Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles already has his trash-talking game in midseason form. Also, Derrick Favors may have a future in breaking NBA news.
The start of the NBA regular season is less than a month away, and it feels like the fans and players alike are all abuzz with excitement. As such, let’s take a quick perusal of all the latest Utah Jazz news.
Joe Ingles trolls Blake Griffin
I’m certain Joe Ingles has put in the work this summer to make sure that he’s in the ideal physical condition to be able to hold his own in the NBA and also to continue to expand his game. However, it appears he’s also been fine-tuning his troll game and is already in midseason form at trash-talking his opponents before the season even gets underway.
Don’t believe me? Just check out this exchange below between him and his momentary former LA Clippers teammate Blake Griffin—
Oh man, shots fired, Joe! Obviously, neither of these players’ time in LA came with that glamorous of an end, but this is still quite the hilarious low blow from the Aussie to compare their Clippers careers in this fashion. I’d say Donovan Mitchell‘s reaction matched that of just about every NBA fan out there–
https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1042568021045391362
Even though Ingles and Griffin were teammates for a very brief preseason stint, to my knowledge I’ve never seen anything indicating that the two were that close. In other words, I suppose this could be playful banter… but maybe it’s wiser to assume that it’s a little bit of animosity rising to the surface. I’ll let you decide.
Either way, all I can say is, never change, Joe. Never change.
Salt Lake City Stars tryouts
Looking to test your basketball skills and pave your way as Utah’s newest diamond in the rough? Then, boy, do I have an announcement for you! The Salt Lake City Stars are holding open tryouts on September 22nd at Bruin Arena in Taylorsville.
https://twitter.com/slcstars/status/1042110920317493248
All jokes aside, this is a pretty cool opportunity, and I would just love to hear of a success story where a player rises from complete anonymity, qualifies for a G-League team, then ultimate makes an impact on an NBA roster. What better place for that to happen than with the exceptional development program of the Utah Jazz?
Check-in for the tryout is at 8:30 am and begins at 10:00 am. Best of luck to all the aspiring pros who will be in attendance!
Drummer tryouts
Lacking basketball skills and looking for something else to try out for? Then have no fear, because the Jazz are holding a completely different set of tryouts as well.
For anyone that would like a shot to be a part of the Utah Jazz street drumline, auditions are being held on September 28th at the U of U School of Music. Details are included in the tweet below–
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1042441784217894912
The drumline is certain to add a sweet component to the Jazz game day atmosphere and would be a blast to be a part of!
Watch out Woj, here comes D-Favs
Reporters such as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania are known for dropping big-time news about NBA players. But lately, some NBA players have flipped the script. Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was among the first to start tweeting out news about NBA reporters, and Derrick Favors has since followed suit.
Check out his tweet regarding former Salt Lake Tribune standout Tony Jones–
Former Salt Lake Tribune writer Tony Jones has agreed to join The Athletic to cover the Utah Jazz and NBA, according to league sources #rumors
— Derrick Favors (@dfavors14) September 17, 2018
Anyone who has followed Tony knows the exceptional work that he does. His writing is superb, his podcasts are stellar, the interaction he has with fans on social media is hilarious and informative, and his Jazz coverage is second to none. It’s awesome that he’ll be staying in the Salt Lake market.
And it’s always been pretty apparent that he and Favors have a good relationship, so it was an entertaining and slightly comical departure from the norm to see D-Favs drop the news about Tony in this way rather than it being done by himself and/or his colleagues.
Maybe Favors has a future as a reporter known for breaking NBA news. I know that I, for one, would love hearing from him in that role. For now, though, I’m just glad that he’s a continued part of this awesome Jazz team.
NBA preseason gets underway in less than 10 days with the regular season starting shortly thereafter. As much fun as it’s been to keep a close eye on our beloved Utah Jazz players all summer long, I think I speak for all of Jazz Nation when I say that I can’t wait to actually get to see them hit the hardwood.