Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — An unnamed Utah Jazz player brought Will Hardy a list of six things he wanted to work on in the offseason, and asked the Jazz head coach to rank them.
Hardy obliged, but did so in an unorthodox way.
He gave the player his top two and then listed the next items at Nos. 7-10.
"That's only to give him the visual of if you get these two right then you're going to make a big jump," Hardy said.
Hardy believes one of his biggest jobs of the offseason is to get his players to narrow their focus. Sure, it's easy for anyone to just think they can work on everything; it's a lot harder to accomplish that. It's like a New Year's resolution, Hardy said; people make grand goals, but how many of those are actually accomplished?
"Everybody has big plans, but you have to try to do a couple things that are attainable in the offseason," Hardy said.
And that's especially true with a couple of promising rookies.
Likely all-rookie center Walker Kessler is proof that development can occur during the season. He went from a wide-eyed rookie who, in his words, "couldn't screen a wall" to a potential franchise building block over the course of his first season.
Just about every advanced stat showed he had the greatest impact on winning games than any other rookie in his class. NBA rookies aren't supposed to be able to play defense, and they certainly aren't supposed to be one of the best defensive bigs — Kessler broke the mold in that regard.
"It was just kind of finding my way at the beginning of the season," Kessler said. "But now understanding that I do belong, that I can contribute to an NBA team."
But there's a lot of room for growth, too.
On one hand, that prospect is exciting. On the other, there's no guarantee that it will actually happen.
"Walker had a good year, but Walker was surrounded by good players, like he only had to do what he did," Jazz CEO Danny Ainge said. "He wasn't asked to do a lot more. He's got a long way to go in his development. … He has to do a lot to improve, but he was able to come in and do what he did well. And I think that's impressive, but I'm not sure that that all of a sudden makes us a great team."
Or that it's a foregone conclusion that Kessler will end up being a great player. The same goes for fellow rookie Ochai Agbaji or any of the other younger (or even veteran) players on the Jazz.
"They have to put in the work to do that," Ainge said.
So what's the plan for the Utah rookies this offseason?
Hardy said Kessler's main emphasis will be on getting stronger, but, as Hardy was quick to add, that doesn't necessarily mean getting bigger.
"We don't want to take away any of Walker's mobility and the things that he does great because he's able to move so well, but he does have a young body," Hardy said. "So trying to get a little stronger is going to be a big part of Walker's summer."
Outside of that, Kessler mentioned two things (Hardy would be happy with that number): free throws, and mastering pick-and-roll scenarios.
As for fellow rookie Agbaji, Hardy said the Jazz are going to continue to try to expand his game. Utah plans on playing Agbaji in Summer League in order to give him more and more game reps.
Hardy pointed to the last 10 or so games of the season as something Agbaji can build off. He had the ball in his hands more and was asked to make more decisions; that's a role the Jazz want him to continue to gain confidence in.
Agbaji said he will split his time between Utah and Phoenix, where he'll work with famed trainer Phil Beckner. Damian Lillard, along with a number of NBA veterans, work with Beckner.
"My message to them was that the hope is in the future, we're preparing right now to go play our best basketball of the year," Hardy said. "So there's really no room to be tired. … I think for both of them, their bodies and fitness are going to be a huge key. They now know what an NBA season looks like, and how long it is and what they need to do to prepare in terms of coming into training camp in the best shape of their lives."
