WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.839 Tuesday afternoon, nine minutes past the hour two o'clock. I 2 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:06.040 think it's officially the dog days of summer. It's like 3 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:08.720 ninety eight degrees. I am sweating even though I'm in 4 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:11.839 a dark cave of a radio studio. It is very 5 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:14.560 hot outside. But as it is every single day, it's 6 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.039 gonna have you along for the Rud's bench check. It's 7 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:19.359 beyond the Mike Porl Larson behind the glass. We got 8 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.719 a jam pack busy Tuesday show for you guys. As 9 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:27.280 NBA free agency continues to roll along, we'll talk about 10 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:29.519 what could be next with the Utah Jazz after moving 11 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:33.079 on from Carlin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, and we'll give 12 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:35.479 you the up to date news cycle on what's happened 13 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:37.479 since you and I last spoke and said good night 14 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:39.840 last night at six o'clock. It's been a busy forty 15 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:44.759 eight hours in the world of pro basketball, and today 16 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:49.359 is the start free agency in the NHL and the 17 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.600 Utah Hockey Club as the excuse me, the Utah Mammoth 18 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:55.560 will get there. They've made some moves. We'll tell you 19 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:57.359 about it, tell you about some of the new players, 20 00:00:57.960 --> 00:00:59.520 and keep you up to date on any of the 21 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.759 movement around the NHL. Of no, there will not be 22 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.079 as much NHL moving as there is in the NBA. 23 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.120 It's just the leagues are very different that way. But 24 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:12.879 Bill Armstrong and his staff, Austin Ainge, his staff busy 25 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:15.480 right now working the phones to see what sort of 26 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:19.159 pieces to the puzzle they can put together, or in 27 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.040 the Jazz case, puzzle might be complete. 28 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:23.719 We might not see anything else from the Jazz. I'll 29 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:25.439 tell you why. We'll get into it. Coming up in 30 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:26.000 just a little bit. 31 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:29.159 The latest down a BYU with the Jake Rhetz laugh situation. 32 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:32.439 We've got a good college football guest on the show today, 33 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:38.319 RSL with a weekend clash taken on Saint Louis. The 34 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.439 Royals will be taken on Orlando. That's going to be 35 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:44.959 on Friday. So busy week, a couple weeks away from 36 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.159 the official start of training camp. In the world of 37 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:52.159 professional football, not a lot of news that way in 38 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:54.079 the NFL is this is kind of the quiet time 39 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:56.840 for both pro and college football. We will be in Dallas, 40 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.079 Texas next week for Big twelve Media Day. 41 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:01.599 Myself and Sean will have that for you. 42 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:04.560 The Great OC We will be doing a couple of 43 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.200 straight days of about six or seven hours of radio together. 44 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:07.799 It should be fun. 45 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:11.840 Kind of the unofficial start of the college football season, 46 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.759 so stay tuned. That comes your way coming up next week. 47 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:17.879 So busy Tuesday Show. Good to have you guys with us. 48 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:21.039 We'll start things off today with Kyle Vonna Gurro. Kyle 49 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.719 covers college football for ESPN, does a little soccer from 50 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:25.319 time to time, but right now. 51 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:28.000 Mostly college football. 52 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:32.319 Kyle was one of the ESPN riders who wrote the 53 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:34.560 piece on Jake rhetz Lath that came out with Pete 54 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:38.560 Damil yesterday. So we'll talk about the situation down at BYU, 55 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:41.039 will do some Big twelve football talks from Utah football, 56 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.840 some offseason stuff with Kyle Bondagura from ESPN. Right out 57 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.199 of the gates, gonna bring in Tim McMahon NBA Daily 58 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:52.639 Assists Style. Several teams in the West making forward facing moves, 59 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:56.919 taking steps in the right direction, namely the Houston Rockets 60 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.960 go off Houston, They're getting everybody. Denver made a couple 61 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:03.039 of moves that I like. We'll talk about the Nuggets move. 62 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:07.120 San Antonio making some moves as well. So there are 63 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:09.719 some teams in the West trying to make progress moving 64 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:13.639 forward out east. Quinn Snyders, Atlanta Hawk suddenly might have 65 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:17.080 something to say about the Eastern Conference next year. Milwaukee 66 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:19.479 is very much not acting like a team that's going 67 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.280 to trade Janna Sante to Combo, but they did stretch 68 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.560 and wave Dame. Lillard will kind of explain that scenario 69 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:30.039 to you. On the surface, optically, it's not a great 70 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:32.520 look for a Hall of Fame player and one of 71 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:36.759 my favorite NBA players of this generation. Utah's very owned 72 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:39.080 Damian Lillard played his college basketball up here. 73 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.400 But if your Dame, it's actually not bad news. 74 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:44.319 We'll tell you why. We'll go over the details what 75 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.080 a stretch provision is, what it means for Damian Lillard. Essentially, 76 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:49.360 he's going to get his money and he's going to 77 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:51.560 be able to pick his final destination to finish his 78 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.719 career as a pro basketball player. So when you see 79 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:58.240 the headline, you're like, wait, Damian Lillard gets cut, what 80 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.439 are you talking about. Well, there could be a scenario 81 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.879 at play here where this was a mutual deal. 82 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:06.439 We'll talk to Tim McMahon about it. Today. 83 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:08.080 He's going to join us. We'll do some jazz with 84 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.719 Tim as well. I got Richard Smith. It was part 85 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:12.840 of our draft coverage last week. We'll be live in 86 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:15.039 the studio for an entire hour, and our friend Sarah 87 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:19.560 Todd from the des Red News also stops by. Former 88 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.759 University of Utah basketball player gets paid big time cash. 89 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:25.079 We'll talk about that too. 90 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:28.439 Kyle bodeger A, Tim McMahon, Richard Smith, Sarah Todd, me 91 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:30.800 Spens check at all of you, the great listeners. And 92 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:33.240 that guy who once upon a time got dunked on 93 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.680 by Damian Lillard. He Now when you see the headline, 94 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:40.399 you just go, wait a second, Yeah, that's wild. But ultimately, 95 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:43.120 when you dig into it, this is not. At the 96 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:44.519 end of the day, it will not be bad news 97 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:44.800 for Dame. 98 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:48.639 It will no, And I don't know that it's necessarily 99 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:52.360 bad news for Milwaukee, right I think they're just at 100 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:56.439 a different place right now, and Damian Lillard's focusing on 101 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:58.759 one thing, and that's his achilles at the moment. So 102 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:01.560 a guy who's in the later stages of his career 103 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:06.399 spence and probably has if we're being completely honest, like 104 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:11.680 one go at it post achilles guard who already isn't 105 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.199 an oversized guard. He's not a guy who moves laterally 106 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:17.519 much better than a lot of guards in the league. 107 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:20.079 So this is something where you know he's gonna have 108 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:24.319 kind of one chance to find a good landing spot 109 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:27.759 and have hopefully a little little last stand as a 110 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.600 scoring guard, maybe a number one option. I don't know offensively, 111 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:36.279 at least could still be a really, really good piece, 112 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:38.040 and I'm excited to see where he lands. 113 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:39.680 It'll be interesting, Bill. 114 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:41.639 Will and we'll see what's next in Milwaukee. They made 115 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.519 a couple of different moves. So we'll discuss all the 116 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:47.600 NBA free agency, the NBA offseason through the prism of 117 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.560 the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference with some good 118 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:51.240 basketball guest. 119 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:51.959 Today, we'll give you an. 120 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:55.079 Update on the Utah Mammoths first day and NHL free agency. 121 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.279 They've signed a defenseman to a three year deal. We'll 122 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:01.160 tell you about him. Actually made a couple of different 123 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:03.120 moves throughout the course of today, so we'll keep you 124 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:05.759 up to date on all of this on a busy 125 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:08.319 Tuesday show. Our first guest will be Kyle Vonneger. But 126 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.240 before Kyle rolls by, a courtesy of our good friends, 127 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:13.399 you're good friends too. At Prize Picks. It is Todd 128 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:14.759 now for your opening tip. 129 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:17.600 Welcome to the Drive with Spence Check its on Utah's 130 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:21.000 number one sports talk now into the studios of ESPN 131 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.639 seven hundred to set the scene for the show. The 132 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:25.759 opening tip of the Drive is brought to you by 133 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:30.079 Prize Picks. Use the code ESPN seven hundred and run 134 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:31.879 your game with Prize Picks. 135 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:35.600 You download that Prize Picks app today, use that promo 136 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:37.839 code ESPN seven hundred. They're going to hook you up 137 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:41.000 with fifty dollars when you play your first five dollars lineup. 138 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.439 You do not even have to win the five dollars 139 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.079 lineup that you play. The fifty dollars is guaranteed. So 140 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.439 download the Prize Picks app today, use the promo cod 141 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:52.360 ESPN seven hundred, and they'll hook you up at fifty 142 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.360 bucks when you play that first five dollars line up. 143 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:57.079 Prize Picks run your game all season long. All right, 144 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:00.199 let's start here. It doesn't make any sense for either 145 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:03.000 the Utah Jazz or Damian Lillard for the Jazz to 146 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:03.879 make it play for Dame. 147 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:06.319 It really doesn't when you. 148 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:09.160 Look at it from a couple of different perspectives and angles, 149 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:10.920 what do you bring them in on a one year 150 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.000 deal and just kind of let them rehab in state? 151 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:17.439 You know, I think with what we've seen the Jazz 152 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.000 electing to move on from Colin Sexton. They trade Colin 153 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.759 Sexton to the Charlotte Hornets. They had to attach a 154 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:25.800 second round pick to Colin to get that transaction done, 155 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:29.240 and ultimately they bring in a player with zero value. 156 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:31.480 I don't think once upon a time I would have 157 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.319 said that about Yusuf Nurkic, but I certainly I would 158 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:37.759 say that right now and surprised that they actually had 159 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:42.879 to attach the pick to Colin to get the transaction done. 160 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.600 But what that does ultimately is give you an idea 161 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:49.040 of what the market is now and has been for Colin, 162 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:52.160 because if we're honest, whether it's Colin Sexton who they 163 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.079 traded a Charlotte or Jordan Clarkson who they essentially cut, 164 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:57.560 it was a buyout, and when you look at the 165 00:07:57.600 --> 00:07:59.639 details of the buyout, save the Jazz a little. 166 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:01.600 Bit of money, ultimately they cut him. 167 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:04.639 And that says that the market over the past few 168 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:07.199 years has just been non existent, right because we've been 169 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:12.079 waiting to see whether it was Colin, whether it was Clarkson, 170 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.439 whether it was John Collins, or even a player like 171 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:16.519 Lowry Marketen, who I still feel like is going to 172 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:17.319 be here for a while. 173 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:19.079 We'll get in some of that a little. 174 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:23.240 Bit later on, if Justin's Annik or Danny Ainge. At 175 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.040 the time the guy's making the decision prior to Austin's arrival, 176 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:28.680 I think if they were able even to get like 177 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.439 a salary match and a second round pick for either player, 178 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.679 they would have done that deal. Now, a couple of 179 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.159 years ago, after the decision was made to break down 180 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:40.200 the Gobert Mitchell, Dennis Lindsay, Quinn Snyder nine year iteration 181 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:45.799 of jazz basketball, the conversation turned from Okay, moved on 182 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:48.440 from Donovan, moved on from Rudy, moved on from Bogdanovich, 183 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:50.399 moved on from Mike Conley. Okay, you got rid of 184 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:54.080 all these players. What does this mean for Jordan Clarkson? 185 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:57.440 And then after Colin Sexton is acquired via the Mitchell deal, 186 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.279 the conversation kind of turned into, Okay, what does it 187 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:03.039 mean for Colin? Because it felt like those two would 188 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:05.200 have had some market value. They moved off of o 189 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:08.279 Chaio Baji really quick, who, by the way, played pretty 190 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:11.000 well in Toronto last year. Some of the other pieces 191 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:14.559 nikile Alexander Walker, who ironically enough is going to Atlanta 192 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:18.320 where he'll play for Quinn. And when Quinn had Nikhil 193 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:20.639 Alexander Walker here, he couldn't get off the bench. And 194 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.159 I actually thought Alexander Walker was a better player than 195 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:24.759 Royce O'Neil, who Quinn preferred. 196 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:25.759 I never really knew why. 197 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.320 So kind of an interesting non sequitor storyline that's a 198 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:31.399 reunion of a coach and a player that didn't seem 199 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.120 to really get much going when they were together prior 200 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:39.240 to but ultimately, when you see what's happened here, I 201 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.919 did mention this after Austin Age took the job, okay, 202 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:45.159 And I don't know if there's anything here, but if 203 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.279 you're a jazz fan, you've heard a lot of you know, 204 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:51.360 jazz coaches, jazz players, people that worked for the jazz 205 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:56.440 just applaud Jordan Clarkson for the way he handled himself 206 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:59.840 off the court. He did become kind of like this leader. 207 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.480 I believe it's painted in the locker room lead with 208 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:04.799 love or show love or whatever. Jordan's thing is. And 209 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:06.679 then you have Will Hardy wearing a hat that says 210 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:09.799 show love at a press conference. That was Clarkson's thing 211 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.120 and throughout the course of the worst stretch in the 212 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:16.360 history of this organization under this ownership group. I think 213 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:19.080 things like that actually endeared Jordan to the community and 214 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:23.000 he deserves that, deserves those flowers, as the kids would say. Now, 215 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:25.879 unfortunately the reality is over the past couple of years, 216 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.080 he has not been near the player that he was 217 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:30.679 when he played for Quinn and won six Man of 218 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:33.360 the Year. You know, one of the coolest moments of 219 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.440 that stretch of jazz basketball was Joe Ingles and Jordan 220 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:39.799 Clarkson were two finalists for six Man of the Year 221 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:42.600 a number of years ago, and they had this cool 222 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:47.519 moment where Joe and Jordan were on television I think 223 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:50.720 it was Turner after a game and they asked the 224 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:53.480 trivia question how many players in jazz history of won 225 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:56.279 six Man of the Year and Jordan said no, and 226 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.120 then Joe held up his finger and said no, it's 227 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:00.440 actually one, and they announced that won it. 228 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.200 It was a really cool thing, really cool moment. 229 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:05.159 So there are there there kind of is this sentiment 230 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.080 across the market that a lot of people are sad 231 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.000 to see Jordan go on his way, because I think 232 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:11.919 he has meant a lot to a lot of people 233 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.120 here throughout the course of a really clunky rebuild that's 234 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:18.440 only led to mediocrity at best and pathetic play at worst. 235 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:21.440 Jordan was kind of the vibe guy that kept things going. 236 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.039 So sad to see him go, But the reality is, 237 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.679 over the past couple of years, he has been barely 238 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:30.440 an average player, you know, barely a rotational player for 239 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:31.840 a team that's actually trying to win. 240 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:34.600 And Jordan will now land in New. 241 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:36.879 York, right, and he's gonna play for the Knicks, and 242 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.200 it'll be interesting to see because the Knicks did rely 243 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.759 for their second team offensive attack last year. They didn't 244 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.440 have a ton of punch off the bench. I don't 245 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.120 know if you noticed. Tom Thibbadau didn't play anybody. The 246 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:51.600 Duce McBride kids a nice young player. But maybe Clarkson 247 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:54.120 can step in there. And for a team that's actually 248 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:56.679 trying to win in an Eastern Conference, it's very fluid. 249 00:11:56.679 --> 00:11:58.960 Next year, I would imagine Jordan could play a role, 250 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:02.200 but at the past two years or any indication of 251 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:05.200 who Jordan Clarkson is now as an NBA player. I'm 252 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.840 not sure that that's a huge loss for the Jazz 253 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:11.000 on the floor. Okay, So ultimately what this does, Okay, 254 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:15.279 it does one thing. So back to the Austin Ange dynamic, 255 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:19.039 who did not acquire any of these players prior to 256 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:21.440 this draft cycle, was not a part of drafting any 257 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:25.120 of these players. I just would imagine Austin Ainge is 258 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:26.960 wired a little bit like his dad, where he just 259 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:30.399 removes a motion from decision making and doesn't give a 260 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:33.639 rip about players that he has not acquired. Now that 261 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.080 the owner himself, Ryan Smith, has let us all know 262 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:39.039 that he is the primary decision maker, so I just 263 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.840 have to wonder whether it was Justin Zanik who was 264 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:46.159 part of the trade, which, by the way, the Clarkson 265 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:49.080 trade in retrospect, was a great deal by the Jazz. 266 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:51.799 The traded Dante exem and I think two second rounders 267 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:55.399 for Clarkson, who stepped in here and became one of, 268 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:57.919 if not the best bench player in the history. 269 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:00.240 Of Jazz basketball. All due respect to our guy a big. 270 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.960 He thorowed Bailey, So an excellent transaction, and pardon me, 271 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.440 wonders if Xanik or Danny Ainge was a little bit more. 272 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.120 I'm going to use the term loyal, but I don't 273 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.000 want that to sound like I'm knocking on Austin for 274 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:15.120 not being loyal. My point is Austin just doesn't give 275 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.519 a rib because he didn't acquire these players. 276 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:19.919 He's new, okay, So he's. 277 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:22.360 Looking at this roster maybe a little bit the same 278 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:24.360 way Dennis Lindsay looked at it when he took the 279 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.360 job as kind of a blank canvas where he can 280 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:27.519 draw his own painting. 281 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:28.840 He can paint his own creation. 282 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:33.200 So I wonder if Danny and Justin were a little 283 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.080 bit too stubborn in their asks for either Colin Sectioner 284 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:39.759 or Jordan Clarkson, because what the transactions have indicated is 285 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.840 there was no market for these two players at all. 286 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:45.360 You had to attach his future second round pick, and 287 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:46.440 is that a huge asset. 288 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:47.120 Probably not. 289 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:49.639 But if you can grab a second round pick, it 290 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:51.159 gives you another bite of the apple. And if you 291 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:53.559 knock it out of the park the way certain second 292 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:55.480 round picks have been knocked out of the park, namely 293 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:59.240 the best basketball player on the planet riding now Nikola Jokic, 294 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:01.519 then you look back at that risk, and you're like, man, 295 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:03.519 you really had to give up a second round pick 296 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.799 just to get off of Clarkson, and your quote unquote 297 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:09.519 reward is a player in Usuf Nurkic that is basically 298 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.559 a net negative. He's a veteran backup center that I 299 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:17.279 suppose can provide some physicality and practice to Walker Kessler. 300 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:20.000 He also was on an expiring d you, although expiring 301 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:22.799 contracts don't have the value they once did, so maybe 302 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:25.840 you can move Nurkic at the deadline. The net net 303 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.320 of what I'm talking about is simply this. I don't 304 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:32.120 know what else the Jazz are going to do this offseason. 305 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:36.200 I think there's there's potential because I do think John Collins, 306 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:38.480 and if we're honest about John Collins, he is coming 307 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:41.440 off a career year. Okay, So if you're a team 308 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.559 like the Lakers, if you were a team that has 309 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:46.759 kind of been passed by by some of your other 310 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.200 conference peers, you could do worse than John Collins. The 311 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:52.799 problem is twenty six point five mil got to match 312 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:54.960 that salary coming back, and you got to figure out 313 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.039 what that looks like. And there is a world that 314 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.279 exists that John Collins is kind of like a guy 315 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:01.519 that you do want to pay because you do have 316 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:04.200 to meet a salary floor. In the NBA, everybody talks 317 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:08.120 about the second apron, the salary cap, you know, where 318 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:12.600 you can't go over certain numbers because it's punitive in 319 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.360 a way that we've. 320 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.159 Seen a lot of roster movie. You also have to 321 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:16.159 meet a salary floor. 322 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.159 Okay, so you have to pay somebody, and maybe that's 323 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.919 somebody is John Collins. My point is there's a chance 324 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:24.679 that if you pull up the Jazz depth chart right now, 325 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:27.759 this is your team and this is who we're going 326 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:31.279 to see next year. And that's okay because, as we've 327 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.720 discussed and as we will continue to cover, the Jazz 328 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:38.080 have a draft pick next year that is top eight protected, 329 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:40.600 and if they're out of the top eight, it goes 330 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:44.759 to Oklahoma City. And at this stage in your roster construction, 331 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.320 when next year's draft is thought to be a place 332 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:51.519 where maybe four or five franchise changing pieces exist, you 333 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.080 have to hold on to that asset. It would be 334 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:59.120 moutheasance if you elected to go all in on trying 335 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.360 to be mediocre and suddenly you fall to nine, ten 336 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:03.559 or eleven, and that pick goes to the offending World Champs. 337 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.039 It would be a horrible way to approach this. 338 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:10.480 So I know a lot of jazz fans are seeing 339 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:13.080 all this player movement and going, wait a second, how 340 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.200 do we get involved here? There are good players on 341 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.080 the move, why aren't we acquiring any of them? Well, 342 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.480 the main reason is, as Austin Am said, they're not 343 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.279 going to manipul eight minutes to tank or try. 344 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:23.799 To lose games. 345 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:25.960 But there's a way to do that in the NBA 346 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.559 without being obvious about it. So you're not fined by 347 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.720 the league when you sit healthy veteran players, and it's 348 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.799 very simple. You're going to see a lot of Isaiah Collier. 349 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:37.240 You're going to see a lot of Keyante George. This 350 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:40.639 is a big year for Kiante specifically. You're going to 351 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:43.480 see Bryce sen Siba. You're going to see wal Clayton junior. 352 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:46.559 You're gonna see Ace Bailey. You're going to see Taylor Hendricks, 353 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.720 You're gonna see Walker Kessler, Kyle Philipowski, etc. You are 354 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:52.919 going to see these pups play. Now, last year they 355 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:55.320 fed us the BS line pups can't raise pups. Well, 356 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:58.440 guess what pups are raising pups. That kennel is full 357 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:02.720 of children, and hopefully some of them provide steps forward 358 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:05.319 and provide hope for what this team can look like 359 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:07.880 in three or four years, because guys, the reality is 360 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.440 that's how long this is going to take before they're 361 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:14.400 even kind of good. Yeah, Big twelve Football Media Days 362 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.599 next week in Dallas, Texas will be down there as 363 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:18.400 you're home of the Utes. 364 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.160 Myself and Sean O'Connell. 365 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:21.480 Have you taken care of We'll do back to back 366 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:22.759 days of like seven. 367 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.240 Hours of radio, so it should be a good time. 368 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.039 It's kind of the unofficial. 369 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:30.160 Start of the college football calendar for the University of Utah. 370 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:32.839 Our next guest covers college football. 371 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:35.279 And some other things. We'll do mostly. 372 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:39.079 Football today, ever, Buddy Kyle Bonagura from ESPN on a Tuesday, Kyle, 373 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:39.759 Happy Tuesday man. 374 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:40.279 What's going on? 375 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.799 I do good spens in Jorge summer and kind of 376 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:47.759 gearing up for the season, talking season starting. 377 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:50.880 I guess yes, indeed, yes, indeed, so the big news 378 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.200 around here over the past well past number of weeks, 379 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:57.599 but a different kind of tone and tenor and direction. 380 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:01.119 As a judge has granted a joint mo from b 381 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:04.000 YU quarterback Jake Rahetz Laugh and his accuser to dismiss 382 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.000 the civil suit against him. You and Pete Thamill doing 383 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:10.960 a great job as always covering this. In addition, Jake 384 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.880 has told his coaches and teammates he is now looking 385 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:15.599 for a new place to play as a result of 386 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.319 facing a seven game suspension. Just kind of unpack your 387 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:21.440 thoughts on this whole thing, the whole process, and what 388 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:22.359 you think comes next. 389 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.279 Yeah, I mean it's really it's really complex, right, It's 390 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.079 it's sensitive, it's complex. There's a lot of moving pieces here, 391 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.839 you know, for for college football fans, like the bottom 392 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.200 line kind of where we kind of left off here, 393 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:38.559 you know this week is that Jake Retzlaf fan, like 394 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.079 you said, the woman who accused him of rape, they 395 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.440 they their case was dismissed. What the indication is is 396 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:48.200 that there was probably some sort of a settlement and 397 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.440 they agreed to kind of go their separate ways. And 398 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:53.640 so what for Retsloft this means is that as part 399 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:55.599 of his defense and maybe you guys to talk about this, 400 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:58.519 is that he admitted to you know, his defense was 401 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:02.400 that the encounter was a scent, was consensual sex, which 402 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:05.920 of course, is a violation of uiu's honor code. We've 403 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:09.200 seen a number of cases or instances in the past 404 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:13.519 where you know, athletes you know, admitted to having sex 405 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:16.240 and we're forced if they forced into a suspension or 406 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:18.799 kicked off the team. So as soon as as soon 407 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.839 as this was I guess last Friday, when that defense 408 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:25.240 publicly surface, I think it was pretty easy to kind 409 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:28.039 of see that a suspension was coming. Then I was 410 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.680 able to confirm that, you know, seven games was the expectation. 411 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.960 And for Jake faced the seven games suspension in his 412 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:37.119 final year of eligibility, a year that he hoped to 413 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:40.359 develop into an NFL prospect. I think he made the 414 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:44.119 decision pretty easy to ask uh to decide to transfer 415 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:47.240 from the UYU. And now we'll see, we'll see where 416 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:49.680 he ends up. Right, There's a stigma now attached to 417 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:53.680 him as a result of the accusations, right, and so. 418 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:56.240 We'll kind of see. 419 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.440 Where that goes. I think we'll have a pretty good 420 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:01.440 sense to the next week or two where he winds up, 421 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.440 and I do expect him to find a home before 422 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:04.240 the season begins. 423 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:07.559 So I am not a lawyer and Kyle, unless I 424 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:09.799 am mistaken. Neither of you correct. 425 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:15.519 Just spend too much time reading legal filings without the 426 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:17.839 education to make sense of them completely. 427 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:18.599 For sure, for sure. 428 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:20.720 But I'll ask and if there's not much here, we 429 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:25.000 can just move in another direction. Maybe you can enlighten 430 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:28.720 us on how this process kind of played out. Lawsuit filed, Okay, 431 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.240 that we had you on pretty quick after that, because 432 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:34.559 the details that you guys were reporting on at BYU 433 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:38.839 as far as her accusations were, they were horrible. And 434 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.880 then you know, Retz left is an attorney, and his 435 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:44.599 attorney they filed kind of their side of things and 436 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.480 they were very adamant that this was consensual and that 437 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:50.240 included some pretty heavy language in the direction of this 438 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:53.559 young lady as well. And then we have this situation 439 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:57.279 where again the you know, it's kind of assumed that 440 00:20:57.319 --> 00:20:59.759 a settlement was reached, but we don't have any information 441 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:02.640 in that direction. Now the judges is signing this to 442 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.039 kind of just dismiss the whole thing. Can you enlighten 443 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:07.960 us in kind of how this process works and you know, 444 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:11.039 how they kind of came to this resolution if that 445 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:13.359 makes sense, Yeah, and I. 446 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:16.359 Think you can, like and the process is pretty similar 447 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:20.200 not with just this case in particular, but like all 448 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.680 all civil cases that are similar, right, they all follow 449 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.279 a very similar kind of order of events. Right, the 450 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:28.559 complaint is filed by the accusing party, she remains nameless. 451 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:32.160 Then you have a certain amount of days to reply, right, 452 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:33.680 and so you know, I don't know what the exact 453 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:37.279 number is, but that period time is thirty sixty days 454 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:40.559 or some period you know in the within those parameters. 455 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:44.319 That's what happened last week. So Jake's hires an attorney, 456 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:48.160 they file a response to why they think it should 457 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:52.759 be dismissed or the or here's their defense that that's 458 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:54.839 all standard, right is when and when you're talking about 459 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:56.720 civil cases, it can go a number of ways. Right. 460 00:21:56.759 --> 00:21:59.319 It can be flat out dismissed by a judge like 461 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:01.519 hey on its mayor we don't see anything here, there's 462 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:05.480 not enough to proceed there is. It can go to trial, right, 463 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.519 you all move forward, and that could take a couple 464 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.359 of years to wind through the court system to a 465 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:11.359 point where we actually have a jury trial. That was 466 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.599 the demand, the quote unquote demand in the original complaint, 467 00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:18.279 which is all standard in the third like really common 468 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:20.559 door to go through as a settlement, right, And I 469 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:23.720 think that the based on the language that was included 470 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.559 in the joint motion to dismiss, it's hard to come 471 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:29.799 up with any other scenario to why they would have 472 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.039 filed that unless they had come to some sort of 473 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:37.799 a settlement. It's likely a financial settlement. And the territory 474 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.640 you start treading into there is like in those cases, 475 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:44.640 both parties agree not to ever discuss it, right, it 476 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.119 would violate that the terms of the agreement, So the 477 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:52.279 woman and her legal team are not allowed to discuss it. 478 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:55.039 I'm sure there's some sort of financial penalties if they 479 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:57.599 were to do so, and I think it's probably the 480 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:01.400 same on the other side, where where Jake or his 481 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:05.039 legal team is also not at liberty to discuss the numbers, right, 482 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:08.119 And so it's easy to make the assumption. I think 483 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:12.039 anyone understands that's probably what took place based on how 484 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:15.359 it being unfolded. But there's just not going to be 485 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:17.319 any more details just because of the kind of the 486 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:19.200 way these things are structured. 487 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:20.160 Any inside at all. 488 00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:23.599 And I am just asking to ask because I honestly 489 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:26.920 don't know. I mean, if you read the tea leaves DYU, 490 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:32.480 the Institution must have read Jake's court filing and what 491 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:35.559 he had to say about, you know, the events that 492 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.599 took place, and when he admitted to consensual premarital sex. 493 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:41.519 I just am assuming that that's when the punishment came 494 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.279 down and it was going to be seven games. Is 495 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:45.599 that just a SA safe way to assume how this went? 496 00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:48.640 Yes, honest, I can say that I in talking with 497 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.759 sources and Durma reporting problems, I know that Jake met 498 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:56.759 with the school prior to the reply last week being filed. So, 499 00:23:56.839 --> 00:24:00.200 like b YU, was not caught off guard by what 500 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.960 was outlined in the reply where he admitted publicly that 501 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.920 this you know, his or his stance publicly was that 502 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.359 that the sex was consensual. So by the time Friday 503 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:13.759 rolled around, the university had already been able to discuss 504 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:17.839 internally what the appropriate punishment should be, and like how 505 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:20.559 they settled on seven games, it feels a little arbitrary 506 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.960 to me, but you know, I don't have a great 507 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.920 sense of how they determined that was the number, but 508 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:29.319 but it was relayed to him last week. I believe 509 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:33.119 on Friday that the number would be seven and at 510 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:36.359 that point, yeah, I think it was a very easy 511 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:39.119 decision for him to move on, and like, I don't 512 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:41.480 think he was caught off guard by it either. Right, 513 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:44.599 there's the precedent is there at BUYU that like this 514 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:46.440 stuff is, this is how they deal with it. There 515 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:49.359 there's the honor code that you kind of you know, 516 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:52.079 you can we can have a longer conversation about the 517 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:53.759 merits of it, but like that's what you signed up 518 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:55.240 for when you go to that school, and so you 519 00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.720 kind of have to live with the consequences if you 520 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:01.720 break the honor code. So that's and that's kind of 521 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:02.279 where we are. 522 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:06.480 Yeah, and the problem and I've said this quite frankly, 523 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:09.240 I said it when the story came out. I've been 524 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:11.519 doing radio in this market coming up this fallow to 525 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.759 be twenty years and my most unfavorite things to cover 526 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:18.839 are BYU honor code violations from players when things like 527 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:22.039 this take place, because there are so many angles where 528 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:23.759 you feel, at least I feel that you need to 529 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.720 be fair to everybody involved in you know, the community 530 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:30.119 of people that decide to go online and take victory 531 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:33.319 laps if you're a UTAH fan or accuse this woman 532 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:36.319 of extorting or lying, if you're a BYU fan, the thing. 533 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.440 The whole thing feels really gross to me, Kyle, I 534 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:41.000 don't enjoy it. But to your point about having a 535 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:45.000 bigger conversation about whether or not the honor code is antiquated, 536 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:47.079 whether or not it needs to be adjusted, I find 537 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:48.880 that to be a moot point. You know what you 538 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:51.920 get into when you go down there. I had five 539 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:55.799 siblings that went to BYU. I mean, and there's no ambiguity, 540 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:57.839 by the way, Like it's there's no gray area, like 541 00:25:57.880 --> 00:25:59.759 if you're going to go there, you're expected to behave 542 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:02.599 as and if you don't, you need to understand like 543 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:04.000 things like this could happen to me. 544 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:05.440 That's just kind of the bottom line. 545 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:08.000 Yeah, I think it's it's it's very clear, right, And 546 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:10.640 that's why I don't think he was surprised that there 547 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:13.240 was a suspension. I mean, he's been starting quarterback at 548 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:17.200 IT for a program with very high aspirations this coming year, 549 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:19.160 and and and that didn't matter, right. I Mean we 550 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:22.160 saw it, however, many years ago with with Brandon Davies, 551 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:24.720 like getting suspended when the basketball team was twenty seven 552 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:26.440 to two and right number two in the country, right, 553 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:28.640 Like that's just that's that's how it works there and 554 00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:30.680 so you have to kind of accept it if you're 555 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:33.319 going to play it there. It does complicate things though, 556 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:36.759 Uh you know that that he's not that he's not Mormon, right, 557 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:38.839 that he's you know, there was you know, he had 558 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:41.720 by J trademarked last year because he was such a 559 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:44.440 unique uh you know, dynamic for to have a Jewish 560 00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:47.599 starting quarterback at BYU for the first time ever. Uh, 561 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:50.240 it was you know interesting if nothing else, and so 562 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:54.559 uh the fact that he's you know, not of that faith, 563 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.960 but you know is being punished for you know, the 564 00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:01.839 beliefs of that religion is also like the very interesting conversation. Right, 565 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:05.000 it's not football related at all. It's it's it's society 566 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:08.519 and it's uh everything that goes into that. But you know, 567 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:12.480 from from a college football standpoint, you know, there would 568 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:14.640 it would have been very easy to avoid this scenarios 569 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:16.640 Thurgy Grepsop and now he's just got to deal with it. 570 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:20.319 I wonder how And you know, this is where we 571 00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:24.519 get into this like slippery slope with this conversation, you know, 572 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:28.359 because out here we're used to this and certainly whether 573 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.599 you're a member of the LDS Church or not, if 574 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:33.559 you live in this state, you have to find a 575 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:36.640 way to exist in the ecosystem that's dominated on every 576 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:40.200 level of state by the religion that essentially you know, 577 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:44.799 settled here hundreds of years ago. So out here something 578 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:46.640 like this goes down, you're kind of like, yeah, that's 579 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.559 the b YU experience. I wonder how you would articulate 580 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:53.680 the reaction from somebody who's an outsider looking in and look, 581 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.079 you've covered by you and maybe you're the wrong the 582 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:58.519 wrong guy asked this because you do you are familiar 583 00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:02.000 with Salt Lake. You've covered Utah on the Pack twelve, mean, 584 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:05.759 you've covered BYU stories. But when something like this happens, 585 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:08.799 how do you think it's kind of digested and optically 586 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:11.319 it looks from the outside looking in from somebody who 587 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:13.720 may not be familiar with how this stuff works. 588 00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:17.720 Yeah, that's an interesting question because like, yeah, like I'll 589 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.720 just say none of this kind of common app that 590 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:21.839 I've been around it enough to have like understand kind 591 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:23.759 of the state of play for the most part, So 592 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:25.640 I a feel like I had a decent understanding for 593 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:29.160 being an outsider. But like imagine telling someone this and 594 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:33.519 like the south right, like the college football quarterback. You know, 595 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:37.039 your quarterback is suspended because he had sex, like pad 596 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:38.000 pre marital sex. 597 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:39.319 It's insane. 598 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:41.400 Like, I think there's like an expectation that like, yeah, 599 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:44.119 he's the quarterback of a college of like a ranked 600 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:48.000 college football team. That is challenging for you know, conference titles. 601 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:51.039 There's a you know, there's a perception of what that 602 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:55.559 individual social life might be, right, that comes with being 603 00:28:55.559 --> 00:28:59.799 a high profile athlete in college sports, especially the quarterback. Right, 604 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:02.880 So if anything, you know, you would be I think 605 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:04.759 you have a lot of people surprised if the starting 606 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:07.400 quarterback wasn't having sex. Right, That's just that's just the 607 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:11.480 reality of what the perception is nationally about about about 608 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:13.440 that position. But but again, so I think, yeah, there's 609 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:15.920 some people that of course are not going to agree 610 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:18.240 with it, and they're gonna think it's weird, and and 611 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:20.400 that's just the way it is, right. There's no there's 612 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:23.480 no uh, you know, there's there's no way, no other 613 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:26.319 way to explain it, right, There's just cultural differences, and 614 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:28.319 you know it's in you know, in the United States, 615 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:31.000 there's so many different subcultures that are that are so different, 616 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.759 and college football has a way of bringing them all together, 617 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:35.640 which I think most of the time is actually a 618 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:38.799 really good thing and exposed to you to different backgrounds 619 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:42.119 and areas of the country, which which mixes them all together. 620 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:44.559 But certainly you're gonna have this, uh, you're gonna have 621 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:46.880 some some shock at times when stuff like this this 622 00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:47.440 plays out. 623 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:50.640 Do you think there's anything about this and again, just 624 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:53.319 covering this whole thing and trying to try to talk 625 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:57.240 about it appropriately and cover all sides if it appropriately, 626 00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:00.400 continues to feel weird. And the the fact of the 627 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:03.559 matter is, Kyle, as you know, ever since nil became 628 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:07.079 a reality, BYU has been able to recruit at a 629 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:09.559 very high level. Their twenty twenty six class, as a 630 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:12.279 result of another commit is currently top twenty five according 631 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:16.240 to the ESPN rankings. They've got the best college basketball 632 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:20.720 freshmen in America playing in Provo next year. So the 633 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:24.319 weird kind of dichotomy here is on one side, they've 634 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:27.680 been able to find this lane with deep pocketed donors 635 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.920 writing big time checks to pay what you need to 636 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:33.039 pay to attract talent. Do you think something like this 637 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:37.200 with the Jake stuff could have an adverse effect on 638 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:39.519 the program when people kind of dig into it and 639 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:42.359 to your point, might look at this as antiquated or weird. 640 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:44.359 I think so yeah. 641 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:45.680 I mean I think if you put yourself in the 642 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:48.160 shoes of a bunch of eighteen year old kids, right, 643 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:49.880 there are some of them who are not going to 644 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:52.039 want to go into that sort of environment. That's just 645 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:56.640 the reality of it, right, And so but I think 646 00:30:56.640 --> 00:30:58.400 that was the case before. Like this is just the 647 00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:01.480 most recent example of like, hey, it's front and center. 648 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:04.119 It kind of refreshes the idea of like, hey, like 649 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:06.480 this is kind of the environment that you're signing up for, 650 00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:08.000 and it's it's going to some people are going to 651 00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:11.119 shy away from it. But I do think that BUYU 652 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:15.799 has benefited as much as anyone in college athletics by 653 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:18.559 the way things have developed. From an analys standpoint, I mean, 654 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:21.359 look at basketball, look at football. Like you know, I 655 00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:23.359 and I talk to some people over at BUYU and 656 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:25.880 they see it as look like YU is like the 657 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:30.559 church is very like sees this as an opportunity to 658 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:35.599 help sure, right, because the more high profile BUYU athletics is, 659 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:38.200 the more front and center the LDS religion is, right, 660 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:41.599 That's just it's it's pure marketing, right, And so there's 661 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:44.880 an investment into football that benefits the church in that way. 662 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.920 There's just like, look, you also want to be successful 663 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:49.880 in sports. This is an opportunity. There's a lot of 664 00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:52.279 money there that can be using and is be and 665 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:55.759 is being is to help fund these programs. And so 666 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:59.759 I think like on balance, BYU is benefiting from this, 667 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:03.400 but certainly like this event if you're gonna have any 668 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:08.319 negative rippercursions as well, but the laundromatic still be r So. 669 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:12.480 It does come after a season where BYU cut a 670 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:14.759 lot of people off guard with how well they played. 671 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:17.759 And you know, interestingly enough, and we've talked about this 672 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:19.240 so we don't need to look back on it, but 673 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:22.160 the two games they lost like they they weren't that 674 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:26.240 far off from having like an extraordinary season, cracking a 675 00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:29.160 cup here, what have you. But they stumble down the 676 00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:31.559 stretch at home to Kansas, and then they lose an 677 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:35.559 absolute dogfight Arizona State, they beat Colorado and the Alamo 678 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:38.400 Bowl they go eleven and two. So now we move 679 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:40.000 over to what could be next for them. You know, 680 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:43.039 the interesting thing is Jake was eleventh in the Big 681 00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:46.240 twelve and QBR oftentimes they were able to win in 682 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:49.960 spite of some really bad decisions he made. So when 683 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:52.359 you look at you know, the quarterback room, McKay Hillstead 684 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:55.359 is a Utah State transfer of tracing Boorgay and Bear Bachmeyer. 685 00:32:55.480 --> 00:32:57.079 I don't know who's going to get the job. 686 00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:00.759 But the football takeaway as we are awkwardly now to 687 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:03.480 make this a football topic because it's just so weird 688 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:06.000 to talk about all this stuff, what do you think 689 00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:08.759 this means for BYU football this year in the Big twelve? 690 00:33:10.599 --> 00:33:13.119 Yeah, so it's it's it's hard to say, right because 691 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:15.000 like we just don't know how good the other quarterbacks 692 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:16.640 will being. It's like, as good as Redsoft was, he 693 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:18.400 wasn't like it was a set of the world on fire. 694 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:21.480 I think it was a competent quarterback who who didn't 695 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:24.400 lose games and and you know that's actually like a 696 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:27.319 really valuable asset like Aspett to have, right, Like he 697 00:33:27.319 --> 00:33:30.039 he made some mistakes at times and wasn't perfect and 698 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:32.000 and and showed flashes at times where he where I 699 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:34.400 thought he was really good. I think there was a 700 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:36.880 lot of uh, you know, a stock being in put 701 00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:40.279 into him coming back as the starter, right and not 702 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:42.400 being the same quarterback that he was last year and 703 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:46.119 being able to have that that year of starting experience 704 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:47.680 under his belt where now he's able to kind of 705 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:50.599 make the step next step and be it more just 706 00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:54.000 be a better player. Right with him gone, that it's 707 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:56.160 a it's a complete unknown. I mean, I think L J. 708 00:33:56.279 --> 00:33:59.279 Martin is actually a really good back, Like like, I 709 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:01.839 think he's progressed pretty well in the last two years. 710 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:04.400 Like so I think a lot more will be put 711 00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:07.039 on him than probably would have been expected if if 712 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:09.719 rets Off was coming back. But yeah, it's it's it's 713 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:11.880 a complete that noun with with with who the other 714 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:15.800 quarterbacks are. You know, you got three different transfers, so 715 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:18.280 we'll see. Like I still think, you know, this is 716 00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:21.599 a team that won with defense last year, right They 717 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:23.679 had the best defense in the Big Twelve if I'm 718 00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:25.840 not mistaken statistically, if not, you know, one of the 719 00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:29.360 best of the country really and so when you're making 720 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:31.599 your money that way, I think a lot of that 721 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:34.039 is Schematically they're very sound, and you know, they've got 722 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:37.119 some really important players to replace. But at the same time, 723 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:39.800 there's enough coming back to where I think the expectations 724 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:42.840 of the defense should still be very good. So with 725 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:45.199 all those factors. I still think BUYU will will head 726 00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:48.480 into this year with really high expectations. But and we 727 00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:50.920 talked about this in the past, spense like it's just 728 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:52.679 so hard to predict college football now with all the 729 00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:55.440 rosters turnover. Yeah, there's a lot Like reading the Telia, 730 00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:57.519 they should still be pretty good. But you know they 731 00:34:57.519 --> 00:34:59.760 were expected to come what like thirteenth in the conference 732 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:03.400 lass year and almost won it. So what do we know? 733 00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:06.440 Not a lot, I guess, And that's the problem. 734 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:06.679 I mean. 735 00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:08.679 Now I want to ask you about your thoughts on 736 00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:11.559 the Big twelve, but it is July first, and I 737 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:14.920 would imagine that you've read some of the same predictions 738 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:17.320 I've read. Phil Steele came out with his annually. He's 739 00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:20.599 got Baylor winning the conference, Utah at two. There are 740 00:35:20.599 --> 00:35:23.320 a lot of preseason predictions that have Utah in the 741 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:26.280 area of like four to seven. I think a lot 742 00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:28.400 of people are curious about Texas Tech with the money 743 00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:31.440 they've spent. Then there's like the stall Wards k State 744 00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:34.719 Iowa State. Obviously we have to talk about Kenny Dillingham 745 00:35:34.760 --> 00:35:36.719 and the team that won the conference a year ago. 746 00:35:37.239 --> 00:35:39.519 But on July first, Kyle, what's your gut tell you 747 00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:42.920 about this conference. It just seems to cannibalize itself, just 748 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:44.079 like the Pac twelve US too. 749 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:46.719 Yeah, I was actually going to make the comparison. As 750 00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:48.719 you're kind of reading those lists of you can make 751 00:35:48.760 --> 00:35:50.559 the like you can make the case for all those 752 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:53.119 teams and feel pretty good about it, right, And I 753 00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:56.079 think that's actually why I really like the Big twelve 754 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:58.920 and like, like it's really an interesting conference to start 755 00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:01.719 paying more attention to because it is wide open. There 756 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.679 isn't the established powers. I like the parody and it 757 00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:08.840 doesn't it's not necessarily great, like for national prominence not 758 00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:11.440 to have just like a Bell Coal at the top. 759 00:36:11.559 --> 00:36:13.679 You can rely on to the top five or whatever. 760 00:36:14.159 --> 00:36:16.400 But you know, Arizona State was a great story last year. 761 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:18.840 They were I think picked to come second to last 762 00:36:18.840 --> 00:36:20.639 in the conference and to go to the playoffs and 763 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:24.119 showed well I thought in the playoffs. Yeah, so yeah, 764 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:28.280 I'm gonna I think, I ask you, you know, for me, 765 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:31.440 they're very interesting. Of course they've got a lot of 766 00:36:31.480 --> 00:36:36.519 production to replays. But then the most intriguing team I 767 00:36:36.519 --> 00:36:39.239 think has to be Texas Tech because in this era 768 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:42.239 of college football, money matters, right, like if you look 769 00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:44.559 at salary caps like an unsalary caps sports, but the 770 00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:47.559 teams with the highest payrolls are usually the best teams. 771 00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:50.400 Like it's a really easy correlation to make you have 772 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:53.079 the most money, you get the best players. Texas Tech 773 00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:54.840 is that team. Like we've seen reports that you know, 774 00:36:55.239 --> 00:36:58.320 maybe thirty forty million dollars on their roster, and whatever 775 00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:00.679 the exact number, it doesn't really matter. Like the takeaway 776 00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:03.639 is it's a lot, and it's more than most other programs, 777 00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:05.800 not just in the Big twelve, but it's among the 778 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:10.519 elite spenders in college football. So that's gonna that's gonna 779 00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:13.239 help you out. The scheme and all that stuff matters too, 780 00:37:13.320 --> 00:37:14.920 But the talent, at the end of the day is 781 00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:17.119 the most important aspect of winning football games. 782 00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:18.079 And so for me, I. 783 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:20.280 Would probably pick Texas Tech as as a favorite. And 784 00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:23.239 then you know, confidence level on that like not a lot, 785 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:26.239 because again there's just this is just so hard to premit. 786 00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:29.519 All right, before I say you loose, let's talk about 787 00:37:29.599 --> 00:37:32.800 and unpack what you wrote concerning you know, and thank 788 00:37:32.840 --> 00:37:35.639 you for not writing about Bill Belichick and Jordan Hudson. 789 00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:37.440 I don't really need to read about that. Anymore. 790 00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:41.119 But you did write about Bill Belichick, you know, obviously no. 791 00:37:41.119 --> 00:37:42.320 Longer in pro football. 792 00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:45.079 He's moved to the College of Ranks of Carolina, And 793 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:48.400 you wrote about a coach that people around here know, 794 00:37:48.480 --> 00:37:51.360 of course, and Bill Walsh, and kind of drew a 795 00:37:51.400 --> 00:37:54.760 parallel between how this could how this could look for Belichick. 796 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:56.440 So I want you on pack what you wrote. 797 00:37:56.440 --> 00:37:58.760 And then I'm wondering if you think we will see 798 00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:02.280 more coaches maybe tried this path if the NFL door 799 00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:04.280 closes now that things are a little bit different in 800 00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:06.519 the college game, that feels a little bit more professional. 801 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:09.239 Yeah, So it's the. 802 00:38:09.159 --> 00:38:11.840 Servisult for all, a lot of fun to report. I 803 00:38:11.880 --> 00:38:14.480 grew up in the barriers, you know, and like follow 804 00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:16.639 the forty nine Ers dynasty and all of that. Bill 805 00:38:16.679 --> 00:38:18.360 Walsh is just kind of a legend. I mean the 806 00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:20.280 legend everywhere, but certainly here in the Bay area. And 807 00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:21.719 so they have a chance to talk with a bunch 808 00:38:21.719 --> 00:38:24.679 of coaches and players who were on his Stanford team 809 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:27.480 in ninety two. Was just a funny assignment for me 810 00:38:27.519 --> 00:38:30.400 to do. It's it's the parallels are are pretty cool. 811 00:38:30.440 --> 00:38:34.360 It's this guy who oversaw dynasty, coached the best quarterback 812 00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:36.480 in the NFL in NFL history at that point in 813 00:38:36.519 --> 00:38:40.840 Joe Montana and the steps aside reasons are different, and 814 00:38:40.840 --> 00:38:43.280 then decides he wants to get back into coaching and 815 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:45.760 returns to college football. He had, you know, he had 816 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:47.559 been the coach at Stanford before. So it's not the 817 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:49.800 same as Belichick going to the college game for the 818 00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:52.280 first time, but it is the same that you have 819 00:38:53.079 --> 00:38:57.199 the guy who is essentially the defining genius of the 820 00:38:57.280 --> 00:39:01.840 sport schematically at the I'm you know, becoming a college 821 00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:05.559 football coach and trying to you know, reverse engineer what 822 00:39:05.639 --> 00:39:08.599 he did in the NFL for the college level. They 823 00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:10.760 had a really good year in ninety two. They finished 824 00:39:10.840 --> 00:39:13.280 ranked in the top ten, which is obviously very difficult 825 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:15.360 to do at Stanford. I have a lot of really 826 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:19.000 good anecdotes and stories in my piece that published today. 827 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:21.159 You know, Tom Holmo, that you know, just obviously set 828 00:39:21.239 --> 00:39:25.480 down as the idea of BYU recently had a few 829 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:28.039 of those. I mean, he talked about getting a call 830 00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:30.519 from Walsh we played for with the forty nine ers. 831 00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:32.840 He had just finished two years as a as a 832 00:39:32.840 --> 00:39:35.760 grad assistant at BYU. He's trying to break into the 833 00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:38.719 next stage of his life, and Walsh calls the BYU 834 00:39:38.840 --> 00:39:42.440 facility in nineteen ninety at the end of ninety one 835 00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:47.440 or early ninety two, maybe January of ninety two, tells Tom, Hey, 836 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:50.599 I'm going to Stanford and you're coming with me something 837 00:39:50.679 --> 00:39:53.480 like that, right, And Tom's like, okay, great. He calls 838 00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:55.800 his wife and she's asking them all sorts of questions 839 00:39:55.880 --> 00:39:58.119 like how much he getting paid, what position are you coaching? 840 00:39:58.159 --> 00:40:00.320 All these things. HEAs, I don't know, I have no idea. 841 00:40:00.639 --> 00:40:02.760 I didn't I didn't ask him many of those questions. 842 00:40:02.760 --> 00:40:05.760 But it's Bill Walsh. It's my first job, full first 843 00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:08.159 full time job, you know, after playing for football. I'm 844 00:40:08.199 --> 00:40:11.159 gonna take it. He tells another story about going down 845 00:40:11.199 --> 00:40:14.840 to Louisiana on a recruiting trip with Walsh, and there 846 00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:17.360 it's the small town in Louisiana. They're after this big 847 00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:20.800 time defensive back, and the high school coach parades them 848 00:40:20.840 --> 00:40:23.679 around town, stopping by all the establishments. Eventually it takes 849 00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:25.000 into a restaurant for dinner. 850 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:25.440 That night. 851 00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:30.480 They're sitting at this long dining table and it's roped off, 852 00:40:30.760 --> 00:40:32.440 and so they sit down for dinner and then the 853 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:35.639 restaurant fills up with people. There's people standing five deep 854 00:40:35.679 --> 00:40:38.840 in the restaurant just to watch Bill Walsh have dinner 855 00:40:38.960 --> 00:40:41.480 at this small town in Louisiana with with with Tom 856 00:40:41.519 --> 00:40:44.920 Holmo next to him as this rookie, as this rookie 857 00:40:45.199 --> 00:40:46.559 college football assistant coach. 858 00:40:46.679 --> 00:40:47.239 There's a bunch of. 859 00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:49.039 Other stuff that's really fine and cool. So I would 860 00:40:49.480 --> 00:40:51.360 I would encourage people to go check that out. And 861 00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:53.239 so it's up on ESPN dot com right now. 862 00:40:53.320 --> 00:40:55.760 Well, good stuff as always, Kyle, thanks for the time today, man, 863 00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:56.559 have a good week, all. 864 00:40:56.480 --> 00:40:57.400 Right, Sure thing? 865 00:40:57.440 --> 00:40:57.719 All right? 866 00:40:58.079 --> 00:40:58.360 All right? 867 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:01.880 Kyle Bonner girl covers college ball for ESPN. Consistent guest 868 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:05.599 on the show at Bonnagura, ESPN is where you find him. 869 00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:09.159 Next on the Drive, Tim McMahon dropping dimes for your 870 00:41:09.280 --> 00:41:11.000 NBA daily assists. 871 00:41:12.920 --> 00:41:19.719 Van McMahon Banman. That is in all the land. Textis 872 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:22.039 flood as tickets Mud. 873 00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:23.400 He's and Man. 874 00:41:26.039 --> 00:41:27.960 McMahon Banman. 875 00:41:28.639 --> 00:41:30.159 Then Man. 876 00:41:40.239 --> 00:41:46.000 Day two NBA Free Agency. Nothing today regarding the Utah 877 00:41:46.079 --> 00:41:48.800 Jazz at least officially, but my goodness. 878 00:41:49.239 --> 00:41:51.360 A lot of movement, a lot of movement. 879 00:41:51.400 --> 00:41:54.000 Our next guest joins us on a weekly basis, who 880 00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:57.840 collective ESPN Our guide Tim mcmon Tim, Happy Tuesday, man. 881 00:41:57.840 --> 00:41:58.320 How are we doing. 882 00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:00.679 I'm doing all right? 883 00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:01.280 How about you? 884 00:42:01.400 --> 00:42:03.119 We're good, We're good. I guess we found out where 885 00:42:03.119 --> 00:42:04.599 the market is for Colin Sexton. 886 00:42:04.760 --> 00:42:10.159 Isy. Yeah. That I would say was a rather underwhelming 887 00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:14.639 trade for the Jazz, having to give up a second 888 00:42:14.719 --> 00:42:17.480 round pick along with Colin Secton to get a big 889 00:42:17.519 --> 00:42:21.400 man who's bounced trying to leave less than ideal. But 890 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:25.800 I do think that it accomplishes a couple of goals 891 00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:27.960 for the Jazz, and that would be one to open 892 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:33.280 up minutes for their young guards and two to put 893 00:42:33.280 --> 00:42:34.920 a product on the floor next year that's going to 894 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:37.079 protect their top eight protected pick. 895 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:41.880 And in addition, they essentially waved Jordan Clarkson. It was 896 00:42:41.880 --> 00:42:44.559 technically a buyout, and the buyout saved the Jazz a 897 00:42:44.599 --> 00:42:48.360 little bit of cash. And then Jordan, according to you 898 00:42:48.400 --> 00:42:50.920 guys over at ESPN, plans to signed with the Knicks 899 00:42:50.960 --> 00:42:53.719 when he clears waivers. And for the past couple of years, 900 00:42:54.159 --> 00:42:56.280 everybody around here loves him, as you know, but he's 901 00:42:56.280 --> 00:42:59.159 just not the player that he was when he won 902 00:42:59.239 --> 00:43:01.440 six Man of the Year under Quinn. Because where none 903 00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:03.280 of us are as young as we used to be. 904 00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:05.800 So your thoughts on the decision to move on from 905 00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:06.639 Jordan Clarkson. 906 00:43:07.440 --> 00:43:10.440 Yeah, and look, man, you know Clarkson had to basically 907 00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:15.079 sit out last season. I think that it was the 908 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:17.360 right thing to do to let him get to a 909 00:43:17.360 --> 00:43:22.599 competitive situation. Clearly, if there was a robust trademarket for him, 910 00:43:22.639 --> 00:43:26.079 he would have been gone already. So instead of letting 911 00:43:26.079 --> 00:43:29.519 that drag out, they let him go before free agcing 912 00:43:29.599 --> 00:43:32.280 got started, and he found a home in New York. 913 00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:35.159 And it's the first clutch client to go to the 914 00:43:35.239 --> 00:43:38.679 Knicks in quite some time. Honestly, if there's a surprise involved, 915 00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:40.559 it's if the Knicks took on a clutch client. But 916 00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:44.760 hopefully Clarkson can go there, and obviously I'll have a 917 00:43:44.840 --> 00:43:47.199 limited role off the batch bit. Hopefully we can give 918 00:43:47.239 --> 00:43:49.599 him a little jolt of some offense off the bench 919 00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:52.679 and it's a good situation for all involved. But him 920 00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:55.400 sticking around in Utah for another years didn't make sense 921 00:43:55.400 --> 00:43:56.000 for anybody. 922 00:43:56.239 --> 00:43:58.519 You have an accurate frame of reference. 923 00:43:58.559 --> 00:43:58.719 You know. 924 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:03.280 It's interesting because Jordan is the longest tenured jazz man 925 00:44:03.360 --> 00:44:06.719 and the only holdover from the Dennis Lindsay Quinn Snyder group, 926 00:44:07.159 --> 00:44:11.320 and it seems like throughout this four year pivot rebuild, 927 00:44:11.719 --> 00:44:14.079 you know, wins and losses, it's the worst that it's 928 00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:16.719 ever been around here. He's kind of been the locker 929 00:44:16.800 --> 00:44:18.599 room vibe guy. It feels like a lot of people 930 00:44:18.679 --> 00:44:20.559 are actually pretty sad to see him go. Do you 931 00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:22.920 have any context or frame of reference for what he's 932 00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:24.440 meant to that organization? 933 00:44:25.559 --> 00:44:28.800 I mean, finally somebody who's interacting with Jordan Clarkson who 934 00:44:28.800 --> 00:44:29.599 doesn't like the guy. 935 00:44:29.719 --> 00:44:30.480 Sure, yeah, you. 936 00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:35.159 Know, like I mean, he's just he vibes is the 937 00:44:35.199 --> 00:44:39.320 right word. And he's also part of the one of 938 00:44:39.360 --> 00:44:44.800 the funnier Will Hardy stories that I can recall, and 939 00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:46.920 that's you know, Will Hardy comes in obviously it's his 940 00:44:46.920 --> 00:44:49.440 first head coaching job, and he's got some base schools 941 00:44:49.440 --> 00:44:52.239 that he wants to instill in. One of those rules 942 00:44:52.320 --> 00:44:56.280 is no jewelry of practice. And then Jordan Clarkson shows 943 00:44:56.320 --> 00:44:58.719 up and he's got diamonds and bended in his teeth, 944 00:44:59.760 --> 00:45:01.960 and and you know, Will had to kind of think 945 00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:04.559 about that and it's like, is that jewelry? Is that 946 00:45:04.639 --> 00:45:07.440 a violation of the rule? And then he just decided 947 00:45:07.480 --> 00:45:10.519 not to enforce no jewelry to practice for real quite 948 00:45:10.519 --> 00:45:10.920 as hard. 949 00:45:12.559 --> 00:45:15.440 Yeah, and it's it's just been interesting to see, you know, 950 00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:17.880 the social reaction and talk to a lot of people 951 00:45:18.400 --> 00:45:20.440 that kind of felt like this was the end of 952 00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:23.079 an era because he was the only holdover. But it's 953 00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:24.960 been a minute since we've had you on, so we 954 00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:26.400 get to talk to you about a couple of different 955 00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:28.960 jazz topics that have already gone down, and that is namely, 956 00:45:29.039 --> 00:45:32.360 Ace Bailey was the selection at five. And you know 957 00:45:32.440 --> 00:45:34.960 a lot of reporting and I certainly can't coroborate any 958 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:37.840 of it that maybe Ace's camp did not prefer Utah, 959 00:45:38.039 --> 00:45:40.320 there was a and we had your buddy Tim Bontemps 960 00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:42.960 on yesterday, so we unpacked this stuff. There was a 961 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:46.159 report from Tim and others at ESPN that his camp 962 00:45:46.199 --> 00:45:49.079 had told somebody in the top five not to draft him. Uh, 963 00:45:49.199 --> 00:45:52.039 clearly it wasn't the jazz. I thought, Brad, Actually we'll 964 00:45:52.039 --> 00:45:55.239 get to wal Clayton Junior in a minute. But Austin ainge, 965 00:45:55.320 --> 00:45:57.480 you know, you know, I kind of like, I don't 966 00:45:57.519 --> 00:45:59.440 know if this is the dynamic, but whether or not 967 00:45:59.480 --> 00:46:01.639 East want to be here. Austin just said well, we 968 00:46:01.679 --> 00:46:04.480 think you're the best player, so we're taking you. He 969 00:46:04.559 --> 00:46:06.960 reported on time, he could not have been better for 970 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:10.000 the pressure, and he is ready to go. So your 971 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:13.159 thoughts on the Jazz taking as Bailey at five, I. 972 00:46:13.159 --> 00:46:16.760 Mean, listen, the indications certainly were that he would prefer 973 00:46:17.239 --> 00:46:21.920 to go to Washington. He he did not send out 974 00:46:22.000 --> 00:46:25.960 the message that he was good was going to Utah. 975 00:46:26.159 --> 00:46:30.599 I think the communication after the pick was very spotty, 976 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:32.920 to put it politely, for a little bit there. But 977 00:46:33.559 --> 00:46:36.119 to your point, he showed up. He showed up ready 978 00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:39.519 to work. And it seems to me that he's gotten 979 00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:44.719 over wanting to kind of choose his destination in the draft, 980 00:46:44.800 --> 00:46:47.519 which is just not the way the draft works. He's 981 00:46:47.559 --> 00:46:50.480 going to get plenty Like listen, if he wants to 982 00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:54.000 be a star, he's going to have that opportunity in Utah. 983 00:46:54.039 --> 00:46:56.679 There's going to be plenty of opportunity for him, you know, 984 00:46:56.719 --> 00:46:58.800 to get shots, to have the ball in his hands, 985 00:46:59.559 --> 00:47:03.280 you know, to be developed and and so you know, 986 00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:06.599 life could be a lot worse. I think this is 987 00:47:06.639 --> 00:47:10.079 actually a really good situation for him, and you know 988 00:47:10.239 --> 00:47:12.480 he's not He didn't show up pouting, he didn't show 989 00:47:12.519 --> 00:47:14.599 up whining and crying or anything of that. Like I said, 990 00:47:14.599 --> 00:47:17.719 it seems like whatever disappointment there might have been on 991 00:47:17.800 --> 00:47:20.239 his end, he got over it, and he showed up 992 00:47:20.239 --> 00:47:21.960 ready to go to work and ready to be a pro, 993 00:47:22.079 --> 00:47:27.760 and that's all he can ask. You know. I think 994 00:47:28.239 --> 00:47:31.480 at some point he's going to have to really consider 995 00:47:31.679 --> 00:47:36.280 who he's listening to for advice and what their credentials are. 996 00:47:37.719 --> 00:47:42.840 It's it's very easy to be a teenage kid and 997 00:47:43.159 --> 00:47:45.679 have the wrong people in your ear and get steered 998 00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:49.639 down the wrong path. So hopefully he's going to be 999 00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:52.800 able to evaluate that and make some clear head decisions 1000 00:47:52.800 --> 00:47:56.840 about what voices he's valuing that are in his ear 1001 00:47:58.039 --> 00:48:02.079 and move forward. But hey, shut up, ready to go 1002 00:48:02.119 --> 00:48:04.239 to work and looking forward to seeing him in the 1003 00:48:04.320 --> 00:48:05.480 saw Lake City Semmer League. 1004 00:48:05.519 --> 00:48:06.880 Yeah, good point about the reps. 1005 00:48:06.880 --> 00:48:09.760 And I've been very adamant to remind the listeners that 1006 00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:11.840 this is an eighteen year old young man who is 1007 00:48:11.880 --> 00:48:14.440 surrounded by people who appeared to have never done this 1008 00:48:14.559 --> 00:48:17.440 job before, so they're also learning on the fly. One 1009 00:48:17.519 --> 00:48:20.199 follow up, have you been able to kind of learn 1010 00:48:20.519 --> 00:48:23.760 the reasoning that he canceled all of his workouts? I mean, 1011 00:48:23.800 --> 00:48:27.119 typically your antenna goes up and you think, Okay, he's 1012 00:48:27.119 --> 00:48:30.320 been promised, and then he cancels Philly and you're like, wait, 1013 00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:33.920 he hasn't been promised at one or two. So maybe 1014 00:48:33.960 --> 00:48:37.280 Washington did have their eyes on him, and maybe they 1015 00:48:37.320 --> 00:48:39.039 take him at six if the Jazz don't take him 1016 00:48:39.039 --> 00:48:41.159 at five. But have you been able to learn why 1017 00:48:41.199 --> 00:48:43.119 he's canceled all of his workouts? 1018 00:48:43.719 --> 00:48:46.039 I don't have direct information that I can tell you. 1019 00:48:46.079 --> 00:48:48.440 The belief throughout the league is that he wanted to 1020 00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:51.159 go to Washington, and Washington wanted him to go there, gotcha, 1021 00:48:51.320 --> 00:48:54.320 So you know, take that for what it's worth. Like 1022 00:48:54.320 --> 00:48:56.719 I said, I can't sit here and tell you absolutely 1023 00:48:56.760 --> 00:48:59.719 positively that's one hundred percent true. I can just tell 1024 00:48:59.719 --> 00:49:01.679 you that that's what people around the league believed to 1025 00:49:01.679 --> 00:49:02.079 be true. 1026 00:49:02.320 --> 00:49:06.360 So I'm a little conflicted here because if Walt, and 1027 00:49:06.400 --> 00:49:08.280 by the way, it's Walt he told us as an 1028 00:49:08.280 --> 00:49:11.119 introductory press conference, it's not Walter. He wants us to 1029 00:49:11.159 --> 00:49:12.920 call him Walt, So I'll call him what he wants 1030 00:49:13.039 --> 00:49:16.039 us to call him. Like if Austin Ainge and the 1031 00:49:16.119 --> 00:49:19.239 Jazz staff identified him as their guy, go get them. 1032 00:49:19.280 --> 00:49:22.039 I have no issue with it. Then you think, okay, 1033 00:49:22.320 --> 00:49:25.920 you traded twenty one and three second rounders to only 1034 00:49:25.960 --> 00:49:28.719 move up three spots, which is not nothing. But again, 1035 00:49:28.800 --> 00:49:30.960 if he's the guy, go get them right. So your 1036 00:49:30.960 --> 00:49:33.880 thoughts on the trade they executed to go draft Wall 1037 00:49:33.960 --> 00:49:34.639 Clayton Junior. 1038 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:38.039 Yeah, I mean, if they're right, you're not gonna worry 1039 00:49:38.039 --> 00:49:41.599 about the second round picks down the road. And they 1040 00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:45.360 really liked this guy, and you know, I mean it's 1041 00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:48.679 funny because in a lot of ways he's the polar 1042 00:49:48.760 --> 00:49:52.119 opposite of Ace Bailey in terms of a prospect. You know, 1043 00:49:52.199 --> 00:49:56.880 Ace Bailey is all about lot talent and potential, and 1044 00:49:56.920 --> 00:50:00.480 he was this, you know, like five star recruit coming out, 1045 00:50:00.760 --> 00:50:04.400 was pegged as a top lottery pick. You know, when 1046 00:50:04.400 --> 00:50:07.679 he's sixteen years old, all those kind of things were 1047 00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:10.800 old Walt. You know, he's a guy who he went 1048 00:50:10.840 --> 00:50:13.119 to Sienna and he got screamed at by a Patino 1049 00:50:13.199 --> 00:50:15.559 for a couple of years, came off the benches freshman year. 1050 00:50:16.079 --> 00:50:18.199 You know, I had to earn a starting spot there. 1051 00:50:18.519 --> 00:50:22.119 Patino leaves, transfers to Florida. You know, four year guy, 1052 00:50:22.760 --> 00:50:25.960 a total winner in college where obviously you know, Rutgers 1053 00:50:25.960 --> 00:50:28.239 with with Bailey and Harper didn't win last year, won 1054 00:50:28.280 --> 00:50:32.840 a championship at Florida. You know, comes comes to Utah 1055 00:50:33.280 --> 00:50:36.840 obviously much more mature, you know what I mean, just older, 1056 00:50:37.000 --> 00:50:42.840 more mature, more experience, an adult, approven winner who doesn't 1057 00:50:42.880 --> 00:50:46.719 necessarily have that jump off the page, you know, the measurables, 1058 00:50:46.800 --> 00:50:51.320 the athleticism, all that kind of thing. But there's there 1059 00:50:51.360 --> 00:50:54.920 are you know, I've seen them compared to Brunson. Not 1060 00:50:54.920 --> 00:50:58.519 not identical as players, certainly, but in terms of some 1061 00:50:58.599 --> 00:51:00.360 of the background stuff very learn. 1062 00:51:01.440 --> 00:51:03.360 All Right, I'm not going to ask you about sphem 1063 00:51:03.480 --> 00:51:05.960 kay Luke's contract being picked up, So let's move over 1064 00:51:06.039 --> 00:51:08.119 to what could be next for the Jazz. And the 1065 00:51:08.159 --> 00:51:10.480 one name that I think everybody's honed in on now 1066 00:51:10.599 --> 00:51:13.800 is John Collins with a twenty six point five million 1067 00:51:13.840 --> 00:51:14.920 dollar expiring deal. 1068 00:51:15.360 --> 00:51:17.360 It was not expiring last year, it is now. 1069 00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:19.559 And you know, there's an argument to be made that 1070 00:51:19.719 --> 00:51:21.639 the season he had last year may have been his 1071 00:51:21.719 --> 00:51:24.280 best as a pro, or maybe second to the season 1072 00:51:24.280 --> 00:51:27.800 he had before he's got his big contract. And I 1073 00:51:28.159 --> 00:51:30.159 don't know, Tim, I feel like every time I pull 1074 00:51:30.239 --> 00:51:32.599 up some sort of rumor site or see a tweet, 1075 00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:36.320 regarding the Jazz potential next move, it lands on John 1076 00:51:36.440 --> 00:51:37.920 any inside on what could be next there. 1077 00:51:39.360 --> 00:51:42.519 Well, he is certainly available in the trade market, but 1078 00:51:43.679 --> 00:51:47.480 so was Colin Sexton. Obviously Clarkson was for a while. 1079 00:51:47.559 --> 00:51:50.920 I don't know that he would be a buyout candidate, 1080 00:51:51.000 --> 00:51:54.880 but you know, it would make sense if there's nothing 1081 00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:58.400 that is appealing in the trade market. I did, and 1082 00:51:58.719 --> 00:52:00.880 you know, look could be traded. I don't think you're 1083 00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:04.199 going to get a significant hale in return. If that 1084 00:52:04.280 --> 00:52:07.000 was the case, you probably would have already happened, or 1085 00:52:07.320 --> 00:52:11.199 it would have happened midway through last season. But you know, certainly, 1086 00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:15.119 I think we all understand that where the Jazz are 1087 00:52:15.199 --> 00:52:19.800 and they're rebuild, where Collins is in his career, that 1088 00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:23.760 Collins being in Utah this year probably isn't in anybody's 1089 00:52:23.800 --> 00:52:24.440 best interest. 1090 00:52:24.880 --> 00:52:26.679 Well said, all right, we can move off the Jazz. 1091 00:52:26.760 --> 00:52:29.559 Let's talk about some Western Conference teams that have really, 1092 00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:33.519 in my estimation, done an excellent job of I don't know, 1093 00:52:33.599 --> 00:52:36.480 closing the gap between themselves and Okay, so you're just 1094 00:52:36.480 --> 00:52:38.159 taking a step forward. So I'm just going to ask 1095 00:52:38.199 --> 00:52:39.719 you about a team and I just want your thoughts. 1096 00:52:39.800 --> 00:52:41.480 Let's start with the Houston Rockets. 1097 00:52:42.239 --> 00:52:44.719 Yeah, obviously starting with a KD trade that that was 1098 00:52:44.760 --> 00:52:49.559 a big swing, a win now move. That that's a 1099 00:52:49.599 --> 00:52:52.679 move you make that said, hey, we're serious about contending 1100 00:52:52.760 --> 00:52:56.519 right now. They're able to do it without really shortening 1101 00:52:56.599 --> 00:53:00.320 their runaway all. You know, jayman Green got moved in 1102 00:53:00.320 --> 00:53:03.559 the trade, but he's probably fourth, fifth, sixth in terms 1103 00:53:03.599 --> 00:53:05.920 of the young guys that were most important in the 1104 00:53:05.920 --> 00:53:09.599 future of the franchise. And then I'll be honest with 1105 00:53:09.559 --> 00:53:11.880 you that the Capella thing kind of caught me off guard. 1106 00:53:12.360 --> 00:53:14.760 They want to be able to have two bigs available 1107 00:53:14.800 --> 00:53:16.920 at all times, and obviously Steven Mavams going to miss 1108 00:53:16.960 --> 00:53:21.039 some time. Finney Smith though, here's the thing. The Rockets 1109 00:53:21.159 --> 00:53:24.360 both went out and drastically upgraded the go to guy. 1110 00:53:24.440 --> 00:53:26.960 They got a Hall of Fame go to guy, and 1111 00:53:27.000 --> 00:53:29.360 they also leaned into the style of play that they 1112 00:53:29.360 --> 00:53:35.199 want that big, just nasty, rough, physical defense, rebound, all 1113 00:53:35.239 --> 00:53:38.440 that kind of stuff, bringing in Phinney Smith, bringing in Capella. 1114 00:53:38.599 --> 00:53:41.079 So I think they're the second best team in the 1115 00:53:41.079 --> 00:53:41.960 Western Conference. 1116 00:53:42.760 --> 00:53:44.719 That's actually where I was going to ask you, because 1117 00:53:44.800 --> 00:53:47.000 Vegas has them as two now, but he answered it. 1118 00:53:47.079 --> 00:53:49.440 So let's move on and let me let me ask 1119 00:53:49.440 --> 00:53:51.400 you about what the Nuggets are doing, and just coming 1120 00:53:51.400 --> 00:53:54.280 across the wires, they've added another rotational piece. And I 1121 00:53:54.280 --> 00:53:56.679 don't know that I'm a huge Tim Hardaway junior guy, 1122 00:53:56.760 --> 00:53:58.960 but you could do worse for like your ninth or 1123 00:53:58.960 --> 00:54:00.480 tenth man. But what do you make of the way 1124 00:54:00.480 --> 00:54:02.159 they've gone about their off season so far? 1125 00:54:03.119 --> 00:54:03.280 Yeah? 1126 00:54:03.360 --> 00:54:07.440 I really liked what they did in terms of like 1127 00:54:07.559 --> 00:54:11.079 the short term with Michael Porter junior, trading him for 1128 00:54:11.719 --> 00:54:14.199 Cam Johnson now, but twenty thirty two pick could end 1129 00:54:14.280 --> 00:54:16.440 up being a steep price. That's a steep price after 1130 00:54:16.599 --> 00:54:21.559 Jokers prime. To me, you got a comfortable player, It's 1131 00:54:21.599 --> 00:54:25.079 not an upgrade, probably a more versatile, well rounded player, 1132 00:54:25.719 --> 00:54:29.079 and you saved a ton of money which created flexibility. 1133 00:54:29.199 --> 00:54:31.840 And then you know, I thought they might just try 1134 00:54:31.880 --> 00:54:34.480 to dust the tax, but they brought him, you know, 1135 00:54:34.599 --> 00:54:37.559 to Saling Tunas today. You know Hardley's a minimum guy, 1136 00:54:37.679 --> 00:54:40.679 but you know Bruce Brown coming back to the minimum. 1137 00:54:40.719 --> 00:54:45.039 I mean those are between Valan Tunas, Bruce Brown and Hardaway. 1138 00:54:45.039 --> 00:54:48.400 Those are three proven vets for the bench. And if 1139 00:54:49.679 --> 00:54:52.360 you know, if one of the young guys like plays 1140 00:54:52.360 --> 00:54:55.480 hardly have a spot in rotation. Great, but it's not 1141 00:54:56.400 --> 00:55:00.360 you know, the volume movement, shooters around jokers not a 1142 00:55:00.400 --> 00:55:01.360 bad thing to have. 1143 00:55:02.599 --> 00:55:02.960 All right. 1144 00:55:03.360 --> 00:55:05.719 Not a jazz story, but a local story is Dame 1145 00:55:05.800 --> 00:55:08.679 Lillard plays played his college ball up north of Weaver State, 1146 00:55:09.360 --> 00:55:12.400 and you know, when you see the news, the optics 1147 00:55:12.400 --> 00:55:14.559 are like, wait, how do you cut Dame Lillard? 1148 00:55:14.559 --> 00:55:16.079 How do you cut Damian Lillard? Like? 1149 00:55:16.440 --> 00:55:19.639 And then optically, that's not a great look for who 1150 00:55:19.800 --> 00:55:22.000 Dame is historically is a Hall of Fame player. But 1151 00:55:22.559 --> 00:55:25.000 he will get his money and he will decide where 1152 00:55:25.039 --> 00:55:27.719 the either the final or the next stands of his 1153 00:55:27.840 --> 00:55:30.800 NBA career will take place. As a result of the 1154 00:55:30.840 --> 00:55:33.679 deal that Milwaukee made to stretch him, they bring in 1155 00:55:33.719 --> 00:55:36.960 Miles Turner, which is an interesting dynamic because, as you know, 1156 00:55:37.039 --> 00:55:40.039 the Bucks and the Pacers aren't necessarily the best of friends. 1157 00:55:40.039 --> 00:55:42.840 So what do you make of how Milwaukee went about this. 1158 00:55:44.639 --> 00:55:48.760 Massive blow to the Indiana Pacers. Obviously I get the 1159 00:55:48.800 --> 00:55:52.159 fit of Turner with the honest Turners, basically a younger 1160 00:55:52.199 --> 00:55:59.760 Springer version of Brook Lopez. I understand like the logic 1161 00:56:00.039 --> 00:56:03.559 behind the waving stretch with Dane. He's going to miss 1162 00:56:03.599 --> 00:56:05.559 all next season you don't know what he's gonna be 1163 00:56:05.559 --> 00:56:08.760 when he comes back. Tell you who that man paint 1164 00:56:08.760 --> 00:56:11.920 a guy one hundred and thirteen million dollars to go away, 1165 00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:16.320 that's who. That's tough. And basically the Dame trade ended 1166 00:56:16.400 --> 00:56:19.480 up being a disaster for Milwaukee. You know, they're still 1167 00:56:19.480 --> 00:56:23.840 out draft capital in the future. It didn't produce a 1168 00:56:23.880 --> 00:56:27.920 single playoff series victory, and now he's on their books 1169 00:56:27.920 --> 00:56:29.559 for the next five years at twenty two and a 1170 00:56:29.599 --> 00:56:34.159 half million per I get it. I don't think that 1171 00:56:34.519 --> 00:56:38.800 bringing the Miles Turner just vaults the Bucks in the 1172 00:56:38.880 --> 00:56:44.239 contender status. And he likes Kevin Porter junior starting point guard. 1173 00:56:44.320 --> 00:56:46.880 They still got something to figure out there. I'm not 1174 00:56:46.920 --> 00:56:48.599 sure what that answer is going to be, but they're 1175 00:56:48.599 --> 00:56:51.119 going to need a better answer than that. And as 1176 00:56:51.119 --> 00:56:54.679 far as Dan goes like it's you know, it's a 1177 00:56:54.679 --> 00:56:57.320 little smudge on his resume, but if he never scores 1178 00:56:57.360 --> 00:56:59.960 another point, he's a Hall of Famer and for him, 1179 00:57:00.079 --> 00:57:02.280 he gets his money. And it's not like he wanted 1180 00:57:02.320 --> 00:57:04.679 to be in Milwaukee. He'd made the best of a 1181 00:57:04.719 --> 00:57:07.559 situation he did not want to be in. So now 1182 00:57:07.639 --> 00:57:09.960 he gets to choose his next spot and he gets 1183 00:57:09.960 --> 00:57:13.199 to choose. You know, probably does he want to sign 1184 00:57:13.280 --> 00:57:15.199 with somebody this year in a two year deal and 1185 00:57:15.280 --> 00:57:17.920 rehab under their watch, or does he want to kind 1186 00:57:17.920 --> 00:57:21.960 of play it out, rehab on his own and be 1187 00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:25.320 able to evaluate the situation. You know, maybe he's in 1188 00:57:25.400 --> 00:57:28.960 late this season or next summer. So my understanding is 1189 00:57:29.039 --> 00:57:31.840 Dame is not heartbroken about this development. 1190 00:57:32.199 --> 00:57:35.480 Only because I've been asked ten times today and I 1191 00:57:35.519 --> 00:57:37.840 believe the answer is emphatically no, because I don't think 1192 00:57:37.880 --> 00:57:40.920 it makes sense for either side. But every time anybody 1193 00:57:41.000 --> 00:57:43.360 with a local tie who is good becomes available, a 1194 00:57:43.440 --> 00:57:45.440 lot of people out here says, Okay, the jaz should 1195 00:57:45.440 --> 00:57:48.239 go get him. There's not anything that makes sense about 1196 00:57:48.320 --> 00:57:49.719 Dame Lillard to the Jazz, right. 1197 00:57:51.079 --> 00:57:53.599 The Jazz just bought out Jordan Clarks and then traded 1198 00:57:53.639 --> 00:57:57.800 Colin Section for I'm not very good player to open 1199 00:57:57.880 --> 00:58:02.440 up minutes for these young guys that they've a And yeah, 1200 00:58:02.960 --> 00:58:06.480 I mean that really doesn't First of all, forget about 1201 00:58:06.519 --> 00:58:08.239 it making sense for the Jazz, how does that make 1202 00:58:08.280 --> 00:58:11.440 sense for Damian Lillard. It doesn't like there's one thing 1203 00:58:11.559 --> 00:58:14.800 he really wants to do that's won a championship. At 1204 00:58:14.800 --> 00:58:18.039 this point in his career, and I don't think coming 1205 00:58:18.079 --> 00:58:20.800 to Utah as there in a rebuild would be a 1206 00:58:20.880 --> 00:58:21.719 very good route to that. 1207 00:58:21.920 --> 00:58:24.400 I just needed the Tim mcman approval for my opinion, 1208 00:58:24.440 --> 00:58:27.360 so I appreciate that. You know, a couple of weeks ago, 1209 00:58:27.440 --> 00:58:29.960 maybe a month ago, we were discussing just the potential 1210 00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:32.639 of Collin Sexton to Dallas because they needed a guard 1211 00:58:32.679 --> 00:58:35.679 while Kyrie got healthy. Well, they went a different direction. 1212 00:58:35.760 --> 00:58:40.039 The de Angelo Russell was the decision. And it's not 1213 00:58:40.119 --> 00:58:42.639 a bad value play, you know, because he's not going 1214 00:58:42.679 --> 00:58:44.199 to be a long term answer. But I'm going to 1215 00:58:44.280 --> 00:58:47.079 find this team really interesting this year. So I will 1216 00:58:47.119 --> 00:58:50.199 ask you about what this transaction says to you and 1217 00:58:50.239 --> 00:58:52.000 what you're expecting from the MAVs this year. 1218 00:58:52.760 --> 00:58:56.599 Yeah, and I think with Sexton is, look, the Hornets 1219 00:58:56.760 --> 00:59:01.159 had a salary of that size. They did not mind 1220 00:59:01.159 --> 00:59:04.199 at all parting with the Matticts. Wanted to keep all 1221 00:59:04.239 --> 00:59:06.519 the guys who were at that sort of a number. 1222 00:59:06.559 --> 00:59:11.119 So that's where that got, uh, you know, Wonkey and 1223 00:59:11.199 --> 00:59:15.159 dan Ta Russell. Look, Dangel on a max that he's 1224 00:59:15.159 --> 00:59:18.599 been on is a disaster. I mean it's a terrible 1225 00:59:18.679 --> 00:59:22.679 value tax payer mid level. Okay, you know, he's a 1226 00:59:22.719 --> 00:59:26.719 flawed player. He's not really a point guard. He's more 1227 00:59:26.760 --> 00:59:29.960 of a league guard. They're going to give Cooper Flag 1228 00:59:30.039 --> 00:59:32.719 every opportunity to prove that he can handle a lot 1229 00:59:32.719 --> 00:59:37.280 of the point duties as a rookie. And you know, basically, 1230 00:59:37.360 --> 00:59:40.599 Daniel Russell his jobs to come in to get buckets 1231 00:59:40.599 --> 00:59:43.599 in the starting lineups the first half the season and 1232 00:59:43.639 --> 00:59:46.320 then hopefully transition to a six man role when Kyrie 1233 00:59:46.320 --> 00:59:51.960 comes back. You know, it's it is a little tough 1234 00:59:52.800 --> 00:59:57.719 to make the Mantra defense wins championships kind of your 1235 00:59:57.760 --> 01:00:00.719 repeat line as a general manager, and then your most 1236 01:00:00.719 --> 01:00:04.000 significant moves of the off season, aside from drafting Hell 1237 01:00:04.079 --> 01:00:09.679 with dependent number one overall, is signing D'Angel Russell. But again, 1238 01:00:09.719 --> 01:00:13.400 this is a team that they needed shooting, they needed playmaking. 1239 01:00:14.440 --> 01:00:16.039 You know, they need a guy who can create his 1240 01:00:16.079 --> 01:00:19.440 own shot, and Deangel Russell can do all those things 1241 01:00:19.480 --> 01:00:22.440 that they at a price point where you're not going 1242 01:00:22.519 --> 01:00:25.519 to get at all. You know, if he was a 1243 01:00:25.719 --> 01:00:28.960 really good defender, he wouldn't be available at that price point. 1244 01:00:29.920 --> 01:00:32.400 I'm going to ask you about Lebron because I feel obligated, 1245 01:00:32.440 --> 01:00:35.400 but it's just kind of a weird story to understand 1246 01:00:35.440 --> 01:00:37.679 as far as how this thing is playing out. He 1247 01:00:37.800 --> 01:00:41.039 picked up his option fifty two point six, but he's 1248 01:00:41.039 --> 01:00:46.880 also monitoring what the Lakers do, contemplating his future. According 1249 01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:49.719 to several reports, I just feel like Lebron will be 1250 01:00:49.719 --> 01:00:52.119 playing for the Lakers next year next to Luka Doncic, 1251 01:00:52.159 --> 01:00:55.000 but they've got work to do via free agency that 1252 01:00:55.079 --> 01:00:57.400 they have not come close to being able to execute. 1253 01:00:57.440 --> 01:00:59.440 I don't know how much of this is new ownership, 1254 01:00:59.440 --> 01:01:02.280 but what's the what's the take on the Lebron Lakers stuff? 1255 01:01:03.000 --> 01:01:05.280 Well, and then Rich Paul went on the record with 1256 01:01:05.400 --> 01:01:12.440 a very like subject to interpretation type of statement, but 1257 01:01:13.360 --> 01:01:17.840 you know, essentially indicating them, Hey, Lebron's opting in for 1258 01:01:17.880 --> 01:01:19.719 the money and we'll figure out if he really wants 1259 01:01:19.760 --> 01:01:23.760 to be there. But they understand crazing the guy making 1260 01:01:23.840 --> 01:01:27.519 fifty two point six million dollars to his preferred destination 1261 01:01:27.760 --> 01:01:32.320 is not easy or in a lot of situations, is 1262 01:01:32.360 --> 01:01:37.239 not even really possible. But in part because if you're 1263 01:01:37.280 --> 01:01:40.159 going to trade a guy at that salary, a lot 1264 01:01:40.159 --> 01:01:41.639 of guys gonna have to come back, and then it 1265 01:01:41.719 --> 01:01:43.239 might not be a situation you want to be a 1266 01:01:43.239 --> 01:01:46.719 part of anymore. There are people around the league who 1267 01:01:46.719 --> 01:01:48.760 are like, is Lebron trying to bully his way to 1268 01:01:48.800 --> 01:01:52.760 a buyout from the Lakers, And if you're sitting in 1269 01:01:52.840 --> 01:01:56.199 Rob Lincoln jenie Buss's chair, the answer to that is 1270 01:01:56.239 --> 01:01:59.440 just sorry, No, we're paying fifty two point six million dollars. 1271 01:01:59.440 --> 01:02:02.199 You'll be playing basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers this year, 1272 01:02:02.719 --> 01:02:04.719 really looking forward to it, and then we're doing our 1273 01:02:04.760 --> 01:02:08.159 best upbade the roster. I'll see you when training camp starts. 1274 01:02:08.719 --> 01:02:10.159 Yeah, that's kind of how I read it as well, 1275 01:02:10.159 --> 01:02:12.159 all right, before I say you lose, you know, it 1276 01:02:12.199 --> 01:02:16.280 was interesting because Quinn had Nikhil Alexander Walker here and 1277 01:02:16.519 --> 01:02:18.960 didn't play him, and it felt like when he had 1278 01:02:19.000 --> 01:02:23.679 opportunities like Quinn just preferred Royce and I wasn't you know, 1279 01:02:23.920 --> 01:02:26.280 I wasn't entirely on board with it. But Quinn's the 1280 01:02:26.280 --> 01:02:28.679 coach and he knows more than I do. Well, he'll 1281 01:02:28.719 --> 01:02:31.760 have another opportunity to get to know him a little 1282 01:02:31.800 --> 01:02:34.079 bit and maybe it'll work out differently because he had 1283 01:02:34.119 --> 01:02:37.400 a great stretch of Minnesota. Luke Canard, in addition to 1284 01:02:37.800 --> 01:02:40.760 Kristaps Porzingis, the East is wide open and the Atlanta 1285 01:02:40.760 --> 01:02:42.360 Hawks might have something to say about it. 1286 01:02:43.239 --> 01:02:46.079 I'll be honest with you, I had completely forgotten that 1287 01:02:46.679 --> 01:02:53.039 Quinn very briefly had nikhil Alexander Walker in Utah. That 1288 01:02:53.239 --> 01:02:56.880 is interesting. I'm totally forgotten about that. Obviously, Royce O'Neil 1289 01:02:56.960 --> 01:03:00.480 was a proven commodity with somebody who'd earned Quinn's trust. 1290 01:03:00.519 --> 01:03:04.360 And the circumstances are much different because Alexander Walker has 1291 01:03:04.400 --> 01:03:07.639 proven himself as a high level role player, not just 1292 01:03:07.639 --> 01:03:09.280 a three and D guy, but a guy who can 1293 01:03:09.599 --> 01:03:12.119 you know, make some plays off the dribble, you know, initiate, 1294 01:03:12.159 --> 01:03:18.519 facilitate some and clearly was quite valued by the Atlanta Hawks. 1295 01:03:18.519 --> 01:03:21.239 I mean, you know, he's coming in sixty two million 1296 01:03:21.320 --> 01:03:23.039 over four years. And I agree with you. I think 1297 01:03:23.079 --> 01:03:25.559 the Hawks have had a heck of a summer in 1298 01:03:25.639 --> 01:03:27.920 a wide open Eastern Conference. I think they are the 1299 01:03:28.000 --> 01:03:31.760 most improved team. I think they've positioned themselves to, you know, 1300 01:03:31.800 --> 01:03:34.079 potentially have home court advantage in the first round. And 1301 01:03:34.639 --> 01:03:36.800 you know, you know, we can talk about the Knicks 1302 01:03:36.800 --> 01:03:38.559 and the and the Calves. Is the favorites in the 1303 01:03:38.559 --> 01:03:41.280 East going in the next year, but it's wide open 1304 01:03:41.320 --> 01:03:42.960 and the Hawks are one of the teams. I think 1305 01:03:42.960 --> 01:03:44.719 it positioned themselves to be in the mix. 1306 01:03:45.480 --> 01:03:47.519 Dam you're the man. Keep up the great work. It's 1307 01:03:47.519 --> 01:03:49.119 been a fun couple of days. Have a good week 1308 01:03:49.119 --> 01:03:49.840 and on chat. 1309 01:03:49.599 --> 01:03:51.360 Soon appreciate you, brother. 1310 01:03:51.519 --> 01:03:55.800 And McMahon covers the NBA for ESPN and he is 1311 01:03:55.880 --> 01:03:59.119 their jazz guy. When the Jazz are in a different 1312 01:03:59.199 --> 01:04:01.079 spot than they are right now, how we just how 1313 01:04:01.079 --> 01:04:02.199 about we just say it like that. 1314 01:04:02.880 --> 01:04:06.480 He's the pride of Norwich, Connecticut and an adopted son 1315 01:04:06.519 --> 01:04:09.920 of Salt Lake City. After forty years with the Utah Jazz, 1316 01:04:10.280 --> 01:04:13.880 there's no one better to talk some hoops. Richard Smitty 1317 01:04:13.920 --> 01:04:17.679 Smith is back on the Drive on ESPN seven hundred. 1318 01:04:18.000 --> 01:04:21.440 Well, little breaking news about a commit for Utah football 1319 01:04:21.519 --> 01:04:26.199 in twenty twenty six. Kelvin Obots the number nine overall 1320 01:04:26.199 --> 01:04:28.320 recruit in the twenty twenty six class. This kid is 1321 01:04:28.440 --> 01:04:33.039 legit offensive tackle. We'll see what that does to Utah's 1322 01:04:33.039 --> 01:04:35.840 recruiting rankings. Of course, that's not for two years. There's 1323 01:04:35.880 --> 01:04:38.000 still football left to be played before we get to 1324 01:04:38.000 --> 01:04:41.079 know these young men. It is day two of NBA 1325 01:04:41.199 --> 01:04:43.199 free agency. Wimbledon's going on. 1326 01:04:43.280 --> 01:04:44.000 It feels like a. 1327 01:04:43.920 --> 01:04:47.239 Great data Richard Smitty Smith Liven Studio. You've been catching 1328 01:04:47.239 --> 01:04:49.039 any of the tennis I have? 1329 01:04:49.119 --> 01:04:55.320 You know, the Wimbledon started Sunday and today earlier today, 1330 01:04:56.239 --> 01:04:59.920 Coco Golf number two seed and the women's singles draw 1331 01:05:00.440 --> 01:05:05.719 lost right after winning the Rolling Garros in Paris, and 1332 01:05:05.719 --> 01:05:08.239 and so it's a big, big loss on the women's 1333 01:05:08.239 --> 01:05:10.840 side right off the bat in the tournament. But that's 1334 01:05:10.840 --> 01:05:13.480 a big different spence between playing on clay and playing 1335 01:05:13.519 --> 01:05:17.480 on grass. It's a it's a major, major difference in 1336 01:05:17.800 --> 01:05:20.079 the way you play the game. And they they make 1337 01:05:20.119 --> 01:05:22.320 that transition all the time in the spring, you know, 1338 01:05:22.440 --> 01:05:25.599 from from the middle of June, you know, through the 1339 01:05:25.880 --> 01:05:29.840 through the middle of July and going on grass over 1340 01:05:29.880 --> 01:05:32.840 in Europe, and it's just it's a tougher game, it's 1341 01:05:32.880 --> 01:05:33.440 a different game. 1342 01:05:33.639 --> 01:05:36.159 Cocoa Goff became the third woman in the Open era 1343 01:05:36.239 --> 01:05:38.480 to lose in the first round at Wimbledon after winning 1344 01:05:38.480 --> 01:05:40.559 the championship of the French Open, So or a pretty 1345 01:05:40.639 --> 01:05:44.320 rare thing. Novak Djokovic just one his ninety ninth Wimbledon match, 1346 01:05:44.320 --> 01:05:46.559 which is third all time. So some fun tennis going 1347 01:05:46.599 --> 01:05:49.000 on over at Wimbledon. Is that your is Wimbledon your 1348 01:05:49.000 --> 01:05:51.039 favorite major championship. 1349 01:05:51.119 --> 01:05:53.920 Well, no, I mean I I enjoy I just enjoy 1350 01:05:54.000 --> 01:05:56.480 the tennis and you know it all. Had never been 1351 01:05:56.480 --> 01:06:01.880 to Wimbledon. My wife Linda's been there, and you know, 1352 01:06:02.000 --> 01:06:04.000 my brother in law and my nephew have been there. 1353 01:06:04.000 --> 01:06:06.880 And I've been to Australian Open and the US Open 1354 01:06:07.119 --> 01:06:10.239 a one hundred times over the because we go back 1355 01:06:10.280 --> 01:06:13.400 every year for the US Open, but Indian Wells of 1356 01:06:13.440 --> 01:06:16.159 course the last several years. But I haven't been to Wimbledon. 1357 01:06:16.199 --> 01:06:19.039 That's on my list, and I can never go Spence 1358 01:06:19.079 --> 01:06:22.000 because Wimbledon is always this time of year. So working 1359 01:06:22.000 --> 01:06:25.760 for the Jazz, it was always the draft, going right 1360 01:06:25.760 --> 01:06:28.760 into free agency, going right into summer league, so it 1361 01:06:28.880 --> 01:06:31.280 was never a time we were able to go and travel 1362 01:06:31.320 --> 01:06:33.719 and do that. So I'm looking forward to trying to 1363 01:06:33.719 --> 01:06:37.400 do that in the next few years. But it's a fun, 1364 01:06:37.480 --> 01:06:40.000 you know, traditional place. It's one of the one of 1365 01:06:40.039 --> 01:06:43.880 the grand spots obviously in the sport. 1366 01:06:43.599 --> 01:06:46.239 Of tennis for sure. All right, let's do the Jazz 1367 01:06:46.239 --> 01:06:47.239 stuff this segment. 1368 01:06:47.280 --> 01:06:49.079 We'll save the next segment for some of the big 1369 01:06:49.119 --> 01:06:53.239 picture NBA free agency storylines. Of course, it's day two 1370 01:06:53.239 --> 01:06:56.079 of NBA free agency and Smitty, You've been coming on 1371 01:06:56.119 --> 01:06:59.000 the show now for a while and it feels like 1372 01:06:59.400 --> 01:07:02.039 names like Sexton and Jordan Clarkson have come up and 1373 01:07:02.119 --> 01:07:05.679 potential trade talks and conversations. Well, we learned what the 1374 01:07:05.719 --> 01:07:08.239 market is for those two players, and the answer is 1375 01:07:08.280 --> 01:07:10.320 not great. So let's start with the Sexton move. They 1376 01:07:10.320 --> 01:07:12.320 had to attach a second round pick to the deal 1377 01:07:12.440 --> 01:07:15.559 to get him to Charlotte in exchange for use of Nurkic, 1378 01:07:15.639 --> 01:07:17.960 who is a VET that is a backup big at 1379 01:07:17.960 --> 01:07:20.960 this point, what do you make of the deal, dude, 1380 01:07:21.000 --> 01:07:23.119 san Colin Sexton and a second to Charlotte. 1381 01:07:24.119 --> 01:07:27.400 Well, first of all, I'm a Sexton fan, and so 1382 01:07:27.519 --> 01:07:29.719 I'm the wrong guy to ask, probably, you know, in 1383 01:07:29.760 --> 01:07:32.480 that regard because he's even though I get, you know, 1384 01:07:32.519 --> 01:07:34.920 they just drafted the Clayton kid and he's probably gonna 1385 01:07:34.960 --> 01:07:39.280 take a bulk of those minutes, and they're still trying 1386 01:07:39.320 --> 01:07:42.360 to figure out what can't they George is and and 1387 01:07:43.159 --> 01:07:46.519 you know what the Williams kid is, and and a 1388 01:07:46.599 --> 01:07:49.360 Collier and all that. So I get that that that 1389 01:07:49.400 --> 01:07:52.239 part of it, But for me, Sexton is one of 1390 01:07:52.239 --> 01:07:55.159 the guys who has proven he can play in this league. 1391 01:07:55.519 --> 01:08:00.199 He was, He's gotten more efficient every year they been 1392 01:08:00.239 --> 01:08:02.880 in the league. This past year, I thought he was 1393 01:08:03.119 --> 01:08:07.760 very efficient, played a very tight game during the course 1394 01:08:07.800 --> 01:08:09.800 of the year on a team that wasn't winning, in 1395 01:08:09.880 --> 01:08:12.719 a team that didn't really care about winning, and he 1396 01:08:12.840 --> 01:08:14.360 was one of the few guys who would go out 1397 01:08:14.360 --> 01:08:17.840 and compete every night, in my opinion. And so, you know, 1398 01:08:17.960 --> 01:08:19.880 I understand they're trying to get off his money, and 1399 01:08:19.920 --> 01:08:22.039 I understand they're trying to get the young guys, you know, 1400 01:08:22.119 --> 01:08:25.039 the playing time, and I get that part of it. 1401 01:08:25.119 --> 01:08:28.520 But when you see him moving a guy who's actually 1402 01:08:28.560 --> 01:08:31.720 proven that that he's has some value in the league 1403 01:08:31.840 --> 01:08:35.560 in terms of how he plays and his production level, 1404 01:08:35.640 --> 01:08:39.840 that's that's sometimes a head scratcher to me. But you know, okay, 1405 01:08:39.880 --> 01:08:42.199 that's that's the way they're they're choosing to do their 1406 01:08:42.199 --> 01:08:42.960 business right now. 1407 01:08:43.000 --> 01:08:45.159 Were you surprised that they couldn't get more value for 1408 01:08:45.239 --> 01:08:46.840 him or do you feel like they just wanted to, 1409 01:08:47.680 --> 01:08:49.520 you know, find a new home for him and clear 1410 01:08:49.600 --> 01:08:50.560 up time for the young gar. 1411 01:08:50.600 --> 01:08:53.960 Yeah, I'm not sure how to gauge that spence. You know, 1412 01:08:54.840 --> 01:08:57.720 I think he's more valuable than that myself. But okay, 1413 01:08:58.039 --> 01:09:00.520 they maybe they had their own time for they wanted 1414 01:09:00.520 --> 01:09:02.800 to get out from under it before uh the free 1415 01:09:02.840 --> 01:09:05.199 agency stuff started so they could figure out where they 1416 01:09:05.199 --> 01:09:07.800 were at money wise and whatnot. I'm not I'm not 1417 01:09:07.840 --> 01:09:11.159 convinced that Nurkic is gonna be part of uh, you know, 1418 01:09:11.199 --> 01:09:13.159 what they're gonna try and do next year. I don't 1419 01:09:13.199 --> 01:09:16.039 know if that was, you know, I'm not sure what 1420 01:09:16.079 --> 01:09:18.119 the play was there, to be honest with you, unless 1421 01:09:18.840 --> 01:09:21.399 unless they like Nurkic for some reason that that I 1422 01:09:21.439 --> 01:09:24.920 don't see, and yeah, and uh you know, or they 1423 01:09:24.960 --> 01:09:29.199 think he's gonna have more value to some playoff type 1424 01:09:29.239 --> 01:09:34.520 team come February during the trade deadline, where somebody's gonna want, 1425 01:09:34.720 --> 01:09:36.840 uh you know, a big that they can put in 1426 01:09:36.920 --> 01:09:41.680 a lineup during rotations in the in the playoffs. Maybe 1427 01:09:41.720 --> 01:09:44.520 that's what the the the longer play is here. But 1428 01:09:44.560 --> 01:09:47.960 of course he's on an expiring contract next year as well, 1429 01:09:48.079 --> 01:09:50.600 so you know, a worst case scenario, they have him 1430 01:09:50.600 --> 01:09:53.439 on the team for this coming season, they get off 1431 01:09:53.479 --> 01:09:56.600 him next summer, they got that money to use next 1432 01:09:56.640 --> 01:09:59.560 summer and free agency stuff and they and they move on. 1433 01:09:59.800 --> 01:10:02.720 So well, I think the whole thing with The Jazz 1434 01:10:03.279 --> 01:10:08.680 is just a big, evolving, moving puzzle that they're going 1435 01:10:08.760 --> 01:10:11.840 to constantly keep moving guys in and out of during 1436 01:10:11.880 --> 01:10:15.399 this summer and into the fall and even during next season. 1437 01:10:15.479 --> 01:10:19.439 I think these next twelve months are all to me 1438 01:10:19.720 --> 01:10:23.119 going to be part of a big experiment under the 1439 01:10:23.199 --> 01:10:28.079 Austin Ange direction to see how they set themselves up 1440 01:10:28.399 --> 01:10:31.479 for the summer of twenty six and then moving forward. 1441 01:10:31.520 --> 01:10:33.720 That's what That's what it feels like to me. 1442 01:10:33.880 --> 01:10:37.840 So they essentially cut Jordan. They essentially cut Jordan Clarkson. 1443 01:10:37.880 --> 01:10:40.279 Technically it was a buyout. If the numbers have in 1444 01:10:40.279 --> 01:10:42.119 front of me are correct. That saved the Jazz about 1445 01:10:42.119 --> 01:10:45.239 a million dollars in cash. So I have a couple 1446 01:10:45.199 --> 01:10:49.560 of questions here. The reaction to the news that Jordan 1447 01:10:49.840 --> 01:10:52.079 is no longer a jazz man. It's been really interesting 1448 01:10:52.119 --> 01:10:55.319 to follow. People are genuinely sad that he's leaving. The 1449 01:10:55.359 --> 01:10:58.600 trade that you guys made for him in retrospect was 1450 01:10:58.600 --> 01:11:00.840 an excellent deal. You moved on them a couple of 1451 01:11:00.840 --> 01:11:03.960 second rounders to Cleveland for Jordan comes here, wins six 1452 01:11:04.039 --> 01:11:06.399 Man of the Year, played really well for Quinn, last 1453 01:11:06.479 --> 01:11:10.479 holdover from that group. So just wonder what your thoughts 1454 01:11:10.479 --> 01:11:12.199 are that they've decided to move on from him in 1455 01:11:12.239 --> 01:11:13.760 the way that they did. He's going to be a 1456 01:11:13.880 --> 01:11:17.159 nick and maybe you can provide some color and context 1457 01:11:17.199 --> 01:11:19.960 as far as what he meant to the Jazz organization. 1458 01:11:20.399 --> 01:11:24.199 Well, I think that I think it's not surprising to me. 1459 01:11:24.239 --> 01:11:25.640 I think they've been trying to do that for a 1460 01:11:25.760 --> 01:11:29.000 year now. I think they finally got to it. You know, 1461 01:11:29.600 --> 01:11:33.479 they found away with Jordan. They couldn't do anything during 1462 01:11:33.520 --> 01:11:36.319 the season last year. They couldn't find anybody to bite 1463 01:11:36.720 --> 01:11:39.960 on this deal that had you know, obviously last season 1464 01:11:40.000 --> 01:11:43.439 in this coming season under contract, you know, added add 1465 01:11:43.640 --> 01:11:47.640 an okay number in today's NBA terms at fourteen million 1466 01:11:47.680 --> 01:11:52.039 a year. You know, I'm not surprised at all that 1467 01:11:52.119 --> 01:11:55.600 they you know, they decided to move on from him. 1468 01:11:55.720 --> 01:11:57.399 You know, it was just a matter of getting him, 1469 01:11:58.560 --> 01:12:00.359 figuring out a way to do what they could find 1470 01:12:00.399 --> 01:12:03.399 a trade partner they liked apparently, so they worked a 1471 01:12:03.439 --> 01:12:05.399 deal with him to get a buyout so he could 1472 01:12:05.680 --> 01:12:08.039 get the freedom to move to a team where he 1473 01:12:08.119 --> 01:12:13.199 feels he can add something to a contending team and 1474 01:12:13.800 --> 01:12:16.039 give himself a little bit more spark and a little 1475 01:12:16.439 --> 01:12:19.680 more life. On the court for a team that's trying 1476 01:12:19.680 --> 01:12:22.600 to win and trying to be competitive night in the 1477 01:12:22.720 --> 01:12:25.560 night out, and you know, and the Jazz get out 1478 01:12:25.600 --> 01:12:30.640 from some money. And that's the whole play here. And look, 1479 01:12:30.680 --> 01:12:32.960 that was the play really when they signed him to 1480 01:12:33.079 --> 01:12:35.560 this deal that they did a couple of years ago, 1481 01:12:35.680 --> 01:12:38.720 because they front loaded that deal at twenty four I 1482 01:12:38.760 --> 01:12:41.359 think it was at twenty five the first year, and 1483 01:12:41.399 --> 01:12:44.439 then fourteen and fourteen, so the whole deal was set 1484 01:12:44.520 --> 01:12:47.399 up so that they could move him at some point 1485 01:12:47.479 --> 01:12:49.960 during the last two years. It just took him a 1486 01:12:50.000 --> 01:12:52.520 year to figure out how to do it. They didn't 1487 01:12:52.520 --> 01:12:54.880 get a trade partner, so they did the buy out thing. 1488 01:12:55.000 --> 01:12:58.640 Saved themselves a little money. Clarkson gets to decide where 1489 01:12:58.640 --> 01:13:01.600 he's gonna go instead of being put in a trade, 1490 01:13:02.079 --> 01:13:04.560 so it kind of works out for everybody. I'm always 1491 01:13:04.560 --> 01:13:07.880 surprised players are willing to give up, you know, any money, 1492 01:13:07.960 --> 01:13:10.319 you know, in some kind of a buyout situation. I've 1493 01:13:10.359 --> 01:13:13.920 never understood why players would do that, but I guess 1494 01:13:13.960 --> 01:13:16.479 that's what you do when you just get to some 1495 01:13:16.600 --> 01:13:19.920 point in your life where, oh I have enough money, 1496 01:13:20.279 --> 01:13:23.479 that's okay, I'll just leave some on the table. You 1497 01:13:23.520 --> 01:13:25.039 can take it and I'm going to go out the 1498 01:13:25.079 --> 01:13:27.880 side door. Okay, I guess. 1499 01:13:28.079 --> 01:13:30.319 And it really just begs the question as far as 1500 01:13:30.359 --> 01:13:34.760 what's next, and to underscore the points that you're essentially making. 1501 01:13:36.000 --> 01:13:40.920 It just it feels like Austin as the primary decision 1502 01:13:40.960 --> 01:13:43.000 maker has just decided they're going to clear the deck 1503 01:13:43.079 --> 01:13:46.840 and next year it's weird smitty and we should acknowledge 1504 01:13:46.840 --> 01:13:49.800 that Austin is a recent higher So some of the 1505 01:13:49.800 --> 01:13:52.520 messaging from the front office last year probably is not 1506 01:13:52.600 --> 01:13:55.159 the messaging from the front office this year, but one 1507 01:13:55.159 --> 01:13:57.920 of their cliched lines and I heard Xanik say this, 1508 01:13:58.039 --> 01:13:59.920 I heard Danny say this, I heard Will say this 1509 01:14:01.159 --> 01:14:04.000 is they kept saying pups can't raise pups. Okay, so 1510 01:14:04.119 --> 01:14:07.199 last year was kind of like Patty Mills Drew u 1511 01:14:07.279 --> 01:14:09.920 Banks will bring in some locker room vets to help 1512 01:14:09.960 --> 01:14:13.000 these young players learn how to be pros. Feels like 1513 01:14:13.039 --> 01:14:15.239 there's a paradigm shift. It feels like pups this year 1514 01:14:15.279 --> 01:14:17.479 will very much be raising pups because it looks like 1515 01:14:17.560 --> 01:14:19.039 what we're going to see is just all these young 1516 01:14:19.079 --> 01:14:20.279 kids playing a lot of minutes. 1517 01:14:20.399 --> 01:14:22.880 Yeah, well, I imagine they will and uh, you know, 1518 01:14:22.920 --> 01:14:26.520 there's something that said to be said for veteran leadership. 1519 01:14:27.039 --> 01:14:30.159 They're helping young guys learn how to do it. I guess. 1520 01:14:30.239 --> 01:14:33.399 I mean, look, we just Joe Ingles is going to 1521 01:14:33.479 --> 01:14:37.079 go back to Minnesota another three and we know Joe, 1522 01:14:37.600 --> 01:14:40.399 you know, I'm not sure he has anything left in 1523 01:14:40.479 --> 01:14:44.319 the guess tank, but but obviously Minnesota sees him as 1524 01:14:44.319 --> 01:14:49.760 being a valuable member of their group. With this group, 1525 01:14:49.800 --> 01:14:52.640 with the Jazz, I don't know, you know, the Patty 1526 01:14:52.720 --> 01:14:55.199 Mills thing that drew you Banks, and I don't. I don't. 1527 01:14:55.560 --> 01:14:59.760 I never got that anyway, especially when they're they're you know, 1528 01:14:59.760 --> 01:15:02.840 they're everybody knows that they're not trying to win games. 1529 01:15:02.880 --> 01:15:06.840 So that makes it difficult if you're a veteran to 1530 01:15:06.960 --> 01:15:09.239 try and get to get the point across the guys 1531 01:15:09.279 --> 01:15:12.279 about you know, this is how we conduct ourselves. This 1532 01:15:12.359 --> 01:15:15.000 is how we go about our business every day, working 1533 01:15:15.039 --> 01:15:19.079 hard in practice, staying late, arriving early in the weight room, 1534 01:15:19.159 --> 01:15:21.880 whatever it is. And and and guys are asking in 1535 01:15:21.880 --> 01:15:23.960 the middle of the game like like, uh, you know, 1536 01:15:24.039 --> 01:15:26.159 to do what what are we doing? We we're gonna 1537 01:15:26.199 --> 01:15:29.000 lose by twenty anyway, What's what's the difference. So that 1538 01:15:29.000 --> 01:15:34.399 that's a very tough, uh complex thing that I think 1539 01:15:34.560 --> 01:15:39.520 is just very difficult for an organization to manage, you know, 1540 01:15:39.560 --> 01:15:42.359 and keep everybody going the right direction. You're either you're 1541 01:15:42.399 --> 01:15:44.880 either trying to put your best foot forward and you're 1542 01:15:44.920 --> 01:15:47.359 trying to to to to do the best you can 1543 01:15:47.399 --> 01:15:50.520 every night, or or you got a different agenda and 1544 01:15:50.560 --> 01:15:54.279 guys learn learn things differently, and they they certainly uh 1545 01:15:54.520 --> 01:15:58.000 get can get into good habits, and they also can 1546 01:15:58.039 --> 01:16:02.479 get into bad habits on what your organization is asking 1547 01:16:02.520 --> 01:16:04.960 you to do from one moment to the next. So 1548 01:16:05.800 --> 01:16:07.800 you know, we'll see, I mean, the Jazz just they're 1549 01:16:07.840 --> 01:16:11.399 they're in this great uh flux area right now, and 1550 01:16:11.479 --> 01:16:14.880 they've got new new sheriff in town, as they say, 1551 01:16:15.560 --> 01:16:19.239 and you know, we'll see again. But Austin ain't just 1552 01:16:19.239 --> 01:16:21.520 isn't trying to pull the Donald Trump thing. You know, 1553 01:16:21.600 --> 01:16:24.000 he's not like what man on an island trying to 1554 01:16:24.079 --> 01:16:27.760 run everything. You know, He's got valuable guys with him 1555 01:16:27.800 --> 01:16:30.359 in the room, not the least of which of course 1556 01:16:30.439 --> 01:16:34.239 is his dad. And he's got a very involved owner 1557 01:16:34.680 --> 01:16:38.279 and so that plays into it somehow. And uh but 1558 01:16:38.319 --> 01:16:40.720 they got a lot of guys in there voicing, you know, 1559 01:16:40.840 --> 01:16:43.600 opinions about what they should do and how they should 1560 01:16:43.760 --> 01:16:46.800 be handling their guys and all that. But it's no uh, 1561 01:16:46.840 --> 01:16:49.960 it's no secret and it shouldn't be that that that 1562 01:16:50.000 --> 01:16:52.680 they're gonna play their young guys a lot of minutes 1563 01:16:52.680 --> 01:16:56.439 and have them in some kind of set rotation as 1564 01:16:56.439 --> 01:17:01.920 the season starts in terms of minutes and responsibilities and seeing, 1565 01:17:02.359 --> 01:17:05.680 you know, what these guys can can figure out going forward. 1566 01:17:05.840 --> 01:17:07.600 So it brings us to John Collins. 1567 01:17:08.119 --> 01:17:10.600 That's the next name tone in on, and we'll get 1568 01:17:10.640 --> 01:17:12.760 to some others because I honestly don't know how this 1569 01:17:12.880 --> 01:17:16.800 is going to play out. Twenty six point five mil 1570 01:17:17.039 --> 01:17:19.880 expiring this year. This is the first time they've had 1571 01:17:19.960 --> 01:17:22.880 him with an expiring contract. I don't know how much 1572 01:17:23.039 --> 01:17:26.960 of that plays into the ability to move on from him. 1573 01:17:27.079 --> 01:17:29.359 You can make an argument, Smitty that last year was 1574 01:17:29.359 --> 01:17:31.960 his best year as a pro, maybe second to the 1575 01:17:32.039 --> 01:17:34.479 year he had in Atlanta before he got his big contract. 1576 01:17:35.079 --> 01:17:37.199 But if you're if you're a GM and you're running 1577 01:17:37.199 --> 01:17:38.960 a team and Austin calls you and says, what about 1578 01:17:39.000 --> 01:17:40.159 John Collins, what do you say? 1579 01:17:40.399 --> 01:17:42.640 Well, first of all, you know John Collins has a 1580 01:17:42.640 --> 01:17:45.359 big number for what John Collins does. 1581 01:17:45.520 --> 01:17:47.399 Yep, right now in the NA Now. 1582 01:17:47.840 --> 01:17:51.640 He played very well last year my opinion, on a 1583 01:17:51.680 --> 01:17:54.399 team that wasn't trying to play well. So I give 1584 01:17:54.439 --> 01:17:59.319 him credit for that. He's a he's a big guy. 1585 01:17:59.479 --> 01:18:02.800 He's a guy who can play inside and outside. It 1586 01:18:02.840 --> 01:18:05.159 depends on the team, It depends on who else they 1587 01:18:05.199 --> 01:18:08.960 got on the floor with him playing. You know, I 1588 01:18:09.000 --> 01:18:11.199 have to I have to admit I liked him better 1589 01:18:11.319 --> 01:18:13.880 last year than I did the previous couple of years. 1590 01:18:14.359 --> 01:18:17.640 I was never a big John Collins guy. I always thought, 1591 01:18:17.800 --> 01:18:20.640 you know, he played in second gear and never really 1592 01:18:20.840 --> 01:18:23.319 was busting it out on the floor. But but last 1593 01:18:23.399 --> 01:18:26.840 year I thought he played well, uh, you know, for 1594 01:18:26.840 --> 01:18:29.439 for most of the year on a team where it 1595 01:18:29.479 --> 01:18:32.560 was difficult to play well and to put your best 1596 01:18:32.600 --> 01:18:36.720 foot forward. And so you know, they're gonna have to 1597 01:18:36.720 --> 01:18:38.760 try and find a team that that is willing to 1598 01:18:39.439 --> 01:18:41.800 uh to take on his money. I don't know who 1599 01:18:41.840 --> 01:18:44.159 wants to do that. The Jazz may have to try 1600 01:18:44.159 --> 01:18:46.359 and do something, you know, where they're willing to take 1601 01:18:46.399 --> 01:18:49.199 on keep you know, taking on some of the money 1602 01:18:49.239 --> 01:18:52.039 and do some kind of a deal with that with somebody. 1603 01:18:52.199 --> 01:18:55.439 It's gonna be difficult to move him, I think, merely 1604 01:18:55.520 --> 01:18:57.720 because of the money that he makes. So they're gonna 1605 01:18:57.760 --> 01:19:02.239 have to have something involving his money and how they 1606 01:19:02.319 --> 01:19:05.520 handled that if they in fact want to move on 1607 01:19:05.560 --> 01:19:06.600 from him. 1608 01:19:06.560 --> 01:19:08.920 I'm gonna ask you about the other transactions just because 1609 01:19:08.960 --> 01:19:11.840 they were made. We might have ten seconds for each 1610 01:19:11.840 --> 01:19:14.560 of them. They wave Johnny, they wave Johnny Jews. 1611 01:19:14.840 --> 01:19:17.840 Come see now, now that shows you're not being serious. 1612 01:19:18.079 --> 01:19:20.000 What do you watch stuff like that? Do you know? 1613 01:19:20.159 --> 01:19:23.520 Like I mean, well, I mean was there did you 1614 01:19:23.520 --> 01:19:25.039 think there was a place for him at the end 1615 01:19:25.039 --> 01:19:25.520 of the bench. 1616 01:19:25.760 --> 01:19:29.720 No, no, no, I've never been at Johnny Jusion guy. 1617 01:19:29.840 --> 01:19:32.199 You know, all these G League guys they've been playing 1618 01:19:32.239 --> 01:19:35.319 the last year or so. You know again, you know, 1619 01:19:35.359 --> 01:19:38.159 we can debate that all we want about, you know, 1620 01:19:38.279 --> 01:19:40.279 why they have a G League team if they're using 1621 01:19:40.319 --> 01:19:43.199 the Jazz as their G League team. But okay, that's 1622 01:19:43.279 --> 01:19:46.239 that's what they're the route that they're choosing to go, 1623 01:19:46.319 --> 01:19:49.239 and so far the fans are going along with it 1624 01:19:49.239 --> 01:19:52.000 because the fans are paying full boat money to come 1625 01:19:52.079 --> 01:19:54.560 see a G League team play on the floor. Okay, 1626 01:19:55.199 --> 01:19:57.039 you know, you guys want to do that, go ahead, 1627 01:19:57.359 --> 01:19:58.960 you know, I don't know how long that will last, 1628 01:19:59.159 --> 01:20:01.319 you know, but that that's what they've been doing. And 1629 01:20:01.680 --> 01:20:04.760 guys like juw Zang and U Banks and Micah Potter 1630 01:20:04.880 --> 01:20:08.359 and whatever, they're just you know, they're they're like seat 1631 01:20:08.399 --> 01:20:11.359 fillers at the Oscar Oscars to me, you know, I mean, 1632 01:20:11.800 --> 01:20:14.560 they're just not you're not getting anywhere. You're spinning your tires, 1633 01:20:14.640 --> 01:20:17.319 that's my opinion. Now that's probably why I'm sitting in 1634 01:20:17.319 --> 01:20:21.039 the radio station instead of being over in their meetings, 1635 01:20:21.079 --> 01:20:23.239 you know. So that's you know, that's the way they're 1636 01:20:23.319 --> 01:20:25.239 they're they're going about their business. 1637 01:20:25.319 --> 01:20:28.000 Oh you just gave me ninety seconds on Johnny jew Zang. 1638 01:20:28.000 --> 01:20:29.239 I didn't think we'd be able to do that. 1639 01:20:29.520 --> 01:20:32.720 Hey, you know, well look he was very good. He 1640 01:20:32.800 --> 01:20:35.880 had a very nice career at UCLA, you know, after 1641 01:20:36.000 --> 01:20:39.520 transferring from Kentucky and and played himself well and got 1642 01:20:39.600 --> 01:20:41.840 himself some NBA money. Okay, I don't know if he'll 1643 01:20:41.840 --> 01:20:45.159 get an NBA job. He's really a EuroLeague A type 1644 01:20:45.199 --> 01:20:48.359 player to me, and where you can have a nice career, 1645 01:20:48.800 --> 01:20:51.199 you know, as we've seen a lot of our local guys, 1646 01:20:51.279 --> 01:20:54.119 you know, Jac Carroll being one of them having a 1647 01:20:54.960 --> 01:20:58.760 terrific career Real Madrid for a decade, and Johnny Juzang 1648 01:20:58.800 --> 01:21:01.279 should be over there, you know, with one of those teams. 1649 01:21:01.279 --> 01:21:03.520 That's my opinion. But you know, I'm not his agent, 1650 01:21:03.640 --> 01:21:06.560 and and I'm certainly not in an NBA team that 1651 01:21:06.640 --> 01:21:08.479 might try and and give him another chance. 1652 01:21:08.720 --> 01:21:11.800 And equally compelling news they've guaranteed the deals Fema Kai 1653 01:21:11.880 --> 01:21:12.520 Luke this year. 1654 01:21:12.760 --> 01:21:15.319 Yeah, and I don't know what to say about that either, Right, 1655 01:21:15.600 --> 01:21:18.680 that's another that's another placeholder. I'm not I'm not sure 1656 01:21:19.000 --> 01:21:21.279 what that what that's about. He's probably a good guy, 1657 01:21:21.920 --> 01:21:25.039 you know. I mean again, I watched him play when 1658 01:21:25.079 --> 01:21:29.319 he was fifteen sixteen over in Europe. He hasn't gotten 1659 01:21:29.359 --> 01:21:31.680 any better. He's just, you know, he's just a guy 1660 01:21:31.680 --> 01:21:34.039 out there every now and then he makes a couple 1661 01:21:34.039 --> 01:21:37.720 of shots in the game. Okay, and uh and again. 1662 01:21:37.760 --> 01:21:40.479 But he's a guy who could be having a much 1663 01:21:40.479 --> 01:21:43.880 bigger career and a more substantial one if he chose 1664 01:21:43.920 --> 01:21:46.239 to play over in Europe where he's from. And he 1665 01:21:46.279 --> 01:21:48.760 may end up doing that at some point, but the 1666 01:21:48.880 --> 01:21:51.640 Jazz have decided at least to guarantee his kind of 1667 01:21:51.640 --> 01:21:53.840 now that may be something where they just want to 1668 01:21:53.920 --> 01:21:56.159 keep his contract, you know, in their back pocket in 1669 01:21:56.159 --> 01:21:58.279 case they have to use it as a filler in 1670 01:21:58.359 --> 01:22:01.479 some kind of other move where they have to either 1671 01:22:01.520 --> 01:22:03.960 take back money or give money or something like that. 1672 01:22:04.119 --> 01:22:06.640 So they could also be a play like that down 1673 01:22:06.640 --> 01:22:07.439 the road as well. 1674 01:22:07.840 --> 01:22:10.880 All right, So it brings us into this space where, 1675 01:22:11.760 --> 01:22:13.640 you know, all we can do is read the riding 1676 01:22:13.680 --> 01:22:15.159 on the wall here and try to read the tea 1677 01:22:15.239 --> 01:22:19.439 leaves where Clarkson is gone, Sexton is gone every time 1678 01:22:19.479 --> 01:22:21.640 I open up anything about what could be next. And 1679 01:22:21.680 --> 01:22:24.560 the jazzer mentioned everyone says they're talking to teams about 1680 01:22:24.640 --> 01:22:27.920 John Collins. Do you think they're talking to teams about marketing? 1681 01:22:28.039 --> 01:22:30.800 Do you think they're having conversations about Lowry? I don't 1682 01:22:30.800 --> 01:22:34.359 know if they're having any active conversations. I haven't heard 1683 01:22:34.359 --> 01:22:38.479 anything from any of my sources around the NBA about 1684 01:22:38.520 --> 01:22:40.960 that kind of stuff going on. I think they would 1685 01:22:40.960 --> 01:22:46.920 certainly entertain any conversation about any guy based on the 1686 01:22:47.319 --> 01:22:50.239 current status of the team. And that is something that 1687 01:22:50.279 --> 01:22:53.319 there's still there's still at the starting line and they're 1688 01:22:53.359 --> 01:22:56.239 still waiting, you know, for the gun to go off 1689 01:22:56.279 --> 01:22:59.239 to start the race, and they're still trying to formulate 1690 01:22:59.279 --> 01:23:01.720 what they're they're team looks like in that regard. So, 1691 01:23:02.279 --> 01:23:04.680 you know, I don't think marketing is untouchable. I don't 1692 01:23:04.680 --> 01:23:08.720 think Kessel is untouchable. You know, any of their guys 1693 01:23:08.920 --> 01:23:12.279 certainly would be in a conversation based on what other 1694 01:23:12.359 --> 01:23:15.520 teams are looking at or what they would have to offer, 1695 01:23:15.880 --> 01:23:19.439 and how the how the Jazz headed up now by 1696 01:23:19.479 --> 01:23:23.079 the main decision maker being Austin Age, how they view 1697 01:23:23.880 --> 01:23:26.239 what they're trying to do in terms of the overall 1698 01:23:26.319 --> 01:23:27.479 makeup of their group. 1699 01:23:29.880 --> 01:23:33.039 Hello, so I have the I have the Jazz payroll 1700 01:23:33.079 --> 01:23:33.560 in front of me. 1701 01:23:33.840 --> 01:23:35.079 Okay, I got to ask. 1702 01:23:35.119 --> 01:23:36.680 I'm going to ask a question before I ask what 1703 01:23:36.720 --> 01:23:38.600 I want to ask to make sure that my understanding 1704 01:23:38.680 --> 01:23:41.520 is correct is correct? Is it possible that they have 1705 01:23:41.560 --> 01:23:44.399 a team option on Taylor Hendricks after this year? 1706 01:23:45.479 --> 01:23:48.960 Yeah? Well yeah, Well, the way that the NBA contracts work, 1707 01:23:50.199 --> 01:23:53.720 the rookie contracts are four year deals. The first two 1708 01:23:53.760 --> 01:23:57.800 years are guaranteed, the third year is a team option, 1709 01:23:58.560 --> 01:24:01.840 and the fourth year is a team option. So the 1710 01:24:01.880 --> 01:24:05.439 team decides in the third and fourth year of a 1711 01:24:05.520 --> 01:24:08.439 rookie deal whether they want to keep that rookie for 1712 01:24:08.479 --> 01:24:11.319 another year or not. So that's how they work. 1713 01:24:11.439 --> 01:24:13.920 Is it possible to have a team option on Cody 1714 01:24:14.279 --> 01:24:14.880 next year? 1715 01:24:15.119 --> 01:24:19.439 Yes, yeah again, because those contracts are for four years. 1716 01:24:19.760 --> 01:24:23.600 The first two are guaranteed, the third is is not guaranteed, 1717 01:24:23.880 --> 01:24:26.920 the fourth is not guaranteed. So the team has the 1718 01:24:26.960 --> 01:24:29.119 option to pick up if they want to keep the 1719 01:24:29.159 --> 01:24:32.159 player on. They can pick up that option early in 1720 01:24:32.199 --> 01:24:35.840 the fall for the for the year ahead, so they 1721 01:24:35.920 --> 01:24:38.359 can they can do that if they choose to do it. 1722 01:24:38.399 --> 01:24:41.439 This is the Jimmer for Debt deal Spence where for 1723 01:24:41.600 --> 01:24:44.239 Debt had was taken by Sacramento in the first round 1724 01:24:44.239 --> 01:24:48.439 in fact ten, just like Cody Williams was, and Sacramento 1725 01:24:48.560 --> 01:24:52.319 decided after the second year they they didn't think Jimmer 1726 01:24:52.399 --> 01:24:54.520 was good enough, they didn't want to pick up the 1727 01:24:54.560 --> 01:24:57.880 team option, so they just let him go and the 1728 01:24:58.239 --> 01:25:01.279 year at the summer, after his second year in the league, 1729 01:25:01.479 --> 01:25:03.640 he became an unrestricted free agent. 1730 01:25:03.640 --> 01:25:06.199 So in a wasteman because they also have team options 1731 01:25:06.239 --> 01:25:09.039 on Keyante, Bryce Sensiba, and Isaiah Collier. 1732 01:25:09.239 --> 01:25:09.800 That's correct. 1733 01:25:09.840 --> 01:25:12.159 So five team options on these young players. 1734 01:25:12.199 --> 01:25:15.119 That's all just because they're all under rookie rookie scale 1735 01:25:15.199 --> 01:25:18.199 contracts for the first four years they're in the NBA. 1736 01:25:18.439 --> 01:25:20.640 So this is kind of a bigger year for these 1737 01:25:20.680 --> 01:25:23.279 five young players. And maybe we fully understand because the 1738 01:25:23.359 --> 01:25:25.319 Jazz can make a decision on THO as early as 1739 01:25:25.319 --> 01:25:25.760 next season. 1740 01:25:25.840 --> 01:25:29.640 Yeah, well they could have, like for example, they picked 1741 01:25:29.720 --> 01:25:33.239 up the option earlier on Kiante George. Okay, so you're 1742 01:25:33.279 --> 01:25:37.159 allowed to do that, but just say, in a hypothetical situation, 1743 01:25:37.920 --> 01:25:43.640 they Isaiah Collier just finished his first year, so he's 1744 01:25:43.680 --> 01:25:47.159 got this next year coming up. Is guaranteed the Jazz 1745 01:25:47.199 --> 01:25:50.159 can pick up the third year option. They have certain 1746 01:25:50.239 --> 01:25:52.520 dates that they can. They can do that and get 1747 01:25:52.560 --> 01:25:55.399 that under their belt. Sometimes you do that just to 1748 01:25:55.479 --> 01:25:58.279 let the player know, hey, we're with you, we're gonna 1749 01:25:58.319 --> 01:26:01.520 work with you, or whatever time, if you know, in 1750 01:26:01.840 --> 01:26:05.479 the Jimmer for that case, you know, just say, hypothetically, 1751 01:26:05.760 --> 01:26:09.640 Collier comes in, he's out of shape, he's he's gained weight, 1752 01:26:09.840 --> 01:26:12.520 he's whatever. They don't like the way he shows up 1753 01:26:12.560 --> 01:26:15.520 in training camp in the fall, they decide to hold 1754 01:26:15.560 --> 01:26:18.439 off on picking up his third year option. They go 1755 01:26:18.520 --> 01:26:21.479 into the middle of the season, he's not getting better, 1756 01:26:21.680 --> 01:26:26.000 he's getting giving him some kind of attitude whatever. They 1757 01:26:26.039 --> 01:26:29.239 can decide, hey, I'm not sure we got a guy 1758 01:26:29.359 --> 01:26:32.199 we want to hang around with or keep, and so 1759 01:26:32.279 --> 01:26:34.479 they can just wait it out, and then the end 1760 01:26:34.560 --> 01:26:37.399 of next year they could say, hey, we're not gonna 1761 01:26:37.439 --> 01:26:40.039 pick up the third year team option and we're just 1762 01:26:40.079 --> 01:26:42.199 gonna let him go, and then they get out of 1763 01:26:42.199 --> 01:26:46.119 the obligation all together, and now they let the kid 1764 01:26:46.199 --> 01:26:48.640 move on, and then the team can move on. So 1765 01:26:48.760 --> 01:26:52.600 that's why it's set up where those third and fourth 1766 01:26:52.760 --> 01:26:58.039 years on the rookie scale contracts, the team controls whether 1767 01:26:58.079 --> 01:27:01.000 they still want you as quote part of their team 1768 01:27:01.479 --> 01:27:04.279 or part of their development program, and they want to 1769 01:27:04.359 --> 01:27:07.359 keep you around doing that. And then at the end 1770 01:27:07.399 --> 01:27:10.520 of the fourth year you become a restricted free agent. 1771 01:27:10.600 --> 01:27:13.000 Now the team may give you an offer. You may 1772 01:27:13.039 --> 01:27:15.960 accept it and extend that rookie deal and you can 1773 01:27:16.000 --> 01:27:19.880 do that into the fifth, six, seventh year, or the 1774 01:27:19.960 --> 01:27:22.199 team can say, like they did the Jazz did with 1775 01:27:22.199 --> 01:27:24.560 Gordon Hayward, you know we're going to offer you just 1776 01:27:24.640 --> 01:27:28.319 this amount. Gordon Hayward thought you should get more. The 1777 01:27:28.399 --> 01:27:30.800 Jazz said, go out and get an offer from somebody 1778 01:27:30.880 --> 01:27:34.159 and bring it back if you can. Gordon Hayward went 1779 01:27:34.199 --> 01:27:37.880 out got an offer from the Charlotte Hornets for fifteen 1780 01:27:37.920 --> 01:27:40.960 million a year. Comes back, says, I got an offer 1781 01:27:40.960 --> 01:27:44.520 from Charlotte for fifteen million. You offered me ten, and 1782 01:27:44.600 --> 01:27:47.159 the Jazz had seventy two hours to match it, and 1783 01:27:47.239 --> 01:27:49.479 of course they didn't want to lose him. So in 1784 01:27:49.520 --> 01:27:52.279 that regard, the Jazz say, we're gonna match that because 1785 01:27:52.319 --> 01:27:54.880 you're a restricted free agent and they get to keep him. 1786 01:27:55.279 --> 01:27:59.479 And they said, in this negotiation, in this moment in time, Gordon, 1787 01:27:59.760 --> 01:28:02.600 you you won the debate because we tried to pay 1788 01:28:02.640 --> 01:28:05.560 you ten and you went out and forced us to 1789 01:28:05.600 --> 01:28:08.600 pay you fifteen by getting an offer from someone else. 1790 01:28:08.880 --> 01:28:11.520 That's how it works. That's why we say in the 1791 01:28:11.720 --> 01:28:15.960 current setup of the collective partying agreement, the first half 1792 01:28:16.000 --> 01:28:19.239 of a player's career the minimum seven years, if the 1793 01:28:19.319 --> 01:28:23.199 team wants you, they have control of you, no matter 1794 01:28:23.239 --> 01:28:26.039 what you want to do as a player. The second 1795 01:28:26.119 --> 01:28:29.359 half of your career, if you have a say, fifteen 1796 01:28:29.439 --> 01:28:32.880 year career, like Gordon Hayward did, he's the perfect example 1797 01:28:33.039 --> 01:28:36.920 of how it works, where the team controls the player's 1798 01:28:36.960 --> 01:28:39.800 career the first half of it, and then the player 1799 01:28:39.880 --> 01:28:43.119 controls what he wants to do in the second half 1800 01:28:43.159 --> 01:28:44.760 of the of the career. 1801 01:28:44.800 --> 01:28:46.399 Do you think that made Gordon mad? 1802 01:28:49.199 --> 01:28:51.199 I don't know. I don't know if it made him mad, 1803 01:28:51.359 --> 01:28:54.520 I would say this, Gordon and his dad are very 1804 01:28:54.560 --> 01:28:56.680 smart guys. You know, Gordon is one of the smarter 1805 01:28:57.000 --> 01:28:59.239 players that we've had through the Jazz over the years. 1806 01:29:00.039 --> 01:29:04.520 Runs of practicality, and you know, he was smart enough. 1807 01:29:04.640 --> 01:29:08.680 And and his agent, Mark Bartlestein, who's who's you know, 1808 01:29:09.399 --> 01:29:12.640 a very well respected and very good guy and an 1809 01:29:12.640 --> 01:29:15.720 honest guy. You know, he said, hey, we're gonna we're 1810 01:29:15.720 --> 01:29:17.800 gonna go out and try and get an offer to 1811 01:29:17.960 --> 01:29:22.039 get Gordon more money. That's his job, okay. And Gordon's 1812 01:29:22.039 --> 01:29:24.479 sitting there going yeah, okay, yeah, I'd like to get 1813 01:29:24.479 --> 01:29:27.479 more money if I can. And they went out and 1814 01:29:27.520 --> 01:29:30.079 they got Charlotte. Now Charlotte had to make that commitment. 1815 01:29:30.319 --> 01:29:33.920 So there was a period of seventy two hours where Charlotte, 1816 01:29:33.920 --> 01:29:36.479 if the Jazz say yeah, that's too rich for our blood, 1817 01:29:36.520 --> 01:29:40.119 we're out. Now Charlotte's got him. So Charlotte had to 1818 01:29:40.159 --> 01:29:42.800 come to the table with that offer and make sure 1819 01:29:42.960 --> 01:29:46.199 we want the guy in case, you know, Utah turns 1820 01:29:46.199 --> 01:29:49.239 it down. We got him at that number, and of 1821 01:29:49.239 --> 01:29:52.840 course the Jazz ended up accepting that number and he 1822 01:29:52.920 --> 01:29:55.319 stayed with the Jazz for another three years. But that's 1823 01:29:55.640 --> 01:29:58.359 that's how the CBA works, and that's how that's how 1824 01:29:58.399 --> 01:30:02.000 all these players. They're under contract to the team for 1825 01:30:02.079 --> 01:30:05.039 those first four years with those third and fourth year 1826 01:30:05.359 --> 01:30:08.359 team options. That's always that's the way it's been for 1827 01:30:08.359 --> 01:30:11.359 for for many many years now. So the team controls 1828 01:30:11.760 --> 01:30:13.840 and they're looking at you in practice and they're looking 1829 01:30:13.840 --> 01:30:16.880 to see, yeah, Spence checkets he is. Do we want 1830 01:30:16.920 --> 01:30:18.840 to keep them around for third year? Do we want 1831 01:30:18.920 --> 01:30:21.560 them a fourth year? And and the team controls that 1832 01:30:22.119 --> 01:30:24.880 and uh, and then after that then then you get 1833 01:30:24.880 --> 01:30:26.520 into the restrictive free agent stuff. 1834 01:30:26.920 --> 01:30:28.760 All right, Before we catch a break, we'll wrap up 1835 01:30:28.800 --> 01:30:30.840 the Jazz portion of our hit with Smittee today with 1836 01:30:31.039 --> 01:30:35.039 just to follow up based off of all of these players, 1837 01:30:35.279 --> 01:30:40.039 Isaiah Callier, Rice Sen, Sabah Caanty, George Cody Williams, Taylor 1838 01:30:40.079 --> 01:30:44.119 Hendricks are technically entering what could be the final year 1839 01:30:44.520 --> 01:30:47.720 of their deal with the Jazz could be technically Yeah, 1840 01:30:47.800 --> 01:30:50.880 do you think any of them are in danger of 1841 01:30:50.920 --> 01:30:51.800 not being brought back? 1842 01:30:54.560 --> 01:30:57.560 That's a good question. I think, uh, I think those 1843 01:30:57.560 --> 01:31:02.640 are probably guys that again, what's gonna be interesting play 1844 01:31:02.680 --> 01:31:05.479 on it, Spence, now is that, you know, even though 1845 01:31:06.079 --> 01:31:10.159 there's the obvious, you know, ange family connection on that, 1846 01:31:10.560 --> 01:31:15.479 you know, was Danny Ainge who selected these guys parenthetically 1847 01:31:15.800 --> 01:31:20.079 in the draft. He's the final decision maker during those drafts. Now, 1848 01:31:20.439 --> 01:31:23.880 Austin Ainge is the one who's in charge. Maybe Austin 1849 01:31:23.920 --> 01:31:27.720 Ainge says, hey, Dad, I love you, but the guy 1850 01:31:27.760 --> 01:31:31.119 you chose last year he stinks, you know, and I 1851 01:31:31.119 --> 01:31:33.920 don't like him yea. And so they have a disagreement 1852 01:31:33.920 --> 01:31:36.840 about that. And so you know, there's always a scenario 1853 01:31:36.880 --> 01:31:39.399 where they could they could, you know, sit there in 1854 01:31:39.399 --> 01:31:41.960 the room and go, I just don't think the guy's 1855 01:31:42.039 --> 01:31:44.359 good enough, and I think we made a mistake. And 1856 01:31:44.439 --> 01:31:47.159 sometimes when you like the Sacramento Kings and the Gym 1857 01:31:47.199 --> 01:31:50.319 of for Debt example, sometimes you have to just step 1858 01:31:50.399 --> 01:31:52.880 up to the table and admit to yourself and to 1859 01:31:52.880 --> 01:31:58.039 everybody around we made a mistake, we made the wrong call, okay, 1860 01:31:58.079 --> 01:32:02.439 and we cut our losses and we moved. Sometimes teams 1861 01:32:02.479 --> 01:32:05.399 don't like to do that because teams don't don't want 1862 01:32:05.439 --> 01:32:08.600 to admit they made a mistake, and they don't want 1863 01:32:08.640 --> 01:32:11.960 to admit that, oh, I had an error in judgment 1864 01:32:12.079 --> 01:32:16.520 in that regard. And so a lot of times it's 1865 01:32:16.680 --> 01:32:19.199 very rare that you see a team not pick up 1866 01:32:19.199 --> 01:32:22.399 the third year option or the fourth year option on 1867 01:32:22.760 --> 01:32:25.960 a player that they drafted, because the teams are trying 1868 01:32:26.000 --> 01:32:29.880 to make sure that they squeeze all the water out 1869 01:32:29.920 --> 01:32:35.720 of that stone and they make guy a full run 1870 01:32:36.119 --> 01:32:39.760 to show us whether he can contribute and and continue 1871 01:32:39.760 --> 01:32:45.560 playing in the NBA. And you know, sometimes sometimes teams 1872 01:32:45.600 --> 01:32:48.439 will hold on to guys longer than they should, just 1873 01:32:48.479 --> 01:32:50.399 because they're trying to make sure they give the player 1874 01:32:51.119 --> 01:32:54.119 every opportunity to improve and to get better. 1875 01:32:54.359 --> 01:32:56.640 All right, we'll catch a break coming up next, we'll 1876 01:32:56.640 --> 01:32:58.640 move off the jazz and just talk more big picture 1877 01:32:58.680 --> 01:33:01.439 stuff and of course, if anything down one we're on air, 1878 01:33:01.479 --> 01:33:04.600 we'll bring it to you. Damian Lillard has been stretched 1879 01:33:04.600 --> 01:33:07.880 and waved, and the Milwaukee Bucks have acquired Miles Turner. 1880 01:33:08.600 --> 01:33:12.520 Some other interesting storylines, including Quinn Snyder being reunited with 1881 01:33:12.520 --> 01:33:14.439 the player he had in Utah. We just didn't play 1882 01:33:14.920 --> 01:33:18.199 Atlanta making some moves, Denver making some moves, Houston making 1883 01:33:18.239 --> 01:33:20.319 some moves. We'll do some big picture NBA with Smitty 1884 01:33:20.800 --> 01:33:23.119 coming up on the other side of a Tuesday edition 1885 01:33:23.159 --> 01:33:23.560 of The Drive. 1886 01:33:23.600 --> 01:33:25.439 Right here on ESPN seven hundred. 1887 01:33:27.720 --> 01:33:30.880 Miss something from the Shan O'Connell Show, No worries, Just 1888 01:33:31.000 --> 01:33:34.479 visit ESPN seven hundred sports dot com or search the 1889 01:33:34.520 --> 01:33:38.039 Shaun O'Connell Show wherever you get great podcasts. You are 1890 01:33:38.119 --> 01:33:41.960 listening to a Drive with Spence checkets on Kall North 1891 01:33:42.000 --> 01:33:47.079 Salt Lake kxrk HD three, ESPN seven hundred and ninety 1892 01:33:47.079 --> 01:33:50.479 two to one f M. Download the ESPN seven hundred 1893 01:33:50.600 --> 01:33:51.600 f for free. Today. 1894 01:33:52.079 --> 01:33:53.439 We got some breaking. 1895 01:33:53.119 --> 01:33:58.600 News, but don't get too excited. Duncan Robinson has agreed 1896 01:33:58.640 --> 01:34:01.039 to a three year, forty eight million deal with the 1897 01:34:01.159 --> 01:34:02.359 Detroit Pistons. 1898 01:34:03.119 --> 01:34:05.439 What do you think, Svinny, Yeah, well I can see 1899 01:34:06.079 --> 01:34:10.239 I can see Dennis Lindsay's fingers all over that. Duncan 1900 01:34:10.359 --> 01:34:15.159 Robinson a good play with length and he's a very 1901 01:34:15.199 --> 01:34:19.840 good open shooter. And the Pistons have money. So another 1902 01:34:19.880 --> 01:34:23.399 guy that they're adding to the young group that can 1903 01:34:23.439 --> 01:34:26.640 provide some spacing for Cave Cunningham off the pick and 1904 01:34:26.680 --> 01:34:29.560 midpick and roll to get in the lane, and Robinson 1905 01:34:29.560 --> 01:34:32.000 can be one of those guys spotting up on the 1906 01:34:32.039 --> 01:34:34.760 wing or down in the corner, you know, having that 1907 01:34:34.840 --> 01:34:38.640 three ball threat. So you know, a good a good 1908 01:34:38.640 --> 01:34:42.079 spot for them, a good way for them to spend 1909 01:34:42.079 --> 01:34:44.199 some of the money that they have under the cap. 1910 01:34:44.560 --> 01:34:48.079 All right, So let's move over to what Milwaukee decided 1911 01:34:48.119 --> 01:34:50.479 to do today with Damian Lillard, who played his college 1912 01:34:50.479 --> 01:34:53.640 ball for Randy Rages up the way. It's what's called 1913 01:34:53.680 --> 01:34:56.600 a stretch provision, and they waived him. And so from 1914 01:34:56.680 --> 01:34:58.520 what I'm reading, and he'll be on the books for 1915 01:34:58.560 --> 01:35:03.319 the next five years at about twenty f three million dollars. Optically, 1916 01:35:03.600 --> 01:35:06.079 when you see that Damian Lillard has been waived by 1917 01:35:06.119 --> 01:35:08.720 an NBA team, you're like, wait, what that is a wild, 1918 01:35:08.800 --> 01:35:12.520 wild decision. Now, of course he will miss all the 1919 01:35:12.560 --> 01:35:15.399 next year recovering from an injury. This way, he does 1920 01:35:15.439 --> 01:35:17.199 get all of his money over the course of a 1921 01:35:17.199 --> 01:35:19.479 certain amount of time, and he can pick where he 1922 01:35:19.520 --> 01:35:21.600 wants to go next, whether it's his final act or 1923 01:35:21.600 --> 01:35:24.520 the next act. But take us through the mentality of 1924 01:35:24.520 --> 01:35:29.159 a front office. They also utilize the flexibility that they 1925 01:35:29.239 --> 01:35:31.640 were able to get with this deal to acquire Miles 1926 01:35:31.680 --> 01:35:34.279 Turner from Indiana and the Bucks and the Pacers. Not 1927 01:35:34.319 --> 01:35:35.840 a lot of love lost there, so kind of an 1928 01:35:35.880 --> 01:35:36.880 interesting day for them. 1929 01:35:37.079 --> 01:35:39.319 Yeah. Well, what the the Bucks do is they replace 1930 01:35:39.640 --> 01:35:43.000 brook Lopez with Miles Turner. So a little bit younger guy, 1931 01:35:43.039 --> 01:35:46.399 a little bit springier, a guy, a little bit livelier, 1932 01:35:46.520 --> 01:35:49.800 a body in the middle, a guy you can shoot 1933 01:35:51.039 --> 01:35:53.439 fairly decently from the outside, you know, about the same 1934 01:35:53.439 --> 01:35:58.039 as brook Lopez, but he's a little more active, and 1935 01:35:58.119 --> 01:36:01.880 that allows them to play a guy basically is going 1936 01:36:01.960 --> 01:36:05.560 to do the same stuff, you know, within reason that 1937 01:36:05.600 --> 01:36:10.880 brook Lopez did h for Jiannis to support Jannis, you know, 1938 01:36:11.560 --> 01:36:15.479 in that core in in Milwaukee, for Damian Lillard. This 1939 01:36:15.640 --> 01:36:19.079 is a provision that's provided in the collective bargain agreement 1940 01:36:19.399 --> 01:36:22.800 where teams make a mistake or if it's a mistake 1941 01:36:22.920 --> 01:36:25.800 or something like this, where where they have a guy 1942 01:36:25.800 --> 01:36:28.039 who's gonna be injured and is getting paid a lot 1943 01:36:28.079 --> 01:36:31.199 of money and they just want to get out of 1944 01:36:31.239 --> 01:36:34.439 it somehow. Your teams can now have what they call 1945 01:36:34.520 --> 01:36:38.159 the stretch provision where they can waive a guy and 1946 01:36:38.199 --> 01:36:41.479 then they take his total salary ode and they can 1947 01:36:41.520 --> 01:36:45.359 stretch it over any period of time from one to 1948 01:36:45.479 --> 01:36:49.039 five years. So Obviously, teams are gonna usually stretch it 1949 01:36:49.039 --> 01:36:51.560 out to five, and that means they just chop it 1950 01:36:51.680 --> 01:36:54.439 up in five equal segments, and that's what goes on 1951 01:36:54.479 --> 01:36:58.319 their books in terms of salary cap purposes for luxury 1952 01:36:58.399 --> 01:37:00.920 taxes and penalties and all that kind of stuff. So 1953 01:37:01.079 --> 01:37:04.920 they're gonna be paying Damian Lillard around twenty two, twenty 1954 01:37:04.920 --> 01:37:08.159 three million or whatever it is a year for the 1955 01:37:08.199 --> 01:37:11.520 next five years to sit at his beach house in 1956 01:37:11.840 --> 01:37:15.439 Portland or do whatever he's gonna do. He's gonna rehab, 1957 01:37:16.279 --> 01:37:18.560 He's gonna take this next year off. He's one of 1958 01:37:18.560 --> 01:37:22.520 the hardest working guys in the NBA. And I know 1959 01:37:22.640 --> 01:37:25.359 that personally. I've seen him. I've seen him do it 1960 01:37:25.560 --> 01:37:28.159 for years, and we knew that coming into the draft 1961 01:37:28.159 --> 01:37:31.079 when he got drafted. He's one of the guys you 1962 01:37:31.239 --> 01:37:35.239 want with around your group because he is a true 1963 01:37:35.319 --> 01:37:40.319 professional in every regard. So in that way, he's gonna 1964 01:37:40.359 --> 01:37:43.000 work this next year. He's gonna work to get himself 1965 01:37:43.039 --> 01:37:47.319 back as much as he can, and then he's gonna 1966 01:37:47.319 --> 01:37:50.000 try and find a team, whether it's the end of 1967 01:37:50.079 --> 01:37:54.159 next year, depending on how quickly his rehab goes, if 1968 01:37:54.159 --> 01:37:57.359 he can get into the playoffs with a team that 1969 01:37:57.680 --> 01:38:01.680 can use his services in a playoff run type situation. 1970 01:38:01.760 --> 01:38:04.600 If it's not, then it would be next summer when 1971 01:38:04.640 --> 01:38:06.640 he'd be full. You would think he would be fully 1972 01:38:06.680 --> 01:38:09.680 healthy and then be able to look around and try 1973 01:38:09.680 --> 01:38:13.119 and find a team that he thinks he can help, 1974 01:38:13.640 --> 01:38:17.920 that he thinks he can add to their championship hopes. 1975 01:38:18.399 --> 01:38:20.920 So he would be looking around at that point in time, 1976 01:38:21.079 --> 01:38:25.920 I think for a select handful of teams that give 1977 01:38:26.000 --> 01:38:28.680 him the best chance of maybe making a long run, 1978 01:38:29.039 --> 01:38:32.479 you know, potentially to the NBA Finals and trying to 1979 01:38:32.520 --> 01:38:34.680 win a championship near the end of his career. So 1980 01:38:34.760 --> 01:38:37.439 that's what I kind of would think would be kind 1981 01:38:37.439 --> 01:38:41.279 of the game plan that he would try and mark 1982 01:38:41.319 --> 01:38:42.079 out for himself. 1983 01:38:42.079 --> 01:38:43.800 All right, let's move over to the West for some 1984 01:38:43.920 --> 01:38:46.880 teams that I think have made some interesting strides in 1985 01:38:46.960 --> 01:38:51.119 the right direction. As we've already discussed the Utah Jazz 1986 01:38:51.159 --> 01:38:53.199 and kind of what they're trying to do throughout the 1987 01:38:53.239 --> 01:38:55.600 course of this offseason, I think we need to start 1988 01:38:55.600 --> 01:38:59.960 with Houston, who of course acquires Kevin Durants were they 1989 01:39:00.079 --> 01:39:03.159 extended Jabari, they gave him a five year deal. Van 1990 01:39:03.239 --> 01:39:06.359 Vliet is locked in and then I'm not sure what's 1991 01:39:06.359 --> 01:39:08.680 happening in Los Angeles, but Dorian Finney Smith is a 1992 01:39:08.720 --> 01:39:12.880 good player, four years fifty three, mil Clint Cappella. You 1993 01:39:12.880 --> 01:39:16.079 know they already have Steven Adams on the roster, I 1994 01:39:16.079 --> 01:39:18.319 mean the Vegas odds, and I know you love this 1995 01:39:18.560 --> 01:39:21.039 second best team in the West as of now, and 1996 01:39:21.119 --> 01:39:22.920 there's plenty of time between now in the fall. But 1997 01:39:22.960 --> 01:39:24.760 what do you make of Houston kind of going all 1998 01:39:24.800 --> 01:39:26.159 in to expedite their process. 1999 01:39:26.279 --> 01:39:28.840 Well, the the you know, what they're smart and is 2000 01:39:28.840 --> 01:39:31.880 that they've got a guy who they know can can 2001 01:39:31.920 --> 01:39:35.079 produce and be a lead guy in in in tough 2002 01:39:35.279 --> 01:39:39.119 playoff situations. So that's Kevin Durant. So now they got 2003 01:39:39.119 --> 01:39:43.520 these young guys, you know, and you know, look, Steven 2004 01:39:43.520 --> 01:39:48.239 Adams is a vet, Clint Capella is a VET. Dorian 2005 01:39:48.399 --> 01:39:51.600 Finney Smith has been around, he's a vet. So you've 2006 01:39:51.600 --> 01:39:56.439 got these guys who have experienced playoffs experience to match 2007 01:39:56.520 --> 01:39:59.840 up with the younger group of guys led by Shongoon 2008 01:40:00.239 --> 01:40:03.319 who's twenty two years old, Jabari Smith who's twenty two 2009 01:40:03.359 --> 01:40:06.640 years old, I'm and Thompson is twenty two. Then you 2010 01:40:06.720 --> 01:40:10.239 put that you mix them in with Cam Whitmore, and 2011 01:40:10.279 --> 01:40:13.760 then of course they resigned Fred van Vliet as well, 2012 01:40:14.159 --> 01:40:17.159 And so you've got a good mix of veterans and 2013 01:40:17.239 --> 01:40:20.640 young guys, and they're trying to get something done the 2014 01:40:20.680 --> 01:40:25.600 next couple of years while they've got Kevin Durant in 2015 01:40:25.640 --> 01:40:29.680 the fold and still playing at the highest of levels. 2016 01:40:29.720 --> 01:40:32.600 So that's that's what they've figured out, and they figured 2017 01:40:32.640 --> 01:40:35.720 out the money that they can get this done with. 2018 01:40:36.199 --> 01:40:40.039 And so they've gone all in on trying to figure 2019 01:40:40.239 --> 01:40:43.640 to see if they can challenge the Okcs and the 2020 01:40:43.680 --> 01:40:47.039 Denvers and the Golden States of the Western Conference the 2021 01:40:47.079 --> 01:40:48.039 next couple of years. 2022 01:40:48.319 --> 01:40:50.520 I wonder real quick, going back to this Turner deal, 2023 01:40:51.159 --> 01:40:54.800 if you're a Pacers fan, you were in Game seven 2024 01:40:54.800 --> 01:40:59.239 of the finals ten days ago, like Halliburton's also going 2025 01:40:59.279 --> 01:41:01.279 to miss time, What do you think is going on 2026 01:41:01.319 --> 01:41:03.279 with the Indiana front office? Are are they kind of 2027 01:41:03.359 --> 01:41:06.960 viewing next year the way Boston is without Tatum? It 2028 01:41:07.079 --> 01:41:08.880 just it caught me off guard because I'm looking at 2029 01:41:08.880 --> 01:41:10.600 what the Pacers just did, I'm looking at the East 2030 01:41:10.640 --> 01:41:11.159 Wide Open. 2031 01:41:11.479 --> 01:41:13.199 No halliburtn changes their equation. 2032 01:41:14.199 --> 01:41:16.359 Ten days ago, they were in Game seven of the 2033 01:41:16.439 --> 01:41:18.359 NBA Finals and Miles Turner as a buck. 2034 01:41:18.720 --> 01:41:22.199 And you can look at it a lot of different ways. Spence. 2035 01:41:22.279 --> 01:41:25.079 One is to say, hey, yeah, we got to Game seven, 2036 01:41:25.279 --> 01:41:28.920 We had forty eight minutes to possibly win the NBA Championship. 2037 01:41:29.319 --> 01:41:32.119 Didn't go our way. But we also have to be 2038 01:41:32.199 --> 01:41:35.720 objective and look at how we got to game seven, 2039 01:41:36.159 --> 01:41:39.680 and that was with a lot of good play during 2040 01:41:39.720 --> 01:41:44.039 the playoffs, but also a lot of good fortune during 2041 01:41:44.079 --> 01:41:48.039 the playoffs and different series where the ball literally bounced 2042 01:41:48.199 --> 01:41:52.239 their way several times they got them, you know, a 2043 01:41:52.359 --> 01:41:55.840 win in a playoff series that propelled them to go 2044 01:41:55.920 --> 01:41:59.000 on to the next round of the playoffs. So they 2045 01:41:59.039 --> 01:42:00.960 may be looking at it saying, yeah, we we had 2046 01:42:01.000 --> 01:42:03.520 a good run. We had a lot of things go 2047 01:42:03.640 --> 01:42:06.960 our way. We had the tough injury in the last game. 2048 01:42:07.239 --> 01:42:10.479 Yeah it didn't quite work out that way. But we 2049 01:42:10.560 --> 01:42:15.920 can't fool ourselves into thinking we're really that good in 2050 01:42:15.960 --> 01:42:18.800 that regard. And and so we have to step back 2051 01:42:18.840 --> 01:42:22.520 and make sure we're assessing our team fairly. And that 2052 01:42:22.640 --> 01:42:28.359 also unfortunately involves in not having a Tyrese Haliburton next 2053 01:42:28.359 --> 01:42:31.960 season on our playing roster. And so that's that's one 2054 01:42:31.960 --> 01:42:34.520 thing we have to look at and assess in a 2055 01:42:34.560 --> 01:42:37.960 way that makes sense for us in the short term, 2056 01:42:37.960 --> 01:42:40.840 but also going forward in the long term what it 2057 01:42:40.880 --> 01:42:41.560 means to us. 2058 01:42:41.720 --> 01:42:45.079 Oftentimes there's this debate that rage is about. You know, 2059 01:42:45.119 --> 01:42:48.199 who's the best local college player that has made his 2060 01:42:48.279 --> 01:42:52.880 way towards uh, the NBA in professional basketball. And I 2061 01:42:52.920 --> 01:42:54.520 don't know who the best is, but I know who 2062 01:42:54.520 --> 01:42:57.199 the richest is, as Jaka Peertle has signed the richest 2063 01:42:57.199 --> 01:42:59.399 contract in the history of any player that has played 2064 01:42:59.439 --> 01:43:02.359 as college. But here one hundred and four million dollar 2065 01:43:02.359 --> 01:43:05.720 extension for Yakaperla. I wonder back when he was here 2066 01:43:06.039 --> 01:43:08.039 how you scouted him, what sort of player you thought 2067 01:43:08.079 --> 01:43:10.359 he would be in your thoughts that he continues to 2068 01:43:10.359 --> 01:43:13.199 play at a high level and Toronto obviously very values him. 2069 01:43:13.319 --> 01:43:16.239 Yeah, he's uh, you know, I thought he'd be a 2070 01:43:16.680 --> 01:43:20.239 solid pro and I think that's what he is. I 2071 01:43:20.239 --> 01:43:23.520 don't think he's an All star level player, but I 2072 01:43:23.640 --> 01:43:28.199 think he's a good starting center in the NBA. He 2073 01:43:28.199 --> 01:43:32.159 he works hard, he's a good teammate, he's he's a 2074 01:43:32.199 --> 01:43:36.520 good locker room guy. You know, while this looks like 2075 01:43:36.560 --> 01:43:39.640 a lot of money, basically twenty five twenty six million 2076 01:43:39.640 --> 01:43:42.840 dollars a year for the next four years. You know. 2077 01:43:43.079 --> 01:43:50.000 That's unfortunately, that's the going rate, you know for regular guys. Now, 2078 01:43:50.079 --> 01:43:52.920 if you look across the landscape of the NBA and 2079 01:43:52.960 --> 01:43:56.640 with this new TV contract, in the new salary cap, 2080 01:43:56.720 --> 01:44:00.439 that's that's in play now, that's just gonna keep creeping up. 2081 01:44:00.479 --> 01:44:03.680 And so guys like Yaka Pertle, it can be in 2082 01:44:03.680 --> 01:44:06.119 the right place at the right time and they can 2083 01:44:06.199 --> 01:44:10.119 cash in on a deal like that. That doesn't doesn't 2084 01:44:10.359 --> 01:44:16.680 you know, people tend to interpret someone getting money with 2085 01:44:17.079 --> 01:44:22.119 them going to come out the next year and give 2086 01:44:22.199 --> 01:44:27.800 us an increased value of production. That's usually not the case. 2087 01:44:28.600 --> 01:44:31.920 What you're doing is you're just paying the guy because 2088 01:44:31.960 --> 01:44:34.399 that's the going rate, to keep him on your team 2089 01:44:34.880 --> 01:44:37.199 for what your hope is is going to be some 2090 01:44:37.279 --> 01:44:40.880 kind of uh, improved play by the group as a whole. 2091 01:44:41.760 --> 01:44:46.479 Yaka Pertle is a very nice player. He's Toronto obviously 2092 01:44:46.680 --> 01:44:47.039 likes him. 2093 01:44:47.720 --> 01:44:47.840 Uh. 2094 01:44:48.000 --> 01:44:50.760 They drafted him, they traded him, they got him back. 2095 01:44:51.279 --> 01:44:54.880 Now they're now they're committing to him. Uh, you know 2096 01:44:54.960 --> 01:44:57.960 with this new four year deal, and that's and again 2097 01:44:58.000 --> 01:45:01.039 that's part of what they're We did try to establish 2098 01:45:01.119 --> 01:45:05.439 as a core group there in Toronto. Obviously, now without 2099 01:45:05.560 --> 01:45:10.039 Messiu Shii leading them in that regard and with Bobby Webster, 2100 01:45:10.119 --> 01:45:14.359 the longtime general manager at the moment making those those decisions. 2101 01:45:15.159 --> 01:45:17.880 All right, let's do a quick I do want to 2102 01:45:17.880 --> 01:45:19.960 talk about what the Atlanta Hawks have elected to do 2103 01:45:20.039 --> 01:45:23.439 and our old buddy Quinn Snyders coaching that team. And 2104 01:45:23.800 --> 01:45:27.840 I told you this before San Antonio Oklahoma City. You know, 2105 01:45:27.880 --> 01:45:30.399 there are certain decision makers in the league where they 2106 01:45:30.479 --> 01:45:32.439 do something and I'm just like, Okay, it makes sense 2107 01:45:32.479 --> 01:45:34.960 because that's who they are, and that's the reputation they've earned. 2108 01:45:35.680 --> 01:45:36.199 Four years. 2109 01:45:36.199 --> 01:45:38.479 Forty one million dollars for Luke Cornette feels like a 2110 01:45:38.479 --> 01:45:41.199 lot of money, though, yeah, for this San Antonio Spurs, 2111 01:45:41.199 --> 01:45:45.319 but they get a legitimate backup to Wembanyama insurance if 2112 01:45:45.319 --> 01:45:49.000 wemban Yama has more health issues. And San Antonio adds 2113 01:45:49.039 --> 01:45:51.720 Dylan Harper via the draft, and they obviously have the 2114 01:45:52.039 --> 01:45:54.039 back to back Rookie of the Year winners with Weman 2115 01:45:54.119 --> 01:45:56.399 Yama and Stefan Castle. But what do you make of 2116 01:45:56.439 --> 01:45:59.560 San Antonio paining Luke Cornette forty one million dollars over 2117 01:45:59.600 --> 01:46:00.119 four years? 2118 01:46:00.359 --> 01:46:03.920 I think that's a lot of money for what Luca 2119 01:46:04.239 --> 01:46:10.279 Cornett does. He's an active player, he's long, he's can 2120 01:46:10.359 --> 01:46:14.760 move somewhat not great, but he uh he plays hard 2121 01:46:15.079 --> 01:46:18.199 when he's out there. He can uh, he can hit 2122 01:46:18.239 --> 01:46:22.920 an occasional shot, but he's more of a serviceable big man. 2123 01:46:23.760 --> 01:46:26.520 Ten million dollars seems like it's a lot of money 2124 01:46:27.479 --> 01:46:30.239 for someone like him. You can get guys like him 2125 01:46:30.239 --> 01:46:33.520 in my opinion, Uh, you know, at a lesser number, 2126 01:46:33.880 --> 01:46:37.800 but they they have some money to spend. They like him. 2127 01:46:37.840 --> 01:46:40.119 It's not it's good. It's not gonna be a big number. 2128 01:46:40.640 --> 01:46:42.640 Two years from now when he's in the third year 2129 01:46:42.640 --> 01:46:45.199 of the deal, he's still making ten million, so it 2130 01:46:45.239 --> 01:46:48.840 may look even better than so. But he's he's a 2131 01:46:48.880 --> 01:46:51.560 player that they they wanted to go out and add 2132 01:46:52.039 --> 01:46:55.399 to their core group. It's again, it feels like a 2133 01:46:55.399 --> 01:46:57.319 lot of money for someone like him and what he 2134 01:46:57.399 --> 01:47:01.159 does to me. Uh, But in the great scheme of things, 2135 01:47:01.439 --> 01:47:04.520 it's not a lot of money to secure a guy 2136 01:47:04.279 --> 01:47:08.359 that you think adds to your group. Culturally. He's a 2137 01:47:08.399 --> 01:47:10.800 good guy in the locker room, he's a good guy 2138 01:47:11.199 --> 01:47:14.119 you know, on the practice floor, and he's someone who's 2139 01:47:14.159 --> 01:47:16.279 going to add to how you want to try and 2140 01:47:16.359 --> 01:47:17.880 do things in San Antonio. 2141 01:47:18.039 --> 01:47:20.920 Another local story, but not involving the Utah Jazz. And 2142 01:47:20.920 --> 01:47:24.520 anybody who knows anything knows that the Bountiful Braves are 2143 01:47:24.560 --> 01:47:27.199 known for developing good looking guys that can really shoot it. 2144 01:47:27.239 --> 01:47:27.760 There you go. 2145 01:47:27.880 --> 01:47:31.319 And so Sammy Merrill another contract, four years, thirty eight 2146 01:47:31.359 --> 01:47:33.359 million dollars for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 2147 01:47:33.439 --> 01:47:36.439 So they call that, I think in circles they call 2148 01:47:36.520 --> 01:47:40.560 that the Bountiful Spence check its number, well said, So 2149 01:47:40.600 --> 01:47:44.680 that's that's right around that area. But you know, happy 2150 01:47:44.720 --> 01:47:47.880 for Sam. Look, he's bounced around on a number of teams. 2151 01:47:48.520 --> 01:47:51.880 He was the last guy taking in his draft a year. 2152 01:47:53.960 --> 01:47:56.199 He's had to go through the G league route a 2153 01:47:56.239 --> 01:48:00.399 few times, he's been out of jobs a few times. 2154 01:48:00.720 --> 01:48:02.960 He's been one of those guys who has one foot in, 2155 01:48:03.079 --> 01:48:06.960 one foot out. He's stuck with it again. Another guy 2156 01:48:07.279 --> 01:48:11.000 that to me might have been I can't say better 2157 01:48:11.039 --> 01:48:14.319 served because obviously he just got this deal now with 2158 01:48:14.399 --> 01:48:17.800 a very competitive NBA team that likes him and that 2159 01:48:18.000 --> 01:48:20.319 uses him in their rotation. So he's gonna be making 2160 01:48:20.399 --> 01:48:23.640 nine million a year the next four years. You know, 2161 01:48:23.800 --> 01:48:27.800 he could have a bigger role on a EuroLeague team 2162 01:48:28.039 --> 01:48:31.159 and be very competitive playing in Europe, but he'd probably 2163 01:48:31.159 --> 01:48:34.479 only be making two or three million. And so, you know, 2164 01:48:34.680 --> 01:48:37.800 for him, he's stuck with it. He believed in himself, 2165 01:48:38.239 --> 01:48:40.199 he worked at it. He's a great you know, he's 2166 01:48:40.239 --> 01:48:43.479 an A plus guy as we all know, and you 2167 01:48:43.520 --> 01:48:45.680 know he's a little bit of a one trick pony 2168 01:48:46.760 --> 01:48:49.840 at the NBA level, but he's managed to figure out 2169 01:48:49.880 --> 01:48:53.880 how to do that at a level that allows him 2170 01:48:53.920 --> 01:48:57.760 to contribute to a very good team and to fit 2171 01:48:57.880 --> 01:49:00.600 in with the group of guys that they have and 2172 01:49:00.680 --> 01:49:03.239 spends all the time we talk about the fact that 2173 01:49:03.239 --> 01:49:07.000 it's not just this isn't a one on one tournament 2174 01:49:07.039 --> 01:49:09.039 in the NBA. You got to be part of a 2175 01:49:09.079 --> 01:49:11.640 group of a team that's trying to be on the 2176 01:49:11.680 --> 01:49:15.119 same page to try and affect winning and trying to 2177 01:49:15.199 --> 01:49:19.960 move your team forward. And Cleveland obviously values him as 2178 01:49:20.159 --> 01:49:24.880 one part of their equation for playing winning basketball in 2179 01:49:24.920 --> 01:49:27.960 the role that he provides them, and so it's a 2180 01:49:28.079 --> 01:49:30.800 it's a great, a great moment for Sam. It couldn't 2181 01:49:30.840 --> 01:49:33.800 be happier for him and his family because he's really 2182 01:49:33.840 --> 01:49:38.159 earned it and really put himself in this position Denver. 2183 01:49:38.279 --> 01:49:40.720 We should talk about Denver because I feel like, well, 2184 01:49:40.720 --> 01:49:43.920 first of all, they had they have Jokich, so they're 2185 01:49:44.000 --> 01:49:45.680 just going to be relevant because they have who I 2186 01:49:45.680 --> 01:49:47.399 think is the best player in the world right now. 2187 01:49:48.119 --> 01:49:50.800 But they have been criticized over the past couple of 2188 01:49:50.840 --> 01:49:55.199 years for letting contributors walk instead of going into luxury 2189 01:49:55.279 --> 01:49:57.199 tax or second Apron, whatever it is. 2190 01:49:57.840 --> 01:49:59.239 And they made three. 2191 01:49:59.239 --> 01:50:02.359 Pretty interesting moves. First, they trade Michael Porter Junior in 2192 01:50:02.439 --> 01:50:06.840 an unprotected first round pick in twenty thirty two. Now 2193 01:50:07.000 --> 01:50:10.079 it's twenty twenty five, so nobody knows. In twenty thirty two, 2194 01:50:10.159 --> 01:50:13.039 yok which should be thirty seven, so we'll see what Brooklyn's. 2195 01:50:12.600 --> 01:50:13.119 Able to grab. 2196 01:50:13.159 --> 01:50:16.039 Their They bring in Cam Johnson, who was a son 2197 01:50:16.079 --> 01:50:18.239 for a minute, and I think there's a lot to 2198 01:50:18.399 --> 01:50:21.520 like about Cam Johnson. And then they bring back Bruce Brown, 2199 01:50:21.560 --> 01:50:23.439 who was a key member of their championship team a 2200 01:50:23.479 --> 01:50:26.199 few years ago. And look, I'm not a huge Tim 2201 01:50:26.199 --> 01:50:28.840 Hardaway junior guy, but if he's your ninth or tenth guy, 2202 01:50:28.840 --> 01:50:29.800 I think you're doing all right. 2203 01:50:29.880 --> 01:50:32.239 What do you make of the three moves Denvers made, Yeah. 2204 01:50:32.079 --> 01:50:34.439 I think they they've done. They brought back a guy 2205 01:50:34.760 --> 01:50:38.399 who they know and they can fit in seamlessly with 2206 01:50:38.520 --> 01:50:41.520 how they play. And that's Bruce Brown. They made the 2207 01:50:41.560 --> 01:50:47.760 switch with Michael Porter and brought in Cam Johnson, you know, 2208 01:50:48.239 --> 01:50:52.279 not quite as big as Porter, but maybe maybe does 2209 01:50:52.279 --> 01:50:55.680 the same kind of stuff, you know, within reason for 2210 01:50:55.680 --> 01:50:58.760 for how they their group operates. Of course in that 2211 01:50:58.880 --> 01:51:03.279 you know, by Addie those guys in the mix, you know, 2212 01:51:03.560 --> 01:51:05.840 to to go with the guys they already have in 2213 01:51:05.960 --> 01:51:09.840 Gordon and and Jokic and Murray, those guys you know, 2214 01:51:10.119 --> 01:51:12.880 can fit in with what they do and how they're 2215 01:51:12.880 --> 01:51:15.119 trying to do it. And of course, uh, they've got 2216 01:51:15.119 --> 01:51:18.399 the emerging player Christian Brown, who I think you know, 2217 01:51:18.439 --> 01:51:20.560 it gives them something. And then also they you know, 2218 01:51:20.640 --> 01:51:25.840 they brought in uh both Jonas Valentunas uh and they 2219 01:51:25.880 --> 01:51:29.319 got him in the trade now uh to bring him 2220 01:51:29.319 --> 01:51:32.039 in as a backup. He's a very good be a 2221 01:51:32.159 --> 01:51:34.319 very good backup for jo Kich and may be able 2222 01:51:34.359 --> 01:51:37.319 to give him some extra minutes from game to game, 2223 01:51:37.359 --> 01:51:40.399 which would be interesting to them. And then uh, and 2224 01:51:40.399 --> 01:51:42.520 and then I believe they're bringing out they bringing it 2225 01:51:42.560 --> 01:51:43.720 back Russell Westbrook. 2226 01:51:44.359 --> 01:51:48.239 That's not what is officials. They've also traded Dario Sarage 2227 01:51:48.279 --> 01:51:49.119 for Yeah. 2228 01:51:49.159 --> 01:51:52.520 Yeah, yeah, they've traded Sharge for for Valentnis Uh and 2229 01:51:52.560 --> 01:51:55.399 they're getting him, you know, to be Jokich's backup, which 2230 01:51:55.439 --> 01:51:58.680 is smart because he can take extra minutes he can 2231 01:51:58.920 --> 01:52:02.920 meaning he can play, you know, maybe more backup minutes 2232 01:52:03.279 --> 01:52:07.520 than the Denver backups have been doing for Jokic, so 2233 01:52:07.680 --> 01:52:10.600 can give him more time off the court during games, 2234 01:52:10.640 --> 01:52:13.720 which you will extend him during the course of the season. 2235 01:52:13.760 --> 01:52:16.560 So when he gets to April and May and hopefully 2236 01:52:16.640 --> 01:52:20.039 June for them, you know, he's played fewer minutes that year, 2237 01:52:20.359 --> 01:52:23.600 and maybe he'll have more gas in the tank come playoff. 2238 01:52:23.239 --> 01:52:24.079 Time Final one. 2239 01:52:24.119 --> 01:52:26.760 Smidtey, Yeah, I think this is fascinating because the Atlanta 2240 01:52:26.800 --> 01:52:29.399 Hawks have a coach named Quinn Snyder, and once upon 2241 01:52:29.439 --> 01:52:32.039 a time, Quinn Snyder had a player named nkil Alexander 2242 01:52:32.079 --> 01:52:35.119 Walker who could not get off the bench. Quinn seemed 2243 01:52:35.119 --> 01:52:38.039 to prefer Royce O'Neil and some other players. Ni kil 2244 01:52:38.039 --> 01:52:41.079 Alexander Walker goes to Minnesota, has a really good run 2245 01:52:41.279 --> 01:52:43.760 playoffs Game two, three, and four. You had like fifty 2246 01:52:43.800 --> 01:52:47.199 two points on nineteen and thirty two shooting. Once Minnesota 2247 01:52:47.239 --> 01:52:50.359 brought back NAS Reed and Julius Randall. It looked like 2248 01:52:50.439 --> 01:52:53.199 Nikio was out of their price range, and the Kiel 2249 01:52:53.199 --> 01:52:57.279 Alexander Walker lands in Atlanta to play for Quinn again. 2250 01:52:57.800 --> 01:53:00.319 They make the deal last week for Kristaps for Zeus, 2251 01:53:01.760 --> 01:53:04.920 Terrence Man goes to Brooklyn, George Niang former buddy around here, 2252 01:53:04.960 --> 01:53:07.760 goes to Boston, and then they also bring in Luke 2253 01:53:07.760 --> 01:53:10.640 Canard from the Minnesota or achieved me from the Memphis Grizzlies. 2254 01:53:10.720 --> 01:53:14.319 So again, as we've talked about, the East, certainly feels 2255 01:53:14.319 --> 01:53:16.720 like it is pretty wide open. I don't know if 2256 01:53:16.720 --> 01:53:18.720 you think Atlanta has put themselves in the mix, but 2257 01:53:18.880 --> 01:53:20.800 some interesting movement from the Atlanta Hawks. 2258 01:53:20.920 --> 01:53:24.479 No, they've they've They've added some players that will help them, 2259 01:53:25.000 --> 01:53:28.600 some guys who will be very good players, maybe starting, 2260 01:53:28.840 --> 01:53:33.720 but certainly rotational type guys. And u ni Kiel, He'll 2261 01:53:33.800 --> 01:53:36.960 he'll come in. He'll give him good rotation minutes. He's 2262 01:53:37.000 --> 01:53:42.159 a good role player who can play multiple positions. Of course, 2263 01:53:42.239 --> 01:53:44.560 Luke Canard is one of the better shooters in the league. 2264 01:53:44.960 --> 01:53:47.159 Then he has had that experience to be able to 2265 01:53:47.159 --> 01:53:50.960 extend defenses. They have the new draft pick that you 2266 01:53:51.000 --> 01:53:55.439 know they got last week, Ason Newell out of Georgia, 2267 01:53:55.520 --> 01:53:57.439 who I think has a chance to be a pretty 2268 01:53:57.479 --> 01:54:01.279 good player if Porzingis is healthy. He's got one year left, 2269 01:54:01.319 --> 01:54:03.439 so he's kind of like on a trial basis with 2270 01:54:03.520 --> 01:54:06.520 them to see what he can do during the course 2271 01:54:06.520 --> 01:54:08.600 of the year and if he can stay healthy. And 2272 01:54:08.680 --> 01:54:13.880 of course they had the number one pick two years ago, Zacharysache, 2273 01:54:14.199 --> 01:54:17.720 who's still a guy who's learning, who's developing. So they 2274 01:54:17.720 --> 01:54:21.840 have a nice mix of guys there all around Trey Young, 2275 01:54:22.479 --> 01:54:25.079 who controls all the action from the point guard position, 2276 01:54:25.199 --> 01:54:28.600 so you know, a nice mix of guys there. Of course, 2277 01:54:28.640 --> 01:54:32.840 again Atlanta dealing with the front office change of their own, 2278 01:54:33.119 --> 01:54:36.680 so they have some different decision makers there now and 2279 01:54:37.439 --> 01:54:40.159 we'll see how that plays out for Quinn Snyder and 2280 01:54:40.199 --> 01:54:40.600 his group. 2281 01:54:40.720 --> 01:54:42.760 I'm gonna ask you one more question only because I 2282 01:54:42.880 --> 01:54:45.439 just received my fifth text message of the day about 2283 01:54:45.439 --> 01:54:48.279 this and I know the answer to it. So don't 2284 01:54:48.279 --> 01:54:50.239 get mad at me, don't put me in my corner. 2285 01:54:50.800 --> 01:54:53.640 There's nothing that makes sense about the Jazz and Dame Lillard, right, 2286 01:54:53.680 --> 01:54:56.199 there's nothing that makes sense about Dame Lillard signed with 2287 01:54:56.279 --> 01:54:58.479 Utah Jazz for either the Jazz or Dame. 2288 01:54:58.920 --> 01:55:01.199 That would be correct in my opinion. I mean, there's 2289 01:55:01.239 --> 01:55:03.960 no I mean, Damian Lillard is gonna he's gonna be 2290 01:55:04.000 --> 01:55:06.880 taken next year to to rehab, to get his leg right, 2291 01:55:07.039 --> 01:55:09.880 get all that stuff straightened out. He'll do that because 2292 01:55:09.880 --> 01:55:12.720 he's that kind of a worker. And then my opinion, 2293 01:55:13.199 --> 01:55:15.039 I would assume that he would then be in a 2294 01:55:15.039 --> 01:55:17.640 position to be able to look around the league and 2295 01:55:17.800 --> 01:55:21.720 target three, four, five teams that he thinks he could 2296 01:55:21.760 --> 01:55:25.560 add to, either as the starter, depending on what a 2297 01:55:25.600 --> 01:55:29.920 particular team situation is, or you know, as a valuable rotation, 2298 01:55:30.199 --> 01:55:33.159 backup guy to try and get somebody over the hump 2299 01:55:33.239 --> 01:55:36.600 in a playoff situation. You know, is that you know, 2300 01:55:36.720 --> 01:55:39.600 might be too late for somebody like the Lakers. But 2301 01:55:39.760 --> 01:55:43.000 just as a hypothetical example, maybe a year from now, 2302 01:55:43.720 --> 01:55:46.640 if he's if he rehabs well enough and he's ready 2303 01:55:46.680 --> 01:55:50.199 to go next March or April, maybe maybe he looks 2304 01:55:50.239 --> 01:55:51.880 at the Lakers and go he says, hey, I can 2305 01:55:51.920 --> 01:55:54.760 go with Lebron James and Luka Doncic and those guys 2306 01:55:54.800 --> 01:55:57.439 and I can help them in the spring, you know, 2307 01:55:57.560 --> 01:56:00.640 make something happen, or maybe you know, he go somewhere 2308 01:56:00.640 --> 01:56:03.439 else for one of these other teams and tries to 2309 01:56:03.439 --> 01:56:08.159 give them some help again either as their starter or 2310 01:56:08.159 --> 01:56:11.319 off the bench, to try and help them make an 2311 01:56:11.359 --> 01:56:14.920 extended playoff run towards a potential championship. 2312 01:56:14.960 --> 01:56:18.319 Well, Smithy, I think today was the day you finally 2313 01:56:18.359 --> 01:56:21.560 became a pro at radio. You gave me five minutes 2314 01:56:21.600 --> 01:56:24.279 on Johnny Jusang being waived and sphe m kay Luke's 2315 01:56:24.319 --> 01:56:25.479 contract picking up that. 2316 01:56:25.479 --> 01:56:27.680 That's called filibustering. And if you can't do that, you 2317 01:56:27.720 --> 01:56:28.439 can't do this job. 2318 01:56:28.479 --> 01:56:30.800 So bravos, sir, see that, and you can throw any 2319 01:56:30.880 --> 01:56:32.600 name you want to spend that meeting. If I don't 2320 01:56:32.680 --> 01:56:35.119 know it, yeah, I certainly will have two minutes that 2321 01:56:35.199 --> 01:56:36.479 I just make up on the fly. 2322 01:56:36.640 --> 01:56:37.960 That's part of that's part of the job. 2323 01:56:38.039 --> 01:56:38.199 Man. 2324 01:56:38.399 --> 01:56:40.359 Hey, great to see you. We'll get you back soon. Okay, 2325 01:56:40.399 --> 01:56:43.560 thanks many, Richard Smith. Day two of NBA Free Agencies. 2326 01:56:43.720 --> 01:56:46.840 Get over to the five o'clock hour of the program 2327 01:56:47.319 --> 01:56:50.119 coming up in just a little bit, bringing Kyle Bondaguerro 2328 01:56:50.199 --> 01:56:52.840 from ESPN the latest on the Jake retz lav situation 2329 01:56:52.960 --> 01:56:55.479 at by U University of Utah. Locks in a nice 2330 01:56:55.520 --> 01:56:58.359 commit today for the twenty twenty sixth class. We'll be 2331 01:56:58.399 --> 01:57:01.119 in Dallas or I guess Frisco technically next week for 2332 01:57:01.159 --> 01:57:03.359 Big twelve media days. But let's do a little more jazz. 2333 01:57:03.439 --> 01:57:05.199 It's been a while, but our good friend from the 2334 01:57:05.199 --> 01:57:09.399 Destrat News, Sarah Todd, stops by on a Tuesday afternoon. Sarah, 2335 01:57:09.439 --> 01:57:10.159 Happy Tuesday. 2336 01:57:10.159 --> 01:57:14.239 How are you happy Tuesday? Since Tuesday? What a beautiful 2337 01:57:14.279 --> 01:57:15.039 day it is. 2338 01:57:15.199 --> 01:57:17.039 It is a beautiful day, and we've got a lot 2339 01:57:17.079 --> 01:57:18.960 to do with you because it's been a minute since 2340 01:57:19.000 --> 01:57:20.000 we've been able to connect. 2341 01:57:20.000 --> 01:57:22.239 So we'll start with the little jazz draft stuff. 2342 01:57:22.279 --> 01:57:25.359 And I just wonder what your understanding is of this 2343 01:57:25.520 --> 01:57:28.800 narrative surrounding Ace at Ace Bailey, who the Jazz landed 2344 01:57:28.840 --> 01:57:30.920 on a number five and the whole Hey, he doesn't 2345 01:57:30.960 --> 01:57:34.279 want to be here, his camp doesn't want him to 2346 01:57:34.279 --> 01:57:36.720 be in Salt Lake City, and then there's rumors that 2347 01:57:36.760 --> 01:57:41.279 he won't report all of the things, and I can't 2348 01:57:41.279 --> 01:57:43.600 cooperate any of them. But your thoughts on the jazz 2349 01:57:43.680 --> 01:57:48.159 drafting Ace and your understanding of the narrative surrounding that selection. 2350 01:57:49.840 --> 01:57:53.039 Yeah, I mean I think that what I expected to 2351 01:57:53.159 --> 01:57:58.640 happen is what happened, right like once once Ace Bailey 2352 01:57:58.880 --> 01:58:01.119 was here. Once you get in the building, you know, 2353 01:58:01.439 --> 01:58:05.720 once the zeros behind the dollar sign are made clear 2354 01:58:05.800 --> 01:58:08.600 on the rookie contract, and everything else kind of falls 2355 01:58:08.640 --> 01:58:11.159 into place. And that's how I kind of expected this 2356 01:58:11.239 --> 01:58:13.920 to play out. I didn't expect him to not report. 2357 01:58:14.439 --> 01:58:17.600 It's my understanding that the top five team that he 2358 01:58:17.720 --> 01:58:21.119 was rumored to have his team to have not said 2359 01:58:21.119 --> 01:58:23.680 that he would report to was not the Utah Jazz, 2360 01:58:23.960 --> 01:58:27.920 But you know, that's neither here nor there at this point, right. 2361 01:58:28.039 --> 01:58:32.439 But I think that the biggest thing that I can 2362 01:58:32.479 --> 01:58:36.039 say is that the narrative that kind of started to 2363 01:58:36.119 --> 01:58:41.079 formulate about maybe Ace being entitled and not really you know, 2364 01:58:41.079 --> 01:58:44.079 knowing how this process works and being like an arrogant kid, 2365 01:58:44.119 --> 01:58:46.880 that it was expecting too much. That's the part that 2366 01:58:46.920 --> 01:58:51.680 I didn't appreciate, because you know, we're talking about an 2367 01:58:51.680 --> 01:58:53.960 eighteen year old kid. We're talking about a literal teenager 2368 01:58:54.159 --> 01:58:58.880 who had people in his corner handling his business, and 2369 01:58:58.920 --> 01:59:01.159 that they were the ones that were representing him and 2370 01:59:01.199 --> 01:59:04.239 speaking on behalf for him during the pre draft process. 2371 01:59:04.760 --> 01:59:07.920 And I think that that was all done in a 2372 01:59:08.039 --> 01:59:13.520 very misguided fashion. And now we move on from it. 2373 01:59:14.239 --> 01:59:17.399 As far as what you think he can be as 2374 01:59:17.439 --> 01:59:20.039 a player for the Jazz as he grows. I mean, 2375 01:59:20.560 --> 01:59:23.039 it's gonna be tough because there are very few eighteen 2376 01:59:23.079 --> 01:59:25.479 year olds in our name Lebron James that step in. 2377 01:59:25.439 --> 01:59:26.479 And look like they're ready. 2378 01:59:26.560 --> 01:59:28.800 But and we'll get to some of the decisions that 2379 01:59:28.800 --> 01:59:32.039 have already been made, it does indicate that there should 2380 01:59:32.079 --> 01:59:33.279 be plenty of minutes for him. 2381 01:59:33.800 --> 01:59:35.680 I think a lot of fans are excited about that. 2382 01:59:35.880 --> 01:59:38.239 So I'll ask a two parter, what do you think 2383 01:59:38.279 --> 01:59:41.319 it looks like immediately and what should Jazz fans hope 2384 01:59:41.399 --> 01:59:42.680 it looks like eventually? 2385 01:59:44.560 --> 01:59:47.840 Immediately? Probably not gonna look great, right, you said it. 2386 01:59:47.920 --> 01:59:49.720 There's not a lot of guys that come into this 2387 01:59:49.840 --> 01:59:54.680 league and look perfect and ready and you know, polished 2388 01:59:54.880 --> 02:00:00.319 right away. But I think that prior to Draft night, 2389 02:00:00.920 --> 02:00:03.960 on the Utah Jazz roster, there was probably not a 2390 02:00:04.000 --> 02:00:07.279 single player on the roster, but Jazz fans could have 2391 02:00:07.319 --> 02:00:10.479 gone out and got his jersey and been like, yes, 2392 02:00:10.760 --> 02:00:12.399 this is going to be a guy that's going to 2393 02:00:12.399 --> 02:00:15.039 be a part of the future, no questions asked. Right, 2394 02:00:15.840 --> 02:00:18.880 Even if we're talking about guys like Lowry, Markinen and 2395 02:00:18.960 --> 02:00:21.560 Walker Kessler, those are not guarantees, like the Jazz are 2396 02:00:21.680 --> 02:00:25.000 going to hear offers that come in for them and 2397 02:00:25.039 --> 02:00:28.600 if one makes sense, they'll make it. And so there 2398 02:00:28.640 --> 02:00:31.479 and like the young guys on this roster currently, like, yeah, 2399 02:00:31.520 --> 02:00:34.000 there's been some flashes of potential, but there's nothing that 2400 02:00:34.000 --> 02:00:37.399 we've seen at this point that says like absolutely no 2401 02:00:37.600 --> 02:00:41.600 questions asked. Isaiah Collier is a building block for the future, right, 2402 02:00:41.680 --> 02:00:43.319 Like there's just not a player on the team, And 2403 02:00:43.359 --> 02:00:47.039 so then Draft night comes in. Ace Dailey is someone 2404 02:00:47.479 --> 02:00:51.239 that has potential to be a clear building block, So like, 2405 02:00:51.920 --> 02:00:55.000 what could we see in the future. This kid could 2406 02:00:55.039 --> 02:00:59.680 be really good. He has all star potential, and we 2407 02:00:59.720 --> 02:01:01.479 don't don't know if he's going to reach that feeling. 2408 02:01:01.760 --> 02:01:03.960 We don't know what's going to happen, and that's part 2409 02:01:04.000 --> 02:01:06.840 of like the risk of all of this and building teams. 2410 02:01:07.279 --> 02:01:09.760 But if you're looking towards like what the Jazz are 2411 02:01:09.800 --> 02:01:12.840 trying to do, he could be one of the certain 2412 02:01:12.880 --> 02:01:13.600 building blocks. 2413 02:01:14.159 --> 02:01:16.439 I feel the same way, And I also feel like 2414 02:01:16.520 --> 02:01:18.920 this fan base has been a little and look it, 2415 02:01:19.159 --> 02:01:21.239 we should be very clear, Sarah, as you and I 2416 02:01:21.319 --> 02:01:23.319 visit throughout the course of the off season then into 2417 02:01:23.359 --> 02:01:27.479 next season, this appears that it will be another very 2418 02:01:27.600 --> 02:01:31.079 long year from a standpoint of wins and losses, But 2419 02:01:31.319 --> 02:01:34.359 at least there's like a plan starting to formulate a 2420 02:01:34.359 --> 02:01:37.119 little bit. And I do feel like there's genuine excitement 2421 02:01:37.640 --> 02:01:40.279 in the community for jazz fans about what Ace could 2422 02:01:40.319 --> 02:01:40.920 eventually be. 2423 02:01:41.000 --> 02:01:42.520 Are you getting kind of the same vibe? 2424 02:01:43.079 --> 02:01:43.279 Yeah? 2425 02:01:43.319 --> 02:01:45.880 Absolutely, I mean I think that you know me and 2426 02:01:45.920 --> 02:01:48.760 you both said when you know Austin Ainge was hired 2427 02:01:48.800 --> 02:01:51.880 and the question was asked why Sean O'Connell, like, you know, 2428 02:01:51.920 --> 02:01:55.159 what's your philosophy on manipulating player minutes and availability in 2429 02:01:55.239 --> 02:01:56.880 order to tank? And he said, you won't see that 2430 02:01:56.960 --> 02:02:01.560 this year. The sub tweet on that was because we 2431 02:02:01.640 --> 02:02:03.640 won't have the players on the roster that we need 2432 02:02:03.680 --> 02:02:08.079 to manipulate their minutes, right, And that's what we're seeing. 2433 02:02:08.560 --> 02:02:11.640 You don't need to sit Jordan Clarkson out anymore because 2434 02:02:11.680 --> 02:02:13.960 they've bought out his contract. You don't need to worry 2435 02:02:14.000 --> 02:02:18.359 about sitting a healthy Colin Sexton because they've traded him. 2436 02:02:18.760 --> 02:02:20.439 Now that you bring in use of Nurkic and a 2437 02:02:20.479 --> 02:02:23.520 lot of fans see that and they think, why would 2438 02:02:23.600 --> 02:02:26.000 you give up like a twenty six year old guy 2439 02:02:26.039 --> 02:02:29.600 who's really efficient shooter for someone who's basically like a 2440 02:02:29.800 --> 02:02:32.880 washed backup center. Well, because the Jazz don't want to win, 2441 02:02:33.199 --> 02:02:35.600 that's why. And so they got what they wanted out 2442 02:02:35.640 --> 02:02:37.960 of that deal. They got the exact amount of expiring 2443 02:02:38.039 --> 02:02:40.159 money that Colin Sexton would have been on, and they 2444 02:02:40.159 --> 02:02:42.720 got someone that they don't have to worry about sitting 2445 02:02:43.399 --> 02:02:46.119 on the bench when he's healthy. And so I think 2446 02:02:46.119 --> 02:02:49.439 that you're yes, Jazz fans are absolutely in for another 2447 02:02:49.520 --> 02:02:51.960 long season. It's not going to be very good, but 2448 02:02:52.119 --> 02:02:56.479 at least you are going to see exactly what we 2449 02:02:56.600 --> 02:02:58.439 have out of all of the young guys there is. 2450 02:02:58.760 --> 02:03:01.199 There will be no lack of opportunity for them to 2451 02:03:01.199 --> 02:03:03.520 get on the floor and they're going to be competing 2452 02:03:03.560 --> 02:03:06.199 against each other and competing for their next contracts. 2453 02:03:06.800 --> 02:03:09.920 So that brings us to and it's Walt. It's not Walter, 2454 02:03:10.079 --> 02:03:12.479 it's wal Clayton Junior. That's what he wants to be called. 2455 02:03:12.479 --> 02:03:14.199 And if that's what he wants, we'll give it to him. 2456 02:03:14.199 --> 02:03:17.479 So I'll call him Walt. And I'm a little conflicted 2457 02:03:17.479 --> 02:03:21.079 about this. I think where I've landed, and I thought 2458 02:03:21.159 --> 02:03:24.560 Brad Stevens comment was interesting when he asked. He was 2459 02:03:24.600 --> 02:03:28.000 asked about Austin trading up for wal Clayton Junior, and 2460 02:03:28.079 --> 02:03:29.640 he said, I could have told you two years ago 2461 02:03:29.680 --> 02:03:31.319 Austin was going to go trade up for him. So 2462 02:03:32.000 --> 02:03:34.840 this is a player Austin has liked for a long time, 2463 02:03:35.359 --> 02:03:38.279 and so where I've landed on it is Look, only 2464 02:03:38.319 --> 02:03:38.920 time will tell. 2465 02:03:39.039 --> 02:03:41.359 We'll see how it manifests. But if that's your guy, 2466 02:03:41.439 --> 02:03:41.920 go get them. 2467 02:03:41.960 --> 02:03:45.159 Okay, if that's the guy you've identified, you've done your calculation, 2468 02:03:45.279 --> 02:03:48.640 go get them. But you trade twenty one for eighteen, 2469 02:03:48.880 --> 02:03:51.520 and then you also trade three second round picks, which 2470 02:03:52.000 --> 02:03:55.000 is also not nothing to only move up three spots. 2471 02:03:55.039 --> 02:03:57.640 Like I said, my net net is if Walts the guy, 2472 02:03:57.720 --> 02:03:58.279 go get him. 2473 02:03:58.479 --> 02:03:59.920 But what's your take on the transit. 2474 02:04:01.359 --> 02:04:03.720 I think I'm going to fall in the same place 2475 02:04:03.760 --> 02:04:05.680 as you. Like if that's the guy that you wanted, 2476 02:04:05.720 --> 02:04:07.520 If that's the guy that you singled out and you 2477 02:04:07.560 --> 02:04:09.600 really wanted to get him, and you heard that Miami 2478 02:04:09.680 --> 02:04:14.079 was gonna pick him before you wanted to, and all 2479 02:04:14.119 --> 02:04:15.920 you had to do was to give up some seconds 2480 02:04:15.960 --> 02:04:18.239 to move up. Sure, go get the guy that you 2481 02:04:18.319 --> 02:04:20.840 really really want. Of course, how that plays out in 2482 02:04:20.880 --> 02:04:22.760 the future is going to determine whether or not it 2483 02:04:22.800 --> 02:04:26.159 was a good a good move to make. And also 2484 02:04:26.239 --> 02:04:30.279 with you, like three seconds isn't nothing. But if it's 2485 02:04:30.479 --> 02:04:32.359 three second round picks for a guy that you really 2486 02:04:32.399 --> 02:04:34.880 believe in that then turns into somebody that could be 2487 02:04:35.000 --> 02:04:38.920 like a full rotation player for a good number of years, 2488 02:04:39.439 --> 02:04:41.279 then like it's hard to find those players in the 2489 02:04:41.279 --> 02:04:44.399 second round, right, Like those are those are such like 2490 02:04:44.560 --> 02:04:46.800 luck of the draw picks in the second round that 2491 02:04:47.640 --> 02:04:50.560 you don't always know whether it's going to be you know, 2492 02:04:50.640 --> 02:04:52.640 Nikola Jokic or some guy that you never heard of 2493 02:04:52.680 --> 02:04:54.600 even after Draft night because he never even played a 2494 02:04:54.640 --> 02:04:58.159 day in the NBA, right, And so it's kind of 2495 02:04:58.199 --> 02:05:01.479 a this or that and time will tell. But I'm 2496 02:05:01.479 --> 02:05:04.239 fine with it, you know, Like, like I like that 2497 02:05:04.279 --> 02:05:07.760 the Jazz took Walter Clayton junior and even in the 2498 02:05:07.800 --> 02:05:10.520 second round when they picked John Toanji, like a couple 2499 02:05:10.520 --> 02:05:12.880 of guys that just aren't eighteen, Right, You've got a 2500 02:05:12.960 --> 02:05:15.279 bunch of guys who came in off one and done 2501 02:05:15.399 --> 02:05:18.520 years in college, and I just like that they have 2502 02:05:18.640 --> 02:05:20.159 some guys that are going to come in and like 2503 02:05:20.319 --> 02:05:23.800 actually can play some basketball and maybe don't need like 2504 02:05:23.840 --> 02:05:26.680 the maturation time that the others need. That doesn't mean 2505 02:05:26.720 --> 02:05:28.199 that they're going to be great, but I just think 2506 02:05:28.199 --> 02:05:30.119 that it's good that it's on the roster that not 2507 02:05:30.239 --> 02:05:31.920 everybody is an actual teenager. 2508 02:05:32.479 --> 02:05:35.399 Well said, let's let's go back to the Sexton deal. 2509 02:05:35.520 --> 02:05:38.680 You outlined it well, and we could just bottom line 2510 02:05:38.680 --> 02:05:40.840 it with your answer, but I'll follow up asking if 2511 02:05:40.880 --> 02:05:45.039 you are surprised that there wasn't better value out there 2512 02:05:45.079 --> 02:05:47.159 for Colin who's coming off a good year and he's 2513 02:05:47.159 --> 02:05:50.039 one of the players that has shown up shown he's 2514 02:05:50.039 --> 02:05:52.560 a pro shot over forty percent from three years, about 2515 02:05:52.640 --> 02:05:55.680 nineteen points a night, And to your earlier point, that 2516 02:05:55.800 --> 02:05:58.159 may have been the only motivation they wanted. A matching 2517 02:05:58.239 --> 02:05:59.960 salary and a player that you don't need to play 2518 02:06:00.079 --> 02:06:03.680 because Nurkich is no longer, you know, with anything other 2519 02:06:03.720 --> 02:06:05.159 than a vet, they can give you ten or twelve 2520 02:06:05.199 --> 02:06:07.920 minutes to night. But were you surprised there wasn't more 2521 02:06:08.039 --> 02:06:11.399 value in return with that transaction for the Jazz. 2522 02:06:11.840 --> 02:06:15.840 A little bit? Right? I think that, especially if you're 2523 02:06:15.880 --> 02:06:18.359 thinking about John Collins, the way that he has kind 2524 02:06:18.399 --> 02:06:21.199 of improved his offensive game since coming to Utah, and 2525 02:06:21.239 --> 02:06:23.119 then Colin Sexton, he showed that he can be a 2526 02:06:23.159 --> 02:06:25.439 little bit more of a distributor. Right Like, it looked 2527 02:06:25.439 --> 02:06:27.680 like these were positive value guys. But I think there's 2528 02:06:27.680 --> 02:06:29.760 a couple of things that came to mind kind of 2529 02:06:29.840 --> 02:06:33.800 right after the initial like sticker shock. And that's obviously 2530 02:06:33.840 --> 02:06:36.560 not to say John Collins is gone, but I assume 2531 02:06:36.640 --> 02:06:42.079 that he will be at some point. Number One, these 2532 02:06:42.079 --> 02:06:45.520 are guys that looked really good on the Jazz, and 2533 02:06:46.000 --> 02:06:47.880 that is a bar that is very low in the 2534 02:06:48.000 --> 02:06:51.439 NBA as of today. I mean, when you're playing on 2535 02:06:51.479 --> 02:06:55.399 the absolute worst defensive team in the league and you're 2536 02:06:55.399 --> 02:06:57.199 playing on a team that has the least amount of 2537 02:06:57.239 --> 02:07:00.960 wins and the minutes that you play look good, that's relative. 2538 02:07:01.720 --> 02:07:05.159 And number two, the value of these players might not 2539 02:07:05.279 --> 02:07:08.800 necessarily been the value of them in particular, but maybe 2540 02:07:08.880 --> 02:07:11.800 just the value of the Jazz is negotiating power in 2541 02:07:11.840 --> 02:07:15.479 these situations. The rest of the NBA knows exactly what 2542 02:07:15.520 --> 02:07:18.439 the Jazz are doing. They know that they need to 2543 02:07:18.439 --> 02:07:21.199 get off these veteran expiring deals. They know that they 2544 02:07:21.239 --> 02:07:23.399 want a runway for the young players to play, and 2545 02:07:23.439 --> 02:07:27.560 so they the Jazz don't really have leverage here, it's like, well, 2546 02:07:27.600 --> 02:07:29.199 you want us to take on a contract that you 2547 02:07:29.319 --> 02:07:32.960 don't want, and you want a player that's also on 2548 02:07:33.119 --> 02:07:35.359 expiring to come back, Like what's in it for us? 2549 02:07:35.800 --> 02:07:38.159 Especially for like, let's look at Charlotte, Like, it's not 2550 02:07:38.199 --> 02:07:41.600 like they need a bunch of guards. And so it 2551 02:07:41.640 --> 02:07:44.039 doesn't really really shock me once I start to think 2552 02:07:44.079 --> 02:07:48.000 about it that the rest of the league is like, hey, UTAHD, 2553 02:07:48.880 --> 02:07:50.960 what can you even show us that proves that the 2554 02:07:51.079 --> 02:07:53.199 Ers are good players? That they played kind of good 2555 02:07:53.199 --> 02:07:55.079 on the worst team in the league. That doesn't really 2556 02:07:55.079 --> 02:07:55.600 say much. 2557 02:07:56.439 --> 02:07:59.079 Yeah no, well said, all right, now this moves us 2558 02:07:59.079 --> 02:08:01.560 over to Jordan Clark's in a couple of different layers 2559 02:08:01.560 --> 02:08:05.359 to this question. I have been a little bit surprised 2560 02:08:05.399 --> 02:08:07.560 at how sad a lot of people are to see 2561 02:08:07.640 --> 02:08:10.760 JC go. You know, last couple of years. The on 2562 02:08:10.920 --> 02:08:13.880 court stuff just wasn't great. The advanced numbers weren't great, 2563 02:08:13.880 --> 02:08:16.880 the usage, the true shooting percentage. He just none of 2564 02:08:16.960 --> 02:08:18.680 us are as young as we used to be. And 2565 02:08:18.840 --> 02:08:20.880 you know, he's not the guy that won six Man 2566 02:08:20.960 --> 02:08:24.560 of the Year. You know, in retrospect, the trade that 2567 02:08:24.560 --> 02:08:27.520 that xanak and and and that group made for him 2568 02:08:27.720 --> 02:08:29.960 was really good, sending Dante and a couple of second 2569 02:08:30.039 --> 02:08:32.560 rounders to Cleveland for him. But I think you'll have 2570 02:08:32.640 --> 02:08:35.359 better perspective on this than I do. As somebody who's 2571 02:08:35.399 --> 02:08:36.960 on the beat, and I always say this, you should 2572 02:08:36.960 --> 02:08:37.960 listen to the beat writers. 2573 02:08:38.000 --> 02:08:39.199 They know more than any of us. 2574 02:08:39.840 --> 02:08:44.119 It does feel like throughout this four year pivot, clunky 2575 02:08:44.399 --> 02:08:46.960 rebuild that at best has been mediocre and at worst 2576 02:08:47.000 --> 02:08:50.319 has been embarrassing, He's kind of been a north star, 2577 02:08:50.479 --> 02:08:52.960 like a bright spot for the organization, bright spot for 2578 02:08:53.000 --> 02:08:55.720 the locker room. So as as Clarkson walks out the 2579 02:08:55.760 --> 02:08:58.680 door and reportedly he is going to sign with the Knicks, 2580 02:08:58.720 --> 02:09:00.840 can you put some perspective why a lot of people 2581 02:09:00.840 --> 02:09:02.399 feel like this is kind of a sad day. 2582 02:09:04.239 --> 02:09:04.439 Yeah. 2583 02:09:04.479 --> 02:09:07.239 I think even the on court stuff, you know, is 2584 02:09:07.760 --> 02:09:12.119 have context, right, Like, you know, Jordan getting the ball 2585 02:09:12.239 --> 02:09:14.760 from a bunch of rookies or second year guys with 2586 02:09:14.920 --> 02:09:17.039 five seconds on a shot clock is not really the 2587 02:09:17.039 --> 02:09:21.279 best way to operate. And you know, or another situation 2588 02:09:21.359 --> 02:09:24.720 if you imagine, you know, Jordan's in an ISO situation 2589 02:09:25.000 --> 02:09:27.880 on the right wing and he looks over and the 2590 02:09:27.880 --> 02:09:30.800 guy that's open from three is Isaiah Collier who can't 2591 02:09:30.800 --> 02:09:33.560 shoot threes, and I probably wouldn't want to pass the 2592 02:09:33.600 --> 02:09:36.079 ball either, and so I think that it was just 2593 02:09:36.119 --> 02:09:38.760 a really weird situation, and so that led to some 2594 02:09:38.800 --> 02:09:41.840 bad numbers. Part of it is obviously what you said right, 2595 02:09:42.159 --> 02:09:45.039 father Time is undefeated. He's not the man that he 2596 02:09:45.159 --> 02:09:47.000 used to be. All of that's true too, but I 2597 02:09:47.039 --> 02:09:51.039 think that he was also like the last three and 2598 02:09:51.039 --> 02:09:53.159 a half years really took a toll on him. I mean, 2599 02:09:53.199 --> 02:09:57.600 even that last year with the Donovan and Rudy team, 2600 02:09:58.960 --> 02:10:01.560 that took toll on those players, and he was the 2601 02:10:01.640 --> 02:10:04.600 last player on this team that had ties to that team, 2602 02:10:04.680 --> 02:10:07.640 and so I don't think that he ever really got 2603 02:10:07.680 --> 02:10:10.279 to recover and move on from that because he was 2604 02:10:10.279 --> 02:10:14.720 still here. And so, yeah, it didn't look great. And 2605 02:10:14.760 --> 02:10:18.039 I'm honestly really happy that he gets a chance to 2606 02:10:18.079 --> 02:10:19.880 go play for a team that's actually gonna play for 2607 02:10:20.000 --> 02:10:23.680 some meaningful basketball, like the game's mattering. Makes me happy 2608 02:10:23.720 --> 02:10:26.880 for Jordan, and he was kind of a bright spot, 2609 02:10:26.920 --> 02:10:29.159 and I think that's probably one of the reasons that 2610 02:10:29.199 --> 02:10:31.600 the Jazz held on to him a little bit, is 2611 02:10:31.640 --> 02:10:35.279 because he was a familiar face. He was a sellable name. 2612 02:10:35.479 --> 02:10:37.520 He's somebody that could get butts and seats. 2613 02:10:38.600 --> 02:10:39.640 He was also I. 2614 02:10:39.560 --> 02:10:42.439 Mean, he has an incredible wealth of knowledge about the NBA. 2615 02:10:42.720 --> 02:10:45.199 Like he might not have ever been the guy on 2616 02:10:45.279 --> 02:10:49.560 a team, but he has been on good teams and 2617 02:10:49.600 --> 02:10:52.079 he's been around a lot of really great players, and 2618 02:10:52.159 --> 02:10:54.960 so he was a good guy who was fun to 2619 02:10:55.000 --> 02:10:57.199 be around for these young guys, and he could also 2620 02:10:57.239 --> 02:10:59.680 take them under their wing. And it wasn't weird when 2621 02:10:59.680 --> 02:11:02.439 he was advice because it felt like it came from 2622 02:11:02.439 --> 02:11:05.039 a good place. And so he was great for this 2623 02:11:05.119 --> 02:11:07.960 team and he was great for the fans. It is 2624 02:11:08.359 --> 02:11:11.359 absolutely no surprise to me that someone was his personality 2625 02:11:11.439 --> 02:11:14.239 and the amount of slagger that he has endeared himself 2626 02:11:14.319 --> 02:11:18.840 so much to the fans so quickly, and it's going 2627 02:11:18.880 --> 02:11:20.880 to really leave a hole for the Jazz. I mean, 2628 02:11:21.199 --> 02:11:23.039 there's no one like Jordan Clarkson's. 2629 02:11:24.520 --> 02:11:26.079 Now I'm going to ask you a follow up, just 2630 02:11:26.119 --> 02:11:27.960 like I did with Colin, and the answer could be 2631 02:11:28.199 --> 02:11:30.560 exactly the same, and it's fine, but I am curious 2632 02:11:30.600 --> 02:11:33.279 as to whether or not you're a bit surprised that 2633 02:11:33.399 --> 02:11:36.880 the Jazz only option with Jordan was essentially they cut him. 2634 02:11:36.920 --> 02:11:39.119 I mean, it's a it's a buyout situation where it 2635 02:11:39.199 --> 02:11:41.840 saves the team some money. But are you surprised they 2636 02:11:41.880 --> 02:11:44.439 couldn't get anything on the open market for Jordan Clarkson. 2637 02:11:47.279 --> 02:11:50.079 No, I'm not super surprised. I know that they tried 2638 02:11:50.079 --> 02:11:52.399 to move him, you know, at least last year, and 2639 02:11:52.479 --> 02:11:55.079 weren't able to get some I think that the thing is, 2640 02:11:55.119 --> 02:11:58.920 it's like, do you want to take on another contract 2641 02:11:59.399 --> 02:12:03.640 and possibly give up maybe a second or any kind 2642 02:12:03.680 --> 02:12:07.159 of pick to attach to him when what you really 2643 02:12:07.199 --> 02:12:09.760 want is money off the books and to keep the 2644 02:12:09.760 --> 02:12:12.319 rest of your assets. I mean, I think that it 2645 02:12:12.359 --> 02:12:14.239 makes a little bit more sense when you're looking at 2646 02:12:14.279 --> 02:12:17.840 Colin because there was more money involved there and they 2647 02:12:17.840 --> 02:12:20.039 were able to get a backup center in the process. 2648 02:12:20.359 --> 02:12:22.640 But for Jordan, I think that it made a lot 2649 02:12:22.680 --> 02:12:25.439 of sense to just like cut ties and just give 2650 02:12:25.479 --> 02:12:27.119 him a chance to go sign with someone else who 2651 02:12:27.199 --> 02:12:30.479 wants him and for those teams who you know, I 2652 02:12:30.479 --> 02:12:33.159 think the Knicks are going to be putting him on 2653 02:12:33.239 --> 02:12:35.520 a vat minimum this year, which is basically the amount 2654 02:12:35.520 --> 02:12:38.079 of money that he gave up in the buyout, and 2655 02:12:38.119 --> 02:12:40.920 so he doesn't lose money this year. The Jazz save 2656 02:12:40.960 --> 02:12:43.000 a little bit of money and get his contract off 2657 02:12:43.000 --> 02:12:44.920 the books. I think that this is kind of a 2658 02:12:44.960 --> 02:12:48.039 win win in a bit of a lose lose situation, 2659 02:12:48.239 --> 02:12:49.119 if that makes sense. 2660 02:12:49.239 --> 02:12:50.079 It does so. 2661 02:12:50.439 --> 02:12:52.279 As I talk about all the time when it comes 2662 02:12:52.319 --> 02:12:54.159 to teams that are in the spot the Jazz are in, 2663 02:12:54.840 --> 02:12:57.479 there is a salary floor that you have to hit. 2664 02:12:57.560 --> 02:13:00.399 Everyone talks about the second apron, the salary cap, the 2665 02:13:00.479 --> 02:13:01.199 luxury tax. 2666 02:13:01.720 --> 02:13:02.680 Well, you also have. 2667 02:13:02.720 --> 02:13:06.199 To spend a minimum amount of money on your roster, 2668 02:13:06.359 --> 02:13:08.760 and this year's salary floor is just about one hundred 2669 02:13:08.760 --> 02:13:11.479 and forty million. If my numbers in front of me 2670 02:13:11.520 --> 02:13:14.119 are correct. The Jazz are at one hundred and fifty 2671 02:13:14.159 --> 02:13:18.319 point six million right now, which leads us to John Collins. Now, 2672 02:13:18.359 --> 02:13:21.920 any transaction they'll bring money back. My point is John 2673 02:13:22.000 --> 02:13:23.920 just might be a guy that you're fine paying for 2674 02:13:23.960 --> 02:13:27.640 one more year. You know, it doesn't necessarily distract or 2675 02:13:27.680 --> 02:13:30.399 dissuade you from what you're trying to accomplish this season. 2676 02:13:30.479 --> 02:13:35.760 But more noise around John Collins potentially being moved off 2677 02:13:35.800 --> 02:13:38.239 of by the Utah Jazz. Any insight on what's next 2678 02:13:38.239 --> 02:13:39.119 for the Jazz and John. 2679 02:13:40.520 --> 02:13:42.880 I know that the Jazz have been working to move 2680 02:13:43.000 --> 02:13:45.760 off of them to find a trade partner. So far, 2681 02:13:46.199 --> 02:13:48.279 it's been hard for them to find something that like 2682 02:13:48.399 --> 02:13:52.800 nets them a positive result. Looking at the same thing 2683 02:13:52.840 --> 02:13:54.720 as collinsext and right, like, no one was going to 2684 02:13:54.800 --> 02:13:58.359 give the Jazz good things to take on a contract 2685 02:13:58.359 --> 02:14:00.640 that they didn't want anymore, and so they had to 2686 02:14:00.640 --> 02:14:02.640 add a second and so then that's kind of a 2687 02:14:02.720 --> 02:14:04.600 negative net, right, you got to give up something you 2688 02:14:04.640 --> 02:14:07.319 get it, And that's not really what the Jazz wanted 2689 02:14:07.359 --> 02:14:09.600 to do with John, considering how much he kind of 2690 02:14:09.600 --> 02:14:13.359 revamped his offensive games. That being said, the league still 2691 02:14:13.359 --> 02:14:15.399 knows that he's not really a great defensive player, and 2692 02:14:15.399 --> 02:14:17.439 he didn't really show that he was much better with 2693 02:14:17.560 --> 02:14:20.239 the Jazz. I mean, it's hard to show that you're 2694 02:14:20.279 --> 02:14:22.279 a great defensive player when you're on a team that 2695 02:14:22.920 --> 02:14:26.279 is the worst defensive team. So I think that it's 2696 02:14:26.279 --> 02:14:29.560 been difficult. That being said, if he ends up being 2697 02:14:29.600 --> 02:14:31.760 a player they keep and tell him he doesn't have 2698 02:14:31.800 --> 02:14:34.880 to report if they want to buy him out, that's 2699 02:14:34.920 --> 02:14:38.199 a possibility to U they could also keep him around, 2700 02:14:38.239 --> 02:14:40.680 like they are not the Jazz are not opposed to 2701 02:14:40.840 --> 02:14:45.039 just letting John Collins deal expiring, because once you've got, 2702 02:14:45.079 --> 02:14:48.079 you know, John Collins, Colin Sexton, or use of Nurkic. 2703 02:14:48.520 --> 02:14:51.600 Now Jordan Clark sends the money off the books for 2704 02:14:51.680 --> 02:14:54.239 all those you know contracts at the at the end 2705 02:14:54.279 --> 02:14:57.039 of this upcoming season. That gives them a lot of 2706 02:14:57.079 --> 02:14:59.880 wiggle room and a lot of cap space. And so 2707 02:15:00.199 --> 02:15:02.800 I just I think that you're right if he ends 2708 02:15:02.840 --> 02:15:05.119 up being here, I think that they can maneuver around that. 2709 02:15:06.600 --> 02:15:09.039 But they've still got options to go and maybe they'll 2710 02:15:09.039 --> 02:15:11.640 be able to pull something together and find a trade 2711 02:15:11.680 --> 02:15:13.239 partner before the end of the offseason. 2712 02:15:13.439 --> 02:15:15.840 I know we've discussed this, but it's been a minute, 2713 02:15:15.880 --> 02:15:17.680 So I'm just going to bring up the two names 2714 02:15:17.680 --> 02:15:22.239 that you know, feel like they're very good players, but 2715 02:15:22.399 --> 02:15:24.600 do they fit the timeline? And it's weird to say 2716 02:15:24.600 --> 02:15:27.560 that about Walker Kessler, but you know, I'll ask you 2717 02:15:27.600 --> 02:15:30.239 whether or not you have any recent intel on the 2718 02:15:30.319 --> 02:15:33.600 Jazz potentially fielding phone calls and either Walker or Lowry. 2719 02:15:33.600 --> 02:15:35.439 I mean, I talk about this now every day now 2720 02:15:35.439 --> 02:15:38.000 that Austin is in charge. It's not marry to any 2721 02:15:38.000 --> 02:15:40.159 of these guys. Didn't draft him, didn't trade for him. 2722 02:15:40.920 --> 02:15:42.439 Like I said, I have nothing but good things to 2723 02:15:42.439 --> 02:15:44.520 say about both these players. I think they both have 2724 02:15:44.600 --> 02:15:47.199 played well here. But your thoughts on the potential of 2725 02:15:47.199 --> 02:15:51.840 the Jazz doing anything at all with either Lowry or Walker, Yeah, 2726 02:15:51.880 --> 02:15:52.880 I think that. 2727 02:15:53.760 --> 02:15:56.760 You know, if you ask me the same question maybe 2728 02:15:56.840 --> 02:15:58.760 a year ago, i'd had a little bit of a 2729 02:15:58.760 --> 02:16:01.199 different answer. At that point, it'd be like, you know, 2730 02:16:01.279 --> 02:16:02.840 these are the guys that it's going to be really 2731 02:16:02.840 --> 02:16:05.039 hard to take out of the jazz dam. They want 2732 02:16:05.039 --> 02:16:08.239 to keep them. I'm a little bit still in that camp, 2733 02:16:08.399 --> 02:16:10.600 but I think that now the way that I've changed 2734 02:16:10.720 --> 02:16:12.760 is at this point it feels like it's kind of 2735 02:16:12.840 --> 02:16:16.119 fifty to fifty if the right deal comes along and 2736 02:16:16.159 --> 02:16:18.439 someone sweetens the pot for the Jazz in a way 2737 02:16:18.479 --> 02:16:21.600 that makes it hard to say no. You're right, Austin 2738 02:16:21.680 --> 02:16:25.520 is not married to this situation. He didn't pick these guys, 2739 02:16:25.520 --> 02:16:28.720 he didn't make those deals, and if they get something 2740 02:16:28.760 --> 02:16:30.640 that looks better for the future, then they're going to 2741 02:16:30.640 --> 02:16:33.440 do it. That being said, I know that the Jazz, 2742 02:16:33.719 --> 02:16:37.680 the front office, everyone involved, they would love for Lowry 2743 02:16:37.719 --> 02:16:39.920 and Walker to be a part of the future. They 2744 02:16:39.920 --> 02:16:42.559 would love for them to turn into two of those 2745 02:16:42.600 --> 02:16:44.799 building blocks and be a part of the next core 2746 02:16:44.920 --> 02:16:50.559 of a great Jazz team, but they are not guaranteed, 2747 02:16:51.120 --> 02:16:53.840 and they will be listening to phone calls that come in. 2748 02:16:54.360 --> 02:16:55.639 All right, before I say you lose. 2749 02:16:55.680 --> 02:16:59.399 I think an interesting dynamic of this season, and I 2750 02:16:59.520 --> 02:17:01.399 just talked to this with a couple of the NBA 2751 02:17:01.479 --> 02:17:06.280 guests we've had on today. Taylor Hendrix, Cody Williams, Keyante, George, 2752 02:17:06.280 --> 02:17:10.440 Bryce sen Siba, and Isaiah Collier all have contracts which 2753 02:17:10.479 --> 02:17:14.280 are team options next year. So it could be I'm 2754 02:17:14.280 --> 02:17:16.120 not saying it will be, and I have no inside here, 2755 02:17:16.159 --> 02:17:19.399 but it could be the final year for these players 2756 02:17:19.479 --> 02:17:22.680 if the Jazz have done their calculation on them and 2757 02:17:22.799 --> 02:17:25.639 have decided it's not going to work. It's rare this happens, 2758 02:17:25.639 --> 02:17:28.959 but it is something worth talking about. So those five players, 2759 02:17:29.040 --> 02:17:33.159 Taylor Hendrix, Cody Williams, Keyante, George, Bryce Sensaba, Isaiah Callier, 2760 02:17:33.600 --> 02:17:37.079 all playing on contracts this year. That could be a 2761 02:17:37.120 --> 02:17:39.520 situation where the team doesn't pick it up next year. 2762 02:17:39.840 --> 02:17:41.920 What are your thoughts on the calculations that have been 2763 02:17:41.959 --> 02:17:42.760 done on those five. 2764 02:17:45.559 --> 02:17:47.680 I mean, I fully wouldn't expect that to be the 2765 02:17:47.719 --> 02:17:50.000 case for Taylor and Cody because I don't think that 2766 02:17:50.000 --> 02:17:53.639 there's not enough calculation at all. I think that you 2767 02:17:53.719 --> 02:17:56.920 want as much time looking at those guys as you 2768 02:17:56.959 --> 02:18:01.440 can possibly get, because both of them came in looking 2769 02:18:01.520 --> 02:18:05.319 like Bambi, right, like skinny, a little bit like wonky eyed, 2770 02:18:05.440 --> 02:18:09.879 not knowing where to go at times, and just the 2771 02:18:10.520 --> 02:18:13.920 first summer after their rookie seasons were so so important, 2772 02:18:14.040 --> 02:18:17.319 this one for Cody, last season for Taylor, and the 2773 02:18:17.399 --> 02:18:20.680 unfortunate injury that Taylor gets then set him back a year. 2774 02:18:20.680 --> 02:18:22.399 And so I just don't think that you've had enough 2775 02:18:22.440 --> 02:18:26.479 time to look at Taylor, to look at Cody and 2776 02:18:26.520 --> 02:18:28.040 to know what you're going to be getting out of 2777 02:18:28.079 --> 02:18:33.440 those players, for Isaiah, for Keyante, for any of the 2778 02:18:33.479 --> 02:18:36.399 other young guys that you know, Bryce, anybody that else 2779 02:18:36.440 --> 02:18:41.399 we might be talking about. It's it's difficult. I think 2780 02:18:41.440 --> 02:18:44.360 that this summer is really really important for all of them. 2781 02:18:45.120 --> 02:18:47.959 I would kind of be surprised if the Jazz decided 2782 02:18:48.000 --> 02:18:52.639 to like just make this upcoming season their their last season. 2783 02:18:54.399 --> 02:18:57.280 A lot of a lot of them have. You know, 2784 02:18:58.280 --> 02:19:01.200 these player options have to be decided like year in advance, right, 2785 02:19:01.479 --> 02:19:04.399 and so like this summer, the place or the team options, 2786 02:19:04.920 --> 02:19:08.559 it's not about this upcoming season it's about the following season, 2787 02:19:09.159 --> 02:19:12.719 and so I would be really surprised if they didn't 2788 02:19:12.719 --> 02:19:15.120 at least keep on keep a hold of everyone like 2789 02:19:15.200 --> 02:19:18.120 through this, come this season and the next season to 2790 02:19:18.159 --> 02:19:21.200 get like a full clear picture of what they have 2791 02:19:21.319 --> 02:19:28.159 in those players. But yeah, this summer is really really important. 2792 02:19:28.280 --> 02:19:31.440 If guys look like they're disinterested or they haven't improved 2793 02:19:31.559 --> 02:19:36.280 or or any of those things. Yeah, hard decisions are coming. 2794 02:19:36.520 --> 02:19:38.920 Yeah, there's no doubt. All Right, Sarah, it's been too long. 2795 02:19:38.959 --> 02:19:40.639 Thanks so much for the time. Keep up the great 2796 02:19:40.639 --> 02:19:41.520 work and we'll chat soon. 2797 02:19:41.600 --> 02:19:43.559 Okay, Yeah, anytime since? 2798 02:19:43.639 --> 02:19:45.920 All Right, our friend Sarah Todd from The deser Red News. 2799 02:19:45.920 --> 02:19:48.360 She also has covered the seventy six ers and the Warriors. 2800 02:19:48.360 --> 02:19:50.920 She's been doing it at a very high level. She's 2801 02:19:50.920 --> 02:19:52.680 won Utah Sports Ride of the Year a couple of 2802 02:19:52.719 --> 02:19:55.479 different times, most recently last year. She's on Twitter at 2803 02:19:55.559 --> 02:19:57.920 NBA Sarah's where you find her. All Right, I got 2804 02:19:57.920 --> 02:19:59.719 three hours in the books, We got one hour to go. 2805 02:20:00.000 --> 02:20:01.799 Final hour of the program comes your way. 2806 02:20:01.840 --> 02:20:02.040 Next. 2807 02:20:02.200 --> 02:20:04.760 We have some college football to do with Kyle Bonnet Gurra. 2808 02:20:04.840 --> 02:20:08.360 The latest on Jake Retzlaff and BYU University of Utah 2809 02:20:08.479 --> 02:20:11.959 locked in and recruit Shay Gilgess. Alexander got paid today. 2810 02:20:12.000 --> 02:20:15.360 It's the richest contract in NBA history, only eleventh player 2811 02:20:16.040 --> 02:20:19.280 in NBA history to win regular season MVP Finals, MVP 2812 02:20:19.360 --> 02:20:24.319 and an NBA Championship, two hundred and eighty five million dollars, 2813 02:20:24.399 --> 02:20:28.200 a supermax extension for the reigning MVP. A ton of 2814 02:20:28.239 --> 02:20:31.120 news coming in fast and furious. We tried to cover 2815 02:20:31.159 --> 02:20:33.639 it as much as we possibly could on the program today. 2816 02:20:33.680 --> 02:20:36.200 We'll see if the Utah Jazz do anything at all. 2817 02:20:36.879 --> 02:20:38.799 There is a world that exists that they don't do 2818 02:20:38.840 --> 02:20:41.079 anything else. They don't have to. They've got the rookies 2819 02:20:41.680 --> 02:20:44.440 under contract, that've got some vets under contract, and this 2820 02:20:44.559 --> 02:20:47.159 roster has presently constituted with the minutes that have been 2821 02:20:47.159 --> 02:20:50.559 cleared up for the young players. Seems like it could 2822 02:20:50.559 --> 02:20:54.000 be exactly what you need to back up Austin Ange's 2823 02:20:54.040 --> 02:20:56.639 assertion that they will not be manipulating minutes, but also 2824 02:20:56.719 --> 02:20:58.559 be bad enough that you hold on to that number. 2825 02:20:58.399 --> 02:21:03.399 Eight pick in the next year. So there you go. Man. 2826 02:21:03.479 --> 02:21:06.000 It is just it's wild to pull up the headline 2827 02:21:06.040 --> 02:21:07.879 and see that Damian Lillard has been waived by an 2828 02:21:07.959 --> 02:21:08.559 NBA team. 2829 02:21:08.760 --> 02:21:09.520 It's just weird. 2830 02:21:09.760 --> 02:21:12.079 I mean, I get the dynamic and it could ultimately 2831 02:21:12.079 --> 02:21:14.680 be good news for Dame. But when they made this 2832 02:21:14.760 --> 02:21:18.040 trade two years ago, people truly believe that Milwaukee would 2833 02:21:18.079 --> 02:21:20.280 be in the mix to win multiple NBA championships. 2834 02:21:20.280 --> 02:21:21.120 And I get why you do it. 2835 02:21:21.120 --> 02:21:23.280 If you're Milwaukee, you have to take advantage of having 2836 02:21:23.280 --> 02:21:24.319 Giannis on your roster. 2837 02:21:25.200 --> 02:21:27.079 It's just injuries, suck man. It's too bad how this 2838 02:21:27.159 --> 02:21:27.680 went down. 2839 02:21:28.079 --> 02:21:32.360 Yeah, obviously you look back at when that deal was made, 2840 02:21:32.399 --> 02:21:36.159 and there were big hopes for folks here, folks that 2841 02:21:36.159 --> 02:21:38.319 are fans of Damian Lillard and of course fans of 2842 02:21:38.680 --> 02:21:43.239 Milwaukee Bucks, that that could produce a really, really good, 2843 02:21:43.280 --> 02:21:46.440 little I guess, extra run on top of what was 2844 02:21:46.479 --> 02:21:49.760 a title run for Milwaukee. But I mean, when you 2845 02:21:49.760 --> 02:21:55.200 combine an Achilles' tear with a NBA guard, there's a 2846 02:21:55.280 --> 02:21:59.559 lot of complications there. So unfortunately, for one Damian Lillard, 2847 02:22:01.239 --> 02:22:02.719 you know, probably not going to see him next year, 2848 02:22:02.760 --> 02:22:04.559 and if we do, it'll be like a buyout real 2849 02:22:04.639 --> 02:22:07.319 late or not a buyout, but joining a team real 2850 02:22:07.399 --> 02:22:09.760 late in the year or even for a postseason run. 2851 02:22:09.799 --> 02:22:13.399 I would say you're more likely to see him join 2852 02:22:13.440 --> 02:22:16.520 a team on a one or two year deal this 2853 02:22:16.600 --> 02:22:19.159 season following. We will see how that all goes out. 2854 02:22:19.200 --> 02:22:21.319 But hope the best for him, man. I hope where 2855 02:22:21.319 --> 02:22:25.440 he lands is as we've talked about, some more competitive. 2856 02:22:26.120 --> 02:22:32.000 Seeing Damian Lillard in meaningful basketball is a lot of fun, 2857 02:22:32.479 --> 02:22:34.760 and some of us have forgotten about that because it's 2858 02:22:34.799 --> 02:22:37.479 been quite some time since we've seen him play in 2859 02:22:37.719 --> 02:22:38.760 meaningful basketball. 2860 02:22:38.959 --> 02:22:42.799 The Utah Mammoth signed a Stanley Cup winner as Nate 2861 02:22:42.879 --> 02:22:45.200 Schmidt is on his way to play for the Utah 2862 02:22:45.200 --> 02:22:47.520 Mammoth a three year deal, who just won a Stanley 2863 02:22:47.520 --> 02:22:51.280 Cup with a Florida Panthers. The Winnipeg Jets bought out 2864 02:22:51.280 --> 02:22:53.559 Schmidt when he was still on a six year contract 2865 02:22:54.280 --> 02:22:56.600 that he signed when he was with the Vegas Golden 2866 02:22:56.639 --> 02:23:01.319 Knights back in twenty eighteen. Yeah, recently he won a 2867 02:23:01.360 --> 02:23:04.600 Stanley cupp and that's always good. So after a one 2868 02:23:04.719 --> 02:23:07.879 year deal, thirty three years old, turned thirty four, we'll 2869 02:23:07.920 --> 02:23:10.280 turn thirty four next month. Three goals, twelve points in 2870 02:23:10.280 --> 02:23:12.559 twenty three games, help the Panthers winning Stanley Cup. 2871 02:23:12.639 --> 02:23:14.559 So some good stuff there, all right. 2872 02:23:14.479 --> 02:23:15.920 Porter, Before we get out of here, what comes our 2873 02:23:15.959 --> 02:23:17.520 way On a Wednesday edition of the show. 2874 02:23:17.680 --> 02:23:21.239 On a Wednesday edition of the program, we'll talk NBA offseason. 2875 02:23:21.239 --> 02:23:23.639 We'll talk a little bit of hockey, maybe a little 2876 02:23:23.639 --> 02:23:26.639 bit of soccer as well. Tony Jones stops by the program. 2877 02:23:26.760 --> 02:23:31.399 My buddy Everett Gray, former UNLV running rebel, former NBA player, 2878 02:23:31.440 --> 02:23:35.360 now local high school coach here, will stop by the program. 2879 02:23:35.399 --> 02:23:40.360 Belle Frasier joins the show live from the development camp 2880 02:23:40.479 --> 02:23:42.559 of course, Utah, mammit there up in Park City for 2881 02:23:42.559 --> 02:23:44.600 the week, so Bell will give us the lowdown from there, 2882 02:23:44.639 --> 02:23:47.120 and then I think we're catching up with Pablo Mastruwinni 2883 02:23:47.200 --> 02:23:48.000 on a Wednesday as well. 2884 02:23:48.000 --> 02:23:50.399 All right, good stuff, so enjoy that, stay tuned for 2885 02:23:50.440 --> 02:23:52.760 a Wednesday show. Well Saga night and a special thank 2886 02:23:52.799 --> 02:23:55.360 you to Kyle Bonegera, Tim McMahon, Richard Smith, and Sarah 2887 02:23:55.360 --> 02:23:58.000 Todd Fredest sound you may have missed today, go to 2888 02:23:58.079 --> 02:24:01.399 the website which is ESPN seven hundred. You can always 2889 02:24:01.440 --> 02:24:03.559 take us on the go utilizing our mobile app, which 2890 02:24:03.600 --> 02:24:05.719 is the ESPN seven hundred app available in the App 2891 02:24:05.760 --> 02:24:08.319 Store of the Google play Store. And then, finally, for 2892 02:24:08.399 --> 02:24:11.000 what we do in our space every afternoon for four hours, 2893 02:24:11.079 --> 02:24:13.200 check out the podcast page it's called The Drive with Spence. 2894 02:24:13.280 --> 02:24:14.360 Check its It's available wherever. 2895 02:24:14.399 --> 02:24:17.760 Get your shows, subscribe, rate, review, say nice things in 2896 02:24:17.799 --> 02:24:19.120 the comments, give us all the stars. 2897 02:24:19.120 --> 02:24:19.440 It helps. 2898 02:24:19.440 --> 02:24:21.200 He's porter, I'm Spence saying, and I have a great 2899 02:24:21.200 --> 02:24:23.120 Tuesday evening. Talk to you on a Wednesday Drive right 2900 02:24:23.120 --> 02:24:24.719 here on ESPN seven hundred