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Shaquille Harrison was finally able to join his new Utah Jazz teammate and reinforce his first impression of Utah, which of course included the mountains and scenery, but also the glamor of Salt Lake City Airport.
« The first thing that came to mind when I got here was, ‘This is a beautiful airport, » Harrison said with a laugh at his first meeting with local reporters on Zoom on Friday.
Technically, he couldn’t work fully with his teammates on Friday. Harrison passed the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and was in training, but he got the imprint of his broken right hand three days ago and can’t play five-on-five live yet.
Harrison trained at Mamba Academy in the Los Angeles off-season, like many NBA players, and played in a pick-up game. It was being guarded by James Harden, the Houston Rockets security guard, when the two collided.
« I cut off the back door and James Harden was guarding me, » Harrison told Zoom on Friday. « It went so fast that I’m not sure which part of the body I hit it, but I grabbed the ball and my hand kind of bent back. It was just a crazy accident in a normal, regular game. ”
Harrison didn’t really think he was injured at this point, but later his hand swelled more than expected.
He has not been in pain since stepping down from the cast and training, but said there is no set schedule for his official return to court.
« I’m just doing it slowly and making sure we’re getting it right so we don’t have to start the process over, » he said.
Harrison said that jazz and its representatives had spoken for a while and that there was interest on both sides, with Harrison liking the idea of playing for jazz. It was just about working through details and actually getting the deal done.
« When you see him play, you feel like he can defend, » said jazz head coach Quin Snyder. « He has physicality and I think if you see a man who can bring that about, I look forward to our staff and I having the chance to work with him. I think one of the things he values on this opportunity is that we’d love to see him get better. ”
Jazz obviously sought and coveted full defense, exactly what Harrison brings to the table. Harrison understands that it can take him a while to get the feel for the team, especially after an injury, and he won’t be a strong guy, but he does feel like he knows what jazz expects from him.
« They want me to come in and do myself, come on and be this guy, the defender, be vocal on this team and bring the energy, » he said. « They don’t want me to come in here and try to be Superman or whatever. . . . They just love what I do and I love what I do too. ”
Joe Ingles said when the team was told Harrison was signing to Jazz, Donovan Mitchell brought up times when he was angry about the annoying nature of Harrison’s defense. He’s the kind of player you hate to be against, but you love being on your team.
« Donovan has some bad memories of picking him up and had some clips of (Harrison) terrorizing him, which is obviously a nice addition to our team, » said Ingles.
And in case you were wondering, you can call him Shaquille or Shaq, he’s happy either way.
Shaquille Harrison, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Quin Snyder, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns
are still recovering from broken hands
Ref: https://www.deseret.com
