Utah Jazz draftee Grayson Allen was in SLC on Wednesday for his official introduction as the newest member of the team.
A big Utah Jazz debut took place at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus on Wednesday afternoon. Grayson Allen, the team’s first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, was officially introduced to the media at a press conference in Salt Lake City.
He began the 14-minute rap session by speaking on his choice of jersey number. The former Blue Devil will be sporting No. 24, digits previously worn by Jazz greats Paul Millsap and Jeff Malone (Kobe Bryant-inspired in this case).
Allen also revealed that he’s spoken with teammate Joe Ingles, that he likes his fit with the Jazz and that he sees himself improving as a defender at the NBA level. He’s already a fan of Salt Lake, too.
“It’s a very beautiful city,” he told the assembled media. “It’s my type of city, so I feel like I’m going to really love living here.”
Of particular interest to me, though, was Allen addressing his status as one of college basketball’s most polarizing figures.
Fan response hit every end of the spectrum when commissioner Adam Silver announced Allen as the Jazz’s pick at No. 21 during last week’s draft. Despite the varied opinions, a common point of discussion was his emotions getting the best of him on the hardwood; his history of dirty plays.
After all, Allen was the guy that tripped people intentionally and threw wild temper tantrums. He was a bad boy of the Bill Laimbeer ilk. Or, if we’re sticking to hated Duke alums, he’s a modern Christian Laettner. That has been reputation.
So much so, in fact, that there are literally dozens of compilation videos on YouTube featuring his dirtiest moments. Here’s my personal favorite —
However, at the presser, Allen made clear the fact that he’s moved on from all of that.
Said Allen —
"“I know I come from Duke and I want to continue to represent Duke in a good way, but now that I have a Utah Jazz uniform, I want to represent the Jazz in the right way. Whether I’m polarizing, loved, hated, I don’t care. I admittedly did and I cared too much when I was at Duke but I’ve moved past it. The love for the game of basketball kind of gets rid of all that.”"
Clearly, Allen is over talking about his past antics. Whether or not he can keep himself in-check at the next level remains to be seen, but he’s seemingly committed to being a good ambassador for the organization. And you have to respect that he’s opting to focus on more important things like his developing game and how it fits with his new squad.
Also — he has the endorsement of Jazz brass, which should speak to his character.
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With his media day wrapped, Allen will meet with Jazz fans for the first time at a public event on Thursday. He’ll be at the team store in Vivint Arena from 11 to noon, mountain time.