HOUR 1 | Looking at NBA mock drafts | Bronny To Lakers a done deal? | Would you rather?
hey this is JJ and Alex as you wrap up your day it’s time to get your fix of the teams you live for and the sports you love this is JJ and Alex presented by G2G bars on 975 the KSL Sports Zone we made it everybody it is Friday and it’s been hard to work this week right because my goodness the weather is beautiful the reason we live in the great state of Utah is because of what we’re experiencing outside right now Sly it’s the perfect time of year it’s my favorite time of year it’s it’s we’re entering June it’s summertime it’s time to have some fun enjoy the weather outside this is why we live in Utah yet we’re here in a radio Studio depending on who you are though cuz there’s people I love the no I want to ski I want to I love the seasons too like there’s people that build up for that right yeah but for you and I this late May early June time is perfect the weather’s awesome I get to wear my jerseys I’m a big Jersey guy I need to let my fatness breathe and so uh the jerseys do that shorts we got music playing outside just a Vibe yep I love summer music you know Will Smith summer summer summertime I like that that’s my favorite summer song There You Go and So like um all of this stuff is just going on right now just Good Vibes I see more Smiles as I’m driving down the street or walking down the street it’s uh it is the best time of year for sure we got a show today we got a show to do we’re glad you’re along with us we’re going to help you get through the end of this Friday whether you’re at work uh well maybe it’s the last day of school there you’re you’re waiting in a car poool or whatever maybe you’re uh you’re sitting in the office or maybe you’re driving home from work to get to enjoy a beautiful weekend we’re here for you we’re here with you thanks for joining us lot to talk about today we got a great show ahead we’re working hard on a Friday obviously a big night last night in the NBA we have an NBA Finals matchup it is done somebody told you Luca was going to have a big night somebody did I’m not going to say who not going to brag luk had a big night you were right and the Mavs are on their way to the NBA finals we’ll get to that uh we continue our trip around the Big 12 Brian Hanny the voice of the Kansas Jayhawks joins us he breaks down The Jayhawks they’re really really good that’s a team to look out for in the Big 12 BYU plays them again as they did last year we also got some college football talk Mitch Harper’s going to join us great week for BYU outside of Jackson Robinson heading to Kentucky if you’re a BYU fan right now you got to be really excited about what’s going on especially with Kyu man Kevin young had a good week so we’ll break that down with Mitch he also got the chance to talk to Tom Homo at the Big 12 uh business meetings down in Texas and the NFL Blitz as always but we’re going to get started with the NBA draft the day the deadline to withdraw is passed it’s now set we know who’s available and the Jazz have three picks we got to dig into it uh it’s brought to you by G2G bars this entire show with all natural ingredients no preservatives and plenty of protein G2G bars are perfect for anyone who needs a tasty and nutritious boost the NBA draft is the cut at 3:00 it’s time for the biggest story of the day this is what made the cut with JJ and Alex a 975 the KSL Sports [Music] Zone oh that feels good oh this is regular one I was expecting come on Jeremy sly’s all about the test give Sly what he wants there we go there it is there we go that is the original for me now it’s so much better with the lyrics so much better I’m going to talk it I agree with the Tes Brothers it’s much better he said the original I can’t believe you even started with that Jeremy it’s Friday you got to have [Music] it I think Dave Tesh has a terrific voice oh yeah lay off Dave Tes all right you know it’s it’s uh it’s time it’s the uh it’s the Jazz daily and we’re gonna get right into it right at the top of the show because as I mentioned the the deadline to a draw from the draft is passed and we now know who’s in the draft and who is not I mentioned Jackson Robinson uh now former BYU uh player six man of the year in the Big 12 is off to Kentucky he did withdraw from the draft he will not be in the draft but he is not coming back to Provo he is going to Lexington to play for Mark Pope I get it I understand it’s a coach that helped him a a a great deal and that relationship is there and it’s a chance for him to play at Kentucky he’s a former SEC player he was at Arkansas but as for the NBA draft we can now dig into this and Sly you’ve heard all the people say it’s not a great draft and I I I would agree with that there’s not a LeBron James a Victor wimon there’s not even a Kyrie Irving in this draft that you’re like that’s the guy that’s the number one pick right in fact right now I think there’s debate about who’s going to be taken number one overall the Atlanta Haw right you always have like your stable exactly there’s always that guy right scoot Henderson all the you you have your guys I just you don’t have that I is it Alex SAR I mean yeah I don’t know and I think that a lot of NBA teams are like I don’t know yeah right I mean the Atlanta Hawks have the first overall pick and they have not according to reports they have no idea who they’re taking they’re in the early stage of the decision-making process they they they need to do workouts so last year we knew the second the lottery ended where Victor wanyama was going we knew that was a no-brainer this year’s different and I think that makes this NBA draft a lot more fun so racer who is uh one of the H he’s he’s one of the top guys he’s from France another France big actually he’s a small forward I shouldn’t say a big he’s a small forward Zachary raker I might be mispronouncing can’t wait till the Olympics this summer right our our International Players it is just growing like crazy the competition is Just Awesome every single year these these International guys are in the top five more and more and more and uh seeing flexible guys like like this guy here it’s it’s it’s reassuring you know it’s just going to continue on when we have those World Championships and and um and other games outside of the NBA basketball can be now more year round you can look for it as it is when you’re in high school you got AA ball that goes all year except for football season um that’s how I played that was football and then basketball the rest of the year and so um now that’s that’s what’s coming in the professional rankings man love seeing these International guys get in the mix like this absolutely well I think that somebody mentioned that at this current reject uh trajectory with the amount of Internationals that are out there and they estimate that nearly half the league could be International in the next 10 years wow um that is that tells you how good the international basketball’s getting it’s also an indictment on the development system here in the United States I don’t have time to get into that but the way that youth basketball is being run right now and a lot of people might disagree with me I’m not it’s really I’m not even sure it’s not really my opinion I think there there’s a there’s a consensus out there among a lot of people that changes need to be made with how youth basketball is being run and how young players are being developed in this country the AE circuit is not making better basketball Prospect in the United States yeah it’s much of an impact as a used to make you know um you don’t see it as much I mean I really can’t speak to it you know because I’m not heavily into youth basketball like that to say they’re doing it right or just Internationals just gotten better and you have to respect it or or whatever that is you know just from an outside perspective what I’ve seen it’s like there’s a lot of coddling to some of these guys you know and making and how much skill development is taking exactly what how much just rolling the ball out favorable matchups right you don’t see that heavy competition each and every time they step onto the floor which is what they need because that’s what you’re going to get at those other levels and so um as I said I I just feel like there’s more uh people worried about social media exposure at the younger ages than they are about having these guys compete at the highest level each and every time they’re on the floor I again outside perspective I’m not into the youth basketball the way it’s ran like that to say that’s the issue but that’s what I’ve seen from the stuff that I have seen got to correct myself on the pronunciation it’s Zachary rash rash rash reash we got to put a little Accent on that too rash re I gotta work on my French I’m terrible so rash could be the number one pick okay if he’s not then you’re probably looking at Alex SAR again a player from Australia another International player he’s a power forward Center he’s a big player he’s got a lot of skill then then Reed Shepard is a guy that’s climbing up draft boards the point guard shooting guard out of Kentucky he’s uh 19 years old almost 20 years old so he’s he’s projected to be number three overall and then you keep going on and this is this is a guy that I think is a guy that would be a perfect land a perfect guy to for the Jazz to get and it’s Stefan Castle who was a point guard shooting guard you saw him with Yukon played a big role in them winning another National Championship he’s a big strong Wing guard type player who’s not even 20 yet but looks like he’s still he still looks like he’s a man enough to play among the men if that makes sense even though he’s only 19 that is a guy that I think is the if he’s a realistic Target for the Jazz in this draft that’s a guy they could go all in on uh his two-way versatility playmaking potential 66 215 I like him a lot and I think in this draft where you don’t have that consensus guy and a lot of these teams may be willing to move around could the Jazz if they do like Stefan Castle enough convince the Spurs to make a trade if that’s how high the Jazz need to climb up that’s probably a little too high from 10 to four to be able to pull that off but that’s why the Jazz have a stockpile of draft picks so that’s one guy I identify as a guy that they need to go after right in this draft aggressively but as I said number four if Stefan Castle goes number four that’s probably probably Out Of Reach of any kind of deal the Jazz could pull and if the Spurs love stepfon Castle they’re not moving uh modest bazis who played in the G League last year at age 19 another International player so we’re at number five and we’ve had three of the top five be Internationals it’s crazy right like in March Madness goes on Zack ‘s killing it right basketball player of the year yeah and he’s all the way down at the late first round he’s from Canada late first round to even is even getting a knowledge on some of these draft on these mock drafts yep and so it’s just like yeah this draft is really wide open very for like like you really don’t know which team is going to pick which with all these names I’m pretty sure a lot of you guys out there listening in the cars or your or or in the office or whatever have not even heard of these guys before and you know that’s there’s no front runner here in the NBA draft it’s going to make this very interesting uh especially who’s going to be the marketability who’s going to be that name that’s going to make some noise that people are like what is that all about yeah it’s very interesting to see how that’s going to come out here who’s who’s got the star power out of these guys and that’s part of the evaluation process right um you get to number six on the ESPN mock draft Rob Dillingham point guard out of point guard out of Kentucky Donovan kingan the Center out of Yukon uh number seven to Johnny Salon another player from France 18 years old there’s a lot of hype about this kid but he’s only 18 Again France is producing a lot of nice players so that uh and again I need to work on my pronunciation here with Salon I think it’s to Johnny Salon but I need to double check that as well but as we’re getting to dip into this it not may not matter I don’t know maybe I think maybe that is a guy that’s in that range right if he’s 89 10 then that as a kid an 18-year-old kid that the Jazz need to consider uh who he’s not even turned 19 yet I mean it’s I mean do the Jazz need to go young they got so many young guys right now this is the problem so do they need to go young of course not but what choice do they have they have three picks in this draft and they’re they’re unless there’s trade opportunities out there what deals are you making and then you got you start looking at unrestricted free agencies like I mean none of these guys are realistic I mean they’re not getting LeBron James you don’t want James Harden at this point in his career right and James Harden probably doesn’t want the Jazz at this point in his career are you going to get Paul George no so like your options are pretty limited so you do have these draft picks and you need to try to take the best player available so they have to look at these guys another interesting guy in that range ESPN has up number nine Dalton connect out of the out of Tennessee small Ford now this is an older player this is a 23-year-old player an All-American Tennessee this is somebody who’s going to be more able to come in and play immediately so that may play into the Jazz thought process as they look at that if he’s available at number 10 ESPN has Nica topic again another International player at number 10 as a guy that the Jazz could take at number 10 uh he played last year in the Adriatic league and then Ron Holland’s another interesting player uh a g-league player a small forward also 18 years old that uh could be considered as well jacobe Walter out of Baylor Cody Williams Colorado we’ve heard the Jazz like him Zack Edy they have him at 15 on the ESPN mock draft and Jared McCain 16 I won’t go any further than that let me go back down actually we’ll go all the way down to 209 where the Jazz pick again just to let you know what you’re looking at like Justin Edwards a small forward shooting guard out of Kentucky 20 years old there that’s where the Jazz are picking and then if you get to round two number 32 we start talking about bronny James or are they going a different direction there’s guys like cam Christie Tyler Smith uh some other names if you’re a junkie in the draft teren Shannon Jr has got some legal problems terrific Talent 23 years old you probably don’t want to touch any of that so that’s kind of what you’re looking at with the Jazz with three picks in that in this draft two in the first round one at number 32 in the second round there’s a number of mock drafts out there like take mock drafts for as a grain of salt it’s just somebody sitting there they’re ranking the guys and they’re try they’re getting some Intel but you know a lot of guys in front offices are poker players right now they’re spreading stuff that they’re probably not really serious about or they really want to push someone their way so they’ll even say something negative about I mean it’s it’s it’s crazy what happens behind the scenes but um some of the uh other mock drafts CBS Sports has Rob Dillingham coming going to the Jazz at number 10 Bleacher Report Ron Holland at number 10 the ringer has Stefon Castle falling to number 10 to the ja now that would be a dream scenario in my mind I don’t know how the Jazz feel about Stefan Castle but Stefan castle at 10 in my opinion would be a home run draft if the Jazz are able to pull that off if the Jazz come away from this draft with a Stefan Castle I think the draft is a success and and the positioning that they put themselves in with that uh Swoon after the trade deadline last year is all worth it but again this is all who knows but there’s a lot of players out there trades that happen there could be all kinds of things to kind of wrap up this point now that we went over some of the name slide what really matters here is you the Jazz have to find some Talent here and this is where Danny a really shines and you have to have some confidence in him and Justin zanic who’s done a great job and for has been very involved throughout his career in international scouting and and has done a lot of his work overseas both Danny and Justin have a good beat on all these guys are any of these guys worth trading some of their stockpile of picks for to move up in this draft do Danny and Justin not like anybody enough to think I don’t want to add these guys to our already young roster we’re going to trade out of this draft we got these three picks but we’re going to trade back and out and try to get future picks added to our stockpile there could be some teams here it could be playoff teams they’re thinking we we like this guy like maybe maybe there’s a team out there like maybe the Thunder need to get bigger and they’re like you know what we need Donovan kingan and he’s slipping to number 10 Utah we want to make a deal we want Donovan kinging see how this works where a team that needs to trade up or needs to go get a guy will will these things can happen see this is what I love about sports yeah right these little conversations right like I can just visualize right now the past three months Danny Ang just had a team of evaluators contract evaluators draft evaluators scenario evaluators people coming up with situational things to where um he can expose utilize whatever because I just think he’s going to come up with some kind of creative way to either waste a pick use a pick but it’s to his best interest right because you don’t want to pick up a guy and then it’s for nothing at the same time right so yeah trade out is kind of what what it seems for me you got three pics and a not so Grand draft but how am I going to utilize that it’s more than just the guy that you’re getting right and so that’s what the exciting part about I actually would love to be a part of a strategical team oh wouldn’t it be fun oh man right we just fly on the wall every single day can I be the fly on the wall Danny comes in at 7 a.m. what you got and we’re like okay we got this we got this we got me and JJ just freaking go H we thought about about this late last night but that would be like a fun job for me like look Atlanta’s going through this kind of contract restructuring we could offer this with this and then do you could just do a whole months leading up to the draft of scenarios because Danny’s looking at the Players like okay there’s no real rookies that I like or there’s a real rookie that I’m like not really like up on but how can I manage that what type of guy do we need to fill this role what type of guy does Hardy need need on this team there’s so many different that would be a fun job to have one of those as an evaluator for Denny a you just brought up the Atlanta Hawks they have the number one overall pick in this draft how bad do they want that pick in this draft I wonder is ret the the guy that he’s so special he’s gonna he’s gonna help them that’s a team that needs to go to the playoffs and win now now a riset doesn’t help you win now and Alex are probably doesn’t help you win now you’ve already got a pretty good big that can run the floor you’ve got to get better and I think that that’s a team to watch in the draft because there’s a lot of value with a number one pick even in a draft like this do the Hawks want to trade back or out in exchange for a veteran player that can help them get better that’s something to keep an eye on and who is the team that wants to move up so bad to number one that they’re willing to give him that veteran player right a lot of things this draft feels to me like a draft where there’s going to be a lot of movement I do and and and and the movement being picks plus assets a lot of a lot of veteran players could be moved before or during this draft that’s how I feel just reading the tea leaves a little bit reading a lot of reports seeing where teams are there were a lot of teams that had a high payroll and a lot of pressure on them that flopped in the playoffs MH the Milwaukee Bucks that’s got to get rid of the Philadelphia 7 they can’t carry that into the you’re right yeah what are those teams going to do in the off season that’s part of our evaluation job exactly to get better are those teams looking to dismantle and break down their rosters and rebuild them are they looking to add veterans and they I don’t know there’s a lot of things I’m bringing this up because I think there’s a lot of movement that can happen in June both with veteran players and on draft day with some of these picks and then you have an interesting free agent class it’s not like a great free agent class again free agency is not what it used to be I don’t think there’s going to be major surprises that might be one blockbuster like Paul George might sign with the Sixers what’s LeBron gonna do I’m sure he’s goingon to go back to the Lakers you see what I mean James Harden is going to stay with the Clippers there’s not going to be a lot of drama there might be one or two guys that shock you the the drama is going to be the trades the drama is going to be the trades in this NBA off season and we’ve seen that Trend already the Utah Jazz were squarely in that drama two years ago two summers ago where they moved two allst stars in the offseason one was late in the off season Donovan was a late move but that was a lot of movement and a lot of drama in an offseason featuring trades involving veteran star players we could see that again this year what a what position did the Jazz need you got guards the Jazz need a star what about this we got pair with Lowry they got picks right yeah what about a Jonathan kaminga you can offer the Warriors kaminga is one of those upand cominging guys I love him it’s a good one young could jump out the gym humble can go get his own if he needs to complimentary to a star you’ve identified a potential star in this league swing my question then becomes why would the Warriors want to move him opportunity right do they still want to try to win we just talked about it off their old guys and they’re going to try to bring in more I mean Chris Paul didn’t help them last year no Absol King is the only future asset they have right now but you can get more if you can get draft picks out of Danny AES who has 13 of them now you’re talking right is that going to be enough do the Warriors need to start stockpiling the picks to rebuild their franchise to do more things and are they willing to give up a a player with star potential I mean the whole thing the gold State Warriors you got draymond’s contract right this is why we bring this up this is what to my point you’re you’re exactly right the Warriors are one of those teams yeah do they have to consider in it all down yes for sure but for them doing that would be painful because it says goodbye to I mean do they keep Stu during that rebuild they got four Championship I don’t see them resigning Klay Thompson but they might just for sentimental reasons Draymond can you see him anywhere else the Warriers are a team to watch this off season because if they don’t make any moves they’re going to stink next year if they do make moves or whatever they do they might try to rebuild on the fly around Steph while he still has some juice right the Warriors are a team to watch I love that all right great conversation around the draft we’re not done with the NBA Mavs versus Celtics the NBA Finals is set Luca went nuts Luca went Luca in the first quarter and has the Mavs in the finals we’ll start breaking down that future matchup we also got more college football later in the show as well JJ and Alex 975 D KL Sports Zone accessing when TV and radio Collide love it this is what you got you’re listening to JJ and Alex presented by G2G bars don’t touch that D on 975 the KSL Sports so drums [Music] please a it feels great man uh definitely don’t take this moment for granted because of how hard we had to work uh to get here and we had to earn our spot into the NBA finals and uh we had to go against some great opponents and I feel like they got us better I mean they’re the best team in the NBA they had by far the best record uh they have some incredible weapons on offense and defense uh so we’re going to have have to play really hard and amazing basketball to beat them that was Kyrie Irving and Luca donic they are headed to the NBA finals I think it’s the fourth time for Kyrie in his career Lucas first if you join us right at the top of the hour you know why this is playing Jeremy hitting it boy is a VI summer time it is officially summer in our minds okay it’s not officially but but if you don’t have it’s The Unofficial start of summer for us if you don’t have the top down Windows rad down just cruising with the breeze what are you doing this is why you live here today it’s so beautiful outside right now we’re cooped up in here we’re repeat put it on repeat this is just making us feel a little bit better while we’re cooped up in a studio with no windows while all of you are hopefully outside enjoying a beautiful weekend here along the wasat front JJ and Alex 975 to KSL Sports Zone Jeremiah Jensen Stevenson Sylvester sly’s been with us all week it’s been a blast we’re having fun especially right now with this Vibe oh yeah it’s got to be top on your summer playlist anytime you do a barbecue you gota you got the second that started playing it it it put me in a better place right it put me in a better place oh yeah so before we get we we we played Kyrie and Luke at the top we’re going to get to that we’ll look ahead to the Celtics and the uh Mavericks in the NBA Finals somebody told you yesterday and the day before that Luca’s GNA have a big game five I don’t know who it was yeah who was that I can’t remember but somebody on the show uh told you that Luca was going to go ape and he did what a first quarter he had 20 in the first he was thinking about that Miss free throw for two days and he took out his frustration on the Timberwolves and now the Mavericks are finals bound mad I could have had an extra day of rest and I missed a free throw let me go 20 in this first Court uh the crap he was talking he was talking some smack boy he’s a smack talker oh yeah most of it’s in Slovenia that’s okay hey hey but I do know his favorite English word can you say it on the air oh no no no Jeremy’s got the go yeah it’s that one that was that one okay thank you he has a great he has a favorite English word that’s for sure before we talk about that we have some breaking NBA news we got to share play the breaking news Sater we just got T talking about the draft we have some draft news the New Orleans Pelicans have announced that they have deferred oh the number 17 pick in this draft that the Lakers owe them it just now back to the Lakers so the Lakers now have the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA draft in the first round now the Pelicans will have the Lakers 2025 first round pick in that 2025 draft should be a much much better draft so the Pelicans had until 1159 p.m. Eastern tonight to inform the Lakers of their decision to either claim the pick or defer it until 2025 and there you go the decision has been made the Pelicans pick at number 21 in this draft as well so they didn’t need two picks in this draft they decided to defer now why is this a big deal tell them JJ because the Lakers now have the number 17 pick and there is a player in this draft who has very close ties to a star player on the Lakers roster who the Lakers might have interest in drafting in this draft who keeps said play player happy so said player signs free agent contract with Lakers and stays what that’s crazy the Lakers can now take bronny James in the first round of the draft do it LeBron James and LeBron James on your team at the same time yes that’s exactly what I’m saying now is that the direction the Lakers will go at number 17 I don’t see why not I can almost guarantee it there’s why yes the Lakers cannot afford to have LeBron James leave in free agency we discussed this during the break LeBron has a player option he’s no dummy he’s going to opt out of his current contract so that he can sign a big deal which is crazy at age 40 he’s gonna be signing a Max money deal but he’s all NBA all NBA he’s still LeBron James he’s still great still leading Allstar vote getter yes he’s still the biggest 40 41 years old oh he’ll be 40 this year right 40 years old yep 40 years old unbelievable so the Lakers have the 17th pick and they have LeBron James looking at free agency what move could you make in the draft to keep LeBron happy and make him want to stay draft his son so that his dream of playing with his son can come true and here’s the thing everybody’s like L GM he’s doing all of this he doesn’t have to do anything everybody it’s understood he’s been setting this up for years looks like it this scenario he’s been setting this scenario up for years I want to play with my son how many times have we heard that and now the way his contract was set up to to opt out if possible let’s put the pressure on who wants to make this happen this is not an exciting draft we just talked about it why not this makes so much sense on so many levels it does for the Lakers and the Lakers could get away with this in this draft taking somebody reaching very very much we talked to David lock this week I mean he’s I I agree 100% with his analysis bronnie James wasn’t even a top five player on his college team he was watching film doesn’t even see him Splash he’s GNA he’s probably going to be the 17th pick in this draft how many of these names in this first draft are you going to remember five years down the road anyway that’s fair but if the Lakers the Lakers will give a guaranteed contract to bronny James if it means keeping LeBron James for another three or four years how about that which is insane that LeBron James could be in the league three or four more years because at that same time LeBron did say he wouldn’t end his career there well yeah at this point why where is he going to go Cleveland but he did say I would love I would love I’d love to end my career in the Lakers uniform he did say that a few this would clinch that oh yeah for sure this whole scenario that’s developing could clinch that so I thought everyone listening might find that interesting that the Lakers now have officially the 17th pick in the draft do not be surprised if they take a member of Lebron James family at number 17 all right back to something that that actually we care about the NBA Finals care about my Lakers what I don’t care about Brony James playing with his dad I just don’t this is the Lakers suck yesterday and they suck again today it is news though it is interesting but this is the real news the Mavericks are headed to the NBA finals we knew the Celtics were there already there was no doubt after the first quarter I mean you know there’s been some crazy comebacks and and the Timberwolves had a crazy comeback in game seven in Denver against the Nuggets back from 20 down but it it just felt like Luca buried them in the first quarter and it was over Luca was a monster 21st quarter points 36 overall Kyrie also had another big game this Mavericks team is good Sly they’re really really good and I’m telling you we didn’t get to drama in the FI in the in the Conference Finals we had a sweep and then a a gentleman sweep in the west we’re g to have an awesome NBA Finals oh yeah there’s a lot of story lines going into this oh yeah so I like that Kyrie versus his old team Celtics never win and one after being there all these times what are there six of the last eight years in Western Conference Finals or Eastern confence the Eastern Conference Finals or the NBA Finals yes this this young core this this young group of the Celtics that’s not really young anymore Jason Tatum and and Jaylen Brown and they of course added Drew holiday who’s already an NBA champion Al Horford’s looking for his Al Horford yeah you you’ve got these guys this core of players and of course porz Mavericks he’s got Maverick ties he does he did play for the Mavericks so there’s a lot of interesting storylines here for sure uh I just love the matchup yeah I just think we’re getting it’s crazy that the Mavericks being a five seed that I’m saying this but I do think the Mavericks are the best team in the west this year yeah it took them a while to get going my thing is they went through a hard part of the playoffs they they beat all the hard teams beating the Clippers the way they did in the first round MH and then doing what they did in the semifinals and then to to absolutely destroy a Timberwolves defense that was number one in the league I’m really impressed they’re really really good the Celtics are being judged differently because the teams they played in the East were not anywhere near as good as the Western as the teams Ms had to play right trust me the Thunder while they weren’t playoff season that was a really talented group that had earned the number one seed yes they the Mavs the Mavs struggled with them more than they did the Timberwolves but it it just shows you that playoffs are different than the regular season 100% so uh hopefully that young team can realize that yeah just because we won a number one seed doesn’t mean that’s going to translate in the playoff so you mentioned the Kyrie storyline about his stuff with Boston he’s already had a comment about it I mean obviously he’s he’s preparing for this uh he played for them two seasons 2017 and 2018 and that was a while ago I mean that’s we’re looking at six seven years ago and obviously Kyrie’s changed quite a bit I I really really am impressed with Kyrie this season he no more there was no BS with him none of the garbage it’s all gone none of that Brooklyn stuff he’s just hooping yes and he is just Sensational uh here’s what he said about his time in Boston what he was going through he said I had a rough time there when I was in Boston again just dealing with the death of my family and dealing with a lot of offc court stuff and I wasn’t ready to handle so now that I’m in a great place to be able to vocalize how I’m feeling I’m ready to go back into Boston and have fun with my teammates I think he’s looking forward to that I think I think he’s looking forward to that I don’t know that he looks back on his time in Boston with a lot of fondness right so uh he’ll be highly motivated christops pingis as you mentioned could play as former team he has not played since game four the first round due to a calf injury I think he is going to be back which would be huge for the Celtics so if we get a full strength Celtics versus a full strength Mavericks this is going to be a Clash of the Titans I’m so jacked for the series I cannot wait yeah I mean just think about that how loaded is Boston to have Kristoff porzingis out since the first round and they cruise and they still cruise and and Kristof porzingis is basically a role player for them right right he’s a good player I mean you could say that Dereck white has more of an impression than could than christoffer right% I think Drew holiday is more valuable to the Celtics than kristo porzingis and that’s crazy to say about the the the proclaimed unicorn right I mean he’s he he was darn near a bust he’s he’s been able to put things back together and at least be a formidable he’s had a great year yes he’s been a formidable starter in this league is he worth the amount of money is being paid um I don’t know does he have a unique skill set is he is he kind of a freak absolutely uh and we haven’t had a chance to see just how B big of a freak he is because they because he’s been hurt in the playoffs but that is a team you’re right he could be he could consider him the fifth best player on their team that’s how good they are Drew holiday and Derrick Brown Dereck white have been awesome so that Celtics team is loaded I like their depth too I think they got really good depth you mentioned Al Horford that’s a Savvy vet you’ve got on that roster um coming off the bench they got some nice pieces there in Boston uh do the Mavericks have better I guess you could say role player SL bench depth you can have that debate I don’t know I think both teams are loaded and I think it’s going to be a clash I really do I think it’s G to be a great series those moves that the Mavericks made at the trade deadline you talk about trade deadline moves G yeah now we we we poo poo the trade deadline anymore because we not a big Blockbuster happening but if you’re a hoop head and you’re really paying attention there’s some sneaky good deals that happened at the trade deadline Minnesota getting Mike Conley last year seeing the impact he had this year it wasn’t this year’s trade deadline but it had it was last year’s deadline deal that had a huge impact on their team this year and for this year the Mavericks getting PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford Derek white gafford’s been huge and then you know Boston getting Dereck white last year that was sneaky good too so um a lot of good deals a lot of good trades and little Savvy things it’s not about the superstars all the time you do have to have those guys and both teams have a big two but what both of these teams have is depth and guys that fill a certain role sorry I meant Derek Jones not Derek white right I I was pretty sure that’s what you meant Jones J former Slam Dunk champion right for the Mavericks they have good depth I like the depth for both teams if porzingis is healthy we’re going to have a good series I think he could go seven games I think this could be a class I’m really excited for it all right we got to take another break when we come back it’s would you rather time a little college football turn here we’re going to go colb good rathers this week we have we have see what you got let’s see put some pressure on this one we better not fail you coming up next on JJ and Alex 975 the KSL Sports everybody real life hypotheticals to get your brain churning as JJ and Alex asked would you rather wrapping up the 3:00 hour with a little would you rather Jeremiah Jensen Stevenson Sylvester in for Alex KY this week join JJ and Alex or JJ and Sly Monday from 3: to 6 for the show up for summer service fair at Thanksgiving Point taking the show on the road so we will be outside on Monday in that beautiful weather learn more at showup utah.org here’s one for you and we’ve had this conversation before so I’m glad this is is on the list Li would you rather be a college athlete that transfers multiple times in college to get the most nil money or stay at one place and become a legend at that program oh see you got to have the perspective of age you know when you’re young and you got these oldheads uncles moms always teaching you about or talking to you about like what what’s going on what you need to prepare for all this like are you taking that into account or are you worried about right now right so a lot of these things these decisions are situational right now I need money right now I’m flexible I can you know do whatever I want or like I love the place where I’m at I want to stay here and and and build uh a legacy right and so um depending on what phase of your life when you’re looking at these scenarios you got that takes into account and for me transferring multiple times is you you’re just easily forgotten you’re easily forgotten and it’s a lot harder for you to build something that way if you look at anything in your life and you’re talking about building on something whether it’s building a relationship with somebody or something or anything you’re doing it takes time if you’re transferring all of those things you’re essentially having to restart every single time you transfer you’re not able to build anything concrete you’re not able to leave a legacy and you know how hard it is to tell that story over and over over again one thing I do I have multiple conversations where people are talking about you know your career your life all of this you know how hard it is to say like oh I I did this and then I went this way and then I went that way and then I went that way and then I went that way is weird how many times are you going to lose that person in conversation listening to that hey you played college football where did you go to school where’d you play well I played at this place and then I played at that place and then I I I committed to this place but then I decided N I found some nil money over here so I went to that place and then I then I got a a ACL injury and so then I had a chance to go play at some other place because I got a medical hardship like that is really really weird it’s annoying right but but check that out check that out I I think all of these kids and people need to ask themselves is who’s going to trust trust somebody like that that’s a fair question in any situation from football to or football basketball Sports to business to relationships you know I I going back to this Dion thing he’s like these guys ain’t committed to their girlfriends why would they commit to me like who’s going to trust somebody with that type of resume as a business that’s what I’m looking for if I’m analyzing and I’m about to hire somebody I’m looking at their resume and they bounce every five six months they’re here they’re there they’re chasing the dollar they they ain’t going to put no onus on me where am I going to build a relationship with that person to become successful so all in all to answer the would you rather I’d rather stay somewhere and build a legacy build somewhere where where people will remember you for the good times and stay there and do that and always have a place in a sense of home right right what is like countless times in movies stories people what is that Foundation of people’s Serenity people’s peace is that sense of home and if you can create that by building a legacy at one place you always have somewhere to come back to and these guys won’t have that from transferring multiple times I’d rather be the all-time leading Pastor in Weber State history and have a community never forget my cons contributions than to be a backup quarterback who maybe got three or four starts in the Big 10 and played for a couple teams in that League before transferring to the Big 12 and then finishing your career in the ACC at Vanderbilt I what that it makes more sense to me I would want that kind of a contribution I would want to have number one the amount of games and opportunities to play the game I love right and two to be able to have an impact in one place and to have people really appreciate what you do you’re forgotten in the other scenario it doesn’t matter and how do you make connections like there’s life after football how do you make connections when you’re only in places for three or four months and then you bounce yeah I I’m I agree I would rather stay at one program and become a legend but but look at that too right if somebody’s studying you or somebody’s researching you how many references am I going to have to go ask to get to get that right if I got to talk to eight different coaches from eight different universities that sucks yeah as far as like okay he been his career at Utah let me just go to Utah I’m going to be able to talk to the linebacker coach I’m going to be able to talk to the defensive coordinator and the head coach all in the same day you’re making more work on the guy who’s researching you which is ultimately making that person I don’t want to do this work and they’re not even going to evaluate you they need to put themselves in their shoes at somebody looking at can I trust this person with this resume and how much effort am I having to put in to find out what I need to find out about this guy or girl a lot of athletes today might have regrets about some of this stuff although I do understand the money thing yeah yeah as I said situational what matters most to you as a college athlete they’re going to have to make some tough decisions all right that’s a wrap on that when we come back call college football we continue our round trip in the Big 12 Brian Hanny the voice of Kansas football we’re going to get to know the Jayhawks next on JJ and Alex 975 the KSL Sports Zone
JJ & Stevenson Sylvester talk a lot of NBA this hour and it starts wit the NBA mock drafts now that players have opted in or out of the draft. Who could the Jazz take with their No. 10 pick, and how good is this draft?
The Lakers gained a pick at No. 17 with the Pelicans deferring that pick, and that looks like that Bronny James could go to Los Angeles.
Would you rather be a legend or chase that NIL money?
