NBA Summer League is ostensibly a basketball event. There is basketball being played on the court, but there are just as many games being played in quiet corners of the arenas, the concourse and hotel lobbies.

The entire NBA world is in Las Vegas. The main madness of the offseason is over. It’s a relaxed environment and NBA folks are ready to talk. They’ll talk about what they did, didn’t do, and what their hopes are for players and their teams. In exchange for anonymity, you can get some real good insight. Yes, most of it has an optimistic tone. But that’s summer in the NBA for you!

As I’ve done each year when returning from Las Vegas, I’m going to empty out my notebook. In each case, I’ll notate if the comment came from a front office executive, a coach or a scout.

One note: None of these notes came from sessions where we had speakers at Sports Business Classroom. That intel is forever under lock and key. That’s because that gold is for SBC students’ ears only. If you want in on that, click the link above and start looking at getting ready to sign up for the next session!

First up, I’ll have some general NBA notes. Then, we’ll go through the Western Conference teams. You can find the Eastern Conference teams here. Let’s finish emptying the notebook!

NBA Expansion

  • “It’s coming. That much seems clear. When? That’s the big question. My guess is that we’re at least three years away from the process starting, as far as roster-building goes,” a Western Conference front office executive said.

  • “I think we’re ready for expansion. I have clients who are NBA guys, but even with the third two-way spot, roster spots are still hard to come by. Adding another 36 total roster spots (Note: Assumption is two teams at 15 standard spots and three two-way spots per team) would be huge,” a longtime agent said.

  • “It’s been a pretty open secret that we’re going to expand. My guess is that it will be here (Las Vegas) and Seattle, but that’s just a guess. They seem to be the best candidates. I have no idea how the league will rebalance the conferences. One team moving to the East makes sense, but maybe they blow it all up and relook at the entire conference structure?” an Eastern Conference GM said.

NBA Draft items

  • On the two-day NBA Draft: “We love, I mean LOVE, the two-day draft. The second round is so much better. Less chaotic. More time to talk trades. And the reset between days is really nice too,” said an Eastern Conference GM.

  • The other side of the two-day draft: “We thrived in the chaos. Our draft room is calm. We know who gets frantic. Splitting the draft means there is less of that. Less opportunity to take advantage of a room that might be confused or a little messy,” an Eastern Conference scout said.

  • On college players staying in school: “I think that trend is here to stay, at least until we reset our own pay scale in the NBA,” an Eastern Conference GM said. “I read the other day that some college guys are making up to $5 million for a year in school. That’s almost as much as these entire second-round pick exception contract. I’d stay in school too! It does change the backend of the draft some, but I don’t mind having another year to scout guys who were borderline first/second-round picks and borderline drafted/undrafted players.”

  • “This year’s draft was the worst in my 25-plus years in the NBA. The entire second round could have just been agents making the picks. They were already telling teams all over to not draft guys. It’s gotten a little out of control and we’ve allowed it to be that way,” a Western Conference front office executive said.

  • Related to the above: “Oh cry me a river. The idea of draft is ridiculous anyway. US sports are the only sports in the world where a player is told where he has to play. You don’t think I’m going to try to control that process for my guy? Get out of there!” a longtime agent said.

Dallas Mavericks

  • On Cooper Flagg: “Since we selected him, he’s been everything we thought he’d be and even more. Tremendous kid on and off the court. Here’s a good story for you: He shot like crap in his first game here (Las Vegas). Second game he dominated. We had a plan to play only two games. Cooper comes to the us and the coaches and asks to play a third game. We laughed and told him, ‘No. You’re good.’ And he goes, ‘I just don’t want people to think the good game was a fluke.’ All we could do was laugh, but it shows how much he wants to be great,” a Mavericks front office executive said.

  • More on Cooper Flagg: “It pays to be lucky, right? Dallas got a generational talent when those lottery balls bounced their way. That kid is unbelievable. You knew after he played like crap in the first game out here that he was going to be great the next time out. He’s an ass-kicker. Wish we had that kind of luck,” an Eastern Conference GM said.

  • On D’Angelo Russell: “We had to get a guy a who could play in place of Kyrie (Irving) while he’s out. But that guy also needed to play with Kyrie too. We feel like DLo fits that perfectly. We also like that he can shift off the ball with Cooper (Flagg) handling the playmaking too,” a Mavs coach said.

  • On Ryan Nembhard: “We were so excited to get him as a two-way guy. He’s so damn tough. A lot like his brother (Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard) in that way. We love Miles (Kelly) too. We feel like we’re starting to get really good development out of two-way process now,” a Mavericks front office executive said.

  • On the moves of the last year: “Whenever you trade a truly great player, it’s going to hurt. We love AD (Anthony Davis) and we feel like we’re in a good position to have a great team moving forward. With better health this year, we’ll be near the top of the conference going into the playoffs. That’s the goal,” a Mavericks front office executive said.

Denver Nuggets

  • On the roster changes: “We had to get deeper. That was clear to us as far back as the trade deadline,” a Nuggets front office executive said. “We’ll have DaRon (Holmes II) this year, which is going to be huge. But adding Cam (Johnson), Jonas (Valanciunas), Tim (Hardaway Jr.) and bringing Bruce (Brown) home, are huge for us. And we still like our younger guys too. The pressure is just off them a bit to have to be great every night.”

  • On DaRon Holmes II: “Rotation guy from Day 1. He would have bene one last year, if he hadn’t gotten hurt. DaRon is a beast. You saw it here (Las Vegas). He can shoot, he can take opposing bigs off the bounce, he’s got a good passing eye. Defensively, he’s ready to contribute too. Start the Rookie of the Year campaign! (laughed) He’s eligible, right?” a Nuggets coach said.

  • On Cameron Johnson: “When you move a core player, which is what Michael Porter Jr. was for us, you have to be sure you are getting back a really good player. Cam is going to fit in perfectly for us. Everyone is focused on his shooting and how he’s pretty solid on defense. What really attracted us to Cam is that he’s an excellent cutter. Because we’ve got passers all over, including the big guy (Nikola Jokic), Cam is going to get a bunch of layups too,” a Nuggets coach said.

  • On Nikola Jokic declining to sign an extension now: “No worry at all. It’s the smart move from his side, if I’m being honest. He can lock in an extra year next year, which is the way to do it when you are in his position. Same offer, plus one more year, will be there for him a year now from now. He knows that, and we’re all on the same page,” a Nuggets front office executive said.

  • On the Jonas Valanciunas saga: “Yeah, we’d have rather have not had anything like that. But it’s not like things ever got ugly at all. Jonas is a good player, so it’s no surprise all kinds of teams in NBA and Europe were interested in him. That’s why we traded for him. From our first conversations after agreeing to the trade, we made it clear we intended for him to be in Denver, and he never made it a real thing to try and get out of his contract. We’re looking forward to adding him to our frontcourt this season,” a Nuggets front office executive said.

Golden State Warriors

  • On the offseason so far: “Well, this will be a quick conversation! (laughed) I mean, we haven’t done anything yet, right? Are we the only team in the league?” a Warriors front office executive said. “We’ve got things we hope to do. But we’re got other things that have to fall in line first. We’re being very mindful of our sequencing here, because we know the aprons and hard caps can become an issue for us really fast.”

  • On Quinten Post: “BC guy thing, right? (laughed) We’re really happy with Quinten. We think he can be a starting five in the league. He needs to improve on defense, but that will come. The shot, the passing and the interior scoring are all there. He also fit right in and wasn’t afraid to go at it with our long-term guys. That confidence was huge for him,” a Warriors front office executive said.

  • On Jimmy Butler: “Adding a player like that, with all the guys we had to send out, can mess up your season really badly. But Jimmy was awesome from Day 1 with us. He just wanted to play high-level hoops with a group of guys who are chasing greatness. That made the adjustment so easy. Looking forward to having a full year together this year,” a Warriors coach said.

  • On Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency: “We’re trying to be responsible. With the aprons and hard caps and all of that, you can’t just throw money around. We still love Jonathan. We’re hopeful we can figure out a way to strike a balance that works for him and for us. But we’re not going to compromise our roster-building ability now, or in the future. We have to be responsible in the way we build our team,” a Warriors front office executive said.

Houston Rockets

  • On the offseason: “What a whirlwind! From the KD (Kevin Durant) trade to all the signings and other trades, it’s been a busy summer for us,” a Rockets front office executive said. “We didn’t finish last season saying we needed to reshape our roster, but the playoffs showed us just how close we were. Not waiting too long to get our core guys deeper into the playoffs became something we focused on. Getting KD gives us a different ceiling and we think it raised our floor too.”

  • On Reed Sheppard: “Big year coming for Reed. I’ve seen you make the Payton Pritchard comp before, and I think that’s sort of fair. Pritchard had to prove it to earn his minutes. Same with Reed,” a Rockets front office executive said. “We had a tough backcourt to get minutes in last year. This year, there are minutes there for him, if he takes them. Ime (Udoka) doesn’t give anyone anything. If you play, it’s because you earned his trust and earned that time. Reed did everything we asked, and now he’s on his way to earning those rotation minutes.”

  • On supplementing the young core: “I’d put our younger guys up against anyone else’s in the entire league. Amen (Thompson), Alpie (Alperen Sengun), Jabari (Smith Jr.), Tari (Eason), Reed (Sheppard), that’s a whole starting five of dudes who can play. Some of them will be backups, because we’ve got some killer vets too. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love those guys. I’ll go to battle with them every day,” a Rockets coach said.

  • On expectations for this season: “Win and win big. Look, you don’t get KD (Kevin Durant) with the goal being to make the playoffs. I’m not saying we’re going to roll through the league or anything, but we were pretty good last year. This year, we should be even better. This is what we’ve been building for,” a Rockets front office executive said.

LA Clippers

  • On adding depth this offseason: “I couldn’t be happier with the moves we’ve been able to make. Getting Brook (Lopez) first, kind of set the tone. Trading for John (Collins) continued that. Having him tells (Bradley) Beal and CP (Chris Paul) that we aren’t messing around,” a Clippers front office executive said. “We’re as deep as we’ve been in years now. Don’t forget Bogie (Bogdan Bogdanovic) too. He’s going to be important for us. We’re ready to contend for a title.”

  • On the starting lineup: “We’ve got to do some work for sure. The good thing is that we have all kinds of options. But Brook (Lopez), Brad (Beal), CP (Chris Paul), John (Collins) and our returning guys all just want to win. No one is going to cry about starting, not starting, minutes, none of it. We made sure of that before we signed anyone,” an LA front office executive said.

  • On the team’s younger players: “This is a hard rotation to break into. We’ve been that way for a while now, but it’s even tougher now. If one of our younger guys is playing, it’s because he proved he’s better than a lot of guys who have been in the league for a long time,” a Clippers coach said. “That said, Jordan (Miller) has been outstanding here (Las Vegas). Cam (Christie) has done what we’ve asked of him, even if the ball hasn’t gone in a lot for him. Yanic (Konan Niederhauser) has a ways to go, but that’s fine. He’ll spend some time in San Diego this year. Both Kobes (Brown and Sanders), Trentyn (Flowers) and Patrick (Baldwin Jr.) are all going to log some G League time too, I think. You don’t want them to go too long without playing in games.”

  • On the team’s window: “We’re not putting any artificial timelines on anything. If we’re still going strong in three, four, five years, that would be great. But, sure, we’re geared up to make a run here over the next couple of seasons. Each offseason, we’ll figure out where we are and we’ll act accordingly,” a Clippers front office executive said.

Los Angeles Lakers

  • On the offseason moves (Note: this conversation was before the reported Marcus Smart agreement): “We came in without much room under the first apron and with some needs. We feel like we did great, considering the lack of tools to do much. Deandre (Ayton) fills a massive need, but literally and figuratively. Jake (LaRavia) gives us shooting with size. Look at all the best teams, they have shooting with size. And we’re really excited about getting Adou (Thiero) in the draft too. He’s going to get better quickly, because he’ll be going against great players every day,” a Lakers front office executive said.

  • On LeBron James: “Whenever you sign a player to a deal with an option, you willing give them the control to initially guide the situation. But this notion that a player option gives the player all of the power, is pretty silly. If they opt out, the team is then a partner in re-signing them or not. If they opt in, then the team is a partner in whatever happens next too. For LeBron, he had a player option and made his decision to opt in. We’re just happy that he’s still a Laker,” a Los Angeles front office executive said.

  • On extending Luka Doncic: “We aren’t even allowed to do that until next month (August 2nd), so it’s a bit early to talk about that. But Luka and his reps know how we feel about him. They’ve known that since we’ve traded for him. This will hopefully be a long, long partnership between Luka and us,” a Lakers front office executive said.

  • On the roster now (Note: this conversation was before the reported Marcus Smart agreement): “We’re still working on some tweaks. I don’t know that we’re done. We’d like to add a little more depth. But we feel pretty good about our roster now. Good versatility, better depth up front, added some shooting. The front office still has some things coming, so we’ll see what it looks like when camp starts,” a Lakers coach said.

Memphis Grizzlies

  • On trading Desmond Bane: “That one hurt a lot. But when we finished last season, we felt like we had to make a change. When talks advanced with Orlando, the package of picks plus Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was simply something we couldn’t pass up. We know Desmond will be great for Orlando, but we’re excited about the flexibility this gave us, both now and for years to come,” a Grizzlies front office executive said.

  • On adding Ty Jerome: “We had to get some more bench scoring. That’s been a thing we’ve needed for a while now. Ty is going to be huge for us, especially with Desmond (Bane) having been traded. Ty can play with Ja or he can carry the second unit. We’re excited about having him,” a Memphis front office executive said.

  • On renegotiating-and-extending Jaren Jackson Jr.: “From the minute he didn’t win NBA awards, we knew we had to create the cap space to make that happen. There was no chance we were letting him get to unrestricted free agency next summer. Too many teams with too much cap space out there to risk that. Jaren is a core guy for us, just like Ja (Morant) is. Those are the guys we’re building everything around,” a Grizzlies front office executive said.

  • On drafting Cedric Coward: “We’re so excited about having him. Cedric is going to be really good for us. He should be ready to go for camp. You have to have good wings to win big in our league, and I think Cedric with Jaylen (Wells) is going to be great for us,” a Grizzlies front office executive said.

  • On Jaylen Wells at Summer League: “We wanted to see Jaylen functioning as a primary playmaker. The preseason is so short, you barely have time to work on your installs for the season. So, we figured we’d give him a couple of games this summer to see what it looked like. Really, really impressed that coming off his injury, that he took on that challenge so well,” a Grizzlies coach said.

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • On losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker: “Yeah, that was rough. But when you are up over that second apron, you have to make tough choices, right? We saw it with Boston and Phoenix and Milwaukee the last couple of years. I guess it was our turn. But when a door closes, another one opens. We’ve got some guys who will benefit from stepping into more minutes, and we’re excited about that,” a Timberwolves front office executive said.

  • More on the team’s young players: “Our vets will carry us, but they need support. That’s going to come from the guys we’ve added over the last few years,” a Wolves front office executive said. “Jaylen (Clark) is ready for a bigger role. We love his defensive approach, and he’s improved on offense. Terrence (Shannon Jr.) got a little run in the playoffs and held up. He’s ready for more. Rob (Dillingham) is going to get a shot to play a lot too. We have to figure out how to keep minutes off Mike (Conley) better. And you saw here (Las Vegas) that Joan (Beringer) is as competitive as they come. He’s going to force his way into some minutes too.”

  • On staying under the second apron this season: “It’s not a mandate or anything. It’s something we’re conscious of though. We want to be mindful of not putting too many burdens on ourselves as we move down the line. But if the right move is there, and we have to add some salary, then we’ll add some salary. We’re all on the same page there,” a Minnesota front office executive said.

New Orleans Pelicans

  • On the draft night moves: “We loved Jeremiah (Fears) where we were drafting. We didn’t have a long-term player at point guard. We feel like Jeremiah is going to be that guy for us for years and years,” a Pelicans front office executive said. “As far as Derik goes, he was right there with Jeremiah for us. When we had the chance to trade for Derik, it wasn’t something we hesitated on for a second. We now have a floor leader and a versatile big man. That’s huge for our future.”

  • On trading for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey: “It’s no secret our team has had a lot of trouble staying healthy. We felt like we had to have more depth. That’s what this offseason was about. Some of it came with the guys we drafted. Then we signed Kevon (Looney) for depth up front. And getting Jordan is huge. He’s always out there. And all of our intel was really positive for his impact with a really young Wizards team. We’re excited to have him. Saddiq didn’t play last year, but he’s a player we’ve liked for a long time. Again, that’s about having more depth behind some guys who have missed a lot of time,” a Pelicans front office executive said.

  • On Yves Missi: “Things were pretty messy here (Las Vegas) for him. But we’ve got evidence of his succeeding in real NBA games. That means about a million times more than a couple of wonky Summer League games. Mostly, I’m excited that he owned the paint on defense. Yves got moved a little too easily last year. You can already see that won’t be the case this year,” a New Orleans coach said.

  • On Zion Williamson: “Zion is still our guy. If he wasn’t, we could have waived him for like nothing on the books. We could have reset everything. But we believe in Zion. He wants to make it work, and so do we. This partnership hasn’t even come close to reaching our best yet,” a Pelicans front office executive said.

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • On if the offseason felt different as the champs: “Not because we were the champs, but because we’re bringing almost everyone back. There wasn’t any free agent recruiting or big trades this year. That isn’t because we won the title, but because of our overall roster structure and the contracts we have in place,” a Thunder front office executive said.

  • On running it back almost whole: “It’s different, right? Most teams have a decent amount of turnover. I think Boston lost a few guys last summer after winning the title. We’ve had a few changes, but we’re happy that our guys are coming back. We built this team very intentionally, and it paid off in the best way possible. But that doesn’t mean we’ve completed the job. What’s the old quote? ‘The best title is the next one.’ We’re enjoying this one, and enjoying it a whole lot, but that ends in a couple of months when camp starts. Then, it’s back to work,” a Thunder front office executive said.

  • On the future after extending several key players: “Fair question. We’re going to be a lot more expensive than we’ve been. But everything we have done over the last five years or so has been very intentional. From resetting the roster after the bubble, to building back up, to adding from the outside, to re-signing our guys. It’s all been part of a multi-year plan. So far, so good,” a Thunder front office executive said.

Phoenix Suns

  • On the offseason moves: “We had a plan. It didn’t work. That meant resetting. We think that given the challenges we had, we did well to reset in the way we did. We got great value in our trades. We now have the flexibility to do more than we’ve been able to do over the last couple of years. It’s nice to have the handcuffs off, if you will,” a Suns front office executive said.

  • On trading Kevin Durant: “When it became clear that was a direction we could do, we set a goal of not just going with a package of all young players and picks. We want to compete. We feel like getting Dillon (Brooks) and Jalen (Green), along with Khaman (Maluach) in that deal gives us a great balance of veterans, mid-career players and a young big man to help us get after it right away,” a Suns front office executive said.

  • On extending Devin Booker: “That’s our guy. He wants to be a forever Sun. We want that too. We’re well on our way to making it happen,” a Suns front office executive said.

  • On the team’s roster balance: “Still have some work to do. We’ve got some overlap, but it’s not in bad areas. We’ve got a bunch of centers who are going to push each other every single day. We’ve got guards and wings who will do the same. I’m not saying we’re done, but if this was the group we hit camp with, we feel confident that Jordan (Ott) and his staff can make it work,” a Suns front office executive said.

  • On the team’s younger players: “We felt like last year’s draft class was really good. Ryan (Dunn) can be a top-tier wing/forward defender. Oso (Ighodaro) just knows how to play,” a Suns coach said. “This year, we hit a homerun. Khaman (Maluach) is going to be a top starting center before the end of his rookie deal. Everything in his profile speaks to how quickly he improves. Rasheer (Fleming) could play right away. Getting him in the second round was huge for us. And Koby Brea is on a two-way, but we think he was the best pure shooter in the draft. The best part, these guys are part of the identity we want to build now. A bunch of workers who defend and get after it every day.”

Portland Trail Blazers

  • On drafting Yang Hansen: “I know you didn’t like that pick. (laughed) But we love him. In today’s NBA, your big man has to be versatile and able to do a lot of stuff. We feel like Yang is going to be really good for us, and probably sooner than most expect,” a Blazers front office executive said.

  • On bringing back Damian Lillard: “We realize it’s a great story, and we’re excited about that element. But we’re really excited about having Dame around our young guys. He’s going to be so good for them. And then next year, after another year of improvement, we’re really going to take off,” a Portland front office executive said.

  • On balancing veterans and young players: “We feel like we were starting to trend a little too young. We saw real progress a year ago, and some of that was driven by our veterans. This year, we expect more of the same. And the vets we have are such high-character guys, that the young fellas will have no choice but to match that work ethic,” a Portland coach said.

  • On Toumani Camara: “It was so important for him and for us that he got some recognition last year. Toumani is really, really good. We’re hoping to be able to work something out to keep in Portland for a long time,” a Trail Blazers front office executive said.

Sacramento Kings

  • On adding Dennis Schroder: “Last year, after trading De’Aaron (Fox), we saw that our offense needed more ballhandling. We’ve got scorers and passers, but guys to get into our stuff was something we were lacking. That’s what Dennis will give us, along with his own scoring and playmaking too,” a Kings coach said.

  • On Keegan Murray and a possible extension: “We’re so happy with Keegan and his development. He’s had a tough role every year, really. As a rookie, we asked him to shoot a lot more. Last year, he was often the fourth or fifth option. For a young guy, that can be hard to adjust to. But to his credit, Keegan never balked. We feel like he’s a top defender as his position and the offense is there. It’s on us to make sure we don’t let him go too long without getting involved,” a Kings front office executive said. “As far as an extension goes, Keegan and his reps know how we feel about him. We’re hopeful that we can get something done that keeps him in Sacramento for a long time.”

  • On the roster continuing to evolve: “We’re really happy with the guys we added at the draft. We think Nique (Clifford) was one of the most versatile players in the class. He’s probably going to play a role for us right away. Getting Maxime (Raynaud) in the second round was a steal. He’s kind of the perfect partner to Domas (Sabonis) because he’ll space the floor, and we won’t have to push him to play too many minutes too early. Keeping Isaac Jones was a key for us too. He’s got so much talent and he plays so hard. He’ll be hard to keep off the floor,” a King front office executive said.

  • On Keon Ellis and a possible extension: “That’s the goal. We had a lot of discussion on the best way to handle things with Keon and the option we had for him. Ultimately, it’s a show of trust that we picked up his option, instead of making him a restricted free agent. That helped us add some talent this year, that we might not have been able to get otherwise. Now, we hope to get something done that keeps Keon in Sacramento, because he’s a really good player and different from all of our other guards,” a Sacramento front office executive said.

San Antonio Spurs

  • On the team’s draft: “We were so fortunate to have that luck in the lottery. Getting Dylan (Harper) was just one of those things that happens and you’re so thankful for it. It was a cameo out here (Las Vegas), but you can see how special he is. A terrific competitor and I know our coaches are excited about watching him and De’Aaron (Fox) and Stephon (Castle) battling it out and making each other better,” a Spurs front office executive said. “Carter (Bryant) fits what we want too. He’s tough, he defends and we think there’s a lot more there offensively than what he showed in college. Really excited to have him.”

  • On adding size this offseason: “When Victor (Wembanyama) went down last year, it really showed that we needed more up front. The opportunity to sign Luke Kornet was perfect. He can start or he can come off the bench. The guys in Boston couldn’t have said better things about Luke as a person and a player. We’re thrilled to have him,” a Spurs front office executive said. “Then the chance to add Kelly (Olynyk) came up later, but we’re glad it did. We had a lot of guards after the draft, so we were able to move a couple of our younger guys to add Kelly. The best part with both Kelly and Luke is that they can play with Victor or they can play together.”

  • On a potential contract extension for De’Aaron Fox: “When we made that trade, we knew what the contract status was, of course. We see De’Aaron as someone who can grow with our young players and be a real leader for us. We’re hopeful we can make something happen to keep him in San Antonio for a long time,” a Spurs front office executive said.”

  • On Victor Wembanyama’s recovery: “Everything seems to be going according to plan. He’s spoken about feeling pretty good recently. Nothing seemed to be anything that would linger after the issue was addressed. We’re excited to get him back on the floor with the rest of our group, and our new guys,” a Spurs front office executive said.

Utah Jazz

  • On the team’s roster construction: “We had a lot of work to do, for sure. When you have as many guys on expiring contracts as we did, plus as many young players, you have to be very proactive,” a Jazz front office executive said. “We didn’t want the older players here pushing for minutes to get their next deal, which is what they should be doing. We didn’t want the younger players getting resentful because guys who aren’t a part of our future were playing in front of them. That mindset drove some of our moves this summer.”

  • On drafting Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.: “When Ace was on the board at our pick, it sure took a lot sting out of dropping in the lottery. All the stuff about him pre-draft and not wanting to come to Utah, that was all just nonsense. He’s excited to be with us, and we’re thrilled to have him,” a Jazz front office executive said. “As far as Walter goes, he’s exactly the kind of player we want. He’s a leader. He’ll be a leader on Day 1 of camp. We can already see it during Summer League. And it’s authentic. Talk to anyone around that Florida program and they’ll tell you that Walter drove them to the title this year. Not just on the floor, but in practices and in the locker room. We love that about him.”

  • On Walker Kessler and a potential extension: “We’d love to get Walker signed. We have a whole lot of flexibility, because Lauri (Markkanen) is the only veteran we have on a long-term deal. That will come into play with Walker too, because he’ll be the next guy on a long-term deal. That’s something we have to be mindful of, as we plan and build out roster out in the immediate and for the future,” a Jazz front office executive said.

  • On Lauri Markkanen’s future in Utah: “We hope it will be a long one! (laughed) Seriously, we love Lauri. He’s been great since getting here and nothing will change with that. He understands what we’re doing and how this team is building. He’s ready to get back here and to get back to work for next season,” a Jazz front office executive said.

  • On having so many young players: “It’s important that we set the right tone. It’s ok to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them. These guys are young and some of them are young young, if that makes sense. Mistakes are coming to come. But they can’t be the same mistakes over an over. If they are, look around, there’s another guy ready to take your minutes. That level of competition is going to be awesome for us. And if the kids aren’t getting it done, we’ve got a lot of vets who have had success in the league. Those guys aren’t done playing yet. No one on our roster is just collecting a paycheck. They’re all here to work and to push each other to be better,” a Utah coach said.