David Locke: The 2024 Draft lacks top end talent, but the Jazz are in a good place at pick 10
all right let’s jump out of the Zone phone joining us now he’s the radio voice for the Utah Jazz and our buddy the one and only David lock What’s Going On David not much guys how are you we’re doing terrific uh I’ve enjoyed oh go ahead I need I need Ben Anderson Jake Scott Insight I’m befuddled confused don’t understand this draft at all I need people smarter than me well we can talk draft do you want to talk draft you want to talk playoffs whatever you want to your show actually so I probably should let you leave that leave with the draft B why not place to start as any you know what I’ve seen a lot of people it’s kind of what I felt as well as I’ve looked into it again I’m not super deep into it yet but I I immediately as I was watching this started to really like it around the seventh or eighth pick because though the top five picks aren’t great top five that doesn’t mean the rest of the draft is pushed five or six spots backwards in my opinion I actually think a lot of the guys that are available at 9 10 11 12 where the Jazz are are probably pretty similar to the types of guys that were available last year I I’m with you on this um okay so yeah thank you that makes me feel better I’m not on an island so two things one is I the first analysis I do is completely by the numbers right okay well college basketball wasn’t any less good last year than it was the years prior in fact it might have been better because guys are older and a bunch of these guys have pretty good numbers and do a bunch of things really well and those players that have done those things in the past have turned out to be good NBA players so that was that’s the first thing that has me befuddled like when I look at the sure there’s no Victor right I got it there’s no Luca um when I look at the numbers though it’s not as though like I mean some of the actually you know Ron Holland is can’t really shoot Stefan Castle can’t really shoot Matias how do you pronounce his name balis balis like those are disturbing numbers um there aren’t many players who’ve shot that poorly to have ever become NBA in fact I can’t find any in my six years of doing this that have become NBA Shooters and interestingly most of those players seem to be top 10 but like the Carter kid Devin Carter I I really like the McCain kid out of Duke I really like um um uh who did I see the other day Oh I thought the dilva kid at Colorado was interesting except for the fact he’s like 32 years old um he’s 24 23 um but yeah no I I kind of with you like actually can you help me out on the one I watched uh mathas last night the g-league game uh two things jumped out at me three things jumped out of me so g-league ignite was really miserable and really hard to figure out whether like that team like it was kind of almost like fake basketball like they kind of were doing what they were supposed to do but you could kind of see that nobody actually really cared and that they were all just there to like most of them were there to just get signed next year or something else like it didn’t feel like there was a lot of togetherness and what was going on there understandably um they were down 20 like all the time so that’s the first thing was hard to judge the second one was that Ron Holland looked exactly like Harrison Barnes I don’t know if you’ve noticed that but that was my take and um it just can’t shoot but like body movement everything and then three was um I didn’t see I didn’t get the mathas thing I’ve watched only two games so I’m like bazilus like I I’m actually utterly convinced he’ll be on the board of 10 for the Jazz cuz I can’t believe anyone’s taking him in the top nine like I didn’t see a single thing that made me say like oh that’s an NBA player am I miss what did I miss so you watched games where Ron Holland was playing I watched the one game with Ron Holland against the Oklahoma City blue and then I watched a game where Ron Halland didn’t play against the Memphis hustle and that was kind of the thing so the background is to get really dorky here is the g-league ignite didn’t have a point guard and that’s what they needed you know they had veterans in certain spots on the roster uh but they didn’t have a veteran point guard so they asked Ron Holland who was a power forward in high school to play point guard for them so he ran all their actions and didn’t know how to set anybody up and it really made modest balis disappear who plays a somewhat similar position to Ron Holland not identical but he really got washed out and late in the season after Ron Holland hurt his thumb usalis started to jump out a little bit that’s kind of the background but I’m with you and when I’ve watched the games my thought was well I don’t care you should still just jump off the screen and he doesn’t always jump off the screen there are moments he super athletic runs the floor blocks a lot of shots which is weird for a guy his age but uh I I was with you I was less impressed by him than anyone else I’ve watched so far okay so yeah I mean I felt like he ran around a lot and he was active it wasn’t like he wasn’t playing hard and he flew in for rebounds but he didn’t get him and he they ran a lot of pin Downs for him on the wing and he’d come around and nothing really happened he hit a like few mid-range jumpers and and then he’d get the ball he pumped fake almost every time and then put on the deck and it was kind of methodical and slow without an explosion and not sure he was really ever in a better position after he dribbled than he was before yeah I was really confused I got to watch I I got to see something more and see or maybe that’s it like I mean it’s a little cheap on our part when we do this like for me you know I’ve watched probably seven of those eight quarters probably scan through the last one a little bit and then you come on the radio and make these declarative statements about these guys when you know the scouts watched him for his time at Brewster Academy and understood that and you’re putting good context at like he doesn’t have a point guard giving him the ball and all these kind of other things so it’s a little it’s a little cheap I got it um but it’s all I can do David uh brening it out a little bit if you were a a general manager is there a characteristic a skill or lack thereof that would make a player undraftable does that make any sense is there is there a a characteristic or or yeah you get me what do you think so two things they don’t play hard in college and not playing hard in the pros like that’s number one so like yeah it’ll be tougher competition he’ll play harder not sure I’ve ever seen that um so that’s the first thing that I actually watch is like whether they run the floor hard or not and I can go through the last 20 years of watching college film and tell you all the guys who I like watched who like didn’t play hard and in my mind none of them turned out to play hard um number two right now in the game and there are some guys that are fighting this Mike Conley’s fighting it Jaylen brunson’s beating it Donovan a little bit I’m just super nervous on anyone under 6’4 totally agree I’m super nervous on anyone under 64 now if they’re the three guys I just mentioned are pretty special right Mike connley is really special and but Minnesota’s running an entire defensive scheme right now to protect Mike connley like this whole thing about the drop coverage is because they can’t switch because if they switch then they’re going to bring Luke the guy who Mike Conley’s guarding which is usually Jaden McDaniel or somewhere or excuse me um Derrik Jones who they’re hiding him on they’re goingon to bring him up into a pick and Luka and they’s guarding LCA and then so that’s why they’re running the defense they’re running is because they’re protecting Mike Conley Jaylen Brunson is and Donovan Mitchell are two of the top 10 players in the NBA and so maybe they can survive at under 6’4 and Trey Young’s you know one of the most magical offensive players in the world but I think you have to be at that level to survive under 6’4 in this league right now well along those lines then if we’re still talking about the draft I know you’ve looked at the shooting numbers of Rob Dillingham who he and Reed Shepard were the two freshman at Kentucky and that Kentucky had three guys who shoved 44% and above from three last year it was one of the weirder things I’ve ever seen and they still got eliminated in the first round of the danca tournament but Rob Dillingham is really unbelievable the one thing everyone says is if you’re looking for Star potential in this draft he has it because of what he can do off the dribble but you watch him and he looks like some kid’s little brother is playing with his older brother in the aaou league because he is six feet tall and yeah he’s quick but I I just don’t see how it’s possible that he survives at the next level and people are comparing him to Darius Garland who I know doesn’t have huge measurements either but I just I I haven’t seen it I don’t know if you’ve watched them yet but it’s it’s one of the bizarre things in this draft so I have not watched him yet you’re right his he and Reed Shepard’s numbers are I’m actually can’t believe Reed Shephard’s not going number one in this draft except for fact he’s 6’2 so then that’s why probably um like Reed she Reed Shepard’s offensive numbers are the best offensive numbers I’ve seen on any player in six years um Ian it’s incredible um and it’s all aspects um it’s you know surprisingly good athletic numbers for a guy of that size um and when I say athletic numbers I’m meaning Rim Rim finishing transition numbers isolation numbers those are usually you know that’s what I think leads to athleticism um or tells you if someone’s got you know there’s difference between being an athlete and being a functional athlete like I’m looking for the NBA functional athlete it’s great you can run fast and jump hard can you actually use it uh jump high sorry um yeah I mean I have not watched Dillingham but like okay so he’s 6 feet 170 right yeah like what’s our database search on that like who’s in the league that’s 6 feet 170 right the the weight is an issue that I think people Overlook because you mentioned Jaylen Brunson well Jaylen Brunson probably weighs 210 I mean he’s right he’s all muscle like I think the McCain kid reminds me of Jaylen Bruns a little bit H and so out a Duke so okay now this is my concern this is always my rule when when looking at college players okay so I’ve got the high-end comp he looks like Jaylen Brunson he does a lot of things he’s really crafty I really like him um I’ve got a weird football analogy about him um but let’s say he’s not Jaylen Brunson who’s below who’s the next one below because the chances are he’s not Jaylen Brunson and then it gets pretty sketchy of whether you got like a then you don’t like there isn’t really many like who’s the poor man’s Jaylen Brunson in our league right now right it’s everyone betting on well maybe he’s the next Drew Breeze well if he’s not the next Dre Breeze who is he right then he’s out of league right 100% like it’s why Cody Williams is so intriguing because he’s 66 with a 71 wingspan and that just survives in the league yeah you know oi abaji is really struggling to make a shot and if he doesn’t make a shot this is going to be wrong but I still would bet that oai baji has a 10-e NBA career because he’s 65 with the be the most you know fabulous body well that’s survives in the NBA all right David oh sorry go ahead so I mean Jake so I guess Jake to where your question started I would say play hard under 6’4 and then you know unfortunately like measurables really matter just across the board like we just talked about the zeist um and how we you know did jump out to us well he is 68 like so that helps like that’s a big deal like dton how T is Dalton connect Ben yeah 66 ni you really want him to be like he’s Doug McDermot or Kyle corver but they’re both like they’re Doug mcder 69 yeah it’s like when I mean that goes back to Jimmer right everyone’s like oh he’s Kyle corver yeah he’s 61 K 66 yeah I said that forever Jimmer was 65 he would have had a 10-y year career yeah right and connect con’s going to play for a long time yeah conect connect’s good NBA player yeah David moving away from the draft I’m I’m very curious to your reaction to the latest from Brian windhorst and I’m just going to read this to you Donovan Mitchell’s role within the Cavs organization ranks among the most powerful for any superstar in the league quote what Donovan has with the Cavs is what LeBron has with the Lakers in fact it might even be stronger unquote David reaction so that’s Brian windhorse did you say yeah um so that’s interesting to me because my so my first thing on any story is we’re all great reporters we’ like to believe we’re great reporters we’re only as good a reporters as the people who want to give us the information right it matters a great deal in this case in my opinion right so like that’s being in this day and age I think being and probably always being a great reporter and anything is having the people who want to give you the information so my feeling is that Cleveland’s organization Maybe the owner gave that to Brian wior to report I don’t think that’s where it came from you don’t no I think it’s all coming from clutch that’s wind horse’s only source is clutch and Darius Garland is represented by clutch and they’re creating a storm in Cleveland for Donovan because they either want Garland to be back as an Allstar with Cleveland or to be traded and the athletic piece by Shams right after the playoffs basically said as much this is a PR campaign to make Donovan look bad oh you really yeah all right I was going the other way that this is Cleveland’s ownership leaking to Windor to kind of say to Donovan you have you have the juice here you can ask to be traded but you have the juice here you’re not going to get any more anywhere else their last it on saving him I think WJ would have reported it if it were that Cleveland isn’t leaking anything to Wind Horse are you kidding they got to hate that guy he’s pretty tight with everyone there though I mean I understand he’s LeBron’s guy but I I here’s where I wonder what value I your pitch to Donovan Mitchell saying you’re the king maker I think has value and maybe it puts him in an awkward spot now where if he says okay I have all this but I actually want out it makes him look bad like you kind of corner Donovan Mitchell I also think he’s kind of a weird guy who doesn’t like to be cornered he doesn’t he always wants to say the right thing and do the right thing and I think when you Corner him is when he gets uncomfortable and starts to feel weird and lashes out a little bit I just I don’t know what advantage this has for Donovan Mitchell if that’s what you’re going for in Cleveland well David I brought this up with Ben think about this for a second did Donovan ever twist the Jazz arm to make a trade never did he ever twist the Jazz arm to fire a coach never that wasn’t his Mo I don’t think it’s his Mo now maybe he’s a little like a premadonna and want some special treatment and that sort of thing I would buy but Cleveland wants to resign him so they’re going to make a a acceptable environment but is that Donovan manipulating or is that Cleveland’s decision you know so the two things there so I think Donovan’s great like I just like I think he’s a wonderful kid I think he’s true at his heart I think he’s a good person never had any interaction with him that wasn’t that still to this day had a wonderful talk with him this year when he’s here I don’t think he has the greatest people around him that help him navigate situations um I do think he was guilty of trying un I think unintentionally like following what superstars do and trying to be a superstar and that unintentionally walked him into being a little bit of a PR da and separating himself from the team and then the last piece of the puzzle that we just don’t know enough about and I just really know nothing frankly is what was the communication between Donovan and the Jazz between the Rudy trade and the Donovan trade right so we trade Rudy I’m assuming the Jazz basically say it’s your team and then we still trade Donovan or did we trade Rudy I don’t know actually I shouldn’t say I assume that maybe we didn’t maybe we traded Rudy and decid we were completely rebuilding we didn’t say anything to Donovan we just ra Don I I don’t know but in your like that I think is important because that gives us some insight on maybe how he would react to Cleveland what do you think happens with Rudy goar this summer does he get a contract extension with the nightmare that’s going on with ownership in Minnesota even though he’s coming off one of the best seasons he’s ever had one of the best seasons they’ve ever had had maybe the best season they’ve ever had as a team they can extend him this summer or they can wait and see if he Ops out of his contract next year which assumably he will they have real financial troubles and then they have weird ownership stuff going on and they have neither ownership group I think is capable of getting into the deep into the tax right I mean Glen Taylor beautifully leaked the story of the other ownership group wed to pull back on salary and get under the luxury tax um um the so I don’t know how’s that really great answer for me my instinct is that they come to Rudy ask for an extension that’s a lower number than like his max extension and somehow trying to get him at a at a almost a discount by giving him an extension and if it’s a good enough deal for them they’ll do it and if not they’re going to make him opt out and then he won’t there won’t be enough money in the market from a team that’s willing to pay him and they’ll try to get him at a cheaper number then too so they’re going to make two runs of getting him cheap and it’s going to be a question of whether his agent um who’s gaining in power because he’s also Victor wean yama’s agent now um has a read of the room of whether or not Rudy goes to free agency and is able to get a bunch of money I Rudy goes to free agency he’s not getting like 60 70 million I don’t think I wonder if someone if he’s still good next year which I I would imagine he’s still going to be very good next year and he’s taken less than the max before does he say no this is my last year I’m getting the Max and there will be a team I mean the salary cap goes up next season I know it’s not like the Durant year but I think teams will spend money yeah I mean that’s the that’s the equation so I think Minnesota offers him an extension to not offer him an extension seems like a really bad idea but I bet it’s not a great number and Rudy has to make a decision then and then they’re into a funky game it’s never good to have that happen and they’re gonna have to extend NZ Reed to who they might prioritize didn’t they just give him a but he for player option next year no he’s got a player he’s opting out next year and they’re going to have to pay him next year so they’ve got to balance that as well whatever they do this summer I mean their real decision is can Nas Reed and Rudy goby is good or better than Nas Reed and Carl Anthony towns excuse me Rudy goar and NZ Reed as good as Rudy goar and Carl Anthony towns yeah we got you because Carl they they have a money problem Carl Anthony towns is the money problem I mean I I would suspect that they’re moving Carl Anthony towns and maybe then they extend both Rudy goar and Naas Reed towns is such a material bizarre piece I mean gosh is he talented can he really shoot it and then like how do you get three offensive fouls in a game got play well and and they win when he plays well and that’s the worst part it would be nice if matter it does matter which is why they’re down 3-1 right now and why they’re in the Western Conference Finals exactly right like both both sides no it would have been great if he was terrible and they could have moved off him and it was a no-brainer and he has been too good for it to be a no-brainer which is a real problem for them right I mean the the number on cat that is the real problem is have you seen the defensive rating when he goar’s off the floor and he’s on the floor I’m sure it’s Dreadful it’s like a 123 yeah in the series and it’s been that way kind of for the whole playoffs so that’s their real problem is that like cat’s not good enough detail oriented enough as a player to be your Center because defensively you just fall apart one last thing for me before we let you go David I I’m just gonna tell Ben a little story uh it was a couple of weeks ago and uh Dallas had just finished off Oklahoma City and my phone buzzes and I see the name on there and it says David lock is oh terrific I got a text from David and I open it up and it just simply says who would have predicted Dallas to the Western Conference finals and it was you David please take your Victory lap you’ve been telling us this is coming and it came and I’ll publicly say I doubt it you are right about everything I’m always wrong I bow to the not but everyone when I I said this early right like I said this in like when did we play them like we about to go play them I think I’d seen them play I don’t think we’d PL seen them in person yet so this was either late February early March and I said it on one of our I think postgame shows right and you and I think Tim at the time thought I was like literally like I was really expecting like lome one of the most loving people in the world like to be at my house the next morning with an intervention like his his reaction your guys reaction was enough that like and Ron too and I like literally was looking everyone like wait no no no like they’re the second best team in the W right now I mean I thought Denver like I thought they were playing Denver let’s not kid ourselves um so yeah I got half of it right well here’s the thing I really like the Grant Williams trade it was a great trade well no I like the acquisition of getting Grant Williams I thought that’s exactly what they need and then moving him was exactly what they needed because they got P Washington yeah and Gafford that was those trades were BR the word on that by the way is that was a personality issue right and Grant Williams can really play we saw him in Charlotte he can really play and evidently can really talk yeah he’s a yapper is the term all the time in the locker room and never shut up yeah was like the word y like it might it might not be coincidental that Boston moved on from him and then Dallas moved on from him five months later and neither team was hurt by it yeah it might not be coincidence yep well David uh let’s hope uh we we get a little more excitement out of the Western Conference Finals but let’s hope the uh the finals turn out to be great I mean Minnesota wins today gets super interesting doesn’t it I hope they do it’d be good I’m glad they didn’t fold I’m glad they didn’t go out like that in game four and I’d love to see him win tonight I’m I’m it’s funny like I was rooting I’m rooting for Mike and Rudy and one of my closest friends is the play by playing outs over for the Timber wols and you know on the other end I had a really interesting text exchange with Natalie Jensen the other day who’s Alex’s you know Alex is on the bench in Dallas and so it’s funny how your your tentacles of this league just go and so whoever wins will’ll be good um you know I think it’s probably been a weird series for Alex in the sense that like you know Rudy’s getting torched I just don’t even think rightfully you know and Dall and Rudy you know Alex who one of Rudy’s biggest Defenders and that family is so close to Rudy is sitting they’re having to live through it while actually you know administering some of that pain on him yep David thank you always a highlight of our week talking to you buddy we appreciate it thanks David yeah I guess it’s not every day that you’re actually structuring a game plan to try to expose The Godfather of one of your kids that would be weird it would be strange never thought about it that way but that would be strange uh thank you David you’re the best all right see you see you buddy David lock radio voice of the Utah J yes
David Locke makes his weekly appearance on Jake & Ben to talk about the NBA Draft. The Jazz will have a lot of options available if they keep the 10th overall pick. Also, David weighs in on the latest news surrounding Donovan Mitchell and whether or not he holds a lot of power in Cleveland.
