Utah Jazz offseason with Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz offseason with Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune

all right welcome back to the Hoops nerd podcast I’m excited about our guest today it’s Andy Larson from the Salt Lake Tribune if you’re a jazz fan you know who I’m talking to uh if not then I don’t know why you’re here but anyways well uh welcome Andy thanks for coming on the show yeah no worries thanks for having me I’m you know longtime reader and and sometimes Watcher and it’s it’s always a good time so uh you you do an awesome job and you know thanks for keeping the slz dunk and and you everything you do alive I I tell you what I mean so I had a crazy day today I’m just going to be super honest I had an a job interview today at my company because SLC dunk I have a lot of people sometimes message me on Instagram and on Twitter and they’ll be like how did you get to where you are and what you’re doing and I was like this is a part-time Gig if I was doing this full-time I can tell you right now I would not afford to live so it’s a part-time thing but it is a it is a labor of love I enjoy it um and I had a job interview today for a pretty big time thing that I’m hoping for in my day and I was like well would I and I still would do SLC dunk even even with it because you know you were at SLC dunk at one point yeah I mean when people ask me that same question like how did you get to this spot in journalism like I don’t have a journalism degree I made my way up the blogging scene you know like I started at jazz spots before SLC dunk and then SLC dunk and then Sal City hoops and then KSL found you know some budget to give me a part-time job making $15 an hour 20 hours a week for not come you know so like and then kind of grew from there and now you know I I get to work for the trip and do some really cool stuff so like you know it’s it’s one of those things where it sucks and I I do think like there’s a barrier to entry that’s kind of unfair to our our uh profession as a result where like there’s you know you kind of have to work at this craft for a number of years for free almost just to like make it work but um you know that was my path and I I wouldn’t have it any other way I really L loved working with the Jazz blogging community and built an audience through there that that’s really supported me for a long time yeah you do a great job I you know and to all those people that ask like what did you do to get to here I always think are you sure you want to is that actually something you want because you better be passionate about this this better be more a labor of love because you’re not going to be you know we all see the Stephen A Smiths and all that out there you’re not going to probably and who knows I I keep actually wondering when ESPN is going to give you a call Andy and say when are you writing for us but dude I don’t think I’d work for ESPN like it it’s not that good of a job I mean okay I it it does pay more but like you have to travel way more your what you can write is limited by like both editorial constraints and frankly the whims of Adrien wch narowski uh like uh you know I I really kind of enjoy doing kind of some of the data column stuff and other things I get to do besides Jazz world with the trip I mean I have a great boss and Aaron Faulk former jazz writer who like knows what the job is and and is really good at kind of navigating it like I’m really really happy here in Salt Lake doing covering the team that I grew up with right like and I I don’t know that I would would leave that for espb or really anything well you do a great job um yeah and so anyone who’s watching this if you have any if you want to write for SLC dunk send me a DM because it’s I I have a hard hard time just getting people to write so if you want to write call me or text me I mean don’t call don’t I I can recommend that too if you want to write like SLC dunk is an awesome place to start and you can be crazy by the way I don’t know if people know this I got started I don’t know if people know how I got on as a contributor but it was a little I was playing a cellphone game called Battle Royale okay and I joined a guild in Battle Royale and the leader of the guild was a guy named Gordon Hayward and I started and he was it was Gordon and I was like oh my gosh and as soon as I was in there he closed off the guild it was unjoinable so I was part of this group of like 10 guys and this was when he was making his decision on what he was gonna say or leave or whatever I recorded every single thing he ever wrote and I made an article on SLC dunk and I don’t know if people remember Amar but I was like Hey Omar I have this thing I’ve been writing I have everything Gordon Hayward said can I make an article and that’s kind of what got me into amar’s radar and so I don’t know if you guys can get in on a a a group text with with keante George or something it might help you out I don’t know but I I think you can attest to this though that that’s not a requirement right like I just was like Hey Amar I’m in college and will you let me write and he was like yeah sure it sounds good uh so yeah it’s a great place like I started on the fan post start part of it right where like I wasn’t even an official SLC dunk blogger I had to write like 10 of those to kind of get noticed by Mr and anyway it was yeah so you you kind of work your way up and you practice and you try different things and see what happens yeah well thanks for coming on let’s talk about the Jazz a little bit I wanted to just get your thoughts and you know we were talking a little bit before sometimes it’s reporter Andy and sometimes it’s opinion Andy and I think today is probably more a little bit more opinion Andy but who knows maybe there’s some things uh you can talk about but I just wanted to get your thoughts I mean well let’s start off first with the uniforms the uniforms come out today what are your thoughts on the new Jazz uniforms yeah they’re really I I think they’re really good I don’t think they’re great but I think they’re really really good and you know like I I number one they’re not yellow right like and that is the number one thing is we are moving past kind of this two-year blip where the Jazz not only didn’t look like the Jazz but they looked awful right like and it was very different than what you would expect as a jazz fan for a long time this decade of brand that they had created uh now this is Jazz basketball this is extremely familiar to anyone who’s watched the Jazz over the last 20 years watched the last stance known kind of Stockton and Malone known our most famous uh export which might be basketball right like when you go overseas people ask you about Stockton alone and the Utz and that’s what this look is right uh I think the mountains are a very smart approach there with uh the Olympics coming up with uh you know how important the mountains are to the community I think the purple looks really good on jazz players and uh is a kind of unique color that again I think the Jazz own pretty well um I I like them a lot you know I I think they’re a little bit safe in that we’ve seen a lot of these design comp Concepts before but honestly at this point I’ll take saves and solid and representing the fan base uh as over kind of any other thing right now so uh I I I think they’re at least a solid B+ not you know an A minus and I think they did a good job with them I agree I think I think B+ a minus is a good spot I mean it’s really hard for Utah because there’s just inherent problems you have to overcome you know I my day job is in marketing and you know that I do think the mountain basketball is a great phrase because it does kind of say what we are the there’s just an inherent problem with the Utah Jazz because it’s Jazz that’s not really Utah and you’re trying to combine that with something that’s Utah related and so it’s just really hard to combine the two and I think this is about as good as you can do with something that’s just kind of hard to combine both you know and the last Rebrand I think everyone just agreed it was just not good I mean it was I was so excited for that Rebrand I thought oh man this is a shot to actually do something whether it’s mountains or Jazz do something and it was just nothing you know I thought I even thought like the color scheme when I first saw the colors I was like well there’s some you know if you think about like music and sheet music there’s something there with black and white and if you have notes and and it was just nothing there was nothing and so to have something is it’s hard to lose on where you just have something so anyways I I think you know I think they did a good job you know I I think Ben Barnes is actually one of the best in the business in terms of creating brand designs not only for the Jazz but for other teams I mean uh has been involved in a number of different really good logos around the NBA and around the world World of Sports I think the Jazz kind of took that out of his hands in the first Rebrand and gave it to a different design team and different design philosophy which was shiny and cool and uh make Utah look as celebrity forward as possible and that’s not what we are that’s not what Jazz fans are that’s not what Utah is and I think you know embracing the best of what Utah actually is rather than what Ryan Smith wanted us to be is is just so much better for yeah everyone who actually is in Utah and is a jazz fan yeah no that’s actually that’s a great way to put it and so it’s nice that they’ve put something forward people are happy about one less thing for jazz fans to complain about one less thing for me to read SLC dunk comment threads and well I love that they listened right like I I I wrote a column on this that’ll come out I think tomorrow but uh like there was a world in which they just double and trible down on this right like and just this is the Jazz are black and yellow for the next couple decades because someone didn’t want to admit they were wrong and you know give them credit for listening where certainly you know if you work in marketing they’re plenty of gu team organizations or leaders that will just stick with a bad idea and they pivoted and you know ideally they don’t make the bad decision in the first place but they didn’t stick with it for too long I like that yeah no that’s great uh so anyways good job Jazz you improved everyone can be happy about it there’s still going to be every party has a pooper but I think overall Jazz fans are pretty happy about it all right so I want to talk the last two years have been filled with uh not good uniforms and also some pretty well I don’t want to say not good basketball but there’s been uh I guess I guess yeah you can just say not good basketball but I feel like one of the worst parts of the last two years is it’s okay to be to do not good basketball as long as you’ve got some sort of plan and it kind of felt like the uniforms last two years did not have a plan and it kind of feels like the Jazz the last two years themselves have not really had a very clear plan of what they’re trying to do I mean I have some ideas of kind of some of the things they’re trying to do just because covering it every day and kind of connecting the dots but what are the Jazz doing the last two years in your opinion yeah I mean kind of hoping for the best a little bit and you know I think obviously the Lowry Markin Improvement changed everything uh the 12 and three start to the season two years ago changed everything where they felt really confident that they were going to be tanking for Victor wanyama or scoot Henderson and then all of a sudden within the first three weeks of the Season found that that was impossible right like that found that they were going to be you know at worst the eighth best team in the league just because they they already won 12 games right like and so I I think since then they’ve been kind of stuck in the muck a little bit about retaining the value that they have and trying to build on that giving young guys some shots to improve like the Tor Horton Tuckers of the world which on paper like yeah give that you know give a 21-year-old point guard with you know some Talent some minutes on a on a nowhere on a team that’s going nowhere and seeing what happens you know makes sense um giving a young coach and will hardy a chance and I you know I think uh that’s been more positive than negative like I I think uh that’s kind of what they’ve been going for because the other options have been kind of bad at every turn um and that doesn’t mean they haven’t made mistakes or things that you know I’m critical of them and and you I think pretty critical of them too on some of these big decisions like you know the the differing approaches to trading boan banovich and Mike Conley doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in retrospect uh what they did at this year’s trade deadline doesn’t make a whole lot of sense you know it’s just like in in a vacuum or even in the context of where they are some of these decisions just don’t make sense other than that there wasn’t a better option at any other point you know like and and that’s the only kind of Saving Grace here is like hey it’s hard to really point to something that the Jaz front office could have definitely done better that would have changed everything you know would have changed things for for the for the better um for the future well I think I honestly completely agree I mean that first year you like you said they went they went 12 and three and I remember just going to that season just being ready you know there’s nothing like being a beat writer or a blogger writing about losses every night and I was just ready for it and then all of a sudden we’re 12 and three and and I don’t think the Jazz were any less surprised than a lot of us were because I don’t think you know you remember before that two the season where low marinan became an All-Star he had a nice Euro league and I think everyone thought well maybe he can do that with the Jazz and then he did and then the Jazz looked really good and I also think that it’s really hard to just trade everyone right away like that’s the one thing where I you know and I agree I wanted Victor wanyama and the Jazz I think everyone wanted Victor I think the Jazz wanted Victor women yum on the Jazz but it’s you can’t just trade people for nothing and I think Danny a probably just has an absolute abhorrence to just saying oh I’m going to give the Lakers Mike Conley for nothing the Mike the Lakers are offering a second round pick and I’m gonna give him Mike Conley there’s no way you know and and I don’t know exactly what negotiations happen but it takes time to trade these guys to get a value you think is is worth it yeah and I think like uh you know with the mikoni deal in particular you know I I do think the offer they ended up taking was probably on the on the table on October one you know like it it just we we based on the reporting that was coming out during that time uh getting one pick was kind of always out there and then getting two picks was a Jazz’s goal for where like Lakers would need some significant point guard help which they definitely did and uh they would you know want to keep LeBron and so on and so forth um but they also felt that if they kept and held that his value would would go up and uh in a way that they didn’t feel that way with with boan um I think they also made the same mistake probably with like Kelly oin right like uh you know trading him two months before doesn’t make a lot of sense um we’ll see what happens with like Chris Dunn’s deal and whether he he stays or goes um yeah I mean I think you can really probably Oak chai aaji right like if you trade him at the end of last year he probably has more value than if you trade him at the deadline um but that is also maybe the one thing that the Jazz have that other teams don’t is this ability to give playing time to guys who you really have questions on whether or not they deserve it right like and uh they found out about some guys and and um more you know more negative than positive frankly but they have had like some nice Pops in Lowry Markin and then Colin ton last year right yeah and I last year I think was a little surprising as well I mean I the mistake I made and I made some predictions I thought the Jazz were actually going to be pretty decent last year I thought you know Lowry marinin if he’s an All-Star maybe Walker Kessler takes a step and and you have some pretty nice rookies that showed some things in summer league if they just kind of gradually improve along with guys like Colin seon and Jordan Clarkson like I could I I was like I could see the Jazz being a 500 team you know John Collins right like they added in right new goodish power forward that they they’ never had before and I and you know because part of what I do is I just kind of try to read the tea leaves what are the they doing you know I just go off of what they’re they’re saying and well I don’t necessarily always go off what they’re saying I go off what what they do because they a lot of them were saying we want to keep Donovan Mitchell and build around Don Mitchell and I had I had heard through a few of my little grap vines that that was not necessarily the case right and and um you know so the thing that happened last year is I thought they were going to be pretty decent and that actually made kind of sense to me because if someone’s familiar with the Utah Jazz cap situation there were some benefits to being better than than bottom 10 if you are the Jazz and you want to be good next year like you know I am very much on the Cooper flag bandwagon that is all I want because I you know we’ve felt the pain of not getting wyam I just I want to go there but I could also see a world where it makes sense to convey the pick this well last season because then let’s say let’s say the wolves um just have a terrible snake bitten year some have some injuries and so on and then maybe you just get that pick and it’s great you know or let’s say the same thing with with the Cavaliers like Donovan Mitchell I I know what he’s saying and what he does is very possible to be different we’ll see what happens that’s an interesting situation but let’s say Donovan Mitchell leaves next year and leaves them high and dry all of a sudden that pick looks really good but the problem is we convey we did not convey the pick this year so that means the the swaps that we have next year and all that now is up in the air and I do not want to go into 2026 if we’re still really bad and if we have a shot at camb Boozer and we’re just a little bit too good and we don’t get him so it scares me to death I could see why that was the possibility and then they go into trade deadline and just tank like crazy in a draft that nobody likes so I just I just I guess I want to know I I don’t know maybe this is just therapy for me talking to you but what so I guess what I’d say is two things one I agree with you they were absolutely trying to begin the year I and I ALS also think like just because they were trying and just because they won 35 games or whatever the year before 38 I think it was uh they weren’t guaranteed to do that moving forward like most of the NBA teams are trying right like just because you’re trying to win games doesn’t mean you’re going to win games I think that’s was kind of the obvious uh disconnect that I think we saw last year was like Hey you know but in the end yes you’re trying to win games but you have ton Horton Tucker as your point guard and you have a you’re at a complete mess defensively right and given those two things you simply can’t compete at a reasonable level in the NBA and then yeah you can change your point guard and know Keon George is your point guard and and it’s he’s a rookie and he’s gonna make a lot of mistakes and it’s going to be hard to compete in the NBA I I think you know the defense is still a real question and we can talk about that like why that was worse than the league bad because I don’t think it should have been that bad but uh it’s just not enough to try I do question like the strategy of tanking at the end of the year um you know I think that the trades really hurt you know the hurt the feelings of guys like Larry right and um in the end I still basically expect Larry to sign an extension and maybe the Jazz just made that calculus too like whatever um but ultimately it it does put a bad feeling in everyone’s mouth and in a bad you know it makes it harder to get free agents it makes it harder to make quality trades it makes it harder to you know you have to pay a little bit more for guys like low and and maybe pay him the max rather than a little bit less the max you know all that kind of stuff it just those last two months just made harder um and then you know in the end the draft piic wasn’t worth it because we dropped spots Dro two spots and the teams that we we worked that hard to pass uh you know moved up so uh you know and that’s what’s that’s what’s tough about being a jazz fan right now is there is no light at the end of the tunnel that you can really see right like you you really have to go years down the road before this starts to make sense we know that surprises can happen you can get a Donovan Mitchell in the draft and then all of a sudden you’re you’re back quicker than you know it but it’s rare and you know that it’s we just don’t know if and when that’s going to happen yeah and and something you brought up and I just want to ask you about it I mean I think you know Ryan Smith is sharing pictures of lowry marinin we see low marinin and all the Jazz uh the Jazz promos for the new the new uniforms I don’t think that’s a small thing I think sometimes that’s just kind of like what a I do think it’s interesting Jordan Clarkson and uh Colin seon were not in that promo today uh so just and I don’t think that’s surprising I’ve Wroten written about Wroten I’ve written about 10 rumor articles about Colin seon and and Jordan Clarkson I would not be surprised this offseason but anyways back to my question I had Ken Clayton from Salt City Hoops on we kind of talked it through it really seems like the renegotiation is what they would like to do with with low marinan I guess I want your opinion is that the right thing to do and and just what are your thoughts on that and how did the Jazz move forward with lry marinan I I think it’s a right thing to do because you know not only it gives you the flexibility to keep him or not right like uh I I still think he’s tradable under a higher C dollar and uh you know the the way Justin zenik talked about it uh before his surgery you know when when he was talking about this upcoming offseason uh they want to give him a strong renegotiation and extend offer um beginning in August you know uh I think they anticipate some negotiation there I don’t know that their offer is going to be the max um and I think some of this depends on what happens in the draft in free agency and if they’re able to go big game hunting and all that but for the most part it does kind of make sense to keep the one superstar that you’ve had in the last and Superstar strong strong okay uh one star one top 30 guy you’ve had in the last 20 years uh that I guess the second one Beyond Rudy goar that really wants to play in Utah that really likes it here that really has his family here that and is really good and you know is is probably going to get better you know and is in the prime of his career um unless you get a trade where it’s holy cow worth it you know and uh you know I I don’t know that Lowry would be surprised by that by any means Lowry is tends to be a little bit like cynical about like uh how his career you know like just because he’s been traded before right and knows that what what’s happening now wasn’t Always Forever in the NBA um but I do think the Jazz are going to offer I do think you know Lowry is likely to accept and there’s there’s going to be a number that they can agree on um and then you know how you build a team not really around but next to Lowry uh given his skill set I think is the the bigger question than kind of what you do with him actually I think that’s a perfect way to put it I haven’t actually heard it put that way but I like that it’s not building around Lowry it’s maybe building next to Lowry um that’s the I mean that’s my big question too is because you know you look at the NBA Finals they’re going tomorrow it’s it’s two ball dominant superstars on both teams you know whether it’s Jason Tatum for the Celtics or it’s Luca donic for the Mavericks and then you look at who they beat to get there I mean Nicola yic best player in the NBA ball dominant Superstar you uh you know Anthony an is Anthony Edwards on the the Minnesota it’s just a ball dominant Superstar and so that’s where I guess you know know I wonder if that’s what the Jazz want and that’s what they’re looking to get I don’t know how they’re going to get it you mentioned big game hunting I mean what does that mean does big game hunting mean Brandon Ingram or or Zack LaVine and if that’s the case uh I’m gonna jump into a big depression this summer but yeah no I don’t I don’t I don’t think that’s what they mean by big game hunting and you know I I have had I’ve had a number of conversations with with the decision makers on there you know and um I don’t think they’re happy with Zack LaVine type of players you know like the the cap number there versus the output you get uh isn’t worth it you know could Zack LaVine make the Jazz five wins better next year absolutely like everyone kind of agrees on that um that’s not what they want to do and and I I don’t think that’s the right thing to do I think you and I both agree that being stuck in the middle is kind of the worst place to be and and maybe Lowry’s presence uh makes that more likely than not but I also think that there are kind of ways around it where you can get out of the middle even with Lowry on the roster um yeah and well and I look at what they did last Trad deadline that it was clear what they were trying to do they did want to give keontay George and Taylor Hendrick minutes I mean Taylor Hendricks I think did show some really nice things but it’s just hard to be a rookie in the NBA and win I mean even LeBron James lost some games but you know it takes time to be a as and konay George you know we saw some real flashes in summer league he had some games where he showed some real things and then we also saw him really struggle at times which is not surprising I mean yeah being a point guard in the NBA is extremely hard and taxing and and so we’ll see maybe maybe keontay George takes that next level but I mean know I was talking to Ken Clayton it kind of feels like there’s a potential next year at least maybe I’m just this is what I’m hoping but it’s kind of like a Lowry the kids type season where it’s Lowry and a lot of younger players developing and I honestly you look at the Western Conference standings if it’s low marinan and keontay George and Taylor Hendricks and then you know whoever they get in this upcoming draft I don’t think that team’s better than the Memphis Grizzlies who get John Moran back the 14 seed right like yeah and I I you know I think the Spurs probably jump you uh and you’re right I think Memphis probably jumps you and and uh maybe Portland does too you know that who knows right like you you don’t I was gonna say are we sure that we’re better than Portland the only you know the only thing that hurts you a little bit is the Eastern Conference exists and probably has four bad teams in it but like uh you know so maybe you go into this draft with the fifth seed but I don’t hate that necessarily because this draft isn’t just Cooper flag deep and the difference between the top four seeds and the and the you know number five spot is 3% or whatever you know like I I think there’s you’re going to get a franchise changing player in this up not the 2024 draft but the 2025 draft at number five you know I I think the likes of like VJ edcom are good enough to be uh you know the best prospect that the Jazz have on the roster frankly and um that gives you yeah some flexibility to keep Lowry essentially you don’t feel like you have to think because there’s only one or two guys in the draft yeah and I yeah this this upcoming the 2020 five draft not this current one looks awesome like you said there are some it’s loaded it really is and so I it makes sense and I don’t think the Jazz are dumb I think they’re very clear I mean Danny a basically goes to every single event that Cooper flag is at which you know maybe he does that every year I don’t know but it certainly seems like he’s interested in looking at who’s playing uh but I guess that brings me to the current draft um what do you is there a chance the Jazz trade up in this draft do you think they’re just going to stay at 10 uh is there is there a team out there that might like maybe John Collins or someone or maybe I mean honestly one of the quiet is there a team like maybe the Memphis Grizzlies that really love Walker Kessler and might be willing to give some picks to the Jazz for K I don’t know do you what do you kind of think happens on draft night yeah I I truly don’t know and I also know that they don’t know which I know is a lame answer but like uh the negotiations and conversations on these don’t really start happening until closer to the draft um I would say kind of the best idea we have on this is from what B Taylor said after the Jazz fell in the lottery um when we asked him about kind of the the idea of trading the picks or moving up or moving down he said look you know given how flat this draft is I think there’s going to be opportunities to trade up or trade down but that also means that it’s probably less likely to be worth it to trade up and or trade down right and uh you know the difference between being the number five pick and the number 10 pick in this draft while it seems like copium is not actually that different you know like we were talking about Ron Holland as a number five guy and now he’s might be available at number 10 and deal with Nicola topic and and toic and ditto with I don’t know Stefan Castle or or you know Reed Shepard or whoever right like um pretty much we know Alex SAR is probably going to be gone by number 10 and like I I feel pretty strongly about three guys is maybe going by number 10 but after that maybe you know Buel has probably gone by then uh R but like you know beyond that I I have no real idea who’s going to be available at number 10 and so I don’t love the idea of necessarily spending a walker Kessler on moving up when uh you know I think Walker’s a good player that’s heck maybe just as likely to be a MB you know pretty useful NBA player as someone like Ron Holland right like if I have to take Walker Ker career moving forward or Ron Hollands I might take Walker Kessler and you know famous Walker Kessler stand in a bad and negative way but like nevertheless you know at some level he’s just a really good rim protector that can help you in at the NBA level where I think there’s like a 45% chance Ron Holland is actually an NBA player you know there’s big Kevin Knox potential there yeah well and also speaking of Walker Kessler what happened to Walker Kessler this year it’s it is kind of a I mean I I think the there is some like Team USA mental stuff I think there’s a lot of mental stuff frankly um I think there’s uh a difference between what his Camp is telling him he needs to work on and what he should work on and what the Jazz coaches are telling him he needs to work on and should work on um what do the what do the Jazz want him to work on the big man stuff Rudy goar stuff like screening catching rolling finishing uh screening screening screening like yeah we don’t want you to work on the three-point shot you’re not good at you know there are no good three-point Shooters in the history of the NBA who are good or 50% free throw shooters but work on the free throws yeah that’s good uh did improve yeah yeah and you know that’s that’s you want you know 75% free throw shooting from Walker and I think that’s that’s possible I think he has good enough touch to make that you know possible I think they want him to be much much stronger down low uh both on the glass and off you know he has incredible offensive rebounding numbers but the defensive numbers are kind of iffy um on on the on the glass so like really you know figure out what the the the timing and and footwork has to be there um yeah big man stuff right like and that’s super duper unsexy and you know Walker thinks he can be Brook Lopez and and I get it and uh you know in his rookie year was just called up to Team USA and he thinks he can be a you know really top quality Center in the league and yet like you kind of have to walk before you can run right like I I I do think like the the model of Rudy goar’s progression while like an outlier is a really good example for him because uh Rudy also had no idea what to do and then just kind of figured out what he was gifted at and learned how to kind of impact nearly every possession in this really cool way uh that I think you know Walker’s skill set length athleticism allows him to do in in kind of similar fashion yeah and I don’t want to keep you too long but you did touch on something too because I think that was something that I wondered too because you know obviously John Collins kind of Wis out on Center position and it made me think maybe the Jazz just really value that three-point shooting from five uh but maybe it’s more that they just felt like and honestly John Collins out rebounded him in a lot of ways he just kind of was tougher and and you know and so that’s was it do the jazs value thato shooting five or is it more they just wanted to see the best of what Walker is yeah I I think the ladder I I think they want spacing right like I think they wanted will wanted spacing for the other guys on the floor and you can get that vertically or you can get that from the three-point line and kind of the problem with Walker right now is that he doesn’t screen well enough to make himself a vertical threat often enough right like we we’ve seen the difference between Rudy goar screens and Walker kler screens and Walker just doesn’t have that same sort of impact and then that has a uh that has a cascading effect down the roster where Keon George can’t get open and really struggles as a result and opponents can just stick to Lowry Markin and there are no problems there and so on and so forth and especially when you lose Kelly Alin who’s like really your secondary playmaker who can be tall and you know pass over his head and stuff now you have no way to real really generate efficient offense um which is a bummer you know you hope Walker takes those next steps because I think there is a world where he can be the Jazz’s long-term starting center um even in like a playoff situation but uh I you know it just he has to get better kind of his weaknesses in order to play on the floor I I don’t think that was like Will loves John Collins as a player uh I think he knows John has obvious strengths and weaknesses too uh they really wanted to focus on the offensive end La last year and and getting Keon especially but the rest of the offense kind of clicking in in a way that that worked for everyone to keep them all engaged uh and so John Collins was kind of the the choice of Walker in a lot of in a lot of situations well thanks for coming on Andy this was awesome R RSL is really good this year I don’t follow him very closely but are they the best team in the in the in the league so they are the best team in the Western Conference they are two points behind the lonel Messi uh having inter Miami but we’ve played one fewer game so if RSL wins and you know Miami loses whatever then yes RSL would be the number one team in in MLS can they win at all can probably like MLS is so goofy that like you know the eight seed wins all the time so like anything can happen uh and I love that about Ms but uh yeah honestly they can and that’s what’s so exciting about it like Yay it’s uh there is a good professional sports team in Utah uh it’s not the one I cover right now but it’s the one I H get to be a fan of and you know tailgate for games for and be a crazy person and St and chant and so that that’s that’s all fun and apparently the hockey team can’t win the lottery either so at least you know I’ll say this about the hockey team and I’ve been learning a lot about hockey and and uh what the coyotes have I think their young players are probably in like a stronger position than the Jazz’s are right um I think I’ve heard that too nothing against Keon George and Taylor Hendrickson but they just haven’t shown that the top level what you know guys like Clayton Keller and Gunther and Logan have for example so well thanks for coming on guys if you haven’t already subscribed to the Salt Lake Tribune uh Andy you have a newsletter right that you write every week uh make sure you guys will subscribe to that did you want to plug that at all no I was just gonna say honestly we just turned the triple team into a newsletter uh to try to you know take advantage of newsletters becoming more popular in uh the I don’t know journalism space and so that’s kind of the idea but uh yeah so that’s please subscribe to that and please subscribe to the tri uh your support like we talked about at the begin of the show is the whole reason I get to do this and it’s a really fun job and I I really really appreciate everyone listening and reading Awesome hey thanks Andy Thanks James

On this episode I talked with Andy Larsen, Utah Jazz Beat Writer of the Salt Lake Tribune. We talked about the Utah Jazz offseason and what’s going on. What happens with Lauri Markkanen? How good are the Jazz? We also discuss things like the Utah Jazz trade rumors in the past, what happens next season, and will the Jazz be bad enough to get Cooper Flagg?

Make sure to subscribe to the Salt Lake Tribune as well as to Andy’s Utah Jazz newsletter!

00:00 Intro and how did we get into SLC Dunk and where we are
05:27 Talking about the Utah Jazz uniforms
09:56 What have the Jazz been doing the last two seasons?
13:14 What happened with the Mike Conley trade?
20:27 What is going to happen with Lauri Markkanen?
24:03 What does big game hunting mean?
27:54 What do the Utah Jazz do in this upcoming NBA Draft

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