The Utah Jazz’s veteran players are taking their mentoring responsibilities very seriously

As Will Hardy prepared to call Patty Mills this past summer, he wasn’t worried about what he was going to ask of Mills. A relationship forged over more than a decade meant the two had waded through a number of difficult and earnest conversations. But, what Hardy was going to ask for, might not be what Mills would want. So, there was a little bit of concern that Mills would not accept what Hardy was offering.
No words were minced, nothing was sugar coated. The Utah Jazz head coach did not need Mills to come play for him to help a young, scrappy team try to compete for a title at the end of the 2024-25 season. That was not the role that was available on the roster.
“You never know how a player is going to react in those moments,” Hardy said. “Especially somebody like Patty, who has fought, scratched and clawed for everything he’s gotten In the NBA, and he has such a competitive spirit about him. You know, there’s probably parts of him that don’t want to give in to those things, but I can go to sleep at night knowing that I was very clear with Patty.”
What Hardy needed was a player who had been through and experienced everything that the young players on his roster were dreaming of. What Hardy needed was someone whose role off the court would be more important than their on-court contributions. He needed a mentor for his young players who would come with a resume that would demand respect, a demeanor that would draw players closer to him and a competitive spirit that was contagious.
“From my first conversation with Will, there was an understanding of what this was about, the guys that were here, my value and what I could bring,” Mills told the Deseret News. “That conversation went from a place of understanding the role, accepting the role and then envisioning what I needed to do.”
It can be difficult for some NBA players to accept when they are transitioning from a night-to-night boxscore contributor to a player that is going to usher in the next generation of players and be a part of their story rather than the headliner of their own story. But Mills was excited about the transition, and part of the reason was because of the clarity of what was going to be expected.
Many basketball players end up on teams without knowing exactly what their role is going to be. There’s some pressure that comes with that, and it leads to anxieties and uncertainty that can take a mental toll throughout the course of a season or even many seasons. But when Mills decided to come to Utah, he felt a wave of relief.
“I’m so grateful to be in this position,” Mills said. “Because I’m so involved, not just on the floor, I think I’m impactful and beneficial in more than one way. It’s in the locker room, outside of locker room, at practice, on the busses, the plane, wherever. And whatever happens on the court, finally, that’s the overall goal. But my value here is not one dimensional, and that, for me, was beautiful and it wasn’t hard to accept at all.”
Of course, not everyone is asked to take on that kind of role on a team and then gets a chance to either accept or reject that role. Sometimes, players find themselves sort of gradually falling into it naturally.
In September, Jordan Clarkson was asked what he was most excited about for the upcoming season and not for a single second did he think about himself when he giving his answer.
“Seeing these young guys grow, honestly,” he said. “My thing is just giving back to the game … I don’t want my voice to be exhausted and I’m a man of very few words. But at the same time, there’s small opportunities in this league, and if you’re able to break that code and give it to somebody, then they’re on their way.”
That’s where players like Clarkson and John Collins are finding themselves on this Jazz roster, because at some point in their career, they’ve cracked part of the code that has led to success and they’re realizing, along with the young veterans (Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen) that taking on moments of leadership is a necessary component to their own growth.
On a team that includes eight players that are 23 or younger — Johnny Juzang, Walker Kessler, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski — there is no shortage of teaching moments available to the older players. And while Mills was brought in to be an example of what it takes to become a champion and to have longevity in this league, Clarkson and Collins are incredibly important when it comes to helping the Jazz’s youth.
And Clarkson can feel himself becoming invested in the success of the young players on the team. He wants them to feel confident and craves moments when he can see their confidence break through. He wants to be clapping for the ball, ready to take a shot and for George to waive him off and realize that his shot is just as good. He wants to witness Filipowski understand that he is ready for big moments. He enjoys watching the evolution.
“Giving feels better than getting and sometimes you don’t think that it does, but it does,” Hardy said. “John and Jordan have handled themselves so well … They do recognize that there are people that have helped them along the way. There were veteran players that helped them when they were young, and it’s now their opportunity, and it’s sort of their duty at this point to give to the next group. And that doesn’t mean that their time is over, it’s not. But they’ve experienced things that these guys are about to, or are currently experiencing … they’re the only people that can tell the rookies what’s coming.”
When I asked Mills if it was important to him that he leave a legacy with younger players, he didn’t know quite how to answer it. He wasn’t sure. But what he was sure of is that when he was asked to take on a role as a mentor and teacher, he was happy.
“No question,” he said. “I have fun thinking through what it looks like on a day-to-day basis and being a part of guiding and supporting them. And it’s such a young group, not just one guy but so many young players. Being a part of it and together with them has been exceptional.”
Collins, at just 27-years-old in his 8th NBA season, said that he’s thought a lot about legacy. The players that were there for him when he was a rookie or a second-year player, made a huge impact on him and there are things in his personal life that make him feel like he’s supposed to keep giving back and making things easier for the next generation of players.
“I do want to have a big part in all of their futures. One day when they’re getting interviewed I want them to say, ‘John Collins was one of my good vets that I had,’” he said. “I’m a young father and I’m breaking generational curses for my family and that comes with responsibility. I’ve always been told that I’m a natural leader and it’s something I’ve tried to embrace more.”
Hardy knows that the learning curve is hard for a roster that is made up of so many young players and he knows that as the Jazz are trying to build toward something better for the future, as they try to identify core pieces and create a title-contending team, that there are going to be a lot of difficult moments.
And while it is part of his job to help navigate those difficult moments, he knows that he can’t do it alone. He also is keenly aware that having players who can bridge the emotional gap between the coach and others on the roster is important.
“This is not my team, it’s our team,” Hardy said. “I have a role to play, but leadership is not a singular person. I have a lot of moments where I am the leader or one of the leaders, and those guys have moments where they are the leaders, and we have to fill in all those gaps as we try to nurture this young group.”