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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz guard Jared Butler called the last month "hectic," a "little anxious" and a "shock."
Sure, the second-year guard knew what he was signing up for when he was drafted last summer — at least theoretically. It's a whole other matter actually experiencing it, though.
The NBA "is a business" is a cliche thrown around each offseason. Players leave, teams trade assets, coaches move on; it's a yearly ritual where the league shakes up. Butler's team just so happens to be in the center of a lot of big changes.
"This is my first time ever as a basketball player having a change of coach," Butler said following the Utah Jazz Summer League practice on Sunday. "And it's kind of been a little hectic, just because of the uncertainty and you kind of get a little anxious about certain things because it's very unknown.
"But for me, I just try to take it day by day and also understand that like, at the end of the day, I trust in the organization and their ability to hire people, and I like Will so far already."
Will would be new Jazz coach Will Hardy, the 34-year-old first-time head coach the Jazz hired to replace Quin Snyder. Butler said he's been impressed by his initial conversations with Hardy.
"He's really intense — like an intense personality — but not like overbearing," Butler said. "You can tell that he's really serious about what he does, and he's got it all planned out. I feel the sense of urgency, but at the same time, he's not like overbearing, so I like that a lot. And I can tell he's heavily defensive minded, which is great. That's something at Baylor that we focused on a lot and I can see the resemblance."
When asked about the atmosphere around the players as moves continue to be made — Royce O"Neale and Rudy Gobert have already been traded and pretty much everyone else is available — Butler said that with everybody spaced out, it's hard to get a feel of how his teammates are feeling about the moves.
As for him, he said it was a shock. No, his head hasn't been in the sand; he knew the reports that were out there. It just hit differently — like many Jazz fans can attest — when it actually happened.
"It's kind of weird when something new or a guy that's been here for a long time leaves, especially like staples, like Royce or Rudy," Butler said. "It's kind of sad, but at the same time, we're all professional basketball players, and they've (his Jazz teammates) been through it more than me, so they kind of handled it a little better than me; but for me, it's more of a shock and for them, it's kind of like, this is the lifestyle that we kind of have already been born into."
Turbulent offseason aside, Butler is looking to use the next couple weeks to help prepare for his sophomore campaign in the league. He proved he could score in the NBA as a rookie; now he wants to learn how to defend in it. One thing to watch as the Salt Lake City Summer League tips off on July 5 is how he navigates screens. He said that is what he's been putting a lot of work into since the season ended.
"Coming into Summer League, I can just really hone in on my skill, especially on the defensive end," he said. "That's been my area of focus: try to become a lockdown defender. That's been my main focus and something I want to show the coaches."
Tacko Fall announces new member of Jazz coach staff
Of course, center Tacko Fall likes mountains. Fall, after all, is tied for the third-tallest NBA player ever standing at a 7-foot-6.
So the Wasatch Front that shades the Salt Lake Valley was a nice cherry on top for Fall when he chose to play for the Utah Jazz Summer League team.
"I like how spacious it is. Everything is so spacious and still everything like it's close. I have my brother with me right now. He likes it as well. We went to the zoo yesterday. I like mountains. It's nice," Fall said Sunday.
But the city and surrounding area aren't the only reasons the former Boston Celtics center is happy about his choice. There's comfort in the area — and comfort in the organization. The Jazz are in the midst of a Celtic makeover. Longtime Boston executive Danny Ainge is calling the shots and former Boston assistant is now the head coach. But that's not all.
Fall revealed on Sunday that Hardy has brought along former Boston assistant Evan Bradds to join the Utah staff — something Fall was thrilled to see.
"When I was in my days in Boston, he used to be with us working out every day," Fall said of Bradds. "I used to be in the gym all the time and Bradds was there with us pretty much every day. So we really got to have a very, very close relationship."
Bradds was a video assistant from 2018-21 with the Celtics before being promoted to a "player enhancement" coach last September. Fall was with the Celtics from 2019-21.
