Kevin Sweeney | Sports Illustrated | Will The Jazz Stand Pat At No. 10?
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 KL Sports sub [Music] all right everybody Welcome Back JJ and Alex 975 the KSL Sport Zone thanks for being with us uh tons of coverage across the entire station for the next just keep it dialed here for the next 5 days and Beyond because our very first NHL draft uh at the end of the week but of course this is an NBA town and do not forget the Jazz are trying to build something worth lasting and something for the legacy of Danny a for Justin xanic the general manager for this Utah Jazz team we’re trying to figure how trying to figure out how exactly this thing is going to work out because the guessing game that happens in a draft like this what the Jazz could do what they may do uh what they might not do all of those things are on the board because you know people start to look around and go look at all these draft assets why don’t you do something with it or what is your philosophy on on draft night so many things to jump into our program is brought to you by G2G bars all natural ingredients and no preservatives plenty of protein the G2G bar perfect for anybody who needs a quick tasty nutritious boost let’s start off with Kevin Sweeney from Sports Illustrated we’re going to talk a little bit about what this Jazz draft is going to look like what this NBA draft is going to look like let’s jump in right here with the cut it’s time for the biggest story of the day this is what made the cut with j sh and Alex on 975 the KSL Sports Zone and this hour the cut brought to you by Doug Smith dealerships in American Fork and Spanish Fork Subaru Chevy Kia Jeep Dodge or Ram in American Fork and Spanish Fork are the Doug Smith dealerships Kevin Sweeney Sports Illustrated NBA draft in college hoops Kevin thanks for being with us man what’s going on guys appreciate you having me uh we are absolutely like we are every year uh we have no idea what this is going to bring this Utah Jazz team and maybe now more than ever where are the Utah Jazz position in this draft not just in terms of the 10th 29th and 32nd pick but it seems like a very very uh T it’s just a weird time to be in this front office for the Jazz because they’re in a place they haven’t been before which is multiple years of not being very good yeah 100% right and you know I think that’s what makes this so interesting is that this is not necessarily the draft to try to swing for the fences this is not uh where you get the star player that changes your franchise has fortunes at least on paper right so are you willing to you know draft longer term right now and be willing to lose for another year and try to be um drafting at the top of a perceived to be very good 2025 draft or do you say we need role players we need guys who can help us right now and start trying to make a push for the playoffs I think that’s the that’s the interesting calculus that I think you know the decision-making group in Utah has to has to has has to Grapple with and it’s not an easy answer either way before we work through the draft here with you and discuss the Jazz pick specifically we we got to start at the top it’s it’s crazy most drafts you know who number one’s going to be we definitely knew last year but I don’t do you who do you think is gonna be number one what is the consensus right now I still think the most likely outcome is is the French Wing Zachary rache uh you know he’s a 6 foot n 6 fo1 you know guy who can really make shots off the dribble he’s um you know growing as a playmaker one of the younger players in the draft so I think there’s some kind of perceived upside there as he continues to get better but it’s also not a lock by any means I think Atlanta has done a great job of of not typic at hand probably partially because Atlanta wasn’t necessarily expecting to pick in this spot and had to do a lot of uh catch-up work once they won the lottery back in May so uh I think Donovan kingan’s on the board uh from Yukon I think um there’s potential that they could trade out um try to entice someone interested in potentially Alex SAR who has made his intent to not be in Atlanta relatively welln um you know potentially you know could even see Washington at too try to trade up uh and and just extract an asset there if you’re Atlanta to force them to make sure they get the guy that they want so uh that will that will certainly shape the the first few picks and really the whole first round uh what what Atlanta does at one what does what’s the likelihood of the Jazz using so much of what we have been so tired of saying over the past little while of the draft Capital they have so much of it and yet at the same time uh you know is this a draft where you want to make some uh you know intense moves around the board and maybe give up a lot of those you know future draft picks if you’re a jazz uh front office guy to make that decision or is this one where you go no just kind of see what you get in the draft and then and then make some deals a little bit later so I think the price to move up will be cheaper in this draft because it’s not like Utah is is the or only organization that maybe perceives this as a weaker draft right like throughout the League I I don’t think people view drafting in the top three or the top five of this draft to be as advantageous as it would be in in other drafts and so because of that right like it’s not like there’s a great Market to try to move your picks so if Utah wants to move up if they’re if they’re intent on trying to get a Ron Holland or try or or someone someone b a bigger name right whether it’s Reed Shepard at three I don’t know that Houston seems like they could potentially move their pick like there’s a bunch of names you could try to go up and get in the top three to five like I think it’s attainable without completely auctioning the future draft capital and everything that they’ve they’ve built up but you can also wait because again because there is some unpredictability here with with a little bit of uncertainty at the top um you know you could set a 10 and still get a very good player uh one of those players the Jazz are linked to at number 10 is nicoa topic and the reason why he would be available at 10 is because of that knee injury but what are your what are you hearing about that situation how much is that impacting his stock and would would that be a good value for the Jazz at 10 if that were the if that were the guy they go for yeah I definitely think it’s impacted his stock I think he’s a guy who’s probably close to a top five talent in this draft on paper ignoring the the potential that he might miss the first year I think it’s hard to get good medical information from from teams as you work through kind of the sourcing process and in May and June everyone obviously keeps things close to vest and so I can’t say for sure what the Outlook is with with the injury situation I think he’s a a really really talented player a guy who fits in a lot of different team constructs because he’s that big playmaking guard who can really really create for others playing ball screens but also have some defensive versatility so um look I I’d be interested certainly uh and again if if you’re willing to be patient here um you know I think there’s there’s a line of thinking that says hey if we we want to get into tanking sweep stakes and be in the mix for um someone like a Cooper flag or someone like Cayman malawat from both those guys who want to do next year like those are those are perceived to be really really high level prospects and so um if you if you’re willing to wait and you can take a swing on a on a bigger talent and get the chance to maybe draft higher next year I think that does have some some Intrigue if you’re you’re Utah uh Justin zanic the general manager of the Jazz said look like our job is to make sure that whoever we pick at 10 uh is on that roster right and is playing for this team and so you know that that there’s a lot on there where you just go hey look uh yeah you could throw them on a roster and see if they’re there but the reality is is what what’s the likelihood is and is it every draft where there’s somebody that we end up missing is there is there somebody that is a that is a a a year in year out Allstar that we just are totally missing on every draft or are there drafts that because people love talking about this being a down draft but you know you never really know until three or four years or five years down the line right yeah I mean you know 2013 is the the comparison that gets made and Giannis who’s you know arguably one of the two or three best players in the league right now came from that draft and it was in the teams right I think there’s a difference between like your prospect status and you know what you could become right I I think on paper like there’s bigger questions or there’s more unrealized uh talent in this draft than there is in in other drafts whereas I think there’s there’s a lot more sure things in other drafts I do think there’s upside to be swung for I mean look one of the things that uh teams can do in this draft to try to get you know get that All-Star swing in the you know tens or even 20s is you know draft guys that had huge pedigrees coming into this year and then struggled uh the two you know obvious names there would be Isaiah klier who went to USC and uh didn’t have a great year but was the number one college recruit in the country and Ron Holland who went to g- League ignite and struggled and didn’t you know didn’t play as well as people maybe expected and until his stock slipped he was also I think second in the uh recruited consensus ranking so yeah I think you know this draft was already perceived to be weak before those two guys kind of struggled and fell off and uh if you were if you were Utah or anyone else who wants Tobe swing for defenses there’s there’s some upside in uh just saying hey look like one year doesn’t Define a prospect we were you know interested in these guys these guys have been evaluated on the Grassroots circuit for for years at this point with SC going to pach jam and um the McDonald’s game and all the you know big stops in the the grassroot circuit and so I think there’s a level of comfort in taking a guy like that even if maybe the most recent film has been as impressive well let’s build on that I I want to ask you who you think is the safest first round pick or I guess we focus on the lottery to make it a little more simple and who’s That Swing for the fences guy that you think has just crazy upside but is just comes with maybe too much risk for a lot of GMS yeah I think the the safe choices are the older guys devid Carter from Providence is someone who I think could be there at 10 Dalton connect is probably the bottom of his range at 10 but um you know from Tennessee a guy who was you know 23 years old and was just the stud in college basketball this past year one of the best scorers really in recent history in the game in terms of his ability to you know make shots at three levels like he’s a he’s a guy who’s going to come in and play a role in the NBA the question is how good can he be how much more is there to tap into with with the upside swings it’s it’s the guys who are who are younger who are who are less proven but have the physical tools I mean Cody Williams from Colorado is a great example of that obviously his brother Jaylen a stud for the Thunder um he’s someone seems to have risen you know I think it would have been uh likely a couple weeks ago in my opinion that he would have been there at 10 now now maybe not so sure um also with circle Holland who I just mentioned from Gite you can’t teach the athletic athletic traits the uh the speed um his ability to guard multiple positions and look he scored 20 points a game in the G League like there’s there’s some some pedigree there that he can put the ball in the basket so yeah so those those guys are are higher risk but uh I think higher reward and the question really in this draft is like which which do you value more do you want the safe role player who will be on your team for a long time or do you want the guy who we might be able to build around long term but might might flame out in a couple years Kevin Sweeney Sports Illustrated college hoops and the NBA draft of course big week for you guys as you try to figure out where this is going to end up and you know we we we uh I don’t know how we fall for this every year Kevin like where we go I’m gonna get oh no it’s a it’s a bad draft and then we go back and go but did you see other drafts before and and we do this every year and it’s just as it’s an insane practice that we do we just forget it feels like but what team in the draft do you look at and you say you know what uh that’s a team that you know uh can afford can afford to give up a bunch maybe for this Utah Jazz to do you know to do some to do a deal with or who are some of these teams that the Jazz could look at and have some of these rumors that are floating around there maybe come to fruition because of the of the the uh you know all of the different aspects that that the Jazz have to be able to deal with to be able to make some some sort of a deal happen I think a lot of people have been uh sort of interested in what San Antonio does given they have two picks in the top 10 like how do they approach this do they try to package them uh do they try to move down with one of those two picks if you know some of that they like isn’t on the board I think they’re they’re a team that in general everyone around the NBA will be watching uh tomorrow night um you know further down like I think there’s some team you know teams like the BS that are sort of stuck in limbo I mean the Thunder obviously with their package of picks talk about Utah’s uh War chest it kind of Pals in comparison to what uh San presty and Oklahoma City have built up you always have to watch them on draft night um I I think people will be aggressive I think there’ll be movement um in terms of a trading partner for Utah it’s it’s a tough one to predict but uh yeah I think I think a lot of it really depends and it sounds sounds cliche to say it depends on what happens at one but uh you know whether Rea share or Clan goes one will have a pretty significant impact you know through the top five and then you know obviously that trickles down through into the top 10 and I have to ask you about bronny James because it’s a story obviously that’s going to get a lot of attention and uh you know people are wondering what where this kid’s going to land and a lot of people have their opinions about him just what are you hearing and what are your thoughts on the situation and how this could play out yeah look it’s been it’s been unique obviously um has been only kind of Amplified by Rich Paul his his agent being very vocal uh isett rare for the agent of potential second round picks to be out in the media giving interviews about where he thinks his client will go and uh it you know just kind of adds to the kind of craziness of of everything that’s happened in in Bron’s life in the last year I think he he’s he’s not a bad player like he’s gotten a bad rap because of you know a really tough situation at USC coming off of the the cardiac incident not having a lot of time to practice going into really a dysfunctional locker room and a team that was struggling and trying to find his way I think when you what he did at the combine like he he proved himself to be U an interesting enough Prospect right is he someone I would probably be going out of my way to draft if he wasn’t LeBron james’ son probably not but is he you know is he deserving of or of being in the mix for a two-a contract or really being in the in the second late second round conversation yeah I think I think so and uh I do think the end outcome is most likely that he lands with the Lakers I think the Lakers will take him at uh 55 which is their you know late second round pick the upside you know W with keeping LeBron is is just too too real but uh we’ll see maybe somebody takes a shot and drafts him and and sees if they can uh kind of use bronnie James the asset uh to to lure his dad in free agency uh definitely a story probably more for Thursday than Wednesday but um yeah it’ll be one track and uh I’m C certainly uh looking forward to some resolution on it it’s but obviously a big deal for for for the last several weeks and months and uh I think probably for bronny as much as anyone just just he’ll be happy to finally put it behind him and and have a team and start to build his C from there uh oh don’t worry people will make a storyline out of it both days just for fun that’s how we are I mean like that’s what we that’s what we do right that’s that’s how this works but uh Kevin real quick how much of a how much is true of of Danny a being that that Cavalier you know wild man when it comes to making deals how much of it is it how much of that is is is more likely you know it’s it’s more true that he’s that he’s not necessarily conservative that wouldn’t be the word but you know he has that reputation of being such a off- the hiip Gunslinger but what’s the reality of Danny a and and him leading a front office and what Utah Jazz fans get with this guy look I think he’s aggressive but he’s calculated like I think if you look back with decisions he’s made like yeah like at the time it would you know a lot of times they’ve been questioned I me obviously the the Tatum deal in Boston is probably the most prominent but um look at the end of the day like I think it’s it’s hard to hard to bad eyes at the results like he’s done a done a great job and um I think his uh has his convictions which I think is really important like at the end of the day like if you’re going to do this job you have to be really convicted in what you like and be willing to kind of go down with chip and I think Danny a is and obviously a critical critical point in in the Utah rebuild and and this this draft could be be a turning point I’m not necessarily predicting anything but uh it’s the time when you try to start making deals if you start believing guys and I I don’t think Danny angel will be afraid to do anything if he has the guy he likes all right Kevin Sweeney will’ll be watching right along with you see how this thing goes we appreciate you joining us Kevin Sweeney Sports Illustrated college basketball and of course the NBA draft uh thanks again Kevin we appreciate it man thanks B there you go did you write all the names down that a lot of good stuff a lot of good conversation I this this draft while not the one of last year with a lot of the superstars and and and the big names has a lot of intrigue I’m really intrigued by what’s going to happen on Wednesday even into Thursday yeah with the Jazz having three picks with all the moving Parts the Hawks have no idea who they’re going to take I do believe that I don’t think they’ve made a decision I do think the team’s going to try to trade up to get number one there’s going to be a lot of movement because of what we talked about there’s just a lot of teams that like a certain guy and there’s a lot of teams that don’t like a lot of these guys and so there’s going to be more of a willingness to make make deals in this draft than last year where you saw teams there wasn’t they weren’t moving off of their pick at all because they wanted they they wanted that Talent this draft is going to be a lot different so a very intriguing draft coming up on Wednesday and Thursday all right let’s uh take a break we’ll come back uh we have some sound from Bill Armstrong on the NHL draft coming up he had his Med availability I think they wanted to make sure and get it all out of the way now so that the team can absolutely Focus hey it’s a tall it’s a tall order JJ when you got 13 picks in this year’s draft that’s a lot of work tons of work so NHL’s different and pretty much the only speaking basball Yeah speaking of top end Talent their their uh Victor Wim banama is mlin celebrini and after that you’re going to get a lot of uh a lot of picks happening and a lot of uh suppositions on what teams are going to be doing and uh it’s going to be wide open after that so we’ll talk uh about that next and we’ll listen to some of the audio of what he had to say today to the media stay with us 975 the KSL Sports Zone
JJ & Alex are joined by Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney to talk about the NBA Draft, trades and what the Utah Jazz might do.
