This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

None of this preseason stuff counts.

That does not mean it doesn't matter.

The Jazz, to varying levels of success, are attempting to build their new model here, their new way of playing, their new way of thinking. And they're doing it completely unencumbered by those awful restrictions of the past, namely using veteran players who have no future with the team at the expense of younger players who do.

Quin Snyder is flipping that script.

Losing won't frighten Snyder into choosing a different path because, at this point, there is no other path to choose. Besides, some of those young players no longer are a deep shade of green. They are set to flow into whatever it is they'll be as NBA players. The veneer of potential will drop away, exposing what is real. That process is well underway.

For 19-year-old Dante Exum, it's a different situation. His is an evolution of talent that's just now sniffing around. The other night, when he made 3 of 5 shots from outside the arc, he also committed eight turnovers, including one pass that was so off-target, it nearly broke P.A. announcer Dan Roberts' nose. Did you see Snyder's reaction? This is important — for all the Jazz players, whatever their ages. His head didn't explode. He didn't gyrate or flail around, or screw himself into the boards on the floor in frustration or disgust. Most importantly, he didn't send Exum to the end of the bench, exiling him from further play. He calmly pulled Exum aside and had a discussion with him, an instructional moment.

Snyder will have to do that a lot in 2014-15.

Exum is going to have many forgettable moments. But he's not the only one. With the new system Snyder is installing, there will be pace, there will be passing, there will be faux pas. Teams that emphasize transition offense suffer more turnovers than teams with deliberate schemes. It's just a fact. They also get more assists and more points.

There is another takeaway from that encounter the other night.

This is not to say there aren't times when Snyder goes cray-cray, when he communicates his message in colorfully direct words and amplified tones, but … the players like playing for him. Not simply because they think he's cool, rather they like the brand of ball he wants them to play. It's the kind of basketball every player wants to play.

"I like it," Derrick Favors says. "We're moving the ball, looking for each other."

Says Gordon Hayward: "We like it because it fits the players we have."

Those two sentiments are significant, not only because of the rudimentary idea that sharing the ball is the best way to play — Dr. Naismith intended that in 1891 — but on account of the energy it creates across the board. That's especially important for this Jazz outfit. Every day in practice, Snyder works on a failing from a year ago — transition defense. To master that, energy must be conjured and expended.

It seems somehow beneath the whole endeavor that pro players need added enthusiasm and excitement to make the most out of themselves, but it is a truth that will greatly benefit the Jazz in a year, in a process, during which they will need every benefit they can find.

In other words, the matching of a new coach, Snyder, with a new offensive philosophy that utilizes patterns and spacing and sharing and movement and transition, with a fresh way of approaching both success and shortcomings, with this particular group of players is a positive one.

Let's say it all plain here: Last season, there was frustration from all the losing, but there was also frustration among some of the key pieces because of the way the Jazz were being asked to play. This season, there may be frustration at losing, but not at the methodology. Implementation and execution may be imperfect, but players are straight-up excited to see where this new approach will take them, or where they can take themselves within this system.

There now is uniformity all around the Jazz, in the abstract and the specific, from seasonal goals to architectural goals to long-term goals, from ownership to management to coaches to players. It took a while, but finally everybody is in the pool.

Now, we'll see how well they stay afloat.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 and 960 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson. —

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