Joe Ingles on Hayward's departure, new Jazz players and more


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SALT LAKE CITY — Joe Ingles officially signed with the Utah Jazz Tuesday, after having verbally agreed to his four-year, $52 million contract on the second day of free agency. In a conference call with media, Ingles talked about what he expects for next season with the Utah Jazz. Here are the key quotes.

On playing without Gordon Hayward

"Guys are going to have to step up and take bigger roles, take more responsibility and opportunity. It's really exciting for those guys."

"There's so many people who miss opportunities because they're not ready. I think all of our guys are going to be ready. If all of those guys have the same mindset as I do, we're going to be fine."

"I don't think anyone is going into the season thinking 'Oh, Gordon's gone, I'm going to take 15 shots a game, 20 shots a game.' We're going to play the same way. But in those crucial moments, out of timeouts, at the end of the game, it's going to be different people."

On his relationship with Hayward

"It's over with, he's gone. We still talk, we talk like we would if he was in Utah."

"We've spoken throughout. It took me a couple of days to get used to the fact that with my decision as well, it was easy to think, I thought we had a good chance at keeping Gordon. It sucks obviously, but we're moving on. We're always going to be mates, and I'll take him to Cheesecake Factory in Utah and keep him happy."

On his new Jazz teammates

"My first year in Barcelona was Ricky (Rubio)'s last year before he came over to the states. Creepily enough, we were roommates as well. I got to know Ricky really well, really good guy. I've spoken to him throughout since meeting him that first year."

"Jonas (Jerebko) I did a lot of workouts and stuff with, and obviously being two big white foreign guys, we got along pretty well. I haven't known him that well, but I've always kinda spoken to him before and after games when I've seen him."

"Ekpe (Udoh), we did summer league with Golden State, I played with the Warriors that year. He ended up breaking his thumb and not playing, but he was around the workouts and around the team, and then obviously again with the Clippers, spending a couple of months with him there.

"I know three of the four guys really well, and I'll get to know Thabo (Sefolosha) really quickly. I think defensively we'll be really, really good, and then we'll work it out from there."

On his own free agency decision

"I wanted to be in Utah, no matter what. If you have every All-Star in the world or no All-Stars in the world. It's the place that's gotten me to where I am, it's gotten me to be the player I am today. If we were a 10-win team or an 80-win team, I feel like Utah is the place for me to be good and really help the team."

"It's exciting, I'm really excited for the season and to get back there and get started."

On his plans to help underprivileged families in Utah

"I couldn't sit here and say a specific person or place or anything right now. We'll get back to Utah first and foremost and try to find a house to live in first, then once we get situated we'll sit down with everyone in Utah that could help and we'll do a lot."

"We really want to give back. It's something we've always wanted to do. It's happening not just when I signed a new contract, but it's more the fact of having my own kids and seeing them."

"They turned 1 yesterday and the last year for us has been ... just seeing little things, and how our little guy had a couple of little things early on, and just knowing we were in a position to get him the best care and whatever he needed to be all right. Once you go through things like that, it changes your mindset pretty quickly, and we're in a position where we can help these families and these kids specifically. We're going to do that, that's something me and my wife are going to be really proud to do."

"And with Utah being so welcoming to me and Renae and my kids, it's something that we want to do for the whole of Utah."

On what makes the Jazz's player development program different

"I think the first thing you notice is how much they care. I've played for a lot of teams, not only in the NBA, and compared to other teams, they just care about each player individually. That's on and off the court. With my wife and kids, I can go to a game and be on the road and be very confident that if Renae needs something and I'm not there, the Jazz have got our back. That's just top-to-bottom throughout the organization, and that just feeds to the court as well."

"I came into Utah at 27 and probably thought I was close to who I was going to be for the rest of my career. Quin (Snyder) and Zach (Guthrie) have been huge in my development. And obviously with Quin's journey that he's been on, he's coached in college and the D-League and he's coached in Europe, and in those three leagues everyone is trying to get better to make it to the NBA. He knows what it takes to get here. He's got the right staff around him to help that. Zach and Quin have been huge for me, and I can't wait to get back there and annoy Zach again for another four years."

On Donovan Mitchell

"They did their research and got a really good one. They've got a guy who's very humble and defensive-minded, and those are the two things that they want to bring to our team and bring to Utah is that. I got to speak with him and smoked him in a couple of shooting games for the couple of days I was there."

"Obviously I haven't played with him, but I'm really excited to get out there with him and see the defensive mindset. You throw that out there with Rudy and myself and Ricky and Rodney and Fav and Sefolosha and all of these guys, all of these defensive-minded guys, and I think it's going to be really tough for other teams. I'm really excited to get out there and start playing with him."

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