You're listening to the Hottest the Hottest India podcast out here. I said what I.
Said, it's the Heat Chick, Heat Check Check. It's on this episode of the Heat Check. I am all fired up about what the hell is going on in you saw Baby. It's Friday. So let's get into the NBA futures market.
This time Defensive Player.
Of the Year.
And we also got a lot of news.
Popping from around the league with updates on Chris Paul and Scott Foster's beat, two more dysfunction in Detroit to Marcus Morris, ricochet shot at a dozen Hall of Famers, and one sentence, Oh boy, so much to get into.
Also, watch that is t.
Baby, It's a lit tomorrow. Let's go William Let's drop that generic ass beat that should be Rihanna. I've been wanting to talk about this. I just didn't have the right data. I didn't have as much time, I didn't bed injuries.
We had young guys coming in and out of the lineup.
But last year one of the funnest stories at one point this team was number one in the West. People forget one of the fun stories in the NBA was the Utah Jazz everybody was pumping their tires. Ooh, Danny Ainge, trader and trader, Danny, Oh, just fleecing Tim Connolly, Oh, Minnesota Termorwolves.
You guys are fucking idiots.
I was one of those people. I was one of those ones.
Everybody was like, Oh, they fleece them.
Rudy Gobert, four picks, all these players, all these guys that are gonna be all stars, Walker Kessler.
YadA, YadA, YadA.
Everyone on earth was certain that this was the worst trade, not just in history of the NBA, but maybe in all sports. The Jazz played out the season as one of the most exciting teams in the NBA, while the t Wolves tanked to the point where most people thought that they were gonna have to blow up the ship. A lot of people thought that Karl Anthony Towns had to go. There's no way that Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns would work. How was the spacing gonna work
where they Anthony Edwards back? Oh my god, what a difference a year makes, Really a quarter of a year. Really, the Timberwolves are now the best team in the NBA. They have the number one ranked defense, Rudy Gobert is miles ahead of anyone in the league for defensive Player of the Year. Chris Finch said this about Rudy. He said, this is the best I've ever seen him play. This is the best I've seen him play on both ends
of the ball. Rudy dominated of it. Oh Monfrey boj in another win over the San Antonio Spurs the other night, and now people are looking at like the trade may be a win for not the Utah Jazz, but for the Timberwolves out in Utah has checking on them for a second. This year has been not so fun, not a fun story. They are awful seven and fourteen, one game out of fourteenth place in the West. No one
expected the Jazz to be a contender this year. Of course we know that, but a lot of people thought, oh, this might take a step forward, maybe they're in team right. They had an a plus draft keyante George Bryce sensibon number nine pick Taylor Hendricks, who I haven't seen one minute of yet. The Jazz who started four and eleven before their star player Lori Markt went down.
And the puzzling thing is.
That they've gotten worse as the season has gone along. They lost by fifty to the MAVs the other night, who are also struggling themselves this season, and after which Will Hardy had this.
To say that that was an absolutely horrendous performance from start to finish. That was a masterpiece of dog shit. I really don't know how to describe that game.
Oh, I think you did it pretty well. A masterpiece of dog shit from start to finish. Wow. I these new coaches, we brought it up last episode too, this new DNA of coach. They're not holding back.
So what's happening?
What's going on?
I'm gonna be.
Believer, of course in roster construction. That's the key to success in my opinion, and to me, this roster is confusing. First of all, they're breaking in a rookie point guard in Kiante George. I like rookie Kyante George.
He's one of my favorite young kids in the league.
They've been successful so far, really good assistant turnover ratio, long athletic, can get to his spots. The problem is Kante George right now, at least right now, cannot shoot. They have three other guards who can shoot but can't pass, especially Colin Sexton. He does not like to pass at all. He keeps getting minutes over oshayok Baji. Why I don't know. They have forwards and Markingen and Olenik who can hit
a three, but they struggle to defend. John Collins and Walker Kessler is the front line of this team, both solid but right now unspectacular players. And the bench has no replacements when they're hurt in foul trouble or off the court. So I mean, not great. Obviously not great. The biggest problem is that they have young, talented players who who can't find time on the court. Why, I don't know. Here's an astounding fact. Well, I actually kind
of do know. Here's an astounding fact. Two players selected in the first round of the twenty twenty three draft average two minutes or less per game this year, and they both play for the Jazz. Two two players selected in the first round of the twenty twenty three draft only average two minutes or less, and they're both Jazz players. Taylor Hendricks was drafted ninth top ten player. He has
eighteen DMPs. He averages two minutes per game. Bryce sens the ball twenty eighth overall twenty DMPs, played two minutes in one game that is bizarre. Why are they on milk cartons? Where are they makes no damn sense considering that if they had played the kids this year, their record would probably be no different than it is right now. You should be developing these young guys and not playing dudes who clearly are not.
The future of this team.
We are at quarter of the way through the season and it looks like the Jazz are going to have to go into tank mode again, which is not where Danny saw them going and not where I, to be honest, saw them going either at the start of the year. But since they suck and it doesn't look like things will get better this season, here's what I would do if I was part of the Danny Ainge cabal. Trade trade, trade, trade them all garage sale. All the young guys stay, all the non young guys go. And I don't mean
young like Colin Sexton. I mean young like Keyontay George. You start with the players who are in the way. I'm sorry, we don't have space for you. Aka THHT Taylor Horton Tucker one of the great developer blockers of all time. He just gets in the way wherever he goes. The Lakers considered him untouchable. At one point, he stopped trades from happening that they probably needed to make. And now he's flamed out in two cities. And you know what, He's only twenty three, but for some reason, it feels
like he's been in the league a decade. Not gonna lie.
Someone's gonna take a flyer on him.
I promise you when he's good, like he was against Phoenix, he put up twenty five points in twenty nine minutes. He's very good, but mostly THHT not so good.
He is a thirty eight percent shooter.
From the floor in general, and a twenty eight point seven percent lifetime shooter from three. Can play some defense, but let's be honest, THHT is kind of chubby.
He can play a.
Little defense, but that's just because he's He's gonna be's in thick body. He can evolve into a role player somewhere, but in Utah, I'm sorry, you have to go number two player. We gotta get rid of Colin fucking Sexton, the young bowl, the baby bull in a China shop. They said when he was in Cleveland, this was gonna be a max contract kind of guy. And now what are you. You are a roadblock, stealing minutes from players who helped this team in the future while not helping
them win in the present. His minutes and his points per game have fallen for four consecutive years, and that is for a reason he is now getting eighteen minutes a game off the bed. Those minutes should be going to Bryce Sensible, or maybe to Josh Christopher or maybe even to Johnny Jaza. Since he can score, I'm sure he could help a contending team. I don't know. Worst case, you can send him to Washington. Put his one hundred
because obviously he is great for that team. Because he's one hundred and twenty two point four, defensive rating is so bad it's going to keep him from getting real minutes anywhere else. Number three, I'm sorry Kelly Olinock, but you have to go to I like him.
I like Kelly Olinock.
He's a tough, gretty kid. He can help a lot of teams like Boston. He helped them already, maybe he can help them again. He can shoot a three, he can defend, he can rebound. But you know what, he's a fine locker room guy, but not a locker room guy for this locker room.
He's not going to disrupt a contender.
He is one hundred percent of vibes, dude for a young team like Orlando. But I'm sorry, Kelly Olinic, Well, they already have one of those. His name is Joe Ingles. I suspect that Kelly Olynic's trade value is greater than people know, But I'm sorry, dude, you have to go.
Those are the three trades that would open this team.
Up a lot.
In the short term, it might be worse.
I still do not care.
Then in the off season, you want to see what the trade value.
Is for John Collins. If you don't get what you want, hold on him for another year, especially since the twenty twenty four draft is stacking up to be not so great, which is why the fact that they only have one first round of this year is fine.
It's awesome. It should be a high one because it's their own pick.
They have three in twenty twenty five, two in twenty twenty six, and four in twenty twenty seven, and then should have.
More after trading thht Sex than an Olympics.
To me, this is the only way forward in Utah. It has to be you have to embrace the tank. We know that's not what Danny Ainge likes to do. He likes to retool. I'm sorry it doesn't feel like retooling is a possibility here. There's people on Reddit who are worried that Lori Markening could be on the draft, on the chopping block. That's how bad things are right now.
This rebuild could take a couple of years, longer than Trader Danny would like to But the future is still looking bright ish in Utah, even if the present is what did he say, a masterpiece of dog Shiit