Utah Jazz Media Day: The Kids

Derrick Favors
** On playing with the USA Select Team: I learned that I need to work harder to get to they [Olympic team’s] level. I learned that I can compete with them also. It was a big confidence booster. I mean, I learned a lot.

** Is Rio [2016 Olympics] in the back of your mind? It is. I think about it every now and then but I try to keep my mind off of it.

** Did you go anywhere fun? Not this year. I plan on doing it next year though.*

* Last season, Favors said he’s too young to go on vacation.

** Offseason: My main focus was just learning how to get better playing on the post with my back to the basket or facing up, just trying to find my go-to move, and just try to work on my touch around the basket. Just tryna, just find ways to score.

** Can you cook? Not at all. Only thing I can cook, I cook hot dogs, I cook noodles, ramen noodles.

** On eventually being an All-Star: That’s a goal for every NBA player, you know? When they come in the league, everybody want to be an All-Star. So I mean, I just take it one game at a time, a season at a time, however long it take, but I do want to get there.

** Are you a starter in your mind? Am I a starter in my mind? (laughs) I just come in, work hard, and I do what I gotta do.

** Enes posted a lot of shirtless tweets… That’s Big Turkey. That’s how he is. That’s how Big Turkey is, man. [Was he like this last year?] He was. I think last year [he was] probably a little nervous, a little shy maybe. But I think now he’s starting to open up, starting to show his personality. That’s how he is.

Alec Burks
** Team goals and personal goals: I feel like we should win. As for me, I want to be a starter. I feel like I put in the work all year, all summer to be a starter. At least be a big contributor off the bench. That’s what I’m working towards.

** Did you change how you trained for 82 games, as opposed to 66? Nah, I just trained for the year. I know it’s gonna be a long season, but you know, thank God I’m young right now. So you know, I’m gonna use that to my advantage, you know, and get better.

** You know, you gotta compete at every level. You gotta get better everyday. You know, if you don’t get better, you’ll be out this league. I feel like, that’s why I learned that everyday. You gotta get better…Imma get better. That’s what I feel like, you know, I feel like I need to get better.

** On rookie season: I thought it was aight. I feel like I dealt with adversity for the first time in my basketball career, so you know.

** Do you have any doubts about playing in this league? Not at all. I got too much confidence in myself for that, you know.

** Had a great summer league, had a great rest of the summer in Santa Barbara, and I feel like my role should be bigger this year.

** Vacation: I turned 21 and I went to Vegas, so you know, that was my big thing…that’s about all I can say right now. [You didn’t tweet it out like Enes?] No, I don’t do all that. You don’t need to know my business like that.

Gordon Hayward
** On getting his hair cut for Media Day: These pictures are gonna be on nba.com, you know, our website, all that…I was thinking about the scruff. That made me look a little older, but my mom wasn’t really having it, so.

** Vacation: I went on a cruise with my buddies…we went to the Caribbean…it was fun. It was eight of us guy friends, we just had a good time. [Did you get sunburned?] I did not. I packed a lot of sunscreen. I’m kind of fair-skinned.*

* Kind of. Lulz.

** On not shooting well in the Playoffs: I think I just missed shots. I don’t know how to describe it. I mean, that was really frustrating to me, especially because like you said, I’d been playing so well and shooting the ball well, and then to go out and just kinda lay an egg like that was frustrating. [The Spurs] pretty much just dominated us in every way that you could dominate us. So it was just hard on us as a team. There wasn’t very many of us that played well individually either, but it was a tough series that you can build on and learn from.

** Do you feel like you can be more of a vocal leader this year? You know, I think leadership knows no age. So I said some stuff rookie year, and I said some stuff last year. Overall, I’m not extremely vocal as a person, you know, I’m more of a leader by example, and I think a lot of us younger guys are that way…when the time comes that I need to say something, I will, but a lot of times, like I said, I’ll just lead by example.

Gordon’s girlfriend thought this pic was cool. And he thought that it was cool that she thought it was cool.

Jeremy Evans
** How nervous were you about getting married? I was just ready to get it over with. I wasn’t too nervous…I knew it was coming, anticipate it, and just went over it in my head, so that’s about it.

Were you more nervous on your wedding day, or the day you proposed?

The day I proposed.

How’d you propose?

Uh, actually, uh, OK, all right. We’ve been a lot of places, so of course she’s waiting on it, kind of. But we went to a couple of piers, and I’m like, “You can’t do it here. You gotta surprise her.” And she told me after I proposed that the night we were on this pier, she thought I was going to do it then. So I’s like, “Nah.” But we were in, maybe the Grand America, and I just proposed there. She had no idea, so it was perfect.

How many people came to your wedding?

Probably 100.

Where’d you honeymoon?

Playa Paraiso, Mexico.

** Did you get yourself a treat after signing the contract? Not yet. I don’t know if I am. I got enough treats already. [Are you going to be like Gordon and never cash a check?] Probably now, since I’m married and I gotta watch it. But before this, I knew this was coming, so I had my fun already.

** [Gordon] told me, after a little while that Honda Accord is gonna turn into something else. He’s just doing this thing right now.

** On doing more than dunking: I’m ready to shoot it, drive it, of course play defense like always.

Kevin Murphy
** Nothing posted by the radio stations or the Jazz. This was posted by Murphy himself: “Finally here.”

(KALL)
(1280)
(Utah Jazz)