The Utah Jazz were struck by how Rudy Gobert wanted to improve, even in pregame warmups when they were scouting him in 2013.

"He was working on completely the wrong stuff," Lindsey said.

Gobert was raw with a 9-foot-7 standing reach.

"I know this sounds crazy, but it's proven to be true to date: His want to be good is as unique as his wingspan and standing reach," Dennis Lindsey said.

Gobert slid in the draft to 27th as he struggled in several workouts.

"He was lost going into that jungle of the workouts," agent Bouna Ndiaye said. "In Chicago, he was bad. He was really bad."

"He likes to play. Like, he enjoys playing," said Alex Jensen, the Jazz assistant coach who works individually with Gobert. "I think a lot of big guys kind of fall into it because of just being big, but he likes to play and he wants to be good. It sounds simple, but it's rare. It's not the norm."

The Jazz paid $3 million to purchase a late first round pick in what was considered a weak draft.

"We got lucky there," Lindsey said. "If we were so smart, we would have moved to the top of the draft."

The Jazz signed Gobert to an extension before the start of the 16-17 season.

"We hope," Lindsey says, "that he's the Utah Jazz version of Bill Russell."