UTAH
Roster Remake
Utah Jazz Welcome New Players
T
UTAH
Encore
Rudy Gobert Repeats as NBA Defensive Player of the Year
J
azz employees had the idea to promote Rudy Gobert’s Defensive Player
of the Year campaign with the release of “Encore/Gobert 2019,” a
recreation of a classic jazz album: John Coltrane’s “Prestige 7105.” The
mock album’s title, “Encore” (“again” in French), paid homage to Gobert’s
home country and the fact that this would be his second DPOY award.
The campaign included an album sleeve, poster-style insert, and record
featuring imagery, statistics, and quotes illustrating why Gobert was the
best defensive player in the NBA. The album was sent to the 100 media
members who vote on this award, in addition to several other local and
national media outlets.
It worked, but mainly because Gobert had an incredible season. In June,
the NBA named Gobert as the 2018–19 Defensive Player of the Year for the
second straight season. It capped off a year full of accolades, with the native
of France also earning All-NBA Defensive First Team and All-NBA Third
Team honors.
Gobert finished his sixth NBA season averaging career highs in
points per game (15.9), rebounds (12.9), and assists per contest (2.0).
For the third straight year, he was the anchor of a top-three NBA defense
helping the Jazz hold a defensive rating of 105.2, which was the second
best defensive rating in the NBA in 2018–19. The 26-year-old led Utah
in rebounding average, and the team had the best defensive rebound
percentage (.759) of any team in the NBA last season.
Gobert is only the third international player to be crowned Defensive
Player of the Year in multiple seasons, joining Hakeem Olajuwon and
Dikembe Mutombo. He’s the second Jazzman to win the award twice,
alongside Mark Eaton who won the award in 1985 and 1989. ◆
12
LHM Winning Spirit July/August 2019
he Utah Jazz roster had a remake during the summer with a significant
trade, free agency signings, and NBA Draft picks. The Jazz acquired
guard Mike Conley Jr., from Memphis in exchange for guard Grayson
Allen, forward Jae Crowder, guard/forward Kyle Korver, and future draft
picks. Conley (6-1, 175, Ohio State) finished the 2018–19 season averaging
a career-high 21.1 points, along with 6.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3
steals in 33.5 minutes per contest.
“Mike Conley had a tremendous impact in Memphis and always
impressed us with his skills on the court, passion for doing good in the
community, and reputation as a great teammate,” said Jazz Executive Vice
President of Basketball Operations Dennis Lindsey. “We share that same
commitment to excellence and are excited to welcome Mike and his family
to the Jazz, Salt Lake City, and Utah.”
The Jazz also signed forward Bojan Bogdanović (BOY-on bog-DON-
oh-vich), who is coming off a career year in 2018–19 where he averaged
career bests in points per game (18.0), field goal percentage (.497), three-
point percentage (.425), rebounds (4.1), and assists (2.0), appearing in 81
games (all starts) with the Indiana Pacers.
“We are very pleased to welcome Bojan and his family to our
organization,” Lindsey said. “His ability to play both ends of the floor in
addition to his exceptional shooting will make him an integral contributor
to our franchise and our postseason goals.”
During the NBA Draft in Brooklyn, the Jazz selected guard Justin
Wright-Foreman with the 53rd overall pick. Wright-Foreman (6-2, 190)
appeared in 125 games (82 starts) during his collegiate career with
Hofstra where he was the back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association
Player of the Year.
Utah also acquired the rights to the 50th and 58th picks in the second
round of the 2019 NBA Draft. With the 50th overall pick, the Utah Jazz
received College of
Charleston’s Jarrell
Brantley from the
Indiana Pacers in
exchange for a future
second round pick and
cash considerations.
Utah acquired the
58th pick from
the Golden State
Warriors, selecting
Miye Oni, from
Yale University, in
exchange for cash
considerations. ◆
Full-page
post-season
newspaper ad
run by the
Utah Jazz