Jock Landale’s Crazy Day

Jock Landale not ready to forget the 2026 trade deadline! Sent to Utah along with Jaren Jackson Jr., Vince Williams Jr. and John Knochar, the Aussie center was set to join Salt Lake City, until a new trade sent him to Atlanta and the Hawks brought him back at the last minute.

His story is one of those crazy anecdotes because within 24 hours Jock Landale went from Memphis to Utah and then to Atlanta. Enough to test your adaptability!

On the verge of flying to Utah

“I was sent to Utah, and I thought I was going to be there for a few hours. I was sitting on the plane with John and Vince. Jaren was late and that allowed me to leave the plane, so thanks to him. I got a message that I was traded again and asked to get off the plane while waiting for it to be made official. playing the next game, I wanted to get there as early as possible., he said.

Jock Landale loaded up his car in Memphis to make his way to Atlanta. Just under a six-hour drive later, he was able to orientate himself in his brand new surroundings to prepare for the Hawks’ upcoming matchup…against Utah! We have to believe that his choice was the right one because despite the established, former fifth position Grizzlies delighted his new audience and shined in the victory (121-119) in Atlanta.

In addition to tying his career high (26 points on 5/8 3-pointers), he was valuable in rebounds (11 including 6 offensive) and assists (5), not forgetting his 4 blocks! With 45 seconds left and the Jazz leading 114-116, his fifth 3-pointer from the corner set State Farm Arena on fire.

A dream scenario

It’s hard to imagine a better scenario for his big premiere in new colors, all in the name of a franchise that didn’t want to keep it…

But the player is not the type to take his head, and it showed in his first match with Atlanta. While he was relaxed, the interior shone to its strengths without worrying about the rest, and the mayo took over.

“It was just a game where we played a little less structured for us, due to the fact that elements have been added in recent weeks. You just have to adapt in the moment. When we called systems that I’ve never heard in my life, I was told where to stand live. They gave me a notebook, but I haven’t looked at it yet. It’s just playing basketball, which is fun. We read what happens in basketball. I had a lot of fun in this first game, and I hope it will be like that every time even if I doubt it.

His arrival and state of mind in any case left an impression from his first steps in Atlanta, which Quin Sneijder did not fail to point out after the match.

“I asked him if he was ready and told him that I wanted to send him into the heat of battle. And when we found out that Onieka Okongwu would not be able to play, it became even more important. And he responded, striving in many areas”, he emphasized. “When you have a player like that, who has experienced a lot in different places, whether it’s in Australia, internationally, or in several teams in the league, he has this habit of adapting quickly. That says a lot about our players, who immediately believed in him. Congratulations to him and the boys, because it was a tough game tonight.”

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How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.