On a team lacking dogs, Jazz rookie might have the bark and bite that Jazz have been missing.
There are a lot of things that separate the current Utah Jazz from the top-tier teams in the league. From basic roster balance and talent, to experience and a fully formed identity, the Jazz have a long way to go.
But, on the way to finding players who are going to be a part of this team’s hopefully winning future, the question has to be asked: Is there anyone on the Jazz roster that has that dog in him?
Every team needs that player. One who is relentless and competitive in a way that is contagious and easily fueled. Every team needs a player who is going to be motivated by anger and mistakes just as much as they are motivated by success and praise. That player wants to prove everyone wrong, prove himself right, and is their own harshest critic.
“I think it brings out that dog in all the players. I think it’s contagious. When you have a guy like that on your team, you want to play hard. You want to play for that dude.”
Jazz center Walker Kessler on rookie Walter Clayton Jr.
They’ll hound players on the defensive end, talk trash, flex, scream, stare down opponents and aren’t afraid of the moment. They’re a dog, through and through.
The Jazz have unfortunately been lacking in the dog department. There have been players on the roster that have shown flashes of that fire, though not much more.
Walter Clayton Jr. may be a rookie, but there’s a chance that he brings something to the table that the Jazz have been desperately missing: an edge. A dog.
“Walt has a ... he’s got an angry side, and I mean that in a good way,” Jazz coach Will Hardy explained. “He has a huge chip on his shoulder ... I love coaching guys like that, that get a little salty in different moments ... I think it’s a combination of his intelligence and his competitiveness in those moments where he’s like, ‘No, screw this. I’m gonna get it right.’”
That competitive fire is exactly what the Jazz need after the last couple of seasons, when a certain level of grit or toughness seemed to be missing.
Understandably, it can be hard for players to be motivated through tanking seasons when winning results aren’t expected or even wanted by the team brass. But, for the truest of dogs, being on a tanking team would be even more motivation and it would have been obvious over the last few years who those players on the roster were, had they been there.
For a short time, Kris Dunn was a great example of that kind of player for the Jazz. So competitive and motivated that he would talk trash to his own bench when he made a good play. He had an edge that was forged through life and career adversity and being forced to claw his way back into the NBA ranks.
Clayton, who had to work relentlessly to be noticed through high school and college, closed out his four-year collegiate career with an NCAA title and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor. Even so, he was a mid first-round pick (18th) and will have to fight to earn every NBA minute.
He will not be handed a starting spot. He will not be guaranteed minutes. But he will be given an opportunity, which is all he needs.
The good thing is that he’s made a solid early impression with the Jazz.
“He definitely is somebody that you can talk to in a game or in a practice setting when we’re playing live, and he can make adjustments on the fly,” Hardy said. “The part that I think I love the most is that he has a natural fire where you don’t have to motivate him if there’s a mistake made.”
And Clayton’s natural intensity is proving infectious among his teammates, despite it still being preseason and only having played with the group for a few weeks.
“I think it brings out that dog in all the players,” center Walker Kessler said. “I think it’s contagious. When you have a guy like that on your team, you want to play hard. You want to play for that dude.”
Clayton’s impact goes beyond attitude. He’s eared respect early on from Hardy and the coaching staff because of his basketball IQ, understanding of his own strengths and his quick decision making.
Leading up to, and including, the first preseason game, there were moments Hardy noticed Clayton being a little too cautious, trying to be the “good guy” all the time.
“I think I probably heard them say to cut down on some of the turnovers, so just probably thinking a little too much instead of just playing basketball,” Clayton admitted.
It didn’t take long for that uncharacteristic cautiousness to be brought to his attention and for him to shake his way out of it. Then the floor started to open up. Even when his shot isn’t falling, he crashes hard from the perimeter, a guard trying to get his hands on a rebound just to make some sort of positive impact, which is the kind of thing that Kessler said “separates players from winners.”
“It takes pressure off the five,” Kessler explained. “Having a guard like Walt being able to dig out those rebounds is just gonna get us extra possessions.”
As Clayton adjusts to the NBA level, he’s quickly learning that the talent level is higher than he’s ever experienced and it is going to take even more of that internal fire, even more of that dog to get noticed and to help a team get a single win, much less the number that’s needed to advance out of the regular season.
Clayton is ready for the challenge. For a Jazz team looking to establish a winning culture, Clayton’s natural competitiveness and willingness to do whatever it takes might be exactly what they’ve been missing.
Category: General Sports
