The Utah Jazz are finally giving Brice Sensabaugh reps, adding him to the collection of rookies getting big minutes to close out the remainder of the season. Keyonte George has played most of the year and is now a starter for the Jazz, while Taylor Hendricks is finally getting consistent minutes for the squad.
Sensabaugh though was the last of the three men to get big minutes regularly, as there were a few key guys ahead of him. Simone Fontecchio and Ochai Agbaji took minutes from Sensabaugh, and due to the three men playing largely the same men, the team had to make a move in order to get Sensabaugh the time Jazz coaches thought he needed.
That meant trading those two, as well as Kelly Olynyk at the NBA Trade Deadline. The moves allowed the Jazz to give Sensabaugh and Hendricks more minutes, even if it meant the team struggled by doing so. While the team is missing talent on the court now, following the trades, and is also struggling to fill the leadership off the court that guys like Olynyk brought, what we're not talking more about is the chemistry that was ruined by the trades.
These guys liked each other, and when you see your friends just shipped away callously, it gets hard to put one foot in front of another. Sensabaugh spoke about this, telling reporters (via Sports Illustrated);
“It was my first time I ever experienced something like this. So, for it to actually hit our team and for me to experience, that was kind of crazy. But for me, obviously you work a lot of times with the guys that got traded so some relationships that I hope I keep and continue to stay in contact with those guys.”
It's clear that those trio of players were well-liked, as the mood after the trade was pretty dower, and hearing Sesnabaugh reveal he built a friendship with them is pretty telling. The team has lost five in a row, and eight of their last 10. The team looks like it lost its desire and fire to compete and maybe that's because they don't have anything to play for, or maybe it's because the guys they lost were that important to morale.
Clearly, the trades hurt the team more than just with on the court action.