NBA Mock Draft and Utah Jazz Draft Questions

NBA Mock Draft and Utah Jazz Draft Questions

[Music] welcome into the Jazz notes podcast I’m Ben Anderson I’m Chandler Holtz uh fun to have us both back together we’ve been kind of alternating for over a month now right we just kind of haven’t been in the same room uh so appreciate everyone who’s stuck with us and listened for the last four episodes It’s been uh it’s been a little bit different but uh excited this is the right time to be back together in the same room podcasting as it is June 25th one day before the NBA draft I love the NBA Draft so this is always a very exciting time for for me and uh instead of our usual podcast where we’ll talk about you know Jazz news and notes and whatever’s happening because there’s not that much we’re just going full mailbag we got at least nine questions already by the time we’re done recording this there might be more uh and I think it’s long enough there’s enough draft stuff that it’s worth dedicating an entire mailbag and entire podcast to answering your questions uh and I think uh Chandler first of all if you want to respond to us you can find us on Twitter at KSL Sports Ben Hoops Chandler Hol KSL uh KSL Sports is found on Tik Tok Twitter X threads Instagram whatever you want uh tomorrow night we’re going to be having a full coverage on the Zone 975 the KSL Sports Zone starting at 6 o’clock but really it’s going to be a lot of draft coverage leading up to that me uh Jake Scott uh coach Steve cleanand former BYU coach former Fresno State head coach was Paul George’s coach like I can’t tell you how cool it is to talk to Paul George’s former coach on draft night and how fun it is to have his perspective of these players uh so really really cool uh to have Steve Cleveland uh on that as well so tune in all night I promise you I promise you I promise you it’s the best coverage like no one’s worked harder no one knows basketball better than Steve Cleveland like it’s going to be the best coverage there is available so if you want a very Jazz Centric focus on the draft uh listen to us I promise you it’s good it was really good last year and then we got to talked to all the players last year kind of one-on-one individually after they called the show uh so uh it’s cool I appreciate if you uh tuned in I think uh I think you will like it if you’re a jazz fan I promise you it’s geared towards you so I would I would recommend that tomorrow night 975 the KSL Sport Zone 1280 if you don’t get 975 and of course you can listen on the app all right that’s my that’s my pitch Let’s uh let’s get into the questions including uh we have one of someone requesting we do a mock draft yes uh do you want to do the mock draft one first yeah Utah Jazz news says could you two alternate teams and do a quick mock draft and see the guys left on the board for the Jazz and who would you take out of those guys we’ll go through like the lottery I don’t need to go down to 29 that’s a lot of players we could be here all day if we wanted to do that and then just a quick plug I did put out a uh my own mock draft yesterday it’s kind of the only one I do but I’m happy to use that as my basis for this as well uh and we can talk about the players do you want to go number one do you want to go um number two it doesn’t matter to me uh how about how about you start with number one all right I’m gonna Buck the trend I think alexar is the best player in the draft and I just I was told by an executive one time it’s lying season like remember this is people are lying to you everything you hear right now is a lie so this idea that Atlanta like hasn’t seen Alex SAR well they’ve watched him for four years yep and he was in the G League two years ago and he played against the G League ignite in the first game of kind of a practice game when he was playing for Perth this year and then they’ve probably seen him 10 times in Australia they’ve seen him they don’t care if they didn’t work him out for two hours one day like who cares they’ll draft him if he’s the best player you draft him and the way the NBA is going it’s long rangey Defenders who can step out and shoot the three it’s like well that’s who he is if he hits if everything goes together right for alexar he defends multiple positions including the rim which is the most important defensive position and then can put the ball on the floor and also looks like he’s going to be able to shoot the ball and I kind of believe he’s going to be able to shoot the ball so I don’t think it was a question to me I would take alexar number one and I’m telling you I still think that’s going to be the case yep I think it’s going to happen there’s a reason why on at the draft lottery they were showing alexar over and over like that didn’t change he didn’t get worse over the last month and a half he’s still the best player I’m telling you I think it’s going to be alexar no I remember when the when the Hawks won the lottery it was they’re expected to take alexar that was the reports that came out and then as they got closer to the draft I feel like exactly like you were saying it’s lying season they’re trying to throw people off of their Trail you know I think if you’re in the top especially like three or five you don’t want to show your cards um in the NBA Draft so I agree with you I think that Alex are it’s a it’s a one and two race and with that said number two Washington Wizard help me out here Zachary rasher R yeah so like r or like s re R good way to remember it yeah Zachary R again where is the NBA going big wings who can defend multiple positions and shoot yes he’s 69 he’s he just turned 19 granted not even 200 pounds yet so that’s something that a lot of these rookies got to work on but um yeah he he can shoot he’s versatile um he he has it all yeah he’s not great with the ball in his hands like but it’s fine you’re going to find a for him in the NBA I’m with you I would I I’ve got him going number three uh because I know the Wizards on my mock draft but not because he’s not the second best player in this draft and honestly he’s one of the guys I haven’t like done a deep dive on because there’s no chance he goes to the Jazz it would just be honestly a waste of my time I have watched a couple of his games including one of them live which is not my favorite way to watch games I like to watch a little bit more slowly but uh yeah re a shay to to the Wizards all right uh number three in the draft Houston a lot of people think this is where the draft actually gets started uh I will go here what would kind of expected as shock it’s probably the guy I would draft honestly number one overall uh if I were Drafting and I’ll just take Reed Shepard okay yeah I just he’s the best shooter I’ve ever seen at the college level 52% from three on four and a half attempts two steals he’s just a playmaker super cerebral yes he’s just going to find a way and I know they’re like yeah what’s his upside I’m like Allstar he got all definitely guys who make shots at a 50% rate from three make all-star teams yes cuz nobody makes them at that high of a rate and even if they don’t fine there’s like 10 options to get him on the floor if he’s making plays defensively even if he’s not a great like one-on-one Defender we overrate that a little bit sometimes like can you play a team system and then also just bang threes on the other end okay I’ll figure that out I went back and looked at the 2006 Draft today uh it was like Andrea barani went number one it was terrible and LaMarcus Aldridge went too was a good pick Paul Milsap was in that draft was great and everyone I remember hammering the Orlando Magic for taking JJ reic number 11 and JJ reck is not the same quality of shooter that Reed Shepard is and I’m not just doing this because they’re little white guys but like isn’t a good passer couldn’t dribble the way Reed Shepard is and JJ reic legitimately might be like the fifth best player from that draft so relatively safe bet that like he’s going to stick and in this draft that’s important and I do think he has some star upside so Reed Shepard number three a couple things with this one I’ve seen a lot of rumors about the third pick getting traded whether it be Houston just moving down a couple picks or maybe buying a little bit um but also for Reed Shepard specifically like people are just like oh he’s a great shooter so much more than that he’s a very underrated Defender and playmaker can’t be that underrated if you’re a consensus top five pick yeah right um but no but you’re right I think people are selling a little short that he’s more than just a spot up shooter in fact he shoots off the dribble he’s he’s just awesome I love the way he passes I love Reed Shepard number four for the Spurs I have them taking a guard I’m just going to go with Stefan Castle right um one of the best like shades of Drew holiday kind of player he’s a really good Defender needs to get his shooting up there a little bit um but a defensive Duo of Castle and wanyama that sounds ridiculous my only fear is that he doesn’t shoot very well like you said that’s like wemi actually doesn’t shoot that well yet like his three-point percentage I think it will come along we saw him hit a lot of threes and it got a lot better late in the season uh but I just want wemi to have as much shooting around him as possible the problem and that’s where like either Reed Shepard or Zachary reer shet would be perfect they’re just off the board and that’s why I actually think there is some interest if maybe they could move up to three and guarantee themselves one of those players that would be really interesting uh and they’ve obviously got the ammo to do it if they want to uh I that wouldn’t surprise me if they’d move up but a lot of people think Castle is the best player in this draft so you get castle uh and you have two really Elite defensive players Castle’s great in the back court and obviously wem’s going to win five defensive player of the year’s Awards if not more in his career so I think that’s a great base he’s also like the guys who come from Yukon and play from Dan Hurley are like Spurs guys yes he just like has that like I know how to listen to Authority and I can I can fall in line uh so and you know what Stefon Castle was number two to Donovan kingan already like he was already kind of was ready to defer to the other big guy on the team so that’s where I went on my mock too and I think that’s right castle for the mock we’re not doing any trades but I I agree with you I think that the best case for the Spurs is trading up for Reed Shepard if they could get up to three yeah I think that would make a lot of sense uh I’m totally with you again you know what I I’m just telling you this draft could be crazy like Reed Shepard could go number one I’m not kidding you at all like I know there’s kind of this consensus idea just don’t be surprised if someone says dude he shoots 50% from three like that’s what we want just don’t be shocked yes if something crazy crazy crazy happens uh but I’m with you I think think that would make sense and Reed Shepard would be the best player for uh San Antonio in this draft all right uh coming in at number five Detroit they end up at number five again despite having the worst record really tough a lot of people think they’re going with modest melis here you know what I’m gonna Buck this trend a little bit I’m gonna throw it off a little bit just because I think it’s interesting and I think they could go this way I know they drafted Jaylen Duren I’m gonna go with Donovan kingan like I just think you kind of need an identity and Donovan kingan I have I have more concerns about him than a lot of people but he’s 7’3 he’s 280 lbs he’s probably the best rim protector in the draft he’s better at it than than Alexander SAR is so just plant him in the middle and have something to start building around just like have something to start formulating he can do a lot offensively can to pass him the ball he’s a decent passer out of it scored at a high rate at Yukon even though his points weren’t that high because he only played 20 minutes a game that’s actually my biggest red flag for him he only played 20 minutes a game and I want to know why was he not playing 30 because the guy we will talk about later Zack Ed played 40 minutes a game and is bigger than him so like why was why were you only getting 20 minutes a game out of uh out of Donovan kinging but I’m gonna take him number five overall just to kind of establish an identity in Detroit that they badly need and then they can trade these other guys yes you can trade jayen Duran you can trade whatever you want um unfortunately for the Hornets I think they would love clinging yeah so too but uh for them I’m just going to go with I’m just going to go with Cody Williams it was between Williams and buis for them but I just think that Williams would fit a little bit better alongside Brandon Miller I like Cody Williams a lot he’s kind of one of the guys that say like if he hits it could be a Paul George thing where people are like he’s just wasn’t all that aggressive all the time and I don’t know about the ball in the hand stuff but all like the physical tools are there I’m not comparing him to Paul George but like the guys who could really Spike um he could really Spike yeah so you have to the uh Hornets at number six Cody Williams all right coming in at number seven this is a tough spot yes uh for the Portland Trailblazers even though I think they just go with the the best Wing shooter and that’s dton connect like I actually think they probably make that that decision pretty quickly I have them mocked to Cody Williams in my mock that I did yesterday but Dalton connect shoots steps in they just don’t need another project like scoots a project DeAndre Aton is seven years in league and it’s still a project somehow uh you just gota you got to get some guys who can play they just need they need to play you need someone who can make uh chony bip’s life a little bit easier as a head coach even though I don’t think he’ll be there next year or after next year Delon connect number seven um who do we give to the Spurs at four uh they ended up with Steph Castle okay okay um you know what let’s just let’s just let’s give them let’s do buis here okay right they they already took a guard right they have their center of the Future Let’s uh let’s get a wing in there with upside again this is the hard part about this draft which is like connect would make sense because he can shoot again we talked about how much shooting they need like buellis did not shoot well last year and now he shot really well as a senior in high school but that was one year of shooting well Y and he shot poorly before that then he shot poorly last last year but like this is a very realistic pick that buellis is four on their board or five on their board say five because they have the fourth pick and he just slips to eight and they’re just like well he’s the best player available he’s got some pretty intriguing physical tools uh so he ends up going number eight overall number nine the Memphis Grizzlies and this obviously sets up where the Jazz are Memphis needs a big guy I don’t think they’re going to reach on zachi at this point I just don’t think they will but wouldn’t rule it out like if you like him draft him or if you like khil wear from Indiana draft him and we could see this is where the draft could get really weird um they also may like the idea of being able to trade Marcus Smart at some point uh and you can do that by picking up another guard and I’ll just take the guy who everyone has says has had the best pre-draft process he kind of has the Junkyard Dog mentality uh and he steps in and just kind of gives him a little bit of a grownup in the room even though that’s what Marcus Smart was originally brought in for I’m gonna go with Devin Carter okay uh with Providence I’m a little skeptical on Devin Carter which means the Jazz are get draft in tomorrow it’s kind of always how it happens uh and that’s you know I don’t I don’t care who they draft whatever I hope he’s fun to cover I hope he makes easy stories but like Devin Carter’s shooting it looked great last year like the overall number but he hadn’t shot well before that ever and then last year he shot like 50% November 30% December and like 4 45% in January and 29% in February it’s like even within the season it was a roller coaster so I’m just like man I don’t know about the shot uh and if the shot doesn’t go in and he’s just little and he’s not a natural point guard it’s like okay you’ve got a little guy who’s not a point guard who doesn’t shoot well okay those guys actually aren’t that hard to find in fact give me a big guy who’s not a point guard who like that’s where I think you’re fine just having Chris Dunn on the roster and you’re taking him at 10 like I get it if he shoots it’s a totally different story imagine if Chris Dunn could shoot yeah now Kevin G is not as big as Chris Dunn but he has a 69ine wingspan has those like kind of defensive chops just kind of like gets it on the defensive end the way Chris dun does and if Chris could really shoot and I don’t mean Chris shoots 38% on two a game I mean six a game at 35 to 40% that I I totally get Deon Carter in that sense you just really got to believe that that shot’s going to go in and apparently it has the entire pre-draft so that’s a good sign for him uh number nine Devin Carter and that leads a wide open board for the I actually this is pretty advantageous this is why we did this process to get here uh I was about to say let’s let’s do this one together um for me I’m five names still we could go here yes um for the guards I think there’s mostly guards to look at um Ron Holland Rob Dillingham Nicola topic I think so too I think those are the names that I would throw out there let me look really quickly at my own mock just to think who else might be in this conversation that we haven’t picked that would have slipped it’s kind of the general top nine top 10 top 11 uh I don’t think Tristan da Silva is in the conversation at this point ton Salon is in this conversation absolutely uh so I would say it’s between Salon Ron Holland Rob Dillingham and Nicola toic yep uh let’s just break him down really quickly yes tjon salon’s kind of the highest upside swing of maybe of anybody in the draft 610 incredible physical tools he’s a good athlete he’s not like he’s not the best athlete in the draft but he’s like a very good athlete if there’s a if there’s a yanis in this draft I think it’s him it’s him for sure yeah it is him um shot the ball a little bit his percentages are not good but like you could watch him and realize like oh he can shoot he really came on throughout the season like he wasn’t in the rotation to start the year and by the end of the season in the playoffs he had like a full role so he’s kind of this late developer um he mostly just stood in the corner and shot threes they didn’t really give him the ball and ask him to operate where like that’s all that happened for Ron Holland at the g-league ignite so understand that just like the context is just like one was forced to do it and one wasn’t allowed to do it cuz they were on a team that was trying to win games and was winning games in Europe and they’re both 18 they’re both younger guys I think salon’s that young maybe he’s a little bit older but like really young salon’s fascinating and what I like about him is he like loves basketball you can tell he just like is fiery he’s like always screaming that that type of stuff uh matters to me so I like Salon quite a bit Ron Holland is probably I would say the favorite among Jaz fans when I just kind of checked Twitter uh was at one point the number one recruit in his high school class class was just absolutely forced into the wrong role with the G League ignite yeah definitely um I think that it’s kind of funny cuz all four of these guys are sort of swinging for the fences kind of picks but I would say that Ron Holland is like the shest thing of them because you don’t know how like Rob Dillingham is a absolute highlight machine right um but you don’t know how well that’s going to translate um and then there’s the injury stuff for topic and then uh Salon is so raw so salon’s so raw Holland I love his defensive motor he’s got to play the right position but you got to take the ball out of his hands uh and then you got to hope he responds by not having the ball in his hands anymore uh how does he do there topic is the smartest player maybe in the entire draft and the Jazz just desperately need like High basketball IQ I process the game I see the game before it happens so I’m going to make everyone’s life easier he doesn’t make that many like highlight plays but I’ve talked about this on the last podcast like he passes the ball and whoever catches it has a wide open shot it’s like how was that every time the guy catches it in a spot where he’s wide open it’s like well topich sees it a half second literally before the defense does and just generates good looks uh and then uh Rob Dillingham is the four of number four on of this list if we were to rank up number four I’d probably put Dillingham forth he’s just so little yeah I just don’t believe it he 160 pounds and 6 fo one I just don’t I there’s not guys like that in the NBA there just aren’t uh and the guys that are 6’1 are 210 PBS they’re just these little tanks that run around he has so little he’s going to make shots I worry about his ability to stay healthy I know he’s a dog like I know he has all that stuff I just think he’s too small uh who would you take um honestly I think I would go with Ron Holland you’d go with Ron Holland I’d go with topic okay either one you walk away with I think you’re happy with but I think those are the four that are on the board and I think like if you end up with Salon I think you’re really happy it’s like a real long-term play where the Jazz believe like this guy’s physical tools are so good he’s going to get on the floor biggest need I would say is topic and Holland like Holland’s more of a true Wing y uh I think you’re going to have tjon Salon competing with Taylor his whole life to try and get minutes so it’s a little clunky there and then you have a lot of small guards who need the ball in their hand with the Jazz the nice thing about uh topic is while he has a ball in the hand player like he will get off the ball because he knows it’s going to come back like he will start the rotation and then late in the game he recognizes like I got to get mine like we’re this is a close game I know how to score I’m gonna get downhill I’m going to get to my little weird he’s got these weird little Runners like left-handed he’s all these like crafty shots um so I would take topic and sit out for a year if the Jazz ended up with Holland I would 100% totally understand it yes honestly if it if the plan is to like sit him for a year which I assum is has to get him have to get him healthy I think that could benefit him a lot like you see Chad hren comes in and he probably had a better rookie season than he would have uh barring his injury um but this is a good draft like if you walk away in the first round with Ron Holland or Nicola topic both guys who I think on a lot of boards are probably like number four yes I think you’re totally fine with that and I I almost guarantee you at least one of those guys will be there uh you mentioned wanting to talk about like the worst case scenario yes yes we can throw that in here really quickly okay yeah so I was um just sort of best worst most likely scenario for the Jazz um for worst is it just like everyone you could want granted like I’m pretty sure the Jazz like we said there it’s it’s more about fit than best player available and I’m sure you can find someone who will Who will fit with the roster but what would you say is like the worst case scenario like I think it would be really tough if the Spurs took topit at eight we’ve got him taking buellis the Trailblazers take Holland at 7 and then all of a sudden the guy sitting on the board at 10 is Dillingham buellis connect who like and look maybe the Jazz have those guys like way high on their board they very realistically could I’m just looking at the guys I’ve watched like kind of have like trended towards thinking like I see what the thing is there and that’s the situation where you’re picking between like oh man those the Cody Williams the top pitches the Ron Hollands are all off the board and you’re kind of stuck with like the 23y old or buellis who which is funny like I’m just lower on buellis and I know a lot of people are but like universally he’s at like number five on every draft Yeah you find him at number five every single mock draft it’s kind of funny so those are those are the areas where I could see there being a real issue um okay you want to go on to finish out the lottery let’s do it okay number 11 for the Bulls um we’ll operate under the underst we’ll let you pick Holland so Holland went number 11 okay for the Bulls how about how about Rob Dillingham I think the Bulls are are sort of going towards a rebuild here um and sort of just having someone to bring some excitement to town would be big I just hate their roster I did this yesterday and I was just like what they’ve got a bunch of guards because they have Kobe white and they have aumu and maybe Zack LaVine plays and maybe Lonzo ball plays but maybe none of those guys play yeah uh so yeah you could draft a guard they need a big guy there’s no big guys on the board unless they’re going to take Zack Ed which I wouldn’t rule out like I would not rule out Zack Ed being the pick here at number 11 to the Bulls uh so I think that’s fine Rob Dillingham has some real scoring upside some real kick and I get why someone has him like six on their board and Chicago does and they say well he’s available at 11 we’re going to take him uh all right number 12 is the Oklahoma City Thunder I’ll just go with Salon I think that’s just kind of an easy pick there I was I was literally thinking the same thing like okay see they’re already so good so why not go for like a project player you know hope he can turns turn into something amazing I didn’t think they would ever draft a point guard last year uh and they ended up taking uh case Wallace in the first round with their 10th or 11th pick or whatever it was and he’s good now that probably takes them out of the conversation of some of these other defensive guards that are still on the board um but man we’ve got topich falling now you know like that’s the hard part about this draft where it really could kind of come apart for somebody and um even though it’s not the the biggest need for him I I would just say that the Kings go best available and take topich at yeah I think that’s totally fair yeah and you get a nice big body who’s a year away you can try and go in a choir like Paul George or something this offseason if you want so 13 Kings go with topic and uh I think that’s the right pick I I would I just would take him yep big smart really finishes well at The Rim not like dunks but just gets to the rim and finishes there and then number 14 the Portland Trailblazers with their second pick Zach Zach yeah yeah really I think it’s Zach um I absolutely could see that there’s rumors that they’re looking at him at seven I don’t believe that but 14 yeah Zack ran out I had Zack falling to 25 to the Knicks and my mock that I did yesterday again it’s because like well someone takes Kyle filipowski over Zack heiti and khil we over and it’s like okay well the big guys have just slipped there’s just not gonna be that many centers taken and uh but yeah I think that’s totally fair Trailblazers take Ed at number 14 um some other names just to look out for to sneak into the lottery um Tyler kic okay right really good playmaker um Tristan DVA I like d Silva a lot yeah I do as well Colorado um Jared McCain is another big one um and then Kell we I think I think those are good names that could potentially sneak up into the lottery where was a former top 10 recruit went to Oregon and didn’t play at all right and then into Indiana actually had a really like productive season didn’t impact winning a ton but a lot of blocks a lot of Threes so uh that’s that’s the kind of things you’re looking for I could also see McCain going to like the Kings at number 13 he could fit really well next to uh next to Darren Fox that would make a lot of sense as a floor spacer who can step out and really shoot the ball all right that’s that’s why this draft is hard like it’s we went through that pretty quickly but there’s a lot of difficult decisions teams to make and realistically though I think the Jazz are going to end up in a spot where they have topic and and Holland on the board and they’re picking between those two that would be my guess at this point I’d be surprised if Cody Williams Falls to 10 but again a week ago everyone was like yeah Cody Williams will be there at 13 so we don’t know um real quick before we go into the break uh we talked about worst case scenario what would you say is like best case scenario who’s someone who you can actually see falling to the Jazz at 10 and the Jazz are like oh wow count our lucky stars I’ll say Cody Williams I’ll say like Zack he does jump up or Salon jumps up salon goes sticks to the Hornets okay the Spurs you know the Trailblazers still take Dalton connect cuz they want a ready-made guy the Spurs then say like oh we want shooting so we’re going to take Rob Dillingham which I think is kind of realistic yeah and then nine Memphis wants a big guy and doesn’t take Cody Williams because they don’t want another project and then you had end up in a spot where you could have Cody Williams Nicola toic and Ron Holland on the board yep and you get to pick your favorite of the three like I think that’s best case scenario but realistic I think two of the three will be on the board best case scenario you have your choice of all three awesome okay uh let’s take a quick break I know that was long we’ll come back we will answer the rest of your mail bag questions stick around more Jazz notes coming up next welcome back to the Jazz notes podcast all right we did the mock draft that was pretty fun and I think a good example of like how crazy this thing can get quickly even though I think we we went not chalk but relatively like the top 10 guys the top 10 guys I think that’s pretty accurate uh okay what’s our our first question uh yeah I’m going to group a few together here that are uh all sort of related to some recent rumors uh regarding the Jazz uh first up from Richard Bradford logic behind trading Walker Kesler to Draft Zack EDI um Alex says our AE trade smok screen just a thing we need to learn to live with as Jazz fans now or is there any actual meat on the bones of all the rumors and then Sammy Paradise says if the Jazz traded for Zack LaVine what would they have to give up I don’t think he’s worth much more than what we gave up for Collins um and all of these are sort of coming together after after rumors came out last week that the Jazz were open to trading Walker Kessler and they were also in active trade talks with the bulls surrounding Zack LaVine let’s let’s start quickly with the Danny a thing yes I do think that is the thing like it was his reputation in Boston he likes to be involved in trade talks he is I don’t think it’s fake like I think Danny a gets in all these conversations and then he is so willing to be patient with what he has that he’s not going to force something where maybe some other GMS or execs that feel like hey sometimes my job is on the line which has not been the case for Danny a for long time he just backs off he’s just willing to hang up the phone uh and I don’t think he’s Mak it’s like Danny’s making it up or these reports are making it up I just think Danny’s willing to hang up Y and some guys aren’t and I think that that comes down to like a smarts thing like he he knows when he’s going to be overpaying um or what the right being underpaid yes yes exactly and he waited for Donovan Mitchell and he waited for Rudy goar and I bet you he hung up on those guys so I will tell you this I heard about the Donovan Mitchell Cavs trade I it ended up on like a Wednesday I can’t remember what it was a Monday or whatever it was was it it it came down the previous Friday I had heard that trade package I had heard Colin sexon I had heard at the time I didn’t even know oai abaji because the Jazz didn’t have a pick in that draft so I hadn’t paid attention at all uh and Lowry marinin and that kind of been floated as an idea but I’d heard that that was one I didn’t know about all the draft picks and swaps and stuff but I’d heard that those were kind of the pieces and that the Jazz had said no and the report came out that Friday I think that like the Cavs were out of the conversation because then it was focused down to like no it’s going to be the Knicks uh and then RJ Barrett got extended it was like this whole weird thing of like oh well this pulls everybody off the board like Danny a though at one point hung up the phone and really it was Justin zanic Danny H has the final say xanic actually on the phone they just hung up the phone on Cleveland not to be mean I mean you know figuratively they stopped listening they just said okay you’re not meeting our asking price and when the Nick stuff fell through they called up Cleveland and the either the offer got upped or whatever and the J said let’s do the deal yeah so like these things happen they are out there but I do think the Jazz are willing to walk away where some teams aren’t so and they and even in trades that do come through sometimes they will walk away until they get more and they meet their asking price so all right sorry that was a long answer of that one as well no yeah let’s just say this there is actual meat on the bones but the Jazz aren’t starving right like I think I think that’s a good way to put it like they’re not they’re not dying for whatever trade package they’re going into they’re just putting their hands in all these conversations to see if they can get it for a price that they seem as Fair uh Zack LaVine I think actually you want to unload some salary if you’re getting Zack LaVine back you don’t want to sacrifice your flexibility financially by acquiring Zack you already are naturally going to do it because he’s owed like $45 million every year for the next three years including the player option which I suspect he’s going to pick up because he’s hurt so often so you’ve got to be comfortable paying him 45 to $50 million a year so if you’re doing that you want to get off salary and the salary I think you want to get off is John Collins and maybe Jordan Clarkson yes but you also so you recognize you’re doing Chicago a favor so you are taking more back from them because Jordan expires after next year as does John Collins so they basically get $50 million off their salary a year early with two guys who actually show up and play and Zack LaVine you can’t always count on playing um like I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the uh Bulls made a trade like this that they would actually get better without Zack leavine just by having whatever veterans that fill the cap space uh so if that’s the case and they could actually get better on the floor I think you want assets back in addition to Zack LaVine so you get a high upside swing on a player who hasn’t been great the last couple of years and then you also want like two future draft picks yeah it’s not just like Rudy Gay in a second like you you want to unload some of your stuff too and then get assets back I have a couple questions too with with lavine’s fit in Utah one I think that Jordan Clarkson has to be out the door if you’re bringing LaVine in because in my eyes LaVine is just a better Jordan Clarkson yeah in in in a lot of ways um and then second um I don’t think you can you can can move of course this is something that happens down the line Keon’s a more a part of the long-term plan than LaVine would be but I think that you’re committing to to Keon being a point guard if you’re bringing LaVine in um I don’t think LaVine is really doing much playmaking wise with the ball in his hands not like that yes no he’s more of a Donovan Mitchell kind of type and not quite as even Dynamic with the ball in his hands as as Donovan is and more looks to score than even Donovan did Donovan took 19 shots a game so uh yeah it’s more of a Ballin hand and he gets some assists because he has attenion on him M and he has the ball so much but he’s not like super innate playmaker I totally agree with that so I think you want to get assets back unload some salary and maybe you would do it and even then it would have to be a pretty rich package of assets you get back um and then let’s let’s answer this last one uh what do you think about Walker Kesler being available and um if if he is traded what do you think about bringing Zack Ed in uh they are they’re a lot of they’re really different which is I think and I’m not implying that that’s what they’re saying uh Zack Ed his like rotation time at The Rim defensively is so bad he’s just so slow if he’s standing right under the rim being 7’5 he deters people but like if you make a quick like pocket pass he can’t move quickly enough to recover and even guys who have like little like floaters and jump shots like Tyler KCK from Marquette like kind of abused him just like being able to pull up from six feet seven feet eight feet and shoot over him he’s actually not he doesn’t feel 7 foot5 all the time as a rim protector like Walker is a truly great rim protector the question is is like what’s what’s going on with Walker like what was the checkout last year why why was sometimes the effort not there was it that he got hurt and lost his starting spot I understand why that’d be frustrated he hurt his elbow started the first seven games even through the elbow came back and didn’t start really at all the rest of the year yeah um if you just put him back in the starting lineup does that work and is he bought in again maybe it is some there’s a sophomore slump so I I wouldn’t do it just with the idea of acquiring uh Zack heiti yeah like if you could move up to three like if Houston’s like hey we want a big guy we want a center to play next to uh sangon sangon excuse me yeah and you wanted to have like a big rim protector uh to to help with that defense and they want to give you three for 10 like I would really consider Walker Kessler and 10 for number three yeah and go up and get Reed Shepard or whoever you think is the third best player um I doubt that’s on the board yeah but I they’re talking about trading for Marcus Smart so who knows who knows what’s out there um that zachie the one for one I don’t think is a great great replacement there all right next up from Jake the links um I have heard that the Jazz would like to trade John Collins he seems like a great dude but fit with Walker is a bit rough I’d love to see Walker bounce uh bounce back next year starting is there actually a realistic way to trade John what would a reasonable potential trade even look like yeah I think there is it’s probably happens at the deadline though I don’t think it happens in the off season uh maybe Zach or maybe John excuse me is playing well enough that he looks like he’s going to opt out of his deal which makes him a $25 million expiring contract now you’ve got to figure out if you actually want to to sign him long term uh and maybe you don’t trade for a guy in an expiring contract but maybe you’re trying to unload some money and John’s a good centerpiece there um so I I just think Jon feels like more of an inseason trade piece than out of season and look maybe some team’s good and needs a little bit you know conceptually a a four that can step out and space the floor a little bit or a backup five who can step out and space the floor a little bit I actually believe that John Collins has a role in the NBA I don’t think anyone’s found it particularly well yet but he’s talented enough that I think they’re they’re a role for him out there for the right team um question for you of John Collins Walker Kessler Jordan Clarkson how many of them are on day one starting Jazz roster say at least two of the three two of the three yeah most likely two just realistically likelihood it’s hard to trade players yeah so two of the three um Alex question from Alex are players as interested in and hyped about draft night as fans are or do they approach it with a bit of dread uh I’m assuming he’s talking about existing NBA players cuz the young players like the rookies are like oh my gosh this is the best yeah truly the best night of life so they’re thrilled I think there’s a little bit of disdain a little bit of Caitlyn Clark ISM of like we hate these people coming in uh I think that always naturally exists like who’s taking my spot you’re not taking my job there’s only 450 jobs in the NBA and 60 of you are coming you’re not going to make it yeah and I don’t believe you’re going to make it and you know what you’re not as good as I am and the truth is they’re not there’s no rookies that are better than NBA players for the most part it’s just you know Jordan Clarkson is unbelievable and he’s been doing this for 12 years if he doesn’t believe and doesn’t like the rookies coming in I’m not saying that I’m not reporting that I’m just saying like if he was skeptical of the rookies coming in trying to take his job I totally understand that uh so yeah I think there’s a little skepticism always from the existing players but also respect understanding that they went through the exact same thing yeah um I I would assume it’s a little bit more dread especially for like the the top five pick say like people who are actually supposed to come in and get playing time and make an impact uh but then again like say for number one I’m sure Trey young is excited to play with uh SAR or Zach whoever it is um but then again maybe clink capella is like all right here we go um but yeah I think that’s a good question uh like I bet you ran Holmes is not thrilled about the idea of Alex SAR getting drafted number two overall by the Wizards he’s like well there goes all of my playing time and I’m already like this is already my fourth team in four years like it’s close for me not being in the league anymore like you’re going to make me move to Europe you’re G to make me Mo go play in China or wherever like I don’t I don’t want to do that so no I don’t want you here Marvin Bagley doesn’t want this next crop of big guys to come in and play for the Wizards so those are the guys who aren’t excited yeah uh next up from cam young uh does the Jazz’s loaded summer league roster and three 2024 picks make it harder for us to grab quality undrafted free agents to we contracts it’s a little bit of an oxymoron I don’t know how many quality undrafted free agents there are uh maybe a little bit yeah probably a little bit I wish I you know I don’t know who’s going to go UND draft and it’s like if you’re going undrafted like your Trent Forest yeah which I liked Trent Forest he was fun he was Trent Forest like he’s been been on a two-way contract his entire NBA career uh so maybe it’s harder to sign some of those guys if they just say well they just drafted you know Ron Holland at number 10 and drafted Ryan Dunn at number 29 yeah we’re not going to send have our wings signed there there’s no chance you’re ever going to play so maybe but you’re talking about like you know are the food scraps worse in the you know bathroom than they are in the dumpster it’s like yeah they’re both bad I don’t want to eat either of them so with all due respect to undrafted free agents rooting for you guys uh last question here from Holly Hardy um are we going to try and keep Chris done uh I think there’ll be interest there but like to what end you know like Justin zanic yesterday had his media availability and kind of said like he still clearly believes that uh Keon can be a point guard and Colin seon showed a little bit of a willingness and you know ability to be a point guard averaging five assists over the last 50 games of the season they might draft a point guard if you draft topic like maybe you maybe if you draft topic Maybe that’s the situation yeah you sign Chris for one more year you give him a little bit more than the vet minimum uh and then he’s a trade piece for you I wouldn’t look I we we’ve just kind of assumed that topic would take the whole year off like Joe Engles tore his ACL in February he’s a trillion years old and was back on the floor in December yeah like well we know the initial injury for toich happened in January he reinjured it in March but like okay so bring it back to the trade deadline like that’s what the Jazz do with all their rookies their rookies don’t play until the trade deadline fine that’s what happened last year with Bryce Sensa he says yeah I’m on the ACL injury too but like just I didn’t wasn’t that hurt so you I could see that happening yeah like I’m not ruling out that topich couldn’t play at all in his first year uh and you may want to get him some of that experience so he doesn’t come in as a true rookie the next year maybe you give him an opportunity to play 15 20 games down the season to see what he can do and what he needs to work on so uh and then maybe yeah you sign Chris Dunn for five or six million more than the Suns can offer him or the bucks can offer him and then you trade him at the date deadline to a team that needs Chris Dunn like the Phoenix Suns or the Milwaukee Bucks and you say can I get a second round draft pick from you or two second round draft picks from you that’s just good work uh and that’s where like I don’t think Danny a and Justin xanic Le assets leave for nothing so pay him a little bit extra and then trade them later um related unrelated uh before we end off here um if the Jazz can trade up I would say that maybe the the best case scenario for them is drafting Stefan Castle okay right because I think that like of course he can work on his shooting and playmaking a bit but the Jazz desperately need um good perimeter Defenders and I think that there’s not really a better option that than Castle he’s got some star upside again I was you know I’m always jaded at this point I was listening to Zack low and Jonathan gavone talking on their uh mock or their uh podcast today on the way over here and Jonathan gavone was like I drove to every Yukon game and I sat there for two hours before so I could film Steph Castle make two or three three or three or four threes in a row he’s like sometimes it would take a half an hour in between two makes can you not shoot at all like and maybe he can’t there are guys who can’t shoot yeah there guys who truly cannot shoot and even if they start knocking him down at a higher percentage talking about Chris Dunn it’s like nobody respects Chris Dunn’s shooting yep I don’t care that he shoots 38% his defensive player is usually a center in the paint who just says Fine Chris beat us with threes you’re never going to hit six in a game to beat us so uh there is some fear there with st Castle absolutely there is and you know what that applies to topic too topic uh he averaged one made three a game but he only shot 30% like he wasn’t on fire he’s got that’s got to develop he’s got to learn to hit that three and if he doesn’t then you’ve got a little bit of a Ricky Rubio situation without the defense it’s like uh yeah what’s Ricky Rubio without the defense not a whole lot there yeah so that’s why this draft is so difficult you’re betting on a couple of guys really fixing their flaws um and you’ve got to figure out which guy you think is most capable and has the shooting form or has all the other intangibles that will allow them to fix their problems you want to make a prediction who who the Jazz draft tomorrow um number 10 who they pick you know what let’s let’s let’s go with our prediction Ron Holland okay I’ll go with topic we’ll see who’s right we’ll talk about this next week uh and then they’re going to make one of those two 29th to 302nd picks okay they’re not going to I don’t think they trade both of them I think they add at least one more player and maybe it’s a draft and stash guy maybe they trade those up to get Zack Ed or something goofy but uh uh they’re GNA they’re going to make one more pick not just going to be a one pick draft especially if topic isn’t going to play next year that gives you a lot of room to draft another guy as well um if they are tra one of those picks do you think it’s to move up in the draft do you think it’s for a player you think it’s for future draft picks I I think I actually don’t think it I I’ve teased a lot of the idea of packaging 29 and 32 to move up it’s like I might want to really move up if I’m going to do that like I don’t know if 23 from Phoenix is enough like six picks in the 20s yeah I get it if there’s like like the year tyres Maxi was in the draft like I I loved him coming out and I’m just tapping myself on the back like I remember he was the first guy watched and I was like oh I don’t care that the Jazz have Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson like if you are going to build towards the future like this is a guy you can have on your team and now he’s way better I didn’t expect him to be an All-Star by his whatever fourth season in the NBA he’s better than I expected but I loved him coming out of Kentucky uh if that guy is there who you absolutely know is going to make it like you think is going to hit trade up and get him absolutely trade up and get him um if he’s at 23 fine and that’s where he is on the board and that’s where you have to get to do it if you’re just like well we kind of like the guy and he was 14th on our board now he’s there at 23 like we kind of like him I wouldn’t do it in that case I would say you’re better off taking two swings at 29 and 32 and hoping you’ve got a 50-50 shot of those guys turning into something and you have two of those the math is better than one 6040 shot that your guy at 23 makes it so if there’s a guy you absolutely love you can’t believe is on the board definitely do it if not take both or trade it for a future draft pick that that has maintained some of that that trade value thank you guys for tuning in to the Jazz notes podcast we will be back next week with at least one new player on the Jazz roster we’ll talk about all things NBA draft and then uh keep on going in the NBA offseason find us on Twitter at Benz Hoops Chandler Holt KSL and of course read us at KSL Sports KSL sports.com sign up for the Jazz notes newsletter though we got to send this out because this isn’t going to last very long this doesn’t have a lot of shelf life with the draft coming up tomorrow so we’ll get this out to you quickly and if you’re listening it’s already happened thanks more Jazz notes coming up next week [Music] [Music]

Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt give an NBA Lottery Mock Draft and answer all of your Utah Jazz draft questions on this episode of the Jazz Notes podcast! 

Sign up for the new Jazz Notes newsletter! Receive game updates, exclusive analysis and chances to win Jazz tickets. (https://kslsports.com/508204/jazz-notes-newsletter/)

Check out Ben and Chandler’s X profiles – @BensHoops (https://twitter.com/BensHoops) + @ChandlerHoltKSL (https://twitter.com/ChandlerHoltKSL)

You can be a part of the Jazz Notes podcast by submitting questions for our mailbag through Ben’s X on Tuesdays!