Speaker 1: Broadcasting live from the ninety six nine at James Studios.
Speaker 2: It's time to show in the soft Here's your host,
Speaker 2: Brandon Kravitz. Yeah, Yeah, Come to the show.
Speaker 3: We are live on ninety six nine, the game streaming
Speaker 3: everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You are in the Zone,
Speaker 3: the show of the Orlando Sports Fan. Your hosts Brandon
Speaker 3: Kravitz here joined by my co host and producer He
Speaker 3: is Sweet Tea Tyler Karen hit us up all the
Speaker 3: way throughout the three hours.
Speaker 2: That we have with you.
Speaker 3: Mills are text line is how to do It five
Speaker 3: zero eight five seven. Also on the iHeartRadio talk Back,
Speaker 3: Just tap that microphone icon and fire away.
Speaker 2: We will air some of those.
Speaker 3: In the middle of the five o'clock hour, all part
Speaker 3: of our five o'clock fill up where we turn the
Speaker 3: show over to you the Magic have a new player,
Speaker 3: we will talk about him momentarily. A lot of moves
Speaker 3: in the NBA that we need to discuss. This is
Speaker 3: a highly transactional league and even if we don't have
Speaker 3: the heaviest hitters in terms of the names involved, there
Speaker 3: are a lot of ramifications that do involve some of
Speaker 3: the league's biggest stars and we have the transaction experts
Speaker 3: of all transaction experts, Mike Jannetti joining the show at
Speaker 3: four thirty, so be sure not to miss that. That
Speaker 3: is at four thirty sharp. You should set your alarm
Speaker 3: to it. If you like this show, Tyler, I will
Speaker 3: get to NBA Free Agency in a moment. A quick aside.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you've ever gone on a witch
Speaker 3: hunt for your girlfriend, Amanda, but that is exactly what
Speaker 3: I did today for my wife Mallory. And I am
Speaker 3: not saying that as a figure of speech. I actually
Speaker 3: hunted for a witch. She is a metallic statue that
Speaker 3: stands about two feet tall, sold at Cracker Barrel stores
Speaker 3: near you. This is something that I guess has gone
Speaker 3: semi viral on TikTok for those that buy Halloween decorations
Speaker 3: and lie.
Speaker 2: And my wife wants it, and so she called.
Speaker 3: I can't believe I'm even admitting this on the air,
Speaker 3: but I share my life with all of you. She
Speaker 3: calls Cracker Barrel and says, do you have this thing?
Speaker 3: And they said the truck comes at noon. Well, she
Speaker 3: works at an office, so she tells me this. She
Speaker 3: didn't ask me, She didn't say, hey, could you go
Speaker 3: run to Cracker Barrel in the middle of your day
Speaker 3: and go check this out. But come on, I'm eight
Speaker 3: years into this thing. I know how this works. This
Speaker 3: is an easy brownie point Cracker Barrels on the way
Speaker 3: into the studio. I can just go stop in and
Speaker 3: look for the witch statue and be done with it,
Speaker 3: and I'd be out forty bucks.
Speaker 2: Okay, but I'd.
Speaker 3: Be the husband of the year picking up a witch
Speaker 3: statue in July. So what I go to Cracker Barrel
Speaker 3: and I say, they have a little section for Halloween
Speaker 3: now because they know that people like my wife are
Speaker 3: into buying this stuff now.
Speaker 2: But they didn't have it out.
Speaker 3: So now I have to go up to one of
Speaker 3: these poor employees showing them a picture in July, do
Speaker 3: you have this witch?
Speaker 2: And they go in the back and they look for it. Anyway.
Speaker 3: I didn't end up getting it, but you know, I was, Uh,
Speaker 3: this is what I signed up for. I signed a
Speaker 3: document eight years ago that said I have to do
Speaker 3: these You avoided danger and I'll tell you why. Because
Speaker 3: at first, when he said I went on a wild
Speaker 3: witch hunt for my wife, I didn't know if you
Speaker 3: meant that you were looking for something for your wife,
Speaker 3: or if you're referring to your wife as a witch
Speaker 3: and you were looking for the wild the wicked witch
Speaker 3: of the West and referencing your wife. I know that
Speaker 3: she is has recently gotten into tarot cards.
Speaker 2: She is.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I honestly, if I had called her a witch
Speaker 3: on the air, I don't think that she would take
Speaker 3: it as a poor remark.
Speaker 2: I think she would take it as a compliment. All right.
Speaker 1: Well then maybe hey, then maybe you depends on how
Speaker 1: you say it. Maybe you avoided the disaster, or maybe
Speaker 1: there is the disaster because she wants to she wants
Speaker 1: the title of it. I don't know, but that's a
Speaker 1: that's a good pro husband move right there. There are
Speaker 1: plenty of signs, men, Gellen folks. Your significant other is
Speaker 1: telling you what she wants all the time. You just
Speaker 1: got to know how to decipher the way that she
Speaker 1: presents it, all right, So pro move to pick up
Speaker 1: that even though she's just looking ahead for this, that
Speaker 1: you still try to put in the effort to try
Speaker 1: to get it for So it would be greeting her
Speaker 1: at the door when she got home today.
Speaker 3: I just started picking up the sticks again to play
Speaker 3: college Football twenty five on the PS five. The gaming
Speaker 3: system is in the living room. If I get this Witch,
Speaker 3: it buys me the rest of the regular season with you.
Speaker 3: I'm playing with the Tar Heels. It buys me the
Speaker 3: rest of the regular season with UNC. Why would I
Speaker 3: choose UNC? Because I am falling in love with a
Speaker 3: Marion Hampton, the running back of the La Chargers. So
Speaker 3: to play this season out anyway, I digress. The Magic
Speaker 3: continue to add Duke Blue Devils to the roster.
Speaker 2: This it was one that was long awaited.
Speaker 3: Tias Jones, the ten year pro, will back up Jalen Suggs,
Speaker 3: the team's reserve point guard. Tias Jones has been tied
Speaker 3: to the Magic for the past couple of seasons, the
Speaker 3: past couple of trade deadlines. Whenever there's a list for
Speaker 3: who the Magic could add, Tias Jones has been on
Speaker 3: that list. And I can tell you that with all
Speaker 3: the credibility in the world, because I am the one
Speaker 3: that spits out those lists on this show. He is
Speaker 3: a savvy vet, an elite assist to turnover ratio guy
Speaker 3: forty percent from three point range in the last two years.
Speaker 3: There's a lot to like. And I went back to
Speaker 3: his college career. He won a national championship at Duke
Speaker 3: in twenty fifteen. Pallo Wendell Carter junior now Tias Jones
Speaker 3: got three dookies on the squad. I guess the question
Speaker 3: is is this enough? We still don't have word on
Speaker 3: Mo Wagner. The Magic certainly aren't operating with a ton
Speaker 3: of cap space cap space at the moment. By my count,
Speaker 3: the Magic right thirteen players. When you account for Tias
Speaker 3: Jones and the two new rookies that they just drafted.
Speaker 3: That leaves space for two more guys, and they are
Speaker 3: up against it.
Speaker 2: Financially, they are already past the salary cap.
Speaker 3: The salary cap in the NBA without any penalty is
Speaker 3: one hundred and fifty four million dollars. The Magic right
Speaker 3: now are paying out one hundred and seventy seven million dollars.
Speaker 2: They are firmly in that first apron.
Speaker 3: I don't think the Magic want to be in the
Speaker 3: second apron world, which they are.
Speaker 2: Dangerously close to.
Speaker 3: I'll give you the figures for that in a moment,
Speaker 3: but I also I try not to bog you down
Speaker 3: with too many of those numbers. Just know the Magic
Speaker 3: have already spent more money than the salary cap allows
Speaker 3: you penalty free. So if anybody out there tells you
Speaker 3: the Magic.
Speaker 2: Are gone cheap, they are lying.
Speaker 3: The Magic are spending through their teeth and perhaps we'll
Speaker 3: even spend a little bit more if they are able to.
Speaker 3: So hard not to like the deal. We've been wanting
Speaker 3: this one for a while now. Tias Jones to the
Speaker 3: Magic has felt like it's been in the stars for
Speaker 3: a long time.
Speaker 2: And I like the deal. What do you think?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I absolutely love the deal. This is about three
Speaker 1: years overdue. As you mentioned, whenever list comes out of
Speaker 1: target players via free agency via the trade market. Throughout
Speaker 1: the NBA season, Tyas Jones has been in that top
Speaker 1: five list just about anywhere that you look. So it's
Speaker 1: a player that has been somewhat tied to this Magic
Speaker 1: team for a long time coming, and it's one of
Speaker 1: the holes that the Magic needed to fill. Even drafting
Speaker 1: Jase Richardson in the draft, there's no guarantee of if
Speaker 1: he is going to be ready, when he is going
Speaker 1: to be ready, and what he is able to bring.
Speaker 1: You still want to bring in an experienced guard that
Speaker 1: is able to do a lot of the things that
Speaker 1: you need a backup guard to do what Corey Joseph
Speaker 1: was able to do even in the starting rotation to
Speaker 1: close out the season when the Magic were really successful
Speaker 1: down that stretch where Corey Joseph was the starting guard.
Speaker 1: About a ten point per game kind of guy. He
Speaker 1: dishes out a handful of assists per game. I know
Speaker 1: you have the numbers on his assist a turnover ratio.
Speaker 1: It's been unbelievable throughout his NBA career and I can
Speaker 1: I can further add to that once once we get
Speaker 1: to that point. But I on face value, I absolutely
Speaker 1: love the tighest Jones deal and especially the contract as
Speaker 1: well comparatively to his counterparts around the league what some
Speaker 1: other guards have gone for him free agency. I think
Speaker 1: it's a I'm not calling it a home run deal
Speaker 1: for the Magic. It's tough to get to that point
Speaker 1: on a seven million dollar year player, but this is
Speaker 1: a rock solid double into the gap.
Speaker 3: A mean absolutely that you know you're at least getting
Speaker 3: on base with this deal. Tias Jones is a three
Speaker 3: point shooter that helps out defensively and he's a pro.
Speaker 3: The guy's been in the league for ten years. I
Speaker 3: do think it's a little bit puzzling that he's been
Speaker 3: on five teams already. I'm not gonna go full red
Speaker 3: flag status, but I do think it's important to note
Speaker 3: that for Magic fans that you should be excited about
Speaker 3: this deal.
Speaker 2: You should. I think the proper way to put it
Speaker 2: is you should be happy.
Speaker 3: Pleased maybe is the best way to describe it with
Speaker 3: this contract with the player.
Speaker 2: But there's a.
Speaker 3: Reason why if you're on five teams in ten years,
Speaker 3: there's a reason for it. And I think the reason
Speaker 3: for Tias Jones is that he's not a special player.
Speaker 3: He's just the guy. But the Magic needed a guy
Speaker 3: off the bench, so that's that's what you're getting. I
Speaker 3: think it's important to put that context on it, though.
Speaker 3: This guy has been on four different teams before showing
Speaker 3: up to the Magic, and there's a reason why if
Speaker 3: he was that good, don't have that many teams giving
Speaker 3: up on him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, his first four years he was.
Speaker 1: He began his career in Minnesota, where he didn't make
Speaker 1: too much of a splash leading up to that COVID season,
Speaker 1: and that's when he eventually did join Memphis where he
Speaker 1: spent four more and then the last two seasons he's
Speaker 1: just been a guy that's been available, you know, numbers
Speaker 1: and players on the Washington Wizards. This last couple of
Speaker 1: years gets little wonky. You never quite know what you're
Speaker 1: gonna get. And that's where he spent his twenty three
Speaker 1: to twenty four season and then last year with Phoenix.
Speaker 1: It was kind of a great fit for Phoenix that
Speaker 1: was looking for cheap and Tyas Jones still looking to
Speaker 1: elevate his career. So this is a spot where look
Speaker 1: what the Magic just did signing him to a one
Speaker 1: year deal. He hasn't gotten to the point where he
Speaker 1: has deserved. Hey, this is why you need to sign
Speaker 1: me to a multi year deal to affect the cap,
Speaker 1: to try to keep me on a contract where I
Speaker 1: play above my value long term.
Speaker 2: He hasn't gotten there.
Speaker 1: Maybe this is the year with Orlando that he can
Speaker 1: prove that and kind of find a home for the
Speaker 1: remainder of his NBA career, But time will tell with that.
Speaker 1: I don't look too deep into it that he's been
Speaker 1: on five years, five teams and ten years. I think
Speaker 1: it's just more of a hey, the rookie contract, the
Speaker 1: rookie that play and that duration it wasn't great and
Speaker 1: he hasn't been great to the point to give the
Speaker 1: team the reason to do it. But we haven't heard
Speaker 1: any locker room issues from this guy. No attitude, no
Speaker 1: motor issues have come out around the league in his
Speaker 1: what ten year career at this point, and that is
Speaker 1: a positive sign.
Speaker 3: So he comes from he comes from a big basketball family.
Speaker 3: His brother Trey plays four the Chicago Bulls. When I
Speaker 3: was looking at those assist to turnover ratio stats, what
Speaker 3: I found interesting is that both Jones brothers in the
Speaker 3: NBA are terrific at this Trey Jones also ranks really
Speaker 3: high since coming into the league in twenty twenty. Tigas
Speaker 3: Jones simply does not turn the ball over. Over the
Speaker 3: past seven seasons, he is one of the best in
Speaker 3: terms of assist to turnover ratio if you go to
Speaker 3: the two years, so the five year period between really
Speaker 3: right after he got through the early career lumps, but
Speaker 3: before he joined the Wizards, which will tank your turnover stats,
Speaker 3: Jones had led the league and assist.
Speaker 2: To turnover ratio.
Speaker 3: So there was a five year period where he was
Speaker 3: number one two thousand, one hundred and eight assists four
Speaker 3: hundred turnovers. That's a ratio of five point two seven,
Speaker 3: which is the highest that anybody has achieved in forty
Speaker 3: six years. That is what he brings to the table's awo.
Speaker 3: Somebody say on Twitter that he this was a naysayer
Speaker 3: of the deal, said that Tias Jones is Corey Joseph
Speaker 3: but with better pr I don't agree with that. I
Speaker 3: think Tias Jones is better than Corey Joseph. But if
Speaker 3: you're thinking about what kind of player are you getting,
Speaker 3: I think it's Corey Joseph with a slightly more advanced
Speaker 3: offensive repertoire.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't you know.
Speaker 1: I was banging on table for the magic need a
Speaker 1: Corey Joseph times four. He might not be a times four,
Speaker 1: but he might be a double. He might have times
Speaker 1: two point five. I think those are some of the
Speaker 1: things that Tias brings to the table. And you mentioned
Speaker 1: that Washington season that's where he averaged a career best
Speaker 1: seven assists. What I took away from that that Washington
Speaker 1: team ranked twenty fourth in the league in three point shooting.
Speaker 1: What that says to me they shot under thirty five
Speaker 1: percent from deep is tias Jones was able to make
Speaker 1: the best out of a worst situation and that season
Speaker 1: averaging his career best seven assists per game while also
Speaker 1: keeping his turnovers at one turnover a game. It's an
Speaker 1: impressive thing to do on a Wizards team that clearly
Speaker 1: doesn't have much of a direction. Tias Shones when he
Speaker 1: has had the higher usage the ball in his hands more,
Speaker 1: he has made the best out of it in his career,
Speaker 1: at least in the last couple of years, and I
Speaker 1: think those are positive signs. It's also a guy that
Speaker 1: has bounced in the starting lineup and off of the bench.
Speaker 1: Last year at Phoenix he started in fifty eight out
Speaker 1: of eighty one games. His last year in Memphis started
Speaker 1: in just twenty two of the eighty games that he played.
Speaker 1: He's versatile and he's adaptable. I think that's also a
Speaker 1: huge plus for this Magic team. That listen, Jalen Suggs
Speaker 1: hasn't been a clean bill of health in his career
Speaker 1: so far. He's probably going to miss some games this
Speaker 1: season as well. What this allows bringing Tias Shones is
Speaker 1: a guy who has bounced back and forth between the
Speaker 1: starting rotation and the bench unit. I think he can
Speaker 1: play well with the starters. It also keeps Anthony Black
Speaker 1: locked into that bench rotation, which I think is an
Speaker 1: overall positive for the second unit and for AB's progression.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the current Magic depth chart right now is if
Speaker 3: you look at point guard Jalen's Uggs, you have Tyas Jones,
Speaker 3: Jace Richardson.
Speaker 2: We'll see how much he plays in year one.
Speaker 3: At shooting guard has been Bane, Anthony Black if you
Speaker 3: want to Anthony Black is sort of a position unicorn.
Speaker 3: But Jet Howard also in that mix, potentially Franz Wagner,
Speaker 3: Tristan De Silva, Palabanko, Jonathan Isaac You've got no appenda
Speaker 3: to be part of that front court, and then Wendell
Speaker 3: Carter Junior in Gogobitase.
Speaker 2: Two roster spots open.
Speaker 3: Hopefully one of them ends up being Mo Wagner, and
Speaker 3: we'll see who ends up taking that last spot. Damian
Speaker 3: Lillard did get waved today by the Milwaukee Bucks. The
Speaker 3: ripple effects of that are fascinating. So we're definitely gonna
Speaker 3: get to that before the end of the hours. Certainly
Speaker 3: at the top of the four o'clock hour during our
Speaker 3: first four things, we're going to take a quick break
Speaker 3: from the nf or the NBA talk.
Speaker 2: To dip into some NFL.
Speaker 3: Do you realize that this month the NFL starts July
Speaker 3: thirty first is the Hall of Fame. So I have
Speaker 3: some games in week one that I want to throw
Speaker 3: Tyler's way.
Speaker 2: We'll see how he reacts to that. Don't swim