Paul Millsap almost took one wrong turn upon his return to Utah.
The Hawks forward nearly went to the home locker room when he arrived for shootaround at the EnergySolutions Arena Monday morning. After all, he did spend his first seven NBA seasons reporting for work for Utah Jazz.
“I almost mistakenly walked straight to the (Jazz) locker room,” said Millsap, surrounded by media members before his first game in Utah as a visitor. “It’s a little different. I have to have a little different approach to this game.”
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer knows all about returning to a long-time home with another team. He had to coach in San Antonio earlier this season after spending 19 years in the Spurs organization. He had no words of advice to help Millsap manage his emotions.
“He is a pro,” Budenholzer said. “Sometimes a little bit of emotion isn’t the end of the world and if (you) tell someone to keep it in check, it might not be a good idea. He will find his way. Once you get out there and start playing, things come to you naturally.
“The most important thing is to not try to do too much. As long as he is playing in the team concept and is thinking about how he can help us get a win I think emotions are sometimes a good thing.”
Three-fifths of the Hawks’ starting lineup Monday was ex-Jazz personnel with Millsap, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll. Carroll spent the past two seasons with the Jazz before signing with the Hawks as a free agent this summer, as Millsap did.
“I think they’ll love the Junkyard Dog, like most people do,” Carroll said of his return.
Minor ear issue: Jeff Teague missed most of Hawks' shootaround while visiting a doctor to have wax buildup removed from his ears. The issue became serious when Teague was unable to hear out of his left ear during Saturday's loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. He also experienced pain in the ear during the flight to Salt Lake City.
“It hit me they day before when we played Golden State,” he said. “In L.A., I couldn’t hear anything. On the plane, it went crazy.”
A local doctor removed a considerable amount of wax buildup from both ears. He advised Teague not to use cotton swabs to clean his ears and that doing so can push wax deep into the ear canal. Teague said he has used cotton swabs on a daily basis for years.
“He got it out and now I can hear everything,” Teague said. “It’s like a miracle.”
Teague was expected to play against the Jazz.
Another familiar face: Former Hawks forward Marvin Williams is in the final year of his contract after being traded to the Jazz two summers ago. Williams, who the Hawks selected with the No. 2 overall pick in 2005, is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
He said the Jazz have yet to approach him about re-signing. Right, now, he is more concerned with once again being healthy and playing out the season.
“They are focused on winning games right now, I’m focused on winning games right now,” Williams said. “To be honest, I would rather keep it that way.”
Williams is averaging 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. He missed five games to start the season after surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon and right heal in April.
