On January 30th, Joe Ingles tore his ACL. Just 12 days later, the Utah Jazz traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers, and to this day, the Aussie regrets it ever happened. Ingles spent his entire eight-year NBA career in Salt Lake City, and still lives just 10 minutes from Vivint Arena as he continues to recover from knee surgery.
In fact, the trade bothers him so much that he can't even watch the Jazz on TV. Ingles also knows he could've still been a helping hand to the team. Via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake City Tribune:
“… I still think I could have been an asset down there to help the guys. Knowing Quin [Snyder], knowing the guys, knowing what their goals are, I definitely could have still been important. I have mixed emotions about it,” he added. “… Very mixed emotions. I still get very mad and frustrated with it. I live like 10 minutes up the road, so it’s annoying that I can’t go to the [practice] facility and do all that. It is what it is, I understand it. Do I necessarily agree with it? That can be up for debate.”
The trade essentially came out of nowhere but once he got hurt, there really wasn't really any reason for the Jazz to keep him if they could acquire an asset in return. Nevertheless, it was sad for Ingles. He was a fan favorite in Utah. He hasn't spent much time around his new Blazers teammates yet, but that'll come in due time and even though he's wasn't fond of leaving the Jazz, the veteran is keen on being a mentor to the young players in Portland.
“Regardless of if I’m playing or not, I could be an asset to help these young guys.”
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