WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.279 Let's get it drivetime Monday afternoon. We are looking at 2 00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:05.519 about seven minutes past the hour or two o'clock. 3 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:07.919 Really hot weekend. 4 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:09.880 But it settled a little bit to start the week. 5 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.519 It's about seventy six degrees and sunny. It's a beautiful 6 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.439 day here in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, and as 7 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:16.879 it is every single day, it's good to. 8 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:18.960 Have you along for the ride. Spence check. 9 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:21.640 It's behind the Mike, Porter Larsen beyond the glass today 10 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.160 producing the program, booking the program. We have a lot 11 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:29.800 to do on this Monday afternoon. When we said goodbye 12 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:32.320 to you on Friday afternoon, we wondered if we'd be 13 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:37.039 previewing a Game seven in the Eastern Conference playoffs tonight 14 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:40.520 in New York at Madison Square Garden. 15 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:42.960 But ATMSG will be dark tonight. 16 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:43.320 I don't know. 17 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:46.600 Maybe they have a concert, no basketball as the Indiana 18 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:47.439 Pacers got it done. 19 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:47.640 Man. 20 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:51.399 It's an impressive group led by their head coach Rick Carlisle, 21 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:55.359 who's a Hall of Famer, and after taking Dallas to 22 00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:57.079 the championship in twenty eleven. 23 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:58.880 It was a really weird Mavericks. 24 00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:02.640 Team, dark waste Dirk, but they were able to win 25 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:05.480 a championship that not a lot of people saw it coming. 26 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:09.120 And if you look at the odds for Indiana to 27 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:11.159 be in the NBA Finals, it was twenty nine. 28 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.159 To one, twenty nine to. 29 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.959 One to start the playoffs. They started the season ten 30 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.879 and fifteen, and now they're going to the finals and 31 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:22.120 I think they're gonna get smoked. We'll talk about it 32 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:25.640 as Okac has been waiting, So we'll get into NBA 33 00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:30.079 playoff basketball. We'll preview the NBA Finals. We'll also preview 34 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:33.159 the Stanley Cup Finals. Can Edmonton be the first Canadian 35 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:37.840 hockey club to win Lord Stanley's Cup in thirty two years. 36 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:41.000 It is a rematch of the Stanley Cup final from 37 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.519 a year ago where Florida won three games and Edmonton 38 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:46.760 won three games and Florida got done in game seven. 39 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.959 So we'll talk some Stanley Cup Finals in some NBA finals. 40 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:54.280 Both of those, by the way, series can be heard 41 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:57.400 here on ESPN seven hundred, so kind of keep that 42 00:01:57.400 --> 00:01:59.200 in mind where your home of the NBA finals in 43 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:03.079 the Stanley Cup, Fiitols hockey gets going on Wednesday and 44 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:07.319 then basketball gets going on Thursday. We have turned our 45 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:11.000 calendars to June that's important around here because that means 46 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:15.120 it is the NBA Draft and the NHL Draft coming 47 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:18.039 up in just a few weeks. We'll have great coverage 48 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.039 for you Draft night here on the station. We'll do 49 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:25.000 a show comprehensively covering the first round, then the second round, 50 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:27.960 ironically enough, will be taking place during our show the 51 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.639 next day, so we'll be able to react to that 52 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.000 in real time. The Utah Jazz made a surprise hire today. 53 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:35.240 Nobody saw this coming. 54 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.039 Austin Ainge has been hired as the Utah Jazz President 55 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:43.360 of basketball Operations. Of course, Austin is Danny's son. Austin 56 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:46.400 worked for Danny in Boston. He was hired to be 57 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:49.560 the G League head coach, did some scouting, and he 58 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:53.120 has spent a total of seventeen years working for the Celtics. 59 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.599 Justin Zannik remains in his role as the general manager. 60 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:00.360 Austin is going to address the media in aut an 61 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:03.120 hour from right now. We're going to replay those comments 62 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:04.759 for you coming up. 63 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:05.639 On the four o'clock hour. 64 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.759 So what does this mean for the front office structure. 65 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:10.120 We'll get into it a little bit. 66 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:12.520 You know, I've known Austin a long time I've known 67 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.039 the Ange family a long time, so we'll. 68 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:16.439 Kind of get into this and what does this mean. 69 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:19.000 About the role of his dad and how will it 70 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:21.520 work with he and Justin's antik day to day. So 71 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:25.479 we'll get into that story on the program today. RSL 72 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.479 just you know, maybe we should just start giving our 73 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.439 guy ck credit because he seems to call these things 74 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:32.000 pretty early. 75 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:34.000 He said, it feels like a last year. 76 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:38.000 Probably is the Galaxy had not won a game all year, 77 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:41.919 and then RSL rolls in and they smoke them to nil. 78 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.240 A bit of a break for the soccer club and 79 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:47.199 badly needed because they're really bad. It's not even fun 80 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:49.439 to watch right now. So do a little soccer on 81 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:52.400 the show today too. Of course, of local interest, Major 82 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.879 League Baseball is kind of moving into the consciousness now 83 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:56.840 and Big. 84 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.199 Twelve meetings took place over. 85 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:01.080 The weekend in Orlando, so a lot of things to 86 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:03.840 get to, including the potential expansion of not just the CFP, 87 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.520 but how about the NCAA basketball tournament. Charlie Baker with 88 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.240 some interesting comments in that direction. So we'll get to 89 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:13.960 some offseason college football stuff. NFL shit time allowed, We've 90 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:15.879 got a good college football guest on the show as well, 91 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:18.279 So a lot to do on a Monday afternoon. Kyle 92 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.160 Bond of Gurro will start things off from ESPN. Kyle 93 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.959 wrote a piece for ESPN dot com two weeks ago 94 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.759 after the civil suit was filed against Jake Rhet's Laugh. 95 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:33.199 No up to date information regarding anything there. If anything, 96 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:35.040 of course drops while we're on air, we'll bring it 97 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.519 to you. So we'll talk to Kyle about the rets 98 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:39.879 laugh stuff, and we'll talk to Kyle about the expansion 99 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.879 of the CFP Big twelve storylines and such. Tom Haberstrow 100 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:47.879 NBA Daily Assist Style. On a Monday afternoon, we'll bring 101 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.759 in Tom to preview the NBA Finals. We'll do some 102 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:54.199 drafts and jazz offseason. Richard Smith that about Smitty live 103 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:56.759 in studio for an entire hour today starting at three 104 00:04:56.759 --> 00:04:59.519 point thirty, and then we will bring you the Austin 105 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:03.800 Ange Conference after Smitty bounces in studio and we'll go 106 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:06.560 from there. On a Monday afternoon, Happy Monday to you. 107 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:08.839 Hope you had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful, 108 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:10.800 it was hot, but it was fun. Hopefully got outside. 109 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:14.800 Kyle Bonaguerra, Tom Habershaw Richard Smith Austin Ah's press conference. 110 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:16.680 Me spence check it to all of you the great listeners. 111 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.279 Oh, Porter, I give you so much credit for your 112 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.079 optimism on Friday when I asked you are we going 113 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:24.480 to do? 114 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:26.000 You have sunglasses on in the studio? 115 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.000 What are you doing? It's bright in here. You have 116 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:29.040 to have the shades. 117 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:30.399 Up, so I like natural light. 118 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:32.800 Do I have to remind you the Larry David Lyne 119 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:36.639 on people to wear sunglasses inside. There are only two 120 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:38.879 types of people to wear sunglasses in side? Porter her, 121 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.920 can you say it on the radio? I think blind 122 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:44.480 people an a hole. I can't say the whole thing, 123 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:45.240 but you can say. 124 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.720 That I'm not blind. I am a little light sense 125 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.199 that I have a lot of concussions. Okay, I get 126 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:54.480 like a little shaky when I get like stressed out usually, 127 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:58.439 but also with some lights sound sensitivity, so sometimes I 128 00:05:58.600 --> 00:05:59.680 maybe wear sunglasses. 129 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.360 Look at our YouTube channel, Porter looks like the lead 130 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:03.839 singer from the Lumineers right now. 131 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:08.079 The Lumineers. Yeah, Wesley, you've got a lot of Joe Walsh. 132 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:09.839 I've never gotten Lumineers before. 133 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.040 He's got the long hair like you have, and he 134 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:14.800 wears a song graud. But anyway, I applaud you for 135 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:18.000 your optimism. When I asked you on Friday, will we 136 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:20.720 be previewing the NBA Finals or Game seven? You said 137 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:24.199 game seven? Yeah, didn't go didn't go our way? Didn't 138 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:24.680 go our way? 139 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.240 It didn't, it didn't. It's a it's a bummer. 140 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:31.040 It's a bummer, but it gives Nicks fans like almost 141 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:34.000 like a out of your misery moment, like a just 142 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:38.120 move on. It's uh, it was, it was what was 143 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:41.680 going to happen at some point, so stop putting it off. 144 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:44.240 The old the old Yeller. We got old Yeller this weekend. 145 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:48.319 But other than that, the weekend was fun. 146 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:51.439 Was that a reference to a dog being shot and 147 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:53.480 put down? Is that what that was? 148 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:53.759 Yeah? 149 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:56.120 You taken edible this morning. You're good? 150 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:59.800 No, I'm great, all right? Old Yeah, old Yeller might 151 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:00.839 not be the right reference. 152 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:06.519 I understand what you're saying because a little visual. We'll 153 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:08.519 talk about it. Like, if you're a Nick fan, you 154 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:11.160 have to view this year as a total win. Yeah, 155 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.000 if for no other reason, you blocked Boston from winning 156 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:15.560 another championship. 157 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.240 And Old Yeller had a great, awesome life. Hitty, lovely 158 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.560 yellow lab on a big farm out living in the grass. 159 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.600 Okay, Yeah, and then it came to a screeching halt. 160 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.000 Sometimes it does, it does, and it happened on Saturday. 161 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:32.879 All right, Kyle Bonagura College Football, our first guest right 162 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:34.560 out of the gates. But before we get to Kyle 163 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:38.160 on a Monday afternoon, courtesy of our good friends and 164 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.399 your good friends too at Prize Picks, it's time now 165 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:41.800 for your opening tip. 166 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:42.839 Welcome to the. 167 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:45.639 Drive with Spence check its on Utah's number one sports 168 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:49.000 talk now into the studios of ESPN seven hundred to 169 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:51.439 set the scene for the show. The opening tip of 170 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:54.199 the Drive is brought to you by Prize Picks. Use 171 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:58.000 the code ESPN seven hundred and run your game with 172 00:07:58.120 --> 00:07:58.959 Prize Picks. 173 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:01.879 Prize Pick it's best place to turn your sports knowledge 174 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.399 into cash. 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You do not have to 190 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.559 win that lineup, just play it and use the promo 191 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.600 code ESPN seven hundred and they're automatically gonna give you 192 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:45.720 fifty dollars in your account. So check them out. Prize 193 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:47.639 Picks where you can run your game all season long. 194 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:53.039 All right, quick thought on the Pacers nixt series, and 195 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.759 you know, it's it's interesting looking at where the Knicks 196 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.840 are now and really understanding that this is ahead of 197 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:04.799 schedule for where they were supposed to be. Nobody thought 198 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.399 they were beating Boston. And if Jason Tatum doesn't get hurt, 199 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.279 they probably don't, that's my opinion. Or if Joe Missoula 200 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.559 decides to do anything other than continue to jack up 201 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.879 contested thirty two footers, Boston probably wins. 202 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:16.039 It. 203 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:20.000 My guess is Boston was watching Indiana New York and 204 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:23.279 they were livid at themselves for not taking advantage of 205 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:27.080 this opportunity, because Boston really was built for one more 206 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:30.639 run based off of how their books are structured now 207 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:33.440 because they have new ownership, and according to Bobby Marks, 208 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:36.879 their luxury tax bill next year just to have their 209 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.720 roster will be north of five hundred million dollars. I 210 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:42.919 don't care how much money you have, that's a lot 211 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:45.559 of money just to pay for the right to have 212 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:48.279 the team, let alone what you're actually paying the players. 213 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:50.879 So my guess is the new ownership is going to 214 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:54.039 task their front office, which no longer includes Austin Ams. 215 00:09:54.039 --> 00:09:56.639 We'll get to the Austin News in a bit two 216 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:00.440 make some hard decisions, and that probably means may Jalen 217 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:04.480 Brown's available, maybe Derek White, maybe Drew Holliday. Are there 218 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.840 takers for Drew Holliday at this stage of his career, 219 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:10.360 Jalen Brown is making a lot of money. Anybody would 220 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:12.960 pay Jalen Brown that money because he's that good. But 221 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.480 no one's gonna take Tatum. I mean, Tatum's out for 222 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:17.159 an entire year. You gotta wait to see what that 223 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:20.039 looks like. So Boston was really built to win this 224 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.159 thing again this year, and they should have. I mean, 225 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.759 they were my pick to win it, certainly the East. 226 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:26.399 And then I think a lot of people thought we 227 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.039 were just in for Boston OKC in the final because 228 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:31.759 they were both so good when they were healthy in 229 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.080 the regular season. Of course, Oklahoma City lives up to 230 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:39.000 their side of things, and Boston with an unexcusable loss 231 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.639 to a team that they're just better than. So the 232 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:43.720 fact that the Knicks were able to advance to the 233 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:46.240 Eastern Conference finals, like, if you're a Nick fan at all, 234 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.159 it's a win. It doesn't make the end better, and 235 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:53.159 it certainly stings even more that it's the freaking Pacers 236 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:56.440 who I just can't stand and have not been able 237 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.279 to stand for a number of different years. 238 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:01.240 And I have a lot of respect for Rick Carlisle. 239 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.679 I think this is a really, really good basketball team, 240 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:08.440 and Rick himself has been pretty front facing and honest 241 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:11.919 about how good they're playing. It's kind of interesting to 242 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.159 hear him both after the Cavs series and now after 243 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:17.759 the Knicks series basically say they ran into us when 244 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:20.279 we were playing our best basketball. The year by far 245 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:24.200 Indiana started out the year ten and fifteen, there were 246 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.399 people wondering if they needed to break up Siakam and Haliburton. 247 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:31.679 Side note, how is how is Tyreese Saliburton not the 248 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:32.799 MVP of that series? 249 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:34.320 Siakam was awesome? 250 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.200 And this isn't like a andre Iguidala wins the finals 251 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:41.919 MVPs over Stephan Curry. I mean, that was historically stupid 252 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:46.399 for anybody who voted for Iguadala over Steph, like Steph 253 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:48.600 was the only reason they were in that series in the. 254 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:49.600 First place and able to win it. 255 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.639 Yes, I know, Iguadala guard Lebron save it like that 256 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:53.960 was such a crime. 257 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:56.559 It was so atrocious. This wasn't that bad. 258 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.159 But if you go if you go back and watch 259 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:03.759 the postgame stuff, as Ernie Johnson is about to announce 260 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:06.720 the Eastern Conference Player of the Series, I think it's 261 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:07.759 the Larry Bird Award now. 262 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:10.799 And the league is doing this thing where they've created. 263 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:13.559 More awards so they can attach historical, you know, special 264 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:15.440 names to the awards. And that's great, it's all good. 265 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:17.559 You should respect the history of the league in the game. 266 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:21.039 But when Ernie said, and the winner of the Eastern 267 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:25.120 Conference Finals MVP is Tyrese Halliburton took a step towards 268 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:29.399 the stage, like he started walking towards Ernie and he said, 269 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.840 Pascal Siakam, And if you look at Halliburton's face, he's like, 270 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:33.279 wait what. 271 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.600 It was wild? I mean, And the vote was five 272 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:37.960 to four. 273 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.039 There were only nine voters, but he was ready to 274 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:43.559 go take the trophy and then Ernie announces it with Siakam. 275 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:46.080 Hey, look like I said, this is not. 276 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:49.559 Like an atrocity of historic proportions like the staph at 277 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:53.879 wadalas stuff thing. But Tyres Halliburton makes them go. He 278 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.240 dictates pace in a way that very few lead guards 279 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.600 in the NBA can do right now. He was more 280 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:03.799 or less really really good all series long. His worst 281 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:05.679 game was the game that the Knicks gut in New York. 282 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.519 But he makes everything go for them, and Siakam did 283 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.279 a really really good job because and we'll get to 284 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:14.759 the cat stuff. I think the Knicks have a cat problem. 285 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:17.759 I'm not sure. And for listeners that are confused, that's 286 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:21.080 Karl Anthony Towns. They don't literally have cats everywhere, but 287 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.960 I think they've got an issue with cat I'm not sure. 288 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:27.399 What you do with it, but Karl Anthony Towns eight 289 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:31.440 miles Turner's lunch. And then when they tried former jazz 290 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:33.080 man Tony Brawdley, that didn't work either. 291 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:34.559 And also another. 292 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:37.600 Side note like ultimately, like if Thomas Bryant is knocking 293 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.840 down threes, we can go home. 294 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:40.279 There's nothing else to do. 295 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.159 Like their third string center who could barely get on 296 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:47.279 the floor, is knocking down threes, you know, like he's 297 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:49.720 Ray Allen all of a sudden. It's that was a 298 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:53.159 wild side note. Former Nikovi Topham was really good. But 299 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:56.279 I said this after Game five in preparation for Game 300 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.799 six six, I'm like, the one way the Knicks can 301 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:02.720 get this done is if they replicate the defensive effort 302 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:06.000 and intensity in game six then we saw in Game five, 303 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:07.159 and they didn't. 304 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:10.000 They just didn't. The closeouts once again were horrible. 305 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:14.519 Kat defensively was a sieve and Indiana feasting on him. 306 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.679 It was just a decent Jalen game, not a great 307 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.480 Jalen game. OG was awesome. Michel Bridges has taken a 308 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:23.279 ton of crap in the New York media today because 309 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:25.840 the Knicks traded all their draft capital for him and 310 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:29.559 he was just okay, not great, but for an elimination game. 311 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:32.799 The fact that like Landry Shammitt may have been one 312 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:34.799 of your best players and at least was out there 313 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.639 giving effort. And we saw, you know, twelve minutes from 314 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:40.080 Delon Wright. They got ran off the floor in the 315 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:42.360 third quarter. And what happened at the start of the 316 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:44.799 game is exactly what we've been talking about all along. 317 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.120 The Pacers want to push it. They want to get 318 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:48.600 up and down, and they want to get up and 319 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:50.679 down off of makes. And if you're Tom Thibodeau and 320 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:53.840 you're watching tape of Game six and you see four 321 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.200 runouts for Dunkster layups off Nick makes, that is going 322 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.799 to haunt you your entire offseason. This was an effort lost. 323 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:02.679 Do I think the Pacers are better than the nixt 324 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:05.240 I do. I think it's a deeper team. I think 325 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:08.720 they have more variance in which they could play. And 326 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:12.440 New York is so isolation heavy. It's not just Jalen, 327 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.879 but a lot of it is. Jalen Kat is more 328 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:16.480 of an ISO big. You know, they throw it to 329 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:18.360 Cat to the top of the key and if he 330 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:20.799 can dribble by you, he will because he's a big 331 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:22.720 that can move pretty well and can dribble it. 332 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.480 Okay, and shoots it well from the outside. 333 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.960 But even if it's og or Michel like, they get 334 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.440 the ball and they just go one on one isolation 335 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.279 and ultimately that to me has a natural ceiling. And 336 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.919 also as far as the natural ceiling goes, this is 337 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:39.639 something that we've seen for a number of years, like 338 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:45.000 a good team will manifest itself with their best player 339 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.000 being a small point guard. One example that comes to 340 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.879 mind is the Chris Paul Clipper team, you know, lob 341 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.200 City with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and ESPN playing 342 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:57.279 a fricking siren every time Blake dunked it. But Chris 343 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.759 Paul was their best player. CP three made them go 344 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:02.000 and they were really good. They won a lot of 345 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.919 regular season games, but they could never fully get past 346 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.600 their Western Conference piers who had superior offensive ball in 347 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.799 hand initiators that were just bigger players and better athletes. 348 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:18.159 And the last team to win NBA Championships while their 349 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:20.879 best player was a smallish ball in hand point guard 350 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.159 was the Detroit Pistons of the late eighties with Isaiah Thomas. 351 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.840 It has not happened since don't give me Steph Okay, 352 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:30.519 Steph is a unicorn, all right, and Steph is not 353 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:33.720 this smallish ball in hand offensive initiator. You know, Steph 354 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:37.039 does not fit the bill, okay. And by the way, 355 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:40.559 generationally special and unique. So when it comes to a 356 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.519 team built for success, the Knicks I think may have 357 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.360 hit a ceiling with this group in my opinion. Now, 358 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:49.200 I don't know what you do, because when you look 359 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:53.000 at their books, they're paying mkel og Kat and Jalen 360 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.759 and Josh Okay. So those five players are under contract 361 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.840 for a few years at big money. There's already rumors 362 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:02.840 that the Phoenix Suns would like to make a run 363 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:07.200 a cat because Kat played with book Devin Booker at Kentucky. 364 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.640 So do the next look at a cat Durant swap 365 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:13.119 and you go into next year with Mitchell Robinson as 366 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:15.240 you're starting center, and you get rid of the Cat, 367 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.079 and then you get rid of the cat experience all together. 368 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:19.960 Like Kat to me is a little bit like Donovan 369 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.400 in a lot of ways, but kind of in the 370 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:26.559 vein of you have a natural expiration date and a 371 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:30.839 natural ceiling if you're gonna play your basketball through him, 372 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:32.319 and you're gonna play him big minutes. 373 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:34.000 He is a sieve on defense. 374 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:36.400 He doesn't move well, and Indiana did a really good 375 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:37.480 job of confusing him. 376 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:40.240 Sometimes it was dropped, sometimes. 377 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:42.960 He would blitz, and then every game two or three 378 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:46.599 just brain farts where he commits fowls and then he 379 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:49.119 looks at the reft like what did I do? And 380 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:51.119 then you see the replay and you're like, you literally 381 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:55.920 grabbed the guy. It was so obvious that you committed 382 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:59.319 the dumbest fowls and the Knicks needed more from him, 383 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:02.440 you know. And it kind of sounds weird to criticize 384 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:05.599 Kat after honestly a spring where he played better than 385 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:08.319 I really ever thought he could in the playoffs, but 386 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:13.880 game six, the problems with Kat as your starting center 387 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:16.400 that plays thirty five to thirty eight minutes tonight were 388 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:19.720 magnified in Game six, and Indiana deserves a lot of 389 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:22.279 credit for the way they attacked him. They deserve a 390 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.480 lot of credit for the way they attack Jalen. And 391 00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:26.640 this whole narrative like Jalen's not a good defensive player. 392 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:29.640 It's not only that Jalen's not a great defensive player. 393 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:33.079 It's that Rick Carlisle knows New York relies so much 394 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:36.839 on Jalen offensively that if you make a work on defense, 395 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:39.720 he won't have the same energy to close out offensively 396 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.440 that he would otherwise. And when the game started and 397 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:46.319 it was up and down, back and forth, back and forth, 398 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:49.279 I was thinking the same thing, like, Okay, it's working 399 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.119 now for the Knicks, but come fourth quarter, comes second half, 400 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:55.039 they're going to be tired again. Indiana is going to 401 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:58.359 be rested because Indiana is used to playing eleven players 402 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:01.720 fifteen plus minute tonight, and this is not sustainable for 403 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.680 a team like New York. It's not built to get 404 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:06.759 up and down for forty forty eight minutes like Indiana is. 405 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.319 And sure enough, second half starts and. 406 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.160 You see the Knick's legs start to go and Indiana 407 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:16.440 just runs them off the floor. And the lack of 408 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:18.440 effort was pretty stunning. But I think a lot of 409 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:20.880 it was fatigue. And New York's got decisions to make 410 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:24.000 this offseason as the Indiana Pacers are marching on to 411 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:26.880 the NBA Finals only the second finals appearance for the 412 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:30.279 Pacers last one was twenty five years ago when they 413 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.119 beat the Knicks in six and went to the finals 414 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:33.559 and lost. 415 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:35.359 So so there you go. 416 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.039 Also, and we'll get to more of this coming up 417 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:39.000 with a couple of guests. 418 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:40.480 Smitty, He's gonna be live in studio. 419 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.359 The Utah Jazz have hired Austin Ahe the son of 420 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.359 team CEO and alternate governor Danny Age away from the Celtics, 421 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:51.079 and now Austin is the team's president of basketball operations. 422 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:54.240 When you read through some of the Ryan Smith statements 423 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:57.519 in some of the comments, it sounds like Austin and 424 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:03.079 Justin will report to Danny, not you know, Justin reports 425 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:03.480 to Austin. 426 00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:04.119 Austin report. 427 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.599 It sounds like Justin Zantik and Austin Ainge are kind 428 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:10.319 of linear on their place in the ORG chart or whatever, 429 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:13.160 and we'll report to Danny, who then of course reports 430 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.200 to Ryan. So we'll get into this. Austin spent seventeen 431 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:19.000 years with the Boston Self explained as college basketball Brigham 432 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:21.640 Young college football. 433 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.960 Right out of the gates, though with our buddy. 434 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.240 Kyle Vonnagura, who covers college football sometimes a little soccer 435 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:27.359 as well for ESPN. 436 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:30.960 Kyle, Happy Monday. It's been a minute. How you been, Bud. 437 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:32.480 I'm I'm good. I'm good. 438 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:37.759 So some interesting offseason college football storylines. Let's start with 439 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:43.079 the new CFP expansion proposal, the five plus eleven model, 440 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:47.880 which of course has support in some areas and detractors 441 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:50.359 and others. The Big twelve media or excuse me, the 442 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:53.160 Big twelve kind of summer meetings were held this weekend 443 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.960 in Orlando. Heard a lot from Brett Yormark. But what 444 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.000 say you about what's on the table? Five plus eleven 445 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:02.759 in sixteen? You think that's right? With the AQ bids 446 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:05.920 four for the Big ten, four for the SEC, two 447 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:08.000 for the a CC, two for the Big twelve. Do 448 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:09.519 you do you like that model? Do you think that's 449 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:10.160 where we're headed? 450 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:14.200 Yeah, I think it's where it's headed. As far as 451 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:16.799 I like it, I kind of felt like sixteen was 452 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:20.640 the right number from the beginning. The buyers or it 453 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:24.359 felt like the NCAAs takes small steps right, they're not 454 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:25.920 willing to you know, you're willing to go from two 455 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:27.960 to four from four, then you jump ay, I guess 456 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:29.799 they did jump out the eight to twelve. But it's 457 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:32.279 filled for me, like if you're gonna have if you're 458 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:37.079 gonna have a real playoff, sixteen. It makes it nice 459 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:41.200 and tidy. Right, There's the problem you have with twelve there, 460 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:43.400 and there was a lot you know, there's problems with 461 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:48.279 all these different formats. Was that you continue to devalue 462 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:50.880 the bulls, right and so now, and that's always gonna 463 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:54.559 be the case whenever you cut it off. But I 464 00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:57.279 think once you got to twelve, like when you get 465 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:00.240 the thirteen through twenty five, those Bowl games, like we're 466 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:02.960 essentially meaningless, right, and so you have the trickle down 467 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.200 effect on how it impacted Bowls was problematic. So I 468 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:07.799 thought you might as well just add more playoff games, 469 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.000 make those other teams play meaningful games. 470 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:11.480 At the end of the year. 471 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:13.440 I mean, I really like the FCS model that's even 472 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.400 bigger than that of these twenty four teams. Like for me, 473 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.759 that you could do buys with early round byes and 474 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:22.119 include more teams. It doesn't necessarily add too many games 475 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.920 in total for the whole country, right, but you get 476 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:27.920 to have meaningful games at the end of the season. 477 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:30.000 So yeah, like sixteen, like I think it's there's more football, 478 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:31.880 and I like having more football than matter, And I 479 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:34.519 think it's the simplest way to look at it. That's 480 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:35.400 why it's a good thing. 481 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:40.119 As far as the multiple automatic qualified spots for the 482 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:43.920 Big ten in the SEC essentially taking half the spots 483 00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:46.720 and then the Big twelve in the ACC getting two 484 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:49.599 and then leaving one for the group of five and 485 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:52.119 then you know the at large stuff. Do you think 486 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:54.359 that's where we're going as well? Or do you think 487 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:57.799 there's enough pushback from people that aren't in the big 488 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:00.200 ten in the SEC to maybe just make get a 489 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:02.759 straight sixteen sixteen team with eleven plus five. 490 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:04.240 How do you think that plays out? 491 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:07.160 I think it should be eleven plus five. It would 492 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:10.519 be kind of a bully You feel like it would 493 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:12.920 be bullying the other conferences if they added more automatic 494 00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:16.000 bids for the SEC and the Big ten, because like 495 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:18.559 the thing is like they don't need the automatic bids. 496 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:20.359 There's not going to be You can game it out 497 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:22.039 however you want to do it. Like, it's just I 498 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:23.839 don't see a scenario where that would even really come 499 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.839 into play, right. Maybe you can get get creative with it, 500 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.160 but yeah, like make it. Give it for me. The 501 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:32.480 five is what makes sense one one for outside of 502 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:35.880 the power conferences. Give the champions a bid, but at 503 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:39.079 the same time. Also, you know, if you're a champion 504 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.920 of one of those conferences, like you don't even need 505 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:44.319 the automatic bid at this point, Like it mattered more 506 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:47.920 at twelve. It certainly mattered at four where they valued 507 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.720 conference championships to a degree, but at sixteen, like if 508 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:53.240 you were in one of those leagues, like you're going 509 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:55.359 to get in. So it's almost kind of a point. 510 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.359 It's just to see how they'll use that to determine 511 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.039 you know, seating or home util those sorts of things, 512 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:02.839 is I think is where it gets more interesting. But 513 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:04.640 as far as like getting in the field, like, I 514 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:07.200 don't think that is ultimately going to make that much 515 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:09.079 of a difference. However they decide the structure. 516 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:12.799 Yeah, I agree with that, well said, So the sixteen 517 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:15.960 team expanded model will come our way twenty twenty six. 518 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.039 This year, we will have the twelve team format, but 519 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:22.519 it will be straight seeding. I don't know why they 520 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:24.759 didn't do this initially, Kyle. This seems to be one 521 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.200 of those like very common sense type things that should 522 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:30.359 have been done right away. But you know, we've already 523 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.480 got your thoughts on the sixteen team thing. But that's 524 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:34.400 in a year. So what do you think about the 525 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:37.079 twelve team format moving just a straight seeding this fall. 526 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:40.039 Yeah, so I I mean, I think, like you said, 527 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:42.880 for me, it was like another obvious move. And as 528 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:45.319 you know, I do like the bolt productions during the 529 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:48.799 regular season, and this is something that I identified the 530 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:50.880 first week. I did it the first week after games 531 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:54.480 are played. Where the impact, Like I understand like the 532 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:56.960 idea of it, Like they wanted to reward those like 533 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.079 the Big twelve champion and the ACC champion, right, they 534 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:02.680 wanted to give them a reward for winning their conferences. 535 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:04.920 And like in theory, like I could understand the logic, 536 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.599 but how it played out, Like it didn't play out 537 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:13.160 that way because it effectively punishes the top seed, Like 538 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:15.960 any playoff format should be designed to give an advantage 539 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.400 to the number one seed. That's why you're valuing the 540 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.720 regular season, right, Like, that's that's very basic with competitive sports, right. 541 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:26.799 But by getting buys to you know, the you in 542 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:28.839 the three and four spot for teams that weren't actually 543 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:32.799 the third and fourth best teams, it created inequitable matchups 544 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.160 in the second in the quarterfinal round, and it ended 545 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:37.799 up punishing you know, Oregon, like Oregon ended up playing 546 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:40.440 Ohio State, a team that would have been seated differently, 547 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:42.400 so it really messed up with how it should have 548 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:44.599 gone and punished the team at the top. So I think, yeah, 549 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.039 this is a I wrote. I wrote this almost every 550 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:49.279 week during the season, you know, kept hammering it at 551 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:50.880 the point home because it was just it just it 552 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:53.319 just never made sense when once you went and kind 553 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:55.079 of saw how it was going to play out. So 554 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.720 I'm unhappy that they were able to act quick and 555 00:25:57.799 --> 00:25:59.880 restore kind of restore order in that respect. 556 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:01.440 Do you still think you know? 557 00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:04.400 Coach Witt was on a podcast a couple of weeks ago, 558 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:09.480 and he continues to talk about the super league potential 559 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:12.200 possibility that you and I have discussed for years now 560 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:16.200 and college football writers have written about for years now, 561 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:19.440 and I don't know, man, like it feels like this 562 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:23.279 has become more fluid, in my opinion than actually something 563 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:26.200 concrete that I believe is inevitable. At one point, I 564 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:29.720 was convinced that we were high speed ahead to something 565 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:32.440 that looks a lot like the NFL with two conferences 566 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:36.519 whatever you call them, big ten sec grab you know, 567 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:39.160 a number of schools that they want, and then suddenly 568 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:41.839 that's AFC, NFC and we have like a miniature NFL 569 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:44.759 model in college football. I don't know how convinced I 570 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:46.079 am that we're headed there now, Kyle? 571 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:46.839 What about you? 572 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:48.319 So? 573 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.559 I think I'm still like pretty confident eventually it we'll 574 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:53.839 get there. I think for me, the question is is 575 00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:56.400 like how long is it going to take. It's not 576 00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:58.200 going to happen in five years. It might not happen 577 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:02.079 in ten years, but you know, eventually, you know. Once 578 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:03.640 and I think too, is like you have to kind 579 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.480 of get people to cycle out right the current admitted 580 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:09.839 like the leadership in place across the country, conferences and schools. 581 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:11.720 You know, you can kind of get a sense of 582 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:13.880 what they want right now, and that's going to hold 583 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:16.759 court for for a while, right, but those people will 584 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:19.160 only be in those jobs for for so long, and 585 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:22.400 then eventually you'll have, you know, an SEC commissioner who 586 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:25.440 doesn't care about Vanderbilt, or an Alabama athletic director or 587 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:28.519 a president who pushes for hey, like why is Vanderbilt 588 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.279 still in our like why are we still on equal 589 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.200 plane fields with them? 590 00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:31.319 Like? 591 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:33.480 Why are why are we peers with them as opposed 592 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:39.039 to creating a larger pie and less less people to 593 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:40.640 pull from or less schools to pull from. So I 594 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:42.960 think like eventually it still gets there, but it's just 595 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:45.319 a matter of waiting to see how how long that 596 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:48.880 will take. I mean, in hindsight, it's kind of remarkable 597 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:52.240 that this didn't all happen faster, Like you've seen how 598 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:55.000 it has all played out so quickly, Like there's just 599 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:57.920 so much money at stake that eventually money will always 600 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.319 drive this. You know, once these once the kids are employees, 601 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:04.480 like that's going to change things. Like there's eligibility questions 602 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:05.960 that are still kind of up in the air and 603 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.880 kind of fluid. So there's so many things that are 604 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:09.559 going to change. I think eventually there'll just be too 605 00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:12.079 much money for the schools at the top not to 606 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.119 be attempted to take a bigger slice. 607 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:18.720 So we've all been waiting for the House VNC DOUBA settlement, 608 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.319 and you know, we continue to wait, and it's been 609 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:26.680 kind of wild to watch what has unfolded surrounding this dynamic, 610 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:30.680 with certain states passing laws kind of behind closed doors 611 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:32.599 where it's like, yeah, our schools do not have to 612 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:35.440 adhere to whatever that settlement says, and then the P 613 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:38.599 four programs are all writing contracts to say, well, actually 614 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:40.160 you do if you want to hang out with us. 615 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:46.759 And so you have this interesting juxtaposition in dynamic where Tennessee, 616 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:51.759 among others, have literally passed legislation saying that their member 617 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:54.839 institutions are residing their state don't even have to do 618 00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:57.720 ad here to what House VNC DOUBA has to say 619 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:01.799 about nil distributions and so much the NCUBA has already 620 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:05.519 been told like you're not allowed to essentially put any 621 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:08.039 sort of restriction you can enforce any of your rules like. 622 00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:10.759 It all continues to be very fluid. 623 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:12.799 I think maybe I was a little bit hopeful in 624 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:15.279 Pie in the Sky and maybe naive believing that the 625 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:18.960 House VNC double A settlement would suddenly give us guardrails 626 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:20.519 and guidelines we've been looking for. 627 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:22.720 So how is this going. 628 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:24.559 All play out and what you're understanding about where we're 629 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:26.720 aut in the process of the House VNC double A. 630 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.079 That's a great question. I wish I had a nice 631 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:32.440 tidy answer for you, because it's I mean, it's just 632 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.920 so messy, And I think what's difficult right as you 633 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:38.160 have you know, fifty states or you know, not that 634 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:40.680 not quite that many in the NC DOUBLEA that are 635 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:42.400 are kind of in play here. But the point is 636 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:45.039 you have all these state governments, you have local governments, 637 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:47.599 you have private schools, you have public schools. There's so 638 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:52.960 many different parties that are governed by different entities. To 639 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:55.200 get them all on the same page, it's just so 640 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:59.079 hard to do, and so ultimately it's still unclear who 641 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:02.920 gets I don't say right. I mean, you've seen every lawsuit. 642 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:06.279 It's anytime the NC double has been challenging law or 643 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:08.920 the last you pick your time period, like they've lost right, 644 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:14.559 whether it's eligibility, whether that's you know, name anything they've 645 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:17.640 they've always sided with with with the players, and they're 646 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:20.440 kind of chase to have to get more money and 647 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:23.920 more uh you know, more distribution from from the n 648 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.880 C double A. And so it's I just don't see 649 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:29.200 how that's ever gonna like it's going to change while 650 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:31.599 you're still dealing with student athletes. And I think like 651 00:30:31.799 --> 00:30:34.480 that's for me, like out in the out in the distance, 652 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:37.599 like it just seems inevitable that eventually they become employees. 653 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:41.039 And once you're employees and you're not students and you're 654 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:43.079 not kind of governed by Title nine in the same way, 655 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:46.880 then you can say, okay, like then salary caps become 656 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:48.720 a little bit more real, right the n C, Like 657 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:53.440 then you operate like a professional league and the government 658 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:55.920 isn't going to be able to step in and and 659 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:58.400 govern in the way it is, you know, effectively do 660 00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:01.160 or not now with that with the House settlements, So yeah, 661 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:03.880 I don't have a great answer for you, but it 662 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:07.400 could because there's just so many moving pieces that until 663 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:10.680 you get until you knock one dominant dominant down, like, 664 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:12.759 it's really hard to say what's gonna happen with the 665 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:13.160 next one. 666 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:15.319 You know, one of the walking lines you hear a lot, 667 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:19.920 and I'm guilty of using it too is and sometimes 668 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:21.839 maybe if you do what you and I do for 669 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:24.400 a living, this is just like a smoke screen when 670 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:26.920 really what you're saying is I don't understand any of this. 671 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:30.240 So you land on, Well, Saturdays in the fall will 672 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:33.119 always still feel like Saturday is in the fall. Well, 673 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:37.240 it doesn't feel that way for Washington State anymore or 674 00:31:37.319 --> 00:31:41.160 Oregon State, and honestly, Kyle, Saturdays in the fall around 675 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:44.599 here still feel a little bit different based off of 676 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:47.839 the conference affiliation change where for years it was Oregon 677 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.400 and sc and the PAC twelve West Coast brands and 678 00:31:50.599 --> 00:31:53.640 Washington and do respect to the Big twelve because it's 679 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.400 at least a home for the University of Utah. The 680 00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:59.640 brands and teams that rolled through. Last year, it felt different, 681 00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:03.000 It just did. So my question is, well, Saturdays in 682 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:05.599 the fall still always feel like Saturdays in the fall 683 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:07.200 or is it just for a select you now? 684 00:32:08.279 --> 00:32:10.599 Yeah, I hope so, And that's probably the best I 685 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:14.680 can do. I mean, I do think that there is 686 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:20.119 a novelty about the conference realignment that was interesting this year. 687 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:23.240 You have to see new schools and new teams and 688 00:32:23.240 --> 00:32:25.240 and that part had had some a lure. But I 689 00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:28.480 do think that all were off, you know, pretty quickly, 690 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.960 at least for me. And eventually, when you're playing these 691 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:35.240 games that you don't have strong regional or historic ties to, 692 00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:37.160 it won't it won't be as fun. I mean, you 693 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:39.400 talk benefits because it's you know, in the same conference 694 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:40.920 with by US. I think for a lot of people 695 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:43.279 that like localized it in a way that was like, 696 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.119 you know, you gain the rivalry back and it's like 697 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:49.799 in a meaningful way. So there's there's there's given cake 698 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:51.960 to some degree. But but but I do still feel 699 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:54.480 like as long as they're playing these games on campus, 700 00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:57.920 as long as the you know, there's a those ties exist, 701 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:02.039 like attending the game is still going to feel pretty similar. 702 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:03.799 I mean, it's the uniforms that are going to be 703 00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:06.559 the same. Cheering for football at the end of the day, 704 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:11.480 like at its core, like that's that experience. A lot 705 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:13.359 would have to change for it to be, you know, 706 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:15.839 so different that it wouldn't be worth like participating or 707 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:19.480 paying attention to anymore. But the evolution is definitely going 708 00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:21.960 to keep happening. And in to a degree, right, it's 709 00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:24.200 that's been college football for a long time. But if 710 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:26.119 you look over one hundred years, like there's been so 711 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.279 many different iterations of what the sport has looked like 712 00:33:28.359 --> 00:33:30.839 that you know, even you know ten years ago, twenty 713 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:33.519 years ago, you know, that looked very little like it 714 00:33:33.559 --> 00:33:35.599 did you know, thirty years before that. And so I 715 00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:37.640 in a way like changes is part of the sport, 716 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.119 and I guess that's what it can continue. 717 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:41.680 To expect one more thing in this space, And I 718 00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:44.599 apologize if you feel like you've gone on Bloomberg News 719 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:45.680 on a Monday afternoon. 720 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:48.599 But I do want to ask you about another storyline. 721 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:52.279 Brett Yormark, among many things he's had to say over 722 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:54.519 the past seventy two hours, is the Big twelve has 723 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:58.519 elected to not accept private equity money for an ownership 724 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:02.079 stake in the conference. And you know, about a year ago, 725 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:05.480 I think it was Mark Lazry if I remember correctly, 726 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:08.199 the owner of the Bucks, who in a public form 727 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:10.920 said he planned on making an offer at Ohio State 728 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:13.199 football to try to buy like forty nine percent of 729 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:16.519 the Buckeyes. And they are rumors around here that some 730 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:19.199 of the powerful folk that have deep pockets wanted to 731 00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:21.800 get involved in Utah BYU football and potentially have an 732 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:27.159 ownership stake. And now the momentum is going the other direction. 733 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:30.559 Folks are now saying no to private equity money. I 734 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:33.679 am no finance major, but my gut tells me this 735 00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:37.760 must mean that conferences and programs have done their own 736 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:42.360 valuations on what they can make and understand that they 737 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:43.440 don't need that money. 738 00:34:43.480 --> 00:34:45.440 Now, if they needed the money, they would take it. 739 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:48.440 But it must mean that they don't want to sell 740 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:52.599 any ownership in either conferences or teams because of how dumb. 741 00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:54.880 The money continues to be with live TV rights. 742 00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:57.440 I mean, that's where my antenna goes when I keep 743 00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:00.320 hearing these stories that now go the other way. As 744 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:03.280 far as people not accepting private equity money, what are 745 00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:03.920 your thoughts on that? 746 00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:09.280 So, I think it's like everything is a negotiation, right. 747 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:12.599 I think what happened was the Big Twelve, you know, 748 00:35:13.159 --> 00:35:16.159 realized that they weren't going to get enough money that 749 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:18.400 they were there was like the the idea the offer 750 00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:21.719 wasn't big enough. Right, if you had whatever the number is, 751 00:35:21.920 --> 00:35:23.719 say say like, we'll just throw at a number that makes 752 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:25.840 no sense, but you would have to accept, right, if 753 00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:28.440 the number was fifty billion dollars, right, of course they 754 00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:31.440 would have accepted private acty money at that at that number. Right, 755 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:34.039 But at a certain point, at a certain point, it's 756 00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:35.719 worth it and they you would have to say yes. 757 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:38.079 But they just didn't get to that point. And so 758 00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:41.920 eventually could that change, Like, I think absolutely it could change. 759 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:44.920 But right now they've made the determination that that that 760 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:47.880 sort of investment isn't in their best interest. And you know, 761 00:35:48.039 --> 00:35:49.800 if and when that changes, like I think they'll be 762 00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:51.960 open to revisiting it. But for now, yeah, I mean, 763 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:53.880 it hasn't It hasn't happened yet, but just the idea 764 00:35:53.920 --> 00:35:56.679 that so many people are looked into it, are considering 765 00:35:56.719 --> 00:35:58.880 it makes me think that eventually it'll probably happen. It 766 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:01.760 just and it'll just be a question of what the 767 00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:04.079 circumstances looked like for that for that to be the case. 768 00:36:04.199 --> 00:36:05.039 Let's move over here. 769 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.880 You know, Brian Santiago hired his BYU's athletic director, taking 770 00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:13.000 over for Tom Homo. So before I expand to the 771 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:14.920 second part of the question, let me get your thoughts 772 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:18.280 on that. And mostly I'm quite sure you don't know, Brian, 773 00:36:18.360 --> 00:36:23.519 but covering Tom Homo as BYU's athletic director, I think 774 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:26.880 he did a remarkable job. Traversing through independence for a 775 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:29.840 decade was a tough ask, but they were able to 776 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:33.800 find a landing spot. Their basketball team is insanely good 777 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:35.920 and their football team is coming off a really nice 778 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:39.440 year in the Big Twelve. So Brian inheriting an athletic 779 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:41.679 department in really good shape as a result of the 780 00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:43.679 work that Tom did. So your thoughts on Tom Homo 781 00:36:43.760 --> 00:36:46.159 as he goes to spend the rest of his days 782 00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:49.559 on a beach somewhere, probably yeah, No, I mean, as 783 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:49.840 you know. 784 00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:51.480 I live here in the Bay Area. So my first 785 00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:54.679 kind of experience with Tom Holmo as he's the coach 786 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:56.599 at Cal, he's the coach or assistant coach of the 787 00:36:56.599 --> 00:36:57.960 forty nine ers before it, So I was kind of 788 00:36:57.960 --> 00:36:59.920 like always generally aware of him in the space, and 789 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:01.800 then you know, I had a chance to get to 790 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:04.480 know him a little bit this past year with a 791 00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:06.559 few stories I was working on about BUYU. And like 792 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:09.599 I think with those interactions like with with Tom that 793 00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:11.840 I had, I really enjoyed all of them. For me, 794 00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:14.599 he was really good to work with. He was he 795 00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:17.480 was candid, he was open, he was a good storyteller. 796 00:37:18.679 --> 00:37:20.960 And then you can't argue with with the results of 797 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:23.280 where the program is right now. I mean, I mean 798 00:37:23.320 --> 00:37:26.119 you you, I mean you said it. Basketball football, both 799 00:37:26.119 --> 00:37:28.119 are in a really good spot position to be good 800 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:28.920 for a long time. 801 00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:30.079 You know. 802 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:32.400 Getting into the Big twelve was a big win after 803 00:37:32.599 --> 00:37:35.119 the kind of the obviously of independence for for so long, 804 00:37:35.159 --> 00:37:38.400 and so he leaves BUYU in a spot where you know, 805 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:41.280 for Brian you can hope to build off that. Obviously, 806 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:43.599 the I think Buyu, you know, more than a lot 807 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:45.679 of schools has really benefited from the ANL shift. They 808 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:47.599 have a lot of people who are willing to help 809 00:37:47.639 --> 00:37:50.519 out with with those programs to help them stay competitive. 810 00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:53.719 And so yeah, I have only only nice things to 811 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.840 say about Tom and kind of the way he handled 812 00:37:55.960 --> 00:37:59.000 himself in personal actions with me, and just kind of 813 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:01.480 the big picture pomplishments that he had in his time 814 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:02.320 done in provo. 815 00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:07.239 I think the Santiago News became official on May nineteenth, 816 00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:10.039 and then on May twenty first, the Salt Lake Tribune 817 00:38:10.119 --> 00:38:13.559 reports that Jake Rerhetz Laugh is being sued by a 818 00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:17.079 woman here in Salt Lake. It is a civil lawsuit 819 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:18.440 and we've talked about it on the show. 820 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:19.840 These are not criminal charges. 821 00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:23.679 So the Tribune reports on it, and then you wrote 822 00:38:23.719 --> 00:38:24.639 on it for ESPN. 823 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:27.679 You were actually able to uncover some new details. 824 00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:29.559 I don't know that I have a question, and I 825 00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:32.239 don't want to make this a football story because it isn't. 826 00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:35.760 He is the starting quarterback for BYU and coming off 827 00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:38.880 a really good year. But I wonder throughout the process 828 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:42.000 that you went through to kind of have the discovery 829 00:38:42.039 --> 00:38:44.480 for what you wrote on the dot com for ESPN, 830 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:47.400 what you would like to share about this story and 831 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:49.880 if you have any insight on what the next steps are. 832 00:38:51.440 --> 00:38:53.360 Yeah, these are always tough to report. And you get 833 00:38:53.400 --> 00:38:55.119 into this industry hoping to write about sports and you 834 00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:59.039 end up reading a civil case about a really gruesome 835 00:38:59.079 --> 00:39:03.280 allegation of rape. Right, I've read a lot of these 836 00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:07.320 sorts of civil filings over the years, and this is 837 00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:09.239 this is one of the worst ones that I've read, 838 00:39:09.360 --> 00:39:12.880 just in how graphic it was. That's all part of 839 00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:15.639 the public domain at this point. You know, you don't 840 00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:18.039 know if these are Again, I can't stress the stuff. 841 00:39:18.039 --> 00:39:21.159 It is an allegation, but when I read it, you know, 842 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:23.960 if if the allegation is true, it's it's it's it's 843 00:39:23.960 --> 00:39:27.840 as serious a case of of rape and sexual assault 844 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:31.639 that I've that I've read covering sports. So you know, 845 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:35.159 beyond that, you know, it's it's It's tough to say 846 00:39:35.239 --> 00:39:37.719 much other than kind of like the news. Right, he's 847 00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:42.280 he was never arrested. The pro Goo Police Department, uh 848 00:39:42.800 --> 00:39:48.000 did deny the women's the women's claim that that she 849 00:39:48.159 --> 00:39:51.719 was told that sexual assault victims never seek justice. They 850 00:39:51.760 --> 00:39:55.440 had a pretty lengthy statement about that. They'll, you know, 851 00:39:55.480 --> 00:40:01.280 they'll there'll be some time before Retslaus lawyer will reply 852 00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:03.840 to the lawsuit. It sounds that we are pretty adamant 853 00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:07.079 in their comments that it didn't happen, and so they'll reply. 854 00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:10.239 We'll see what they're kind of rebuttal is I'm sure 855 00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:13.679 they'll try to get the keys dismissed. But other than that, 856 00:40:13.679 --> 00:40:18.360 there's not a lot to say it's especially without a 857 00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:22.239 police report that documents anything from the time that it 858 00:40:22.280 --> 00:40:23.119 allegedly took place. 859 00:40:23.519 --> 00:40:26.119 All Right, Kyle, before I say, you loose, and I 860 00:40:26.159 --> 00:40:27.679 always kind of chuckle when I do this to you, 861 00:40:27.800 --> 00:40:31.480 because it's early June and we have no idea what 862 00:40:31.559 --> 00:40:32.679 these teams are going to look. 863 00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:33.280 Like come fall. 864 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:36.119 But I will ask you about the University of Utah 865 00:40:36.199 --> 00:40:38.440 because we're a mile away from Risco Stadium and we're 866 00:40:38.519 --> 00:40:40.840 the home of the youth. So Vegas has set the 867 00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:44.519 over under at seven point five. That's mid table for 868 00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:47.199 Big twelve. I think most of the preseason prediction stuff 869 00:40:47.239 --> 00:40:49.960 I've seen has Utah anywhere between like four and seven. 870 00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:53.360 So I think it's probably better for them not to 871 00:40:53.400 --> 00:40:56.039 have these lofty expectations like they did a year ago. 872 00:40:56.119 --> 00:40:58.519 And of course the health stuff with Cam Rising and 873 00:40:58.519 --> 00:41:01.480 all the stuff that went down has been something we've 874 00:41:01.480 --> 00:41:03.840 covered at nauseum. So it's a new quarterback, it's a 875 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:07.679 new offensive coordinator. PFF has them ranked as the number 876 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:11.320 two offensive line of the country behind Bama. So they're 877 00:41:11.320 --> 00:41:13.280 going to be stacked where they need to be in 878 00:41:13.320 --> 00:41:15.800 the trenches like they always are. So I won't ask 879 00:41:15.800 --> 00:41:18.199 you about specifics because I'm quite sure you're not grinding 880 00:41:18.239 --> 00:41:21.960 on Utah's too deep in June, but just you your 881 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:25.119 thoughts on what a potential bounce back season could look 882 00:41:25.159 --> 00:41:26.800 like for the U two year two in the Big twelve. 883 00:41:28.199 --> 00:41:30.559 Yeah, it's it's I certainly expect going to be much 884 00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:32.360 much better than a year ago. It's hard to you know, 885 00:41:32.440 --> 00:41:34.400 two and seven, it's hard to be worse, as they say, right, 886 00:41:34.519 --> 00:41:37.280 I think like the schedule is, you know, it's manageable. 887 00:41:37.320 --> 00:41:39.880 I think non conference UCLA, Cal Poly, Wyoly, those are 888 00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:42.320 all winnable games. So you expect to be three to 889 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:44.079 zero headed in the conference. And then if you go 890 00:41:44.679 --> 00:41:46.400 then if you go four and five, even the conference, 891 00:41:46.440 --> 00:41:49.159 that puts it at seven wins, which would be a 892 00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:51.840 two win improvement. And you know, like you said, it's 893 00:41:51.920 --> 00:41:54.199 just have to break it down right now and field 894 00:41:54.280 --> 00:41:57.360 any sort of level of confidence. But I think having 895 00:41:57.599 --> 00:41:59.639 you know, dam Pier come along, you come over with 896 00:41:59.639 --> 00:42:01.760 with Jack. You know, he knows the offense, he knows 897 00:42:01.760 --> 00:42:04.679 the system. That's a model that's worked at a number 898 00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:06.880 of places over the years, moving a quarterback with the 899 00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:10.440 coach as opposed to just kind of grabbing someone or 900 00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:14.320 even just matriculating someone on the roster. So I think 901 00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:16.440 there's like a reason to be optimistic that they can 902 00:42:16.480 --> 00:42:18.519 be successful. It's going to be a different look. You know, 903 00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:22.639 Dampier ran a lot more than Utah has expected its 904 00:42:22.679 --> 00:42:24.679 quarterbacks to do in recent years, and so I think 905 00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:26.639 there will be a lot more of you know, that 906 00:42:26.719 --> 00:42:29.280 quarterback run game will give them a new look, new 907 00:42:29.320 --> 00:42:32.239 fresh look that they probably needed after things got stale. 908 00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:35.320 So yeah, I think Utah will be better in terms 909 00:42:35.320 --> 00:42:39.159 of how much better, you know. Let's wait and see. 910 00:42:38.880 --> 00:42:42.199 You allow, my friend, Well, I appreciate your time today. 911 00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:44.159 Hope all is well with you, have a great week, 912 00:42:44.159 --> 00:42:46.039 and we'll chat too. And thanks Kyle, all right. Thanks 913 00:42:46.760 --> 00:42:49.760 Bona gir covers college football and a little soccer from 914 00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:53.320 time to time for our friends at ESPN. I'm noticing 915 00:42:53.320 --> 00:42:56.559 that he never tweets anymore. But his work is up 916 00:42:56.559 --> 00:42:59.039 on his Twitter page at Bonagra ESPN is where you 917 00:42:59.079 --> 00:42:59.639 find him. 918 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:01.159 So appreciate Kyle's temp. 919 00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:03.159 The time brought to you today by our friends at 920 00:43:03.159 --> 00:43:04.280 IFA Country Stores. 921 00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:06.599 When the seasons change, I don't know if you've noticed. 922 00:43:06.639 --> 00:43:07.199 That's right now. 923 00:43:07.239 --> 00:43:09.119 If you're like any good coach, you'll put together your 924 00:43:09.119 --> 00:43:11.719 game plan for a healthy, green lawn and you'll turn 925 00:43:11.800 --> 00:43:14.199 the experts at IFA. Check out their four plus lawn 926 00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:16.679 care program everything you need to make your yard of hit. 927 00:43:16.719 --> 00:43:19.679 It's the ultimate lawn owner power move at IFA. At 928 00:43:19.719 --> 00:43:23.639 IFA dot co op. Well, we were hoping on a 929 00:43:23.679 --> 00:43:27.280 Monday edition of the program to be previewing a game 930 00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:30.400 seven tonight between the Knicks and the Pacers at Madison 931 00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:33.880 Square Garden at Midtown, Manhattan. But that MSG is dark 932 00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:36.480 tonight unless they have a concert or whatever is going on. 933 00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:40.440 There's no basketball. NBA Finals begin on Thursday. Let's do 934 00:43:40.480 --> 00:43:42.559 some NBA with our next guest on a Monday. Tom 935 00:43:42.599 --> 00:43:45.880 haverstro Buddy, how are you. 936 00:43:45.960 --> 00:43:46.760 I'm good. I'm good. 937 00:43:46.840 --> 00:43:50.599 So let's let's be let's be reductive right off the start. 938 00:43:50.679 --> 00:43:53.760 Why are we not previewing eight game seven tonight between 939 00:43:53.800 --> 00:43:54.960 the Knicks and the Pacers. 940 00:43:55.480 --> 00:43:57.480 Well, the defense of the Knicks just couldn't keep up 941 00:43:57.519 --> 00:44:02.880 with the Pacers. Carl Anthony Howe and Mitchell Robinson as 942 00:44:02.920 --> 00:44:06.199 your rim protectors, it didn't bode well for the Knicks. 943 00:44:06.239 --> 00:44:08.880 They've got Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns, who are 944 00:44:08.880 --> 00:44:13.760 two one way superstars. They are superstar offensive players, but 945 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:19.039 defensively Josh hart og Annobie mckel bridges and Mitchell Robinson 946 00:44:19.079 --> 00:44:21.039 to a lesser degree, he was coming off the bench 947 00:44:21.039 --> 00:44:24.239 for most of the season. Those three wing guys were 948 00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:29.320 supposed to be more than enough defensively to cover up 949 00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:32.000 and hide Jalen Brunton and Karl Anthony Towns. 950 00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:34.800 But you can't. 951 00:44:34.880 --> 00:44:39.519 Excuse Karl Anthony Towns having one block in that entire 952 00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:40.639 conference finals. 953 00:44:41.280 --> 00:44:42.199 It just can't happen. 954 00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:46.480 And it's the first time that we've seen a player 955 00:44:46.920 --> 00:44:50.880 that size in the conference finals, play that many minutes 956 00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:56.320 and have that few number of blocks. It's just very 957 00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:00.519 difficult to win when your best center is is not 958 00:45:01.880 --> 00:45:04.719 a rim protector and a good defender. Now Nikolie Jokic 959 00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:08.519 gets away with that. He's not as soft as Karl 960 00:45:08.519 --> 00:45:12.679 Anthony Towns is as a rim protector. The defense for 961 00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:15.679 the Knicks was really their undoing is that they just 962 00:45:15.800 --> 00:45:19.360 were not able to get enough scoring in order to 963 00:45:19.400 --> 00:45:21.880 compensate for that end of the floor. And the Pacers 964 00:45:21.880 --> 00:45:26.920 they move the ball, they'd exploit matchups. Pascal Siakam Tyree's 965 00:45:26.960 --> 00:45:32.079 Halliburn were excellent at creating mismatches and taking advantage of 966 00:45:32.119 --> 00:45:34.800 the knicks slow defense. You know, like Karl Anthony Towns. 967 00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:37.920 How many times was he jogging back on defense or 968 00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:41.079 complaining about a foul call on his back and the 969 00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:44.039 Pacers just ran him out of the gym and ultimately 970 00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:48.440 oj Ananobi Josh Hart mckel bridges had two hit shots 971 00:45:48.880 --> 00:45:52.639 had to be not just d but also the three, 972 00:45:52.719 --> 00:45:55.639 and they couldn't do it. So the Indiana Pacers move 973 00:45:55.719 --> 00:46:01.239 on after being the This is the crazy sat Indiana Pacers. 974 00:46:01.400 --> 00:46:06.920 Before this season, sportsbooks had projected that the New Orleans 975 00:46:06.920 --> 00:46:09.840 Pelicans would ever better shot at making the NBA Finals 976 00:46:09.840 --> 00:46:14.679 than the Indiana Pacers. So that is how much of 977 00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:16.840 an underdog this Pacers team. Even though they went to 978 00:46:16.840 --> 00:46:19.960 the Eastern Conference Finals, they were just I think it 979 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:22.880 was plus twenty five hundred to win the East and 980 00:46:22.960 --> 00:46:26.360 make it to the NBA Finals, and when you compare 981 00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:30.079 their title ods, they had the same or worse title 982 00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:32.559 odds than the New Orleans Pelicans. So this really is 983 00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:36.079 one of the most unlikely NBA Finals matchups, and that's 984 00:46:36.360 --> 00:46:39.280 mostly coming from that East side with the Indiana Pacers. 985 00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:42.480 Your point about the next defense is spot on. And 986 00:46:42.679 --> 00:46:45.920 that's that's the thing that I've been talking about on 987 00:46:45.960 --> 00:46:48.880 the show because the two games where they guarded, they won, 988 00:46:49.320 --> 00:46:52.480 but they only guarded for two games, Tom. And you know, 989 00:46:52.800 --> 00:46:55.760 I said on Friday before we signed off, prior to 990 00:46:55.559 --> 00:47:00.039 that game six on Saturday, like, I know that the 991 00:47:00.079 --> 00:47:03.079 Pacers were getting, you know, a lot, a lot of credit, 992 00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:05.280 a lot of love for their shot making. The game 993 00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:08.280 one comeback where Nie Smith went crazy. You go back 994 00:47:08.320 --> 00:47:11.519 and watch the final few minutes. The Nie Smith shots 995 00:47:11.559 --> 00:47:15.199 were practice shots. He was stepping into mostly wide open threes. 996 00:47:15.480 --> 00:47:19.159 Given credit for turning into Ray Allen Circing nineteen ninety 997 00:47:19.159 --> 00:47:22.519 eight or whatever. But I don't fully understand how a 998 00:47:22.519 --> 00:47:26.679 team who's head coach is all defense was such a 999 00:47:26.719 --> 00:47:30.119 sieve on that side of the floor more often than not. 1000 00:47:30.280 --> 00:47:32.320 And I do think it comes down to cat. I 1001 00:47:32.360 --> 00:47:33.960 do think you have a cat problem. 1002 00:47:34.360 --> 00:47:34.559 Now. 1003 00:47:34.639 --> 00:47:37.639 I also will say the Cat was better in this 1004 00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:41.000 playoff run than I've ever seen him play in playoff basketball. 1005 00:47:41.119 --> 00:47:43.840 I don't want to make this like I'm only crushing Cat, 1006 00:47:44.559 --> 00:47:46.320 but you look at their books, Tom, They've got their 1007 00:47:46.360 --> 00:47:47.960 five mini guys signed for a while. 1008 00:47:48.719 --> 00:47:50.360 But I don't know. 1009 00:47:49.920 --> 00:47:52.079 I think you do need to figure something out with 1010 00:47:52.159 --> 00:47:55.519 Karl Anthony Towns because he just does not play defense 1011 00:47:56.039 --> 00:47:59.639 and commits some of the dumbest fouls that I've ever 1012 00:47:59.719 --> 00:48:01.920 seen watching NBA basketball. 1013 00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:02.880 So if you're Leon. 1014 00:48:02.719 --> 00:48:05.800 Rose and you look at a season that I think 1015 00:48:05.840 --> 00:48:08.079 a little bit is twenty dollars in the back pocket 1016 00:48:08.159 --> 00:48:10.599 of jeans that you pull out of the dryer because 1017 00:48:10.599 --> 00:48:12.800 you did get to the Eastern Conference Finals. You did 1018 00:48:12.840 --> 00:48:16.239 block Boston from winning a championship. But I don't know 1019 00:48:16.280 --> 00:48:19.920 that this group has more in them than what we saw. 1020 00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:22.480 I don't know that this is an NBA finals group. 1021 00:48:22.480 --> 00:48:24.559 I don't know that I would pick him to make 1022 00:48:24.559 --> 00:48:26.400 it back to the Eastern Conference Finals next year. 1023 00:48:26.400 --> 00:48:28.360 What does the offseason look like in New York time. 1024 00:48:29.079 --> 00:48:31.440 Well, the tough thing here is a couple of things. One, 1025 00:48:31.719 --> 00:48:33.920 they put in five first round picks and cleaned out 1026 00:48:33.960 --> 00:48:36.480 their cover to first round picks tradable first round picks 1027 00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:38.599 to get mckel bridges, and he just wasn't good enough 1028 00:48:38.760 --> 00:48:40.079 to justify that price tech. 1029 00:48:40.880 --> 00:48:41.519 He just wasn't. 1030 00:48:43.119 --> 00:48:46.800 He was softer defensively, not as physical as you would 1031 00:48:46.800 --> 00:48:51.199 want someone point of attack defender. He's a guy who 1032 00:48:51.239 --> 00:48:53.079 loved the mid range and hit a bunch of mid 1033 00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:56.239 range shots, but became kind of Ben Simmons esque yips. 1034 00:48:56.679 --> 00:48:58.480 He and Josh Hart just did not want to take 1035 00:48:58.480 --> 00:49:02.559 a layup, and for that you gave up five first 1036 00:49:02.599 --> 00:49:06.360 round picks. And the only tradable first round pick that 1037 00:49:06.400 --> 00:49:10.559 you have is Washington's top eight protected pick next year, 1038 00:49:11.159 --> 00:49:14.639 and that's almost certainly not going to convey. And then 1039 00:49:14.679 --> 00:49:17.480 it becomes two second round picks. So really the Nicks 1040 00:49:17.519 --> 00:49:19.519 don't have any tradable first round picks. They have a 1041 00:49:19.559 --> 00:49:23.360 couple swaps that they can do. But when let's say 1042 00:49:23.760 --> 00:49:29.400 you're offering the Milwaukee Bucks Karl Anthony Towns and two pickswaps, well, 1043 00:49:29.639 --> 00:49:32.920 when you're acquiring Giannis Atatakumpo, how valuable is a pick 1044 00:49:32.960 --> 00:49:36.599 swap if you're offering it to you know, Milwaukee as 1045 00:49:36.639 --> 00:49:37.360 a as a. 1046 00:49:37.440 --> 00:49:38.639 Carrots in that trade. 1047 00:49:38.760 --> 00:49:42.360 Milwaukee looks at that and says, I really how much? 1048 00:49:43.079 --> 00:49:45.079 What are the odds that we're going to say, Yeah, 1049 00:49:45.400 --> 00:49:51.199 the Knicks with Jalen Brunson, Michel Bridges, ogn andob and 1050 00:49:50.119 --> 00:49:53.639 And and Jannis ended Akompo are going to have a 1051 00:49:53.960 --> 00:49:58.360 worse team than the Milwaukee Bucks with Karl Anthony town 1052 00:49:58.400 --> 00:50:02.159 So it's like you look at potential blockbuster trade, you 1053 00:50:02.199 --> 00:50:06.559 put it on the on the table for Jannisana d Kompo. 1054 00:50:06.559 --> 00:50:11.119 I Jianis even wants out of Milwaukee. Leon Rose has 1055 00:50:11.199 --> 00:50:16.000 to a convince Janni Sanda da Koumpo that the New 1056 00:50:16.039 --> 00:50:19.440 York Knicks are the team for him. He's not a 1057 00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:22.960 CIA client. And we've talked about this before, is that 1058 00:50:23.960 --> 00:50:28.360 the New York Knicks have aligned themselves with Leon Rose's 1059 00:50:28.440 --> 00:50:32.280 former agency CIA. He used to run the basketball side 1060 00:50:32.320 --> 00:50:36.079 of CIA, and his rolodex is super deep in terms 1061 00:50:36.119 --> 00:50:38.519 of the clients that he had in the NBA, including 1062 00:50:38.639 --> 00:50:42.199 Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. You go on down the list, 1063 00:50:42.199 --> 00:50:45.880 he had an incredible stable of NBA players on his list. 1064 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:49.039 Karl Anthony Towns might have been the most lucrative. One 1065 00:50:49.039 --> 00:50:51.719 of all is that when you look at the contract 1066 00:50:51.760 --> 00:50:56.719 that he signed, Leon Rose was the big biggest benefactor there, 1067 00:50:56.880 --> 00:50:59.119 and it was his largest client when he was on 1068 00:50:59.159 --> 00:51:00.320 the agency side. 1069 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:02.000 But Jannis is. 1070 00:51:02.119 --> 00:51:05.719 At Octagon and so the CIA link that he has 1071 00:51:05.760 --> 00:51:09.840 with Jalen Brunson, his son, Leon Rose's son is Jalen 1072 00:51:09.880 --> 00:51:15.199 Brunson's agent at CIA, Sam Rose. If you look at 1073 00:51:15.400 --> 00:51:18.519 og Ananobi CIA, if you look at Josh Hart CIA, 1074 00:51:18.639 --> 00:51:22.239 Karl Anthony Towns CIA, the New York Knicks have allocated 1075 00:51:22.239 --> 00:51:24.480 one hundred and thirty million dollars of their payroll this 1076 00:51:24.559 --> 00:51:27.800 year to CIA clients. That's the largest sum in the 1077 00:51:27.920 --> 00:51:33.320 NBA for any team an agency. So it's very closely aligned. 1078 00:51:33.400 --> 00:51:36.639 The bonds between CIA and the Knicks are very strong, right, 1079 00:51:37.639 --> 00:51:40.559 So you got to convince Jannis a we are the 1080 00:51:40.599 --> 00:51:43.280 team for you. If you want out of Milwaukee, we 1081 00:51:43.360 --> 00:51:46.360 are the team for you. But that's not the hard part. 1082 00:51:46.519 --> 00:51:50.360 I wrote for Yahoo Sports yesterday in a column The 1083 00:51:50.440 --> 00:51:53.239 hard part for Leon Roose are you really going to 1084 00:51:53.280 --> 00:51:57.639 portray Karl Anthony Towns like that? He was Karl Anthony 1085 00:51:57.679 --> 00:51:58.960 Towns' agent. 1086 00:51:58.679 --> 00:51:59.800 Before he was picked number one. 1087 00:51:59.840 --> 00:52:03.559 Oh for all, he was close with Karl Anthony Towns 1088 00:52:03.639 --> 00:52:07.119 and war Why West when Karl anton Town's decided to 1089 00:52:07.119 --> 00:52:13.679 go play for the national team, the Dominican national team. 1090 00:52:14.239 --> 00:52:17.800 The coach was John Calipari, who then coached him at Kentucky. 1091 00:52:17.880 --> 00:52:21.559 Like they're they're very close and they go way back, right, So, 1092 00:52:21.639 --> 00:52:23.920 now that you're on the Knicks, is Leon Rose going 1093 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:26.119 to be able to look at Karl Anthony Towns and say, 1094 00:52:26.159 --> 00:52:29.199 we're going to trade you to Milwaukee for Yiannis. That's 1095 00:52:29.239 --> 00:52:32.039 going to be a tough proposition. Even if Joannice is like, 1096 00:52:32.079 --> 00:52:34.679 I want to go to the Knicks, leon Rose has 1097 00:52:34.719 --> 00:52:37.320 to just like say, all right, this is a tough 1098 00:52:37.519 --> 00:52:39.320 decision for me, but I am going to send you 1099 00:52:39.360 --> 00:52:39.880 to Milwaukee. 1100 00:52:39.880 --> 00:52:40.559 That's gonna be tough. 1101 00:52:40.920 --> 00:52:43.599 The other thing is like KD. What happens with KD? 1102 00:52:43.719 --> 00:52:47.039 You know his rich Climban, his agent is the New 1103 00:52:47.119 --> 00:52:51.320 York guy, and KD if everyone expects him to be 1104 00:52:52.599 --> 00:52:58.440 on the market this summer, whether it's Minnesota or somewhere else, Houston, Miami, 1105 00:52:58.880 --> 00:53:02.760 New York, New York again, Karl Anthony Towns would have 1106 00:53:02.880 --> 00:53:06.400 to go. As as that trade money wise, you have 1107 00:53:06.400 --> 00:53:08.880 to bring in a three team deal and that might 1108 00:53:08.920 --> 00:53:11.679 be a possibility. And the way that you might you 1109 00:53:11.800 --> 00:53:14.000 might argue if you're the Knicks, all right, we get 1110 00:53:14.079 --> 00:53:16.960 KD and we get off of Karl Anthony Towns's long 1111 00:53:17.039 --> 00:53:19.880 term money. We're going to able to get a better 1112 00:53:20.159 --> 00:53:23.079 center to go next to KD, who probably can't guard 1113 00:53:23.119 --> 00:53:24.840 four as consistently. 1114 00:53:24.599 --> 00:53:25.400 At this age. 1115 00:53:25.480 --> 00:53:27.119 But you get up the long term money because right 1116 00:53:27.119 --> 00:53:29.239 now he's going to be an expiring deal next year. 1117 00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:33.239 If Leon Rose looks for this and says, all right, 1118 00:53:33.480 --> 00:53:36.639 maybe I don't trade you to Milwaukee, but you get 1119 00:53:36.639 --> 00:53:39.360 to reunite with Devin Booker and Phoenix, he gets to 1120 00:53:39.360 --> 00:53:42.559 take care of his client. There there's other options for 1121 00:53:42.599 --> 00:53:43.079 the Knicks. 1122 00:53:43.559 --> 00:53:44.400 They run it back. 1123 00:53:44.960 --> 00:53:48.320 Maybe they move mckel bridges to Dallas or somewhere else where. 1124 00:53:48.320 --> 00:53:51.559 They can move mckel and try to get maybe Daniel 1125 00:53:51.639 --> 00:53:56.079 Gafford and Caleb Martin from Dallas and Dallas upgrades on 1126 00:53:56.079 --> 00:53:59.480 the point of attack defense next to Anthony Davis. 1127 00:53:59.480 --> 00:54:00.079 And we know so. 1128 00:54:02.480 --> 00:54:05.400 Nico Harrison, we know he wants defense wins championships, and 1129 00:54:05.480 --> 00:54:07.280 right now their point of attack defense is like Klay 1130 00:54:07.320 --> 00:54:09.599 Thompson and Cooper Flack. I don't think that that's going 1131 00:54:09.639 --> 00:54:11.239 to work out for them this year if they want 1132 00:54:11.239 --> 00:54:13.079 to win. And so maybe you propose that trade. But 1133 00:54:13.119 --> 00:54:17.400 even then it's very likely Spence that the Knicks just 1134 00:54:17.440 --> 00:54:18.599 decide to run this back. 1135 00:54:19.039 --> 00:54:20.960 I think Knicks fans would love to have Giannis. 1136 00:54:21.400 --> 00:54:24.480 I think they would love to have KD. But it 1137 00:54:24.599 --> 00:54:30.400 requires a CIA team to trade away their top CAA 1138 00:54:30.440 --> 00:54:34.760 guy in Karl Anthony Towns. And that's it matters more 1139 00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:38.960 than people realize, is these relationships over time. And Leon 1140 00:54:39.039 --> 00:54:42.800 Rose has always been a very loyal guy. Jalen Brunson's father, 1141 00:54:42.880 --> 00:54:47.400 Rick Brunson, was his first client, NBA client, and now 1142 00:54:47.440 --> 00:54:50.360 he's the coach for Tom Thibodeaux, another CIA client, So 1143 00:54:50.400 --> 00:54:52.360 this and of course gets his son to be the 1144 00:54:52.360 --> 00:54:56.039 star in New York. These bonds are very strong, and 1145 00:54:56.239 --> 00:54:59.000 if they are going to upgrade next season, it's gonna 1146 00:54:59.000 --> 00:55:01.920 mean that the CAA link is going to be tested. 1147 00:55:02.519 --> 00:55:06.559 And with Karl Anthony Towns, the CIA client, Josh hart 1148 00:55:06.559 --> 00:55:09.960 ogn Andobi and Jalen Brunts and all CA guys, I mean, 1149 00:55:10.280 --> 00:55:12.800 are they going to be willing to move one of 1150 00:55:12.800 --> 00:55:14.840 those guys to upgrade the roster or are they just 1151 00:55:14.840 --> 00:55:16.840 gonna say, look, we're gonna run it back next year 1152 00:55:17.519 --> 00:55:20.639 and we're going to improve. Everyone's got to improve in 1153 00:55:20.679 --> 00:55:23.239 different ways. And that's what the Knicks are looking at, 1154 00:55:23.480 --> 00:55:25.360 is I mean, is Karl. 1155 00:55:25.159 --> 00:55:26.199 Anthony Town's the guy? 1156 00:55:27.679 --> 00:55:29.199 Or do you move him to try to get a 1157 00:55:29.239 --> 00:55:32.360 superstar in kd And and Giannis? So that's really what's 1158 00:55:32.400 --> 00:55:34.480 on the table for them, is I mean, we don't 1159 00:55:34.480 --> 00:55:37.039 know that Giannis is going to be a trade target 1160 00:55:37.039 --> 00:55:40.320 this summer, but I can tell you every team does 1161 00:55:40.360 --> 00:55:43.000 these contingencies after this season. Is if we're going to 1162 00:55:43.079 --> 00:55:45.119 upgrade this roster, how do we do it? And I 1163 00:55:45.239 --> 00:55:48.519 wonder how willing they are in moving Karl Anthony Towns considered. 1164 00:55:48.519 --> 00:55:52.000 I mean, he wore that jersey with so much pride 1165 00:55:52.039 --> 00:55:55.199 and playing through that visibly playing through that that knee injury. 1166 00:55:55.960 --> 00:56:01.840 But is the ceiling maybe Eastern Conference semifinals and finals. 1167 00:56:02.119 --> 00:56:04.199 If you have Karl Anthony Towns as you're starting four 1168 00:56:04.360 --> 00:56:08.039 and maybe you're starting five, that's I mean. 1169 00:56:07.920 --> 00:56:10.000 That's good. That's better than the Knicks have had in. 1170 00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:11.960 The last couple of decades. But is it enough to 1171 00:56:11.960 --> 00:56:12.719 win a championship? 1172 00:56:12.719 --> 00:56:17.199 And I say no, Do we talk enough about how 1173 00:56:17.239 --> 00:56:18.679 elite Rick Carlisle is. 1174 00:56:18.800 --> 00:56:20.559 I mean I was going over some of the stuff 1175 00:56:20.599 --> 00:56:23.840 this morning, and look, I'm a big Tom Thibodeau guy, 1176 00:56:23.920 --> 00:56:26.199 and Tom was an assistant for Jeff and so was 1177 00:56:26.239 --> 00:56:28.840 able to get to know him. And to your point 1178 00:56:28.920 --> 00:56:31.719 about where the Knicks find themselves now, it's so much 1179 00:56:31.719 --> 00:56:35.920 better than anywhere they've been for decades that if you 1180 00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:37.920 run it back and Tom's the guy, then I think 1181 00:56:37.960 --> 00:56:40.159 most Nick fans would say, Okay, like sign me up. 1182 00:56:40.760 --> 00:56:43.079 It's at least nice to have a team that's relevant 1183 00:56:43.519 --> 00:56:46.119 as opposed to what it's been for a while. But 1184 00:56:46.199 --> 00:56:48.519 I think I think Rick took him, took him to 1185 00:56:48.559 --> 00:56:50.760 the cleaners. I thought this was a series where Tom 1186 00:56:50.880 --> 00:56:53.079 was out coached. I thought some of the challenges didn't 1187 00:56:53.079 --> 00:56:57.199 look great early on. I don't know what sort of 1188 00:56:57.239 --> 00:57:00.159 adjustments you make when it comes to Indiana's ability to 1189 00:57:00.280 --> 00:57:03.400 up and down. But I'm just imagining Tom watching tape 1190 00:57:03.440 --> 00:57:06.360 of Game six and seeing four runouts off of makes 1191 00:57:06.480 --> 00:57:09.039 for dunks and layups, and he's going, what, like, what 1192 00:57:09.079 --> 00:57:09.920 are we doing? 1193 00:57:11.159 --> 00:57:12.639 So you know, Rick. 1194 00:57:12.480 --> 00:57:15.960 Gets his championship with a twenty eleven Dallas Mavericks team 1195 00:57:16.000 --> 00:57:19.519 that was interesting with Dirk being peaked Dirk. That was 1196 00:57:19.559 --> 00:57:21.800 Jason Terry sixth Man of the Year Award, That was 1197 00:57:21.840 --> 00:57:25.519 Tyson Chandler Defensive Player of the Year. But they won 1198 00:57:25.559 --> 00:57:27.639 a couple of series where they were underdogs and they 1199 00:57:27.679 --> 00:57:30.360 beat the Heat in the finals. And now he has 1200 00:57:30.440 --> 00:57:36.320 this group that nobody thought was gonna be relevant outside 1201 00:57:36.360 --> 00:57:39.840 of maybe winning a series, and they're in the NBA Finals. 1202 00:57:39.880 --> 00:57:42.119 I mean, I don't know, man, I feel like the 1203 00:57:43.079 --> 00:57:46.320 maybe the public conversation surrounding Rick Carlisle needs to start 1204 00:57:46.320 --> 00:57:47.480 sounding maybe a little bit different. 1205 00:57:47.519 --> 00:57:48.199 Give me your thoughts. 1206 00:57:48.679 --> 00:57:51.519 Well, the best ones always adapt. And it reminds me 1207 00:57:51.559 --> 00:57:54.840 of Greg Popovich and how he regarded the three point line, 1208 00:57:55.199 --> 00:57:59.280 or regarded zone defense, or regarded different styles of play. 1209 00:58:00.159 --> 00:58:03.000 And Rick Carlisle that twenty eleven team. I covered that 1210 00:58:03.280 --> 00:58:06.920 NBA Finals in Miami, and it was amazing to watch 1211 00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:12.400 this veteran team rally together. Sean Marion, derk Noviski, Jason Kidd, 1212 00:58:14.159 --> 00:58:18.960 Corn Butler, Like this is a very old team. This team, 1213 00:58:19.039 --> 00:58:20.639 the Indiana Pacers, couldn't. 1214 00:58:20.320 --> 00:58:20.880 Be more different. 1215 00:58:22.039 --> 00:58:27.079 They're They're led by Tyrese Haliburton, only a few years 1216 00:58:27.079 --> 00:58:30.119 into the NBA, and the average age on this team 1217 00:58:30.199 --> 00:58:35.400 is barely twenty six years old. Or that that Dallas 1218 00:58:35.400 --> 00:58:37.559 team in twenty eleven was a bunch of dudes whore 1219 00:58:37.559 --> 00:58:38.800 at the end of their careers. 1220 00:58:39.480 --> 00:58:40.920 And so the ability to. 1221 00:58:41.079 --> 00:58:45.480 Adapt in the NBA as a coach is something that 1222 00:58:45.559 --> 00:58:48.840 I think is in direct contrast to Tom Thibodeaux this series, 1223 00:58:48.880 --> 00:58:51.960 where you know, you look at Tibbs and TIB's TIBs 1224 00:58:52.000 --> 00:58:56.519 for better force. But he played that five man lineup 1225 00:58:56.679 --> 00:59:00.719 all season long about forty minutes a game, basically the 1226 00:59:01.199 --> 00:59:06.599 Brunson Michel Hart and Nobi and Karl Anthony Town started 1227 00:59:06.599 --> 00:59:09.639 them and played them into the ground and they never 1228 00:59:09.840 --> 00:59:13.000 got to a good defense. They never did and then 1229 00:59:13.039 --> 00:59:15.039 in Game three he had to switch up and put 1230 00:59:15.039 --> 00:59:18.639 Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup. And I gotta give 1231 00:59:18.639 --> 00:59:21.719 it to tips like he did expand the rotation and 1232 00:59:21.800 --> 00:59:24.159 he did make that lineup change, but it did feel 1233 00:59:24.239 --> 00:59:26.679 like a little bit too late, a little not enough. 1234 00:59:29.199 --> 00:59:33.559 When you talk about how stubborn Tom Thibodeau is, or 1235 00:59:33.599 --> 00:59:37.199 I guess just hard headed when it comes to who 1236 00:59:37.239 --> 00:59:39.960 his guys are and what his beliefs are, it seemed 1237 00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:41.880 like Brick Carlo in the opposite direction. 1238 00:59:41.960 --> 00:59:42.320 All year. 1239 00:59:42.320 --> 00:59:46.480 It was like, we're gonna win by playing up tempo 1240 00:59:46.559 --> 00:59:49.079 and running teams out of the gym with a deep roster, 1241 00:59:50.000 --> 00:59:53.199 and we are going to no matter what, stay tued 1242 00:59:53.280 --> 00:59:56.760 or our playing style and not rely on two guys 1243 00:59:56.760 --> 00:59:59.000 to win us games. We're going to rely on Nie 1244 00:59:59.000 --> 01:00:02.599 Smith is gonna win us games. Nemhar You saw him 1245 01:00:02.599 --> 01:00:05.840 in game six, how well he played in Game six, 1246 01:00:05.920 --> 01:00:07.840 and how well he played in previous series. 1247 01:00:09.039 --> 01:00:11.440 This is a team that really just. 1248 01:00:11.559 --> 01:00:15.320 Believed Rick Carlyle believed in these role players to play 1249 01:00:15.360 --> 01:00:18.159 like stars when they needed to. And unfortunately, on the 1250 01:00:18.320 --> 01:00:21.800 Nick's side, the role players just fell apart. I mean, 1251 01:00:21.880 --> 01:00:28.960 Deuce McBride, the og McHale, Josh Hart, they did not 1252 01:00:29.039 --> 01:00:31.960 step up, whereas the Indiana Pacers and the belief that 1253 01:00:32.039 --> 01:00:34.519 Rick Carlo imbued in these guys. It really did seem 1254 01:00:34.559 --> 01:00:37.280 like two very different coaches on different ends of the 1255 01:00:37.360 --> 01:00:40.719 ends of the spectrum. And you know, fourteen years ago 1256 01:00:40.800 --> 01:00:43.079 when the Dallas Mavericks are winning the championship, and I 1257 01:00:43.199 --> 01:00:45.880 told you that in twenty twenty five, the Indiana Pacers 1258 01:00:45.880 --> 01:00:49.480 are going to win the East. I can't imagine you're 1259 01:00:49.519 --> 01:00:52.519 gonna say Rick Carlisle is gonna be the architect of 1260 01:00:52.599 --> 01:00:55.360 one of the best offenses in the NBA with a 1261 01:00:55.400 --> 01:00:57.239 team that just runs teams out of the gym like 1262 01:00:57.280 --> 01:00:59.519 seven seconds or less. But that's what Rick Carlisle did, 1263 01:00:59.559 --> 01:01:03.480 and I really appreciate how he's been able to adapt 1264 01:01:03.480 --> 01:01:04.039 as a coach. 1265 01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:09.000 Indiana's consolation prize for making the NBA Finals is a 1266 01:01:09.039 --> 01:01:11.679 matchup with a team right now, Tom that just feels 1267 01:01:11.719 --> 01:01:15.119 like they've found a little something, well, not just found something. 1268 01:01:15.159 --> 01:01:16.719 They've been historic all year. 1269 01:01:16.800 --> 01:01:20.480 But I was resident, or I should say hesitant and 1270 01:01:20.559 --> 01:01:23.119 reticent as I combine those two words in one question 1271 01:01:23.599 --> 01:01:26.239 to just anoint them because I'd never seen them make 1272 01:01:26.280 --> 01:01:28.960 a long playoff run, and then jokes on me because 1273 01:01:28.960 --> 01:01:32.119 they're just they're everything you want and they've been able 1274 01:01:32.159 --> 01:01:34.000 to stay healthy, which this time of year is a 1275 01:01:34.000 --> 01:01:38.159 massive thing. So what sort of chance do you give 1276 01:01:38.199 --> 01:01:40.159 Indiana to make the NBA Finals? 1277 01:01:40.199 --> 01:01:42.480 Interesting? With Shay the MVP. 1278 01:01:42.360 --> 01:01:46.039 On one side, I am blown away with how many 1279 01:01:46.159 --> 01:01:49.440 players Mark Dagnold has at his disposal. I heard somebody 1280 01:01:49.519 --> 01:01:51.480 use the term he's like a starting pitcher with six 1281 01:01:51.519 --> 01:01:54.679 different pitches. I mean, he can he can bring whatever 1282 01:01:54.679 --> 01:01:56.679 the night needs. He can say, how do you want 1283 01:01:56.719 --> 01:01:58.880 to play? Okay, that's fine, we'll beat you playing that 1284 01:01:58.960 --> 01:02:02.079 way too. So can Indiana make this interesting or does 1285 01:02:02.119 --> 01:02:06.239 it feel like it's pretty overwhelming in Oklahoma City's favor. 1286 01:02:08.079 --> 01:02:11.679 Barring injury, they have a slim to none chance of making. 1287 01:02:11.400 --> 01:02:12.320 This a series. 1288 01:02:13.199 --> 01:02:14.119 Okay, See, it's. 1289 01:02:13.960 --> 01:02:14.559 Just that good. 1290 01:02:14.920 --> 01:02:19.360 When you look at the regular season point differential between 1291 01:02:19.400 --> 01:02:22.320 these two teams, it's one of the largest we've ever seen, 1292 01:02:22.320 --> 01:02:24.760 if not the largest in NBA history. And in terms 1293 01:02:24.800 --> 01:02:28.360 of finals matchups, like the Thunder had one of the 1294 01:02:28.400 --> 01:02:32.320 biggest point differentials. Meeting they outscored the opponent by over 1295 01:02:32.360 --> 01:02:37.320 twelve points a game in every game this season, on average, 1296 01:02:37.360 --> 01:02:41.159 about twelve points a game. The Pacers were good this 1297 01:02:41.199 --> 01:02:45.519 regular season, winning fifty games. But when you look at 1298 01:02:45.840 --> 01:02:50.599 what the Pacers like to do, the Thunder are well epped, 1299 01:02:51.000 --> 01:02:53.880 well equipped to match that. You know, the Thunder do 1300 01:02:53.960 --> 01:02:57.559 not turn over the ball. And the Indiana Pacers are 1301 01:02:57.599 --> 01:03:00.239 a team that really likes to run out, like he said, 1302 01:03:01.039 --> 01:03:03.760 get out and transition and take advantage of a team 1303 01:03:03.880 --> 01:03:05.760 that can be careless with the ball. And the Thunder 1304 01:03:05.880 --> 01:03:08.880 just do not turn over the ball. And they're well coached. 1305 01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:11.719 And I just think that this is a team, the 1306 01:03:11.800 --> 01:03:14.920 Thunder with all their weapons and how much rest they've 1307 01:03:14.920 --> 01:03:18.320 gotten coming into this series, how healthy they are coming 1308 01:03:18.360 --> 01:03:21.800 into this series, how confident they are coming into this series. 1309 01:03:23.159 --> 01:03:27.199 They just dismantled the Minnesota Timberwolves that were a top 1310 01:03:27.239 --> 01:03:30.519 three defense in the NBA this season. I just think 1311 01:03:30.559 --> 01:03:33.000 that the Indiana Pacers are a really good story, a 1312 01:03:33.079 --> 01:03:35.960 really good team. But the Thunder, and I've been hammering 1313 01:03:36.000 --> 01:03:39.480 this and beating this drum all season long. This Thunder 1314 01:03:39.519 --> 01:03:43.159 team is all time good, like all time. 1315 01:03:42.880 --> 01:03:45.280 Good, like one of the ten best teams. 1316 01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:48.840 We've ever seen put together. And of course that final 1317 01:03:48.960 --> 01:03:52.760 chapter of winning the NBA Finals will seal that. But 1318 01:03:53.559 --> 01:03:56.960 everything I've seen from this season has told me that 1319 01:03:57.079 --> 01:03:58.719 this is one of the best teams we've ever seen. 1320 01:03:58.800 --> 01:04:01.800 I mean, they've already won eighty games this year and 1321 01:04:01.800 --> 01:04:03.880 there's only three other teams and it be a history 1322 01:04:04.039 --> 01:04:07.519 who have won more in a at this point, and 1323 01:04:07.559 --> 01:04:11.719 it's like peak Jordan and peak Warriors. So this team 1324 01:04:11.760 --> 01:04:17.119 is so good. I'm going with okac in five. But honestly, 1325 01:04:18.320 --> 01:04:20.559 my brain is telling me heat and four. I mean, uh, 1326 01:04:20.960 --> 01:04:24.000 okay see in four. Yeah, Like my brain is telling 1327 01:04:24.039 --> 01:04:27.199 me okay, see in four, but like my heart is saying, okay, 1328 01:04:27.199 --> 01:04:30.840 see in five. But I really do believe that this 1329 01:04:30.880 --> 01:04:33.280 could end up in a sweep. I just if I'm 1330 01:04:33.360 --> 01:04:36.159 name eight to paper, I'm probably gonna go okay, see 1331 01:04:36.199 --> 01:04:36.559 in five. 1332 01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:38.920 Yeah, I'm with you, man, all right before I set 1333 01:04:38.960 --> 01:04:42.719 you loose. Kind of a surprising piece of news. I mean, 1334 01:04:42.760 --> 01:04:46.039 I hadn't caught wind of any rumors in this direction. 1335 01:04:46.239 --> 01:04:49.480 But Utah Jazz have fired Austin Age as their president 1336 01:04:49.519 --> 01:04:52.719 of basketball ops. Uh so, of course, and we're gonna 1337 01:04:52.760 --> 01:04:56.000 hear Austin speak here coming up in a bid. According 1338 01:04:56.000 --> 01:04:59.239 to the statements that were made by Ryan Smith, Danny 1339 01:04:59.760 --> 01:05:00.599 no statements. 1340 01:05:00.679 --> 01:05:02.519 He stayed completely out of it. 1341 01:05:02.559 --> 01:05:04.199 Sounds like this is going to be a scenario where 1342 01:05:04.320 --> 01:05:07.679 Xanik is still the GM and he works with Austin 1343 01:05:07.800 --> 01:05:09.880 on a day to day basis, and both those two 1344 01:05:09.960 --> 01:05:12.639 report to Danny, and then of course Danny reports to 1345 01:05:12.719 --> 01:05:15.960 Ryan as the owner. So what we have here is 1346 01:05:16.000 --> 01:05:18.800 a team that's locked up their head coach through twenty 1347 01:05:18.960 --> 01:05:22.000 thirty one potentially, and now has a front office that 1348 01:05:22.039 --> 01:05:25.960 they've locked up for the foreseeable future as well, without 1349 01:05:26.000 --> 01:05:28.079 a lot of results so far. And yes, they're three 1350 01:05:28.159 --> 01:05:31.199 years into a rebuild. We'll see what the coming years bring. 1351 01:05:31.880 --> 01:05:34.679 But what are your thoughts on the direction of the 1352 01:05:34.679 --> 01:05:37.079 club out here, bringing in Austin ae as the president 1353 01:05:37.119 --> 01:05:39.239 and kind of having their front office and their coaching 1354 01:05:39.280 --> 01:05:40.519 staff locked in for a while. 1355 01:05:41.320 --> 01:05:46.000 Well, this is NBA front offices and power structures across 1356 01:05:46.000 --> 01:05:48.320 the league. If people want to say nepotism, then I 1357 01:05:48.320 --> 01:05:51.039 would say this is very common in the league. The 1358 01:05:51.119 --> 01:05:55.119 Lacubs and Kirk Lacub in the front office, the owner's 1359 01:05:55.119 --> 01:05:56.119 son in the front office. 1360 01:05:56.159 --> 01:05:56.360 There. 1361 01:05:56.480 --> 01:05:59.840 You look at the Colangelo's and Phoenix and in Toronto 1362 01:06:00.360 --> 01:06:04.679 you look at you look at the Airsons in Miami, 1363 01:06:05.559 --> 01:06:07.159 similar story. 1364 01:06:07.280 --> 01:06:09.760 You look at across the league. 1365 01:06:10.079 --> 01:06:12.599 You're gonna have this this And I'm not saying that 1366 01:06:12.679 --> 01:06:14.559 Danny Age is the owner, but I think people are 1367 01:06:14.639 --> 01:06:17.679 crying foul at the idea that the CEO, Danny Ainge 1368 01:06:17.679 --> 01:06:19.840 would hire his son to run basketball ops. 1369 01:06:19.880 --> 01:06:21.840 And I'm just like, I mean, this has been. 1370 01:06:21.880 --> 01:06:24.639 The NBA for a very long time. Is We've seen 1371 01:06:24.639 --> 01:06:28.119 this kind of relationship, and it's just another one of 1372 01:06:28.159 --> 01:06:33.159 these father son combos in ownership and in front office. 1373 01:06:33.599 --> 01:06:39.039 Austin comes very highly regarded in the Boston front office 1374 01:06:39.199 --> 01:06:42.400 of course from Danny Ainge, of course, but I would 1375 01:06:42.400 --> 01:06:46.039 also say that I think it's important to have a 1376 01:06:46.079 --> 01:06:50.519 younger GM or someone who has a lot more ties 1377 01:06:50.639 --> 01:06:54.760 to like the grassroots level NBA when the league is 1378 01:06:54.800 --> 01:06:57.880 getting younger, and in order to draft these guys you 1379 01:06:57.920 --> 01:07:01.760 don't have as much tape because and all the transfer portals. 1380 01:07:01.960 --> 01:07:04.400 You need someone who has their boots on the ground 1381 01:07:04.440 --> 01:07:07.039 and have a lot of intel, and that typically comes 1382 01:07:07.039 --> 01:07:10.440 from a profile of like Austin Ange, who's younger and 1383 01:07:10.480 --> 01:07:13.280 has a lot more relationships on the younger side than 1384 01:07:13.400 --> 01:07:15.920 maybe Danny Ainge did. And you see this in the NBA. 1385 01:07:16.000 --> 01:07:19.440 A lot is in the Charlotte Hornets organization with Michael Jordan, 1386 01:07:19.519 --> 01:07:22.960 Mitch Cupcheck with the GM for Michael Jordan, Like Mitch 1387 01:07:23.000 --> 01:07:27.840 Cupcheck isn't going to every gym and going to all 1388 01:07:27.920 --> 01:07:33.039 of the European and going to every AAU tournament because look, 1389 01:07:33.079 --> 01:07:34.559 the guy is the guy had a. 1390 01:07:34.480 --> 01:07:35.559 Great run with the Lakers. 1391 01:07:35.639 --> 01:07:39.159 But you need someone younger to burn that midnight oil 1392 01:07:39.280 --> 01:07:42.159 in ways that Austin Ange will be doing that for 1393 01:07:42.199 --> 01:07:45.639 the Utah Jazz. So it's a People might say that 1394 01:07:45.719 --> 01:07:48.559 this is kind of a corrupt thing to do because 1395 01:07:48.599 --> 01:07:51.239 the CEO just hired his son to run basketball ops 1396 01:07:51.519 --> 01:07:53.760 but Danny Ainge has earned that right. And I would 1397 01:07:53.760 --> 01:07:56.760 also say that this is nothing new in the NBA 1398 01:07:56.800 --> 01:07:58.800 and that you see these types of things all across 1399 01:07:58.840 --> 01:08:00.920 the league and that is a story as old as 1400 01:08:00.920 --> 01:08:01.679 time in the NBA. 1401 01:08:02.480 --> 01:08:04.440 Well, Tom appreciate the time. 1402 01:08:04.639 --> 01:08:07.079 Was hoping to talk Game seven at MSG tonight, but 1403 01:08:07.199 --> 01:08:11.280 hopefully the NBA Finals carry some intrigue. Where can everybody 1404 01:08:11.280 --> 01:08:12.719 go get that great work of yours? 1405 01:08:13.079 --> 01:08:14.119 Yeah, Yahoo Sports. 1406 01:08:14.159 --> 01:08:16.920 You can check out that column about the three trades 1407 01:08:17.000 --> 01:08:20.119 that I wrote wrote out about the New York Knicks 1408 01:08:20.159 --> 01:08:23.239 where they go from here. And also you can check 1409 01:08:23.239 --> 01:08:26.199 out Basketball Illuminati, the NBA podcast that we do account 1410 01:08:26.199 --> 01:08:27.560 the things with the me and Al Hassen and of 1411 01:08:27.600 --> 01:08:30.800 course Top Chef. You're a big fan of that show. 1412 01:08:30.840 --> 01:08:33.439 I get my Pack Your Knives podcast as well as 1413 01:08:33.439 --> 01:08:35.960 my newsletter Tom to find. Are lots of places, but 1414 01:08:36.239 --> 01:08:37.640 it's always great to spend time with you. 1415 01:08:37.680 --> 01:08:40.479 Spence the Great Tom Abers Jrow. Monday afternoon, we'll catch 1416 01:08:40.479 --> 01:08:42.520 a quick break. We're gonna bringing Richard Smith live in 1417 01:08:42.600 --> 01:08:46.000 studio Austin h currently is speaking to the media. 1418 01:08:46.399 --> 01:08:48.680 We'll bring you some sound in about an hour from now. 1419 01:08:49.000 --> 01:08:51.159 But Tommy stops by today, courtesy of our friends in 1420 01:08:51.239 --> 01:08:55.920 Advanced Window Products. Was your house too hot over the weekends, Well, 1421 01:08:55.960 --> 01:08:57.920 if it was, there's a good chance you might need 1422 01:08:57.960 --> 01:09:00.560 new windows. And if you don't replace your windows, you're 1423 01:09:00.560 --> 01:09:02.399 gonna have to jack up the ac and it will cost 1424 01:09:02.479 --> 01:09:04.800 you a lot of money and be very uncomfortable. The 1425 01:09:04.880 --> 01:09:07.560 nice thing about Advanced Window Products run of course by 1426 01:09:07.560 --> 01:09:09.720 our guy ned Orchard, the mayor of Sac Lake City, 1427 01:09:09.720 --> 01:09:13.319 and Jake Weber's business partner. They're great dudes, and they 1428 01:09:13.359 --> 01:09:15.960 come from great families. This is a family owned business. 1429 01:09:16.680 --> 01:09:18.760 They will take care of you, and they're offering a 1430 01:09:18.800 --> 01:09:21.680 deal as summer approaches where you get twenty five hundred 1431 01:09:21.680 --> 01:09:25.560 dollars off when you buy ten windows or more. That's right, 1432 01:09:25.600 --> 01:09:27.640 twenty five hundred dollars off when you buy ten windows 1433 01:09:27.720 --> 01:09:29.520 or more. So if you've been waiting to get it 1434 01:09:29.520 --> 01:09:31.079 done right now is a great time. 1435 01:09:31.159 --> 01:09:31.359 Now. 1436 01:09:31.479 --> 01:09:35.279 If you are considering maybe waiting until the fall when 1437 01:09:35.399 --> 01:09:38.239 it's school season, maybe you're gonna sell your home. Well, 1438 01:09:38.279 --> 01:09:40.680 if you call today, you're gonna lock in that savings 1439 01:09:40.720 --> 01:09:42.640 regardless of when they come to you. 1440 01:09:43.159 --> 01:09:44.000 So give them a call. 1441 01:09:44.119 --> 01:09:46.359 Lock in the savings of twenty five hundred dollars off 1442 01:09:46.359 --> 01:09:48.880 when you buy ten windows or more at eight one 1443 01:09:49.000 --> 01:09:51.560 eight five zero ninety one hundred. That's eight one eight 1444 01:09:51.680 --> 01:09:54.840 five zero ninety one hundred eight. All right, Austin Ainge 1445 01:09:54.880 --> 01:09:58.159 is addressing the media as we speak. Border is going 1446 01:09:58.199 --> 01:10:01.199 to grab that sound and we will bring it to 1447 01:10:01.239 --> 01:10:02.199 you coming up. 1448 01:10:02.119 --> 01:10:03.760 In about an hour from right now. 1449 01:10:05.119 --> 01:10:08.119 Richard Smith is live in studio for an entire hour 1450 01:10:08.199 --> 01:10:10.159 on this beautiful Monday afternoon. 1451 01:10:10.199 --> 01:10:11.720 Smitty, Happy Monday, sir, How are. 1452 01:10:11.600 --> 01:10:13.359 You Ben's We're doing great? How are you doing? 1453 01:10:13.359 --> 01:10:13.560 Man? 1454 01:10:13.720 --> 01:10:16.520 Good? Great to see Scottie Schaffron A little heater, isn't he? 1455 01:10:16.520 --> 01:10:18.439 How about that another man? He was? 1456 01:10:18.560 --> 01:10:23.079 He just he is so laser focus man here a robot, yeah, 1457 01:10:23.279 --> 01:10:27.840 you know, and and the very little emotion. Everything's just calm, 1458 01:10:27.960 --> 01:10:32.640 you know, whether he it's one bad shot around or 1459 01:10:32.680 --> 01:10:35.119 whatever it is, but he just kind of he just 1460 01:10:35.199 --> 01:10:37.199 kind of dials it in and just keeps going. 1461 01:10:37.319 --> 01:10:41.079 He's, you know, he is, He's that guy at the moment. 1462 01:10:41.239 --> 01:10:41.600 He is. 1463 01:10:41.760 --> 01:10:43.199 He is impressive to watch. 1464 01:10:43.279 --> 01:10:45.960 But the big news of the day today, Smitty the 1465 01:10:46.039 --> 01:10:50.119 Jazz have announced they've hired Austin h. Danny's son uh 1466 01:10:50.159 --> 01:10:53.119 and Danny's the CEO an alternate governor of the Jazz 1467 01:10:53.159 --> 01:10:56.399 now and Austin was with the Boston Celtics for seventeen 1468 01:10:56.479 --> 01:10:59.760 years when Danny was there. He hired Austin to run 1469 01:10:59.800 --> 01:11:02.600 the league team. I've known Austin for years. I've known 1470 01:11:02.720 --> 01:11:06.199 Danny my entire life. They're good people, you know they are, 1471 01:11:06.239 --> 01:11:09.479 And a higher like this will always be met with 1472 01:11:09.520 --> 01:11:12.600 a tremendous amount of skepticism. Porter, real quick, why don't 1473 01:11:12.600 --> 01:11:15.119 you remind Smitty what the official stances of the drive 1474 01:11:15.239 --> 01:11:18.199 on nepotism. Can't can't deal with them, can't win with them. No, 1475 01:11:18.479 --> 01:11:21.479 we are strictly anti nepotism on this program. Okay, I 1476 01:11:21.520 --> 01:11:24.039 just want the community to know, like where we stand, 1477 01:11:24.239 --> 01:11:27.479 right so you know the deal like but but you know, 1478 01:11:27.600 --> 01:11:30.239 we just had Tom Aberstrow on the reality of the 1479 01:11:30.279 --> 01:11:35.399 situation is, whether it's pro sports or real estate or whatever, 1480 01:11:36.119 --> 01:11:39.640 most people find jobs based off relationships. This, of course, 1481 01:11:39.720 --> 01:11:43.439 is a direct line between Danny and Austin. Ryan with 1482 01:11:43.479 --> 01:11:45.479 a statement today saying he didn't even tell Danny that 1483 01:11:45.520 --> 01:11:48.479 he was hiring Austin, which you know, come on, right, 1484 01:11:48.880 --> 01:11:51.239 but what are your thoughts on the decision of the 1485 01:11:51.279 --> 01:11:52.680 Jazz to bring in Austin Age And what do you 1486 01:11:52.680 --> 01:11:53.600 know about Austin Age. 1487 01:11:53.640 --> 01:11:56.239 Well, I've known Austin for a long time and know him, 1488 01:11:56.640 --> 01:11:58.600 you know, and not know him personally, But watch them 1489 01:11:58.600 --> 01:12:01.239 when you're down to BYU. Most people people don't don't, 1490 01:12:01.920 --> 01:12:05.239 don't realize it unless you're a real hardcore BYU fan. 1491 01:12:05.279 --> 01:12:08.640 He played four years at b YA and uh and 1492 01:12:08.640 --> 01:12:11.600 and his senior senior year he led the Mountain West 1493 01:12:11.600 --> 01:12:14.800 Conference in three point shooting, shot over fifty percent from 1494 01:12:14.800 --> 01:12:16.399 the floor from three, was one of the top three 1495 01:12:16.399 --> 01:12:19.840 point shooters in the country in college basketball his senior year. 1496 01:12:20.079 --> 01:12:22.880 Didn't get drafted. I don't think he was a pro player. 1497 01:12:23.119 --> 01:12:26.000 He could have played overseas, you know, but I think 1498 01:12:26.039 --> 01:12:29.359 he wanted to get into what his dad was doing 1499 01:12:30.039 --> 01:12:32.439 on the basketball side, and he ended up going down, 1500 01:12:32.520 --> 01:12:36.119 actually went down for a year to work at Southern 1501 01:12:36.279 --> 01:12:40.039 Utah as an assistant to Roger Reid when Roger was 1502 01:12:40.079 --> 01:12:42.920 down at Southern Utah for that little brief period and 1503 01:12:43.000 --> 01:12:45.840 then and then from there, Danny hired him to come 1504 01:12:45.840 --> 01:12:48.720 back and work with him in Boston, and he got 1505 01:12:48.720 --> 01:12:52.920 assigned to be the head coach of the main Red clause, 1506 01:12:52.960 --> 01:12:55.079 which is the G League team or at that time 1507 01:12:55.159 --> 01:13:00.039 the developmental team for the Celtics. For two years he 1508 01:13:00.079 --> 01:13:03.159 did that and then he moved into a personnel job 1509 01:13:03.760 --> 01:13:07.560 scouting and working in the front office with Danny and 1510 01:13:07.600 --> 01:13:11.520 then progressed up the ladder. And Austin Ange is a 1511 01:13:11.520 --> 01:13:17.079 hard worker. He's a good guy. He's very diligent about 1512 01:13:17.439 --> 01:13:20.880 his job. He works hard. I think if you talk 1513 01:13:20.960 --> 01:13:23.359 to him about it, I would think one of the 1514 01:13:23.439 --> 01:13:26.760 things he might say is that, you know, being the 1515 01:13:27.399 --> 01:13:30.560 son of Danny Ainge, and especially in Boston where Danny 1516 01:13:30.680 --> 01:13:32.800 had a prominent role in the eighties as a player, 1517 01:13:32.800 --> 01:13:35.119 and then obviously he was running the front office at 1518 01:13:35.159 --> 01:13:38.359 that time, if you get hired, you know, by your dad, 1519 01:13:38.399 --> 01:13:41.439 to do something like that, you know you got pressure 1520 01:13:41.479 --> 01:13:44.760 on you to not only deliver in the job, but 1521 01:13:45.159 --> 01:13:47.359 a lot of times you have to go above and 1522 01:13:47.399 --> 01:13:51.880 beyond because everybody's looking to see what your faults are 1523 01:13:52.000 --> 01:13:55.119 and what your shortcomings are. Well said, because everybody wants 1524 01:13:55.159 --> 01:13:57.840 to get on your case, right because of how they 1525 01:13:57.880 --> 01:14:01.640 perceive you got the job. Well, you know, Austin worked, 1526 01:14:01.920 --> 01:14:04.279 you know, is very diligent. I would see him a 1527 01:14:04.279 --> 01:14:07.159 lot on the road at college games. I would see 1528 01:14:07.239 --> 01:14:12.119 him a lot overseas scouting over the years. And you know, 1529 01:14:12.159 --> 01:14:14.479 I think this is a great hire for the Jazz. 1530 01:14:14.520 --> 01:14:17.319 I know they didn't have a person in that position. 1531 01:14:17.399 --> 01:14:20.880 That's just a position they created. I assume for Austin 1532 01:14:20.960 --> 01:14:24.880 to get him into the fold with the Jazz, and 1533 01:14:25.000 --> 01:14:28.000 he'll do I would assume. Don't know it is direct 1534 01:14:28.039 --> 01:14:31.920 responsibilities are or if they've talked about that at all, 1535 01:14:31.960 --> 01:14:35.640 but my guess is that they hired him to be 1536 01:14:35.720 --> 01:14:38.680 one of the main guys on the personnel side and 1537 01:14:38.840 --> 01:14:42.640 running the scouting department and doing all the stuff that 1538 01:14:42.640 --> 01:14:47.359 that analyzes, evaluates and procures players, whether it's the draft, 1539 01:14:47.760 --> 01:14:52.439 free agency, trade situations. And then Justin zanik As still 1540 01:14:52.439 --> 01:14:54.680 as the GM will be a tend to be as 1541 01:14:54.680 --> 01:14:58.560 he has been, more on the side of the business side, 1542 01:14:58.560 --> 01:15:00.880 if you will, working with agent, working with the day 1543 01:15:00.920 --> 01:15:05.239 to day grind in the office with employees and and 1544 01:15:05.319 --> 01:15:08.640 uh and the team in terms of the coaching, coaching 1545 01:15:08.680 --> 01:15:10.279 staff and all those kinds of things. 1546 01:15:10.319 --> 01:15:11.840 And uh So. 1547 01:15:11.800 --> 01:15:13.720 I think it's I think it's great for the Jazz 1548 01:15:13.760 --> 01:15:16.880 to get someone like like Austin, a younger guy who's 1549 01:15:16.880 --> 01:15:20.079 had a lot of experience and uh, and knows what 1550 01:15:20.239 --> 01:15:22.840 it takes to win and it's been around a winning 1551 01:15:23.079 --> 01:15:26.920 environment and uh. You know, I'm excited for him because 1552 01:15:26.920 --> 01:15:30.720 I know he's a he's a great uh, a great person. 1553 01:15:31.119 --> 01:15:32.840 You know, I don't know him real well, but I 1554 01:15:32.880 --> 01:15:35.800 know him well enough to to to you know, comment 1555 01:15:35.880 --> 01:15:37.920 that he's Uh. I think it's a great get for 1556 01:15:38.000 --> 01:15:40.039 the for the Jazz at this point in time. 1557 01:15:40.199 --> 01:15:44.239 Yeah, Between my freshman and sophomore year in college at 1558 01:15:44.239 --> 01:15:48.039 the U, I did a customer relations internship at Madison 1559 01:15:48.039 --> 01:15:52.039 Square Garden, which entailed answering phone calls from angry New 1560 01:15:52.119 --> 01:15:54.960 Yorkers that were mad about the Elton John concert because 1561 01:15:54.960 --> 01:15:58.560 they couldn't get a hot talk. It was interesting work, 1562 01:15:59.039 --> 01:16:01.920 and during that time I became friendly with a guy 1563 01:16:02.000 --> 01:16:05.399 named Dave Snowden. Ironically enough is his name. He found 1564 01:16:05.439 --> 01:16:09.199 the wheelchair Nicks. He's in a wheelchair himself, and he 1565 01:16:09.399 --> 01:16:11.920 was like the one person in that building that was 1566 01:16:12.960 --> 01:16:15.199 nice to me. I think everybody else was like afraid 1567 01:16:15.239 --> 01:16:17.000 to talk to me or whatever, because you know, your 1568 01:16:17.039 --> 01:16:19.600 dad is your dad. And I went to dinner with 1569 01:16:19.680 --> 01:16:21.720 Dave one I'm like, dude, I don't understand why no 1570 01:16:21.760 --> 01:16:23.680 one in the building like wants to. 1571 01:16:24.039 --> 01:16:25.520 It feels like everybody ignores me. 1572 01:16:25.600 --> 01:16:28.239 And he said a line to me that I've never forgotten, 1573 01:16:28.399 --> 01:16:30.960 he said, Spence, I was nineteen years old the. 1574 01:16:30.960 --> 01:16:32.600 Time he said, you need to learn this lesson. 1575 01:16:32.640 --> 01:16:36.640 Now, nobody cheers for the son of a famous father, right, 1576 01:16:36.680 --> 01:16:39.760 and so this will be met inevitably with the nepotism 1577 01:16:39.840 --> 01:16:43.600 this And okay, as he really qualified that. But what 1578 01:16:43.720 --> 01:16:46.640 you're outlining, committe, it sounds like you believe regardless of 1579 01:16:46.640 --> 01:16:48.239 what his last name is, he has put in. 1580 01:16:48.199 --> 01:16:49.520 The groundwork for this opportunity. 1581 01:16:49.520 --> 01:16:50.039 Well, he's been. 1582 01:16:50.159 --> 01:16:53.720 He's worked in basketball ever since he got out of BYU. 1583 01:16:53.800 --> 01:16:56.399 He's been doing it in the NBA for seventeen years. 1584 01:16:57.239 --> 01:17:01.199 He started with a brand new develop Mental League team 1585 01:17:01.720 --> 01:17:04.520 UH in Maine, so they had to build that from 1586 01:17:04.560 --> 01:17:07.279 the ground up. He was the head coach. He learned 1587 01:17:07.279 --> 01:17:11.319 coaching philosophy and approached for two years doing that as 1588 01:17:11.359 --> 01:17:13.880 a twenty five twenty six year old I think he 1589 01:17:14.000 --> 01:17:17.600 was at that time, and then moved down to Boston 1590 01:17:18.319 --> 01:17:20.800 to work with his dad more directly in personnel and 1591 01:17:20.880 --> 01:17:24.520 scouting and has been doing that ever since. And hey, 1592 01:17:24.680 --> 01:17:28.319 Danny Ainge left the Celtics four years ago or five 1593 01:17:28.399 --> 01:17:31.479 years ago, whatever it was, he retired, you know, and 1594 01:17:31.560 --> 01:17:35.199 Austin has been there since then, working with Brad Stevens. 1595 01:17:35.239 --> 01:17:37.880 And and they promoted him, I think a few years 1596 01:17:37.920 --> 01:17:44.520 ago to be an assistant GM along with Frank Zannin 1597 01:17:45.520 --> 01:17:48.800 Frank Frank Sannon, I forget yeah, Mike zann I'm sorry, 1598 01:17:48.960 --> 01:17:52.119 Mike's Aaron and and uh those guys. 1599 01:17:52.720 --> 01:17:54.159 You know, they could have. 1600 01:17:54.159 --> 01:17:56.640 Gotten rid of Austin Ange if they didn't like him 1601 01:17:56.720 --> 01:17:58.840 or he wasn't doing the job or whatever in Boston 1602 01:17:59.439 --> 01:18:01.159 once his dad went away. 1603 01:18:02.319 --> 01:18:04.840 But Austin's Austin's a hard worker. He's a good guy. 1604 01:18:05.359 --> 01:18:09.000 He'll he'll, you know, take some lumps on the the 1605 01:18:09.000 --> 01:18:12.000 nepotism thing whatever, which I which to me is just lazy. 1606 01:18:12.319 --> 01:18:15.920 I mean, you know, Ryan Smith isn't going to hire 1607 01:18:16.000 --> 01:18:18.479 somebody that he isn't thinking can help them. 1608 01:18:18.760 --> 01:18:18.960 You know. 1609 01:18:19.000 --> 01:18:21.640 I do think maybe they have to consider changing the 1610 01:18:21.760 --> 01:18:24.920 name from the Utah Jazz to the BYU Jazz, you know, 1611 01:18:25.399 --> 01:18:29.439 because that's you know, they're top loaded with BYU guys 1612 01:18:29.479 --> 01:18:32.119 now and the ownership and in the front office. 1613 01:18:32.199 --> 01:18:34.479 You know. But but Austin's a good guy and. 1614 01:18:34.399 --> 01:18:36.840 He's a hard worker, he knows what he's doing, and 1615 01:18:36.880 --> 01:18:39.800 it'll be interesting to see how that how the group 1616 01:18:39.880 --> 01:18:44.199 works in terms of how they realign stuff internally going forward. 1617 01:18:44.760 --> 01:18:48.039 So, and let's be clear, I know you're not behind 1618 01:18:48.039 --> 01:18:51.439 closed doors over there anymore. But when you read the 1619 01:18:51.479 --> 01:18:54.000 release in some of Ryan's comments, and we'll hear from 1620 01:18:54.000 --> 01:18:57.359 Austin coming up in about forty five minutes, it sounds 1621 01:18:57.399 --> 01:19:00.760 like Xanak is your GM, Austin is your president of 1622 01:19:00.760 --> 01:19:04.520 basketball ops. They're gonna kind of work in lockstep together, 1623 01:19:04.840 --> 01:19:08.039 and those two report to Danny as the CEO, and 1624 01:19:08.159 --> 01:19:11.199 Danny then reports to Ryan, who's the owner. Sounds like 1625 01:19:11.279 --> 01:19:13.960 that's the dynamic. Any thoughts on how like, if you're 1626 01:19:14.079 --> 01:19:17.399 justin Xanak today, sure you're happy you're still the GM, 1627 01:19:18.159 --> 01:19:20.560 but any thoughts on how this dynamic could play out? 1628 01:19:20.600 --> 01:19:23.960 And there will be disagreements because there always are, and 1629 01:19:24.039 --> 01:19:26.439 one voice has to make final decisions. 1630 01:19:26.439 --> 01:19:29.199 That's kind of how it goes. Yeah, No, I don't know. 1631 01:19:29.359 --> 01:19:32.800 I would assume that that you know, they were on board. 1632 01:19:32.840 --> 01:19:35.520 I mean, Austin, you know, will come in and they'll 1633 01:19:35.560 --> 01:19:36.720 all work together, you know. 1634 01:19:36.800 --> 01:19:40.560 I don't know how they work over there, now not. 1635 01:19:40.479 --> 01:19:43.199 Being in the room so to speak, but but it 1636 01:19:43.239 --> 01:19:48.079 seems like they're very a collaborative group that everybody has, 1637 01:19:48.479 --> 01:19:50.520 you know, a say in the room, and you know 1638 01:19:50.640 --> 01:19:53.920 you have to listen also to your personnel people. You know, 1639 01:19:53.960 --> 01:19:57.279 Bart Taylor is over there, has been there since it 1640 01:19:57.359 --> 01:20:00.279 came with Dennis Lindsay from San Antonio, and it's still 1641 01:20:00.279 --> 01:20:03.239 there as as the vice president of player Personnel and 1642 01:20:03.600 --> 01:20:06.880 heads up all the scouting stuff. And you've got Sean James, 1643 01:20:06.920 --> 01:20:10.439 and you've got Stephen Schwartz over there, who's the who's 1644 01:20:10.479 --> 01:20:13.840 the the cap guy and in charge of all that stuff. 1645 01:20:13.920 --> 01:20:16.439 And and you've got Marquise Newman who heads up to 1646 01:20:16.800 --> 01:20:19.119 the Salt Lake City Stars and also does a lot 1647 01:20:19.119 --> 01:20:22.319 of personnel scouting, and Brian Powger and Lane Odom all 1648 01:20:22.319 --> 01:20:24.720 those guys who are on the front lines of doing 1649 01:20:24.720 --> 01:20:27.560 the scouting. And then the overseas, they've got a group 1650 01:20:27.960 --> 01:20:31.199 headed up by Rigas Dartleus and and Vierian Bosniak over 1651 01:20:31.239 --> 01:20:35.079 there and in Europe and and Alex mcdude in Paris, 1652 01:20:35.119 --> 01:20:38.840 and then so they've got a big group that it 1653 01:20:38.880 --> 01:20:41.039 all works together on the personnel stuff. And I would 1654 01:20:41.039 --> 01:20:43.960 think Austin would be doing a lot of the coordinating 1655 01:20:44.039 --> 01:20:47.640 and working with those guys on the personnel front, and 1656 01:20:47.640 --> 01:20:51.359 and uh uh take some of that that burden off 1657 01:20:51.399 --> 01:20:51.880 his dad. 1658 01:20:52.119 --> 01:20:53.279 Maybe, I don't know. 1659 01:20:53.479 --> 01:20:58.000 And then uh and Justin Zanik Will would probably concentrate 1660 01:20:58.079 --> 01:21:01.000 more on the day to day minutia with the agents 1661 01:21:01.039 --> 01:21:03.800 and the office stuff and all that kind of thing. 1662 01:21:03.880 --> 01:21:05.479 And you know, but they'll all be in the room, 1663 01:21:05.560 --> 01:21:08.880 they'll all have a say. Again, don't know what the 1664 01:21:09.000 --> 01:21:12.159 who the final voice is. I'm guessing it's Ryan Smith 1665 01:21:12.680 --> 01:21:15.119 on the advice of Danny Ainge. That's just my guess 1666 01:21:15.319 --> 01:21:17.479 because that would make sense to me that the owner 1667 01:21:17.880 --> 01:21:20.239 is listening to the guy who's been there, done that, 1668 01:21:20.840 --> 01:21:24.520 you know, as a player, coach, you know, GM everything, 1669 01:21:24.640 --> 01:21:29.279 so you know, and he obviously implicitly respects and listens 1670 01:21:29.319 --> 01:21:32.439 to Danny. And now Austin will be another voice in 1671 01:21:32.479 --> 01:21:35.680 the room that we'll be able to lend some perspective 1672 01:21:35.800 --> 01:21:39.560 and and and help them try to get back on 1673 01:21:40.000 --> 01:21:41.800 track for what they're trying to build. 1674 01:21:42.239 --> 01:21:45.359 So what we have here is something that is rather 1675 01:21:45.479 --> 01:21:49.560 unique in the ecosystem of NBA basketball, where a team 1676 01:21:49.680 --> 01:21:53.319 for three years has stumbled through what I articulate as 1677 01:21:53.359 --> 01:21:56.319 a very awkward rebuild with some decisions I think are 1678 01:21:56.479 --> 01:21:59.520 very questionable, and the jury is still out on most, 1679 01:21:59.600 --> 01:22:02.439 if not all of them. Probably outside of Lowry and Walker, 1680 01:22:03.239 --> 01:22:05.760 I don't know if Keante George even makes Oklahoma City's 1681 01:22:05.840 --> 01:22:11.279 roster or Isaiah Callier, to be honest. So we have 1682 01:22:11.319 --> 01:22:15.840 a team that has not won at all, and we 1683 01:22:15.920 --> 01:22:18.720 have a future that's very murky based off the lack 1684 01:22:18.760 --> 01:22:21.640 of talent on the roster. But what we have is 1685 01:22:21.640 --> 01:22:23.840 a front office and a coaching staff that now appears 1686 01:22:23.880 --> 01:22:25.840 to be locked in for a number of years, which 1687 01:22:25.880 --> 01:22:28.479 you don't see when there's no data to indicate these 1688 01:22:28.520 --> 01:22:29.600 people are good at what they do. 1689 01:22:29.640 --> 01:22:31.359 And I'm not saying they are or they are not. 1690 01:22:31.520 --> 01:22:33.840 I want to be clear, But what are your thoughts 1691 01:22:33.920 --> 01:22:36.840 on the decision to let's go ahead and lock in 1692 01:22:36.880 --> 01:22:38.800 our coach, let's go ahead and lock in our front 1693 01:22:38.840 --> 01:22:43.039 office when the results, which is what this business is 1694 01:22:43.119 --> 01:22:46.039 and what it always will be, have been mixed at best. 1695 01:22:46.119 --> 01:22:46.359 Yeah. 1696 01:22:46.359 --> 01:22:49.560 Well, you know, part of it is, Spence, is that 1697 01:22:49.640 --> 01:22:53.439 teams always talk about trying to get some level of continuity, 1698 01:22:53.560 --> 01:22:57.119 so to trying to build something that has some sustainability 1699 01:22:57.159 --> 01:23:00.199 but also has some natural flow to it. And the 1700 01:23:00.199 --> 01:23:01.600 other way you can do that is when you have 1701 01:23:01.680 --> 01:23:05.239 people in place that you believe know what they're doing, 1702 01:23:05.560 --> 01:23:07.880 that can make some good decisions. 1703 01:23:07.680 --> 01:23:09.159 And and you you don't. 1704 01:23:09.239 --> 01:23:12.760 You don't, you don't shake the tree, and you don't 1705 01:23:12.840 --> 01:23:14.800 change things up when you hit a bump in the road. 1706 01:23:14.880 --> 01:23:17.439 And I think that's what they're trying to do. Now, 1707 01:23:17.800 --> 01:23:20.239 you're you're right. They've They've been three years into this 1708 01:23:20.840 --> 01:23:24.680 tear down whatever they want to call it, haven't made 1709 01:23:24.680 --> 01:23:27.119 any headway. The last two years, they've been the worst 1710 01:23:27.439 --> 01:23:30.479 defensive team in the league by all metrics. 1711 01:23:31.239 --> 01:23:32.560 Haven't hasn't gotten any better. 1712 01:23:33.520 --> 01:23:36.359 But we've also talked Spence about the idea that when 1713 01:23:36.359 --> 01:23:39.199 you do these kind of things, there's a certain amount, 1714 01:23:39.399 --> 01:23:44.279 certain percentage of the moves you make that that you control, 1715 01:23:44.479 --> 01:23:47.960 that you make decisions on. You have the tenth pick 1716 01:23:48.000 --> 01:23:51.039 in the draft last year, and so when when your 1717 01:23:51.199 --> 01:23:54.159 when your turn comes up, you make a decision about 1718 01:23:54.520 --> 01:23:57.199 you know, you're taking Cody Williams or you're taking this 1719 01:23:57.239 --> 01:23:59.960 guy or the other guy or whatever, and you decide 1720 01:24:00.119 --> 01:24:03.119 on this guy and then you now you have to 1721 01:24:03.359 --> 01:24:07.199 live with that, and you know the guy does well, develops, doesn't. 1722 01:24:07.279 --> 01:24:11.880 Whatever that is. You're living with those things. But then 1723 01:24:11.920 --> 01:24:16.000 there's a certain percentage of this process that is beyond 1724 01:24:16.159 --> 01:24:20.199 your control. It's stuff that either falls in your lap, 1725 01:24:21.399 --> 01:24:25.159 like a trade opportunity, you know, whether it's something like, 1726 01:24:25.439 --> 01:24:28.960 you know, Phoenix wants to get rid of Kevin Durant, say, 1727 01:24:29.479 --> 01:24:33.000 or Yannis decides for whatever reason, he wants out of 1728 01:24:33.039 --> 01:24:35.800 Milwaukee and he's decided, I'd like to go live in 1729 01:24:35.880 --> 01:24:36.720 Salt Lake City. 1730 01:24:37.079 --> 01:24:38.119 You know that kind of thing. 1731 01:24:38.479 --> 01:24:41.720 So that falls in your lap, and you have to 1732 01:24:41.800 --> 01:24:45.600 have the ability to respond to make something happen, like 1733 01:24:45.680 --> 01:24:48.560 having draft picks or having players that the other team 1734 01:24:48.600 --> 01:24:51.880 wants or whatever. And so that's something that happens can 1735 01:24:51.920 --> 01:24:54.359 happen to you. And then the other part of it 1736 01:24:54.399 --> 01:24:56.960 is the equation that we just saw a few weeks 1737 01:24:56.960 --> 01:25:00.079 ago that went against the Jazz, which is you have 1738 01:25:00.079 --> 01:25:04.079 have to be lucky when you do something like lose 1739 01:25:05.079 --> 01:25:08.920 all year long in the hopes of getting a number 1740 01:25:08.960 --> 01:25:12.039 one draft pick at a fourteen percent chance, and it 1741 01:25:12.079 --> 01:25:15.319 doesn't fall your way and it goes the opposite way 1742 01:25:15.640 --> 01:25:19.800 and instead of getting one, you get five. So that's 1743 01:25:19.840 --> 01:25:23.520 something you can't control. And when you're relying on that 1744 01:25:24.000 --> 01:25:26.039 and you're you're you're putting some of your eggs in 1745 01:25:26.079 --> 01:25:28.039 that basket and it doesn't work. 1746 01:25:28.720 --> 01:25:31.960 Now now you're scrambling. And so that's what they're gonna do. 1747 01:25:32.600 --> 01:25:34.880 Uh, they're gonna get a good player at five if 1748 01:25:34.880 --> 01:25:37.520 they if they keep five, and there's all kinds of 1749 01:25:37.520 --> 01:25:40.319 scenarios they could get into and trying to move up 1750 01:25:40.720 --> 01:25:43.119 or even move back, or try to parlay it into 1751 01:25:43.199 --> 01:25:45.239 a couple of players if they like a couple of 1752 01:25:45.279 --> 01:25:47.800 different guys or what have you, and all those kind 1753 01:25:47.800 --> 01:25:50.079 of things that we'll be talking about in the next 1754 01:25:50.119 --> 01:25:54.560 few weeks heading up to draft day. But that's that's 1755 01:25:54.640 --> 01:25:57.399 the stuff that you have to be able to deal with. 1756 01:25:58.039 --> 01:26:01.760 And you have to understand that some of the things 1757 01:26:01.800 --> 01:26:04.840 you can control, and then some of the things you 1758 01:26:04.960 --> 01:26:07.279 have to just wait for the bus to come by, 1759 01:26:07.840 --> 01:26:10.479 and you hope it's the right bus, and if it's. 1760 01:26:10.359 --> 01:26:13.039 Not going down the road you want to go down, then. 1761 01:26:13.039 --> 01:26:15.239 You got to just keep sitting on the bus stop 1762 01:26:15.600 --> 01:26:19.800 and waiting for the next bus. And as we've said before, Spence, 1763 01:26:19.960 --> 01:26:22.880 there's no time frame on that. You can't say you 1764 01:26:22.960 --> 01:26:25.560 have a five year plan. You can't say you have 1765 01:26:25.600 --> 01:26:28.800 a six year plan because you have no idea what's 1766 01:26:28.800 --> 01:26:32.039 going to come around the corner next week that might 1767 01:26:32.199 --> 01:26:35.119 change your fortunes, and so what you're trying to do, 1768 01:26:35.159 --> 01:26:39.600 you're always trying to improve your situation and improve your 1769 01:26:39.680 --> 01:26:41.960 group in the way that you think is going to 1770 01:26:42.039 --> 01:26:46.239 make sense. And some of that you control by taking 1771 01:26:46.520 --> 01:26:49.520 your draft picks, which we know the guys they've taken 1772 01:26:49.560 --> 01:26:53.079 the last few years, and have opinions about those guys, 1773 01:26:53.119 --> 01:26:56.239 and then stuff that you can't control, like not getting 1774 01:26:56.279 --> 01:27:00.159 Cooper flag and having to go to Plan B. So 1775 01:27:00.680 --> 01:27:05.680 that's all part of that process, and that's why it's interesting, really, 1776 01:27:05.720 --> 01:27:08.680 I think, to be if you're an NBA fan or 1777 01:27:08.800 --> 01:27:12.479 Jazz fan, just to you know, remove yourself from your 1778 01:27:12.560 --> 01:27:16.359 fandom in terms of rooting and wanting your team to 1779 01:27:16.479 --> 01:27:20.239 go eighty two and zero every year, to look and see, wow, 1780 01:27:20.279 --> 01:27:23.720 this is gonna be interesting and really can be fascinating 1781 01:27:23.800 --> 01:27:28.079 to see what happens in the coming weeks and months, 1782 01:27:28.560 --> 01:27:31.039 because I think there's a chance that a lot of 1783 01:27:31.079 --> 01:27:35.039 things could change and be different between now and the 1784 01:27:35.039 --> 01:27:37.319 start of training camp at the end of September. 1785 01:27:37.520 --> 01:27:41.680 We should also reference that Austin, while in Boston that Ryan, 1786 01:27:41.720 --> 01:27:44.119 I didn't mean to do that work with Will Hardy, 1787 01:27:44.199 --> 01:27:48.000 who's an assistant coach for emy Udoka with the Boston Celtics, 1788 01:27:48.000 --> 01:27:50.640 So there are synergies there as well. I wanted to 1789 01:27:50.680 --> 01:27:54.079 ask you this though, many because you had a front 1790 01:27:54.159 --> 01:27:57.039 row seat and still have a front row seat to 1791 01:27:57.399 --> 01:28:00.680 a father son combo that originally built the best teams 1792 01:28:00.680 --> 01:28:02.079 we had here with Frank and Scott. 1793 01:28:02.680 --> 01:28:04.600 So you know, Frank was the coach. 1794 01:28:04.640 --> 01:28:06.840 He also had a lot of say in player personnel 1795 01:28:06.840 --> 01:28:10.600 decisions than Scotty was the general manager eventually, and of 1796 01:28:10.640 --> 01:28:13.479 course you draft John Ocarl you got something special. You 1797 01:28:13.520 --> 01:28:16.000 make trades for Hornisak and a bunch of other moves 1798 01:28:16.000 --> 01:28:16.680 that's got made. 1799 01:28:17.119 --> 01:28:18.439 Clearly did a good job here. 1800 01:28:18.600 --> 01:28:21.279 What did you witness with the dynamic of that father 1801 01:28:21.359 --> 01:28:25.960 son combo? What made it so successful early on running 1802 01:28:25.960 --> 01:28:26.920 the Jazz Well, one of. 1803 01:28:26.920 --> 01:28:30.000 The things that people will tell you who had the 1804 01:28:30.000 --> 01:28:33.640 opportunity in the eighties and nineties to work under the 1805 01:28:33.920 --> 01:28:38.560 Frank Laden and his leadership as the general manager, then 1806 01:28:38.600 --> 01:28:41.279 the head coach and then the president of the team 1807 01:28:42.479 --> 01:28:47.319 of during the nineties is that Frank was great at 1808 01:28:47.399 --> 01:28:53.720 getting people in position to do certain responsibilities and then 1809 01:28:53.800 --> 01:28:57.960 allowing them to do their job. You know, you've heard 1810 01:28:58.000 --> 01:29:03.560 the often quoted phrase from Bill Belichick, the great Patriots coach, 1811 01:29:03.560 --> 01:29:07.720 who would say, just do your job right. And Frank 1812 01:29:07.880 --> 01:29:12.000 was great about hiring people and then letting them do 1813 01:29:12.079 --> 01:29:16.720 their job. He was the ultimate macro manager and that 1814 01:29:16.840 --> 01:29:20.039 he stood back and he if you were the PR person, 1815 01:29:20.520 --> 01:29:22.720 he let you handle the PR stuff. And if you 1816 01:29:22.760 --> 01:29:25.600 were the marketing guy, you did the market If you 1817 01:29:25.640 --> 01:29:31.239 were the physical trainer guy or the head trainer, he 1818 01:29:31.399 --> 01:29:34.920 lets you, you know, do your job. And and that's 1819 01:29:34.920 --> 01:29:39.399 why everybody. Frank is so beloved by any everybody who 1820 01:29:39.439 --> 01:29:44.600 worked for him all those years, because they all felt 1821 01:29:44.920 --> 01:29:48.640 that he honored them and what they were trying to 1822 01:29:48.680 --> 01:29:52.680 do for the organization by giving them the ability to 1823 01:29:52.760 --> 01:29:56.039 make decisions and do what they thought was best. And 1824 01:29:56.439 --> 01:29:58.600 you know, none of us are perfect, and we all 1825 01:29:58.640 --> 01:30:04.399 make mistakes. But when you have the top person relying 1826 01:30:04.439 --> 01:30:08.520 on you and letting you make decisions and letting you, 1827 01:30:08.520 --> 01:30:12.319 you know, run your show, so to speak, you get 1828 01:30:12.359 --> 01:30:14.680 all kinds of ownership from people, and you get all 1829 01:30:14.760 --> 01:30:18.520 kinds of support because everybody wants to rally behind you, 1830 01:30:18.760 --> 01:30:21.359 especially in the tough times because they go, you know, no, 1831 01:30:21.399 --> 01:30:22.079 that's my guy. 1832 01:30:22.399 --> 01:30:25.239 You know, he supports me. I support him. You know. 1833 01:30:25.319 --> 01:30:28.359 Jerry Sloan was the same way. I remember, you know, 1834 01:30:28.439 --> 01:30:30.560 more than a few times would be in a in 1835 01:30:30.600 --> 01:30:33.560 a practice and and at the end of practice, Jerry 1836 01:30:33.560 --> 01:30:35.880 would say, Okay, we have a we have a community 1837 01:30:35.880 --> 01:30:39.039 event tomorrow with three and so make sure you remember 1838 01:30:39.079 --> 01:30:42.319 that we're gonna do something downtown for for some charity 1839 01:30:42.399 --> 01:30:45.680 or whatever. And you know, obviously there'd be some always 1840 01:30:45.680 --> 01:30:47.680 some kind of player pushback. 1841 01:30:47.199 --> 01:30:49.039 Or do I have to show up? I have to 1842 01:30:49.079 --> 01:30:51.079 do this? And he goes, uh, well, I don't know, 1843 01:30:51.159 --> 01:30:51.680 that's uh. 1844 01:30:51.760 --> 01:30:51.960 You know. 1845 01:30:52.119 --> 01:30:55.680 Patty Ballely was our longtime community relations person. You go, Patty, 1846 01:30:55.720 --> 01:30:57.840 what what what? What's the thing tomorrow? Well, we're doing 1847 01:30:57.880 --> 01:31:00.520 this or whatever, and and guys would want to complain 1848 01:31:00.640 --> 01:31:02.800 or something, and he would go, hey, hey, hey, hey, 1849 01:31:03.279 --> 01:31:05.840 Patty told you what the deal is. That's the deal. 1850 01:31:06.039 --> 01:31:07.800 It's not a big deal. We just do what we're 1851 01:31:08.239 --> 01:31:10.760 asked to do and then we move on. And and 1852 01:31:12.039 --> 01:31:15.560 so someone like that, Patty Valley would have all the 1853 01:31:15.680 --> 01:31:19.239 support and respect to Jerry Sloan because she knew that 1854 01:31:19.319 --> 01:31:21.840 he had her back when they had to, you know, 1855 01:31:21.840 --> 01:31:24.680 when she had to do something and Frank was the 1856 01:31:24.680 --> 01:31:28.880 same way. And uh, that's how you build, uh from 1857 01:31:29.119 --> 01:31:35.560 from internally a sustainable organization because you have people working 1858 01:31:35.760 --> 01:31:39.319 with you and for you who all feel like they 1859 01:31:39.359 --> 01:31:43.039 are part of the process, that they are valued and 1860 01:31:43.159 --> 01:31:44.800 what they do every day. 1861 01:31:45.199 --> 01:31:48.079 That's how you get people to to work. 1862 01:31:47.960 --> 01:31:51.479 Late, right, to stay after hours, to work on weekends, 1863 01:31:51.680 --> 01:31:55.000 to work on holidays, to be away from their families 1864 01:31:55.159 --> 01:31:58.600 or whatever, because they want to. They have a feeling 1865 01:31:58.680 --> 01:32:02.920 that they're they're they're from doing something and having some 1866 01:32:03.039 --> 01:32:06.800 input for the greater good of the of the entire organization. 1867 01:32:07.319 --> 01:32:11.199 And and that's how the Jazz built what they had, 1868 01:32:11.239 --> 01:32:13.680 along with the support of the Millers as the owners 1869 01:32:14.039 --> 01:32:16.840 all those years and in that kind of an atmosphere. 1870 01:32:17.279 --> 01:32:21.239 And you know, but what what what makes it ultimately 1871 01:32:21.319 --> 01:32:24.680 tick Spence, really, when you get down to it, is 1872 01:32:25.640 --> 01:32:29.319 you have to have players and in the players, and 1873 01:32:29.399 --> 01:32:32.279 the players have to have success. And when the players 1874 01:32:32.319 --> 01:32:36.079 have success and your competitive year after year, all that 1875 01:32:36.119 --> 01:32:37.479 stuff trickles. 1876 01:32:37.039 --> 01:32:37.760 Down, you know. 1877 01:32:37.960 --> 01:32:40.760 And and and let me tell you, it makes a 1878 01:32:40.800 --> 01:32:43.319 lot easier to go to work every day if that's 1879 01:32:43.399 --> 01:32:47.159 the atmosphere around your building, you know, day in and 1880 01:32:47.239 --> 01:32:47.640 day out. 1881 01:32:48.600 --> 01:32:50.680 Yeah, I mean, before we catch a break. 1882 01:32:50.880 --> 01:32:56.039 Chris Finch after the t Wolves lost, during his postgame presser, 1883 01:32:57.479 --> 01:33:00.000 he said something along the lines there are thirteen teams 1884 01:33:00.159 --> 01:33:01.800 in the West next year, they'd all think they have 1885 01:33:01.840 --> 01:33:03.079 a shot for home court advantage. 1886 01:33:03.159 --> 01:33:05.479 I went, all right, Well, he's. 1887 01:33:05.439 --> 01:33:07.319 Leaving the Jazz off the list, and he's leaving probably 1888 01:33:07.359 --> 01:33:08.359 the Blazers off the list. 1889 01:33:08.399 --> 01:33:08.520 Right. 1890 01:33:08.640 --> 01:33:10.760 San Antonio will probably think they've got a shot with 1891 01:33:10.800 --> 01:33:17.119 Oneman Yama healthy and another pick. So it's clear that 1892 01:33:17.680 --> 01:33:20.880 it's no secret. It's no secret to them down who's 1893 01:33:20.920 --> 01:33:23.119 running like, we all know what the score is, we 1894 01:33:23.159 --> 01:33:24.560 all know what the deal is. We all know what 1895 01:33:24.560 --> 01:33:27.640 they did a year ago to manipulate lineups to lose 1896 01:33:27.680 --> 01:33:31.399 intentionally for more bites of the apple. Didn't work. So 1897 01:33:31.520 --> 01:33:34.159 before we catch a break. I don't know if the 1898 01:33:34.199 --> 01:33:36.720 Austin Hire indicates a different direction. We'll have to wait 1899 01:33:36.760 --> 01:33:40.000 and see what this hierarchy looks like. Whose voice is 1900 01:33:40.000 --> 01:33:42.920 the loudest, what's the approach this year or is it 1901 01:33:43.119 --> 01:33:45.479 very similar to what they did last year? Based off 1902 01:33:45.520 --> 01:33:48.960 they've got a top eight protected pick. It goes okase, 1903 01:33:50.279 --> 01:33:53.159 and you can't lose that asset, not at this point 1904 01:33:53.239 --> 01:33:55.399 in your process. Many you have to do everything you 1905 01:33:55.439 --> 01:33:57.880 can to hold onto that pick. So what do you 1906 01:33:57.880 --> 01:33:58.720 think this year looks like? 1907 01:33:58.800 --> 01:33:59.840 Well, it was. 1908 01:34:01.000 --> 01:34:04.439 It's gonna depend spense on what happens between now and 1909 01:34:04.760 --> 01:34:07.640 and training camp, and there's a lot of things that 1910 01:34:07.640 --> 01:34:11.520 could happen. You know, in a worst case Jazz scenario, 1911 01:34:12.119 --> 01:34:15.079 you know, they end up taking their picks that they have. 1912 01:34:15.159 --> 01:34:18.359 They have four draft picks in the upcoming draft. They're 1913 01:34:18.359 --> 01:34:21.159 picking five and twenty one in the first round, and 1914 01:34:21.199 --> 01:34:23.439 then they're picking forty three and fifty three in the 1915 01:34:23.479 --> 01:34:27.039 second round, So they have a potential to add four 1916 01:34:27.079 --> 01:34:30.720 more young players. I don't think that will happen, but 1917 01:34:30.800 --> 01:34:35.119 that's what's on the books at the moment. And if 1918 01:34:35.159 --> 01:34:38.000 they don't do anything, then they'll be trying to get 1919 01:34:38.680 --> 01:34:41.680 something happening and free agency in the summer, they'll try 1920 01:34:41.720 --> 01:34:46.239 and get something going in the trade market with somebody somewhere, 1921 01:34:46.720 --> 01:34:50.840 something crops up during the summertime. You know, those are 1922 01:34:50.840 --> 01:34:53.399 the things you just don't know about. That's what we've 1923 01:34:53.399 --> 01:34:56.439 been talking about all along, is the idea that they're 1924 01:34:56.520 --> 01:34:58.880 hoarding all these draft picks and have all these so 1925 01:34:59.000 --> 01:35:04.079 called assets just in case something comes up, like what's 1926 01:35:04.119 --> 01:35:07.319 the something. I don't know, Phoenix wants to get rid 1927 01:35:07.359 --> 01:35:10.479 of Devin Booker in his prime to start over as 1928 01:35:10.520 --> 01:35:14.760 an example, Uh, you' honest, the honest thing whatever. I 1929 01:35:14.760 --> 01:35:16.880 don't know if that's gonna really be a thing, but 1930 01:35:17.520 --> 01:35:20.960 something like those types of things where the Jazz can 1931 01:35:21.000 --> 01:35:22.479 at least get in the conversation. 1932 01:35:23.039 --> 01:35:25.960 Does it happen? Who knows, you know, but those. 1933 01:35:25.840 --> 01:35:29.279 Are all the things that they're positioning themselves to at least, 1934 01:35:29.520 --> 01:35:31.119 you know, get in the room or get on a 1935 01:35:31.159 --> 01:35:35.359 telephone and talk to somebody about something. Because when you 1936 01:35:35.399 --> 01:35:38.960 get to September and you get into training camp and 1937 01:35:39.000 --> 01:35:41.840 you walk going through your your preseason games and getting 1938 01:35:41.880 --> 01:35:45.279 ready for the season in the middle of October, if 1939 01:35:45.439 --> 01:35:48.000 things are pretty much the same as they are now, 1940 01:35:48.439 --> 01:35:51.800 and you've added a few draft picks from thiscoming draft, 1941 01:35:52.159 --> 01:35:54.880 and you've got the same players, and then you've got 1942 01:35:54.960 --> 01:35:59.159 guys like Collins and Sexton and Clarkson who are all 1943 01:35:59.199 --> 01:36:01.079 going to be on the last years of their of 1944 01:36:01.119 --> 01:36:03.640 their deals. So are you going to be trying to 1945 01:36:03.680 --> 01:36:06.039 trade them to some team that wants them, wants an 1946 01:36:06.039 --> 01:36:09.560 expiring contract. Uh do you hold on to those because 1947 01:36:09.600 --> 01:36:11.439 you think you can make a big splash and next 1948 01:36:11.479 --> 01:36:15.159 summer in the free agent market. Uh, And then you're 1949 01:36:15.199 --> 01:36:18.840 gonna use this next season as another tank season? 1950 01:36:19.640 --> 01:36:22.720 Can you do that? And and and uh and. 1951 01:36:22.680 --> 01:36:25.079 Incur the wrath of your fans who want to know, 1952 01:36:25.520 --> 01:36:27.960 you know, well, why is this year gonna be different 1953 01:36:28.000 --> 01:36:28.960 than last year? 1954 01:36:29.600 --> 01:36:29.800 You know? 1955 01:36:30.000 --> 01:36:32.319 Why do you think we're gonna have a different outcome? 1956 01:36:32.439 --> 01:36:35.079 And you know, and all of that, and that's that's 1957 01:36:35.199 --> 01:36:38.520 that's gonna be difficult to deal with and very painful 1958 01:36:38.680 --> 01:36:42.880 if that's what is happening in uh, December and January. 1959 01:36:43.039 --> 01:36:46.520 And you know, the Jazz don't want that. The Jazz 1960 01:36:46.600 --> 01:36:49.880 want to put together this summer a whole different team 1961 01:36:50.039 --> 01:36:53.079 and and move some guys around and bring in two 1962 01:36:53.239 --> 01:36:56.000 all stars and get a draft pick like a Donovan 1963 01:36:56.039 --> 01:36:59.640 Mitchell or Rudy Gobert that hits and right out of 1964 01:36:59.640 --> 01:37:01.800 the box and all of a sudden, they're an exciting 1965 01:37:01.960 --> 01:37:06.359 new team and whatever. That's what they're hoping for. But again, 1966 01:37:08.479 --> 01:37:11.279 they can control some of that, and some of that 1967 01:37:11.640 --> 01:37:14.680 they can't control, and they have to hope that something 1968 01:37:14.720 --> 01:37:18.119 comes their way. That's what's gonna make this next several months. 1969 01:37:18.399 --> 01:37:22.319 I think very intriguing if you're a Jazz observer or 1970 01:37:22.359 --> 01:37:25.520 a Jazz fan wondering what's gonna happen for next year. 1971 01:37:25.960 --> 01:37:28.079 All Right, we'll catch a break and coming up on 1972 01:37:28.119 --> 01:37:31.279 the other side, the NBA Finals start on Thursday, so 1973 01:37:31.359 --> 01:37:34.520 we should give some flowers, as the kids would say, 1974 01:37:34.520 --> 01:37:36.840 to the team still playing basketball. So we'll do that, 1975 01:37:37.399 --> 01:37:40.039 and then we'll talk about the Western Conference in the 1976 01:37:40.159 --> 01:37:42.159 NBA and kind of try to figure out where the 1977 01:37:42.199 --> 01:37:44.680 Jazz can fit in. As Chris Finch pointed out, thirteen 1978 01:37:44.840 --> 01:37:47.880 really talented rosters reside in the West next year, so 1979 01:37:47.920 --> 01:37:50.560 we'll see how it goes. Richard Smith live in studio 1980 01:37:50.600 --> 01:37:52.199 for another big segment, and then we'll let you hear 1981 01:37:52.199 --> 01:37:54.840 from Austin Aine, who addressed the media earlier. We got 1982 01:37:54.880 --> 01:37:59.159 Smitty for another big segment here, and then we're gonna 1983 01:37:59.199 --> 01:38:01.920 play you some common It's made by Austin Ainge earlier. 1984 01:38:02.399 --> 01:38:03.880 Austin has been hired. 1985 01:38:03.560 --> 01:38:06.199 By the Jazz as a new president of basketball operations. 1986 01:38:06.880 --> 01:38:09.079 Our friend Sarah Todd Frond of the program a couple 1987 01:38:09.079 --> 01:38:13.039 of tidbits real quick. Austin was asked about his philosophy 1988 01:38:13.079 --> 01:38:17.199 on tanking manipulating minutes to improve lottery odds. His answer was, quote, 1989 01:38:17.199 --> 01:38:21.159 you will not see that this year. Ryan Smith has 1990 01:38:21.159 --> 01:38:24.840 said that Austin Ainge will have final say and will 1991 01:38:24.880 --> 01:38:29.960 give recommendations to him. So s many we'll hear the 1992 01:38:29.960 --> 01:38:31.560 comments later. You and I have been on air, so 1993 01:38:31.560 --> 01:38:34.840 we couldn't hear them live. Austin is saying tanking is 1994 01:38:34.840 --> 01:38:37.520 off the table next year, and Ryan himself is saying 1995 01:38:37.560 --> 01:38:40.399 Austin Inge is now calling the shots to build his roster. 1996 01:38:41.680 --> 01:38:46.199 Where your thoughts, so, well, what knee jerk reaction would 1997 01:38:46.239 --> 01:38:50.079 be if he if he made the statement and use 1998 01:38:50.159 --> 01:38:53.159 the phrase tanking is off the table, if that was 1999 01:38:53.600 --> 01:38:55.800 accurate or however he phrased. 2000 01:38:55.479 --> 01:38:57.279 It as quote, you will not see that this year. 2001 01:38:58.000 --> 01:39:03.960 That's so so that to means there's some some admission 2002 01:39:04.079 --> 01:39:07.840 that that's what they were doing, even though they've never 2003 01:39:07.920 --> 01:39:10.640 said that, and obviously it was all under the guise 2004 01:39:10.720 --> 01:39:14.680 of player development and trying to figure out which I 2005 01:39:14.720 --> 01:39:17.720 see some of I can't. I can't get on board 2006 01:39:17.760 --> 01:39:20.119 with the whole thing because, as we've talked about before, Spence, 2007 01:39:20.520 --> 01:39:22.640 that's why you have a G League team, You have 2008 01:39:22.680 --> 01:39:25.319 a G league team to get guys forty minutes a 2009 01:39:25.399 --> 01:39:28.600 night and get them used to playing an NBA game 2010 01:39:28.640 --> 01:39:32.199 and all that, and they're gonna say that, well, it's 2011 01:39:32.279 --> 01:39:35.359 best if they're doing it against NBA guys, which I I, okay, 2012 01:39:35.439 --> 01:39:39.239 I understand some of that, but again, you've got fans 2013 01:39:39.279 --> 01:39:42.600 to consider and people who are paying money and sponsors 2014 01:39:42.640 --> 01:39:45.399 and all that kind of stuff. But anyway, if that's 2015 01:39:45.520 --> 01:39:50.039 if that's what he's saying, if that's the intent, then 2016 01:39:50.079 --> 01:39:53.079 it's gonna be interesting that that would even lean more 2017 01:39:53.119 --> 01:39:57.600 into our comments in the previous segment about the Jazz 2018 01:39:57.680 --> 01:40:01.319 then really wanting to or needing to get in a 2019 01:40:01.319 --> 01:40:05.880 lot of action this summer with free agents or with 2020 01:40:06.000 --> 01:40:10.239 trades or something to reinvent the group they have, because 2021 01:40:11.439 --> 01:40:14.720 the group they have right now, even if those guys 2022 01:40:14.720 --> 01:40:18.960 are playing, those guys are gonna win, you know, maybe 2023 01:40:19.000 --> 01:40:23.359 they win thirty games, thirty four games, something whatever. And 2024 01:40:23.520 --> 01:40:27.239 if if that is what you think or you believe 2025 01:40:29.239 --> 01:40:32.039 that's that's the worst case scenario. That's the worst place 2026 01:40:32.079 --> 01:40:34.600 to be because you don't you never spence want to 2027 01:40:34.640 --> 01:40:37.199 be in the gray area in the middle of the league, 2028 01:40:37.239 --> 01:40:42.600 because you don't get anywhere you're picking you're picking fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, whatever. 2029 01:40:43.079 --> 01:40:46.600 And so you want to be one of the top 2030 01:40:46.640 --> 01:40:50.159 five teams who has a legitimate chance to do something 2031 01:40:50.239 --> 01:40:53.800 like Indiana, okac you're still doing, or you want to 2032 01:40:53.800 --> 01:40:56.039 be one of the bottom five teams like the Jazz 2033 01:40:56.079 --> 01:40:58.800 were this year and have a chance at the top 2034 01:40:58.880 --> 01:41:00.880 lottery prize, which they didn't get. 2035 01:41:01.239 --> 01:41:05.760 Next year's draft is going to be, by by most people's. 2036 01:41:06.760 --> 01:41:10.880 Evaluations, is going to be a very good draft also, 2037 01:41:12.800 --> 01:41:14.920 and so if that's the case as well a year 2038 01:41:14.960 --> 01:41:19.560 from now, uh, the Jazz would have another opportunity and 2039 01:41:19.680 --> 01:41:24.560 at a good prospect and a good talent. But you know, 2040 01:41:24.720 --> 01:41:27.479 if if Austin Ainge is saying that's off the table, 2041 01:41:27.600 --> 01:41:30.279 that's not what we're gonna do, then that's gonna be interesting, 2042 01:41:30.319 --> 01:41:33.079 because that would mean to me, then we're gonna see 2043 01:41:33.079 --> 01:41:38.000 a lot of stuff happening or at least attempting to happen, uh, 2044 01:41:38.279 --> 01:41:41.159 in the in the coming months. Because you can talk 2045 01:41:41.199 --> 01:41:44.000 all you want about signing free agents and you know, 2046 01:41:44.800 --> 01:41:48.000 and we beat to death the famous Danny Ainge quote 2047 01:41:48.039 --> 01:41:51.000 of big game hunting and all that, but that's what 2048 01:41:51.039 --> 01:41:55.560 you're doing all the time, Spence and sometimes you don't 2049 01:41:55.600 --> 01:41:57.760 get the big game, and sometimes you come home and 2050 01:41:58.079 --> 01:42:00.520 you don't have anything on the hood to the car 2051 01:42:00.600 --> 01:42:03.399 because you didn't get anything, and when you went hunting, 2052 01:42:03.439 --> 01:42:07.600 and and so you can try all those things, but 2053 01:42:07.720 --> 01:42:10.079 you have to get be able to get something done. 2054 01:42:10.439 --> 01:42:13.279 That's gonna be the trick for the Jazz because if 2055 01:42:13.319 --> 01:42:15.720 they're not gonna do this other thing, which I can 2056 01:42:15.840 --> 01:42:18.760 I can understand that. You know, Austin Dane is. You know, 2057 01:42:18.840 --> 01:42:21.359 I don't think he's coming into to say, yeah, we're 2058 01:42:21.399 --> 01:42:24.000 gonna we're gonna try and lose and get another take 2059 01:42:24.039 --> 01:42:25.920 another swing at that thing and next year. 2060 01:42:27.039 --> 01:42:28.640 I don't think he could say anything different. 2061 01:42:28.920 --> 01:42:30.840 He wants to come in and give people hope that 2062 01:42:31.239 --> 01:42:33.479 you know, I'm here to help us get better and 2063 01:42:33.520 --> 01:42:36.800 improve and and help us come along with us, and 2064 01:42:36.840 --> 01:42:38.520 we're gonna get this done and whatever. 2065 01:42:38.960 --> 01:42:41.399 That's that's what part of what his job is. 2066 01:42:42.039 --> 01:42:47.319 Here's another quote from Ryan Smith when asked about Austin 2067 01:42:47.399 --> 01:42:51.279 Ryan and this is Andy Larson's Twitter profile quote. Austin 2068 01:42:51.560 --> 01:42:55.199 will be running the program. He's got final recommendation to 2069 01:42:55.279 --> 01:42:58.079 myself on any decisions that need to be made. I 2070 01:42:58.079 --> 01:43:00.960 think it's the job of justin Danny myself to plug 2071 01:43:00.960 --> 01:43:05.960 into him. So that is Ryan still saying that he's 2072 01:43:06.000 --> 01:43:07.239 making final decisions. 2073 01:43:07.600 --> 01:43:09.720 So he's saying Austin. 2074 01:43:09.439 --> 01:43:12.079 Will be running the program, but the way he's characterized 2075 01:43:12.079 --> 01:43:17.600 it is he's got final recommendation to myself on any decisions. 2076 01:43:17.960 --> 01:43:20.640 Well if that, if that's the case, then you know, 2077 01:43:20.760 --> 01:43:25.159 I'd be interested to hear how where Danny, Danny Ainge 2078 01:43:25.199 --> 01:43:28.840 fits in all this and whether Danny is is this 2079 01:43:29.000 --> 01:43:33.319 a precursor to Danny, you know, getting one foot out 2080 01:43:33.359 --> 01:43:36.720 the door, and is Danny and and uh, you know, 2081 01:43:36.760 --> 01:43:40.319 on the verge of you know, saying, hey, Austin can 2082 01:43:40.359 --> 01:43:41.199 take it from here. 2083 01:43:41.319 --> 01:43:44.640 And you know, I originally retired you know, five. 2084 01:43:44.520 --> 01:43:46.439 Years ago or six years ago, whatever it was, from 2085 01:43:46.479 --> 01:43:49.920 the Celtics, and that was my intent. And then Ryan 2086 01:43:50.000 --> 01:43:53.079 Smith talked me, you know, back into coming back in 2087 01:43:53.159 --> 01:43:55.600 and helping the Jazz, and I've done that. But I'm 2088 01:43:56.000 --> 01:44:00.000 you know, I'm you know, we put this new person 2089 01:44:00.119 --> 01:44:03.119 then just happens to be my son. He's in a 2090 01:44:03.159 --> 01:44:08.119 position of authority within the basketball operations. And so does 2091 01:44:08.119 --> 01:44:11.800 that mean Danny's going to have a lesser profile going forward? 2092 01:44:12.039 --> 01:44:14.479 And does that mean that he's going to have less 2093 01:44:14.479 --> 01:44:18.520 and less involvement. If that's If that's the case, that's 2094 01:44:18.600 --> 01:44:21.520 that that would be interesting for me to hear something 2095 01:44:22.199 --> 01:44:22.880 in that regard. 2096 01:44:23.159 --> 01:44:23.640 Good point. 2097 01:44:23.680 --> 01:44:26.399 Here's a Will Hardy quote on Austin Age quote. During 2098 01:44:26.439 --> 01:44:29.119 my time with the Celtics, I really enjoyed working alongside 2099 01:44:29.159 --> 01:44:32.039 Austin and was able to gain a great appreciation for 2100 01:44:32.079 --> 01:44:35.319 his basketball inside and acumen. Having Austin health guide our 2101 01:44:35.359 --> 01:44:38.439 group as we continue to grow as huge for our program. 2102 01:44:38.600 --> 01:44:41.840 Are you surprised we haven't heard anything from Daniel from 2103 01:44:41.920 --> 01:44:43.399 Danny himself, So again. 2104 01:44:43.279 --> 01:44:44.079 I don't know. 2105 01:44:44.479 --> 01:44:47.560 It's it'll be interesting Spence, how you know if that 2106 01:44:47.760 --> 01:44:50.159 comes out in the coming weeks or months. 2107 01:44:50.000 --> 01:44:51.840 Or maybe he's just finding out about this today. 2108 01:44:52.840 --> 01:44:55.399 You know that while that part I I'm that's I. 2109 01:44:56.439 --> 01:44:59.000 I can't put any any credence in any of that. 2110 01:44:59.000 --> 01:45:02.199 That doesn't make any sense to me, But you know, 2111 01:45:02.279 --> 01:45:05.000 be that as it may. If if that's what what 2112 01:45:06.000 --> 01:45:09.039 Ryan Smith is saying, If that's what Will Hardy is saying, 2113 01:45:12.000 --> 01:45:15.199 it will be interesting to hear from the CEO who 2114 01:45:15.279 --> 01:45:18.119 has had the final say, or at least was the 2115 01:45:18.199 --> 01:45:22.119 point man up to this point, and is he is 2116 01:45:22.800 --> 01:45:26.079 that is that in the offering of of changing, you know, 2117 01:45:26.159 --> 01:45:28.880 after the dust settles, after the draft and free agency, 2118 01:45:28.960 --> 01:45:32.039 and does Danny, you know, in August, say hey, guys, 2119 01:45:32.039 --> 01:45:32.680 it's been fun. 2120 01:45:32.720 --> 01:45:33.520 I'll see you around. 2121 01:45:34.039 --> 01:45:37.079 You know, the George Harrison quote, you know, hey guys, 2122 01:45:37.079 --> 01:45:40.479 it's been fun. I'll see you around the clubs when 2123 01:45:40.479 --> 01:45:42.520 he quit, the Beatles walked. 2124 01:45:42.239 --> 01:45:44.800 Out and you know. 2125 01:45:44.880 --> 01:45:46.680 So, I don't know, I don't know. I not saying 2126 01:45:46.720 --> 01:45:49.119 anything bad. I don't know anything about that. It's just 2127 01:45:49.199 --> 01:45:53.239 it is interesting that if Danny's been the guy and 2128 01:45:53.279 --> 01:45:57.039 now other people, the owner and the head coach alluding 2129 01:45:57.399 --> 01:46:01.359 or making direct comments to Austin Aine is now the guy, 2130 01:46:02.119 --> 01:46:04.920 then that, you know, just brings up the question that 2131 01:46:05.000 --> 01:46:08.159 I would have like, and so what happened to the 2132 01:46:08.239 --> 01:46:11.600 other guy? What what is the deal with the guy 2133 01:46:11.760 --> 01:46:12.600 who was the guy? 2134 01:46:13.720 --> 01:46:14.279 You know what I mean? 2135 01:46:14.439 --> 01:46:17.600 So, I don't know that that'll be interesting to hear 2136 01:46:17.920 --> 01:46:19.479 how that how that plays out. 2137 01:46:19.680 --> 01:46:22.960 I wonder if the George Harrison in this dynamic is 2138 01:46:23.000 --> 01:46:26.039 their current general manager, who also has not been prominently 2139 01:46:26.079 --> 01:46:27.920 featured in many of these press releases. 2140 01:46:28.159 --> 01:46:29.399 Because I don't know how this is gonna work. 2141 01:46:29.399 --> 01:46:33.399 I really don't And Xanik at one point was thought 2142 01:46:33.399 --> 01:46:36.399 to be the next general manager of Milwaukee before that 2143 01:46:36.439 --> 01:46:37.039 went to Horst. 2144 01:46:37.119 --> 01:46:37.680 I think. 2145 01:46:39.079 --> 01:46:41.840 And Zanik is a very well respected person across the 2146 01:46:41.920 --> 01:46:44.600 landscape of basketball and all levels of ecosystems. As a 2147 01:46:44.640 --> 01:46:47.199 former agent, he could probably get another job if he 2148 01:46:47.239 --> 01:46:49.880 wanted one. Maybe he just likes living here. And again, 2149 01:46:50.520 --> 01:46:52.520 we all want to stay employed. So you're not gonna 2150 01:46:52.560 --> 01:46:56.840 hear anybody say anything out of turn. That's why I 2151 01:46:56.880 --> 01:47:01.520 always remind listeners you listen to these press conferences and 2152 01:47:01.560 --> 01:47:04.640 then you actually try to dig in to translate what 2153 01:47:04.720 --> 01:47:08.399 they're saying, because they rarely give you the truth when 2154 01:47:08.399 --> 01:47:10.520 they're talking to the public or talking to the media. 2155 01:47:10.640 --> 01:47:13.199 You reference the Danny Ainge Big Game hunting, then it 2156 01:47:13.199 --> 01:47:15.079 was Drew you Banks and Patty Mills, and everybody's like, 2157 01:47:15.119 --> 01:47:18.880 wait what. And so it's Austin today saying we will 2158 01:47:18.920 --> 01:47:21.560 not be tanking next year. But if we play that 2159 01:47:21.680 --> 01:47:23.760 tape forward, Smithy, and if we look at who the 2160 01:47:23.840 --> 01:47:25.920 Jazz have on their roster, and we don't know what 2161 01:47:25.960 --> 01:47:28.840 the roster will look like in the fall, I'm gonna 2162 01:47:28.840 --> 01:47:30.560 go out out of lamb and say John Collins picks 2163 01:47:30.600 --> 01:47:31.960 up that thirty million dollar option. 2164 01:47:32.159 --> 01:47:33.159 That's my best guess. 2165 01:47:33.199 --> 01:47:33.600 Wow. 2166 01:47:33.640 --> 01:47:35.800 Wow, take today, Stephen A. 2167 01:47:35.880 --> 01:47:39.199 Smith on the program, I'm going to go out out 2168 01:47:39.199 --> 01:47:41.640 of lamb and say Collins, now if he doesn't, but 2169 01:47:41.720 --> 01:47:43.760 he's going to. If he doesn't, they'll have some money 2170 01:47:43.760 --> 01:47:45.640 to work with. But if he does, which he will, 2171 01:47:45.720 --> 01:47:47.560 they will not have cap space, believe it or not. 2172 01:47:48.119 --> 01:47:51.279 Even though the books moving forward are clean, most of 2173 01:47:51.319 --> 01:47:54.479 the expirings, like John and JC and everybody that's next 2174 01:47:54.520 --> 01:47:57.840 off season, so they don't have a ton of avenues 2175 01:47:57.880 --> 01:47:59.920 to add to the group. They'll have the draft picks 2176 01:48:00.039 --> 01:48:02.279 as you referenced, and then we know the group as 2177 01:48:02.279 --> 01:48:04.239 it is. But if we go off what Chris Finch said, 2178 01:48:04.520 --> 01:48:07.359 and I don't think he's wrong that there are thirteen 2179 01:48:07.600 --> 01:48:11.359 rosters in the West that are good and young and developed. 2180 01:48:12.680 --> 01:48:14.640 If we play the tape forward and we take Austin 2181 01:48:14.680 --> 01:48:16.840 at his word and they're going to put best foot 2182 01:48:16.840 --> 01:48:19.239 forward and try to win this year, and they win 2183 01:48:19.399 --> 01:48:21.920 like thirty two games and get the ninth pick and 2184 01:48:21.960 --> 01:48:25.760 that goes to Oklahoma City, that's a massive step in 2185 01:48:25.880 --> 01:48:27.520 the wrong Directionsmittie. 2186 01:48:27.520 --> 01:48:28.680 It just is yeah. 2187 01:48:28.800 --> 01:48:33.319 Well, and again, Spencer, they're going to have the guys 2188 01:48:33.359 --> 01:48:38.560 you just mentioned, the so called veterans Sexton and Clarkson 2189 01:48:38.680 --> 01:48:42.000 and the Collins are all on one I have one 2190 01:48:42.079 --> 01:48:44.640 year left on their deals coming up this next season. 2191 01:48:44.760 --> 01:48:48.600 So those are an NBA parliams referred to as expiring 2192 01:48:48.680 --> 01:48:52.920 deals that a lot of teams are interested in because 2193 01:48:52.960 --> 01:48:56.840 they feel like maybe a player in that situation can 2194 01:48:56.880 --> 01:49:00.560 help them in the short term without that tea making 2195 01:49:00.600 --> 01:49:04.359 any kind of commitment pass that current season. And so 2196 01:49:05.199 --> 01:49:08.000 those might be guys who you know, might start the 2197 01:49:08.079 --> 01:49:10.880 year on the Jazz, but then the Jazz find a 2198 01:49:10.920 --> 01:49:14.199 home for them somewhere else where they can get either 2199 01:49:14.239 --> 01:49:18.680 another player that they like or or some other draft assets. 2200 01:49:18.760 --> 01:49:21.600 You don't know again how that would play out. A 2201 01:49:21.600 --> 01:49:24.600 lot of teams, people forget, but a lot of teams 2202 01:49:24.600 --> 01:49:26.520 are over the salary cap. And if you're over the 2203 01:49:26.560 --> 01:49:29.800 salary cap into the luxury tax, then you become Then 2204 01:49:29.840 --> 01:49:32.560 you have to have all these these mathematicians and these 2205 01:49:32.640 --> 01:49:36.079 numbers guys who tell you who you can trade and 2206 01:49:36.079 --> 01:49:39.039 who you can't trade because you can't trade, you know, 2207 01:49:39.439 --> 01:49:41.880 John Collins to a team that's in the luxury tax 2208 01:49:42.159 --> 01:49:46.159 and take back two first round picks because they're they're 2209 01:49:46.199 --> 01:49:49.359 taking in twenty six million dollars in that scenario that 2210 01:49:49.399 --> 01:49:51.760 they can't take on because they're in the tax So 2211 01:49:52.079 --> 01:49:55.239 you have to trade twenty six million for twenty six million. 2212 01:49:55.319 --> 01:49:57.560 So you have to have some kind of balance there. 2213 01:49:57.600 --> 01:49:59.640 And so a lot of those trades that you'd like 2214 01:49:59.680 --> 01:50:03.359 to do, you can't do just because the rules don't 2215 01:50:03.399 --> 01:50:05.840 let you do it. So a lot of those things 2216 01:50:05.880 --> 01:50:09.159 you get, you get hampered by. So it's it's it's 2217 01:50:09.239 --> 01:50:12.960 not an enviable position to be in, other than the 2218 01:50:13.079 --> 01:50:16.560 Jazz have a lot of flexibility to do a lot 2219 01:50:16.600 --> 01:50:18.960 of different things, but you have to be able to 2220 01:50:19.840 --> 01:50:21.520 get those things done, you know. 2221 01:50:22.159 --> 01:50:22.359 Uh. 2222 01:50:22.720 --> 01:50:25.560 Part of me also says and and again I don't 2223 01:50:25.600 --> 01:50:28.760 know what their their their final iteration and setup is 2224 01:50:28.840 --> 01:50:33.039 going to be, but I would think looking at most 2225 01:50:33.119 --> 01:50:36.239 teams and how they operate and the teams the guys 2226 01:50:36.279 --> 01:50:38.359 I know are on the league who are still in 2227 01:50:38.399 --> 01:50:43.560 front offices and in those kinds of positions. Uh, not 2228 01:50:43.880 --> 01:50:45.800 to take anything away from him, because I'm a I'm 2229 01:50:45.800 --> 01:50:48.600 an Austin Ainge fan, and and I really like him, 2230 01:50:48.640 --> 01:50:51.720 and I know he works very hard. But you're taking 2231 01:50:52.359 --> 01:50:56.600 a call from Austin Ange or you're taking a call 2232 01:50:56.920 --> 01:51:00.800 from Danny Ainge. Danny Ainge has a track record, and 2233 01:51:00.920 --> 01:51:05.159 Danny Ainge has more clout and more umph and so 2234 01:51:05.840 --> 01:51:08.319 you're more likely to, you know, to to take a 2235 01:51:08.359 --> 01:51:10.560 call from him in terms of trying to you know, 2236 01:51:10.640 --> 01:51:14.279 discuss something or whatever. Now, you know, maybe maybe Danny's 2237 01:51:14.319 --> 01:51:15.199 still going to be doing that. 2238 01:51:15.920 --> 01:51:18.760 We don't know. Uh, maybe he's the guy who makes 2239 01:51:18.800 --> 01:51:19.960 those kind of phone calls. 2240 01:51:20.039 --> 01:51:23.279 I don't know that. Uh, maybe that stuff is going 2241 01:51:23.359 --> 01:51:26.039 to be turned over to Austin. If Ryan Smith is 2242 01:51:27.159 --> 01:51:29.760 accurate or you know, if that's the way they're setting 2243 01:51:29.840 --> 01:51:33.039 it up for for Austin to be the final guy. Uh, 2244 01:51:33.119 --> 01:51:35.399 then that that that's That's the thing that's intriguing to 2245 01:51:35.399 --> 01:51:39.159 me at the moment is is where where Danny uh 2246 01:51:39.359 --> 01:51:40.880 is in all of this kind of stuff. 2247 01:51:41.079 --> 01:51:43.760 Yeah, I would be very curious because Danny I do 2248 01:51:43.840 --> 01:51:46.199 not believe was made available during this press or. I'm 2249 01:51:46.199 --> 01:51:49.760 not seeing quote spill in from him looking at the 2250 01:51:49.760 --> 01:51:52.199 beat Riders covering it. We will play a portion of 2251 01:51:52.199 --> 01:51:56.279 this press conference coming up in a little bit. Look, man, 2252 01:51:56.560 --> 01:52:00.359 uh like Oklahoma City. There's a stat that just flashed 2253 01:52:00.359 --> 01:52:05.199 on ESPN. They're the youngest team as far as average 2254 01:52:05.239 --> 01:52:08.520 age to play in the NBA Finals since nineteen fifty five, 2255 01:52:08.640 --> 01:52:11.199 their average age is twenty four point seven years old. 2256 01:52:12.079 --> 01:52:14.600 And I could go down the list. You know, the deal, 2257 01:52:14.880 --> 01:52:16.279 the West is a bear. 2258 01:52:16.760 --> 01:52:17.479 It is tough. 2259 01:52:18.279 --> 01:52:22.279 I just don't know what's a realistic expectation. If if 2260 01:52:22.439 --> 01:52:24.279 the new guy in charge is Austin Age and he 2261 01:52:24.319 --> 01:52:27.520 is telling the community today last year's approach is nothing 2262 01:52:27.560 --> 01:52:32.079 we're interested in this year and you add two first 2263 01:52:32.119 --> 01:52:34.479 round picks to this roster and maybe you find the 2264 01:52:34.520 --> 01:52:36.119 guy in the second round you think you can play 2265 01:52:36.119 --> 01:52:39.920 for you and those are your off season maneuvers. Because 2266 01:52:39.960 --> 01:52:42.119 to the points that we've been talking about, there just 2267 01:52:42.279 --> 01:52:45.399 aren't a lot of other avenues this offseason for them 2268 01:52:45.439 --> 01:52:46.239 to get something done. 2269 01:52:46.439 --> 01:52:47.720 I'm not saying it's impossible. 2270 01:52:48.039 --> 01:52:50.760 I'm saying it's hard for me to see based off 2271 01:52:50.800 --> 01:52:53.600 the real game changers that may leave their teams. And 2272 01:52:53.640 --> 01:52:56.119 I'm talking Jannis in Durant and maybe New York does 2273 01:52:56.119 --> 01:52:59.520 something with Kat, Maybe Boston's new ownership says I'm not 2274 01:52:59.560 --> 01:53:02.439 interested and riding a five hundred million dollar check just 2275 01:53:02.520 --> 01:53:05.920 to have the roster. Jay like none of those players 2276 01:53:06.159 --> 01:53:09.199 will agree to be traded to the Jazz to play 2277 01:53:09.239 --> 01:53:11.439 for the Utah Jazz based off of where they're at 2278 01:53:11.560 --> 01:53:13.920 right now. The reason you guys were able to trade 2279 01:53:13.920 --> 01:53:16.680 for Mike Conley is you had a ready made team 2280 01:53:16.720 --> 01:53:18.880 that was ready to win. Mike looked at your group 2281 01:53:18.880 --> 01:53:21.119 and said, yeah, I'll go join Mitchell and Gobert and 2282 01:53:21.159 --> 01:53:24.000 I'll be coached by Quinn. That's a good team. You've 2283 01:53:24.000 --> 01:53:26.159 got to build up a good team before any vet 2284 01:53:26.199 --> 01:53:27.720 is going to look at your group and say, yeah, 2285 01:53:27.720 --> 01:53:33.279 I'm going to join them. What's generally speaking, your thoughts 2286 01:53:33.279 --> 01:53:35.439 on what this could look like if this is your 2287 01:53:35.479 --> 01:53:38.159 group with some other rookies added to it and they 2288 01:53:38.279 --> 01:53:41.079 try to put their best foot forward and compete in 2289 01:53:41.119 --> 01:53:43.840 a Western conference that is just stacked right now. 2290 01:53:44.000 --> 01:53:48.000 Well, it's it's a very daunting task. You're going to 2291 01:53:48.119 --> 01:53:51.600 have to have your young guys really develop and really, 2292 01:53:51.680 --> 01:53:55.039 you know, make a turn a corner. And what they've 2293 01:53:55.039 --> 01:53:57.600 been able to do so far in the NBA caun'te George, 2294 01:53:57.600 --> 01:54:01.680 for example, if he's going to be getting minutes next year, 2295 01:54:01.760 --> 01:54:05.279 he's got to figure out how to play some defense. 2296 01:54:06.199 --> 01:54:10.159 He plays no defense right now, but he's got to 2297 01:54:10.199 --> 01:54:14.319 get better at that. The Collier kid he has to 2298 01:54:14.399 --> 01:54:19.039 learn how to make some shots from the outside. He 2299 01:54:19.119 --> 01:54:23.720 has to show improvement in that area. They those two guys, 2300 01:54:23.880 --> 01:54:28.079 Philipowski I think can be a rotation guy for a 2301 01:54:28.119 --> 01:54:31.239 decent team because he's a little bit. You can move 2302 01:54:31.279 --> 01:54:34.720 him around a little bit, have some flexibility with him. Hendrix, 2303 01:54:34.760 --> 01:54:37.520 we still don't know because he had the terrible tragedy 2304 01:54:37.560 --> 01:54:40.520 with the broken leg and so the jury's out on him. 2305 01:54:40.560 --> 01:54:43.479 Cody Williams, I don't know what his deal is. I'm 2306 01:54:43.520 --> 01:54:47.239 not sure he's even an NBA player. That's just my 2307 01:54:47.560 --> 01:54:52.680 personal opinion. But it's interesting that they're gonna have They're 2308 01:54:52.680 --> 01:54:55.760 gonna have to rely on several of these guys to 2309 01:54:55.840 --> 01:54:59.079 turn a corner in terms of their development, to show 2310 01:54:59.119 --> 01:55:02.319 that they can improve, move and be part of, you know, 2311 01:55:02.640 --> 01:55:05.000 a winning effort going forward. 2312 01:55:05.000 --> 01:55:06.960 We know Marketing can be that. 2313 01:55:07.159 --> 01:55:12.079 We know that we know Kessler can be a standard 2314 01:55:12.159 --> 01:55:15.239 bearer in the middle, to be a rim protector, to 2315 01:55:15.279 --> 01:55:19.560 be a shot blocking threat, to be a rebounder in traffic. 2316 01:55:19.880 --> 01:55:23.960 We know he can do those things. But again, having 2317 01:55:24.000 --> 01:55:26.359 said those things, Spence, I don't think any of those 2318 01:55:26.399 --> 01:55:32.680 guys are protected or are untouchable because you're trying to 2319 01:55:32.680 --> 01:55:35.680 build a team that wasn't very good the last couple 2320 01:55:35.680 --> 01:55:39.720 of years, and no matter what improvements guys make, they 2321 01:55:39.760 --> 01:55:44.079 have to really show that they can be contributed, contributing 2322 01:55:44.119 --> 01:55:49.800 members of a winning effort and a positive growth spurt 2323 01:55:50.159 --> 01:55:53.840 in terms of how they play. Is that going to 2324 01:55:53.920 --> 01:55:56.439 take place this next year? Are they're going to add 2325 01:55:56.439 --> 01:55:59.520 some other guys to the to the mix that are 2326 01:55:59.520 --> 01:56:04.399 gonna help them. That's a tall task. That's a lot 2327 01:56:04.439 --> 01:56:07.600 to ask. And you know you're talking about okay See Spence. 2328 01:56:08.439 --> 01:56:11.039 When you look at it, okay see is going to 2329 01:56:11.079 --> 01:56:13.960 be interesting because they're not only set up right now 2330 01:56:14.279 --> 01:56:18.840 to be successful in the present and for the long 2331 01:56:18.920 --> 01:56:24.039 term going forward, but they also should have had a 2332 01:56:24.039 --> 01:56:27.479 whole different team in place still because they had this 2333 01:56:27.640 --> 01:56:31.640 set up Spence over a decade ago when they drafted 2334 01:56:31.720 --> 01:56:38.359 in successive drafts Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook. They 2335 01:56:38.439 --> 01:56:42.319 hit on three draft picks. Boom, boom boom. They went 2336 01:56:42.359 --> 01:56:47.359 to the twenty twelve NBA Finals. They should still be 2337 01:56:47.479 --> 01:56:50.920 together really, when you think about it, they should still 2338 01:56:50.960 --> 01:56:53.800 be running the show in Oklahoma City. 2339 01:56:54.199 --> 01:56:55.199 But what happens. 2340 01:56:55.520 --> 01:56:58.399 You get a taste of a success and all of 2341 01:56:58.439 --> 01:57:03.359 a sudden, money egos getting the way, and now none 2342 01:57:03.359 --> 01:57:07.079 of those guys are there. They're long gone their history. 2343 01:57:07.479 --> 01:57:11.680 Oklahoma City brought in Paul George. That didn't work. He 2344 01:57:11.800 --> 01:57:15.399 begged his way out, forced his way out. Sam Presty, 2345 01:57:15.439 --> 01:57:19.439 who's one of the smartest gms going, you know, he said, Hey, 2346 01:57:19.479 --> 01:57:21.039 the guy doesn't want to be here. I don't want 2347 01:57:21.079 --> 01:57:22.760 him here if he doesn't want to be here, and 2348 01:57:22.840 --> 01:57:25.119 so he moved him to the Clippers. He wanted to 2349 01:57:25.159 --> 01:57:27.960 go to the Lakers. He moved them to the Clippers. 2350 01:57:28.359 --> 01:57:32.159 He got Gilgess Alexander after his rookie year. He's a 2351 01:57:32.319 --> 01:57:36.720 nice player, but he wasn't that player until he got 2352 01:57:36.720 --> 01:57:39.720 to OKAC and Sam, I think would be one of 2353 01:57:39.720 --> 01:57:41.840 the first guys to tell you, well, we thought he'd 2354 01:57:41.840 --> 01:57:44.800 be a nice player, and he was part of the deal, 2355 01:57:45.039 --> 01:57:47.439 and because we were kind of forced into doing a deal, 2356 01:57:47.840 --> 01:57:49.560 and we got lucky. 2357 01:57:49.760 --> 01:57:50.239 Okay. 2358 01:57:50.560 --> 01:57:54.319 So we're gonna say that thirty percent of it was 2359 01:57:54.439 --> 01:57:57.479 us being smart and seventy percent of it was us 2360 01:57:57.520 --> 01:58:02.279 being lucky. Okay, And that's the deal. Well, Sacramento. Sacramento 2361 01:58:02.439 --> 01:58:07.600 Drafteddaron Fox. Three years later, they draft Tyreese Halliburton. Now 2362 01:58:07.640 --> 01:58:11.159 they've got two very good point guards on their roster 2363 01:58:11.600 --> 01:58:13.359 and they're trying to figure out what do we do 2364 01:58:13.399 --> 01:58:16.640 with these two guys and what happens Spence. We fast 2365 01:58:16.680 --> 01:58:19.680 forward to today, they don't have either one of them. 2366 01:58:20.199 --> 01:58:23.520 Isn't Sacramento. They've gotten rid of both of them, right, 2367 01:58:23.760 --> 01:58:27.439 And so the point being that you can have these 2368 01:58:27.479 --> 01:58:30.079 grand plans and you can have this thing laid out 2369 01:58:30.239 --> 01:58:33.199 to what you want to do, it doesn't always work 2370 01:58:33.359 --> 01:58:35.800 the way you want it to. You have to be 2371 01:58:35.920 --> 01:58:38.600 able to shuck and jive and be able to make 2372 01:58:38.640 --> 01:58:42.760 adjustments as you go to build your group. Sam Presty 2373 01:58:42.840 --> 01:58:45.479 has done a great job not only in building his group, 2374 01:58:45.800 --> 01:58:49.600 but in the fact that he has been able to 2375 01:58:49.840 --> 01:58:53.119 not only develop guys, but he's been able to draft 2376 01:58:53.399 --> 01:58:57.439 the right guys for how they're playing. And they're really 2377 01:58:57.439 --> 01:59:00.640 a testament to how you can build a team if 2378 01:59:00.680 --> 01:59:04.880 you're smart and diligent and kind of have your head about. 2379 01:59:04.640 --> 01:59:08.279 You all right before I set you loose because we 2380 01:59:08.359 --> 01:59:13.319 ran out of time. This is just going to be 2381 01:59:13.399 --> 01:59:16.119 really fascinating to watch play out. I am of the 2382 01:59:16.159 --> 01:59:18.560 opinion based off of the fact that there's a top 2383 01:59:18.600 --> 01:59:21.199 eight protected pick in the draft next year. 2384 01:59:21.439 --> 01:59:22.479 You need that asset. 2385 01:59:23.279 --> 01:59:23.800 You have to. 2386 01:59:24.600 --> 01:59:28.159 And look, I know that the whole losing intentionally and 2387 01:59:28.199 --> 01:59:30.880 manipulating lineups is a really difficult thing for a fan 2388 01:59:30.960 --> 01:59:33.800 base to ask for and or to ask from your 2389 01:59:33.800 --> 01:59:37.319 fan base. And I have legitimate questions about because the 2390 01:59:37.359 --> 01:59:39.800 culture thing, I mean, it's real. You want to build 2391 01:59:39.800 --> 01:59:42.439 a culture in sports and business in life. 2392 01:59:42.439 --> 01:59:43.279 I know it's real. 2393 01:59:44.279 --> 01:59:48.439 But can you build a culture well, you're unseerious about competing. 2394 01:59:48.479 --> 01:59:51.359 I have real serious questions about that. So it's a 2395 01:59:51.439 --> 01:59:54.880 it's a it's a juxtaposition. It's it's an interesting paradox 2396 01:59:55.239 --> 01:59:58.079 that they're faced with because I do think you need 2397 01:59:58.079 --> 01:59:59.720 that asset next year. I think you need that pick 2398 01:59:59.800 --> 02:00:01.640 nex year, and I think you need to put yourself 2399 02:00:01.680 --> 02:00:03.520 in a similar position that you were in this year 2400 02:00:03.560 --> 02:00:06.920 to at least have chances. But you're also spinning your 2401 02:00:06.920 --> 02:00:09.079 wheels if you're unserious about competing when you're trying to 2402 02:00:09.079 --> 02:00:14.239 build culture. Right, So, from the perspective of the Isaiah 2403 02:00:14.279 --> 02:00:18.199 Calliers in Keante George's and Cody Williams and Bryce Sensibaz 2404 02:00:18.640 --> 02:00:22.119 and Taylor Hendrix, like the grip of Philipowski's the grip 2405 02:00:22.159 --> 02:00:23.319 of young players they have. 2406 02:00:23.239 --> 02:00:23.840 On their roster. 2407 02:00:25.119 --> 02:00:28.439 What are you hoping for this offseason for them to 2408 02:00:28.439 --> 02:00:31.560 come into training camp in the fall to indicate that 2409 02:00:31.600 --> 02:00:34.199 they are ready to develop in a way that quite frankly, 2410 02:00:34.680 --> 02:00:35.920 I just haven't seen so far. 2411 02:00:36.039 --> 02:00:39.039 Well, you're you're spot on about the culture thing, because 2412 02:00:39.399 --> 02:00:44.000 what's interesting, Spence's is at the professional level, it's it's 2413 02:00:44.159 --> 02:00:49.760 very difficult to build a culture when everyone in the 2414 02:00:49.880 --> 02:00:53.960 in the room is accepting the idea that we're not 2415 02:00:54.039 --> 02:00:58.159 really serious about winning. That is a difficult thing because 2416 02:00:58.199 --> 02:01:02.479 what happens is you start builduilding those habits yep, about 2417 02:01:02.960 --> 02:01:06.119 not winning and that the guys next to me are 2418 02:01:06.239 --> 02:01:11.039 okay with that and who else, Oh, my bosses seem 2419 02:01:11.119 --> 02:01:13.960 to be okay with that. And that is a tough 2420 02:01:14.039 --> 02:01:17.319 deal because when you get if, you if you turn 2421 02:01:17.359 --> 02:01:20.600 the corner and you get better and you are in 2422 02:01:20.640 --> 02:01:24.880 a position to challenge for playoff positioning or playoff seating 2423 02:01:25.000 --> 02:01:29.720 or whatever whatever it is as a competitive, serious team, 2424 02:01:30.479 --> 02:01:32.800 you have to learn how to do that, and you 2425 02:01:32.920 --> 02:01:37.319 have to learn how to break through the wall to 2426 02:01:37.399 --> 02:01:40.399 be able to have a level of success. And it's 2427 02:01:40.520 --> 02:01:43.199 hard to learn how to know how to do that. 2428 02:01:43.760 --> 02:01:47.399 If you haven't done it to that point in time, 2429 02:01:47.880 --> 02:01:50.119 and you know, we see that, you know, I heard 2430 02:01:50.119 --> 02:01:52.760 that from some of the New York Knicks players, you 2431 02:01:52.800 --> 02:01:55.840 know after the series with the Pacers that you know, 2432 02:01:56.479 --> 02:01:59.119 you know, making progress, but we're you know, learning these 2433 02:01:59.159 --> 02:02:01.439 steps about what we have to do to get better. 2434 02:02:01.439 --> 02:02:05.079 And these are all star level competitive guys in the 2435 02:02:05.079 --> 02:02:08.159 middle of their careers, right, and so you're asking a 2436 02:02:08.199 --> 02:02:11.239 young group that hasn't won to all of a sudden 2437 02:02:11.439 --> 02:02:15.039 have that kind of approach and culture it is. It 2438 02:02:15.159 --> 02:02:18.479 is a difficult thing. You really have to get at 2439 02:02:18.520 --> 02:02:21.640 some point be able to lay on your group and 2440 02:02:21.720 --> 02:02:25.760 to be able to say we expect this, we expect 2441 02:02:25.760 --> 02:02:29.199 this kind of production. If we're not getting it, then 2442 02:02:29.239 --> 02:02:32.000 we're moving on to the next guy. That's what made 2443 02:02:32.039 --> 02:02:34.760 Jerry Sloan's such a great play. Hey, the Jazz had 2444 02:02:34.840 --> 02:02:39.600 great players. Okay, that's step one. Whether you have Stockton Malone, 2445 02:02:39.640 --> 02:02:42.920 whether you add hornerseeck, you draft of Brian Russell in 2446 02:02:42.960 --> 02:02:45.680 the second round, you get a Greg Oster tag, a 2447 02:02:45.760 --> 02:02:49.479 serviceable big guy, a rim protector. At the end of 2448 02:02:49.479 --> 02:02:52.560 the first round, whatever it is, you get Darren Williams with. 2449 02:02:53.119 --> 02:02:53.720 A top pick. 2450 02:02:53.800 --> 02:02:57.600 Whatever you have to get guys, but then they have 2451 02:02:57.680 --> 02:03:01.119 to create the culture of winning based on the fact 2452 02:03:01.119 --> 02:03:06.319 that we're not accepting less than that. And to this point, 2453 02:03:06.640 --> 02:03:10.800 the Jazz seemed to be accepting that this is their 2454 02:03:11.000 --> 02:03:13.560 lot to be down at the bottom, and we're not 2455 02:03:13.720 --> 02:03:17.720 worried about the winning. That scares me because that's something 2456 02:03:18.119 --> 02:03:22.479 that is hard to manufacture and fabricate, you know, without 2457 02:03:22.560 --> 02:03:24.600 going through the hard work of doing it. 2458 02:03:24.680 --> 02:03:27.159 So this summer is gonna be big for the Jazz. 2459 02:03:27.239 --> 02:03:27.800 Young guys. 2460 02:03:28.119 --> 02:03:30.079 It's going to be interesting to see how they come 2461 02:03:30.119 --> 02:03:32.399 back in the fall, how many of them are still 2462 02:03:32.439 --> 02:03:35.079 on the roster. That's gonna be an interesting thing because 2463 02:03:35.479 --> 02:03:38.399 if Austin Angels is a truder's word about we're not 2464 02:03:38.520 --> 02:03:42.439 doing that again, then I would think that there's got 2465 02:03:42.479 --> 02:03:45.640 to be a lot of changing and a lot of 2466 02:03:46.239 --> 02:03:51.039 different dynamics that go on between now and next October. 2467 02:03:52.000 --> 02:03:54.119 Oh dear, well, we'll have to see. 2468 02:03:54.479 --> 02:03:58.760 I mean, I continue to remind our listeners, we just 2469 02:03:58.880 --> 02:04:03.520 were self spoiled so long with just incremental quote unquote 2470 02:04:03.560 --> 02:04:05.880 rebuilds two to three years, then boom, we're back to 2471 02:04:06.000 --> 02:04:08.119 having a good team here. And when you look across 2472 02:04:08.119 --> 02:04:10.119 the landscape, of the NBA. There are plenty of cities 2473 02:04:10.119 --> 02:04:13.640 and plenty of organizations that have found themselves in a 2474 02:04:13.720 --> 02:04:19.359 perpetual state of where the Jazz are now decades, not three, four, 2475 02:04:19.439 --> 02:04:22.119 five years, Charlotte. I think it's been twenty one years 2476 02:04:22.119 --> 02:04:24.119 since they won a playoff series. I don't remember the 2477 02:04:24.199 --> 02:04:26.720 last Washington had a little something with Beale and Wall 2478 02:04:26.760 --> 02:04:27.640 for a second, but like. 2479 02:04:28.560 --> 02:04:32.119 I don't know, man, it's Sacramento sacramental, and to me, 2480 02:04:32.239 --> 02:04:34.479 that's an owner thing. They had a little blip a 2481 02:04:34.479 --> 02:04:36.640 couple of years ago. They had a good young team. 2482 02:04:36.800 --> 02:04:38.680 They had a Coach of the Year Mike Brown, then 2483 02:04:38.720 --> 02:04:41.520 they fired him, then they fired the general manager, all 2484 02:04:41.600 --> 02:04:44.600 within a twelve month period. Like, you can't, you know, 2485 02:04:44.720 --> 02:04:46.880 you can't do things like that and expect that you're 2486 02:04:46.920 --> 02:04:51.119 going to get a continued traction. You have to believe 2487 02:04:51.159 --> 02:04:53.840 in what the courses you've laid out, and then you 2488 02:04:53.920 --> 02:04:56.399 have to be willing to take the hard knocks to 2489 02:04:56.479 --> 02:04:58.680 go along. And maybe that's you know, the Jazz are 2490 02:04:58.680 --> 02:05:01.520 adding a guy like and As to their group, and 2491 02:05:01.600 --> 02:05:04.439 maybe that's the next step in the progression that they're 2492 02:05:04.479 --> 02:05:04.960 looking for. 2493 02:05:05.600 --> 02:05:07.079 Would help if you had players, But. 2494 02:05:07.359 --> 02:05:09.760 You gotta have play That's always. That's always the thing. 2495 02:05:10.039 --> 02:05:12.479 You have to have players. I remind people all the time. 2496 02:05:13.439 --> 02:05:15.479 Pat Riley said a great thing when we were playing 2497 02:05:15.479 --> 02:05:18.680 in the Lakers in the eighties and in a playoff series, 2498 02:05:18.720 --> 02:05:20.439 and they asking about all these different things they were 2499 02:05:20.479 --> 02:05:23.359 doing scouting wise, and he finally looked at the reporter 2500 02:05:23.399 --> 02:05:25.199 and said, well, I don't know if we have any 2501 02:05:25.199 --> 02:05:25.960 advantage that way. 2502 02:05:26.000 --> 02:05:28.520 I think our advantage is that we have Kareem and magic. 2503 02:05:28.600 --> 02:05:28.920 Yeah. 2504 02:05:29.439 --> 02:05:31.600 You know, if you have Kareem and magic, yeah, I 2505 02:05:32.119 --> 02:05:33.199 think that's a good place to start. 2506 02:05:33.279 --> 02:05:36.000 Okay, for sure. It's many great to see is always. 2507 02:05:36.039 --> 02:05:38.079 Thanks for the time, and we'll chat SAE. All right, 2508 02:05:38.960 --> 02:05:41.159 the great Richard Smith. All right, we'll watch out of 2509 02:05:41.199 --> 02:05:43.640 the final hour of the program coming up in just 2510 02:05:43.640 --> 02:05:43.920 a bit. 2511 02:05:45.000 --> 02:05:46.760 NBA Finals begin on Thursday. 2512 02:05:46.920 --> 02:05:50.840 The battle for Lord Stanley's Chop will begin on Wednesday. 2513 02:05:50.920 --> 02:05:53.560 But big news, kind of unexpected news here in the market. 2514 02:05:54.119 --> 02:05:57.119 Austin Ainge has been hired as the new basketball president 2515 02:05:57.159 --> 02:06:01.039 of basketball Operations for the Utah Jazz. Just wrapped up 2516 02:06:01.119 --> 02:06:03.920 his comments from earlier, So in case you didn't have 2517 02:06:03.960 --> 02:06:06.239 a chance here, it is Austin Ainge, the new President 2518 02:06:06.279 --> 02:06:08.079 of basketball Operations for Utah Jazz. 2519 02:06:09.680 --> 02:06:10.199 Bid Too. 2520 02:06:11.680 --> 02:06:15.000 Announced that Austin Ange will be the new president of 2521 02:06:15.079 --> 02:06:19.239 Utah Jazz basketball operations. We will open with remarks from 2522 02:06:19.279 --> 02:06:21.880 Governor Ryan Smith and then turn the time over to 2523 02:06:21.880 --> 02:06:25.600 Austin before we open up four questions, right. 2524 02:06:25.720 --> 02:06:27.079 Yeah, thanks everyone for being here. 2525 02:06:27.119 --> 02:06:32.119 Today is a great day for Utah Jazz Basketball. It's 2526 02:06:33.159 --> 02:06:36.239 an awesome opportunity to welcome Austin Age is our president 2527 02:06:36.319 --> 02:06:41.800 of basketball operations. We've we've had this role open for 2528 02:06:41.880 --> 02:06:44.479 some time and we've been very methodical about it, and 2529 02:06:45.159 --> 02:06:47.800 we're super excited that Austin and his family made a 2530 02:06:47.840 --> 02:06:51.840 decision to come to Utah. Another bright, brilliant executive that 2531 02:06:51.880 --> 02:06:56.920 we're bringing to the state and run our basketball program. 2532 02:06:57.000 --> 02:07:01.239 So we couldn't be more excited. Ashley my elf our 2533 02:07:01.279 --> 02:07:05.760 group and having him run basketball for the Utah Jazz 2534 02:07:05.880 --> 02:07:07.399 and specifically not anyone else. 2535 02:07:08.000 --> 02:07:09.560 So we're excited to have you here. 2536 02:07:11.000 --> 02:07:14.119 I think before I kick it over to Austin, I'm 2537 02:07:14.119 --> 02:07:16.800 sure O there's probably a lot of questions around organizational 2538 02:07:16.840 --> 02:07:20.039 structure and design. And you know what I've learned in 2539 02:07:21.199 --> 02:07:23.840 business and also in the NBA that every organization is. 2540 02:07:23.800 --> 02:07:26.880 Set up a little different for us. 2541 02:07:27.079 --> 02:07:31.359 Austin will be running the program. He's got final recommendation 2542 02:07:31.560 --> 02:07:34.439 to myself on any decisions that need to be made. 2543 02:07:34.479 --> 02:07:38.239 I think it's the job of both Justin, Danny and 2544 02:07:38.760 --> 02:07:42.079 myself to kind of plug into him, and so hopefully 2545 02:07:42.159 --> 02:07:45.600 that alleviates quite a few questions of who kind of 2546 02:07:45.600 --> 02:07:49.680 has the final decision on roster and management and personnel. 2547 02:07:50.119 --> 02:07:55.199 His resume speaks for himself, speaks for itself for seventeen 2548 02:07:55.279 --> 02:07:59.960 years kind of growing up either playing hoops, scouting, coaching, 2549 02:08:00.359 --> 02:08:03.560 and particularly on roster management. 2550 02:08:03.600 --> 02:08:04.680 I think it couldn't come in a. 2551 02:08:04.640 --> 02:08:07.760 Better time for what we're at as an organization, and 2552 02:08:07.920 --> 02:08:11.680 we're just thrilled. I'm super excited that he's chosen to 2553 02:08:11.720 --> 02:08:15.520 come back here after playing in Utah for four years, 2554 02:08:15.520 --> 02:08:16.920 and we're. 2555 02:08:16.800 --> 02:08:20.880 Super lucky to have you. So excited to get to work. Man. 2556 02:08:21.239 --> 02:08:23.880 Thanks I'm so excited. Thank you so much. Ryan. 2557 02:08:25.199 --> 02:08:27.560 I just I wanted to kind of explain why I 2558 02:08:28.199 --> 02:08:31.279 chose to do this, why I'm so excited about this opportunity. 2559 02:08:31.920 --> 02:08:36.079 The first thing is people Brian and Ashley, their passion, 2560 02:08:36.479 --> 02:08:40.119 their leadership, their energy, their drive, They really really want 2561 02:08:40.159 --> 02:08:43.079 to do this right and I couldn't think of better 2562 02:08:43.079 --> 02:08:47.600 people to partner with. So and then the management of 2563 02:08:47.640 --> 02:08:50.960 the team and the coaching staff of the team. Obviously, 2564 02:08:51.079 --> 02:08:53.600 I used to have a share a wall with Will 2565 02:08:53.640 --> 02:08:55.439 in Boston. We've known each other for a number of 2566 02:08:55.479 --> 02:08:57.319 years and talked to a lot of basketball. I'm a 2567 02:08:57.319 --> 02:09:00.359 big believer in Will Justin I've known since too thousand 2568 02:09:00.359 --> 02:09:03.039 and nine. Very excited to work with him and lean 2569 02:09:03.119 --> 02:09:05.840 on him and learn from him. My father and I 2570 02:09:05.880 --> 02:09:08.279 worked together for fourteen years and had a lot of 2571 02:09:08.279 --> 02:09:09.359 fun and a lot of success. 2572 02:09:10.039 --> 02:09:12.319 I'd love to try to take that success right now. 2573 02:09:15.359 --> 02:09:19.840 And there's a whole great group of management people here. 2574 02:09:20.119 --> 02:09:21.840 Some of them are right here with us. 2575 02:09:22.039 --> 02:09:24.680 A lot of people I've known for since they were nineteen, 2576 02:09:24.720 --> 02:09:27.640 Avery Bradley and other others. Anyway, a lot of great people. 2577 02:09:29.000 --> 02:09:33.840 The next thing is the state and specifically the fans. 2578 02:09:34.159 --> 02:09:38.079 The passion here it's not common, it's not everywhere in 2579 02:09:38.119 --> 02:09:42.560 this NBA, and that passion is so infectious, and it 2580 02:09:42.600 --> 02:09:46.199 pushes a team, it pushes a franchise, It holds us accountable, 2581 02:09:46.680 --> 02:09:50.359 it puts pressure, good pressure to succeed. And that was 2582 02:09:50.399 --> 02:09:54.239 a huge, huge draw for me. And then lastly, the 2583 02:09:55.199 --> 02:09:57.880 situation of the team. We have a ton of optionality, 2584 02:09:58.039 --> 02:10:01.039 a lot of future picks, lot of things we can do. 2585 02:10:01.319 --> 02:10:03.239 It's going to take a lot of work, but I 2586 02:10:03.239 --> 02:10:04.640 can't wait to get started. 2587 02:10:11.359 --> 02:10:12.239 To pull the thing. 2588 02:10:12.279 --> 02:10:14.600 But gets a question, please raise your hands and then 2589 02:10:14.800 --> 02:10:18.399 also announce your game and outlets of Austin. 2590 02:10:18.479 --> 02:10:21.720 You get to know you, Ryan millerksel dot com Austin. 2591 02:10:21.720 --> 02:10:24.880 You're coming in in the middle of a rebuild kind 2592 02:10:24.920 --> 02:10:27.199 of how do you approach that? On how they've done 2593 02:10:27.239 --> 02:10:28.920 things in the past and how firstus how you want 2594 02:10:28.960 --> 02:10:30.079 to do things in the future. 2595 02:10:32.680 --> 02:10:34.399 Well, I'm learning a little bit how they did things 2596 02:10:34.399 --> 02:10:37.119 in the past, but and I'll just try to add 2597 02:10:37.119 --> 02:10:40.840 what I can. But it's really, uh, there's a lot 2598 02:10:40.880 --> 02:10:43.399 of ways you can execute it, but mostly it's just 2599 02:10:43.880 --> 02:10:46.279 making a lot of good decisions over and over and over. 2600 02:10:46.640 --> 02:10:46.800 Right. 2601 02:10:47.119 --> 02:10:50.760 Two ways, second round picks, first round picks, trades, free agency. 2602 02:10:50.800 --> 02:10:55.319 It's just making good decisions, stacking up good players so 2603 02:10:55.399 --> 02:10:58.479 you have more to work with. That's really the job. 2604 02:10:58.760 --> 02:11:01.439 And so whether you're in the middle, the beginning or 2605 02:11:01.479 --> 02:11:03.760 the end of building a team, that's what you're doing 2606 02:11:03.800 --> 02:11:06.159 every day, trying to make good decisions and so that's 2607 02:11:06.199 --> 02:11:06.640 what we'll. 2608 02:11:06.479 --> 02:11:06.920 Try to do. 2609 02:11:12.720 --> 02:11:15.640 Dana Green with ABC for Ryan just said, you're gonna 2610 02:11:15.640 --> 02:11:18.600 have final say and personnel decisions, but how will you 2611 02:11:18.680 --> 02:11:22.600 consult Justin and your father about making those decisions and 2612 02:11:22.640 --> 02:11:25.800 then maybe just discuss the dynamic you have with Danny 2613 02:11:25.840 --> 02:11:28.640 and how you've worked together and what that dynamic. 2614 02:11:28.279 --> 02:11:30.680 Is Like Yeah, I mean you know it. 2615 02:11:31.479 --> 02:11:35.840 I plan on including da Justin, Will and lots of 2616 02:11:35.840 --> 02:11:38.199 people here, everyone like this is a This is a 2617 02:11:38.239 --> 02:11:43.520 team sport, both downstairs and upstairs, right, this is this is. 2618 02:11:43.439 --> 02:11:46.319 A team thing. Ryan will be super involved in everything. 2619 02:11:46.359 --> 02:11:46.760 Of course. 2620 02:11:47.239 --> 02:11:49.840 This is where we're gonna have millions of conversations and 2621 02:11:50.000 --> 02:11:55.039 argue and fight and research and work and watch and 2622 02:11:55.159 --> 02:11:57.159 then get in a room and figure it out, you know. 2623 02:11:57.239 --> 02:11:59.760 And that's that's really how it works in all these 2624 02:11:59.800 --> 02:12:04.840 world organizations. And I mean, you know, specifically with my father, 2625 02:12:04.920 --> 02:12:07.840 we've we've been doing this since I you know a kid, 2626 02:12:07.920 --> 02:12:10.960 even you know, working with together or separate teams, or 2627 02:12:11.000 --> 02:12:13.800 before either of us were working with teams, talking about players, 2628 02:12:13.800 --> 02:12:14.640 talking about ball. 2629 02:12:14.680 --> 02:12:16.399 That's that's life. That's fun. 2630 02:12:19.079 --> 02:12:23.840 Ben Anderson KSL Sports. Do you have austin an approach 2631 02:12:23.880 --> 02:12:25.479 to how to build teams in the NBA of what 2632 02:12:25.520 --> 02:12:27.680 you think is winning right now, where the league is headed, 2633 02:12:27.840 --> 02:12:28.880 and how attainable that is. 2634 02:12:29.520 --> 02:12:31.000 Well, I can't tell you all the secrets. 2635 02:12:31.960 --> 02:12:34.199 No, I mean, I really believe that It is kind 2636 02:12:34.199 --> 02:12:36.439 of a boring answer, but I really believe it's just 2637 02:12:36.520 --> 02:12:40.159 stacking good decisions one on top of the other. And 2638 02:12:41.039 --> 02:12:43.479 you know a lot of times people see the big 2639 02:12:43.560 --> 02:12:48.319 trade or the you know, big move, that big free 2640 02:12:48.319 --> 02:12:51.600 agent signing or something as the end, but really that 2641 02:12:51.640 --> 02:12:56.119 requires lots of diligent management to build up to that point, right, 2642 02:12:56.199 --> 02:12:59.479 And so it's just about stacking good decisions together. 2643 02:12:59.640 --> 02:13:00.960 And that's what we're gonna try to do. 2644 02:13:04.439 --> 02:13:08.199 Ryan Miller KSL dot com. Uh, what was the process 2645 02:13:08.319 --> 02:13:10.039 like of getting this job? When did you get first 2646 02:13:10.039 --> 02:13:12.079 contact each other? Well, yeah, kind of just take take 2647 02:13:12.119 --> 02:13:13.119 us through that whole thing. 2648 02:13:13.319 --> 02:13:15.840 Brian, Do you want to do that one you want 2649 02:13:15.880 --> 02:13:17.600 me to do? We can both do it when it 2650 02:13:17.640 --> 02:13:19.680 can start. 2651 02:13:22.880 --> 02:13:26.960 I got a text from Ryan it said, hey call 2652 02:13:27.039 --> 02:13:28.520 me or hey I got a question. 2653 02:13:28.640 --> 02:13:32.520 Can you call me? You know, and uh, actually I 2654 02:13:32.600 --> 02:13:33.560 was in a meeting with. 2655 02:13:33.640 --> 02:13:37.399 New Celtics ownership for two hours planning their entire offseason 2656 02:13:37.840 --> 02:13:39.439 and I got I gotta I got a text, so 2657 02:13:39.439 --> 02:13:41.199 I couldn't respond for a while. When I got out, 2658 02:13:41.199 --> 02:13:45.359 I called him and it was kind of an interesting conversation. 2659 02:13:45.520 --> 02:13:47.720 I'll even let you take it for yeah, Like I. 2660 02:13:47.680 --> 02:13:53.279 Think for me, it's something that that we had always 2661 02:13:53.279 --> 02:13:56.880 thought about within the organization with with this role. You know, 2662 02:13:56.880 --> 02:13:59.640 when Danny came in, he was very clear that he 2663 02:13:59.680 --> 02:14:02.720 did not want to be the president of basketball operations, 2664 02:14:03.119 --> 02:14:04.039 and that's. 2665 02:14:03.880 --> 02:14:04.720 The role that he had. 2666 02:14:04.720 --> 02:14:06.560 He wanted to be able to choose his spots at 2667 02:14:06.600 --> 02:14:08.720 this phase of his career, but still had a lot 2668 02:14:09.279 --> 02:14:12.399 to offer and value. And Danny can play business with 2669 02:14:12.479 --> 02:14:15.199 us till he's eighty five, and Michelle doesn't want him 2670 02:14:15.399 --> 02:14:19.479 in the house anymore. Whatever it is like, And you know, 2671 02:14:19.680 --> 02:14:21.840 when you have a Hall of Famer that's around, you know, 2672 02:14:21.920 --> 02:14:26.039 whether it's last week watching him post up Cody Williams 2673 02:14:26.119 --> 02:14:29.159 down there, or like whatever it is where he wants 2674 02:14:29.199 --> 02:14:33.000 to go. You know, I've always kind of wanted to 2675 02:14:33.039 --> 02:14:34.720 get him in that role. And I would say that 2676 02:14:34.800 --> 02:14:37.760 over the last two years, I think Justin and Danny 2677 02:14:37.840 --> 02:14:40.600 have operated probably about as lean as any team in. 2678 02:14:40.560 --> 02:14:44.560 The organization in the NBA, just with their roles and 2679 02:14:44.600 --> 02:14:46.319 how they did it. So it's been something that had 2680 02:14:46.319 --> 02:14:48.199 been on my mind. But really it came to. 2681 02:14:48.920 --> 02:14:51.600 A conversation with me and Ashley and some of the 2682 02:14:51.640 --> 02:14:55.000 folks in our group and said, you know, who would 2683 02:14:55.000 --> 02:14:55.479 you go get? 2684 02:14:55.520 --> 02:14:56.199 What would you do? 2685 02:14:56.239 --> 02:14:58.840 And I kept coming back to Austin the challenges. I 2686 02:14:58.880 --> 02:15:01.960 had no clue how Austin well. And you know, they've 2687 02:15:02.000 --> 02:15:04.319 been in a pretty epic championship window. 2688 02:15:04.520 --> 02:15:06.840 It's clear where his role was and when he meant 2689 02:15:06.880 --> 02:15:07.760 to that organization. 2690 02:15:07.840 --> 02:15:10.640 It was also very clear that not only at the 2691 02:15:10.640 --> 02:15:13.880 beginning of last year, but this summer, his name was 2692 02:15:13.880 --> 02:15:16.439 starting to float around and a lot of these other 2693 02:15:16.479 --> 02:15:20.760 opportunities to run teams. And you know, kind of had 2694 02:15:20.760 --> 02:15:22.560 to pit my stomach last year when I saw that 2695 02:15:22.600 --> 02:15:23.399 because I always. 2696 02:15:23.199 --> 02:15:24.079 Had this back of my head. 2697 02:15:25.039 --> 02:15:27.319 He really needed to know that I felt that way, 2698 02:15:27.800 --> 02:15:31.239 and I don't think that he'd ever known that. So 2699 02:15:31.319 --> 02:15:34.159 I called him and told him how I felt and 2700 02:15:34.199 --> 02:15:37.279 how I saw this, and he called me back after 2701 02:15:37.319 --> 02:15:39.079 that meeting, said he can't get this out of my head. 2702 02:15:41.399 --> 02:15:43.439 Was this something that you would think about now? I 2703 02:15:43.479 --> 02:15:47.279 was like, whenever you're ready, And called me back the 2704 02:15:47.279 --> 02:15:47.960 next morning and. 2705 02:15:47.880 --> 02:15:51.600 Said he was kind of said, like, if we're going 2706 02:15:51.640 --> 02:15:53.920 to do this like now, is that I. 2707 02:15:53.920 --> 02:15:54.680 Want to be a part of. 2708 02:15:55.359 --> 02:15:57.720 These are big decisions coming up, and if this is 2709 02:15:57.720 --> 02:15:59.239 something we want to talk about, it. 2710 02:15:59.039 --> 02:16:01.479 Now feels like the right So the biggest the biggest 2711 02:16:01.560 --> 02:16:04.119 challenge for me was I had to call Danny, who 2712 02:16:04.159 --> 02:16:08.279 was not and down said I hired your son, and 2713 02:16:08.439 --> 02:16:09.880 Danny I had built a lot of trusts over the 2714 02:16:09.960 --> 02:16:12.840 last fifteen years and I didn't know at that point 2715 02:16:12.840 --> 02:16:15.680 whether I had completely lost all trusts or he was 2716 02:16:15.720 --> 02:16:20.239 going to say that was the right move. But well, 2717 02:16:20.279 --> 02:16:22.880 here we are, and so I couldn't be more excited. 2718 02:16:22.920 --> 02:16:27.800 And then just knowing jay z and and how much 2719 02:16:27.840 --> 02:16:30.640 of a team player and how how great their skill 2720 02:16:30.680 --> 02:16:34.319 sets compliment each other. You know, I think from the 2721 02:16:34.360 --> 02:16:37.479 outside oftentimes in the NBA, you know, you see that 2722 02:16:38.159 --> 02:16:39.879 someone made that trade or someone did this. 2723 02:16:40.000 --> 02:16:41.280 I've never been part. 2724 02:16:41.120 --> 02:16:43.879 Of the decision in the league where it's not a 2725 02:16:43.879 --> 02:16:45.879 group and a team effort, just like we're trying to 2726 02:16:45.879 --> 02:16:46.680 build on the court. 2727 02:16:46.799 --> 02:16:48.920 And so I'm really excited. 2728 02:16:48.959 --> 02:16:52.520 We got better, the Jazz got better with this move, 2729 02:16:53.319 --> 02:16:54.799 and I'm really excited for. 2730 02:16:54.760 --> 02:16:56.600 It going forward. So that's kind of how it happened. 2731 02:16:57.440 --> 02:17:01.559 You know, Fortunately Austin felt as good about our situation 2732 02:17:01.959 --> 02:17:07.319 as I felt about him, and things happened quick, and 2733 02:17:07.399 --> 02:17:09.680 so I also would be remissed if I didn't think 2734 02:17:10.680 --> 02:17:13.879 Brad Stevens and the Celtics because when I called Brad 2735 02:17:14.399 --> 02:17:17.000 just the way he handled it, knowing that that was 2736 02:17:17.159 --> 02:17:20.399 probably not an easy call for him to receive, given 2737 02:17:20.520 --> 02:17:23.159 where they're at and what Austin into that organization. 2738 02:17:24.000 --> 02:17:26.959 He was also so excited and saying that it. 2739 02:17:26.920 --> 02:17:28.319 Was the best part of his job that he gets 2740 02:17:28.360 --> 02:17:30.959 to see this and that that was a super smart move. 2741 02:17:31.000 --> 02:17:34.280 And he hopes that Austin still feels as strongly about 2742 02:17:34.319 --> 02:17:36.360 the trades with you doz he did from this side. 2743 02:17:36.959 --> 02:17:42.040 So he tried to negotiate with me on like immediately 2744 02:17:41.719 --> 02:17:46.200 great great, as Da did when he left and came here. 2745 02:17:46.319 --> 02:17:50.760 Yes, Ben Anderson KL Sports, you mentioned big decisions coming up, 2746 02:17:50.920 --> 02:17:52.559 like in the next three weeks. You've got a top 2747 02:17:52.600 --> 02:17:55.319 five pick and you can start negotiating extensions for some 2748 02:17:55.360 --> 02:17:55.840 of the players. 2749 02:17:55.840 --> 02:17:57.920 Are you it's three weeks enough. 2750 02:17:57.760 --> 02:18:00.280 Time to have intopend knowledge of like what going on? 2751 02:18:00.319 --> 02:18:02.000 They said, you know, the Celtics are picking what twenty 2752 02:18:02.040 --> 02:18:04.319 eighth or whatever it is, correct, Yeah, how familiar with 2753 02:18:04.319 --> 02:18:06.120 a fifth pick and then the players already on this roster. 2754 02:18:06.200 --> 02:18:09.559 Yeah, I mean luckily, you know, I've always believed and 2755 02:18:09.559 --> 02:18:12.600 we've always done it where you evaluate everyone, you know, 2756 02:18:12.639 --> 02:18:15.200 the whole draft it is. You never know what trades 2757 02:18:15.239 --> 02:18:18.680 come in on the clock, and so I've definitely spent 2758 02:18:18.719 --> 02:18:19.280 a lot of time. 2759 02:18:20.159 --> 02:18:22.799 I interviewed most of these young players at. 2760 02:18:22.680 --> 02:18:25.559 The combine already, I've put in the time all year 2761 02:18:25.719 --> 02:18:26.239 on these guys. 2762 02:18:26.239 --> 02:18:27.559 So I feel prepared. 2763 02:18:27.600 --> 02:18:30.959 But certainly, well, we'll crunch and I can't wait to 2764 02:18:31.040 --> 02:18:33.639 learn from all the great people in the jazz organization 2765 02:18:33.760 --> 02:18:37.920 and get their input and think through it big decisions. 2766 02:18:38.760 --> 02:18:41.239 There'll be trade conversations, all all these things. It's a 2767 02:18:41.360 --> 02:18:44.520 very active time of year, so we got a lot 2768 02:18:44.559 --> 02:18:45.079 to prepare for. 2769 02:18:47.959 --> 02:18:51.159 David Lockjazz Radio. Seems as though this season may have been. 2770 02:18:51.079 --> 02:18:53.360 The first time where the new collective barging griment really 2771 02:18:53.399 --> 02:18:55.559 began to put a stamp on the league and roster building. 2772 02:18:55.639 --> 02:18:58.040 What did you learn from watching how the first season 2773 02:18:58.760 --> 02:19:01.520 of this new collective part agreement had an impact on 2774 02:19:01.520 --> 02:19:02.559 how you roster build now. 2775 02:19:03.319 --> 02:19:08.799 Yeah, that's a great question, David it's it's subtle differences. 2776 02:19:08.879 --> 02:19:11.479 You know, it's still talent and teamwork and you know, 2777 02:19:11.479 --> 02:19:16.840 all the same things there. I think some extensions and 2778 02:19:17.079 --> 02:19:22.360 other contracts will be negotiated a little stronger. Bird rights 2779 02:19:22.440 --> 02:19:24.879 used to matter a little bit more, to get a 2780 02:19:24.879 --> 02:19:25.479 little bit. 2781 02:19:25.680 --> 02:19:29.319 Into the weeds on this stuff. But I think. 2782 02:19:29.159 --> 02:19:32.959 There's uh, it's a it's a firmer cap, right, and 2783 02:19:33.040 --> 02:19:35.040 so every dollar matters a little more. 2784 02:19:35.079 --> 02:19:37.479 We used to care a lot about expiring contracts. 2785 02:19:37.840 --> 02:19:40.399 We used to care a lot about holding on to 2786 02:19:40.479 --> 02:19:43.959 players for potential trades, and really now the trades are 2787 02:19:43.959 --> 02:19:46.639 easier and it's more about the space and the room 2788 02:19:46.760 --> 02:19:49.200 under the aprons. So that's the short answer. 2789 02:19:51.600 --> 02:19:52.760 Dana Green, ABC four. 2790 02:19:53.879 --> 02:19:57.000 Perception of this current jazz team and how far away 2791 02:19:57.040 --> 02:19:59.719 are they from becoming allegitate playoff contender. 2792 02:20:00.559 --> 02:20:01.440 It's a great question. 2793 02:20:02.559 --> 02:20:05.000 I you know, it'll just depend on how these guys 2794 02:20:05.040 --> 02:20:08.079 develop and what other moves we make, right, It's a 2795 02:20:08.200 --> 02:20:09.319 it's a hard thing to predict. 2796 02:20:10.280 --> 02:20:12.559 I think it's fair to say we got a lot 2797 02:20:12.559 --> 02:20:13.040 of work to do. 2798 02:20:15.440 --> 02:20:18.360 Hi, Austin Lauren Green, sideline reporter here at the Utah Jazz. 2799 02:20:18.399 --> 02:20:21.040 It's nice to meet you. You mentioned the situation of 2800 02:20:21.079 --> 02:20:23.399 the team, a ton of optionality as well in the 2801 02:20:23.479 --> 02:20:26.319 upcoming years. What excites you about that and just being 2802 02:20:26.639 --> 02:20:28.360 in that battle with the different people who are in 2803 02:20:28.440 --> 02:20:29.959 this room and just in this organization. 2804 02:20:30.440 --> 02:20:32.159 Yeah, I mean there's a lot of moves right when 2805 02:20:32.159 --> 02:20:35.799 you have a treasure trove of assets, there's a lot 2806 02:20:35.840 --> 02:20:38.000 of things you can do. And we have young players 2807 02:20:38.000 --> 02:20:40.559 we're excited about and see how they develop. 2808 02:20:40.879 --> 02:20:44.959 There. There's a lot of different ways to go hopefully up. 2809 02:20:50.799 --> 02:20:55.440 Sean O'Connell ESPN seven hundred, as someone correctly stated, seems 2810 02:20:55.479 --> 02:20:58.159 like a team in a rebuild, and some things were 2811 02:20:58.159 --> 02:21:02.120 done this past season to potentially manipulate where the team 2812 02:21:02.120 --> 02:21:05.120 would end up in the draft lottery odds, and unfortunately, 2813 02:21:05.360 --> 02:21:07.360 some of that is dependent on luck, and the team 2814 02:21:07.399 --> 02:21:09.680 got a little bit unlucky. So do you have a 2815 02:21:09.719 --> 02:21:12.760 philosophy what is your philosophy on for lack of a 2816 02:21:12.760 --> 02:21:16.479 better term, to be in delicate tanking or you know, 2817 02:21:17.079 --> 02:21:22.600 manipulating minutes and player performance in order to achieve better 2818 02:21:22.680 --> 02:21:23.319 lot of reodds. 2819 02:21:24.000 --> 02:21:25.000 Won't see that this year. 2820 02:21:30.319 --> 02:21:37.399 Jb JP Chuga Utah Jazz dot com. 2821 02:21:37.479 --> 02:21:37.799 Ryan. 2822 02:21:38.200 --> 02:21:41.639 When you look at the front office editions, Austin meant 2823 02:21:41.719 --> 02:21:44.319 mentioned Avery Bradley bringing in Danny. 2824 02:21:44.920 --> 02:21:47.239 How have you seen the front office. 2825 02:21:46.879 --> 02:21:50.280 And the executive part add to the pool of talent 2826 02:21:50.319 --> 02:21:52.520 that you already inherited with ownership. 2827 02:21:53.559 --> 02:21:56.120 Yeah, I mean, I think anytime, and just like they're 2828 02:21:56.159 --> 02:22:01.120 going to go through and in Boston, any you kind 2829 02:22:01.120 --> 02:22:03.120 of come in, you're you're starting over a little bit 2830 02:22:03.520 --> 02:22:06.639 because you kind of sit down. It's actually a weird 2831 02:22:06.920 --> 02:22:09.680 experience when you come in for the first time and 2832 02:22:10.040 --> 02:22:14.120 take over because you really didn't choose anyone that's there. 2833 02:22:14.879 --> 02:22:17.200 And you know, fortunately for us, I mean, jay Z 2834 02:22:17.399 --> 02:22:20.280 and and a couple of the other folks, we're just 2835 02:22:20.319 --> 02:22:22.280 true team players, and they came in and said, hey, 2836 02:22:22.799 --> 02:22:25.120 you know, you know, jay Z was a little bit 2837 02:22:25.120 --> 02:22:27.959 of a mentor to me as we came in and 2838 02:22:28.120 --> 02:22:30.120 was like, hey, I got you, Like, this is going 2839 02:22:30.159 --> 02:22:31.920 to be crazy. We're not going to do anything rash. 2840 02:22:31.920 --> 02:22:33.600 I mean, there's a lot of school of thoughts here. 2841 02:22:34.200 --> 02:22:37.799 And then you know, when Danny was able to come in, 2842 02:22:37.840 --> 02:22:43.719 it was just another step in that process. And this 2843 02:22:43.840 --> 02:22:48.520 is a really big step because ultimately, you know, this 2844 02:22:48.600 --> 02:22:52.040 is Austin's show and we're all part of it, and 2845 02:22:52.719 --> 02:22:56.000 you know, we're truly working as a team. But if 2846 02:22:56.040 --> 02:22:59.040 I look at Will and his contract extension, I look 2847 02:22:59.040 --> 02:23:01.959 at where Austin's come coming in continuity is really really 2848 02:23:01.959 --> 02:23:04.000 important to me. And I think the one thing that 2849 02:23:04.479 --> 02:23:08.920 Jazz fans can take away from this is we're sitting 2850 02:23:08.959 --> 02:23:10.680 in a really good spot up top. We've got to 2851 02:23:10.719 --> 02:23:14.399 go match that on the court. 2852 02:23:15.360 --> 02:23:17.799 With your connections to utub and put at b yu, 2853 02:23:18.040 --> 02:23:19.559 is this a dream job for you? 2854 02:23:19.840 --> 02:23:22.079 And what was that first conversation with your father after 2855 02:23:22.120 --> 02:23:27.920 you accepted the position? This is a dream. I mean, 2856 02:23:27.920 --> 02:23:30.559 I've worked for a lot of years to to have 2857 02:23:30.600 --> 02:23:34.040 the opportunity to lead lead a team, right. 2858 02:23:34.120 --> 02:23:36.760 This is kind of was the next evolution for. 2859 02:23:36.760 --> 02:23:41.479 Me in my career and it it we always, you know, 2860 02:23:41.520 --> 02:23:44.639 in the basketball business, we always say ownership is the 2861 02:23:44.639 --> 02:23:47.520 most important advantage and so be able to do this 2862 02:23:47.959 --> 02:23:53.719 in Utah with Ryan and Ashley is very much a dream. 2863 02:23:54.319 --> 02:23:54.600 Uh. 2864 02:23:54.799 --> 02:23:57.239 You know, Da and I have talked, you know, many 2865 02:23:57.520 --> 02:24:00.879 multiple times a week forever and he just I can't remember, 2866 02:24:00.920 --> 02:24:02.120 said something like this is awesome. 2867 02:24:02.159 --> 02:24:08.079 It's gonna be so fun, you know. Kevin round Stelly tribute. 2868 02:24:08.120 --> 02:24:10.680 This one's to Ryan with how the draft lottery played out. 2869 02:24:10.719 --> 02:24:13.079 Does that change your approach to the rebuild and change 2870 02:24:13.079 --> 02:24:14.600 your thinking on the rebuild at all, or are you 2871 02:24:14.639 --> 02:24:16.280 guys gonna stick the course. 2872 02:24:17.639 --> 02:24:20.319 I think Austin kind of answered that. 2873 02:24:20.440 --> 02:24:23.000 I mean, I think, you know, we've got smart people 2874 02:24:23.040 --> 02:24:26.319 around the table and they'll look at all the optionality 2875 02:24:26.360 --> 02:24:30.360 that's that's in front of us, But you know we're 2876 02:24:30.360 --> 02:24:32.440 gonna get a great player if we draft at five. 2877 02:24:32.559 --> 02:24:34.840 So I think that I think that's kind of missed 2878 02:24:34.840 --> 02:24:36.879 and all this. As disappointed as everyone was not to 2879 02:24:36.879 --> 02:24:39.399 get the number one pick, I think, you know, maybe 2880 02:24:39.440 --> 02:24:40.120 something that. 2881 02:24:41.479 --> 02:24:43.159 Isn't talked about enough as the. 2882 02:24:43.120 --> 02:24:47.840 Talent that's in this draft, and we'll be prepared if 2883 02:24:47.879 --> 02:24:49.719 you look at the playoffs and look at all the 2884 02:24:49.719 --> 02:24:51.680 best players in the NBA and how many of them 2885 02:24:51.680 --> 02:24:52.360 went number one. 2886 02:24:52.479 --> 02:24:55.000 It's it's better to have number one, but there's a 2887 02:24:55.040 --> 02:24:59.079 lot of other stars that came from all over the draft, 2888 02:24:59.120 --> 02:25:02.000 and certainly the Jazz have a long history of second 2889 02:25:02.079 --> 02:25:05.360 rounders that have become All Stars, and you know, so 2890 02:25:05.680 --> 02:25:08.360 it's not the only way to do it. 2891 02:25:10.760 --> 02:25:15.040 James Peterson, ESPN seven hundred. There's a perception Austin that 2892 02:25:15.159 --> 02:25:17.399 there's certain ways you can't build a team in Utah, 2893 02:25:17.440 --> 02:25:20.639 which I'm sure you're aware of that perception. You obviously 2894 02:25:20.719 --> 02:25:22.680 had a lot of success building it the way you 2895 02:25:22.719 --> 02:25:26.079 did in Boston, you and your team there. That said, 2896 02:25:26.120 --> 02:25:29.559 how much of how you went about roster construction there? 2897 02:25:30.000 --> 02:25:31.920 Do you feel like you can dupicate here in Utah? 2898 02:25:32.559 --> 02:25:34.920 I think it's the same, Honestly. I think this is 2899 02:25:34.959 --> 02:25:38.680 a great place, and I think you build it the 2900 02:25:38.760 --> 02:25:42.239 right way, like I said, stacking good decisions. 2901 02:25:41.639 --> 02:25:42.600 Over and over and over. 2902 02:25:42.799 --> 02:25:48.719 And players want hope, they want to win, they want 2903 02:25:49.280 --> 02:25:52.319 great culture, they want great coaching, they want great teammates. 2904 02:25:53.000 --> 02:26:00.000 So that's what we have to give them. 2905 02:26:00.120 --> 02:26:03.120 Dane Degreen, ABC four for Ryan, can you define Justin's 2906 02:26:03.120 --> 02:26:04.600 Annix's role with the organization? 2907 02:26:04.680 --> 02:26:04.840 Now? 2908 02:26:04.879 --> 02:26:08.120 After this, Justin's the GM of the organization. His role 2909 02:26:08.159 --> 02:26:10.680 hasn't changed at all. And you know, I actually think 2910 02:26:10.719 --> 02:26:13.200 that if you think about the skill set that Austin 2911 02:26:13.280 --> 02:26:18.040 has and you know jay Z's skill set, they actually 2912 02:26:18.079 --> 02:26:20.959 work really well. I mean Austin, Austin came up from 2913 02:26:21.200 --> 02:26:25.920 player coach heavily, heavily in the scouting and talent evaluation 2914 02:26:26.040 --> 02:26:29.399 and roster construction. I think jay Z came up as 2915 02:26:29.399 --> 02:26:33.959 an attorney or lawyer into talent much more managing players 2916 02:26:34.040 --> 02:26:35.879 on that side, and it's kind of come over to 2917 02:26:35.920 --> 02:26:38.440 this side together and if you look at where they 2918 02:26:38.479 --> 02:26:42.200 meet up, and then you combine that with with DA 2919 02:26:42.360 --> 02:26:44.920 who hopefully can pick his spots a little bit more, 2920 02:26:46.479 --> 02:26:48.399 you know, and have a little bit more depth there 2921 02:26:49.239 --> 02:26:51.079 as well as the demands on the league. I mean, 2922 02:26:51.079 --> 02:26:53.799 we're supposed to be everywhere once. I mean, you know, 2923 02:26:53.840 --> 02:26:56.680 we're supposed to be here watching our team while also 2924 02:26:57.159 --> 02:26:59.440 tournaments are going on in the Big East and the 2925 02:26:59.440 --> 02:27:02.760 Big twelve, plus you know, overseas. I mean, I was 2926 02:27:02.799 --> 02:27:04.840 just talking to Austin today about all the trips that 2927 02:27:04.879 --> 02:27:09.239 he spent all over Europe, all over Australia, and and 2928 02:27:09.520 --> 02:27:11.760 you know, we're all supposed to be everywhere, and so 2929 02:27:12.159 --> 02:27:15.040 I think that, as I mentioned earlier, we got a 2930 02:27:15.040 --> 02:27:17.719 lot better. I think the one commonality that you have 2931 02:27:17.840 --> 02:27:23.440 between everyone is like there's truly, truly a good vibe 2932 02:27:23.440 --> 02:27:25.440 and teamwork, and I think Will's a big piece of 2933 02:27:25.440 --> 02:27:27.680 that as well as the other parts of our organization, 2934 02:27:28.840 --> 02:27:30.399 which is what I'm excited about. 2935 02:27:34.600 --> 02:27:39.040 I'm sorry, did I hear applause after Austin's opening comments 2936 02:27:39.239 --> 02:27:40.200 were people clapping? 2937 02:27:40.520 --> 02:27:40.840 Correct? 2938 02:27:41.840 --> 02:27:43.959 I think there was like a some sort of like 2939 02:27:44.000 --> 02:27:46.600 a Friends of the Jazz or maybe some sort of 2940 02:27:46.600 --> 02:27:50.040 gallery I've been Unless that was Tony Jones and co, I. 2941 02:27:50.040 --> 02:27:52.360 Would Tony's just given him, just giving him, like the 2942 02:27:52.479 --> 02:27:57.600 Arsenio Hall. I've been listening in NBA press conferences for 2943 02:27:57.840 --> 02:28:00.479 thirty years, if now more. I don't know that I've 2944 02:28:00.520 --> 02:28:06.079 ever heard applause after. I don't know that's an It 2945 02:28:06.120 --> 02:28:06.719 was a little. 2946 02:28:06.479 --> 02:28:09.399 Weird Alex Jensen like intro that was like a presser 2947 02:28:09.440 --> 02:28:11.319 in an event like that. Stuff like that for sure. 2948 02:28:11.719 --> 02:28:14.639 But yeah, I thought the jazz thing was the immediate event. 2949 02:28:14.639 --> 02:28:14.920 I don't know. 2950 02:28:14.920 --> 02:28:19.600 Okay, all right, there uh ESPN seven under sports dot Com. 2951 02:28:19.639 --> 02:28:22.440 If you missed any of Austin Age's comments or Danny 2952 02:28:22.479 --> 02:28:27.000 Ainge's comments, excuse me, h Ryan Smith, Danny Ainge not available. 2953 02:28:27.200 --> 02:28:30.719 Justin Zanik not available. Penny for Justin Xanix's thoughts is 2954 02:28:30.719 --> 02:28:31.440 all I'm gonna say. 2955 02:28:31.840 --> 02:28:33.399 All right, really pumped for tonight. 2956 02:28:33.280 --> 02:28:38.360 Game seven, Knicks, Pacers, Madison, Square Garden who wait. 2957 02:28:39.520 --> 02:28:41.200 In some reality? 2958 02:28:41.399 --> 02:28:44.360 Yeah, and you know what man like not like not 2959 02:28:44.479 --> 02:28:47.639 like it went down, you know, like not don't lay 2960 02:28:47.760 --> 02:28:51.479 an egg with an elimination game in front of you, 2961 02:28:52.159 --> 02:28:53.840 where in a building we know you can win in 2962 02:28:53.879 --> 02:28:57.520 we've already seen it and the team that look, you 2963 02:28:57.680 --> 02:28:59.159 just have to give it to the Pacers. 2964 02:28:59.200 --> 02:29:02.840 They were a better They deserve to march on. I 2965 02:29:02.840 --> 02:29:03.239 don't know what. 2966 02:29:03.319 --> 02:29:05.239 I don't know what the Knicks do, because I do 2967 02:29:05.280 --> 02:29:07.799 think it's a good group and they're signed. I think 2968 02:29:07.920 --> 02:29:11.200 Kat's eligible or no, Michael's eligible for an extension. I 2969 02:29:11.200 --> 02:29:13.959 know he's taking a lot of heat. But with how 2970 02:29:14.040 --> 02:29:16.079 desolate it's been there for so long, I think I 2971 02:29:16.120 --> 02:29:16.799 think it was fun. 2972 02:29:16.840 --> 02:29:18.639 I just didn't. I did not love the way they 2973 02:29:18.680 --> 02:29:20.319 went out. I thought it was very disappointing. 2974 02:29:20.360 --> 02:29:21.879 Now the way the way the way they went out 2975 02:29:21.959 --> 02:29:26.520 was ugly in the basketball Number one, the sloppiness they 2976 02:29:26.559 --> 02:29:30.479 played with the comeback loss. Right, Obviously, it was cool 2977 02:29:30.520 --> 02:29:33.719 they did it on the flip side against the Boston Celtics, 2978 02:29:33.719 --> 02:29:36.399 But when you go out the way they did it 2979 02:29:36.440 --> 02:29:38.719 always going to leave a bitter taste in your mouth, 2980 02:29:39.479 --> 02:29:44.879 and for me especially, it hurts a little more when I, 2981 02:29:44.920 --> 02:29:46.559 you know, I look at the NBA, look at the 2982 02:29:46.600 --> 02:29:49.319 landscape of the league, and while I think that OKAYC 2983 02:29:49.559 --> 02:29:53.040 is going to be here for the next decade. This 2984 02:29:53.399 --> 02:30:00.200 was maybe the most open opportunity for a like a 2985 02:30:00.239 --> 02:30:04.399 non dynasty, non you know, a team that doesn't have 2986 02:30:04.479 --> 02:30:08.000 this big championship window. This was maybe the best year 2987 02:30:08.040 --> 02:30:09.680 for one of those teams to sneak in and win 2988 02:30:09.719 --> 02:30:12.760 one that we've seen in a long time. And you know, 2989 02:30:12.799 --> 02:30:15.559 you know, when when do you get another opportunity where 2990 02:30:15.680 --> 02:30:18.159 the East Coast's best team has their star go down 2991 02:30:18.239 --> 02:30:21.239 where you know you I don't want to say back 2992 02:30:21.239 --> 02:30:24.760 into the Eastern Conference Finals, but man, without a lot 2993 02:30:24.760 --> 02:30:26.799 of the things that went down, the Knicks aren't in 2994 02:30:26.879 --> 02:30:30.520 the Eastern Conference Finals, and they had a real opportunity 2995 02:30:30.600 --> 02:30:34.799 spence fully healthy twenty point lead in Game one of 2996 02:30:34.840 --> 02:30:38.799 the ECF, and uh, well, now we sit here. 2997 02:30:39.479 --> 02:30:42.399 And you know there's a reason why after Game one 2998 02:30:43.040 --> 02:30:45.239 I cracked the mic and the first thing I said 2999 02:30:45.239 --> 02:30:47.159 about that game was that's. 3000 02:30:47.040 --> 02:30:48.200 Really hard to come back from. 3001 02:30:48.239 --> 02:30:51.639 Yeah, that game one loss was not a close battle 3002 02:30:51.920 --> 02:30:54.559 where it could have gone either way. You had that 3003 02:30:54.760 --> 02:30:57.200 so in your back pocket. And when you lose a 3004 02:30:57.239 --> 02:31:01.600 game where it's a soul crushing defeat, I mean, losing 3005 02:31:01.639 --> 02:31:03.520 home court is one thing, but these two teams are 3006 02:31:03.559 --> 02:31:07.479 both really good on the road, so I wasn't necessarily like, oh, 3007 02:31:07.479 --> 02:31:11.000 they lost home court. I was like, wow, because the 3008 02:31:11.479 --> 02:31:15.000 Jalen Brunson will be eighty five years old and he'll 3009 02:31:15.000 --> 02:31:16.639 be trying to sleep one night and they'll be like, dude, 3010 02:31:16.680 --> 02:31:20.360 Game one, Eastern Conference Finals, twenty twenty five. Yeah, you 3011 02:31:20.399 --> 02:31:22.760 know that's not a loss that you shake off easily. 3012 02:31:22.760 --> 02:31:25.639 I think I mentioned it the night after, right I 3013 02:31:26.000 --> 02:31:27.959 And I actually mentioned it the night after the nixt 3014 02:31:28.040 --> 02:31:32.239 one Game one against the Celtics. If you recall, I said, I, 3015 02:31:32.399 --> 02:31:35.360 you know, Spence, I think we won the series based 3016 02:31:35.360 --> 02:31:38.239 on how we beat Boston in that game, in that comeback, 3017 02:31:38.600 --> 02:31:41.079 and I also mentioned that day. 3018 02:31:42.440 --> 02:31:44.200 Cleveland in the in the finals. 3019 02:31:44.280 --> 02:31:46.840 Right, you go back to what twenty fourteen, twenty and 3020 02:31:47.040 --> 02:31:52.319 twenty seventeen, Actually j R. Smith forgets that they missed 3021 02:31:52.360 --> 02:31:56.920 a free throw, and you know, Lebron has a fifty 3022 02:31:57.200 --> 02:32:00.879 whatever point triple double and they lose because Smith just 3023 02:32:00.920 --> 02:32:04.520 forgets time to score. Situation, and the way they lost 3024 02:32:04.559 --> 02:32:07.399 that game, I thought they lost the series. Those three 3025 02:32:08.360 --> 02:32:11.079 game one moments to me stand out in situations where 3026 02:32:11.239 --> 02:32:14.239 although you never take too much stock in one of 3027 02:32:14.360 --> 02:32:18.319 game sevens or one of a seven game series. Those 3028 02:32:18.360 --> 02:32:20.559 three situations stand out to me where I thought to 3029 02:32:20.600 --> 02:32:23.479 my head, oh, they just lost the series. 3030 02:32:23.399 --> 02:32:26.440 And they did yep. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. 3031 02:32:26.559 --> 02:32:29.000 So big news of the day today, Austin Ange has 3032 02:32:29.079 --> 02:32:32.360 been hired as the new president of basketball Operations for 3033 02:32:32.520 --> 02:32:35.159 the Utah Jazz. If you missed Austin's press conference, where 3034 02:32:35.159 --> 02:32:38.440 he received a standing ovation after his intro, you can 3035 02:32:38.479 --> 02:32:42.239 go to ESPN seven hundred sports dot com. Stanley Cup 3036 02:32:42.319 --> 02:32:46.159 Finals begins on Wednesday. NBA Finals begin on Thursday, and 3037 02:32:46.200 --> 02:32:48.360 we are your home for both of those events in 3038 02:32:48.399 --> 02:32:51.959 the market here on ESPN seven hundred. All right, Porter, 3039 02:32:52.000 --> 02:32:54.360 what comes our way? On a Tuesday edition of the 3040 02:32:54.479 --> 02:32:55.000 radio show. 3041 02:32:55.079 --> 02:32:57.840 On a Tuesday edition of The Drive, we will of 3042 02:32:57.879 --> 02:33:02.120 course recap the Austin Age press or, the debut of 3043 02:33:02.200 --> 02:33:05.239 the new Jazz president of basketball operations, and talk some 3044 02:33:05.639 --> 02:33:08.239 NBA finals with Tim McMahon for the NBA Daily Assist 3045 02:33:08.600 --> 02:33:12.239 on the Jazz side, Sarah Todd stops by the program 3046 02:33:12.479 --> 02:33:15.760 fresh off a good old long sabbatical. Dave Fox stops 3047 02:33:15.799 --> 02:33:19.239 by on a Tuesday and talking tomorrow as well as 3048 02:33:19.280 --> 02:33:22.239 well as that's been not great. 3049 02:33:22.280 --> 02:33:25.840 Ooh ooh, not great, Bob, not great. Hopefully they can 3050 02:33:25.879 --> 02:33:28.000 turn it around. All right, we'll say goodnight special thank 3051 02:33:28.000 --> 02:33:31.760 you today, Kyle Bonnagura, Tom Haberstrow and the great Richard 3052 02:33:31.760 --> 02:33:33.200 Smith for any of the saund you may have missed 3053 02:33:33.200 --> 02:33:36.239 from the show today. ESPN seven hundred Sports dot Com 3054 02:33:36.280 --> 02:33:39.239 is your home for that. Also, downloader mobile app ticus 3055 02:33:39.239 --> 02:33:41.360 on the go so I listen to our astation. ESPN 3056 02:33:41.440 --> 02:33:44.120 seven hundred app is available App Store, Google play Store 3057 02:33:44.159 --> 02:33:47.040 for free. And then for what we do in our space, 3058 02:33:47.079 --> 02:33:50.239 specifically for four hours every afternoon. It's all up digitally 3059 02:33:50.360 --> 02:33:53.920 for your consumption and disposal with our podcast page. It's 3060 02:33:53.959 --> 02:33:57.120 called The Drive with Spence. Check its that's available wherever 3061 02:33:57.200 --> 02:33:59.639 you get your show. Subscribe, rate reviews, Sandi's things in 3062 02:33:59.680 --> 02:34:01.000 the comments, give us all the stars. 3063 02:34:01.000 --> 02:34:01.399 It helps. 3064 02:34:02.000 --> 02:34:04.760 Reporter I'm spent saying tonight. Enjoy your Monday evening. We'll 3065 02:34:04.760 --> 02:34:07.079 talk to you on a Tuesday edition of The Driving. 3066 02:34:07.079 --> 02:34:09.399 It's always you can find it right here on ESPN 3067 02:34:09.440 --> 02:34:11.120 seven hundred and ninety two ANDFM. We are proud to 3068 02:34:11.159 --> 02:34:13.600 be part of Utah's ESPN Radio network.