HOUR 3 | Eric Spyropoulos breaks down the upcoming NBA Draft; which prospects will be available f…
your home for the best coverage of the Jazz Utes and Cougars is right here on The Zone this is JJ and Alex presented by G2G Bars on 975 the KSL Sports Zone welcome back JJ and Alex 975 the KSL Sports Zone jeremiah Jensen Steven Sylvester sitting in for Alex Cury if you’re an NBA fan and you’re a Utah Jazz fan it’s gonna be a fun week you got a game seven of the NBA finals on Sunday what a gift that is and then the NBA draft on Wednesday night lions season will be over we’re going to find out how it’s all going to shake out and there’s so much drama that’s being predicted and expected we’re going to get all that next with Eric Spopoulos of the Utah Jazz and NBA.com the finals and the draft are the cut at 5:00 it’s time for the biggest story of the day this is what made the cut with JJ and Alex on 975 the KSL Sports Zone give Trajan Wealth a call today your local financial fiduciary 8018997600 or visit their website at trajewealth.com and as always the cuts brought to you by G2G bars with all natural ingredients no preservatives and plenty of protein G2G bars are perfect for anyone who needs a tasty and nutritious boost we thank G2G bars for sponsoring JJ and Alex each and every day we welcome our guest in Eric Sparopoulos of the Utah Jazz.NBA.com does a great job covering the Jazz and the NBA eric we got to start with the NBA Finals because I don’t think a lot of people thought that the Pacers had it in them last night but they did we get a game seven what are your thoughts on what you saw in game six were you surprised that the Pacers responded the way they did i think that the normal answer is to say that you would be surprised but I don’t think with this Pacers team you know anything comes as a surprise anymore um especially you know with with um Hallebertton getting injured in game five you didn’t even know if he was going to be able to play and if he could play how would he what would he be able to do and he actually I thought looked pretty good all things considered um and I mean I think you know the patients made a couple of adjustments they weren’t picking up full court as much they put a lot more pressure in the half court um again their role players off the bench like TJ McConnell they just continue to play really well especially at home so we’ll see if that carries over to to Sunday and Oklahoma City but the OKC they just look kind of out of sync pretty early shay was was turning it over a lot they weren’t hitting threes um and and Indiana got out and then took advantage of it so I mean with this Pacers team you can never ever count them out and now they’ve given themselves a chance if they play one really great game to win an NBA championship man I I try to tell people all the time how important the crowd is right um both of these environments both Oklahoma City and Indiana um on TV it looks insane what have you heard about how great uh both of these home crowds have been in the NBA Finals yeah I mean you mentioned it just watching on TV i mean the amount of times that Mike Breen is saying that he can’t hear the whistle when he’s commentating the games says says it all um but I think that’s the best part you know one of the best parts about these finals is you know these two markets and their fan base is being able to kind of have this moment in the national spotlight and show just how great they are showing up and making each arena pretty much deafening for everyone involved including people watching from home so um I think you know OKC you you win as many games as you do to set yourself up for the opportunity to have game seven at your arena and so hopefully they’re going to try and take advantage of their crowd which is also I mean which has been just as incredible if not better when you look around the NBA you’ve seen players with calf strains end up with Achilles injuries kevin Durant recently Damen Lillard Jason Tatum i didn’t think that Tyresese Hallebertton was going to run the risk i I actually thought he was going to sit out i thought they were going to be really cautious and not let him play what does it say about him that he was willing to take that risk and he went out there last night i mean it says everything um I mean I agree with you i think there there’s such a high level of risk with that with that injury in particular um that you know even you know and the other thing is not only was he going to play but if he could if he went out there and played and just couldn’t be himself you know what kind of effect would that have on the on the offense because he is kind of that engine um and you know like I said I mean within the first few minutes you know he obviously was not 100% but he made a couple of plays was making I think the most important thing was he was still making those types of passes those kind of you know a little bit high-risk passes those really advanced passes that were allowing the offense to function even if he wasn’t at his best and then he hit a couple of threes in the first half and that was just kind of enough because the rest of his supporting cast um was able to kind of take over and help him but um yeah I think it just says everything about Tyrese and and just you know the that team that that mentality they have to just never give up and never quit um he is their he is their leader and he he went out there and showed why yeah man i could you talk about kind of roster depth and everything going on jj and I were talking a little bit earlier about the contributions of Connelly and Name Hard like how important when you get this late in the season in the finals it really comes to light these complete teams right and so both from Oklahoma City and Indiana how complete are these teams how important are these role players in stepping up in these big moments i mean massive i think you know the conversation for you know basically even in in these playoffs in the past few years has always been about like oh well you know you’re going to have to shorten your rotation anyways in the playoffs so like make sure you have your best seven guys ready and and go and I think these two teams are showing that um that’s not necessarily the case i mean I think the Pacers one of the huge advantages they had in their run to the finals in the East was just having more depth and being able to kind of outlast their opponents um because they play so hard they play so fast that they’ve got so many guys to be able to play that system without you know everyone having to play 40 plus minutes and being worn out um and OKC you know I think the big talking point with them all season is that their team is so complete from a defensive perspective that they really don’t put anyone out there on the floor that’s like a defensive liability for the most part um you know Shay is probably their worst defender in their starting lineup and he’s pretty good for you know for an MVP player historically good defense exactly and that’s because they don’t really have any weaknesses and that goes 10 11 deep um and so I think that’s what you’re seeing is that depth you know I think might have been underrated coming into these playoffs and I think maybe moving forward teams might look you know especially with the new CBA and the financial restrictions on you know big salaries teams might be looking extra hard at like how can we get a really good 10 or even 11man rotation versus just a sevenman rotation we don’t get game seven very often in the NBA finals in fact I think this is the only the eighth time uh sorry let me see yeah in the last 50 years oh this will be the ninth i’m sorry the ninth so this is rare this is a rare opportunity um the Nuggets pushed the Thunder to seven in the semifinals and the Thunder ended up blowing them out on their home court uh how is this going to be different or is it going to be different i think it’ll be different i mean most pretty much all game seventh have been close um from my recollection and I think the other thing is you know we just kind of talked that Nuggets team was very topheavy right like that was Nicole Joic Aaron Gordon playing with a pulled strained hamstring somehow um you know Jamal Murray and and a couple other guys but they didn’t have the depth that this Indiana team does um and also I just think that this Indiana team is is another level of just like grit toughness never give up playing hard playing fast like the the Pacers style of play could cause a problem for a team on any night even in a series like this where the where Oklahoma City’s obviously you know well adjusted and scouted them but um the Pacers can catch fire from deep they can run you off the floor you know they can play good defense like I think it’ll be different because this Pacers team is just much deeper and plays a different style than the Nuggets do well it is game seven on Sunday so before the weekend starts I I Let’s Let’s hear it what are your anticipations of how that game flow is going to go earlier I was talking about how important those inner those those middle quarters are right is this a game seven that could possibly have an overtime that’s what I dream of i dream of a game seven going into overtime right and does this have the capability what are you expecting and what do you think the ultimate outcome of this game seven on Sunday is going to be i I do expect a close game i think overtime would be amazing um I’m not sure we’re going to get it but I do think it’ll be close and you know I think as much as I kind of want to just like lean fully in on this Pacers run I do feel the homecourt advantage for the Thunder has been really significant in the series so far i mean you’ve seen a pretty stark contrast into how the Thunder have done on the road versus at home in the playoffs um and it’s carried over to this series and um you know some of the Pacers role players like a TJ McConnell um Obie Topphen like they haven’t been as good I think in OKC or on the road than they have been at home so I do think that could be a factor like if the Pacers go to their bench and they can’t either maintain an advantage or create an advantage you know what does that what does that do um and there’s also a potential for Tyrese to you know feel worse actually on Sunday with the injury after might swell up playing on it than he did last night so I think I’m going to go with OKC in a close win for the championship let’s turn our attention now to the Utah Jazz the NBA draft is on Wednesday Eric it’s one of our favorite times of the year it’s so much fun we love the draft and I also love everything else that’s going on around it with all the buzz about trades that could happen and all the transactions that could take place between now and then but I’ll start with the draft uh one of the biggest stories right now I think is Ace Bailey and if he falls obviously that would impact the Utah Jazz in one you know in some way whether they have to decide to take him or not what do you make of the stories come out about Ace Bailey how much of it is real and how much of it is being manipulated by by those who release information as we usually see of course it’s lying season yeah i mean I think that’s the biggest thing is that um you know there’s probably is a lot of truth to some of this but also you know certain teams want certain things out there to have him fall to them you know like I’m sure the Nets would love Ace Bailey to fall at eight and you know they would draft him to take that risk um and I’m sure there’s plenty of other teams that might even think about if he falls past a certain number do they trade up for him you know things like that um I think there’s also probably you know some legitimacy to you know his camp trying to get him in a in a place where he can play a ton of minutes have the ball in his hands and and put up stats uh basically from day one um I think you know it is interesting right if he does fall to five to the Jazz do they take the bet on his upside talent do they try and use that as leverage to get someone to trade up for him um I think you know the draft really does start at three with with the Sixers in my opinion and where Ace falls is is one of the the hottest storylines is Ace Bailey good enough for there to be this much drama what is it about Ace Bailey that you think is is so fascinating and how good of a prospect is he yeah I mean he he is a fascinating prospect because on the on the high end you know if you’re like trying to be super optimistic you’re looking at a guy who’s you know 68 69 who can just hit the hardest shots possible right if you imagine in a playoff game you need a bucket you know at the end of the game you’re throwing it to a 69 guy who can create that shot and hit it over a defender pretty much regardless of size that is the potential for him um with I think the the underrated aspect of his game being that he was actually pretty impactful defensively you know when he was locked in um you know with his size and his athleticism at that size he can be a pretty impactful defender too obviously there’s a lot of risk in terms of his shot selection he doesn’t have much of a handle he’s not playmaking for other for others um I think there’s the range on his upside versus his like his ceiling versus his floor I think is what is causing so much conversation and also I think a little bit of his is anchoring to you know he was a top three maybe top two prospect coming into the college season you know for the past year and so a lot of that you know that kind of stigma might be staying with him in terms of people saying well how could he fall out of the top five he was this great prospect coming into the season well I mean so you you hit on the Jazz possibly you know say Ace drops a couple his versatility is is absolutely electric i I see teams actually um trading up to to possibly be in the market there’s a lot of rumors of that too right and so you you kind of hinted at that that with the Jazz possibly leveraging their position and and and trading a couple to get more assets so you know being the Jazz guy here what what are the Jazz going to do here what are what are they looking for if you have the opportunity to get a ace Bailey okay do we jump at that do you um do you leverage that and get more opportunity to get other players as we talked about just now as you talked about with CBA cap room looking for more full roster of of capabilities what is the Jazz move here we do need an ace player i I think we we we need that i keep saying we the Jazz need that Lakers fans said Jazz or we I love it alex if you cut that I will cut you that’s right up there with the uh the excitement he has for BYU basketball promise but like what are the Jazz going to do here in this situation or what not what they’re going to do because we don’t know we’re not we’re not Danny H but like what should they do here in this situ situation say they do have the opportunity to get an ace what can they what are they going to do here in this situation to improve what they’ve been doing the last couple years so Utah fans aren’t subjected to these terrible seasons yeah I mean I think obviously that’s the golden question um I think you know from my perspective and this is only my perspective uh if Ace Bailey is available and you and obviously Austin Danny the front office has way more intel than we do but if you have good enough intel and you believe in your foundation as an organization you know top to bottom to draft a guy like Ace and maybe you know fight through some of the early struggles as he’s adapting his game and growing his game i think if he falls to five I would take the swing personally on the talent uh just on the talent alone um I think there’s a scenario where you know I think it’s it’s not you know super uncommon for people to actually view some of the other prospects in that range as as higher prospects than Ace Daily um I know there’s certain people who love VJ Edgecom a lot of analysts you know and a lot of Jazz fans I think on Twitter really love Trey Johnson um Khan Canipple like these are guys that the Jazz might evaluate as better prospects in their opinion in which case how the board falls you know unfolds going up to five will play will dictate a lot of it but then again when you’re looking at who’s available versus where you’re picking and if you think someone else is a better prospect they might be available later on that’s when the trade scenarios might come into play but you know with the question of Ace I think if he’s there at five and you have good enough intel and good enough belief in what you’ve got going on as an organization I think it’s worth the swing at five i wouldn’t necessarily say that at like three um depending on the team obviously Philly’s in kind of a win now mode but for the Jazz I think you know the swing at five does make more sense of course unless the Jazz make a move they’re going to pick at five and they have to really depend on what the Sixers and the Hornets decide to do but you look at a lot of mock drafts for what that’s worth trey Johnson seems to be the name that lands with the Jazz the most in that in these scenarios what can you tell us about Trey Johnson and why would he be a good fit with the Jazz i mean the number one thing to talk about with Trey Johnson is the three-point shooting i I think given his combination of off the catch and off the dribble three-point shooting he is probably the best shooter in the draft at least you know out of first round prospects uh I think Coniple is probably a better like catch and shoot maybe traditional shooter but Trey Johnson can shoot off the dribble at an elite rate and I think when you look at that skill set you know one being a bankable thing that can keep you in the league for a long time but also for a Jazz team like Will Hardy like they run a lot of offball actions to get three-pointers they take a lot of three-pointers um if you have a guy who can come in and shoot 40% from three on his shot diet which sometimes includes some tough shots um and he’s not afraid of the moment either as as a as a tough shot maker that’s where the appeal starts with um there’s other aspects of him i think his playmaking is is underrated it’s not like his number one skill set by any means on the offensive end but he can make some reads and some good passes um and there’s there’s a little bit potentially more upside with him I think because he does have pretty good athletic tools um he’s a good wingspan a good vertical he’s 66 like there’s some size there um so if he’s if he gets stronger and and fills out his frame um and can get downhill a little bit more you know he’s not necessarily a downhill driver as an offensive player he’s more perimeter oriented i think that’s where you you you talk about Trey Johnson it’s a guy at five with a lot of exciting offensive potential is Khan Canipple and Jeremiah Fears really in play for the Jazz at number five i think so i think Khan you know Khan Canipple is interesting because you know the the analytics love him you know he he kind of does a little bit of everything outside of his shooting like he can playmake a little bit he’s not I’m not a plus defender but I don’t think he’s really as bad as people think he is um I think there is a lot of kind of subjecting him to he’s just this white guy who’s a little bit slow and unathletic so he’s terrible on defense i don’t think that’s the case really um but you know there is there obviously are questions of you know not only his upside as a player but also like his situation at Duke was really good right he’s playing next to Cooper Flag they have uh Kaman Malawatch you know at center who’s also projected top 10 pick like there are there was an environment for him to thrive um but again he’s an elite shooter who can do more than that on the offensive end so I think when you look at the skill set and what he’s produced so far you have to consider him and Fears is very interesting because he’s kind of the opposite where he doesn’t he can’t shoot threes right now he was under 30% this year but he’s the almost the opposite of Trey Johnson he just gets downhill like he has a great handle he can definitely pass um and he can get you know he can create an advantage on offense now he needs to be able to shoot the three right jazz fans are familiar with you know Isaiah Collier you know getting downhill but not necessarily being able to shoot threes um and he has question marks because he’s small he’s a 6’2 guard um question marks on the defensive end so I think all these prospects you’re looking at key strengths and key weaknesses and you have to kind of filter through to see what you know you value the most that was a great breakdown of the draft it’s coming up on Wednesday we’re excited for it jazz fans are excited for it can’t wait to see what they decide to do between now and Wednesday eric Sporopoulos covers the Utah Jazz formbba.com eric thanks so much appreciate it always great having you on we’ll do it again soon thanks for having me eric Sparopoulos good breakdown of everything going on with the Jazz with the draft those are some of the names yeah I a lot of things could happen though between now and Wednesday there’s a lot of I don’t know what’s going on with the league right now but and it may end up being nothing like it usually ends up being a nothing burger but there’s a lot of buzz around the league sly that trades are going to happen um there’s going to be a lot of movement because teams are strapped for cash there’s no free agents out there and the only way to get better is through trades so I think you’re going to see a lot of fireworks between now and Wednesday we already saw Desmond Bane move in a blockbuster deal from Memphis to Orlando so I think there’s going to be even more coming up here in the next few days all right we got to take a break when we come back it’s the NFL Blitz we’re going to take a look at the 2026 NFL draft and some local guys are mentioned as prospects at each position we will get to that next jj and Alex 975 DKs Sports Zone all the latest news and notes from the league and the locals in the NFL jj and Alex bring you the NFL Blitz on 975 DKSL Sports Sum [Music] here’s [Music] the NFL Blitz begins right now but first let me say this do you have a product that you’re passionate about do you own a business and you want more people to know about it are you looking to break through get more clients sell more products we’re here to help you do that we would love to endorse your product or your business on our show it’s simple all you have to do is text JJ to 57500 and our sales staff will take care of the rest again text JJ to 575 you can ask Doug Smith Mitsubishi IBW Salt Lake City Fat Loss all of our partners have benefited tremendously from reaching you the viewers on this show if you want a business if you have a product you can join the club and you’re going to benefit in a big way we’re going to help you make money so join us again text JJ to 57500 it’s JJ to 57500 all right let’s get to the NFL Blitz the NFL draft in 2026 it’s never too early to talk NFL draft maybe it’s a little early but we’re going to do it why because there’s some local prospects on this list that ESPN espn.com has put out so some writers at ESPN.com ranked the top five prospects at every position in college football according to their draft uh position potential and as you’re rolling through a lot of these a lot of the usual sub suspects at different positions but as I’m scrolling through and I get down to offensive line offensive tackle specifically boom sly utah is mentioned not once but twice because Utah has two of the top five offensive linemen offensive tackles in the nation at number four on one list is Spencer Fono at number five is Caleum Lomu another rider has Spencer Fono as the number one offensive tackle NFL prospect in the country surprised by that no what um Spencer’s just so athletic i think he can play so many different positions you know we covered him in high school and you know he played offense until the state championship game he went and played defense and I’m like why is he not playing defense spencer Fono is so athletic he could play tight end here in this office he caught a pass on a two-point conversion right but just that I mean just he has the body to be so athletic and more or less you’ve I’ve seen guys like that in the NFL that’s so athletic they came from the tight end position and converted over to the tackle position he’s going to be a tackle his entire life and be that athletic he’s big he’s fast he’s smart he can play all styles of offense from downhill running to get out and run uh the big b the big dancing bear style um absolutely love that guy i actually didn’t know what didn’t notice him or maybe I forgot what he he cut his hair in the spring game and I go in interview and I’m just like who the hell are they bringing me right now i was like oh it’s Bald Spencer anyways it’s it’s the dude is just awesome him being on this list is tremendous and it shows you know you know investing in recruitment and he was one of the highly recruited guys in the country uh his senior year in Utah doing what it needed to do to get Logan and him here um was huge and I I just hope that pays off here this next year or two for Utah caleb Lomu uh you know he’s overshadowed a little bit by what Spencer’s done but Caleb’s on this list too at number five on one list and four on the other top five offensive tackle he has first round potential as well well yeah i mean Gres I mean we understand how important these offensive uh line positions are just as much as these athletic and quarterback positions to have a versatile offensive lineman and and when you look at Caleb you look at young aggression right and and now that he’s got another year under Harding he gets to harness that aggression and understand how to utilize it how to be under control as an offensive lineman as an alumni any alumni offensive lineman have to be proud of having two potential first round offensive linemen here at the University of Utah moving on down a list we get to defensive tackle and another name of local interest pops up it’s Keanu Tanavasa one of the writers has him as number three on their top five list you know Keanu well and watched him play what are your thoughts on his potential as an NFL defensive tackle i mean I I got to look at all these other guys on this list but Keano’s great when he plays he’s he’s dominant there’s not many people that can hold I’ve been around a lot of defensive tackles who’ve had great potential and and and help me out as linebackers they can eat up these blockers so I can fly free those are the best D linemen you want and Keano’s one of those guys keano gets it done man he’s going to a good system down there with uh Dill and uh Gary Anderson and Kehlani Sitakei and uh I think he’s going to have a tremendous here at BYU of course you got to make sure he stays healthy and and and be and able to contribute on the field but when he’s on the field you’re going to get you a baller no doubt he’s proven and that was a big pickup for BYU in the offseason and a big loss for Utah uh down at safety shocker a Utah safety with NFL potential Morgan Scall you’ve done it again teao Johnson ranked as the fifth best safety with NFL pro as an NFL prospect by one of the writers your thoughts on Teao uh I I know that they liked him when he when they found him and recruited him um and now he’s developed into a player that’s going to get NFL attention this season uh what kind of season do you expect from Teao Johnson i I expect it all i think he’s going to have a tremendous season i think he’s first team all conference team captain wow um I I I just think he’s ready and primed for that he was primed and ready when he was a freshman man um just talking to him understanding his journey from being an offensive guy a quarterback to transitioning to the nickel position and you know that nickel position is one of the hardest positions on the football field um and he just thrived at that you know when we had Sion Baky and um and Cole Bishop back there and he was just just as effective as those guys and now he’s going to have another year at the safety position uh under his belt you know they they had a a very strugglefilled uh uh year last year so he’s had that ups and downs and being able to understand where this defense can be when you struggle when you have a struggling offense or where this defense can be when you have an outstanding offense and so uh expecting big things out of him this year i think it’s going to be tremendous uh definitely worthy of being on this list he’s not afraid to to tackle anybody big small whatever he’ll throw his face in there and make it happen and you seen how athletic he is from returning blocked field goals to returning interceptions uh getting sideline to sideline he is definitely worth the praise and I can’t wait to see what he’s able to do this year so some good news there for some local NFL prospects we’ll see how they play this season uh real quick one more we got to get to Shador Sanders um apparently he’s got a lead foot twice cited for speeding this month um big deal or not i mean I I listen to a couple things this week about it and a lot of people are making more a big deal i I kind of read the headline and I’m like why is this a headline cuz it’s door exactly and so no it’s not a big deal for me 101’s not great well you know I I mean I’ve driven one too how many of us your stupid kids hit 101 you stupid kids there’s grown adults i bet you Tyreek Hill drives 130 every day uh yeah hey look personally I’ve been to Miami as I told you absolutely love it with some friends tough i’ve driven 135 140 on the freeway i’m I’m letting you guys know this don’t do it the statute of limitations up on Yeah it’s definitely it was it was about 10 years ago dump button for his own sake it was about 10 years ago it’s definitely gone but I’m just saying people they’ve done that i know it’s unsafe i know it’s this and that but for it to be a headline like this it’s got to be because it’s Shador um and he’s going to learn from it give him his ticket and move on like nobody’s got a speeding ticket before just come on man like I I get it i just don’t I just I’m not gonna put as much as much stuff as that guy has to deal with as far as pressure as far as questioning fifth round draft pick whatever he has to do you guys going to freaking blow up our airways over a speeding ticket you know what I’m going to say like people try to Here’s my problem people try to do the Henry Rugs comparison henry Rugs was there was alcohol involved in He was drunk from a club at 2:00 a.m that is very different than what what Shador is doing very different not a not a good comparison night and day difference come on now uh what I I I think Shador’s actually handled all this really well and I He’s a lightning rod he’s he’s he’s a coach prime son all that stuff i get it and they’ve chose to be a little bombastic and and they like to puff up their chest and but they have a lot of confidence and good for them right don’t we all wish we had a lot of confidence but I will say that he has handled this whole situation since then really well he didn’t ask to be put under a microscope the way he has been right but he’s handled it pretty well outside of hitting 101 and getting sided for speeding if that’s the worst thing Shadur Sanders ever does while he’s playing in the NFL whoopity do right for all for all I could tell other than you know being a rich kid right which he is let’s be honest right and you you can get a little arrogant and stuff with that right he’s not the first person he doesn’t have like these character issues that you know that people want to project or say right uh I think he’s going to do well in the NFL i think he’s going to surprise some people and get actually the the falling in the draft thing is going to be a blessing in disguise for him because it’s taking a lot of pressure off of him a lot of pressure if he would have been the number two overall pick in the draft I don’t think he would have been successful in the NFL i really don’t believe you that I believe that he would have been successful you’re now taking in the fifth round to the Cleveland Browns like there’s no pressure on him and he’s going to a place where they desperately need a quarterback and now he’s got time to develop into that quarterback we talk about it’s not when you’re drafted but where you’re drafted right i know Cleveland sucks but I think he got in the best position he possibly could be in considering the circumstance well he’s he’s surrounded in a good quarterback circle good quarterback position room and all I got to say is can they have a good quarterback guy come there and help teach him right if say he he had a Brian Johnson type of quarterback mentor these next two years to be able to make sure that he understands the game understands how to prepare understands all of this uh I think he would be great as I said like I thought he had second round second to third round grade potential for me but for him to drop to the fifth whoever’s getting him at that point I think the Steelers missed on getting him in the fourth and even trading up in the fifth to get him as soon as he got drafted then you go draft the the Ohio State guy he’s not anywhere close to as talented as Sanders right after that and you’re paying that guy not as I mean the the the amount of money you’re paying between the two is minimal if you know business you go get Shadore 100% for marketing they didn’t they didn’t want the the Sanders circus that’s all they didn’t want but here’s the thing the Steelers can control they want the Aaron Rogers circus exactly say it say it again for the guy in the back who missed it the Steelers didn’t want the Sanders circus but they’re okay with the Aaron Rogers circus all right mister i I can’t listen to Bluetooth headphones i can only do wired headphone yeah all right that’s more of a headline than speeding anyway I digress not sure what the Steelers are doing and you’re a you’re you’re you or yourself are a Steelers so nobody knows better than you so that is your NFL blitz on this Friday great stuff we got to take a break when we come back best and worst next jj and Alex 975 the KSL Sports Zone wrapping up the hour with our picks for the best and worst moments on today’s show as JJ and Alex want to hear your best and worst of the day [Music] welcome back JJ and Alex 975 the KSL Sports Zone it’s time for best and worst it’s brought to you by Doug Smith dealership our friends at Doug Smith Dodge Ram Chevrolet Subaru Kia and Lynon and now my favorite dealership Mitsubishi and American Fork let’s start with the worst kevin Durant refutes Demarcus Cousins allegations of locker room fist fights during the Sun’s disappointing season i feel like if something like that happened it’d be pretty hard to bottle that up right yeah what’s Demarcus Cousins doing no what are you talking about people have fist fights all the time people don’t know about it you think that they You think it’s possible that the Suns had fist fights in their locker room i’m actually more surprised that they How would that not get out cuz it’s locker room that happens all the time professional NBA players getting in fist fights in their locker room i’m sure it’s not as rough as the NFL players but Look I’m saying it’s I’m not saying it’s not possible i’m just saying like wouldn’t word leak out about that no you know how many fist fights we had in 2025 yeah it’s all internal the only reason that people knew about fist fights for for us in football is because we had open training camps where you were a lot of people of the moment on a football field hey basketball gets heated too you ain’t sure sure sure sure you seeing these old guys on the court get angry i mean we all know about Draymond Green and and Jordan Pool right right but they had recordings if it’s in the locker room nobody’s having cameras in the locker room i I Hey that is not a far-fetched thing and it happens all the time the problem is Demarcus Cousins is trying to act like that’s that’s first of all I’m pretty sure he was in tons of fist fight stuff um but to act like that’s a rarity and that’s a key issue behind whatever happened with the Suns is is what’s more surprising to me but fist fights happen all the time grown men come on it would have been amazing if it had but Katie said it never happened so of course he’s going to say that i’m glad he didn’t say that i guess I guess we move on uh best how about the Cubs welcoming back Sammy Sosa after a 20-year absence at Wrigley Field uh yeah I don’t I He’s He’s set to be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame this year i know it’s been weird with Sammy throughout baseball right how do you process and handle how amazing that home run thing was but then learning the truth about it all and having to process it i think it’s taken some time but I’m glad to see that Sammmyy’s back at I think that we have to re-evaluate how we look at that era look were they cheating if you want to call it that sure so what you don’t think there was cheating in 1935 and 1955 and 1975 in Major League Baseball how are you Why are we judging that era of baseball players differently because they were juicy they learned it from somewhere they played the game it happened right their records happened their stats happened you’re just gonna sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn’t exist what’s funny is there’s a comedian who said something like that where it’s like yeah they were juicing who cares we were entertained weren’t we exactly i was like how much fun did we have seeing Mark Maguire Sammy Sosa Barry just jacking these balls up every weekend that was good baseball that’s probably when the ratings were highest for MLB that felt like the apex of baseball and it’s been downhill since as far as interesting growth i mean if that’s the case the guy was just like “Why don’t we just create a league where it’s known it’s good and and we could just do that?” Like the All Steroid Olympics remember that on Saturday Night Live yes the guy who goes to lift the he goes to deadlift and his arms come completely off is that where we’re going to get to all steroid baseball let’s do it you want to do it this is where it’s at okay welcome back Sammy all right that’s a wrap for this segment we got more coming up next jj and Alex 975 DDK the KSL Sport Zone
Hour 3 of JJ & Alex with Jeremiah Jensen and Alex Kirry.
• Eric Spyropoulos, Utah Jazz writer for NBA.com
• NFL Blitz: Who are the top 5 prospects at each position for the 2026 NFL Draft
• Best and Worst of the Day
