WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.480 The throwback to the old villain Spence days is what 2 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:06.679 this is little YouTube for you on a Monday afternoon. 3 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:08.480 We've got Ted Robinson from the. 4 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:12.599 PAC twelve network, well formerly of the PAC twelve network. 5 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:15.240 He'll stop body do some college football is the house 6 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:18.359 of the NCAA settlement was pushed across the line on Friday. 7 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.239 If you missed Eddie Gill a lot of fun catching 8 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.760 up with Eddie Guild today. And then Rob Perez batted leadoff, 9 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:26.039 but in the cleanup spot because that's where we save 10 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:29.839 the big bats. Richard Smitty Smith forty years with the 11 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:30.559 Jazz front Office. 12 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:32.119 I love Smitty. Happy Monday. How are you sir? 13 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:34.560 Did you got me in here ahead of Ted Robinson? 14 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:37.679 Because there's no way I am following that guy. He's 15 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.880 the best on a radio show. He is the absolute 16 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:44.439 top of the mountain. I've admired him from Afar for 17 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:47.079 so long, for all the stuff he does in all 18 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.119 the areas he covers in the world of sports. He's 19 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.479 just he's just terrific. And you know so he's he's 20 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.399 a great get for you guys. Whenever you can get 21 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:57.200 him on. He's terrific. 22 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:59.280 And I would imagine with Ted, we'll talk a little 23 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:02.479 rolling Arrows Grand Slam Final for the ages. 24 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:04.560 You're a tennis guy, we'll do mostly basketball. 25 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:06.040 But I was telling you off air, man, when I 26 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.200 see shot making like that at the highest, it's just 27 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:09.519 so wildly impressive. 28 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:10.719 And you you watched the whole. 29 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.840 Thing Alcaaz and Center yesterday. I was at five, said 30 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.359 that was you know, Cinner was so good early and 31 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.640 and Alcaraz just hung in and hung in. 32 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:20.959 And those two guys. 33 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.480 Alcoraz is twenty two years old, Sinner's twenty three, coming 34 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:28.599 off the suspension that he had in the in the 35 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:32.239 late winter, early spring, and and uh, and just getting 36 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:34.680 right back into it in a major like that. He's, Uh, 37 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:37.280 those guys will be battling for it for a lot 38 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:39.799 of years with a couple of young guys who are 39 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:42.200 on the way on the way up, I think, and 40 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:43.920 and uh, but that's gonna that's gonna be fun to 41 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:44.840 watch those guys. 42 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:46.599 You know, it's very impressive. 43 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:51.560 And you know, I my generation, you know, I was 44 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:57.599 raised right in the sampras Agacy American tennis. You know, uh, what, 45 00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:01.359 why don't you think we have developed any of these 46 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:02.920 young I mean we were talking about some of the 47 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:05.920 American players. But the best American excuse me, the best 48 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:09.439 male tennis players in the world right now, I don't 49 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:11.240 feel like any of them reside in the United States. 50 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:15.599 Yeah, well, the last big boy, really you have to 51 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:19.000 go back almost twenty years with Andy Roddick was the 52 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.639 last guy who was really right in that top level 53 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:25.000 group and around in terms of world class players. 54 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:27.360 And I don't know. I think maybe it's. 55 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:31.800 Maybe in our country we have too many sports, too 56 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.719 many options, too many things the people get involved in. 57 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:37.840 And it seems like a lot of kids are getting 58 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:42.120 involved in specialization whatever it is they think they're good at, 59 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.159 or their parents think they're good at, when they're twelve 60 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:48.199 or thirteen or fourteen. And you know how many how 61 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:51.479 many kids nowadays? And I don't this is a rhetorical question, 62 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:53.919 but I don't know how many kids nowadays in high 63 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:57.759 school play multiple sports. Like when I grew up, you know, 64 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:01.400 you played football or golf or something in the fall, 65 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:03.240 and then you played basketball in the winter, and then 66 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.039 you played baseball in the spring or soccer or whatever. 67 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.000 And now they just play one sport when they get 68 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:13.159 to high school, and it's it's fascinating to me that 69 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:16.479 that the kids are doing that at such a young age. 70 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:18.360 I don't know, you know, some of some of the 71 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:23.400 foreign countries over in Europe, especially Skinnavan countries are more 72 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.520 better ahead of us in terms of researching all that 73 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:29.960 stuff and all the cross training benefits of doing different things, 74 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:33.000 and and you know, maybe it's just guys, you know, 75 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.840 don't get into tennis as much early on and then 76 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:37.240 they just kind of drift away from it. 77 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:42.000 Well, it feels like like the ecosystem surrounding sports for 78 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:45.120 kids have really changed. Where if you want your child 79 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:50.360 to be in a prism and paradigm and have the 80 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.319 attention of like a head coach in high school, he 81 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.719 needs to be playing AAU at ten for the AAU 82 00:03:56.800 --> 00:04:00.400 team that's tied to the coach, or he needs to be, 83 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:04.280 you know, focusing on one sport when he's so young. 84 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.240 And you know, I didn't raise my son that way. 85 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:11.840 Connor ended up playing soccer in high school, but he 86 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:16.839 tried basketball, golf, all these things, and like you, my sport. 87 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:17.920 Was predicated on the season. 88 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:20.480 I did end up only playing basketball my final two 89 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:21.279 years in high school. 90 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:23.160 Prior to that, it's football in the fall. 91 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:25.079 It was basketball in the winter, then it was lacrosse 92 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:29.079 in the spring, and I just feel like now parents 93 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.600 are kind of I don't know if pressure. 94 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:31.959 Is the red term. 95 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:34.879 It may be motivated if they think they have a 96 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:38.199 kid who can play high school basketball or whatever and. 97 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:39.879 Maybe do something beyond it. 98 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.199 It feels like they only hone in on that one 99 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.759 sport to give the kid the best best chance at 100 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:47.959 walking that path where he can make teams. 101 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:49.560 I mean, it feels like it's changed that way. 102 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.199 Yeah, you know, I learned spence a while ago. A 103 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.160 good friend of mine came through you with the twelve 104 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:57.759 year old son, and he's a very good athlete at 105 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.040 that time, like doing a lot of different things, and 106 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.480 they were perplexed because they were being pressured by the 107 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.839 respective coaches of the different sports, like, hey, hey, your 108 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.639 son's got you gotta decide what he's gonna do because 109 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:14.560 he can't do everything because we in our sport, whichever 110 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:18.120 one it was, we go year round. We practice, and 111 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:20.959 we travel and we do tournaments and we have our 112 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:22.319 own schedule. 113 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:22.839 And league or whatever. 114 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.439 So you know, he can't play different sports because he's 115 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:28.680 gonna have to practice, he's gonna have to and that's 116 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:34.360 coming from these recreational slash volunteer coaches, from the dad 117 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:37.879 who sits on the couch every night and watches ESPN 118 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.120 and thinks he can do something. So then he's going 119 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:43.680 out and he thinks he's running his twelve year old 120 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.000 you know, soccer team or whatever, you know, like the 121 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:49.639 RSL or something. I mean, you know, it's just crazy 122 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:52.240 and and and the kids get it, you know, and 123 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:54.439 the kids are pressured like, you know, well, if you 124 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:59.480 want to play comp soccer, you want to play camp basketball, 125 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.319 you have to choose because you can't do both because 126 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:05.000 you know, because of the pressure that those teams are 127 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.959 putting on them. And so sometimes I wonder if the 128 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:11.480 kids really, you know, are being directed in that way 129 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:14.519 by people other than their family, of the people who 130 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.079 have the most interest in their own own development. 131 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:20.439 Yeah, and the other thing Smitty that I think has 132 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:24.920 changed recently that probably adds an extra layer of the 133 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:29.040 parental pressure because ultimately, like I coached my son's junior 134 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:31.839 jazz team for a few years, and it's always the 135 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.959 parents that ruined the experience, especially when they're six, seven, 136 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:36.720 eight years old. These kids just want have fun, and 137 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.439 their kids they should just have fun. But now with 138 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.319 the ability to make real money in college, it's no 139 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:44.959 longer like, oh, maybe my son can earn a scholarship 140 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:46.480 and we can save money that way and he can 141 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:49.040 still go to school. Or now it's mom and dad 142 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:52.560 are seeing you know, dollar bills, and they're seeing dollar 143 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.000 signs in their eyes, like, Okay, we've got a young 144 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:56.959 man who's shown a little promise and if he can 145 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.759 elevate himself to becoming a college athlete. Now there's millions 146 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:02.839 of dollars being made from these kids in college, which 147 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:04.800 probably ups the ante for a lot of the parents 148 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:07.079 that selfishly believe their kid is the next Tiger Woods 149 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:07.519 or whatever. 150 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:11.720 Right and and so so in my lifetime, how much 151 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:15.720 that's that scale has slid backwards from being a so 152 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.399 called professional at the you know, at the real professional 153 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:22.439 level when you're in your twenties and whatever the sport is, 154 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:27.920 and then backing up to to college right in recent years, 155 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:30.920 and now that that's trickling back to high school where 156 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:35.199 kids are being you know, being directed in certain areas 157 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:39.839 you know, to go to, like you know, the the 158 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:44.240 academy that's in Atlanta that's set up for the high 159 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.279 school kids to go there and play and develop, you 160 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:51.040 know as juniors or seniors and being paid to go 161 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.480 to those schools, you know, to do that over time. 162 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.720 Elite is who I'm referring to. And and you know, 163 00:07:57.839 --> 00:07:59.759 or you can go to IMG academy and get paid 164 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:03.120 but you know, specialized training. But now how far does 165 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:04.399 that keep sliding back? 166 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:04.759 Do you know? 167 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:08.160 When does it stop? Or does it when eventually it 168 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:10.879 gets like the junior high level. And now we're we're 169 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:13.800 directing kids, you know, coming out of sixth grade to 170 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.519 go in a certain direction or what have you. 171 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:17.639 In Europe, I would say this. 172 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:22.399 In Europe they have all these youth academies that are 173 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.959 high school age kids. And if you're identified in a sport, 174 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:32.120 whether it's soccer, basketball, individual sports, tennis, you know, you 175 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:36.000 can go to an academy that specializes in that when 176 00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:37.879 you're thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old. 177 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:38.399 That's what you know. 178 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:42.159 Luka Doncic did from Slovenia. He was identified at a 179 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:45.360 fourteen year old and was taken by Real Madrid and 180 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.679 Spain to move from Slovenia to Spain to another country 181 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:54.000 at fourteen years old to start playing so called professional 182 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:57.600 basketball training for that and they do that and of 183 00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:01.200 course that's that's a model's us forever in the soccer world, 184 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:04.159 all around the world, you know, and how much money 185 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:08.600 the European soccer clubs, especially the English Premier League clubs 186 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.240 put into scouting and development of guys where they just 187 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:15.360 pour money into it hand over fist all over the 188 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.399 world in hopes of finding the one guy or the 189 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:21.519 two guys or whatever that are going to pan out 190 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:24.679 ten years from now and be one of our star players. 191 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:26.879 And you know that, you know how much of that 192 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.120 is starting to creep into you know, the American system 193 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:34.840 and the university collegiate system, which is which is fascinating, 194 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:37.360 fascinating right now at this point in time. 195 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:38.720 Yeah, and you hear coach wit. 196 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.840 I believe Morgan has talked about this too. Kyle oftentimes 197 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.759 has talked about how when he's recruiting his high school 198 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:52.919 football prospects he very much appreciates when they're versed in 199 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:56.919 other sports and play other things and don't only do football. 200 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:59.000 And look, there's not what this is. None of this 201 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.399 is linear Australia. There's not one way to do any 202 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.559 of it. But I think you know, there are so 203 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:08.279 many skills you can ascertain from playing other sports that 204 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:11.639 do translate to the one sport that you eventually land on. 205 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.279 I don't know, I don't love that. 206 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:15.120 A lot of these kids, even you know, when they're 207 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:17.840 so young, are just basically told like you've got to 208 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:22.000 pick one thing and do that one thing. I appreciated 209 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:23.759 the lessons I learned playing other sports, you know what 210 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:24.000 I mean. 211 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:28.159 Well, when you do that in your tunnel vision into 212 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:32.639 one sport, you know, you as a kid, you're thirteen, fourteen, 213 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.720 fifteen years old, no matter what people are saying to you, 214 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:40.240 there comes a time when internally, you know, you get 215 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:42.399 to a point where you're thinking, well, I guess I'm 216 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.480 just doing this one thing because it's supposed to take 217 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:51.799 me somewhere, you know, and a financial or career oriented 218 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:57.240 status or projection, rather than I'm doing it to have 219 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:00.399 fun and to be involved and to you know, to 220 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.480 enjoy being around the other kids my age and all, 221 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:06.120 which is what it was supposed to be. Right now, 222 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:10.399 it's now it's a business down to that level, which 223 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:13.000 is which to me is a little a little scary. 224 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.080 If you really pull back from thirty thousand feet and 225 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.240 look at what we're doing in this country just in general, 226 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:22.159 in our society with a lot of facets of our life. 227 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.679 That part, to me, is going to be interesting years 228 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.639 from now when we reflect back on this era era 229 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:30.840 and we look and see what we were doing to 230 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:35.120 the young kids in that regard, and and how how 231 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:39.519 the the purpose of those endeavors changed over the years. 232 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:42.039 Sure, sure, all right, let's move over. We'll do some 233 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:44.840 jazz in our second segment. Well, we'll do a little 234 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:46.759 jazz here, but I want to bring in the NBA 235 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:48.879 finals and kind of tie it all together a little bit. 236 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:50.200 You know. 237 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:53.399 It's interesting he consider that both Indiana and Oklahoma City, 238 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:57.000 UH turned Paul George into their franchise pillars in a 239 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.360 roundabout way. Indiana and Paul George, they had him for 240 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:04.279 Demo Sabonis. Then they trade Sabonis to the Kings and 241 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:08.679 they land Halliburton. Oklahoma City turns Paul George into Jay 242 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.799 Gilgris Alexander five draft picks, one of who was turned 243 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:15.840 into Jalen Williams. And so now you have these two 244 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.679 teams whose cornerstones were a direct result of a trade 245 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.559 the front office made for a superstar that they jettisoned. 246 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:23.679 Did the Jazz get enough for Donovan? 247 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:26.000 You know what I mean? 248 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:28.919 Like, yeah, and maybe at the time, Paul George was 249 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:32.159 thought to be a better asset than Donovan and Lowry's 250 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.039 a very nice player. But if you're gonna do what 251 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.480 Indiana and Oklahoma City did with Paul George and what 252 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.320 the Jazz did with Donovan, you better find something pretty 253 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:41.080 special in return. 254 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:41.639 Well, Paul. 255 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:44.720 The Paul George thing is interesting because in both of 256 00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:51.080 those situations, he really he really cornered the organization and 257 00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:53.320 told him he wanted out right, you know. So in 258 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:56.440 Indiana he threatened he wasn't going to re sign, so 259 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:57.960 they traded him to Okay See. 260 00:12:58.159 --> 00:12:59.559 In Okay See, he just. 261 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:02.200 Bluntly told him I want out of here and and 262 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:04.960 I'm gonna sulk and you know, I'm not gonna, you know, 263 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.480 be a good boy or whatever if if you don't 264 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.639 do this, and you know, in both organizations, you know 265 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:13.080 felt like, well we're back in the corner. We got 266 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:17.720 to do something whatever. Uh And Okay, see's a point. Look, 267 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.720 whether they were smart, whether they got lucky. I think 268 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.399 Sam Presty, who's you know, obviously one of the the 269 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:27.879 great general managers and in NBA history really when you 270 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.440 look at what he's done over the years, and okay 271 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.519 see and and even his work before in San Antonio 272 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:36.360 when he first got into the league. But he you know, 273 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.960 he may be the first one to tell you that, hey, look, 274 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:42.480 you know, we had to make the trade for Paul George. 275 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:45.399 We got a bunch of stuff from from the Clippers. 276 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:49.360 Paul George was the big asset. Shay Gil just that 277 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:52.960 we wanted him put in the deal. They said, Okay, 278 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:58.360 do the Clippers think that s g A would be 279 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:03.080 the player he's become? Would they have traded them right? 280 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.840 I mean, of course they wouldn't. So the fair question 281 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:10.360 on the flip side is, did ok see think he 282 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:13.279 could become that type of player? I don't think so. 283 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.480 I think he was a nice player. They had to 284 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:19.559 make a deal. They did the deal. He came in, 285 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:23.759 he blew up. Okay, we look good. Okay, we look 286 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.559 like we're pretty smart. You know, you know, similar to 287 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:30.799 the Jazz, you know, several years old, drafting Donovan Mitchell 288 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:34.480 at thirteen or Rudy Gobert twenty seven, and and you know, 289 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.480 you look pretty good when they show up and they 290 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:38.840 develop into what they are. And some of it is 291 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:43.919 you know, you and your projection and how you evaluate players, 292 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:46.279 and some of it is luck and up to the 293 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:49.000 players to do what they do. I mean, Frank Layton 294 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:51.840 was always great about, you know, deferring. You know, whenever 295 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:54.600 that John stocked in the draft and in the eighty 296 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:57.080 four would come up and they got stocked in at sixteen, 297 00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:58.679 and they said, oh, how do you know he's gonna 298 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:01.600 be such a great player, And and you know, Frank 299 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.080 Lane would always quickly say, hey, if we knew he 300 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:05.480 was gonna be such a great play, we were to 301 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:08.039 trade it up to get him, because you know, when 302 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:10.559 I can wait till sixteen to get them, you know, 303 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.440 so nobody knows those things. So there's only there's only 304 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:16.159 a few players now and then everybody you know, whether 305 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:19.799 it's Shack or whether it's Duncan, or whether it's Wembin Yama, 306 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:27.360 you know, even you know, even Yannis Jokic. Those guys, 307 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:31.200 those guys weren't that coming in in the door. They 308 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:34.200 were like, yeah, we hope they can do something. Yeah, 309 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.000 we'll see, we'll work with them whatever. And then they 310 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:40.759 you know, much to their their their credit, they blow 311 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:44.080 up and they become who they are, and so it 312 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.679 makes you look good as an organization. And I know 313 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:50.399 the Jazz are trying to latch onto somebody who they can, 314 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.120 you know, maybe get in that regard at some point. 315 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.159 I don't think they've got it yet, but they're trying 316 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:59.720 to keep taking swings at it and trying to find 317 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.600 the next guy who may jump out at him. And 318 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.159 and they continue to do that, and so far, you know, 319 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:09.279 they haven't hit on it. And and you know, again 320 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:12.080 s as we've always said, some of it is stuff 321 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:14.879 you do, and some of his stuff you plan and 322 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.320 you can execute based on your acumen and doing so. 323 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:22.200 And then some of it is just luck or something 324 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:24.279 that falls in your lap. And you've got to be 325 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.879 able to to to be ready to accept that when 326 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:30.399 it when it comes your way. And you know, the 327 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.879 Jazz so far are still treading water in that regard. 328 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:37.679 I really am genuinely curious how history will look at 329 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:42.840 the Mitchell deal. And again, whether it's the Donovan trade 330 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.639 or the Rudy trade. I said it at the time, 331 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:48.480 I'll continue to say, we can't accurately analyze it until 332 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:50.320 all the picks have been conveyed and we see who 333 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.080 the Jazz are able to draft and whether or not 334 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.120 that works. So far, the picks that have been conveyed 335 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.279 and the opportunities that Jazz have had, I think they've 336 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:58.320 been swings and misses. 337 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:00.440 I think it's only fair to say so. 338 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:03.399 I just have to wonder every time we talk about 339 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:07.720 this situation with the Mitchell stuff, juxtaposed to what both 340 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.880 Indiana and OKC were able to turn Paul George into. 341 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:14.039 Larry's a nice piece, but he's not SGA and he's 342 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:15.640 not you know, he's not a cornerstone. 343 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:16.440 He's a good player. 344 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:20.440 If you're going to trade a first team All NBA 345 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.000 guy in his mid twenties, you better get something pretty special, 346 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:24.400 bet Well. 347 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.039 And that's the thing, Spence, what you're doing at that time. 348 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:31.519 You're making the decision as an organization, which the Jazz did, 349 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:34.200 and the really the new Jazz ownership group headed up 350 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:38.160 by Ryan Smith, made the decision that they wanted to 351 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:43.640 move on from all star level players who were just 352 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:46.880 coming into their prime and who were signed and were 353 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:50.519 under contract for several more years. They had something that 354 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:54.720 was in place that was competitive and you know, and 355 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:57.400 one of the better teams in the league. Obviously, the 356 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:59.759 year before they moved those guys, they had the best 357 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:03.119 in the NBA. But you're you're talking about making the 358 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.960 decision to move guys who are proven. This guy can 359 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:10.920 do it, he's done it. We got him, we got 360 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.720 him under contract. Why are we moving him? You know 361 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.640 that kind of thing. And so they made the decision 362 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:20.160 to move him. They made the decision to do that 363 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:23.440 with for a bunch of guys that, Okay, we don't 364 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:26.440 know what any of these guys are. Okay, marketing comes in, 365 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:32.319 good player, all star level player. Okay, a bunch of 366 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:35.400 draft picks. Don't know who they are. The guys who 367 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.240 are gonna be those draft picks are still in high 368 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.640 school right now, or you know something. And so we're 369 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:44.200 just we're just waiting to see, you know, when that 370 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:47.200 bus comes by, you know who it drops off in 371 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:52.079 our lap and how that works out. But that's always 372 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:55.079 the debate, Spence, when you're getting those situations. We have 373 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:58.680 a proven commodity, and we have something in our hand 374 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:03.799 that we control and we know that it works, and 375 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:07.000 we're willing to move on from that for something that 376 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:10.799 we don't know what we have, and we don't know if. 377 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:12.720 It's gonna work that. 378 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:16.279 That is the interesting dichotomy there, because that is a 379 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.599 tough to me, that's a tough decision, you know, to 380 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:23.200 get into making if you're going to trade one for 381 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.599 the other. And you know so far, you know, the 382 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.319 the jury's still out, and you know you can argue, 383 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.039 you know, the results of Gobert, Mitchell and the other 384 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:36.359 guys who they moved on from, whether it's Mike Conley, 385 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:38.559 and you know who's near the end of it, Joe Ingles, 386 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.079 who certainly is probably at the end of it. And 387 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:43.559 you know with those guys by Danovich and all those guys, 388 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.200 you know they were they were certainly very good players 389 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.200 in that group that they had, and you know that 390 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:54.039 was the decision that was made. Now the Jazz are 391 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:54.680 dealing with that. 392 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:59.599 So two separate NBA sources, uh Bill Simmons in addition 393 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:05.839 tomorrow Stein, have mentioned written or spoken of the possibility 394 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:10.319 of Utah actively taking phone calls on Larry actively talking 395 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:13.319 to teams about trading Larry. Marketing twenty eight years old, 396 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:15.200 be twenty nine next year at the end of next 397 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:18.400 to next season, which certainly is not old, but it 398 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:20.720 could be a scenario where maybe he just doesn't fit 399 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.279 the timeline of what they're trying to build, as they've 400 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.240 got a couple of first rounders this year, a bunch 401 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:28.640 of young players on the roster, So help us understand 402 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:31.880 Smitty kind of the thought exercises that go into a 403 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.000 decision like that if they do decide to move off 404 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:37.359 of him, just based off of maybe his desire to 405 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:40.759 try to win games somewhere else and the Jazz desire 406 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:43.039 to maybe continue to be set to go extremely young. 407 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:45.680 No idea whether or not this is going to happen. 408 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.359 These are just discussions that are being had. So if 409 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.279 the Jazz are actively taking phone calls on Larry, what 410 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:53.000 are the exercises they're going through. 411 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:55.279 Is to make the right decision for the club. 412 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:59.200 Yeah, well they have to do that, Spence, that's their responsibility. 413 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:03.279 Austin and is now the president basketball operations. You know 414 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:05.319 he's going to be the point man going forward for 415 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:08.160 all that kind of stuff. When you're the team that's 416 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:11.759 the worst record in the league, you have nothing to 417 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:15.240 hang your hat on in terms of protecting something we have. 418 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:18.640 In other words, whatever you have, you like it. It's 419 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.920 it's really high on the chart. It's so so wherever 420 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:25.480 it lands on the landscape, it's not helping you win games, 421 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:30.200 so it doesn't matter. So so it's you know, Larry 422 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.279 market and now that he's trade eligible because of the 423 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:36.759 contract he signed last year, so now they can look 424 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:40.079 and see if he has value to other teams. What 425 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:42.920 you're really doing in that regard is a you're not 426 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:46.400 subtracting much from your group, right because your group only 427 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:49.559 won seventeen games last year, and obviously they held him 428 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:52.039 out on purpose a lot. They got fined by the 429 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:54.799 league for it, and all those those kinds of things, 430 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:58.799 and the tanking and the trade and the draft scenario thing. 431 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:03.119 But you know they have to be if they're not 432 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:06.240 accepting calls that they should also be making calls to 433 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:09.119 see if there's any interest. Because the other part of 434 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:12.240 that equation, which is a big part that plays into expenses, 435 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:14.640 is he's going to be making in the neighborhood forty 436 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:17.240 five million, and so you want to pay a guy 437 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:21.079 forty five million on a team that's not going anywhere 438 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.240 at the moment and isn't winning games, you might as 439 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:27.720 well look to see what you can turn that into 440 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:35.119 to be able to recalibrate, reset, spend less money somewhere else, 441 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.359 and then look at what your whole landscape is going 442 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:41.839 to be. I think bringing Austin Ainge into the equation 443 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:45.160 for me, means that they've decided that they're going to, 444 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:49.079 you know, open all those doors and talk to everybody 445 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:51.920 who wants to talk and put it all up on 446 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:56.599 the wall and have discussions, ongoing discussions with twenty nine 447 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:59.480 other teams to see who's offering and what and who 448 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:02.680 has an in trust in what and whatever, because you 449 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:04.720 you have to. You have to figure out something to 450 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:10.240 get this train going forward, and whatever it takes, that's 451 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:12.799 what we have to entertain and and market In is 452 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:15.599 your best player at the moment and your most marketable one, 453 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.079 along with maybe Kessler maybe a little more marketable because. 454 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:20.759 He's younger and less money. 455 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.519 But those guys, I don't think anything can be off 456 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:28.119 the table because of the situation that you've put yourself in. 457 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:31.759 Yeah, and these are not easy decisions to make, obviously 458 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:34.279 when you have a player that you like an awful lot. 459 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:37.759 But you know, the last thing before we catch a break, 460 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:42.359 the timeline analyzation of roster construction is very much a 461 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.519 real thing, And I don't know how much of that includes. 462 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:47.400 I mean, when you guys really had the Mitchell and 463 00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:49.799 Cobert group ticking and you were winning a lot of games. 464 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:52.920 I'm trying to analyze it through the prism of like 465 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:56.319 when is Lebron going to retire? And when does Durant 466 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:59.119 leave the Warriors? And when is Steph not Steph anymore? 467 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.440 Whatever it is, and then when that window opens, you 468 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:04.000 have to be ready to walk through it. 469 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:06.559 And before we catch a break. 470 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:09.039 How do you think the Jazz are analyzing the landscape 471 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:11.519 of basketball right now? And is that something they're utilizing 472 00:24:11.559 --> 00:24:15.799 to bring color and context into their process and decision making. 473 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.559 Oklahoma City has two players in their rotation that are 474 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:22.079 over twenty six. It's Caruso and Kendrick Williams just turn thirty, 475 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:26.759 and they've got their guys signed. They also have draft 476 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:30.200 assets in capital to continue to add pieces to the 477 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:32.839 core that they want to keep together. So will they 478 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:35.599 have to make some economic decisions at some point? Certainly 479 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.319 you always bring up the OKAC team with Harden and 480 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.960 Durant and Westbrook that at some point the rubber was 481 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:42.640 going to meet the road, and it did, and it 482 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:44.640 will for them too, But it doesn't feel like it's 483 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:47.039 gonna meet the road anytime soon. Like I think they're 484 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:49.440 gonna win it this year and have something to say 485 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:51.480 about it for the next four or five years, assuming 486 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:54.400 full health. So before we catch a break, how much 487 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:58.799 do teams analyze like Okay, well, okase's here, we're in 488 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:01.880 this space. Uh, maybe in four or five years when 489 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:03.960 they're done with this, we like, do you understand what. 490 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:05.799 That? 491 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:07.640 That's what That's what we would do all the time. 492 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:11.440 We always had a three to five year plan, uh 493 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:14.400 that we looked at for every team of the league, 494 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:16.519 and so we had we would always have that laid 495 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:19.720 out as to what we thought was gonna happen. Now, 496 00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:23.079 there's certain things you can project, like you know, in 497 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:27.279 two years, this guy is gonna be up for a 498 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:29.640 either a rookie extension or this guy's gonna be up 499 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:34.160 for a second contract, and he's playing at a certain level, 500 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.960 so he's gonna get X amount of money, and whether 501 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:40.240 the team likes him and wants to keep him at 502 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:42.559 that number or whether they're going to try and move 503 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:46.759 him before. Those are always projections and guesses you're making 504 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:50.039 based on your knowledge of the league. And how each 505 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:54.880 individual team operates. You're looking at what you think your 506 00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:58.400 group is gonna be three, four or five years from now, 507 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:02.160 and how can we position ourselves to be competitive. But 508 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:06.480 then there's always spens that area, there's always a gray 509 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:10.839 area twenty percent, thirty percent, forty percent. It's it's always 510 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:13.880 fluctuating of stuff that's just gonna come out of the 511 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:17.240 blue and hit you in the face, that that that 512 00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:21.839 you don't expect. Whether it's uh, you know, Giannis decides tomorrow, 513 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.119 I definitely want out of Milwaukee whatever whatever it is. 514 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:29.960 Or Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and James Harden put 515 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.440 together this big three in Brooklyn and they're going to 516 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:35.519 run the league for years, and they play sixteen total 517 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:38.519 games together, and then COVID hits and that was part 518 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:42.039 of it. But then one, you know, one domino fell 519 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:44.039 and another one another one all of a sudden, that 520 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:47.119 thing just fizzles out, and all those guys are somewhere 521 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:50.000 else now, you know. And so you can make those 522 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:53.720 kind of projections, but you you can't control those kinds 523 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:57.839 of things. But you try and make educated guesses and 524 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.200 and and based decisions on what you think may happen 525 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:04.799 in what position you want to put your your group in. 526 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:07.720 We got Smitty in studio for another segment after we 527 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:09.519 catch a quick break. But before we do that, I 528 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:11.759 want to tell you about my friends at Advanced Window Products, 529 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:14.200 where you can get twenty five hundred dollars off when 530 00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:16.559 you buy ten windows or more. 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If you call and get on the schedule, 543 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:48.599 you simply lock in the savings for whenever you actually 544 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.200 need the windows. That's why this deal works. So it's 545 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:53.640 Advanced Window Products. The phone numbers eight oh one, eight 546 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:56.519 five zero ninety one hundred. That's eight one, eight five 547 00:27:56.599 --> 00:27:59.440 zero ninety one hundred eight oh one eight five zero 548 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:00.079 ninety one. 549 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:03.119 All right, we got on to te Ted Robinson's gonna 550 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:03.519 roll by. 551 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:06.680 We'll do some college football with Ted, probably some rolling 552 00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:12.599 Garo's French Open final conversation for the massive heavyweight Blow 553 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:13.920 by Blow tennis match. 554 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:14.359 Over the weekend. 555 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:18.160 Then we'll get to the five o'clock hour of the program, 556 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:20.160 and then after that we'll say an eiden time for 557 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:23.799 Game three of the Stanley Cup Final Florida Edmonton series 558 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:25.039 is tied to one game apiece. 559 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:27.039 Both games have gone overtime. It's been a lot of fun. 560 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:29.519 But one more segment with our guy Richard Smith live 561 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:32.119 in studio. All right, Smittie, we are just a few 562 00:28:32.119 --> 00:28:35.799 weeks away from the NBA Draft, and so we'll end 563 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:39.480 this segment with some finals conversation. But before we get there, 564 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:43.759 what's going on right now with the Jazz front office 565 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:47.519 and their preparations for the draft. They currently have two 566 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:49.759 first round picks two second round picks. That could change, 567 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:52.039 but that's where they're at. So with just a few 568 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:55.119 weeks left before its decision time. With a big decision 569 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:57.880 to make whether they stay at five or utilize it 570 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:00.480 as an asset. Who knows, But what's going on right 571 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:02.519 nowt behind closed doors as they're prepared for the draft. 572 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.559 Well, it's interesting, Expens's because of the situation the Jazz 573 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:08.960 find themselves in. Now they've got four picks, and those 574 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:11.720 picks are all over they're spread all over the board, 575 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:15.000 so they've got five and twenty one, and then they've 576 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:18.799 got forty three and fifty three. So they're looking at 577 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:21.319 a whole slew of guys. I don't know what they're 578 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:27.720 doing specifically with workouts and interviews now, I know back 579 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:31.640 in the day, you know, in this scenario, we would 580 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:35.640 literally bring in eighty ninety one hundred guys and work 581 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:39.240 them out and get a hold of everybody and do interviews. 582 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:42.640 You know, you're working with other teams on travel arrangement. 583 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:46.960 So a player is going to Denver on Tuesday and 584 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:51.079 they've got another workout scheduled at Golden State on Friday. Hey, 585 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:53.160 can we jump in and grab them and have them 586 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:56.319 stop off in Salt Lake on Thursday and work them 587 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:58.079 out and get a chance to visit with them and 588 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:00.920 that kind of thing. You can only have six guys 589 00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:04.359 a maximum on the floor at one time for a workout. 590 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:06.960 You can bring in more than that, but then you 591 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:08.759 have to split the workouts and you have to do 592 00:30:08.839 --> 00:30:12.400 like a morning afternoon thing. So you you can set 593 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:17.200 that up. You do interviews, you do personality profiles, you 594 00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:20.000 do some measurement, some uh, you know, you might do 595 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:23.680 physical depending on whether they were in the Chicago pre 596 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:27.079 draft combine or not. So you're getting all those all 597 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:30.200 those boxes checked with all the guys. You might have 598 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:34.240 an interest in the guys that you're that you're looking at. 599 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:36.480 Then when you don't have a workout and you don't 600 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:39.480 have guys in you're in the in the theater at 601 00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:44.559 the practice facility over Designs Bank Basketball Campus, you're watching film. 602 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:46.559 You're with your group of guys. 603 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:51.160 You're talking about, you know, each guy individually, you're ranking guys. 604 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:55.960 You're at some point you go through an exercise where okay, 605 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:59.640 you know, everybody ranked their top ten point guards, whatever 606 00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:01.880 you got, and we compile them, you put them together. 607 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:04.680 You talk about that, and you kind of you know, 608 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:07.480 you feel that through and and and then you talk about, okay, 609 00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:10.720 how about the top ten guys period, regardless of position 610 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:13.279 and whatever it is, and and and it's a it's 611 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:16.000 a major organizational process. 612 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:18.960 But we always used to have the the goal. 613 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:19.880 Uh. 614 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:22.079 And this is going way back to when when Scott 615 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:26.400 laden was was the GM and then carried through with 616 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:30.839 Kevin O'Connor and Dennis Lindsay who were very process oriented guys, 617 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:34.200 and we would have all that stuff laid out and 618 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:37.359 and sorted out and talked about and argued about and 619 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:40.559 debated about all the way up to the day before 620 00:31:40.599 --> 00:31:43.319 the draft because we would want to have everything in 621 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:46.240 line with what we want to try and do or 622 00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:49.880 what our different options would be going into draft day. 623 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:54.240 So on draft day we weren't debating, we weren't arguing, 624 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:57.680 we weren't pointing fingers about. You know, you said this, 625 00:31:57.839 --> 00:31:59.920 I thought we were gonna go with that guy. Why 626 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:01.359 why is this guy in the picture? 627 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:02.079 Whatever? 628 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:05.359 You've got all that stuff, it's already hashed out before. 629 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:09.640 So now on draft day you can calmly execute what 630 00:32:09.680 --> 00:32:15.960 your plan is, whether it's Plan A, Plan B, Plan OPQ, 631 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:20.039 whatever it is, and put that into action. And you've 632 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:23.160 already thought those things through. So right now is the 633 00:32:23.240 --> 00:32:27.880 heavy lifting time for the personnel people and not added 634 00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:30.680 laya to it, Spenser this year is they bring in 635 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:34.799 Austin Ainge at this critical time. And Austin Ainge is 636 00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:38.279 going to have certain ways that he does he organizes it, 637 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:42.039 how he processes it, how he wants the flow of 638 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:46.599 the information or of the evaluation and discussion process to go. 639 00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:49.720 So the guys who have been there and working on 640 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.759 this stuff all year long, all of a sudden have 641 00:32:52.839 --> 00:32:57.279 a new boss, if you will, in the room saying, oh, yeah, 642 00:32:57.319 --> 00:32:59.599 we're not doing it like that anymore. Now we're going 643 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:03.319 to do it this way. Oh okay, and we've got 644 00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:06.720 what if we got we've got fifteen days or seventeen 645 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.960 days or whatever till we do that. Okay, all right, 646 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:12.319 And you've got to be able to you know, this 647 00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:14.240 is the shuck and jive time. So you've got to 648 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:17.200 be able to react, read, and react and figure out 649 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:20.160 how you're gonna go about that business. And so that's 650 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:22.799 gonna be tricky for them because it's one thing to 651 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:25.680 have a process in place, but then to have someone 652 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:28.200 come in like in this and you know, proverbially, and 653 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:32.200 you know, the relief pitcher in the eighth inning, and 654 00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:34.440 now you got to go with what he's bringing to 655 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:34.960 the table. 656 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:37.559 You know that that adds another wrinkle to it. 657 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:39.559 I'm glad you brought that up because I wanted to 658 00:33:39.559 --> 00:33:42.599 go there next. And I look, I I don't know 659 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:47.039 how Austin operates. I don't know what his personal ethos 660 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.160 or way of going about This is no clue. He's 661 00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:53.680 worked in Boston for seventeen years, fourteen in the front office, 662 00:33:53.680 --> 00:33:56.880 three as a g leadue coach, certainly worked for his dad, 663 00:33:56.920 --> 00:34:00.240 and then worked alongside Brad Stevens. So you know, two 664 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:03.759 guys that are very well respected in an organization that 665 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:06.960 has had a ton of success, including a recent championship, 666 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:08.480 and maybe would have won it again if they could 667 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:12.039 have stayed healthy this year. But what sort of dynamic 668 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:14.639 because you reference the guys that have been over there 669 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:19.079 doing the groundwork, scouting players, going to games, and it's 670 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:21.440 you know, Spide is not just that they brought Austin in. 671 00:34:22.440 --> 00:34:24.199 They bring him in and Ryan said, he's the guy 672 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:27.800 calling the shots now. So what sort of complication or 673 00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:30.159 whatever you want to label it as, does that bring 674 00:34:30.280 --> 00:34:32.840 to a group when you've been doing the work and 675 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:34.679 all of a sudden there's a guy that's not just 676 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.400 been brought in as an addition to your staff, he's 677 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:38.719 brought in and he's the boss. 678 00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:40.039 What he says goes No. 679 00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:43.360 That's a big deal because now all year long, you've 680 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:46.239 been in a certain rhythm, you've had a certain schedule, 681 00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:50.559 you've been following, you've been discussing with your group all along. 682 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:52.119 You know what your. 683 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:58.599 Goals, what you're pinpointing, what your evaluation points are as 684 00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:00.760 you go out to watch the co college guys, as 685 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:02.880 you go out to watch the G League guys for 686 00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:06.679 you know, potential ad INDs during the summer as free agents, 687 00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:10.360 what you're looking at overseas on the international market. All 688 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:13.119 those things you're trying to put together, and you're trying 689 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:16.320 to figure out where the different pieces lay and how 690 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:19.239 do we structure this, and who do we value and 691 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:23.679 and and your group has been having these discussions all along. 692 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:29.039 So back in November, December, January, you've been having meetings. Hey, 693 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:31.400 I just got off the road and I saw these 694 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:35.760 three guys. Can we have a meeting tomorrow to discuss 695 00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:38.840 these guys? Come in Boom boom boom. Hey Spence, you 696 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:40.920 better get out next the next couple of weeks and 697 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:44.280 see those those two guys, because I think they're going 698 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:46.679 to be in the mix for something okay, you know whatever. 699 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:48.199 So you got all of that. 700 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:53.960 Organization, all of those moving parts going on, and you've 701 00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:56.719 had a certain rhythm, and you've had certain voices in 702 00:35:56.760 --> 00:35:59.920 the room who have been directing that action. And then 703 00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:03.960 all of a sudden last week, the the owner comes 704 00:36:03.960 --> 00:36:06.280 in and goes, oh, by the way, you know, we 705 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:10.039 got a new boss. And here he is, and everybody 706 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:15.559 good luck, and everybody's going okay, and uh, you know, 707 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:17.639 and they know Austin Ainge and they know, you know, 708 00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:20.079 the guys know him to different levels, but you know, 709 00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:22.159 they know who he is and you know, respect who 710 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:23.920 he you know what he's bringing to the table. But 711 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:29.039 we don't know what his how he reacts. He we 712 00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:31.320 don't know how he wants to organize things. We don't 713 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:34.360 know if he wants to you know, start from A 714 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:37.199 and go to Z, if he wants to start over 715 00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:40.320 in this area and and and and organize it that way, 716 00:36:40.519 --> 00:36:43.280 or how he sees it. Because look, he's been doing 717 00:36:43.360 --> 00:36:47.639 that stuff with the Celtics all year long, so he 718 00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:51.360 has a certain place in that process where his head 719 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:55.239 is at and how he sees these guys. So he 720 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.280 may come into a meeting the first day and go, hey, 721 00:36:58.360 --> 00:37:02.360 let's talk about uh, you know, Jimmy Jones from so 722 00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:05.239 and so, and somebody goes, Jimmy Jones, we haven't, we 723 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:07.960 didn't scout him. He's he's not good enough. What do 724 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:09.760 you mean he's not gonna know, I've been watching him 725 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:10.119 all year. 726 00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:10.320 You know. 727 00:37:10.639 --> 00:37:13.480 You can have those kinds of discussions, and so now 728 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:17.159 you're going, Okay, we haven't talked about Jimmy Jones all year, 729 00:37:17.639 --> 00:37:20.719 and now this guy's coming in and saying he's been 730 00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:25.159 following Jimmy Jones all year and he's really a legitimate problem. 731 00:37:25.320 --> 00:37:27.639 So you have those kinds of things that can come up. 732 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:30.760 So you're trying to read through all of that, and 733 00:37:30.840 --> 00:37:33.320 the guys who have been doing all that that groundwork 734 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:38.320 for you all year long, you know, are now suddenly 735 00:37:38.360 --> 00:37:43.199 they're trying to reorganize their notes, their information, what they've 736 00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:46.039 set up as things that they thought were going to 737 00:37:46.039 --> 00:37:48.559 be important at this at this point in time in 738 00:37:48.599 --> 00:37:52.199 the process and reconfiguring what those are based on what 739 00:37:52.599 --> 00:37:56.480 the boss is now saying. And so that's gonna be 740 00:37:56.559 --> 00:37:59.880 the interesting part of that, because Austin Ainge is gonna 741 00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:03.360 come in with his own uh set of guys and 742 00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:06.960 and priorities and what he sees from Afar. He's been 743 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:10.079 watching the jazz from Afar obviously with his dad. You know, 744 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:12.480 he's pretty well acquainted with what the where the Jazz 745 00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:15.800 are at this this this juncture and uh and so 746 00:38:16.440 --> 00:38:18.960 you know he's got an opinion I'm sure about Hey, 747 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:21.480 you guys, uh, you guys really need a B and C. 748 00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:24.360 And the guys in the room are going, well, we 749 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:26.760 know that, but we also need D, E and F 750 00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:30.920 and so what what are we prioritizing. So those are 751 00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:34.599 big discussions. This is a tough time of the year, 752 00:38:35.440 --> 00:38:39.039 you know, to do this, not quite sure the impetus 753 00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:41.880 of that on the ownership level of why to do it, 754 00:38:42.039 --> 00:38:45.559 you know, three weeks before the draft, But okay, that's 755 00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:49.079 that's what they did. And so now they everybody in 756 00:38:49.079 --> 00:38:51.880 the room has to react to that and and they 757 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:55.440 go with the flow. And you know that part is 758 00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:58.519 going to be interesting, I think in in uh over 759 00:38:58.559 --> 00:39:01.760 there and their their facility for the next three weeks. 760 00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:05.559 So look, there's no there's no other way around it. 761 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:09.320 The Jazz need everything right now. They don't need a 762 00:39:09.360 --> 00:39:12.480 point guard, they don't need a center. They need good players. 763 00:39:12.679 --> 00:39:14.679 They need a lot of good players, because when you 764 00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:19.400 analyze the Jazz and juxtapose their current situation with the 765 00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:22.199 teams in pro basketball that are winning games right now, 766 00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:25.400 there's just a Grand Canyon gap when it comes to 767 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:27.920 the talent on the floor. I don't know if you've 768 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:31.480 landed on best case scenario at five. If they stay 769 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:35.000 at five, just curious as to what sort of if 770 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:36.840 you want to throw names out there, going to throw names, 771 00:39:36.840 --> 00:39:40.679 but just what sort of player should Jazz fans hope 772 00:39:40.719 --> 00:39:43.320 they walk away from the draft with coming up in 773 00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:43.920 just a few weeks. 774 00:39:44.039 --> 00:39:48.119 Yeah, they, as you say, since they need everything. So 775 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:50.480 what it's really going to come down to at the 776 00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:54.760 end of the day is how they judge, how they evaluate, 777 00:39:55.320 --> 00:39:58.800 and what they think is most important in terms of 778 00:39:58.880 --> 00:40:03.719 your somebody's skill level, their talent, their acumen for the game, 779 00:40:05.320 --> 00:40:08.800 and who is the best player that brings the best 780 00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:12.800 chance to have some kind of impact with the group 781 00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:14.920 that you have. If you end up staying at five, 782 00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:19.119 you're gonna have several options. You know, whether whether an 783 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:22.480 Ace Bailey, like the six to eight kid, who's a 784 00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:26.679 long wing, you know, who's a mid range scorer. You know, erratic, 785 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:30.079 long range shooter, but you have some athleticism and may 786 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:33.280 be able to play multiple positions in the NBA. Whether 787 00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:36.320 there's someone like that you want to add to your group, 788 00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:39.239 you think, if he's good enough and can be you know, 789 00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:42.079 a guy like that, like you know, he's not as 790 00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:47.039 long as but a Jade McDaniels type guy to get 791 00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:48.840 out on the floor and be a three and D 792 00:40:49.000 --> 00:40:52.039 type player. If you want a pure shooter or score, 793 00:40:52.199 --> 00:40:55.039 whether you like the kid from Baylor, the Edgecombe kid, 794 00:40:55.440 --> 00:40:58.119 or you like the Johnson kid from Texas who's a 795 00:40:58.119 --> 00:41:01.280 little bit bigger, if you think you just need a 796 00:41:01.320 --> 00:41:04.760 pure sure or a score, you know, in that regard, 797 00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:07.719 if you think that's what you're gonna need. I think 798 00:41:07.719 --> 00:41:10.800 there's a couple of intriguing players to me, uh that 799 00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:13.599 they that they could be looking at that I think, 800 00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:16.440 you know, could be helpful and what they're trying to 801 00:41:16.519 --> 00:41:20.000 get toward and build and and uh and ironically enough, 802 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.280 they're both from uh Cooper Flags teammates from Duke UH. 803 00:41:24.280 --> 00:41:27.159 And I'm talking about the con Kinnipple kid, who's a 804 00:41:27.159 --> 00:41:30.719 playmaker who measured out at the combine shorter than people thought. 805 00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:33.639 He was six five so he's gonna play sixty six 806 00:41:34.199 --> 00:41:37.440 in shoes. He's gonna be a guard, playmaker type guy, 807 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:40.599 all around guy. Uh. And then the other kid I 808 00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:44.679 really like as as a prospect is his teammate is 809 00:41:44.719 --> 00:41:48.599 a young big kid malowak Uh the the the kid 810 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:52.960 from Africa, who's who's who's measured seven to one uh 811 00:41:53.039 --> 00:41:56.519 in bare feet on the combine over nine foot wings, 812 00:41:57.079 --> 00:41:58.239 nine foot standing of reach. 813 00:41:59.440 --> 00:41:59.920 Just real. 814 00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:03.360 I think he's a raw talent, but I think in 815 00:42:03.400 --> 00:42:05.800 this league and the way the game is going, someone 816 00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:08.440 like him who can move his body the way he 817 00:42:08.519 --> 00:42:12.960 can and and can really can really disrupt the game defensively. 818 00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:15.719 Uh is a kind of guy that that. 819 00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:18.800 You could be looking at, you know, to make UH, 820 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:22.880 to get a guy who is a unique type of 821 00:42:23.079 --> 00:42:28.440 player in his frame and in his his athleticism for 822 00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:32.239 his size. That's a ways away. And again, you're not 823 00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:35.639 gonna be winning next year. So do you want a 824 00:42:35.679 --> 00:42:38.840 guy like that who you value, who you think, uh, 825 00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:41.079 you know, can can can come up and and can 826 00:42:41.159 --> 00:42:44.599 improve the next several years and and uh and get 827 00:42:44.760 --> 00:42:47.400 someone like that going. If you did that, then you 828 00:42:47.519 --> 00:42:49.840 got to figure out what you're gonna do with someone 829 00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:52.760 like a Walker Kessler, and if that's someone you move 830 00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:56.079 on from in a trade scenario or sign a trade 831 00:42:56.159 --> 00:43:01.079 something because because now again you're talking about what our 832 00:43:01.119 --> 00:43:03.960 path to winning, how long is that going to take? 833 00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:05.880 And what is the money you were going to be 834 00:43:06.000 --> 00:43:09.119 spending to get there. So those are all the moving 835 00:43:09.199 --> 00:43:11.760 parts that you're trying to juggle, you know, within the 836 00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:13.679 framework of the upcoming draft. 837 00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:16.920 So when it comes to and I don't look, I'm 838 00:43:16.960 --> 00:43:19.039 not trying to make something out of nothing. I honestly 839 00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:20.800 don't know how the summer is going to play out. 840 00:43:20.880 --> 00:43:23.199 In the landscape of the NBA, you hear a lot 841 00:43:23.239 --> 00:43:27.599 of people pontificating on the possibility of real movement, real 842 00:43:27.760 --> 00:43:30.519 movement from players that could make a big difference. And 843 00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:33.159 most off seasons we see maybe one or two of those. 844 00:43:33.320 --> 00:43:35.000 I don't know how many we'll see, if we'll see 845 00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:37.960 any at all. But one of the teams that people 846 00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:41.360 continuously bring up and they do have some decisions to 847 00:43:41.400 --> 00:43:44.920 make are the Boston Celtics. They a new ownership group 848 00:43:45.840 --> 00:43:48.199 who was just informed that just for the right to 849 00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:50.840 have the team, you have to pay five hundred million 850 00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:55.000 dollars in luxury tax punitive penalties because of the way 851 00:43:55.039 --> 00:44:00.199 that the CBA is set up now, Danny Austin will 852 00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:03.360 all spent time in Boston. Danny spent a long time 853 00:44:03.400 --> 00:44:05.880 in Boston. Austin comes to the Jazz straight from the 854 00:44:05.880 --> 00:44:11.719 Boston Celtics. What sort of, if any at all, synergies 855 00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:14.679 would exist in that scenario that if Boston's open to 856 00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:17.679 do business and the Jazz wants to get involved here 857 00:44:17.800 --> 00:44:21.280 because of the familiarity, is that something Jazz fans can 858 00:44:21.280 --> 00:44:22.760 look at potentially as a positive? 859 00:44:22.840 --> 00:44:23.119 Sure? 860 00:44:23.320 --> 00:44:23.559 Yeah. 861 00:44:23.840 --> 00:44:27.400 The issue with the Celtics is that the new ownership 862 00:44:27.400 --> 00:44:29.800 group came in, they knew what the books were like. 863 00:44:30.079 --> 00:44:32.280 I mean, they didn't come in blind, So they knew 864 00:44:32.320 --> 00:44:34.480 they were going to be coming into a scenario where 865 00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:38.079 next year there's a potential if they kept the team 866 00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:44.360 the way it is currently constructed, that with salaries, taxes, penalties, 867 00:44:44.800 --> 00:44:50.559 second Apron repeater tax, all these levels of financial responsibility 868 00:44:50.599 --> 00:44:53.440 that you have toward your player salaries, they could be 869 00:44:53.519 --> 00:44:59.320 paying close to five hundred million dollars into that area. 870 00:45:00.519 --> 00:45:03.719 But they but that ownership group was willing to do 871 00:45:03.760 --> 00:45:06.519 that when they took over because they had the prospect 872 00:45:06.599 --> 00:45:10.239 that all of our guys are in place. They're all signed, 873 00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:14.599 we know they can win. We are hopeful they can 874 00:45:14.960 --> 00:45:18.199 win again, and that's that's what we're in the business for. 875 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:24.559 That takes a major hit, major when Jason Tatum goes 876 00:45:24.599 --> 00:45:30.320 down and now he's out for probably most of next year. Okay, 877 00:45:30.599 --> 00:45:33.719 how does that affect the rest of their team competitively? 878 00:45:35.199 --> 00:45:38.920 What does that do to their real chances of winning? 879 00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:42.360 Because as a new ownership group, well, we might want 880 00:45:42.400 --> 00:45:46.159 to pay or willing to pay that kind of money 881 00:45:46.880 --> 00:45:50.599 in all those salaries and penalties, et cetera. If we 882 00:45:50.719 --> 00:45:54.920 really believe we have a legitimate chance to win. Okay, 883 00:45:55.239 --> 00:45:58.639 if we don't think we have a real chance to win, 884 00:45:59.360 --> 00:46:03.199 then why are we spending all that money? And so 885 00:46:03.440 --> 00:46:06.920 now the Jason Tatum injury comes into play, he's a 886 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:10.159 major cog out of the lineup. You we're not gonna 887 00:46:10.199 --> 00:46:12.440 have him for most of next year, maybe all of 888 00:46:12.519 --> 00:46:15.760 next year. You never know how he's gonna recover from 889 00:46:15.840 --> 00:46:19.079 that that injury. But say in a worst case scenario 890 00:46:19.239 --> 00:46:23.119 he doesn't come back, we're gonna be a good team still. 891 00:46:24.119 --> 00:46:27.719 But are we really a championship level team? And if 892 00:46:27.719 --> 00:46:30.800 we don't think we are, but we can be competitive, 893 00:46:31.440 --> 00:46:34.400 how much. Do we want to still get into that 894 00:46:34.400 --> 00:46:37.760 that money issue or do we just back off it 895 00:46:37.840 --> 00:46:41.480 and say, Okay, we gotta we gotta take our lumps. 896 00:46:41.679 --> 00:46:42.880 We got a bad break. 897 00:46:43.360 --> 00:46:46.440 Okay, maybe we have to retool and we have to 898 00:46:46.480 --> 00:46:49.400 do something else with the finances to to reel that 899 00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:53.239 back in somewhat. And so that may be something where 900 00:46:53.280 --> 00:46:58.280 other teams, the Jazz, for one, Phoenix another one. I 901 00:46:58.280 --> 00:47:02.519 don't know other teams that have room. Brooklyn has a 902 00:47:02.559 --> 00:47:06.400 lot of room where the vultures might be circling the 903 00:47:06.440 --> 00:47:09.440 Boston Celtics and saying, hey, hey, we'll be willing to 904 00:47:09.480 --> 00:47:11.960 talk to you about you know, Jalen Brown, or we'll 905 00:47:11.960 --> 00:47:14.440 be willing to talk to you about Drew Holliday or 906 00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:17.000 you know, or whoever it is and that we think 907 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:19.559 can help us. And you know, and then of course 908 00:47:19.599 --> 00:47:22.559 the Celtics have to want to play ball and and 909 00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:25.360 have to you know, feel like, you know, these are 910 00:47:25.360 --> 00:47:29.760 going to be moves that makes sense business wise because 911 00:47:29.800 --> 00:47:33.079 of this bad break we got with the Tatum injury. 912 00:47:34.239 --> 00:47:37.760 And nobody is going to know that better than Austin 913 00:47:37.920 --> 00:47:40.320 h who is right on the front line with all 914 00:47:40.360 --> 00:47:44.039 of that. So so the Jazz will have an inner track, 915 00:47:44.199 --> 00:47:47.119 not necessarily getting a deal done or something like that, 916 00:47:47.199 --> 00:47:51.199 but but at least information and knowledge wise about how 917 00:47:51.239 --> 00:47:55.719 those owners are thinking, how the the internal workings are going, 918 00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:59.199 what Brad Stevens is thinking. All these kinds of things 919 00:47:59.280 --> 00:48:01.360 that would play in to it, and of course the 920 00:48:01.400 --> 00:48:05.400 relationship between the two when you get down to you know, 921 00:48:05.440 --> 00:48:09.079 maybe discussing stuff that's real or that you may want 922 00:48:09.119 --> 00:48:10.800 to be able to do. Because the other thing that 923 00:48:10.840 --> 00:48:14.119 can come into play that can be helpful and these 924 00:48:14.199 --> 00:48:16.960 kinds of discussions is the fact that, oh, you're out 925 00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:20.440 West and you're one of the worst teams, so you're 926 00:48:20.480 --> 00:48:24.480 not really going to affect us, the Boston Celtics if 927 00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:26.920 we do a deal with you, and and we're not 928 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:29.760 gonna you're not in our division, right, You're not the Knicks, 929 00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:32.840 So we're trying to do business with you and and 930 00:48:32.639 --> 00:48:36.639 and feed our nearest competitors, so to speak. So that 931 00:48:36.760 --> 00:48:40.119 also can play a factor in those kinds of discussions. 932 00:48:40.159 --> 00:48:42.800 So that kind of stuff can come up. That's what 933 00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:45.440 we've talked about Spence all along. You know, with this 934 00:48:45.719 --> 00:48:50.239 losing and tanking and whatever, that part of that process involves, 935 00:48:50.599 --> 00:48:52.719 you know, being in the right place at the right time, 936 00:48:53.199 --> 00:48:57.280 when something happens to somebody else and another team all 937 00:48:57.320 --> 00:48:59.840 of a sudden has to pivot off something, and you're 938 00:49:00.039 --> 00:49:02.840 standing there, you know, with your hand up and going hey, hey, 939 00:49:02.920 --> 00:49:05.800 me over here, you know, you know, let's talk about something. 940 00:49:05.920 --> 00:49:09.199 So the Jazz are in that kind of position, and 941 00:49:10.039 --> 00:49:12.320 only time will tell how those those kinds of things 942 00:49:12.360 --> 00:49:13.320 may come about. 943 00:49:13.480 --> 00:49:16.519 Before I set you loose, do you anticipate? 944 00:49:16.679 --> 00:49:19.039 So if we operate off the premise, and this is 945 00:49:19.079 --> 00:49:22.599 a dangerous assumption because nobody knows. But if Boston's open 946 00:49:22.679 --> 00:49:25.599 for business, if Giannis is okay with potentially looking to 947 00:49:25.679 --> 00:49:28.679 leave Milwaukee, if the Phoenix Suns have to move off 948 00:49:28.719 --> 00:49:32.840 of Durant, if all of this veteran star talent really 949 00:49:32.880 --> 00:49:36.880 is available, do you think the Jazz get involved. You know, 950 00:49:36.960 --> 00:49:40.280 everyone is latched onto Austin's comments last week where you know, 951 00:49:40.400 --> 00:49:44.719 in a response to Sean's question about your personal theory 952 00:49:45.039 --> 00:49:47.880 or whatever when it comes to taking or manipulating minutes, 953 00:49:47.920 --> 00:49:50.719 and Austin said, you won't see that this year. And 954 00:49:50.760 --> 00:49:52.719 as we discussed last week, that's all find and good. 955 00:49:52.719 --> 00:49:54.760 You have a top eight protected pick that you have 956 00:49:54.800 --> 00:49:57.880 to keep. You just do if that if they win 957 00:49:57.960 --> 00:50:00.559 thirty five games and Mark Tatum pulls the number nine 958 00:50:00.599 --> 00:50:03.440 envelope out and says Utah Jazz and they send a 959 00:50:03.480 --> 00:50:05.159 top ten pick to the team that I think is 960 00:50:05.159 --> 00:50:07.840 about to win the World championship, it is a massive failure. 961 00:50:08.519 --> 00:50:11.199 So it's all finding good to give lip service about Hey, 962 00:50:11.360 --> 00:50:12.360 great sound by a way to go. 963 00:50:12.960 --> 00:50:14.280 They've got a hold lot of that pick. 964 00:50:14.400 --> 00:50:16.559 And if they get involved with some sort of Jalen 965 00:50:16.599 --> 00:50:20.400 Brown whatever deal, I don't know that I see that 966 00:50:20.440 --> 00:50:20.960 making sense. 967 00:50:21.000 --> 00:50:25.639 Yeah, well, well, you know, again, all those things are hypothetical. Spence, 968 00:50:27.199 --> 00:50:29.880 I would say, just on the surface when when fans 969 00:50:29.920 --> 00:50:32.239 are looking at just what could happen in the coming 970 00:50:32.280 --> 00:50:36.239 weeks and and and during the summertime. You know, Kevin Durant, 971 00:50:36.599 --> 00:50:39.480 you know, Phoenix has to do something with him, in 972 00:50:39.519 --> 00:50:43.199 my opinion, because that's just not working. You know, he's 973 00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:46.280 got one year left. He's gonna want to go to 974 00:50:46.360 --> 00:50:51.480 somebody who can win win a but b uh, You'll 975 00:50:51.519 --> 00:50:55.519 offer him a possible contract extension, but he doesn't control that. 976 00:50:56.159 --> 00:50:58.840 Phoenix has to be able to man up and say, 977 00:50:59.199 --> 00:51:00.960 this is what we're going to do for the best 978 00:51:00.960 --> 00:51:04.000 interests of the Phoenix Suns and so whatever that ends 979 00:51:04.079 --> 00:51:07.719 up being, you know, that's Kevin Durant. That's your problem. Okay, 980 00:51:08.840 --> 00:51:13.840 janis a different deal. Janie has has several years left. 981 00:51:14.280 --> 00:51:17.800 Janice is the good guy. Yannis is the guy you 982 00:51:17.880 --> 00:51:21.679 want in your organization. Janice has not said that he 983 00:51:21.760 --> 00:51:24.280 wants to be traded. He has not made any kind 984 00:51:24.320 --> 00:51:26.679 of demand, and that's not going to be his nature. 985 00:51:26.719 --> 00:51:30.480 That's not his personality. What has come out and sometimes 986 00:51:30.599 --> 00:51:33.719 been misconstrued by the media is that Janice has made 987 00:51:33.760 --> 00:51:38.119 it known that he's willing to discuss with with the 988 00:51:38.480 --> 00:51:42.800 people who run the Milwaukee Bucks organization the idea of 989 00:51:42.880 --> 00:51:47.079 what makes sense to you as an organization, and how 990 00:51:47.079 --> 00:51:50.199 does that affect me as a player, And if we 991 00:51:50.440 --> 00:51:54.840 mutually agree that it's better for you to move on 992 00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:58.000 from me, because Dame Lillard is going to be out 993 00:51:58.039 --> 00:52:00.480 next year like Tatum, and he is going to be 994 00:52:00.480 --> 00:52:03.840 getting paid over fifty million dollars to watch the games 995 00:52:03.880 --> 00:52:06.920 from the bench, and were really going to be a 996 00:52:07.000 --> 00:52:11.280 serious competitive team and if we're not, you know, I'm 997 00:52:11.320 --> 00:52:13.880 the good soldier. I'll do whatever you guys want. But 998 00:52:13.960 --> 00:52:16.000 if it makes sense for you to move on from 999 00:52:16.039 --> 00:52:19.000 me and my big number and I'm still in my 1000 00:52:19.159 --> 00:52:22.960 prime and you just have to recalibrate because again we 1001 00:52:23.119 --> 00:52:26.079 got a bad break with the Damian Lillard injury, and 1002 00:52:26.159 --> 00:52:28.960 so you want to move me, then I think that 1003 00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:31.760 one would be more where Giannis would be, you know, 1004 00:52:31.920 --> 00:52:35.199 saying behind closed doors, Hey, look, I'm willing to play ball, 1005 00:52:35.800 --> 00:52:39.440 but don't don't send me somewhere where I can't win, 1006 00:52:40.119 --> 00:52:42.920 because you know, I, you know, I've been the good 1007 00:52:43.000 --> 00:52:46.639 guy and you know I brought a championship here and 1008 00:52:46.719 --> 00:52:49.519 a couple MVPs and you know, and I think the 1009 00:52:49.760 --> 00:52:52.599 Milwaukee organization will say, you know, dude, we got you. 1010 00:52:53.119 --> 00:52:55.880 We're going to get you to you know whatever, the Lakers, 1011 00:52:55.920 --> 00:52:58.440 so we're going to get you to okay, see somehow 1012 00:52:58.519 --> 00:53:01.599 or whatever it's going to be. But they that that 1013 00:53:01.639 --> 00:53:03.239 one would be a little bit different to me. I 1014 00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:07.400 think Giannis would be able to dictate quietly and and 1015 00:53:07.400 --> 00:53:10.480 and and good, good conscience, you know what he would 1016 00:53:10.480 --> 00:53:13.079 want to do in that regard. But that's a tough 1017 00:53:13.119 --> 00:53:15.280 deal from Milwaukee too, because they got to figure out 1018 00:53:15.440 --> 00:53:17.920 that's a financial thing, and that's that's a real thing 1019 00:53:18.000 --> 00:53:20.519 that that you gotta be honest with yourself and that's 1020 00:53:20.519 --> 00:53:23.280 a that's a tough deal to hope when you when 1021 00:53:23.320 --> 00:53:26.280 you're in that position and you didn't count on it, 1022 00:53:26.360 --> 00:53:30.199 and and here we are and we gotta we gotta 1023 00:53:30.440 --> 00:53:34.079 figure this thing out, and you know, and but again 1024 00:53:34.320 --> 00:53:38.400 Spence to the point earlier, that's why the Jazz put 1025 00:53:38.440 --> 00:53:41.320 themselves in the position of not being a good team 1026 00:53:41.679 --> 00:53:44.559 of having all these draft picks, having all this freedom, 1027 00:53:44.599 --> 00:53:47.280 if you will, to make and move and and and 1028 00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:51.159 shuffle guys and whatnot. And they may be the guys 1029 00:53:51.519 --> 00:53:54.039 who are waiting there on the sideline going yeah, yeah, 1030 00:53:54.079 --> 00:53:55.320 we'll we're willing to talk to you. 1031 00:53:55.440 --> 00:53:57.000 Yeah, we got a bunch of you know, what do 1032 00:53:57.039 --> 00:53:58.920 you like? You like? A, you like B, you like C? 1033 00:53:59.159 --> 00:54:01.199 What do you like? You know? And and and have. 1034 00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:05.039 The opportunity to get into that kind of discussion and 1035 00:54:05.079 --> 00:54:07.760 then and then you never know how things are gonna roll. 1036 00:54:07.880 --> 00:54:10.599 Yeah, the only time will tell. Should be a fascinating offseason. 1037 00:54:10.639 --> 00:54:12.400 All right, my man, great to see you. We'll see 1038 00:54:12.400 --> 00:54:14.079 you next week, right, Yes, you got it, thanks man. 1039 00:54:14.199 --> 00:54:15.039 The Great Richard Smith