Imagine the reaction at the National Basketball Players Association headquarters when Jazz wing player Joe Ingles signed a fairly standard contract in free agency this past summer and then described his $52 million deal over four years as unnecessary.
Whoa. What did he say, again?
“Nobody in the world needs that much money,” Ingles told the Daily Telegraph of Sydney, in his native Australia.
Yeah, don’t expect Ingles to be invited to represent the NBPA in the next round of collective bargaining talks. “We don’t need that much money” would not be an especially good negotiating tactic.
His view of the newfound riches should further endear him to Jazz fans, though. Ingles already was one of the team’s most popular players with his easygoing personality and overachieving performance on the court last season. Ingles’ view of his contract is refreshing, resembling what someone like former Jazz player Kyle Korver would say in response to such a reward.
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At this point, a clarification: Ingles is not decrying the money being paid to him or any other NBA player in a market-driven economy. He’s just saying he wants a percentage of his money to do some good for other people — which is even better.
“So we’ll spend a lot of time helping out kids and families that need some help,” he said.
Ingles, who turns 30 on Monday, and his wife, Renae, intend to target Utahns and expand from there. As parents of 14-month-old twins Jacob and Milla, they’re thrilled that their own family’s financial future is comfortably covered, and they’re looking outside of themselves.
“We’ve got plans,” Ingles said during the Jazz’s Media Day. “It is something that we want to do. Especially since having the kids — and having a few things [happen] with our kids — it just makes you realize how short life can be, and we’re going to do it.”
Unselfishness is a big part of Ingles’ game, after all. That’s the word new teammate Jonas Jerebko used in labeling Ingles a good teammate, blending in and sharing the basketball. Ingles also shot the ball well in 2016-17, developing into one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters (44.1 percent) and averaging 7.1 points as he became a steady player in the Jazz’s offense and an underrated defender.
“As his confidence, his role and his contributions have developed, he’s figuring out different ways to help the team,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder, who values Ingles’ consistency and cites “a level of pride” in having helped him reach this stage of his career. He has come a long way in two years since being cut by the Los Angeles Clippers, having moved to the NBA from Europe.
“The way we’ve approached the development process is it’s really a partnership,” Snyder said. “The player’s got to believe in the path.”
The Jazz staff have taken Ingles from being cut in L.A. to being rewarded with a nice contract after two years in Utah, and he’s here to stay. The Jazz quickly re-signed Ingles in July and enlisted him in the failed effort to retain his friend Gordon Hayward. But it would be unfair to Ingles, even insulting, to say the Jazz paid him just in hopes of making Hayward happy.
They wouldn’t give away $52 million. And judging by other free-agent deals, Ingles very likely would have landed a comparable offer from another team.
The bonus is that some of the Jazz’s money will be redirected within Utah, while Ingles does everything he can on the court to justify the team’s investment in him. Sometimes in this business, the good guys do get rewarded.