http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_6523288 "A lot of times, you look at a player and see what he can't do," O'Connor said. "With Ronnie, we look at him and see what he can do. And what he can do very, very well is defend. . . . We got torched on the perimeter by some people last year." "He is a terrific athlete," O'Connor said. "We are very happy to have him on board. He makes us a little bit more more athletic and a little better defensively. . . . He does a terrific job guarding people, if you watch the film." "We think he can guard both positions," O'Connor said, "except on the occasion when [the opponent] has a really big 'two.' " -- Said the 24-year-old Price: "Defensive-wise, I can defend 'ones' and 'twos'. Offensive-wise, I can play 'one' and 'two'. I'm comfortable at both positions. It's just whatever is needed at the time, I feel I'm able to supply it and help out." "Coming out of college, the team I wanted to play for was the Jazz," said Price, who vowed to "work my tail off and do whatever I can to make this team better." "There were some other teams - just teams that were showing a little interest," Price said. "But when the Jazz came into play, I was like - my agent asked me - and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm really happy about that. If we could get something with them, that would be nice.'" "Whatever Coach needs me to do," he said. "If that's come in and play 10 minutes of defense, or if that's coming in to give somebody a breather for five minutes, or if that's playing 30 minutes. . . . Whatever I'm called on to do." -- O'Connor did not admit to asking for Williams' blessing on the addition of Price, but he did say Utah's "core players" are kept up to date on possible moves personnel moves being considered by management. "We try to keep our players informed on things," O'Connor said. "Specifically, do I talk about what we're doing? Yes, we try to keep the guys we have under contract informed." In Williams and Price, the Jazz have created a Texas connection in their backcourt. Williams is from Dallas and Price grew up in Friendswood, which is near Houston. "I'm excited," said Price. "He's a Texas guy. He's an All-Star." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------] http://www.ksl.com/?nid=294&sid=1572207 "I never thought my life would take me to Utah ever, honestly," Price said. "He would sit down and show me the Jazz -- their offense, the way they did things, and just show me how hard the team played," Price said. "The Jazz are the hardest-working team in the NBA." "There's enough teams that play two smaller guards. We feel that combo guards can help us," O'Connor said. "We've gotten torched by a lot of guards this year." O'Connor wouldn't speculate on possible trades. The Jazz have until Oct. 1 before making a final decision on Brown and Miles. "We're still looking to massage our roster a little bit," O'Connor said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,695197052,00.html "The second after the 60th pick in the draft, we were on the phone with both he and his agent talking to him about coming. That's the first and only time we've ever done that," O'Connor said Wednesday after finally getting his man. -- "This is a true story," Price said Wednesday after being introduced to the Utah media as the newest Jazzman at the Zion's Bank Basketball Center. "My grandmother ─ who knows nothing about the NBA, names of teams or anything ─ she told me, 'I think you're supposed to be in Sacramento,' and she had no idea that Sacramento was a team that I was talking to ─ had no idea. "When she did that, she answered my prayers and my thoughts. My grandmother just came out of nowhere and said, 'I think you're going to be in Sacramento.' That was the weirdest thing," Price said, following her premonition and choosing the Kings over the Jazz. "But it worked out," the 6-foot-2 Price added, noting he got hurt and didn't play throughout the summer league then but days after the league ended, the Kings offered him a two-year contract. "There probably wasn't another guy in the NBA that was an undrafted free agent that got a two-year contract." -- "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I believe that two years with Sacramento was a chance for me to get better as a player and learn the NBA," Price said, "and now that I've had those two years of growing as a player, now I'm back where I started. "The three years that I played college out here, I wouldn't take those three years back for anything. The community, the people, just the fans, the support that I received and UVSC players received while we were in college was amazing. "I'm just excited to be back around the Utah community and get that support again," said Price, who wore No. 7 while with Sacramento because he was a big Pete Maravich fan from the time he was 6. -- "Some of the things we wanted to address were length, a little bit more athleticism, being able to defend on the perimeter and being able to be in a position where we've got a shooter. I think (Price) fulfills two of those. I don't think we're going to ask him to play length this year, maybe in the future." "I love playing defense," said Price, "and I know this team is a defensive- minded team and coach (Jerry) Sloan is a defense-minded coach." -- "The scoring part, that was just the thing that kind of caught peoples' eyes. I consider myself as a person that can put the ball in the hole a little bit, but I consider myself a defender." -- "I never thought my life would take me to Utah, ever, honestly," Price said, recounting his journey from home in Friendswood, Texas, to Orem to Sacramento to Salt Lake City. "But things do happen for a reason, and I'm just thankful being in this situation." --

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