working on my free throw and mid-range shooting."

On having baby girls:

Gordon Hayward: "Having a baby girl changes your perspective on life, definitely a game changer."

Derrick Favors: "Same thing, but I think Gordon had it easy, he had one. I had two."

On leadership:

Gordon Hayward: "Derrick and I were talking about that earlier today, about this being our 6th media day, we're the old vets now, we've got kids, it's crazy. But both of us are the best leaders we've ever been. Both of us are guys who like to be lead by example first and foremost, but the communication that we had throughout the summer with teammates, with coaches was the best I've seen it since I've been here in Utah."

What have the Jazz been doing for the last month?

Gordon Hayward: "[Quin] calls them OTAs, which is like a football term. We had some organized activities where we got in a good lifting session, we got stronger in the weight room, we stretched out, we got massages, we played, we did drills. So it was kinda a little bit of everything. I think ultimately we came closer as a a team, and the team chemistry got better. We played some 5-on-5, we played some wiffleball, and it was interesting to see everybody's wiffleball game. We just had some fun while everybody got better."

Raul Neto: "It's hard to play against those guys. They are in the best league in the world for one year, two years, three years. It's been a little hard for me but I'm improving I'm feeling comfortable each day more and I'm being good at it."

On Alec Burks' shoulder injury and recovery:

Alec Burks: "I got cleared probably like 2 weeks ago, and that's when I started playing a little 5-on-5. Everything's going good, I'm on schedule, I'm getting my rhytym back."

Alec Burks: "Yeah, I had to learn how to shoot again. I tore my labrum, so basically I had to learn my shooting mechanics again. I feel like it's going to help me in the long run, with a better shot."

Alec Burks: "I think I'm better than I was before the injury, because I couldn't lift my shoulder."

Alec Burks: "When I hurt it in college, I really couldn't lift it, but when I got to the league, I did some exercises and things on the daily that helped me with it. But then I got hurt last preseason and I couldn't really lift it past my shoulder. I just had to play through that until I had the season ending surgery."

Alec Burks, on how he made layups at all with the injury: "My pain level was up, I guess is all I have to say. The training staff I had, Briggs... BZ, Nick, Doug, everybody helped me out before every game to prepare for the beating I was going to take."

Quin Snyder: "Alec's a guy who can create a shot, Alec's a guy who can get out in transition, I think some of the things Alec does very well will help our team in some specific areas."

On living in SLC:

Quin Snyder: "It's gratifying to be able to feel [connectivity] within our organization, and personally, for me to be able to find it within a community. I didn't go out to dinner a lot last season. But having a chance to lead a more regular life this summer, there's a fun and rewarding experience here. And that's one of the reasons our guys come back during the summer, because they feel comfortable here. I just wanted to note that."

Trevor Booker: "It's a great organization, the city is great, family oriented, great for my family. It's just a perfect fit for me. "

On favorite superheroes:

Jack Cooley: "My favorite superhero would have to be, great question by the way, would have to be, I would have to say Batman probably cause he's just a normal rich dude. And anybody can be a normal rich dude if you work hard enough."

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