SALT LAKE CITY — After a whirlwind few days since being drafted No. 2 overall by the Utah Jazz, Darryn Peterson was officially introduced on Saturday and shared his excitement to be in the Beehive State.
"When I put on the uniform, I'm not putting it on for myself, I'm putting it on for the fans," Peterson said, while sharing how he's looking forward to representing Utah and its fanbase when he takes the court.
From the outside, Peterson could be the final piece to returning the Jazz to contention, with a roster filled with players like Keyonte George, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey ready to achieve postseason success.
"I'm gonna try to listen to those guys and pick their brains and just be surrounded by so much greatness," Peterson said.
Watch full Peterson introductory news conference below:
The former Kansas guard acknowledged the somewhat strange season he endured in college, missing multiple games with a cramping issue that he said he's overcome.
"I've been through adversity a ton of times in my life, so I faced it and got through it. I control what I can control, but what happened at Kansas, I think it is behind me," Peterson said. "I was working out 3 times a day during the pre-draft, done all the tests, passed all the physicals and stuff."
Peterson was joined at the news conference by Utah president of basketball operations Austin Ainge and chairman Ryan Smith.
Ainge said the team had several meetings while getting to know Peterson and everyone who he's surrounded himself as far back as his high school days.
"We couldn't be more thrilled with the person we're getting, the culture fit, and what he can bring to our group," Ainge said. "We have a bunch of talented players, and we think he can fit in with all of them and just elevate us as we go forward."
Smith broke down what it's been like from his position to have the Jazz rebuild over the past four years.
"Timing in the NBA is everything," he explained. "There's a lot of teams out there who have tried to exit or go through one, and you kind of have to hit windows, but my feeling is just gratitude... I'm just grateful for our fans because there was nowhere else in the league where they went through something like this or have gone through something like this in a four-year period, and everyone showed up every single night.
By drafting Peterson, the Jazz hope the next and final step of the rebuild is at hand, as the franchise now transitions to a contending era with its young, talented core.
