He was a really, really funny guy. I always admired that and think that was a great skill of Coach that he could make people laugh so much. – Billy Donovan said of Frank Layden
SALT LAKE CITY — Billy Donovan didn’t stick with the Utah Jazz for long after he was drafted by the organization in the third round of the 1987 NBA draft.
But Donovan, now the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, did stay long enough to get a great feel for Frank Layden’s sense of humor.
Before Monday’s Thunder-Jazz game tipped off, Donovan shared a humorous story about what happened at an exhibition contest during his short tenure with Utah in the late '80s.
The Jazz, as he recalled, were playing the Chicago Bulls at the Pittsburgh Civic Center when the team assembled in the locker room before the preseason game.
“The team was enormous back then,” Donovan recalled. “You had Mark Eaton, Thurl Bailey, Karl Malone, Marc Iavaroni, Mel Turpin. They were in this square locker room and they were all sitting on one side of the room.”
Layden, then the head coach of the Jazz, noticed the bulk in the room sitting closely together and cracked a joke that Donovan remembers 28 years later.
“He says to them, ‘You three guys get up and sit over there. I don’t want the room to tip over,’” Donovan said, smiling. "They actually started to get up and move because he told them to and then I think they realized he was joking."
That sense of humor, which Utahns have cherished over the decades, was appreciated by a young player trying to find a spot in the NBA.
“He was a really, really funny guy. Obviously I’m trying to make the team. I’m pretty serious, but he had great, great jokes and always made people laugh,” Donovan said. “I always admired that and think that was a great skill of Coach that he could make people laugh so much.”
Donovan, by the way, was cut by the Jazz before the regular season started.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: Jazz center Rudy Gobert was called for his second technical foul of the year during Monday’s blowout loss to the Thunder. This one came after he got too physical with OKC center Steven Adams in the first half.
Earlier in the day, Gobert was asked about controlling his temper when officials’ calls don’t go the Jazz’s way.
“Just control what we can control. I think we need to be more physical, maybe earn that respect from the ref,” Gobert said. “We know we’re a young team. We’re not expecting anything. We’re just got to play harder and have no regrets in the end.”
So, does he find himself biting his tongue to not argue with the refs on occasion? “Yeah, of course,” he said. “I think every player does it. You don’t want to get technical fouls or get kicked out of the game for stupid things.”
SCENIC VIEW: In his return visit to Utah last March after being traded in February, former Jazz center Enes Kanter was asked what he missed about the Beehive State.
“Mountains,” he said after a long pause. “That’s it, I guess.”
Did he enjoy catching a view of the Wasatch Front again?
“Yes. Mountains. I always liked the mountain views, good views,” he said. “I opened my curtains today (at the Salt Lake City hotel) and I saw the mountain views. It was pretty good.”
EMAIL: jody@desnews.com
TWITTER: DJJazzyJody