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Much has changed since DeMarre Carroll left Utah three years ago.
"They done grew up," the Toronto Raptors forward said with a chuckle when asked about his old teammates. "Gordon [Hayward gained like 30 pounds. Alec [Burks] looks like he got better, more control. You know, the sky's the limit for those guys."
Carroll would probably credit the team's new head coach as much as anyone. When Carroll left Atlanta and headed north last summer, the newest member of the Toronto Raptors penned a heartfelt goodbye to the city and his former team — with a special shoutout to his former assistant coach.
Quin Snyder "was the first coach who took me under his wing while he was an assistant there," Carroll recalled via the Players Tribune. "The big difference between regular NBA players and superstars isn't just talent, but the way they train. Quin and I just kind of clicked right away when I came to the Hawks, and he began working with me to develop skills that I hadn't really touched before. His belief in me built up my confidence so much."
Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, Carroll, a former Jazzman himself, heaped a little more praise on the man now at the helm in Utah.
"That's my guy right there," the forward said. "I talk to him in the summer all the time. … He means a lot. He means more to me than just a coach. He's somebody I can call a really good friend. He's been important for me and my family."
Carroll, who played 86 games for the Jazz over parts of two seasons, leapt onto the NBA radar as a member of the Hawks and, last summer, signed a four-year $60-million deal with the Raptors.
"I think DeMarre fits anywhere," Snyder said. "Any time you've a guy that plays hard, that plays with emotion, that makes shots, you'd take that anywhere."
Somber solidarity
Center Rudy Gobert's sprained ankle is "pretty much" 100 percent healed.
But that injury certainly seemed trivial compared to the pain the 23-year-old Frenchman and his countrymen still feel after last week's attacks in Paris.
On Wednesday, the Jazz honored the more than 120 victims with a moment of silence and a rendition of the French national anthem before the game.
"I appreciate it," Gobert said. "All the French people really appreciate the support."
Gobert was in Orlando the day of the attacks and was able to speak with Magic forward Evan Fournier, a friend and fellow Frenchman, about the tragic news.
"We were both shocked," he recalled.
Days later, Gobert said he is trying to shift his attention elsewhere.
"I'm not over it, but I can't let it distract me," he said. "So I've just got to stay focused on basketball and I know they're taking care of it over there."
Shocked
Fifty-six wins and a trip to the Western Conference Finals last year? Not good enough for the Houston Rockets apparently.
On Wednesday, the Rockets fired coach Kevin McHale after a 4-7 start to the season. For Snyder, it was a reminder of "what a difficult and volatile" occupation coaching in the NBA can be.
"Obviously any time that you learn of a coach being fired, as a coach you're taken aback, particularly over the circumstances," he said. "I'm not close to that situation. I don't know the details. I do know that he took that team a long way last year. … It's hard."
It was also a reminder for Snyder of the security coaches in Utah have enjoyed.
"I think it's one of the unique things about the Jazz," he said. "It's not a blind commitment to coaches and players, but I think there's an understanding that there is a volatility in the NBA and sometimes you can't control everything from injuries to chemistry … I think there's an understanding on that level."
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