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On Tuesday night, new Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan was back in the city where his NBA journey started nearly 30 years ago.
Donovan was a third-round pick by the Utah Jazz in 1987 out of Providence, but his stay in Salt Lake City didn't last all that much longer than his trip here this week.
But as he battled for a roster spot against the likes of future Hall of Famer John Stockton during the team's training camp at Westminster College, Donovan got some words of encouragement from Jeff Van Gundy.
"He was just telling me that their point guard position [was unsettled], that John had not played a lot. I think it was right around the expansion draft, Rickey Green was going to maybe not be here," Donovan recalled Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena. "And he said, 'You have a chance to make the team.' "
Shortly thereafter, Donovan was back on the phone.
"I called him and said, 'Really? This guy is the best point guard I've ever played against in my life," Donovan said.
The Thunder coach, who just this summer made the leap from a successful collegiate career at Florida back to the NBA, defended Van Gundy's assessment all those years ago.
"I think John at that time was maybe in his third year, so he hadn't really played. He was a backup point guard at the time. The point guard position was a little bit unsettled," Donovan said. "I don't think Jeff didn't think John could play. I just think he thought there was an opportunity there. Then after I called him, he realized there wasn't."
Birthday boy
It was Rodney Hood's 23rd birthday Tuesday.
Maybe that's why he treated himself to 23 points against the Thunder.
In a 113-102 loss to Oklahoma City, Hood was the Jazz's leading scorer, going 9-for-16 for the night, including a 7-for-9 performance in the second half.
"I just stopped hesitating," Hood said. "They were putting bigger guys on me. I didn't think much about it and I just let it go."
Tightening things up
Before Tuesday's game, Snyder said the Jazz's rotations were still in flux and could stay that way for quite some time.
"I think it's hard still in preseason to pin down a rotation, particularly with our guys," he said. "… Our rotation could be something that we see evolve like it did last year."
Still, Snyder rolled out some of his tightest rotations of the exhibition season against the Thunder.
Elijah Millsap and Chris Johnson each logged a minute of game time. Rookies Tibor Pleiss and Trey Lyles never got into the game. Is that a sign of things to come and how tight minutes will be for guys at the end of the Utah bench? We'll see.
Twitter: @tribjazz