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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy said Monday was the first time all season that he was disappointed in his team after a loss.
The effort, the focus, the attention to detail that have become a hallmark of this season's Jazz team weren't there as Utah dropped a very winnable game to the Dallas Mavericks at home.
"It just felt at moments like we were somewhere else in our minds," Hardy said.
It's a few days before the trade deadline and nearly every rotation player has seen their name in some type of trade rumor. It's not difficult to draw a line between that and a lack of focus. Heck, Jordan Clarkson may have even said the quiet part out loud
"We've just got a little bit of outside noise," he said after he scored 26 points in the 124-111 loss.
Here's just a taste of the latest trade rumors:
- The Athletic reported that Portland is interested in Jarred Vanderbilt.
- Kelly Olyynk has drawn interest from both Miami and Boston, two of his former teams, according to Heavy's NBA insider, Steve Bulpett.
- HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported the New York Knicks have interest in Malik Beasley and Vanderbilt.
- Yahoo reported the Los Angeles Lakers are looking into a trade for Mike Conley, Clarkson, and Beasley from the Jazz.
"I think you just kind of just block it out," Clarkson said. "Kind of just focusing on the game. A team is calling and trying to come get you or whatever, you still got to come and perform and work."
Blocking it out, though, is easier said than done.
Conley said the best advice he would give to his younger teammates is to just turn off the phone, but he realizes that's not realistic. It also might not help to avoid the rumors completely, either. He said he checks Twitter and Instagram a lot less than his younger teammates, and he still can't escape the reports.
"You get a text from a family member and they say, 'Welcome to Chicago' or something," Conley said. "I'm like, 'I didn't get traded to Chicago,' but suddenly I'm thinking: 'Am I getting traded to Chicago?' So I go look it up and I call my agent. So it's like it's nonstop, but at the same time you've got to do a job."
The Jazz, for the most part, didn't do that job on Monday. They forced a lot of iffy shots, didn't fight for offensive rebounds, and were smoked in transition. Those were all signs the players' minds weren't entirely on the game.
(Side notes: Vanderbilt missed the game with a lower back spasm. That's an injury that can get anyone at any time, even NBA players, but it could be conveniently timed considering the deadline on Thursday. The Jazz are also not scheduled to practice Tuesday or hold shootaround Wednesday — read into that what you will.)
Hardy, while admittedly disappointed in what happened on Monday, is understanding of the situation. These are real people who, at the moment, don't exactly know where they will be living or working in a few days; it's a tough situation.
"You just have to be very real and honest and empathetic with the fact that there are a lot of things swirling around, and it's not easy for anybody to deal with uncertainty," Hardy said "And I know it's part of this job. It's easy for all of us to say that, 'Oh, it's part of the business, like they should be used to it.' But when you have people that have families and kids and you don't know where you're going to be living in or know am I taking my kids out of school. You also have guys that like where they are and they don't want to leave, and I get that's really hard."
Sometimes it's too much to ignore.
"Everything about the NBA right now is telling you to focus on something else," Hardy said. "It's telling you to focus on the trade deadline."
It sure seemed the Jazz listened to it on Monday.
