THE FLATS – Derrick Favors eases back into life at a member of the Utah Jazz … Former Yellow Jackets Thaddeus Young and Josh Okogie begin new seasons with the Bulls and Timberwolves, respectively.
This week’s #ProJackets Report compiles more of the latest news, stories and social media posts on former Jackets and their activities of the past week.
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DERRICK FAVORS’ RETURN TO UTAH
From KSLSports: There was an outpouring of joy from the Jazz players when the news broke Favors was returning. There were excited text messages and jubilant video calls, and it gave the Utah Jazz head coach a chance to reflect. Read more
From the Deseret News: Derrick Favors’ first touch in his Jazz return came on a pocket pass from Joe Ingles, which Favors laid in with ease. Read more
From KSLSports: Jazz center Derrick Favors scored the first points of his second stint with the team during the first quarter of Utah’s preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. With 2:04 left in the opening quarter, Jazz fans saw a familiar sight as Joe Ingles found a rolling Favors in the lane. The Jazz big man banked the ball off of the glass and into the bucket for the first points of his return. Read more
From Salt City Hoops: …the Jazz went from 2nd to 13th after losing Favors. Getting him back should be enough to ensure the Jazz can be a top-5 defense again if the wings simply do their job. Read more
One reason Favors returned to Utah: “I’m just a believer in his coaching style,” Favors said of head coach Quin Snyder. “The leadership he shows as a coach. He’s a player’s coach. He communicates with you. I just love him. That was one of the main reasons why I decided to come back was because of him.”
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OKOGIE BEGINS SEASON 3 IN MINNESOTA
From the Star-Tribune: Josh Okogie is only entering his third season as an NBA player, but on the landscape of the Timberwolves’ roster, Okogie counts as one of the more veteran statesmen on a team filled with young players.
“I definitely do feel a little old, it’s weird,” Okogie, 22, said. “Physically, I’m not old. I feel as young as ever with this long break that we’ve been given, but just mentally, I feel like I know what’s going on, I know what the coaches expect, I know what the fans expect.”
For Okogie, that boils down to defense. His defensive tenacity is what helped him become a first-round pick and likely will keep him getting minutes as he develops an inconsistent shot (27% from three-point range for his career). Read more
From The Athletic: One of the most interesting discussion points in the early days of Timberwolves training camp has been coach Ryan Saunders’ willingness to explore using Josh Okogie at power forward in some lineups. There are several conclusions that can be drawn from such a declaration.
First and foremost, Saunders is a big fan of Okogie’s toughness, tenacity and defensive versatility. Saunders believes the third-year pit bull is strong enough to overcome what would be a significant height disadvantage and smart enough to find ways to make an impact next to Karl-Anthony Towns in the frontcourt. Read more
From Dunking With Wolves: The idea of Josh Okogie playing the 4 isn’t something we’ve heard before, but it isn’t shocking. Okogie’s height and wingspan will play, and his ability in transition and as a cutter on offense and versatility on defense will give him a chance to earn some minutes there. Read more
From Timberwolves.com: Third-year guard Josh Okogie, arguably one of the team’s best defenders, is looking to enter into the new season with a renewed mindset on that end of the court.
“My first couple years, defensively, I was really aggressive,” said Okogie. “Now that I’m going into my third year, I’m looking forward to mixing in that same aggressiveness, but using it in a more efficient way by mixing it with film and smarts.”
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YOUNG BEGINS SEASON 2 IN CHICAGO
From the Chicago Tribune: Forward Thaddeus Young said most of the team volunteered to return to Chicago before this week — about nine months since they last played — to start working out early and get a jump-start on learning the new coaching staff.
“It was a lot of individual work, but the good thing is we’re getting a feel for the coaches and we’re getting a feel for some of the stuff we’re going to be doing,” Young said. “They were able to give us worksheets of the plays and stuff like that that we can go through.” Read more
Young misses preseason opener (NBC Sports): Chicago was without Thaddeus Young, who sat with a lower left leg infection, something announced by coach Billy Donovan pregame.
“[Young] was dealing with a little bit of a lower leg infection that really was not too terrible to be honest with you, and then today in shootaround he kind of came in and it was bothering him,” Donovan said. “But he said he was fine, that he went through shootaround… They wanted to take him to the doctor and took him to the doctor and they advised with the lower leg infection that he sit out tonight and not play.”
More tests are coming for Young and there is no timetable for his return.
Young is in his second season with the Bulls after signing a three-year, $43.6 million contract (the third season of that deal is only $6 million guaranteed). Last season he averaged 10.3 points a game coming off the bench, but this is a different Bulls team under Donovan.
Young on new coach Billy Donovan: “I think a lot of guys within this franchise just needed a fresh start with a fresh face and just a new voice. Something different that they can look forward to each and every day. You know, different opinions, different mindset, but also with certain goals at hand.”
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RANKING STEPH CURRY’S TEAMMATES
From the category of some people have too much time on their hands, Brady Klopfler of SBNation ranks all of Steph Curry’s teammates with the Golden State Warriors, in great detail, and lists former Tech star Anthony Morrow at No. 34 out of 106. Read more
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GEORGES-HUNT MAKES SPLASH WITH NEW TEAM IN CHINA
Marcus Georges-Hunt notched a game-high 42 points as the Sichuan Blue Whales came from behind to beat the Zhejiang Lions 112-110 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league here on Monday. Read more
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