It’s good to play for a coach like that who emphasizes defense as much as he does because he knows what we can do on the offensive end. He knows that if we’re going to go where we want to go as an organization, it’s going to start on defense. It’s great. – Jazz point guard Trey Burke
SALT LAKE CITY — In 2010, Quin Snyder moved from Austin, Texas, to Philadelphia, upgrading from the D-League to becoming a player development coach with the 76ers.
In 2011, Snyder moved from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, upgrading to a full-time assistant position with the Lakers.
In 2012, the former Duke player relocated from Tinsel Town to Russia, where he became the head assistant coach to the respected Ettore Messina with European powerhouse CSKA Moscow.
In 2013, the well-traveled coach, who’d worked for the Clippers, Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils and Missouri before the aforementioned Texas stint, returned to the States to be Mike Budenholzer’s top assistant in Atlanta.
In 2014, Jazz fans are well aware of where Snyder moved. On June 6 of that year, he was hired by Utah, becoming just the fifth head coach in the Beehive State portion of the organization’s history.
Got all that?
Good.
Here’s a review: In the past five years, Snyder moved five times — from the Lone Star State to Philly to L.A. to Russia to Atlanta and, finally, to Utah.
It’s no wonder Snyder laughed when he was asked if it felt strange to not move this past summer after changing addresses in each of the previous five summers.
For the record, the Snyders didn’t buy a new house in Salt Lake City just to keep their moving streak alive, either.
“My wife and I looked out the window and I didn’t see Atlas Van lines or anything. It was nice,” Snyder said. “I haven’t really unpacked yet. I’m so used to not doing it.”
Even if he isn’t sure where all of his high school yearbooks are at the moment, Snyder has settled into his current home and job.
Players have noticed a different tone and a more relaxed demeanor from their head coach.
Power forward Derrick Favors, now in his sixth season, respectfully said Snyder could be “a little uptight” as he tried to get his point across to Jazz players last year. This time around?
Sure, Snyder still raises the volume on his vocal chords at times, but Favors said there’s more “fun” this time around. (Their fun still includes hours of detailed film sessions, individual coaching and grinding practices, by the way.)
“He’s a lot more, I wouldn’t say relaxed, but he’s a lot more confident in us because when we come in and practice we don’t play around,” second-year shooting guard Rodney Hood said. “We know what to do and we get it done, and we go on to the next thing. I think he trusts us a little more this year.”
Trust is a huge deal for Snyder, who told former Jazz CEO Greg Miller during his hiring process, “When a team plays defense together well, it’s an indication they trust each other.”
The Jazz started to benefit from that trust factor — gained from months of intensive work on forming solid habits — the last few months of the 2014-15 NBA season. Utah went from the worst defensive team in the league to the best in a Snyder-led transformation that pushed the franchise’s rebuilding project into fast forward.
To Hood’s point, Snyder said he has more earned confidence in his team during his second camp. As he tinkered with lineup combinations this preseason, the Jazz coach admitted, “We’ve got a number of guys that I trust, which is a good thing to have.” That also creates a bit of a dilemma because he only has so many minutes each game to divvy up.
Snyder elaborated that he has “a lot of trust that they’re trying to play the way we want them to play.” It’s not always perfect, he acknowledged. But it’s progress.
“And,” he added, “our team’s going to get better if they’re doing the right thing collectively.”
The trust, comfort factor and experience together figure to be a good combination for Snyder and his players as they navigate their second NBA season together.
“We know his standards. We know what he expects on and off the court in practice and in games,” Jazz point guard Trey Burke said. “We know that even if we win a game, the next day we might get chewed out for our defensive performance.
“It’s good to play for a coach like that who emphasizes defense as much as he does because he knows what we can do on the offensive end. He knows that if we’re going to go where we want to go as an organization, it’s going to start on defense. It’s great.”
An example of that happened after the Jazz’s 98-78 win in their preseason finale Thursday night. After complimenting his team’s improved performance from two nights earlier, Snyder added, “I don’t’ think we’re disciplined yet defensively. It’s driving me crazy, but it’s supposed to be like that. If you do something for a year two years, it becomes more natural and more habitual.”
Snyder added that he knows his players have that desire to get there.
The Jazz coach also relies on his staff to help his players progress. Utah, which used to have the smallest coaching staff in the league in the Jerry Sloan era (three assistants), now has eight employees with an assistant coach title. Brad Jones, Alex Jensen, Tony Lang, Johnnie Bryant, Mike Wells and Mark McKown have returned, and the team hired Jeff Watkinson (integrated player development) and Igor Kokoskov over the summer.
“We have some really good people,” Snyder said. “I think we’re able to supplement our staff in some very significant ways with experience. … We’ve got some people who understand — in addition to our current staff — what we’re trying to build. I’m excited about that chemistry.”
Snyder is all about surrounding himself with strong leaders and basketball-savvy people who can assist him in achieving the ultimate goal of building a championship-caliber team. That’s why he’s regularly advised by Sloan, Utah’s legendary Hall of Famer, and by his friend and former Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski and others. Most recently, Snyder invited ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to spend several days with the Jazz to observe the coaches and players.
“My favorite quality of Quin Snyder is he is the smartest person in the room yet still willing to listen to others,” Jazz play-by-play announcer David Locke recently tweeted regarding this point.
Burke, who’s working closely with former Georgia national coach Kokoskov, said the team is benefiting from the knowledge they’re getting and with their familiarity with Snyder’s system and ways.
“Year one, it was just mindboggling for all of us. There was so much being thrown at us,” Burke admitted. “So once we got out there on the court a lot of times the ball started getting stagnant. We were just passing and playing off of instincts.
“Now we know counters. We know if the defense takes something away, something else is going to be open. We know where guys are supposed to be and we hold each other accountable, so it’s good.”
Snyder holds players accountable because he knows they can succeed and wants to make that happen.
Hayward has benefited from his detail-oriented and demanding coaching style as much as anyone.
“He’s very creative offensively, so he’s put me in positions where I can be successful on the offensive end,” Hayward said when asked how Snyder has helped his game.
“He’s always been very good with footwork and helping me be more precise with all my footwork. He’s worked with a bunch of good players, a bunch of good coaches — Kobe Bryant being one of those guys that he’s worked with. He’s tried to help me with some of that knowledge and pass that along to me, so those are two things he’s helped me with a lot.”
When asked about entering his second season, Snyder shrugged off the question and noted that he’s simply coaching his players. He does know expectations are higher than before around Jazzland and the NBA because of the way the team finished last season with a 19-10 mark after struggling the first few months.
Helping his team continue along that trajectory will be part of his big challenge this season, especially considering how projected starting point guard Dante Exum won’t play due to a knee injury.
“I think for us it’s a balance of embracing some enthusiasm about our team, be it external or internal and also (having) a heavy dose of realism about the youth that we have,” Snyder said. “I think for us it’s more about continuing to develop an identity, both collectively and individually.”
In the meantime, he might even try to find that unpacked box of office supplies and college photos.
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