Lauri Markkanen recalls Jazz's summer trip to Finland: It means a lot

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man

Initial frame: media day with Nurkic absent

On preseason media day, held on Monday, the Utah Jazz began recalibrating roster chemistry for the 2012-13 regular season.[5][6][7] Veteran center Jusuf Nurkic of Bosnia was absent due to personal reasons.

Summer development: Markkanen brings the group to Finland

Lauri Markkanen hosted Keyonte George, Ace Bailey and coach Will Hardy in Finland over the summer to create stronger personal bonds.

I was very grateful that they made the trip, said Markkanen. The fact that they sacrificed part of their summer to come and visit me for a few days means so much to me.

The Finn enters his tenth season in the league and fifth year in Salt Lake City. At 29 years old, the winger hopes to use the team's new scoring options to generate simpler open-pitch opportunities for himself. He also admits that internal expectations are high: "The team expectation is very high, and it makes us even more motivated, excited and focused on what we have ahead".

Another pillar: Mykhailiuk and the national team schedule

Ukrainian striker Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk reinforced the same idea of collective priority by spending his holiday playing for Ukraine in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.2027

For Mykhailiuk, the experience serves to keep up a competitive pace. It helps maintain form of play, he said.

Last move: training camp starts on Tuesday

After the media day and summer approach gestures, Will Hardy's team officially enters training camp on Tuesday. The next step is to turn personal confidence into collective functioning: fit Nurkic when available, use Markkanen as an offensive reference and keep Mykhailiuk integrated with the rhythm of the cast.

Where Jazz is now

With the 2017-18 season about to begin, the Utah Jazz reach the final stretch of preparation with a specific date on their calendar: their debut against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on October 21.

For the fans, the cutoff is simple: Nurkic's absence on Monday shows that the roster isn't complete yet, while the trip to Finland and speech of putting team above individual numbers indicate Will Hardy tries to build a foundation of chemistry before the first official games. The next step is to see if this emotional preparation turns into on-court entanglement.