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SALT LAKE CITY — Moments after the Oklahoma City Thunder ended the Utah Jazz's playoff hopes, Luka Samanic had a reason to smile.
ESPN reported on Thursday night that the Jazz signed Samanic, who had been on a 10-day deal, through the 2023-24 season. That gave the former first-round pick a new NBA home.
"This has been a crazy ride since San Antonio (where he was drafted in 2019)," Samanic said. "So I'm just very grateful for that."
The Spurs cut Samanic after just two seasons, which left the Croatian forward to toil away in the G League. It was an experience that Jazz coach Will Hardy, who worked with Samanic when they were both with the Spurs, helped Samanic grow as a player and as a person.
"He's still young, but he was much younger then," Hardy said. "He went to the G League for a year and a half, and his perspective on basketball changed. You think you're gonna be in the NBA, and then all of a sudden you're not; and all of a sudden the phone's not ringing and no one wants to call you up, and no one wants to bring you in, and it changes your perspective."
But Hardy said he saw a different level of maturity from Samanic when he got to Utah; Samanic had realized what he needed to do in order to stick in the NBA.
Getting cut from the Spurs was the best thing that could have happened, Samanic said. It helped him learn and grow — as a player and as a person. That's why the Jazz gave him a chance in the final weeks of season; and they're happy they did.
"His talent is sort of obvious," Hardy said. "Like he's 6-9, 6-10; he can run, jump, and move his feet; he's got good touch and a good-looking shot, and he's 23 years old."
All good things.
On Tuesday, he started for the Jazz — something, he admitted, came as a surprise — and was asked to guard LeBron James. On Thursday, he was back in the starting lineup and had 8 points, four assists, and a team-high plus-4. Yes, in a blowout loss, the Jazz actually outscored the Thunder in Samanic's 30 minutes.
"We're very happy that we've got him," Hardy said. "He's going to be great to work with in the summer, because 6-9, 6-10 guys that can run, jump, move their feet and shoot aren't just walking around everywhere. And he's a wonderful human being, so it's going to be a lot of fun."
Hardy said Samanic doesn't have a set position and could play as a three or even as a small five — "maybe to all those things," he added.
"The way we play, we kind of like to put guys in a bunch of different spots," Hardy said. "I just think he has that skill set, maybe like a Kelly (Olynyk) type, where you can do a bunch of different things — be a little bit of a Swiss army knife for us."
Samanic agrees with his head coach. He sees what the Jazz have been able to do with Olynyk and Lauri Markkanen, and he thinks he can see similar type of success in Hardy's offense.
Samanic will take a short trip home to Croatia once the season ends, he said, but then he'll be right back in Utah to train with his new coaching staff.
"You don't get a second chance often, so everything that happened, happened for a reason," Samanic said. "I wouldn't take it back at all, but I'm just very happy to be here. And I think the perspective is now to be grateful for everything that happens and take nothing for granted."
