Jazz Mailbag: What Was Biggest Surprise From Media Day?

SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag where this week we look at the biggest surprise to come out of the team’s media day.

Each week we will send out a prompt on X asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.

Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s mailbag.

Listen to all of our Utah Jazz Media Day Interviews here

Mailbag: What Was Biggest Surprise From Jazz Media Day?

What was the biggest surprise yesterday?

— UJ (@Jazztimejones) October 1, 2024

Question: What was the biggest surprise from Media Day?

Answer: The name I have been surprised to hear more about both on the record and behind the scenes is Brice Sensabaugh.

As a former 28th overall pick, with a tricky injury history, and a bit of a difficult game to adapt to the NBA, Sensabaugh was a high-upside swing for the fence pick out of Ohio State.

Those guys can fall out of the league quickly in favor of safer, more proven NBA veterans who simply eat minutes on the back end of a roster.

Instead, Sensabaugh seems to have some momentum entering year two.

Brice on the board 📋#TakeNote | @bricepsensa pic.twitter.com/ceuDstz3Nd

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 21, 2024

From what the coaching staff and front office have said, and what I saw with my own eyes, Sensabaugh is coming into the season with a thinner, stronger frame.

That’s a good sign for the guard who suffered a finger injury during summer league, an injury he could have used as an excuse to skip hard work this offseason.

The former Buckeye did shoot well during Summer League knocking down 40 percent of his 15 attempts, but turned the ball over an alarming 4.3 times per game.

Early reports are that Sensabaugh has continued to shoot well in open gym, and his decision-making has improved.

Remember, Sensabaugh shot 40 percent from three in college and 90 percent from the free-throw line as a rookie, so there’s proof of concept for him as a shot-maker.

If he can start to knock down threes in the NBA, limit his turnovers, and figure out some defensive fundamentals, he could be a solid contributor.

So much chatter about young player and youth movement during media day. Did you catch vibe from any of the ‘vet players’ that they were kind of annoyed by all questions & talk about the young players?

— JazzNation (@JazzNationNews) October 1, 2024

Question: Did you catch vibe from any of the ‘vet players’ that they were kind of annoyed by all the questions and talk about the young players?

Answer: I didn’t get that vibe, in fact, this team felt more in sync with the youth movement than they did at any point last year.

But let’s be clear about one thing, the only veteran the Jazz need to make sure is happy is Lauri Markkanen, and even he’s not guaranteed to be on the roster in three years when the team has fully emerged from this rebuild.

While the Jazz will certainly do their best to maintain a copacetic locker room where everyone can work together, the NBA is a competitive business, and the coaching staff will inevitably hurt some players’ feelings as they maximize their priorities.

The @utahjazz held their first media session of the 2024-25 season, and all signs point to a full youth movement at the Delta Center.

“We simply have more young guys as part of our rotation. It’s going to look different.” #takenote | @kslsportshttps://t.co/3XhJf5j39J

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) September 27, 2024

The good news for the Jazz is that while some starting roles may be up for grabs, there shouldn’t be a significant dropoff in minutes per game for last year’s veterans.

Markkanen played 33 minutes, Jordan Clarkson played 30, John Collins played 28, and Collin Sexton played 27.

Subtract those from the 240 total minutes a night, and the Jazz still have 122 minutes left to split among the next six players in Will Hardy’s traditional 10-man rotation, and that’s if everyone is healthy.

So while I don’t think anyone in the locker room expects the team to compete for a playoff spot which might be frustrating, the veterans should feel comfortable knowing they’ll get plenty of playing time this season even with the youth movement underway.

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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.

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