Full Show: Utah Jazz Trade Collin Sexton | Jake Retzlaff’s Civil Lawsuit Dismissed | LeBron James…
happy Monday Jake and Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jake Scott Ben Anderson thank you for making us a part of your day your week your month however you’re uh consuming us as well You can uh listen to the show a variety of different ways KSLports.com over the radio YouTube streaming the KSL Sports app Uh what am I uh what am I missing here bendalo Podcast our beloved podcast listeners Yeah if you ever missed part of the show just go back and listen to it at your leisure just simply search out the uh the Jay Convent Show Hi Ben Hey Jay
What’s up
how are you buddy
you have a busy weekend
i did
Yeah I could Yeah I’ I’d say uh which we will dive right into We realize there is an update in the Jake Rutzoff situation which we’ll get to in the top three stories today
at kslports uh.com I’m doing that for me I’d rather I’d rather get started talking about really interesting basketball stuff over the weekend So I it I’m guilty of being selfish here Apologies All right that’s fine
Because the the Ratsoff thing is a huge story So long and short of it the breaking news is that lawsuit is going away Yes
So we’ll get into it Top three stories of the day at kslports.com
Right
But the Jazz draft pick showed up
Jazz draft pick showed up Predictably showed up
Jazz made a trade free agency opens tonight at 6 or 4 pm So we got uh this a big this is a big NBA day
So I think you should take us through uh take us through what happened the press conference and everything
Um my understanding is everything has gone smoothly and I was there yesterday Yeah You know
um but everything went smoothly and everything I’ve heard from people behind the scenes and
what they said yesterday I think is all accurate I don’t think there has really been any push back since the Jazz drafted Ace Bailey I don’t think there was any hesitance to come here I you know I I suspect they explored maybe their options but my understanding at least I get the sense that the Jazz were pretty strategic in how they approached the entire draft as far as letting anyone else know what they wanted to do and maybe even letting Ace Bailey camp know what they wanted to do because if he doesn’t know they want to draft you remember Ace last week said “I didn’t know they had any interest in me.”
Uhhuh that might be true and the Jazz may have done that on purpose to just say whatever We’ll invite you for a workout It’s our due diligence If you don’t want to come okay and then the Jazz just never fought it and pushed harder A to keep it a mystery for the rest of the teams in the NBA So no one traded up in front of the Jazz to get them because they liked Ace Bailey and also so Ace Bailey’s camp can’t make a big stink about not going to Utah If we don’t ask and you think it’s not an option we’ll talk about Jeremiah fears a lot and then at the last second we’ll actually reveal what we actually want which is Ace Bailey and I believe the Jazz quite liked him in the draft and you know it’s what we heard from Austin A uh last week is that they talked two weeks ago and said that their ideal draft would have been Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton He goes by Walt Clayton by the way and they were able to execute that So I I don’t think there’s been as much push back as as certainly the national media reported if any And then all the intel I’ve heard on Ace since he’s arrived in Salt Lake has been glowing other than he’s very young Uh first thing I love the going by Walt Love it
Yeah
Love it that he he goes by Walt I like old school names you know I’ve got a daughter Maggie Margaret
Yeah Love it Walt Okay so I can get used to that certainly
Two we do have some minor breaking Jazz news and then I do have comment on what uh on what you said
Sham says the Utah Jazz are waving forward Johnny Juang making him a free agent Yeah
Uh
he has guaranteed a today as is fe Yeah
Um yeah good luck to Johnny He got a lot better here
He’s gonna stick He’s gonna find a spot
in the Yeah absolutely I thought he played well
He’s like 67 He can he can shoot the cover off the ball He’s going to like Denver should go grab him
And a character guy
Lakers should grab him Whatever You need spacing You need to not pay him any money He’s a good option
Absolutely So best to Johnny Um but as far as Ace Bailey goes and and the noise and all that stuff it doesn’t matter It’s never mattered What does matter is that it’s a good opportunity for him And whether he realized it yesterday or a week ago or has yet to realize it it is true The Jazz over the last couple of years drafting going for a guy have yet to find a guy an identif identifiable young stud They haven’t found Donovan Mitchell You know they haven’t found Rudy Goar as of yet
Now you know me put some weight on Cody Williams and let’s see where that goes Yeah Taylor Hendricks get him healthy Let’s see where that goes I’m not writing anybody off but as of today that guy is not identified
Agreed
So that’s a good spot for a dude like Ace Bailey who’s going to come in riding a lot of momentum with the fifth pick And all the believe it or not all the controversy surrounding it is really putting him as a focal point going into summer league and going into camp which if you’re thinking about basketball opportunity is a really good thing you step in looks like they’re leaning into going young And we’ll talk about the Colin Ston thing in a minute Uh and you’re gonna have the opportunity to be a star right away which is something that was reportedly very or not very important I shouldn’t put words in his mouth but it’s something that he wanted
Wanted once once
And you’re going to be a star here He’s going to get a ton of attention
Yep And a long leash
And you know I don’t know We can get into you know what people know about Utah and what they don’t but it seems pretty of now it’s not 100% but it seems pretty often to me the players don’t know what they’re getting into when they get here and then all of a sudden it’s like oh this is pretty good Oh I don’t know what people were telling me about this This isn’t bad I mean uh our guy thorough Big T Bailey which I always love his story because it’s actually kind of similar to my dad’s in a couple of ways but um not that my dad was an NBA superstar but they came from similar parts of of the country and came west and loved it But um he’s from Prince George’s County Maryland
goes to college in North Carolina in what is Durham NC State’s in Durham which honestly isn’t that big of a leap necessarily but then gets drafted by the Jazz It comes way out west Huge leap and uh luckily we still see Thorough on the rag
Yeah
And and I don’t want to put words in his mouth either but he seems like he likes it here I’m guessing
uh Derek Favorvers had a nice tweet about Salt Lake City over the weekend
Ben I’m so happy that more voices came out defending Yeah
Kendrick Perkins of all people
Yeah
Defended Utah Utah doesn’t get enough of that
Yep
They We don’t And we could theorize on why not My theory is is that this state only goes national news
for the wackiest stuff
Sure And so people it feeds the mis uh conception that is that is already out there and then people go oh
I mean even right down to again this Jake Rzoff stuff which we know the nuance of it with BYU but people don’t and then they cast judgments on a community that by the way is quite normal
Yeah it is
And has a lot of benefits
Yeah
And you can live a perfectly happy welladjusted life regardless of what your interests are And I mean that Yeah
you know if you want to go to the bar there’s some fun spots
Not you Ace You’re 18 years old Yeah I mean Hatch could tell you all about him
Yeah
he’s down there every weekend
He’s been banned for most of them
Kicked out
You know it
You know you can you can find stuff You can It’s It’s You can And it’s It’s not as proficient as it is in other areas of the of the country It’s not You know we don’t we don’t stay open as late as a lot of places Our liquor laws are different than a lot of places I don’t think that’s the primary focus for most NBA players is what are their liquor laws you know but there are there are things that make it harder There might be a smaller dating pool you know there are things that I’m sure make it harder I I do recognize that but I do think the some of the baseline stuff gets really overblown about how different we are than anywhere else
I’d ever tell you the story about my brother got uh was caught up in a raid on an illegal
Uhhuh
bar Yeah And it’s a it’s a funny story He had no idea it was an illegal bar He just knew that it was open late He didn’t think anything of it
Then all of a sudden the cops kicked in the door and stormed it But he had a friend on the inside
He did have a friend on the inside
Lucky him So no I thought I thought it was good I thought last night was good I thought um or I should say yesterday afternoon was good for the the press conference And I everything I’ve heard is again Ace is just extraordinarily enthusiastic about being in the NBA and is happy about Utah and has liked his first 24 hours And again it was unscripted He got off the plane and the first thing he wanted to do was come to the gym They were supposed to go to the hotel drop your stuff off jet lag whatever You want to rest go home we’ll give you a tour then we’ll go out to dinner He said “No I want to go straight to the gym and work out.” And he did
Smart
I think he’s that’s that’s smart
I do think he’s about basketball I do think that is the nice thing for him And you see if you can keep every player on that path you know millions of dollars and fame changes people in a lot of ways And this isn’t specific to Ace Bailey you know but he uh so far I think it’s been it’s gone off without a hitch
Or at least that’s what they’re going to tell us which is fine Which is fine
But I haven’t heard anything to the contrary And again they start practice right now or they start practice in 15 minutes for the first summer league practice He’s there It’s listen with the draft whether you like it or not all of a sudden you’re on the same team as somebody quite literally but you
it’s to your mutual benefit to pull in the same direction at least at the start
Yes
And if I mean I don’t I don’t know if he ever understood or what what he understood but I think most players eventually understand that
As you said last week too and again I I hate to make it seem like it’s even contentious I don’t think there’s contentious contention at all I don’t think there’s two fights two sides fighting against each other at all in this situation So I hate to even talk about it like this but he also has zero leverage
Yeah it doesn’t matter
There’s just no leverage there So I’m sure you realize that really quickly
Probably why he wanted to see the facility in the gym right away He’s like I’m going to be spending a lot of time here Yeah
Let’s see how this is going to work
Yeah But
how’s the hot water in the shower
i think he’s about getting to work And I think that’s what the Jazz want you know Yeah Good I mean that that’s all good I think these uh all three of those guys at the press conference yesterday are going to have a chance to make an impact if they want And that appears to be the direction um that the Jazz are going to go And it’s it’s Yeah it’s smart It’s fine
Y
um one of those indicators that that is the direction they’re going to go is the Jazz did make a trade as well yesterday You know two for one you’re already working You might as well be
sure pounding out a story about a trade
Yeah Uh Colin Ston and a 2031 second round pick are headed to Charlotte for Yousef Nerkach Look this is a terrible trade
I It confuses me too
I’m not confused by it The Jazz have too many guards They’re not trying to win games next year Colin Ston is both a guard and he’s going to help you win games So
I understand that part No no no There are other things I don’t understand
What I don’t understand is there’s not a better market for Colin S
Yes You have to attach a pick to get off Colin
Yeah You had to give up assets to get off him to get a very average to below average backup set
Oh yousef is not a factor That’s what’s weird about it
right
that they had to eat Yousef’s contract and attach a pick to get off of Colin That seems crazy to me I That’s what is that’s what I don’t understand I understand the motivation Absolutely For the reasons that that you just laid out
Yeah And it’s that simple The Jazz want to clear room for the young guys And Yousef Nerkage has my favorite origin story in the NBA but I don’t know He’s not doing anything for anybody He’s just
you know
soaking up a paycheck
Yeah he’s the backup center behind Walker Kesler I expect Walker Kesler to be here next season I think he’s going to be the starter for the long run for the Utah Jazz and Yousef’s going to back him up for a year and they’re going to get to free agency and have all this cap space next summer which is something that Austin H by the way said in his very first press conference that he values and he thinks you know uh having salary cap space and wiggle room there it’s probably more valuable than just having expiring contracts
What does Colin have left too 19 million just one year in 19 He was the same
So they’re both expiring contracts
Yeah they’re both expiring contracts I don’t think the Jazz wanted to get more money on the books that was going to last beyond this year So you limit yourself to players making $19 million or less on expiring deals So there’s not a huge pool there But I I’m This was a very underwhelming return for a good player in Colin Ston
Well that’s what makes it even more baffling there It’s not like like if you were moving off an extra year of his contract there Okay All right
Yeah
So you get an expiring one you chop off a year Well that makes some sense This this is no value at all Nothing
My theory and I was told this was wrong but my theory was this trade was discussed before the draft and it would have allowed the Jazz move from five to four So they could have gotten their guy and Charlotte could have dropped back to five and still taken Coniple and the Jazz could have made sure that nobody traded up to four because that actually would have made sense to me right you move up a pick in the top five you take back Nerkich they get Colin Ston So they get a little bit of value they get a better player you get a better pick that like makes total sense to me I was told that did not happen So that’s how far I was trying to just like go to understand why the Jazz would do this deal outside of um outside of clearing room for the young players And my sense is there’s just not a market for guys like this right now And I wonder if Colin’s values hurt a little bit because I think circumstantially purely he’s been on losing teams throughout most of his career I don’t think Colin Ston is a losing player
No I don’t either I think he can help good teams win And I think the same thing is there for John Collins And my guess is because we know the Jazz are trying to trade John Collins Uh if the market was there for him he’d be gone already too because we’ve seen names move in the last couple of weeks So I just I just don’t think there’s a robust trade market right now for guys like that And maybe the salaries are weird and maybe the one-year expiring thing is weird but I don’t I just don’t think the Jazz are going to get good assets back from these guys
Yeah
I mean clearly they didn’t to give up an asset to get off Colin which is
uh which is tough I’m sure that was a t swallow I guess in theory you get worse which is a a good thing
Well this is the thing and this is you know it goes back to Austin Ang’s debut press conference when he answered the questions about tanking and said “We’re not going to do that anymore The Jazz are not going to be inauthentically bad on the court The Jazz are not going to rest guys sit guys not allow Will Hardy to coach to win They don’t want to do that anymore and that is what happened last year So they’re going to have to be authentically bad on the court And how do you be authentically bad on the court you inauthentically lose trades off in the off season
Maybe it’s something else is coming You know I remember when Pat Riley not that this is happening but Pat Riley made all these wild trades right before he signed LeBron and Dwayne Wade and you’re like what on earth and then it’s like oh yeah well they signed LeBron I think the
they traded Michael Beasley who was the second pick in the draft for like a a bag of potato chips and it was like what on earth are they doing and it’s like oh okay
I think the Jazz are just going to go yeah I think they’re going to have Lowry we’ll see what happens with SI Walker Kesler is kind of your premier players doesn’t count in this conversation obviously but but Walker and Lowry are going to be your premier players and it’s going to be all youth movement around them and you let Will Hardy go to town and you probably win 28 games and you’re still in the lottery and you’re not giving up your draft pick VHD will help you lose
He might He might But he is a veteran uh he is a veteran in the locker room who potentially at the trade deadline could have some value for a team wanting to add Hail Mary shooting Yeah And by the way I’m fine with uh going the maintain our integrity route because like you’ve said many times doesn’t feel like last year felt very good to very many people
I don’t think anyone liked it I don’t think the players liked it you know and it’s hard to know Like do you know if Keont is a good player i I don’t know He’s been in a lot of weird situations right he comes off the bench to start his career but he’s in the lineup right away so he didn’t really have to earn it I mean he earned it a little bit but not the way some young guys have to then he gets moved to the bench Then he comes back and starts the second half of the season Then he starts the beginning of his second season Then he gets benched halfway through I don’t want to say bench but moved to this the six-man role Maybe try and win and see what he does Maybe just put him in more authentic situations and see if he’s a good player because I don’t know right now if you know but there’s some juice there You know he’s got some talent So I think that’s what they want to do with all of these young guys
Light a fire Ben
Yeah And maybe Keonte makes this step Walker made
Yeah Absolutely right
He has to he has to learn a similar lesson Absolutely So maybe that happens
Yeah
And that that is a thing I mean talk to not that this specifically happened to Hans but talk to Hans the vibe about when a team drafts somebody at your position
Yeah You know it’s like okay I’m on notice And Walt has a lot of juice coming out of Florida
Yes Does a lot of the same things as Kee right
might do them better Exactly And Keonte needs some motivation to get to play hard He does We’ve talked a lot about it But it does sound like he’s had a very good summer
You’re right Keep a good summer
Everybody’s had a good summer
But I’ve specifically heard Kee had a very good summer
Big 12 media day It everybody’s had a good
Kante was singled out specifically
Who was our guy who swindled us from Houston last year it was We’re like “Oh this guy’s going to win 12 games.”
Uh yeah the Houston’s coach from Tulsa Guys look at this team We’ve had a really good summer
What’s his name fritz I was going to call him Frizzle Yeah Fritz Willie Willie Fritz
big Willie style
Jake Ben boy
they beat Utah
these guys have
they did beat Utah
true what was their final record it was better than what we thought right
I think they won like five games right
yeah somewhere because they beat Kansas State also didn’t they in the middle of the season I think they beat Kansas
right celebrating our guy Fritz
maybe he was right
yeah everybody we’ve had a great summer all right uh we’ve got top three stories of the day kslports.com coming up next uh it is The Jake and Ben show on a Monday 975D KSL Sports Zone Ladies and gentlemen may I present
This is JJ and Alex
Watching an unlikely champion like the Florida Panthers They sucked forever One of the most irrelevant pro sports franchises of the last two decades until 2022 They’re the eight seed They end up running making a run to the Stanley Cup final Ever since then they’ve dominated this league It takes time The Panthers had to be patient They got the right guy to lead it It all came together for them So now we’re dreaming of a Stanley Cup here because we have an NHL team You watch the Florida Panthers do it The Stanley Cup going places that no one ever thought it would be Why not here why not in Utah you’re thinking about okay what could the Utah Mammoth do to make this happen and now it’s a reality like this is something the Mammoth can go do And I think that Ryan Smith is going to be highly motivated to provide the resources to do it And I think you got a general manager who could build a Stanley Cup championship team The parts are in place here to be able to do something like this
Catch JJ and Alex afternoons from 3 to 6 Presented by G2G bars on 975 the KSL Sports Zone
Jacob 975 the KSL Sports Zone It’s time for the top three stores of the day KSLports.com sponsored by Jbrooks Jewelers Cherish your love with Jbrooks Jewelers Explore their expertly crafted engagement rings made from the finest materials Jbrooks Jewelers Christian uh is vacationing this week He’s off having a good time Uh so Hatcha Hatch is uh filling in I was talking to to Hatch about this I bet it is hot and humid If you’ve ever been to Minnesota in the summer it’s not really what you would picture
There are people who joke that Minnesota’s state bird is a mosquito Yeah
Yeah Been there
Yeah
Very hot Yeah Very muggy All right Hatch where are we starting today
all right Number one BYU quarterback Jake Rzoff is leaving BYU and as of earlier this morning the civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault by him has officially been dismissed Uh according to our own Mitch Harper KSLports.com attorneys for both RSLAF and the unnamed woman known as Jane Doe filed a joint motion to dismiss with prejudice the case on Monday meaning it will not be brought back to court However Jake Rzoff has announced that he’s leaving BYU
Yeah
he hasn’t announced it formally The reports are that he is leaving and yeah
he’s leaving And the backstory is there There was a recommended threeame suspension which has kind of been in the ether for a little while it got bumped up to seven games
So from what I understand and I I trust me I’ve been on the phone all weekend about this is that his side wanted a three-game ban They said “We’ll take three games.”
BYU whether that’s the board of trustees university leadership came back said “No it’s seven games.”
Seven games
Believe that’s untenable And therefore he is leaving And this is his last year of eligibility Correct So that doesn’t make really any sense for him to miss seven games
for his future alone
Yes Honestly BYU doesn’t want him back either I speculate I would guess that they just want to be rid of this situation and and regardless of the outcome in court which I hope you know it works itself out appropriately I suppose that’s what the system is uh designed for Uh but to bring if BYU were to bring him back in any way shape or form and at this point it would be a bad look I you know I wondered why all this was taking so long and the answer is probably to find the best outcome for everybody honestly whether that’s appropriate or not And I don’t want to speak about the victim necessarily but BYU still can say we have our standard We live up to it and this is our honor code and we’re proud of it Jake can go find a different place and Jake will find a place to play This will allow Jake to go and find a new place and probably be a day one starter right
because what Jake is alleged to have done
and has what he has acknowledged that he did is not a crime at any other school It’s not suspension worthy at any other school
Not any other school but yeah most schools
Most other schools So
keep an eye on Notre Dame
Yeah it’s kind of Yeah that’s what everybody’s saying which And you know what he and Notre Dame will have to answer questions about this as soon as he gets there And that’s what I’m saying BYU just can’t have that But today’s move to just say “Look guys it was dismissed Her side dismissed it too Yeah it was a big misunderstanding.” Or whatever you want to say going forward he now can start day one It’s a big loss though Look there’s a reason BYU would want Jake Rzoff He’s a good quarterback
Yeah and they have a good team
They’re good He’s good He showed he could win Put together some absolutely massive drives for BYU Had some really clutch performances at BYU He’s a good player This is a major loss for BYU This is going to be difficult going into a season where I think a lot of guys returned to school and skipped the draft because they wanted to come back knowing that they had a quarterback who could win
Why did Lloyd just come in here
i don’t It’s always disconcerting when Lloyd just walks in gives Ben a dirty look and then walks out Are you in trouble
he’s trying to figure out the temperature in here
Well we’re artificially adjusting the temperature Say that out loud But anyways uh this is a big loss for BYU and whoever starts next year it’s going to be you know I don’t want to say starting from square one because that’s not the case They’ve had some quarterbacks in the system but if it’s a Bachmeire who comes in it’s some it’s a big leap It’s a big gamble on a new player Well it definitely I mean they would have been a favorite in the conference as far as I’m concerned Yeah
If uh if he were to play No I I would not lump them into that category probably
No they still have an opportunity The pathway is there but we’ll see But who knows
yeah You are asking the most difficult position in all of sports to figure it out nearly on the fly
Yes
And A-Rod’s going to have to work his wonders again to get somebody up and running
young and who’s never done it before And
Jake am I wrong hatch am I wrong this is four different starting quarterbacks in four years at BYU Yeah And if you’re talking about day one like
Yeah Day one starters
of the season Yeah It’d be four and four years Now it’s going to be a three-way battle because you have McKay Hilstead Trace Borgay and then the newly arrived Bear Bachmeire who factor into this race And but to your point Ben
it’s hard to say that you can just go and replace a guy who led you to an 11-2 record and number 13 overall ranking and say “We’re going to be just fine.”
And Bachmer Myers never taken a snap right
correct He went through two weeks of spring ball at at Stanford There’s just the unknowns when it comes to quarterbacks is is the the great wild card You know it turned out when Urban Meyer took the job at Utah in 2003 he inherited a quarterback situation that was arguably the best in the country
Yeah
Because Brett Elliott turned out to be really good and he was the one that Urban picked Brett got hurt and Alex Smith came in and we know the end of that story I mean Urban Meyer had no idea he had the number one pick in the draft on his bench He had no clue Nobody did
Yeah No that’s You wouldn’t expect that at Utah
John El Smith’s nephew right
you know
Yeah
The guy who handed the ball to Reggie Bush for his entire high school career That guy that guy’s number one You’re kidding
Yeah
You know so there’s so much of a randomness to it I mean we’ve seen uh how about Hatch back in the 90s Take a BYU example How about uh God what was it was it It was Paul Shoemaker V Matt Barry
No it was prematt
Oh no You’re talking
Is it Ingaman
it was Brad Angman Yes it was Shoemaker and Enamman
And Enamman And it turned out that they both stunk
Yeah Yeah
You know it was who was going to take the mantel from Sarkc right when Sark left
Well Federric kind of took over
Maybe it was Federick and Shoemaker That’s
Federick and Shoemaker And then it was Enamman versus kind of the Matt Barry Lance Pendleton era Like there was there was a run there
Matt Barry v John Beck That was that cuz
well Barry played through like three different quarterback battles and ended up yeah the John Beck one was
and until they got to John Beck oh no actually until they got to Brandon Dolman they really didn’t have anybody well yeah Dolman let’s be honest
and then they accidentally played Domenolman which which plays into this beautifully they lavel tried to switch Dolman to safety for years
they were they hit bottom barrel with quarterbacks and said Domenolman get in there and give it a shot I guess
and struck goal
and all of a sudden he’s an NFL quarterback trick You know you just never know That’s the You don’t know There is a There is a thing about actually being on the field when the lights are to the brightest and some guys flourish and some guys fail and you can’t tell from practice alone obviously cuz everyone would get it right and that’s not the case
Jay Heaps is the spinning image of that Looked great in practice and games was a different story
Cam rising is the flip Couldn’t win the starting job and then he gets out there and you’re like okay Yeah So anyways number two
We got to get off this guy Have you seen him practice then all of a sudden he’s winning conference championships Who knows yep It’s crazy Next
All right Number two the Utah Mammoth complete the NHL entry draft and open mini camp today up in Park City
Caleb Deno
Sounds pretty sweet Drafted number four overall
Camp up in Park City
I do like that this gets started right away They get up there they get on the ice So uh Caleb the number four overall pick is gonna be up there He goes by Desi which is a great nickname Um Kobo Dwa from last year is is there Ta Gin’s up there but he’s not really able to fully compete and everything because he had double hip surgery
Yeah we’re we’re not going to see Desi for probably a year
Yeah probably about that
Usually how it goes So we’ll see And the development the ex I we’ve got to manage our expectations with this NHL thing It just goes a little slower than we’re used to than the NBA
And it’s exciting You know everyone gave Utah very high uh very high grades for drafting him seems to be universally beloved by his you know peers at that age There seems to be a lot of belief in him as a player Something he may have slightly lower upside than some of the other stars drafted at the top but he has won every single place he’s gone That’s kind of his reputation He just wins So we’ll see how quickly he can get into the lineup and probably backs up Logan at that center position But a lot of young talent on this team It’s kind of cool
It is cool and it’s cool to see them build build a squad The big trade was fun to cover last week and we’ll see where they go They could certainly have gotten some luck lately
Yeah it’s been a good summer for the Mammoth and for Bill Armstrong All right what’s next
all right number three The Utah Jazz begin summer league practices like right now
This is going to be a pretty loaded summer league roster Now that doesn’t mean anything Who cares you know but
you go down the list it’s going to be all of the young players minus Kee George and Walker Kesler
Um
but you’re talking about Isaiah Collier No Taylor Hendricks He’s still hurt Um Kyle Filipowski Ace Bailey John Tani Walt Clayton Jr Bryce Sens is going to play in Salt Lake City He’s not going to play in Vegas but he’s going to play in Salt Lake Cody Williams number 10 overall pick last year Uh and then you’ve got a couple of other guys who have signed that are coming in I don’t get the impression uh Oscar Sheway is going to play but I think he is with the team still
All right So you’re going to see some names some guys that uh that you’re going to see In fact the summer league should be full of some interesting prospects So
and then a couple of you know a handful of other names just to fill out the rosters but I and imagine that comes out today I mean the practice is happening today so I suspect we will get a
Oh I bet the coaches are running them
A full roster You know what we do on day one
we run
We run a lot
Get used to the altitude
Yeah that’s a thing Maybe take them hiking or something
Yeah Going to enzyme Run up the run up the hill
Go to the top of Mount Olympus man
But it’s uh it should be fun And uh again games start on Saturday up at uh the Huntsman Center because Delta Center is under construction so you’re going to have to go to Huntsman Center to watch these games But should be very cool
Yeah it was it was funny to listen to PK this morning I remember the last time they had summer league at the Huntsman Center It was the Gordon Hayward off season Yeah
And it was Summer League started what the It was in the the next day maybe after Gordon Hayward left
I believe that But we were up broadcasting on the it was PK and I we were broadcasting on the uh the plaza and they were doing you know fun stuff like shooting contests and all that and I remember Dennis Lindsay walking by us Ben and he didn’t sit down for an interview He just walked by us and his face said a thousand words
Yeah I believe it
That was a guy who was having a rough go What he probably didn’t recognize was that basically the second Donovan Mitchell took the floor in summer league there was a there was a there was a thing there There was no Gordon Hayward
Yeah This was preame one Uhhuh
There was a real like as soon as he got on it you thought “Oh this might be okay
Jazz might be okay because it was Donovan Mitchell versus Jason Tatum just going headto-head at each other.” And it was a really a fun matchup there So u you know I don’t think you need to expect Ace Bailey or Wall Clayton Jr for anyone to be Donovan Mitchell day one but there’s going to be a real buzz around this team There’s going to be a lot of eyeballs on Ace
That is the interesting thing about summer league There are a lot of not Donovan Mitchell A lot
Yeah And as far as refereeing goes there’s also a lot of not uh Dick Beeta Well no Bad example Who’s a good official oh uh Kennedy Our guy Billy Kennedy Yes he is a good official Billy Kennedy knows what he’s doing
There’s a lot of not Billy Kennedy’s
in the summer You know what I mean a lot of guys liking to call fouls
Well are they Isn’t that a training ground Ben you know this Isn’t it a training ground for officials they’re bringing G-League officials and the like in to like give them a try
Yeah it’s an audition for everybody
And there’s unlimited amount of fouls in the summer league So they’re not going to let a foul go uncalled And it does make for a clunky game
but fun nonetheless I shouldn’t discourage people from going because summer league does have its charm for sure Uh and you know I’m really curious to see how Cody Williams looks Has he done Has he made any progress
i hope he’s fat
He’s not because you can trim fat You know what I mean but he needed the bulk to begin with Like Mack and Always Sunny
You saw the I’ve seen some workout videos of him that the Jazz have posted He doesn’t look fat He does look more muscular but I don’t think he’s
put on a ton of weight
He just can’t be He just got pushed around so much last year
Yeah Well you know what isaiah and uh and Kiante were both at the press conference yesterday and apparently went to dinner with uh with Ace Bailey and and Tanji and and with Walt Clayton Like that’s a real investment in those guys I think you’re bringing those guys around to meet the young core That means they’re a part of the young core
Oh certainly
Yeah Well yeah That’s what they’ve got I mean that’s going to be the direction going forward We just you know talked about that for an entire segment
Yeah Which should be more appealing I think than who’s going to play
Yeah I think you roll the ball out and guys can win jobs I think there’s gonna be jobs won and lost you know I don’t think it’s gonna be artificially putting players on the floor I I think everyone’s gonna get a chance but I don’t think they’re going to overload players who aren’t capable of being out there
Oh I think they’ll do that to Ace Bailey
Yeah Well Ace is going to play Yeah Yes Ace would be the exception in that conversation But like
there’s a chance if Cody’s not playing better than he was last year he won’t play He’ll just be in the G- League all year
Well he shouldn’t play if he’s playing like he did last year
It didn’t help him
No Yeah All right stay tuned We’ll have more coming up next is Jake and Beno 975 the KSL Sports Zone
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This is 975 the KSL Sports Zone
Hatch usually it’s you and me where people get misunderstood about who they are Hatch just called me DJ Yeah
Which I’m going to take as a compliment I think very highly of David James
Sure
Uh win big every Wednesday on the KSL Sports Zone with Win Ticket Wednesday This Wednesday win uh tickets to The Sandman Adam Sandler the You’re My Best Friend October 26th at Delta Center Tickets go on sale or win on sale last Friday Uh but you can listen uh coming up on Wednesday for your chance to win right here on the zone Ben I know you were uh following the Bezos wedding closely over the weekend as was I
and uh all the reports are that and you’re a fan of this woman Sydney
Sweeney
stole the she was the one like taking all the attention like even more so than than the bride And you may ask yourself why is this relevant
oh I know why Oh why it’s relevant okay
For us
Well it’s I mean could be relevant to for many different reasons uh relevant to us that one of the people she was actually the two people that I found interesting that she was kind of canoodling with one Orlando Bloom because he just broke up with Katie Perry so that’s certainly a scandalous but two Mr Tom Brady
oh okay
Mr Tom Brady the GOAT the legendary Patriots quarterback And it got me thinking whether you know it or not most people have a type
Okay Right
Mhm
Somebody once pointed out to me that I had a type because I never thought I did but then looking back on it yeah I have a type
Okay
Um pretty easy to pin down what Tom’s is Okay
Looking at his previous relationships
Sure
Supermodel supermodel and
actor but
supermodel
Yeah essentially
Yeah
right
Mhm
I mean I I watched season one of the White Lotus I I mean she seems fine but she’s not the best actor I’ve ever seen in my life
53 short
Anywh who uh yeah Tom has a type And how about that for a revenge girlfriend yes
You know what I mean like Jazelle has the jiu-jitsu guy Yeah
I’m going for 23-year-old
the next starlet
However old she is
I think he tried it with Kim Kardashian and then was like I can’t go down this crazy
So I can’t be on TV So Oh she’s 27
Anyway uh chatting chatting it up with Tom
How old’s Tom 47 That’s a 20 year age difference Come on Tom
Do you think that matters to Tom
no I don’t think it matters to Tom but I like when people meet someone they really vibe with and fall in love Tom’s following the Derek Jeter playbook Let’s be real here
Yeah I don’t know if Tom has the ability to do all this because Tom got married Derek Jeter’s whole thing was he wasn’t going to be since
Oh since not being married Yeah Cuz Jeter’s thing was like the day he retired he got married or something like that Like he retired and then immediately got married
Correct Yes
It’s like I’ll I’ll do my thing while I’m playing
And he was famous for the gift basket with a signed bat to send him away hilariously polite
I had to call an Uber and I put a signed bat in the back and the guy asked me who it was Said “I don’t know.” I was just I had no idea who we were
Still wearing my date night clothes carrying a baseball bat Okay that visual is funny
Heels carrying a bat
Heels in one hand and a baseball bat over your shoulder on the other
Oh I see you were at Jeeters
I’ve seen this before That’s funny That is funny A bat Couldn’t you give her something more discreet a bat A big poster like
framed You know what I mean with a with a autograph on there
Can I put this in the trunk
yeah Give me a baseball card At least I can conceal it Throw it in my in my clutch Take it around
Oh man So anyway I I thought you’d be interested in the latest and greatest
Well rooting rooting for Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry I hope they both
You hope they re they rebound
no I hope they both find happiness
separately
Yeah
separately Maybe
you do you I don’t know if this is true or not but did you read the reason for part of the reason anyway for the fallout
no
Is he apparently thought it was silly that she did the space thing and she was like
I’m an astronaut
She made it a part of her identity
Like that was like her thing like she that was such a big deal to her and he was like no that was kind of
which is something kids do right like it is you’re going to take your kids to Legoland coming up spoiler sorry I hope your kids aren’t listening um
one of your kids is going to come back and be like my identity is I’m a Lego person like I went once and now my whole identity is I love Legos Katy Perry takes a a higher than average normal commercial flight that goes like 10,000 feet higher than you know wherever you’re going
normal delta airlines thing Yeah
She’s like “Well I’m getting a tattoo I’m getting an astronaut tattoo I’m buying I’m buying my own suit.”
And she gets back and he’s like “You’re getting us killed online Got to stop with this stuff.” And she’s like “How dare you not respect my astronautness?”
Yeah My altitude I’m basically Buzz Aldrin and you’re walking around here like I didn’t do something Funny reason for a breakup
Pretty tough Life is funny
That’s a That was a PR swing that her team made to send her into space that has failed as badly as any I’ve ever seen
Giant misunderstanding of how that was going to be perceived And everyone else on that flight is thrilled because they have pretty much dodged the bullet because Katie has taken all of them Uh yeah like who else was on there gail King was
on it Yeah
Who yeah It was a bunch of kind of celebrities You know how I not I know it’s not the same as Buzz Aldrin because do you know who the first one uh Musk shot into space was uh Bill Shatner
Oh that’s right I mean if it was really that big a deal like they wouldn’t be firing 98-year-old Bill Shatner or whatever it is into space You know what I mean
right
I’m sure I’m sure Orlando was like “Dude Bill did that like a year and a half ago.”
Yeah He’s geriatric By the way if you’ve never seen Bill Shatner’s cover of Rocket Man do yourself a favor I have no idea where that came from If that was some random TV show or something but that’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen Have you ever seen it
no
Google William Shatner Rocket Man We could even do this on air because there is obviously a singing component but it is very strange All right we’ll have more
be a musician for a while there Yeah
Uh ah I see Thank you All right Want to remind you before we go Ethan Millard with Teton Wealth will be in studio with Hansen Scotty today To help with your retirement plan tune in or visit retireton.com We’ll talk more Jazz basketball coming up right around the corner Other NBA stuff too Ben
I think the weirdest comment ever from LeBron James’ team We got to talk about this I need you to tell me what I’m reading Okay
Will you walk me through it
this is my favorite stuff
cuz I have no idea what I’m reading when I when I look through this thing I got this text yesterday while I was working in the yard the alert from shams
and I could not decipher for the life of me if I was having a stroke or if I just am an idiot or if they said something wrong So I need you to walk me through it
Well it’s all of it
Okay
It’s all of the
I hope it’s not a stroke
Well it could have been It was hot yesterday
It was
I thought for a brief second I might be having a stroke yesterday
Heat stroke Yeah Uh stay tuned More straight ahead 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jacob 975 KSL Sports Zone Want to remind you to nominate the esports volunteer you know for the Hercules Hero of the week Submit your nomination at kslports.com/contest and listen every Thursday afternoon to JJ and Alex for the winner Help us celebrate the efforts of those volunteers making an impact with the Hercules Hero of the Week sponsored by Hercules First Federal Credit Union and Beehive Meals Uh all right Ben let’s let’s talk some overall NBA news here It was a big big weekend for uh Clutch Uh yeah let me pull up this quote from Rich Paul Rich Paul is of course uh the agent for LeBron James LeBron James did something different He picked up his player option
Now do we know if it was Adele or was it actually Rich Paul
um I think this is a quote This is a quote from Paul
Okay
at least it says so
All right but probably Adele And let’s lay this out We know how LeBron has always he does a one-year deal with the secondyear player option Yeah And every year he opts out of his player option and signs another deal like this so he can keep getting paid For the first time he’s picked up his player option which I think to a lot of people signals this is the end of his career right this will be his last year Picks up his player option There was an Instagram video where he was talking about how his wife Savannah wants him to retire this year or next Like she wants him done He’s talked about being close to being done Got his son to the NBA etc Um Bryce James would potentially get drafted next year his other son So we’ll see Um here’s a message though from Rich Paul that I don’t I can’t figure out what they’re saying All right
So I’m going to read it to you and I need you to explain it to me
Okay
LeBron wants to keep compete for a championship
He knows the Lakers are building for a future He understands that but he values a realistic chance of winning it all We’re very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeannie Bus and Rob Pelinka and consider Lakers as a critical part of his career We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career He wants to make every season he has left count and the Lakers understand that are supportive and wants what’s best for him So where I’m confused on this is the entire storyline about LeBron was that if he wanted to win with the Lakers in his final year he would have to take a major pay cut so they could sign other good players Otherwise they don’t have enough money to sign other players They’ll have the mid-level exception Uh but every team in the NBA basically has like 20 teams have it right now and I don’t know if people are going to sign up to be there for one year They’re about to lose Dorian Finny Smith He opted out of his contract I think surprised some people They need a center I don’t think they’re going to get Walker Kesler So is this message LeBron saying “I would love to win but more importantly I got my $50 million and that’s why I opted in and that’s what’s most important to me and that’s the year that counts.” Is he telling them he wants to explore trades is he putting a gun to their head and saying “You guys got to get better otherwise I’m going to demand a trade.” I just couldn’t really understand what was the message here He wants to compete for a championship He knows they’re building for the future He values a realistic chance to win it all but he’s not doing anything to make sure they get closer to winning because he’s opting into his deal and taking all $50 million And he also wants to do what’s best for LeBron at this point in his career I just couldn’t quite It just kind of felt like a a lot of stray shots going all different directions I couldn’t tell what was going on Are you capable of doing a petty voice impersonating like somebody who’s being petty
okay
Because you should read that quote from a different angle
Okay
Less sincere Less sincere More spiteful
Okay
More I don’t know I feel like 17year-old mean girl getting back at somebody
Okay I get it
Can you read it through that angle and I I’m joking about the he is sticking it to the Lakers
Okay
And he’s calling him crappy on his way out the door
Okay He’s Adele is is twisting one last arm for LeBron because the Lakers hosed him and made him watch Luca play basketball and traded for Luca in the middle of the night and didn’t tell him about it and sent another clutch client out to trade for Luca He doesn’t want to be there
He’s going to twist the arm He’s not going to do him any favors because he can’t get $53 million likely on the free agent market Certainly not with a team who’s any good
right but he doesn’t care about the health of the Lakers In fact he’s demeaning how good the Lakers are He’s saying this team sucks
Yes
And we know that it’s part of the plan to suck which it’s not by the way because you don’t trade for Luca Donuch and plan on sucking
So that’s not even the the strategy of the franchise That’s LeBron’s like “Oh this team sucks and is going to suck because that’s their plan.” It’s not
right
so this is insulting LA this is twisting their arm and this is him saying I want to play somewhere else It is
I do I do think that it is I I think you are right I think at the very least he’s putting pressure on them that he may consider that Now the reason he opts into this deal is this current contract has a no trade clause So he now can dictate if he does ask out which does feel like this might be the first step of the sand castle starting to crumble if he can say okay just wash it out completely and and start rebuilding somewhere else You guys rebuild your sand castle here I’m going to be with the team of my choosing where I think I can win a title But when he says “We’re very this is Rich Paul we’re very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie and Rob and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.” That doesn’t say LeBron is committed to finishing his career with the Lakers It’s just like “Wow what a run we’ve had.”
Yeah He burned it down and now he’s out Yeah
Dot dot dot And that’s the question of next And that’s what I’m glad I’m glad you’re walking me through this because that was I I felt like am I crazy like he’s opting into his deal He needed to take less to help them win but he’s not doing that but he still says he value winning championships So he does but maybe he doesn’t think he can win one in LA so he’s trying to figure out a different way to get
Do you think LeBron and Adele cared about Cleveland when they forced them to sign Tristan Thompson for a decade
no
Tristan Thompson might be still on their team on that contract
right
or J.R Smith Do you think he cared about that at all
right No he cared about delivering for other clutch clients and he knew he was going to leave Cleveland anyway so it didn’t matter But
Tristan is still on the Cavaliers
Yes No LeBron’s sticking it to the Lakers at the same time getting what he wants which is to play for another team
Yeah this may be the second time Tristan’s been there but regardless Honestly I mean I’m sure they like Tristan and he you’re there for a while you get to like a player or whatever but the point is they gave him a max deal a max extension on his rookie deal and he was not deserving of
of that He was not that kind of player but he was a clutch guy and so is J.R Smith And so Cleveland was keeping LeBron happy by
signing those two deals But the pro the point is LeBron didn’t give twos about the health of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise Yeah
You know
Mhm
they might be still paying J.R Smith for all I know even though he’s going to college and playing golf Yeah
it’s it’s he’s they’re out for them which is a way you can do business but if I’m teams I’m wary of that sort of stuff And the Lakers are in a weird spot because they made the decision about LeBron when they play traded for Luca Donuch They’re going to move him I I would bet on it I it’s hard to do because it’s LeBron but yeah for the first time I think there’s a real chance that he gets shots and it’s one of those things that they’re going to do quietly and even though LeBron has kind of put them on notice but I I I could see it
No this is this is also you can’t break up with me I’m breaking up with you This this is part of that
You know I’m going to imply that I want to go somewhere else or whatever because the Lakers made this decision mid-season I think I bet they were begging him not to pick it up Just go somewhere else Clean break All good
I’m trying to figure out how to make the deal work It It’s almost impossible to make the deal work I’m trying to trade him to the Cavaliers and it doesn’t work It’s like you know that would be fitting LeBron gets to go and finish his career Again the Cavs because they’re over the tax apron can’t even entertain this type of deal because you can’t put two salaries together to acquire him And unless they were trading they can’t take any money back more So they it’s just not possible They don’t have a player who makes more than LeBron does So there’s no way they can trade for LeBron So the Cavaliers are out And that’s the hard part You have to find a team that has enough money to take LeBron back to trade back and $52 million that’s not over the second apron which only a couple of teams are
But that’s not Adele’s problem
No it’s not And you know what a team that honestly could probably do it which this is where I would really like my antenna would go up would be like the Clippers because he doesn’t have to leave He doesn’t have to change anything about his life He gets to stay in LA He’s still LeBron Kids don’t have to move No I don’t think his kids live with him anymore Wife doesn’t have to move Doesn’t have to sell his house
Did the Clippers get James Harden to reup just to deal him a sell him to to the Lakers
no Harden’s a clutch guy too He’d be there They’d have to figure something else out
Yeah it’s true So I’m just trying to figure out who this would even how how you would get this to work But I’m glad you walked me through that because yes I honestly was trying to figure out is he is he laying the groundwork to be traded
yes Maybe it’s New York It’s not going to be LA Well if it is going to be LA it means that there’s truly not a market for LeBron James And I can’t imagine that there there’s some team somewhere that’s going to buy into LeBron’s last year right
yeah absolutely And then maybe even give him another year Yeah but uh what’s her name wants him home Well she might just deal with one more year of LeBron being LeBron
Well Jazelle couldn’t handle it
It’s true
And now Tom’s off coorting with Sydney Sweeney Yeah maybe LeBron saw that and said “Hey I’m gonna keep playing forever.” Uh the other notable thing about Rich Paul over the weekend and again I can’t Well let me back up Have you ever seen I think it was at the was it at the source awards or was it it might have been the BET Awards but have you ever uh seen the speech Suge Knight gave where he talked about Diddy
and by the way I know Diddy’s in the news but this is like pre this is like late 90s early 2000s or whatever and Suge Knight says do you really want a music producer is in all the videos dancing taking all the attention
Uhhuh Did you see the video that Rich Paul released of him talking to Matt Ishbia about making uh Malawich the number 10 pick on them picking him at number 10
i did
This is the most ridiculous nonfactor video ever I can’t imagine why anybody would would send it out other than he’s embarrassed His client slid to 10 and he had to make it look like he was doing his job I I don’t
if you haven’t seen it he’s he videos a phone call of him with Matt Ishbia and says “Uh I’m just going to give you a name if you’re you know still picking at 10 Do you like this guy?” And he gave the name and Ishb is like “Yeah that’s our number one guy.”
Yeah that’s our And and Rich Paul says “Oh done deal.” Like he didn’t do anything
Yeah My question is when did that video come out when did that video come out
it came out this weekend That’s
No no but like when was the video made
the draft night That was draft That was during the draft That was during the draft
Okay So what he realizes he had done the work And by the way this was pretty apparent if you had just kind of walked through mock drafts Like Malawatch who was you know Cooper Flags teammate at Duke was either going to go nine to Toronto or 10 to Phoenix I there was kind of some rumor that maybe like Brooklyn would take him at eight Again once you get to that point and even he even says in this video he says if Brooklyn doesn’t take him at 8 you’re our number one selection which nobody wants to go play in Canada because of the taxes etc etc They just lost Messiah Jiri So there’s like there’s some things there You’re right That’s a nonall It looks like a flex that I redirected my guy to you
Uhhuh
It was not
My guy’s slipping This was his basement So we’re going to call and say we’re going to make another call and make sure that the Raptors don’t draft him And he could But he could say “Hey we don’t want our guy If you you know if you’re 1A 1B with Malawatch don’t draft him Draft Colin Murray Boils.” And they to call Colin Murray Boils But you’re right It was an entire nothing video that made it look like he was flexing And he wasn’t doing that
He was not doing that Like not he didn’t make the Suns take him right
they’re like “Oh yeah he’s our dude.” But anyway I the the point is we were talking about Joe Engles just signed a new deal with Minnesota somehow What is he making hatch $3.5 million
$3.6 $6 million for 12th NBA season
bet minimum
His agent is Mark Barlstein And I know that’s kind of a dirty word around here because he was Gordon Hayward’s agent too But honestly if you kind of knew the instructions that his client gave him he executed them perfectly
Yeah
But uh Mark Bartlestein is a good agent He is He was Britain Johnson’s agent Uh you talked to Britain about him I mean he just talks about representing his interests and being actually you know concerned about his clients and on and on and on Mark Bartlestein is a good agent How many Do you even know what Mark Bartlestein looks like no
How many videos has Mark Bartlestein sent out
yeah Right He’s not doing that
All he’s doing is getting Joe Engles who is 105 and hasn’t been able to walk in two years another contract in the NBA
Yeah More generational money Like that’s what good agents do Not video Bartle Steven sends out a video of him talking to whoever it is Who is the executive in Minnesota now oh it’s the old Denver guy
Yeah being like “Yeah yeah yeah I know we can’t walk but listen he’s your guy Get him to sign Come on.” Like that’d be a video I’d want to see but I don’t think Arnold Stein’s doing that Like do what is that what are the motivations of Clutch and LeBron and all this stuff and it’s like so self-involved and not what it’s supposed to be about It’s the reason I would want nothing to do with Clutch clients You just sign up for a whole lot of headache The Lakers now are faced with the possibility where they’re going to get strong armed into a trade that as you just pointed out is nearly impossible to make anywhere
You’re right that the agent should show up when they’re cleaning something up or celebrating a victory lap That’s like a legit victory lap But otherwise yeah this this move from Rich Paul’s weird Listen Ace Bailey has a good agent Not good manager He has a good agent You know how I know that because the agent took to some random platform that he knew everybody was going to see and said the right things on behalf of his client
right
which is their job
right otherwise you didn’t know who he was You never heard of him You won’t see him again
You did Rich Paul didn’t get Malawatch drafted Rich Paul sent out a self-promotional video of him doing nothing What is the point of that i don’t think and we make jokes about Adele but Mark Bartlestein isn’t in a celebrity relationship
Yeah I have no idea Probably not
Probably not
Yeah In fact I don’t If I were a client I wouldn’t want to know the marital status of my agent I don’t care
That’s right It’s not up to me
It’s I don’t care one bit Yeah
Are you delivering for me or not
are you married to me that’s who I want you to be married to Be married to my career
because that’s what I need you for I told I I said this during the pandemic and some people were offended but when the bubble was going on I said if I were a player I would challenge my agent to give me five separate contraband items and say I demand it in this room Like I want I want uh a a pingpong table so I can play doubles ping pong you know like go through all the nitpicky rules and I want to break all of these I want this in my room in 24 hours If not you’re fired
Because that’s how you find out if you have a good agent
You have a good agent Yeah Can they can they get the system
are you going to smuggle stuff into Disneyland for me or not that was a weird time in our lives Very much strange strange segment that no one wants to remember Uh free agency does open tonight
I don’t care if you have to bribe the mouse or the duck or whatever but like if you’re Jimmy Butler I want 30 pounds of coffee Sure
30 pounds
Unground
Unground Untaxed showed up in my room tomorrow
Air sealed or you’re fired
Um free agency opens at 4:00 a little less than five hours from now Jazz have the full mid-level exception They have by annual exception which is like 5 million bucks Mid-level exception is like 14 Like again I said I think like 20 teams have the mid-level exception meaning the Jazz are going to be the 20th as far as any interest in signing in Utah And I don’t think the Jazz are looking to add a bunch of expenses to the roster
You know what i drafted NBA free agency opening day in our what you got Wednesday last uh last week You know favorite off the court sports things and it was a silly pick because it doesn’t matter anymore Nobody worth signing is leaving anyway
Yeah there’s a
Julius Randle reuped in Minnesota
Yeah he’s already signed Nas Reed’s already signed Yeah everyone gets their deal done now because the NBA recently changed a rule where teams can negotiate with their own players
Yeah The day the uh NBA Finals ends or it’s the day after the NBA finals ends So everyone’s been in conversation and if you want to sign a guy you get the deal done which I think is pretty telling about Walker Kesler that there was no deal done with the Utah Jazz and that I just wouldn’t expect one to get done this summer And I don’t think that’s a bad thing I wrote this yesterday He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer which I’m surprised more teams don’t use to their favor Why sign a guy a year early other than to keep him happy and that is a big part of it
Well that’s why they lost Gordon Hayward
Yeah Gordon Hayward was unhappy They didn’t give him Max deal right away They let him hit restricted free agency They made him go find the deal and then they matched it and he was mad about that for the rest of his career
and started a dang four-year plot
to screw over the franchise
Yeah
I mean that’s that’s true bitterness It really is
Well he’s a wacko Gordon Hayward all due respect really thought him thought highly of Gordon Hayward Well and well listen the smart play now that players can actually have an opinion on where they play even if they’re under contract the smart thing is just to take the dough And the teams are giving more than maybe they would usually give because the way it goes from a team perspective is I’ll just sign the deal and figure it out down the road Yeah Because at least then I’m flipping for assets Now the the second apron may comp complicate that a little bit but it’s still it’s it’s way in Minnesota’s best interest to sign Nause even though they don’t have any money
Yes
because they could trade him I guess not tomorrow but they could trade him when they could trade him and still get something
You would think though the Jazz just got nothing for Colin Ston
But think about that Well
Nas Reed’s probably a more valuable player than Colin Ston And look at how Boston so quickly shed all that salary I mean right
if you really have to pull the rip cord you can
right you know what I mean i mean
somebody’s going to trade for Chris Porzingis I love John Collins I can’t believe there’s not more of a market for him Agreed
Cuz he’s like a modern NBA big that really could help a bunch of teams You know what I mean
plays two front court positions
But you could always find a spot for Chris Eps They could always find a spot for Jaylen Brown if they want to shed that contract It’s not going to be a problem
Derrick White Yeah they can they can get rid of money
now Maybe that backfires on you but even the the old maid Bradley Beal got moved You know
he did There’s a pigeon somewhere
Yeah
And apparently there are a lot of dumb teams cuz seriously John Collins what did he shoot he was 504
85
Yeah
Yeah
And plays his uh dang tail off And not to marry two conversations but we were talking about the narrative around Utah and how it’s impossible to shake Heaven forbid you get uh labeled as an overpaid underperforming guy because everybody still has Atlanta Hawks John Collins cemented into their brain and he can’t you can’t shake that once you’ve got it Jordan Clarkson is the shoot happy sixth man no matter what because that’s what he got known for That was the narrative around him and even that season where he was basically the starting point guard for the Jazz and had a great year Everybody’s like I don’t know I still think he’s the shoot first guy you bring off the bench
Yeah
And maybe that’s true because that’s what he ended up going back to being But you can’t
once you get labeled as something it’s like near impossible to to figure it out John Collins look at his numbers
He’s a good player
He’s going to help anybody And the Jazz told him he was going to come off the bench last year And what did he do he played harder
Yeah Right
He didn’t pout He played harder
He made it so like you can’t keep me off the floor
Yeah and and rightfully so I truly think he was probably the Jazz’s best player last year
How could you not trade for that guy speaking of the Lakers they need John Collins
And that’s what I do wonder if some of these teams and you know you could say the same thing about Colin Saxton other than there are more good guards because there’s just more 6’3 people on the planet than there are 6’9 people on the planet But I wonder if after free agency settles a lot of the money gets spent some of the teams miss out and say “We didn’t get the guy we hoped to get but we still want to improve our talent.” If that’s when a market will emerge for John Collins and I don’t expect it to be a great market but at least somebody willing to do a trade where maybe the Jazz don’t have to attach assets to get off of him And then I wonder if maybe the Jazz moved off of Colin too early though I would imagine Austin Danny Justin Xanic surveyed the market said this is what we think is going to happen and in a month or three weeks or two weeks even when when free agency settles down we uh we just don’t think there’s going to be a market for Colin that’s any better than there is right now but maybe there will be for John All right stay tuned A lot of interesting stuff certainly going on in the NBA and we’ll see what the free agency period looks like but I don’t know if it’s going to be all that Maybe some big trades
I mean DeAndre Aiden just hit the market That is interesting Yikes
I mean yeah I don’t want him but someone will pay him because he is seven feet tall
Pay him what though
I don’t know He’ll get the middle exception He’ll get 14 million
Okay Well yeah but Oh you know what milwaukee Even though I think they’re over I let them know where they are in their cap situation But that has Milwaukee written all over it to me to look and see how much money they Milwaukee should self-relegate itself That’s what bad shape they’re in They should trade Giannis and be like you know what we’re going to do the G-League for a couple of years and figure this thing out Their salary is so bananasly bad
Time out We’re going to go down Figure it out
We got to get Yeah the baseball player who needs to get set down to triple A just to like
Yeah
Get some reps that don’t mean anything reform some stuff
you know get get some lower salaries for a little while
and then uh and then we’ll play our way back We’re going to be in Omaha next weekend Yeah Yeah
That’s how it’s going to go Milwaukeee’s in terrible shape They have to trade Giannis honestly
Yeah
And they probably won’t and then they’ll be on the uh fast train to nowhere
Yeah They might already be there We We’d like to announce we’re uh
Oh they have the level exception swap swapping places with the Awa Caliente Clippers
Right They’re getting a promotion
They’re going up
Yeah
We’re gonna we’re gonna be down for a little bit and we’ll uh we’ll hopefully see you in a couple of years
Oh I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life than DeAndre Aton to the Milwaukee Bucks No bad decision has ever felt more obvious to me than that one
That would be such a bad decision He’s such a bad player The Jazz just traded for Yousef Nerkage somebody that Phoenix wanted more than Yeah
DeAndre Aiden
Correct and then immediately regretted that decision Had to give up a pick to get off of him Immediately regretted it
Yes they did If we want to get into Yousef lateral movement not his strong suit
nor vertical
Very much an inniscer kind of guy
A plant
Can’t play cancer
Yep
All right stay tuned I can’t call him I can’t get used to freedom I called him forever
Yeah
All right stay tuned Jake and Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone This is This is DJ and PK
Jay Hill defensive coordinator for BYU joins us When I look at your group so many of the guys have experience So it seems like it’s not a lot of holes and the holes that you do have you’re filling them with experience
I love the transfers we took and I love the guys coming back The corners right now are the most inexperienced group on the defensive side but they’re one of the most talented There’s always going to be things that you’re working on and trying to build depth but I do like the roster a lot I think we’re way bigger inside than we were last year The linebacking core is as good as there is in the country I’m excited to see how this defense comes together and how they gel That’s such a critical part of good defense and that’s what we had last year We had the sum of the 11 was pretty special Catch DJ and PK mornings from 6:00 to 10 on 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jacob join Hans and Scotty coming up on Wednesday from noon to 3 and JJ and Alex from 3:00 to 6:00 at Kenny Jay’s Barbecue at the District in South Jordan Order halfpound burgers in time for your Fourth of July barbecue pre-smoked by Kenny himself So make sure and check that out Uh Ben we can circle back around and make it local but I did want to ask you because I do I think it’s a huge story but somebody that uh we knew for a brief time here in Utah but Malik Beasley is under uh federal investigation um into uh gambling related uh NBA you know shaven points and basically controlling prop bets
and
which is the which is the way to rig gambling Hard to rig the outcome of a game You can do it Well it’s certainly been done
but prop bets is easy are easy
right over unders on made threes
Several states even though they’ve made sports gambling uh legal have the policy of they don’t do prop bets on college games
Yeah
I don’t think Nevada is one of them But there are several that have done that because yeah prop bets are are it’s easy to manipulate Um
you know this report also came out about Terry Rosier a few months ago and I’ve not seen anything come of it So and basically what they see is there’s a weird some weird betting lines come out or or weird money gets thrown quickly at a specific bet and then that bet pays off for somebody and then they wonder okay you know like why did Malik Beasley have this outlier of a night you know on a night when somebody put all this money up and that’s really how it works but and he’s innocent until proven guilty again this might be another Terry Rosier situation where nothing comes of it and maybe something still happens with Terry Rosier But this has been the problem with Malik Beasley his whole career He is pretty talented He’s one of the best shooters in the world He just can’t put two good decisions in a row He can’t make two good decisions back toback He does something good then he takes a step back You know he had a good year in Minnesota and then pulled a gun on a family who pulled into his driveway Okay And then I think figured that out and then had an issue with his Was it Larsa Pippen
oh it was wasn’t it yeah had an issue with
Well he was dating her before Michael
Yeah What it’s just like I don’t know if there was an issue I think he just was dating her
but I think they got into domestic fights or something It’s just like he can’t quite build off of any positive momentum he has And look this will ruin your career Apparently you know Shams reported this yesterday that he was lining up to sign a $40 million free agency deal with the with the Pistons this offseason Well who’s the kid we just saw from Toronto get banned for life is it John Porter john Porter
Well and there’s reports out there right that that Beasley’s actually kind of catching strays from Porter because they started really monitoring it and then they’ve turned what they’ve found over to the feds and that’s kind of I don’t know this for a fact but I I did read about that Maybe that’s where this is coming from
Well this stems from when he was with the Bucks right this is this not this past season with the Pistons It’s when he was with the Bucks the previous year started 77 games that year Like
he was he’s a good player
This plays into the argument I’m going to take it a little different direction If Beasley rigged you know with shaving points or whatever he should be banned for life That that is the punishment that say I’m sorry he can’t make decisions I have no idea But the the reason that I think that this is a good thing and that I would add that making gambling legal and bear with me here like don’t rush to judgment on my take so fast but may have because I know gambling isn’t the most popular thing here but it may have a positive ramification in this sense The books the legal sports books are the ones getting ripped off and so they’re going to be the ones to sniff it out Does that make any sense like this could you could make an argument that having gambling more above board is actually going to police this stuff more because your bookie your off the books illegal bookie isn’t going to care who’s shaving points or not Right
Well he can’t control it What’s he going to do
but Caesars just to pick a a Giants uh sports book right caesars cares very much cuz they’re the ones getting ripped off
Yeah To make a comparison They’re going to to give the feds all the betting information that you want And the way they catch this stuff is I don’t know did they mention the specific bets but
Malik Beasley’s under on three points made is five and a half
Yeah
And all of a sudden
$10 million comes in on the under It very much it’s very easy to spot when you’re looking for it
right and generally I think a lot of these come when the guys like I got hurt in the second quarter And they’re like what do you mean you got hurt you played four minutes enough to qualify the bet and then you’re out Whatever it is
there’s all this other stuff that then you look into but my point is is that there’s somebody motivated to do it
and there’s somebody that will cooperate with in this case the feds to actually police this which is the danger to the legitimacy of professional sports We all know it Yeah And there this is a delicate dance that a lot of people were worried would corrupt And maybe you can make an argument that if this player is doing this it’s corrupt But I would say that this has probably been present for a long time and this is a way that they can police it because now they have the data and can co uh can cooperate as opposed to when before so much of it was offboard and under the table and illegal frankly that how much of this stuff could have been going on and nobody would even know it
It would have been easier to fix bets 5 years ago than it is today
Yes
Yes because you find whatever I’ve never placed bets like that in my life
To your point you have sports books now monitoring this You have the feds monitoring There is more oversight on this than there ever has been
Right Versus the guy at the bar who’s like “Yeah
I’ll take that action.” Two to one
right
on Malik Beasley threes and someone’s like “Great I put $2,000 on it I know Malik I told him I need this 2,000 bucks Malik
hook it up buddy.” And if you don’t think that off you know whatever you want to call them illegal bookies take action like that look into what happened with Shi and the kind of action that that particular bookie was taken There are off you know there are bookies that take huge
huge amounts
huge amounts of money
Yeah
And so that’s just unmonitored Whereas Caesars is going to say “Okay this is not right.”
Yeah Well I mean you know you look at all these athletes who guys like uh Floyd Mayweather who you see how much money he bets every you know every time he makes a show of it and he tweets out his receipts and whatever It’s like those guys have been betting on sports all the time
Oh those big books know every one of those guys by name
right those guys have been betting on sports even before it was legal though And they have these types of bookies that would take these types of bets right they didn’t just be like “Huh
let me get into the sports betting business So I guess it’s legal now for some of these areas like
they’ve been doing this for a long time even in areas where it wasn’t legal to do it saying Floyd Mayweather specifically but to your point show’s guy or show himself or whoever it was this has been happening
but I mean look at these schemes like I don’t know what Malik did or if he did not do it but like how oh his cousin and 10 of his buddies showed up and paid 100 you know bet 100 grand per person
They’re going to catch that
Yeah
easily
You’re right And I don’t think that was the case before
That’s probably true I mean to the fact where nobody how many basketball players have gotten in trouble for betting on sports in our lifetime Well before
Well no I’m just saying period Now it’s I think it’s three and it’s Jonte Porter Terry Rosier and Malik Beasley And it’s all happened since they legalized sports right i’m sure there are some names here and there but you know what i bet you money that that stuff was happening before
Of course Of course
You can look into the Arizona State scandal or the what the Boston College one or whatever but it was happening I mean Tim Donnie I mean all the stuff like
they weren’t one I know the NBA wanted to play it as oh these are one-off things That wasn’t true
No I think that’s a fair point you’re making If bringing it above board will police it because somebody’s motivated to police it Well
now it’s regulated
They’re going to find these guys
Yeah that’s fair And it was harder to shave points back in during the Arizona State thing They you actually had to hit the the number And was it the dude at Arizona State his whole thing was you can win the game just don’t hit the spread right because they were still really good that year Yeah
But strangely you know the spread was five and they won by four
Four every game
Every game
Yep and that guy was their point guard and had the ball in his hands at all times It’s it’s much easier than that now But where the hard part is is getting away with the bets Yeah
And maybe you find it three years later or whatever but you’re going to find it All right
Yeah The prop bets are easier to single out
I think I don’t I don’t know I shouldn’t be really pro regulation I don’t I don’t know how I feel about this
You’re bigger on unregulated gambling
Yeah I don’t know But if you could find a way to regulate prop bets I don’t know if that’s even possible
but if you could find a way to do that you would eliminate a lot of this stuff
I know nobody cares I I hate sports gambling
I don’t do anything
It’s ruin sports I think it’s ruining sports Every time I turn on the TV I was trying to listen to radio analysis of the draft and the whole thing was Jonathan Gavone talking to the guy betting on if they’re going to go fourth or fifth and what the overunder was And I was like why why do I care about that
well it’s ruined sports media I don’t know It’s ruined sports Yeah I don’t I don’t care what the ESPN say Yeah it’s
I don’t know if it that’s more media I think than the actual game Unless this stuff is just rampant
Yeah
But I’d be way more concerned if they weren’t doing anything about it
Yeah of course Yeah Fix it That’s like the the Tim Donnie approach where it’s like it was just this guy and we’re moving on with life Uh that’s much more suspicious
Deal with it All right stay tuned We’ll wrap up the show coming up next Jake and Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone
Accessing this is H Olsson and Scotty G BYU jumped into the Big 12 for their own game and they’re going to get theirs and they got their money together and they got the recruiting together and they came in all cute and happy like we’re just grateful to be a partner Oh our broadcast unit Oh yeah We’re one of two in this country that can run our own broadcast Hey we’ll be cool with it You know whatever bone you can throw us And oh what’s that four years integration to full revenue gener Okay that’s fine whatever And then it’s like bam we’re going to take the number one recruits We’re going to assign five stars We’re going to get in the game with money And we’re going to come compete We’re going to go from a 13th pick to the number three team in the Big 12 And we’re here to make this nasty So what do you know about Amway can I Can I sign you up or what
can I get three people under you and let’s all make some money
cuz I’m looking for diamond status I’m here to freaking compete Catch Hansen Scotty weekdays from noon to 3 on 975 the KSL Sports Zone Zone Jacob Ben 975 the KSL Sports on the segment brought to you by Peach Doors and Windows Amazing home transformations begin with Peach or fivestar reviews are the norm Call them today for your free inhome estimate 8015661255 Peach Doors and Windows Maybe we just Okay so Ben and I are kicking around this uh segment idea uh for bozo of the week and just collecting nominees
And maybe we we officially launch it when uh when Christian gets back or something like that But can we do bozo of the day okay
If you want to I just think it’s going to be hard to do bozo of the day every day
No no no no I mean just today like right like right now because we went through Malik Beasley
because Malik Beasley’s in the running
In the running for Bozo of the day certainly Um I would argue this may be more bozo-l like behavior Not letting Malik off but there’s Anyway you be the judge All right Former NBA point guard Sebastian Telfair Yeah
Has been ordered to report to prison on August 12th for failing to meet the terms of his supervised relief uh release in a healthc care fraud case Now if if you don’t know this story uh Telair and several other former NBA players were defrauding the NBA health plan or whatever
their insurance plan
Their insurance plan their retirement insurance plan
And I don’t know I don’t have the numbers in front of me but it was it was a fair amount of dough I mean it was not like
Big Baby Davis is in jail right now
because it was a lot of money And by the way should be they’re breaking like really important laws and literally stealing from their other fellow ex player
Keon Douling Jazz assistant coach went to jail He’s out
Uh so do you know what happened with Tailfare in particular Ben he was ordered uh to do court-ordered community service He failed to do that and then failed to report to the US probation office and that means a suspended sentence went into place which means Sebastian Tailfare is now going to spend six months in prison All he had to do is community service and show up
right show up
Show up This guy’s going to lose six months of his life because he didn’t
I don’t know Ben You could think of a billion ways to do actual community service that you know like I don’t know what is like 60 hours or whatever it was but yeah go down and do some uh uh food service at the homeless shelter
You’re a former professional athlete Just host kids camps Just put together a basketball camp Say this is community service It’s free We’re going to let junior high kids elementary school kids come and teach them about basketball
So defrauding the health plan is bozo behavior But the extra bozo on top of bozo is you’re going to prison for six months for nothing For a stupid reason because you couldn’t do community service and show up at a
at a probation office
Yep
That’s crazy behavior
He plead guilty to the charges Like he he got a plea deal Yeah To get to this point
Community service right probation Nah I think I’ll take prison Actually I want to have the fines and prison What if I do both
what if I do both just because I I don’t just complicate this a little bit for everybody
So who’s the bozo of the day malik Beasley certainly the bigger story but I think the bozo behavior on top of bozo behavior might put Sebastian in the lead You know what I mean this remember Sebastian Telfair is the reason the Jazz got Darren Williams because the Portland Trailblazers had drafted him the year before Sebastian Telfair with the idea that he was going to be the next star and the Lakers or the Trailblazers who this had never happened to them previously They had never had a good guard on their roster and failed to draft the next good guard with a top three pick This has never happened to the Trailblazers like Clyde Drexler and Michael Jordan when they passed on Darren Williams because they had Sebastian Telair
Whoops
Whoops You guys did that twice
Whoops Not that not that Darren Williams turned into Michael Jordan but compared to to Sebastian Telfare he might as well have been
right man Sebastian made 19 million bucks in the NBA
I was trying to defraud somebody for $30,000 for my back my back hurts And honestly like there are players and I’m talking about dudes that you know just qualify for the pension that sort of thing that have significant health problems in their later years
all that stuff That’s what that fund is for Couldn’t walk notoriously right it’s for those people It’s for those people that give their bodies to the NBA And so if you’re stealing from that fund you’re stealing from the Bill Waldens of the world And that is so offensive
It is
And then to come to a plea deal and then just not bother to do community service It’s also I you know I wrote a bunch of stories on Keon Dueling when he was going to jail about it And it’s just like it’s so easy to figure out the it’s such a lame stupid lazy fraud You just bill a fake doctor for $100,000 That doctor sends the bill to the NBA player association insurance company and they send the check back And then at some point someone comes around and says like “Hey do you just have like the days that the he was here getting work on his back?” And they’re like “Well huh
we don’t have anything
This is a laundromat.” And they get caught immediately And then there’s just a chain of everyone who went to this specific doctor because all that doctor was sending the bills to the NBA’s insurance company over and over and over and then they just they catch everybody all at once It’s so lame It’s such an easy
Aren’t most fraud schemes that way where they’re so obvious in retrospect where you look back and you’re like “God that’s the stupidest thing ever.” Like the the whole Bernie Maidoff thing if you watch that documentary or whatever everyone involved in that was like
“Oh I should have seen that coming a mile away.”
Yeah Right He was guaranteed the warning And then you go back and and Yeah and actually pay attention and it’s like “Oh well this was the most obvious thing ever.” Yeah Most most frauds are that way
Yeah
And actually a lot of times the simplicity of it is the reason that it goes unnoticed for so long The problem is when it unravels it it goes pretty quickly
Um quickly Utah Mammoth have traded Matias Machelli to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third round pick
Okay
So they clear four more million dollars off their salary So they still have even after trading for JJ Purka they still have upwards of $18 million to spend in free agency So we’ll see what they do
Go make that happen Yeah Have a really big summer Hey I’ll tell you what Ryan Smith’s had a a good couple of weeks
He had a good week Yeah this is after a after what felt like a really bad couple of weeks and maybe even a bad season specifically with the Jazz Mammoth were fun Honestly if what you laid out is true and I know we’re up against it and and sorry to to bring this back here but if if what you’re you brought up last week is true that they knew Charlotte wanted Canipple and basically prevented Washington from moving up to four with the threat that they would draft Caniple out from under Charlotte if they made that move If that’s true which by by the way makes a ton of sense to me
Yeah
that’s a that’s a pretty genius move right out of the gate for uh Austin I essentially had that confirmed to me yesterday Did you that that’s what happened
They knew Charlotte would draft the Duke guy That’s who they wanted
Y Washington was going to trade up with him and they said “Okay well we’ll take the Duke guy.”
Yeah Then Yeah Then we’re going to take Coniple
We’ve got Carlos Boozer on the plane either way
You won’t have him at six so you can’t make that trade
That’s pretty smooth
That’s Yeah that’s pretty snazzy
That’s pretty smooth
Yep
Uh all right Jacob Ben We’ll talk Maybe we’ll get into that a little more tomorrow
Free agency We’ll have a lot going on tomorrow
All right Uh coming up next Hansen Scotty G 975 KSL Sports Zone
Hour entirety of Jake & Ben for June 30, 2025:
HOUR ONE
• Utah Jazz trade Collin Sexton and introduce Ace Bailey
• Top 3 Stories at KSLSports.com
• Tom Brady canoodling with Sydney Sweeney?
HOUR TWO
• LeBron James trying to regain leverage with Los Angeles Lakers
• Malik Beasley under investigation for sports betting
• Sebastian Telfair wins “Bozo of the Day”
