New York • The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind for Nate Wolters.
On Wednesday night, the Salt Lake City Stars played the Santa Cruz Warriors in the Bay Area. Around the same time, Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio was experiencing soreness in his Achilles.
So, with Rubio’s status in doubt for Friday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, the Jazz flew Wolters across the country. He mustered a few hours of sleep on Thursday night, and then attended shootaround on Friday morning. On Friday night, the point guard was in uniform with the Jazz and available to play against the Brooklyn Nets off the bench.
“It’s been a busy time,” Wolters said. “And it’s tough, but I love playing basketball and this is something I have to do. You just have to take it day by day and do what the organization needs. I’m definitely happy to be here.”
Wolters is living the life of an NBA player on a two-way contract. His first job is to run the Stars on the floor, but he’s got to be ready whenever the Jazz need him. And now, the Jazz have five of their top nine rotation players out with various injuries, including their top two point guards in Rubio and Dante Exum.
So, Wolters was there to add a practice body to the mix. Jazz coach Quin Snyder said shootarounds on the road are conducted with the same intensity as regular practice, so Wolters provided value for the Jazz behind the scenes.
“Nate may not get to play, but his time here is important to us,” Snyder said. “Shootarounds are pretty important to us, so we needed an extra body. Nate’s been really good with us. He’s a good player.”
Mitchell gives back to his family
Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell carried out a dream on Thursday afternoon. Following practice, Mitchell gave his mother Nicole a car, a scene that was recorded and put on his Instagram feed. In the video, Mitchell and his mother hugged. He walked her to the car, which had a bow on it, and gave her the present.
“Hopefully, it’s the first of many,” Mitchell said. “I’ve always wanted to do this, and it feels good to be able to do it. She’s done so much to take care of me.”
Injury list mounting
The Jazz played Friday night without five rotation players. Joe Johnson, Rudy Gobert and Exum are out with long term ailments. Rubio missed with Achilles soreness. Thabo Sefolosha was also out with soreness in his right knee.
“Ricky wanted to play tonight, but it’s better to be safe,” Snyder said.
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