SALT LAKE CITY — It’s not like Utah Jazz players were just lying on a beach or playing video games all summer.
Well, there was some lying on the beach, but before starting official practices Tuesday morning, the Jazz players had already played a lot of basketball together, mostly in Southern California, either San Diego or Los Angeles, working out together or playing pickup games with fellow NBA players.
In recent years, many Jazz players got together in Santa Barbara, but this year it was San Diego and most of the players were there except for Ricky Rubio, who played for his national team in the EuroBasket competition earlier this month. With nearly half of the team being new, it was a good opportunity to get acquainted and start to develop team chemistry.
“We take a trip like that every year and it’s a chance to get to know some of the guys, go out to dinner together — it starts a process of knowing each other and it helps us on the court and get off to a faster start,” said Rodney Hood. “Getting the chance to play with those guys and mesh together, it’s been fun.”
“We got together in a different city and it was pretty cool,” said Rudy Gobert. “We got to do beach workouts and it was good for our team."
Alec Burks played in a pickup league at UCLA with a lot of NBA stars, although LeBron James wasn’t on hand the week he was there.
“My week, LeBron wasn’t there, but Paul George, James Harden, Dante (Exum), a lot of great players were out there,” Burks said. “I got to play a lot of pickup against some good players and held my own like I thought I could. That was a time when I really felt like myself. It was a good summer.”
NO COMMENT: Coach Quin Snyder was a collegiate star and an assistant coach at Duke and a coach at Missouri for seven seasons, but he preferred not to talk about the bribery and fraud scandal in college basketball involving several coaches and programs.
“I’m an NBA coach,” he said. “I always feel for people that are involved in difficult situations, but I’m glad I’m coaching the Utah Jazz.”
Donovan Mitchell, who played for Louisville, one of the programs involved in the scandal, was requested, but not available from the Jazz for comments after practice.
SHORT CAMP: In the old days the Jazz used to hold camp for much of a month and would go to places like St. George or Boise to get ready for the season.
This year, camp is just three days of two-a-days before the first scrimmage with a couple of more days before the first preseason game.
Snyder is still trying to figure out what he thinks of the shorter preseason camp setup.
“I don’t know quite yet. I know the players probably like that camp’s a little shorter,” he said. “You have to be really organized and as a coach you have to get really comfortable with how quickly you implement stuff rather than trying to get everything in, so to speak. You have to get comfortable with the things you do get in. I think we erring on that side, especially with the new players.”
JAZZ NOTES: The Jazz will hold a scrimmage Friday at Hill Air Force Base, but it's not open to the public . . . Utah’s first game will be Monday night against an Australian pro team, the Syndey Kings. That will be followed by games Wednesday against Maccabi Haifa from the Israeli Premier League and Friday against the Phoenix Suns . . . The regular season opener is on Oct. 18 against Denver . . . Former Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was at practice Tuesday. Snyder said Kupchak is a good friend of former Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor and a former mentor of Snyder’s from his time as a Lakers assistant coach.