Many were stupefied when the Utah Jazz traded Collin Sexton and a draft asset for Jusuf Nurkic this past offseason. It turned out that trade was smarter for the Jazz than we thought, but still. Sexton's time with the Jazz didn't amount to much, but that didn't stop the Jazz alum from showing some love to the team and head coach Will Hardy.
In an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, Sexton had some kind words for his former team. He first revealed what he learned first and foremost from his time as a Jazzman.
"I would say leadership. I would just say coming in and being a leader each and every day, and coming in to control what I can, but also making an impact on the younger guys as much as possible. I pride myself on being a true professional, and I feel like that’s something I’ve always done in my career is being a true professional, something that most guys have learned from me over and over," Sexton told Robinson.
Sexton also admitted that he still keeps tabs on the Jazz as they are currently constructed.
"I definitely watch those of my guys, especially Coach Will Hardy. I love Coach Will. He’s one of those coaches that I got to learn from, and he got to learn from me pretty well. But I definitely keep up with them, the guys, and certain guys that I played with around the league."
It's awesome of Sexton to still look at the Jazz so highly despite all the losing and despite being salary dumped. He was a good soldier as a Jazzman. When he returns to Utah this season, there shouldn't be one boo from the fans whatsoever.
The biggest irony about the Sexton trade
The Hornets acquired Sexton in the hopes of improving. Well, 15 games into the season, they are 4-11, which sadly is the same old for them. However, making it worse is the fact that the Jazz have been better this season at 5-9, despite all the injuries they have been dealing with.
Now, this isn't necessarily because Sexton is gone, as what he's good at, he's pretty fantastic at. The bottom line, there's no telling Utah would be right now if they added him to a team that has Lauri Markkanen playing his best basketball and Keyonte George turning into a star.
It's not like that changes who won the Sexton-for-Nurkic swap much, but it's hard not to laugh at how things have played out since the trade was finalized.