'We've got work to do': Jazz get a chance to reset after trade deadline

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PHOENIX — At least the schedule broke right for the Utah Jazz.

Utah will return home following the loss to Phoenix Thursday and will now have three days before its next game. It's a fortunate break in the schedule that could serve as a mini-training camp of sorts to get things sorted out.

The Jazz were delivered a blow at the deadline. Yes, the future benefits of the trades are obvious. Utah isn't in win-now mode, and more assets equals more potential down the road. But, agree or disagree with the future-focused decisions, the team still has to play out the rest of the year.

What will that look like? That is what Will Hardy will be trying to figure out in the coming days.

"I don't anticipate perfect play," the Jazz coach said. "I don't anticipate these next couple of games feeling great, because we are putting some people in some different roles now and we are going to play some different lineups, so it's probably going to have its moments where it's uncomfortable."

He pointed to the "clunky" spacing due to new lineups, which led to some overdribbling and turnovers Thursday. That was expected with the changes; the goal is to try and make the learning curve as quick as possible.

While they weren't helped by their front office (again, future thinking), the Jazz are still in the thick of the postseason battle; and Hardy said he has "no doubt" that the players are still bought in as a group.

"Every guy in that locker room is bought into what we're doing," Hardy said. "They've been that way the entire year."

If anything, Hardy has proved to be a master motivator in his first two seasons in Utah. On three different occasions now (both before and after last season's deadline, and then again this season), he's been able to pull some overachieving results out of a team. It's fair to wonder if he can pull off such a feat again or are the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler and Jordan Clarkson getting a little impatient, but, for now, Hardy and the team deserve the benefit of the doubt.

So the mantra of "play hard and pass" is expected to continue — just with new lineups and potentially new faces.

"When roles change and lineups change there is a natural kind of awkwardness; guys aren't quite sure what they're supposed to do," he said. "They don't want to step on each other's toes. I felt like there were some times tonight where we had three people thinking one thing and two people thinking another, and we've got to get back to thinking as a group."

The Jazz plan to use the next few days to find that again.

It'll provide a chance for the team to reset and get reorganized after the deadline shake-up — a shake-up that hasn't been easy.

"It's definitely been a tough 48 hours," Jordan Clarkson said. "I mean, that's part of our business."

And now the Jazz will have to adjust.

"We've got work to do," Hardy said.