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Rudy's summertime plans
Rudy Gobert thinks he should win this year's Most Improved Player, he'd love to win a Defensive Player of the Year award and he has his sights set on becoming an all-star.
But on Thursday, the playoffs were the only goal the 7-footer said he's truly focused on.
"We definitely want to make the playoffs next year," he said. "If you watched the second part of the season, I think we played like a playoff team to be honest."
To achieve that goal, Gobert's summer time plans include:
• A trip to P3, where he specifically wants to improve lower body strength.
• Adding a midrange jump shot to his game.
"It's there to be honest," he said. "Not the 3s, but the midrange is there. That's what I've been trying to do the last few games. I think I've made some improvements."
• Playing with France in this summer's European championships. (He'll pass on summer league after becoming a full time starter.)
Jazz know they have a long way to go
The Jazz seem to understand that going from 25 wins to 38 wins this season was easy, compared with the jump that remains ahead of them in their development into a playoff team.
If anything, Gordon Hayward said, the Jazz's success in the second half of the season "gives you a boost in your work ethic … It just naturally gets you a little more excited. I honestly think there's a lot of room for me to improve in all parts of the game."
Hayward said of coach Quin Snyder, "He showed us the details of the game that we were missing. … He slows down the game for you and shows you exactly what you need to do and how to do it."
Hayward added, "We all realize that we have a lot to improve on. Just because we played well after the All-Star break, I don't think any of us are going to be satisfied with that."
— KK
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Alec Burks says he's still about three months away from being able to go through contact drills. But he says, "I hope I'm the missing piece" to get the Jazz to the playoffs next year.
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Dennis Lindsey addresses point guard position Point guard is a key position for the Jazz, going forward. With three young players – Dante Exum, Trey Burke and Bryce Cotton – on the roster, general manager Dennis Lindsey knows the team needs more production at that spot.
"It has to improve, but there's no reason why it can't improve," Lindsey said.
The dilemma is whether the Jazz can rely exclusively on individual growth from those players or bring in a veteran point guard.
Lindsey cited "some raw material to work with," while acknowledging the youth of the point guards. "We have to own that," he said. "It's how we set up the team."
In contrast to the eras of John Stockton and Deron Williams in Jazz history, the Jazz have somewhat worked around the point guard position lately by having other players such as Gordon Hayward do a bigger share of the ballhandling. "That can mean different things for Trey and Dante and Bryce," Lindsey said.
— Kragthorpe
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Gaming enthusiast and new father-to-be Gordon Hayward has already had the talk with his wife.
"My wife actually said this morning, 'Just because the season is over doesn't mean you can play more video games,'" Hayward said. "We're having a baby soon, so I think the video games are going to have to be on hold unfortunately."
For the Jazz's leader, that will be the primary uncertainty he faces this summer, a year after venturing into the unknown of restricted free agency and a coaching search.
"Not as much is up in the air," he said. "I think I'l leave the same mindset, though. There are a lot of things I can work on and get better. I'm looking forward to the offseason and forward to doing the work."
— AF
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Eighty-two games, approximately 53,700 miles, 134 hours in airplanes, 550 loads of laundry, and 3,000 gallons of Powerade later*, the Utah Jazz's season is over and it's time to say our goodbyes.
The annual locker room clean out is this morning, though it has somewhat of a different feel this year, since we're at the team's practice facility and not, you know, in the actual locker room.
But we'll still have all the info from today's exit interviews with players, as well as final thoughts from coach Quin Snyder and general manager Dennis Lindsey.
Follow along here throughout the day for updates and feel free to send thoughts/questions to us via email (afalk@sltrib.com) or Twitter (@tribjazz and @tjonessltrib).
— AF
*These are actual estimates provided by the Jazz.
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Quotes from Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey:
"Clearly we sit here today in a better position than when we started. … The group is moving in the right direction."
On the offseason decisions …
"There are many discussions to be had, but we don't take lightly the character of the group that we have. The chemistry is really unique. It's collegiate in many ways and it's pure. We hold that in high trust. There are going to be a lot of difficult decisions."
On point guard play …
"Clearly just from a baseline-level production it has to improve, but there's no reason why it can't improve with the three young players that we have."
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