Patrick Kinahan: What do the Utah Jazz do with 5th overall pick | BYU making it rain right now
Patrick Inahan with us today. Hey PK, how are you? Pretty good, Scott. I just got out of the shower, put my earrings in, and I’m ready to go. Well, let’s go. You got the bling all queued up, and uh let’s do this. Got the gold tooth in. Let’s do this. Yeah, I got a big chain across my chest that says legendary. Hey, uh when you look at this NBA finals or not finals but potentially finals when we have uh whoever wins the NBA title will be the seventh different winner in seven consecutive years. Is that good for the league? I don’t know that I could say conclusively that it’s good for the league because I think that America loves dynasties. We as sports fans, we latch on to dynasties when they get going because in order to have a dynasty, you must have a superstar or two. And you maybe have a coach who is growing into his own as a superstar coach and then he becomes flamboyant and he becomes his own uh prophecy of what the media makes him out to be. Phil Jackson smoking peyote and being mysterious and having philosophical ways and sit in circles and hum chants and all they kind of grow into that and then you have good versus evil. So I can’t say specifically that it’s universally best for the league because I know the other way is be is good for the league because we’ve seen that more than we’ve seen this situation. I need to see some more of it before I go. This is good for the league. Who are you having more fun watching right now? Minnesota or Oklahoma City? Caitlyn Clark. This thing going on with Angel Ree, it’s going to tear the country apart. Scotty, uh, you know what? Look, both of them having a little skirmish is the best thing that ever happened to the WNBA. Yes. I just for all those people who are so tender-hearted though, I don’t know that they were going to be able to stand it. But which one were you asking me? Oklahoma City or Minnesota or Minnesota? Yes, because Denver’s gone. Uh, you know, I’m equally loving them all. Both because I’m a basketball fan in the playoffs especially. You know, I was telling uh someone a story. Oh, I think it was Barry Traml. We’re going to have him on tomorrow on our show. And I was telling him that, hey, the Knicks have an opportunity because he said, “Oh, I can see all four teams winning the NBA title, right? the four teams that are left and the last time the Knicks won the NBA title was 1973. I happened to be a youngster in New Jersey at that time and I was a friend, my best buddy, his father was the mayor in the town that we lived in. My parents didn’t have the money, but I grad trained him through his father to get inside Madison Square Garden for the NBA Finals. I was there and I remember going and the guy that I was with, he ended up being the mayor of the town, too. And the mayor that uh his father was ended up being a big-time politician, worked for the governor and all that. So, he was well known. So, we would get those types of tickets. And we sat down and he says, “Let’s run around the garden and play tag.” And I said, “Nobody. I’m sitting right here. I’m watching Wal Frasier. I’m watching Roman Row. I’m watching Will Chamberlain. I’m watching Jerry West. I was just a kid, obviously a youngster, and I was way into it. And I’ve been that way ever since, particularly when it gets to the finals. So, I have a gas watching any of these teams play as long as the games are competitive. The game, Friday night between the Celtics and Knicks was not competitive. I was searching, I was hitting the TV, looking for other stuff, watching baseball. Yesterday’s game, game seven, Denver, Oklahoma City, was not competitive. I checked out again watching PGA, watching baseball. So, I want competition. I don’t even care who plays. I don’t care the gender. I want competition. If I got competition, I’m in. I was down at LPGA down in St. George a few weeks back watching great golf. Doesn’t matter to me the gender. That’s that’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. I want great competition. Both these teams have entertained me to this point. Anthony Edwards is an entertaining player, right? Go Bear. Connley Joe doesn’t play as much. He doesn’t play at all, but he still has a soft spot in our hearts. And OKC, my gosh, man. Their rebuild was three years. They were out of the playoffs three years and then they got back in. And now look at them go. We all want that for the Jazz. I’ll be the first to admit, maybe it’s just obviously it’s selfishly. So, we talk about winning basketball. And Jaylen Williams, the 12th pick out of Santa Clara. You know, it took a while for him to develop, but he stayed three years in college. Cody Williams, his younger brother, he only played one and he missed a lot during the injury plague season as a freshman. Plus, he had two NBA guys who were auditioning for the NBA, so he had a subservient role. I want to see him blossom. If he can get anywhere near his brother, then that was a great draft pick. No doubt. Uh, speaking of the draft, uh, and again, this probably isn’t fair to ask you, but what do you think the value is there at five? Do you go with a guy who may not be a superstar but could be an elite shooter in Canipple? Do you maybe try to trade up as there’s reports that the Jazz might try to sneak up to number three and move marketin? Uh if you’re Danny A. And one thing we know about Danny is we have no idea what’s going through Danny’s mind. Uh but uh if you’re Danny A, what are you doing? I don’t know that I can narrow it down specifically, but everything that is possible I am strongly considering. If they have an opportunity to move up to three, yeah, I would be very much interested in that. I think Ace Bailey can be a big-time player. I watched the top five, six guys. I spent a considerable time watching this year because obviously we knew that the Jazz were most likely going to have one of those picks. So, I wanted to get a feel. Plus, I have a wooden award vote and so want to be able to get I want to get a feel for who those guys Yeah. You know, you know the guy who recommended me for that when he was done? none other than Paul James, right? Yeah. Paul told me, he said at the time he was getting done and he said that I’ve got a guy that I really believe can do a good job. And that was one of the greatest compliments I had had up until that time. I’ve had this vote for a number of years obviously. And when Paul James, who I got to know a little bit again, obviously that uh would recommend me for that, I took I took some pride in that Paul James thought that I was worthy of that. Bill Marcraftoft, who’s Paul James’s contemporary, two legends, he would call me up to ask for uh what my thoughts were on the Heisman vote because he has a Heisman vote. Just a little insight to, you know, obviously I’ve been around forever. So, uh to me, I like a number of these guys. I’m okay with whatever they do. If they move up, great. If they stay at five, I think they can get a really good player. We all want a Cooper flag. I did, too. I’m not saying these guys below flag can be that type of player, but I think they have the possibility to be really good. So, they should be in a good position dealing from strength. And it looks like unless they make two or three moves that in terms of going to next year with a losing record and all that stuff, we would be in the same situation next year, too. Do you uh I mean this fan base I think still went and watched games and filled that arena because they’re like, “Okay, we get it. We understand the path here. Uh we’re watching the Duke highlights. We can figure out that this is what’s going on.” But then when it all falls apart and you end up at five, is it going to be hard for this fan base to swallow another year like last year? Yeah. Because now if you’re losing games, you don’t know that it’s going to work. It didn’t work in terms of the draft position and and Justin Xanic was right. Well, this is what we prepared for because the odds dictated that we were going to get number five. Okay, but the odds didn’t dictate that the Dallas Mavericks were going to get number one. So, you can say that as a fallback to save face. I get it. I would say the same thing. But certainly, you were anticipating and most definitely hoping for better. I think what they need to do next year is if you get into the season and you’re going with the younger guys and half the roster has the potential to be super young. We know that. Don’t rest a 23 year old Walker Kesler. He will be 24 at that point. Obviously, don’t do that. Don’t rest Isaiah Collier. So go ahead, understand that you’re going to lose, but don’t hold out guys who can be the future of the franchise. I don’t need to see that anymore. If you want to hold out the older guys, hopefully they get rid of them and move on from them and get good value in return. But I think the fan base would be more accepting is if they go to the arena and don’t see Walker Kesler in street clothes. Lowry market and we’re used to that’s what we expect. Uh the Jazz had a what a 47% chance of getting the number five pick. Well, if I buy a ticket to the game, I would be happy if I had a 47% chance that Lowry Markin actually plays. Patrick Kahan, the great Patrick Kahan joining us right here on 975 the KSL Sports Zone. Uh, does part of you miss being on a uh on a beat of a team that is spending money like a uh drunken sailor right now down at BYU? You know, Jay Drew is one of my contemporaries, right? He worked at the Tribune and now is the Desireette News. And when you get a if you’ve done the beat reporting, it sort of wears on you after a while. So, but I was talking to him. said, “Jay, man, you cannot ask off the beat now. My goodness gracious. These are the glory days.” And Santiago, I said this on the air. He’s a bulldog right now. He’s running around in his little apology tour saying, “Hey, give give me I thought he was a president a couple of presidents ago. Uh he is a guy who is feisty, right, and fiery.” Well, he said you can still be that and also be compassionate. fine, but don’t lose it too much here because your fan base wants you to win and you’re in a position now of power and you’re going to rub some people wrong. But you got to do what’s best for the athletic department and putting the athletic department in the football and men’s basketball program on the level with these other places is really good. the numbers I’m hearing being floated around for retaining Kevin Young. Oh my goodness. Let’s just say Lavell Edwards would not have to do the coaches show after the football game for 75 bucks extra like he used to joke that he had to do because he was contacted I believe by the Suns and once you got leverage that’s up to the school then to make up the difference and so yeah I’m believing that’s what happened. I don’t have uh specific figures, but these are great times for BYU, and that’s what the fans want. Don’t Don’t apologize for spending the money. Thank you. I’ve been saying that forever. Yeah. Just stop with the insistence upon that. You’re not you’re not the highest bidder. Okay, great. You’re not the highest bidder, so you’re the second highest bidder or the third highest bidder. you’re still out bidding most of the programs that are there and I get yeah well it’s the tech guys sure but there you know there’s sort of a fine line there in terms of who is doing what I can tell you that the football program said Keelin Marion we don’t have any more money for you and your family can stop asking for money because we don’t have any more for you this is what you’re going to get if you essentially you don’t like it, leave. So, he left. Play the game. Great. And the other kid, the linebacker, Tagger, a smaller scale. Same type of deal. Fine. That’s the way it goes. You’ve got the money. Spend it wisely and win. I mean, you look I we’re expecting big things for the football program, but I can argue we’re expecting even bigger things from the basketball program by a mile. Absolutely. And that’s the thing. I mean, if I’m a BYU fan and everybody’s just kind of like, “Oh, but you know, they they felt something special when they were on campus and and this is a different No, shut up. It’s the money. It’s 100% the money.” And don’t hide behind it. Own it. If there’s anything I I’m going to my friends at Utah, you know, in the office to be like, “Yeah, darn right we outspend because we can and you can’t.” So, how about them apples? You know, like just own it. Puff out your chest about it. It’s great. Yeah. Kevin Young talks about stacking days. I talk about stacking paychecks. Yes. Because that’s that’s important. But I do think I’ll give them credit because if you listen to Jaor Denim talk, he talked about the experience of BYU and then we see yesterday Devonsa goes to an LDS church service, puts on a suit and goes. So, I’m okay with them promoting that portion of it because I do think as long as the money is acceptable, whatever that level of acceptability is for each individual athlete, go ahead and tout the other stuff. Go ahead and tout, especially for basketball when they don’t even really have to be there for an entire year and they don’t even they really only have to go to class one semester if they want. They don’t have to go the second semester because they can leave in March or early April. Uh, go ahead and tout that. Just stop with the stuff that, well, it’s not the money is way below. I don’t buy that. It’s this stuff over here in the lefthand column and this stuff over here in the right hand column, which is the money. And as long as the two can converge and the player wants that, fine. No more apologies. But the and the more you It’s this is across the board in any way of life. What was that senator in I Idaho you would know he kept telling us that he was against one thing one form of uh expression romantically and then it finds out he’s doing it. The more you protest about something the more I’m going to suspect that you’re involved in that. So just let that be. Let it speak for itself. What? As long as BYU opens the doors and turns on the lights, they’re always going to have plenty of critics. And most often those critics, no matter what you do, you can donate all your money. You can give every poor child a puppy and pay for his or her education the rest of their lives. And there’s still going to be criticism. You’re never going to satisfy those people. So, forget about it. Just go about your business. Do what you think is right and just leave it at that. you know, when I was uh when I was in high school, I was in I can’t it was like some speech and debate contest and I did pretty well. And uh that that senator that you referenced was there and came up to me and was like, “Oh, you did a tremendous job. You know, you remind me of me when I was your age, blah blah blah blah blah.” And my dad loved to tell that story. Loved to tell that story until that until his uh issues came up. And then my dad, he doesn’t tell that story anymore. Yeah. So, I mean, and that guy do did what he did. I don’t even remember his name. I don’t even remember the circumstances. I just knew it was Idaho and you’d have a reference point because of your Idaho roots. That’s why I brought that up. I I honestly I don’t remember any details, any name. I brought that up because I knew you would know. Uh, somebody Google uh Mike Crapo uh Minneapolis airport and that’s all you got to that’s all you got to do. All right. Thanks, PK. Appreciate it. Yeah, let’s do it again anytime.
• Morning Show host Patrick Kinahan
