While the NBA world waited with bated breath last week on the free agent decision of Gordon Hayward, his then teammate Joe Ingles quickly became one of the hottest commodities on the market.

MORE: Ingles moving on from Hayward's departure: 'We're going to be competitive'

After a series of impressive performance in the playoffs against the Clippers and Warriors, no longer was the laid-back Australian flying under the radar, with multiple teams chasing his signature for the upcoming season.

Whilst the interest was flattering, Ingles firmly had his sights on returning to the team that gave him his break in the NBA, the Utah Jazz.

“I stated pretty early that I wanted to go back, they knew I did,” Ingles told NBA Australia at Norths basketball camp in Sydney.

“We just enjoyed it, my wife loves it there. The kids weren’t born there but they’ve pretty much had their whole lives there so far, so we knew I guess from the end of the season that we wanted to be back. We made it pretty obvious to them.”

Ingles had made it clear throughout the season that he didn’t want to leave the developing young core the Jazz had established, but the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers all expressed interest in signing him. The latter infamously cutting him in training camp in 2014.

“Obviously, we had to still do our due diligence on every other team and see what was out there in case they went in another direction.

“I was pretty focused, I mean you have to at least listen to what they say a little bit. I was lucky enough to meet with Utah first and get that done. I had three or four other meetings after Utah, but got them cancelled pretty quickly.

“Once I sat down with them and listened to what they said it was a pretty obvious selection for me to not have to listen to the other teams and I don’t regret it and I won’t regret it. It all happened pretty quick.

“Free agency started on Friday night and I was done by Saturday morning, so we agreed pretty quickly and it was good.”

After the deal was done, Ingles sat back and was able to savour the moment with a man who had been there since the early days of both their basketball careers, San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills.

The pair came through the junior ranks of Australian basketball together, playing at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) as teenagers. Mills also had reason to celebrate, inking his own four-year, $50 million deal with the Spurs.

“We were in LA, Patty was in LA as well, so got to have dinner and a couple ‘waters’ with Patty and just celebrate from being at the AIS together when we were 15-16 years old.”





With a four-year $52 million deal on the table, Ingles’ long-term future in the NBA was secure, not to mention the huge financial boost on the $2.1 million he earned last season.

Whilst security and a winning basketball situation were high on the list of priorities, for the new father of two, whose twins are about to celebrate their first birthday, the Jazz’s family environment added a level of comfort that helped make Utah home, not just another basketball stop for Ingles.

To say we're excited about the next four years is an understatement.. so grateful to be back with our @utahjazz family ❤️ A post shared by Renae Ingles (Hallinan) (@renaeingles) on Jul 2, 2017 at 4:52pm PDT





“Knowing when we left the city and even when we’re at the game on the court, knowing that Renae and the twins were looked after and had the support of the club if we were in town or not and for me that was one of the biggest things to make sure my family is alright.”

“At the end of the day, what I do is for them and it’s going to be for them my whole life.

“Just to know that they were supported, the club looked after them unbelievably and I’ve said it before, I haven’t played for another club, I haven’t been with another club long enough to comment on other teams, but I would be surprised if there were any other clubs that do it was well as Utah do.

“Once the basketball side was sorted, everything else I knew was great, so again it was a really easy decision.”

For Jazz fans, the departure of Gordon Hayward was a tough pill to swallow, but bringing back Ingles was an easy decision for everyone.