One of the NBA’s cult heroes is set to play a new role for his team this season.
Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles came off the bench once again for Monday’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings and is likely to make the full-time transition to sixth man, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
“At 32, it’s a new challenge, which excites me,” Ingles was quoted as saying. “I honestly haven’t sat at home and lost any sleep over starting or not. It doesn’t bother me at all.”
Ingles, who averaged 12.1 points and 5.7 assists per game on 39.1 percent shooting from deep in 2018-19, had started 163 of 164 games for the Jazz the past two seasons. The move to the bench makes sense though with Utah adding Mike Conley, Jeff Green, and Bojan Bogdanovic this offseason. It would also allow Ingles to become the lead creator for the Jazz second unit.
Utah also dealt away one of their more traditional frontcourt big men this summer, and bringing Ingles off the bench should help further what will presumably be a greater emphasis on positionless basketball.
