Great expectations surround Jazz as training camp opens: Two years ago during media day, many in attendance chuckled when Trey Burke suggested with a straight face that the Utah Jazz were a playoff team. The skepticism wasn't quite as prevalent last year. There was hope that the Jazz could make it to the postseason, but injuries and inexperience didn't allow it. -- The Salt Lake Tribune

The Hayward Happiness Index has a good first day: The Jazz's pursuit of Gordon Hayward's happiness is successful, so far. This story is subject to daily updates for the next seven or eight months, and he knows it. Hayward laughed good-naturedly — a good sign? — during the team's Media Day interviews Monday when I asked if he realized we would spend the entire 2016-17 season trying to gauge his satisfaction with the Jazz's progress. -- The Salt Lake Tribune

Players leave open the possibility for protest during the national anthem: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel as the national anthem is played before games, a silent protest to raise awareness of the social injustice and the shooting deaths of black Americans by police officers, has grown into a full-fledged movement. And as they kicked off their training camp Monday, the Utah Jazz's young leaders left open the possibility that they too could make some sort of gesture themselves. -- The Salt Lake Tribune

‘Everybody knows I want to be here,” Rudy Gobert says of possible contract extension: One way or another, one day or another, Rudy Gobert's big payday is coming. The Utah Jazz's shot-blocker extraordinaire is set to make $2.1 million, a bargain by NBA standards, during the final year of his rookie contract. And while Gobert is eligible to sign an extension this fall, the man they call the Stifle Tower isn't worried about rushing to get his new deal done. -- The Salt Lake Tribune

No more baby talk; Jazz must advance now or never: Principals of the Utah Jazz took the “cautiously optimistic” approach, as usual, at Monday’s training camp tip-off — also known as the “no actual risk” maneuver. Nobody predicted a trip to the Finals. A 60-win season never came up. A 50-win year wasn’t even broached. Instead, they lauded their own off-season dedication and reiterated the goal of making the playoffs, same as always. -- Deseret News

Big expectations as Utah Jazz begin training for 2016-17 season: Although the Utah Jazz flirted with making the playoffs last season despite being hampered by injury after injury, that oh-so-close result didn’t change the organization’s approach to the offseason, according to general manager Dennis Lindsey. What Lindsey and his organization accomplished this summer, however, did change the expectations for the 2016-17 season. -- Deseret News

Hayward enjoys spending summer in Salt Lake for a change: For the first time since joining the Jazz six years ago, Gordon Hayward didn’t go home to Indiana for the summer and instead spent most of his time in Utah. The highlight of his summer was welcoming the birth of his second child with wife Robyn, but he said he also enjoyed being able to be in Salt Lake. -- Deseret News