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Utah Jazz Media Day (live stream)

Not sure I can jive with Hardy putting Kessler's name out there like that when the extension talks have hit a standstill. Probably better to leave his name out of the answer. And since the lion's share of the problems with the defense are not Kessler-related, he had ample opportunity to do so.

FWIW, listening to it live and I think he just handled the question poorly. He started the question off by talking about guarding the perimeter, but seemed to be hesitant to call anybody out specifically. Then his mind kind of shifted to "well, everybody even our best defensive player needs to play better". Since Kessler is obviously our best defensive player it made sense (in his mind) to call him out. I'm sure he wasn't even thinking about contract negotiation stuff.
 
I can see the Jazz wanting to see Walker have another good season and take another step before giving him $25k-$30k/year. Letting him get to restricted free agency will let another team dictate things like years and a player option. So the Jazz must be willing to potentially concede those things.
 
FWIW, listening to it live and I think he just handled the question poorly. He started the question off by talking about guarding the perimeter, but seemed to be hesitant to call anybody out specifically. Then his mind kind of shifted to "well, everybody even our best defensive player needs to play better". Since Kessler is obviously our best defensive player it made sense (in his mind) to call him out. I'm sure he wasn't even thinking about contract negotiation stuff.

Manufacturing losses was the goal last year. (They took what could have been a 35-win team down to 17 wins.) It may be again this year. Having a lousy defense is part of the plan. Last year, the Jazz talked about improving defensively then proceeded to be bottom of the league again. Defense is just going to be a sore topic for a while, I’d expect.
 
"not everybody gets to sit in these chairs" what a dude.
I have been (unfairly) a doubter on Ace personality and fit in Utah. Seems like I was way off.
If that video is an accurate representation of his personality then holy cow, how could he not be a fan favorite.
That little Twitter interview clip is about as good as it gets. Just oozing joy from the screen into my body.
 
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