Avery Bradley talks new role with the Jazz 💜 | UTAH JAZZ

Avery Bradley talks new role with the Jazz 💜 | UTAH JAZZ

all right you guys I’m sitting down with Avery Bradley who is the VP of Player Development here at the Jazz and so Avery the fans just want to know what is the [Music] role I always tell people the role is kind of shaping itself each and every day um but for me I look at that look at it as an opportunity to kind of help players on in off the court um you know I played I was blessed enough to play 12 um seasons and been through a lot um picked up a lot of different experiences and I feel like it’s my job now to help players navigate through their career now with the ups and downs the ABS and flows of the season I think I have an opportunity to kind of help them um not only on the court but off the court as well Avery is one of my favorites ever conversation that I’m going to have with you know Avery Bradley he’s going to be in here I’mma you know pick his brain little little tips and tricks Avery was not my hire however uh I introduced Avery to Will and to Justin and told Avery like you got to prove to them that they they need you I I felt like I still had something to give back to the game I just wasn’t sure what it was and one day I just got a call from Jay-Z and he told me like I think we have a position for you um that we think is perfect in I was lucky to get drafted I was I broke my ankle maybe like my fourth or fifth workout um and Celtics picked me and I was surprised I was like man I’m I’m grateful um they called me told me to come in um fly in on the Redeye from Seattle to Boston that first um right after I was drafted and I was extremely nervous I didn’t want to talk around those guys I didn’t want to make any mistakes and once I got to basketball I just didn’t feel like I was ready I was really prepared rayon used to roll me the ball and say hey go with the first unit MH and man I was so scared I used to mess up the plays doc used to scream at me and then doc used to tell me a speed up and then kg and Paul used to say slow down and it was like man I was always wrong yeah um but I had a there was a point in my career where I when they sent me to the G League or it was the D League at the time and it changed my entire career um kg actually told the story in Chicago I was just there and I saw him and um I came back I had no haircut and um I dunked on Kendrick Perkins like the first practice and Doc ended the practice and that’s when I was like okay I can play I think what’s important to note is just you taking that time in the D-League now G League um and really embracing that because now with your role as Player Development those are going to be some of the conversations that you have can you talk about just how integral that was for you in your career it was big time I think um my entire Journey like again experiences that you go through I help I think help you relate to younger players like I’ve been through everything I’ve been the number one player in the country to on the bench to g-league to being on the bench to being traded to starting um taking advantage of our opportunity so I kind of touched every area that a player can you know go through in his career and um I think that’s really important man cuz it’s genuine it’s a genuine conversation we’re going to be doing like some meditation he’s big on meditation and I’m I’m big on meditation especially before the game it’s going to be cool just to to pick his brain on how it helped him um and how it helped his career I would get to the arena early so I had could create that quiet time for myself there was a point where I would cut off communication and I would start my visualization process I didn’t watch film when I played unfortunately I’m not saying play F but for me it was more so a practice of my intuition and instincts when I was able to going into that visualization I would go in and start thinking about the player I was guarding how I was going to guard him um different scenarios throughout a game when I would get out there on the court I honestly felt like I was them like I was mirroring what they were doing it was just instincts and intuition that makes a lot of sense for the type of player that you are because you’re able to protect and predict what they’re about to do but I’m a big fan of him I was I I loved him in Boston and my my time with him he’s a he’s a real Pro Pro um I think he has a calm demeanor that he can relate to people very well I think it’s really cool because when Danny talked about hiring you he said that you really earned this role like of course he had a great relationship with you um but you did the interview like it was an interview process with Will Hardy it was Justin zanic um just talk about like kind of just building those relationships wanted this position in the relationships to the organic between me Justin um and Coach will and I was nervous I was nervous yeah I was um I was stillie yeah it was um but I mean we have a great staff here um from top to bottom and these got the guys made me feel extremely comfortable um and confident in in what I could provide to the team and I was excited about it um because I just felt like this was where I needed to be um and I I want to give back to younger players and I don’t want them to make the same mistakes or um take for granted like this career cuz it goes by so fast um there was a lot of times I I wasn’t in the moment and I took it for granted like me starting and or me having good games or even the bad games like I I didn’t really know how to navigate through and I didn’t have anyone there to help me at all the time and um I feel like I kind of want to be that guy for players throughout their season and throughout their career and um someone for them to lean on and um hopefully I can help them what will success look like for you this season success for me um I think is just learning as much as possible having an open mind um connecting to the players and having an impact on them on the court and off the court and I think kind of just being that guy that is able to be the connector in our areas for the training staff for the medical team um for the front office for the coaching staff just trying to touch everywhere and seeing where I can help I think that’s a successful year for me well Avery thank you so much for you know taking the time to just talk about your new role here but also talk about some of the things that are so incredibly important to you um I just can’t wait to see all that you’re able to do with these young guys the conversations that you’re able to have and what we’re going to be able to see on the court yeah I’m excited about it thank you for having me of course welcome to the Jazz thank you

Nayo Campbell met up with new Utah Jazz VP of Player Development and former player Avery Bradley.

They talked about his journey in the league, how he can empathize with current players and his approach to his new role at the Jazz.

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