Welcome back in drivetime on a Friday here on ESPN seven hundred. It is a football Friday, but we're taking a little break from the football conversation chatting with our guy, big T thorough Bailey, reacting to the NBA trade deadline, talking a little jazz and more. But as I mentioned, it is a football Friday, it is Super Bowl weekend, and even yes, even when our guest is a former college national champion, former NBA player, and many other things.
To be clear, very talented thorough Bailey, We're still going to ask him about the Super Bowl, Big T?
How much does it move the needle?
What's your football fandom look like, especially on a Super Bowl Sunday.
Well, my dad was a Redskins fan growing up because I was born and raised in DC, and so I think the highlight of my life, I think part of his was when I was traded from the Jazz so the Timberwolves. The Super Bowl was in Minnesota and the Redskins were in it. So I flew him out and he got to see his team in the Super Bowl. But I grew up, you know, I like the Redskins, but I ended up. You know, sometimes people don't believe this,
like I jumped on the bad way. But I've been a Kansas City Chiefs fan for a lot of years now, I mean almost but nine ten years, and even became more so when a good friend of mine named Porter Elliot. You need to look that name up.
We were just discussing Porter on the show.
I know him well, yeah, yeah, well I knew Porter when he had his accident. I went to business him in the hospital when he was a kid when he lost his.
Arm, just as you were playing with the jazz. Yeah, I was.
Yeah, and my wife, being from Richfield, knew their family and asked me to come down. And then his story is amazing and just made me a stronger poor Elliot fan. And then you know, obviously they started winning. So I wasn't about to jump jump bandwagons, but yeah, I'm a Kansas City guy.
Thrill.
You interestingly have so many great, deep connections to this community. I mean, you played here, that's one thing, but you now are known so much for you know what you give to the community, the way you give of your time. I know I've experienced it personally, and you and I have been a part of different things before, but you have really flexed the muscle in terms of community outreach and engagement. But your authenticity and just ultimately who you are is what has drawn so many people to your
kindness and what you've been giving. When did you feel that this place, the state of Utah, Salt Lake City, was really congruent with your personality, your heart, and your overall desire to help others.
Well, first of all, Tea, did just hear your manage talk to you? You're not in transfer long time, new little teat whenever we're on big T, right, I don't get that so.
Hot ride with.
Bailey, That's right. Well, you know, I think it's always you know, I think the community embraced me early on in my career. Uh, there was a changing of times for the jazz. We were starting to win more and you know, as a from a fandom point of view, I think, you know, the fans were always there, but I'm not sure I realized it until I left. I was traded, and then I came back with the Timberwolves
and got just a fantastic welcome. But ultimately it was when I was away for a while after I went overseas and I came back my last year in the season, I walked through the tunnel and I got a standing ovation from the crowd.
Yeah, and then.
I knew it wasn't just from my basketball player. That was a lot of it, but I felt it was deeper than that, and so for me, it kind of sealed the deal that the community appreciated who I was as a player, but even maybe more so the person I try to try to become as someone in the community.
So when I was a kid, I used to hate the fact, as a junior jazz player, we would always get the tickets to see Minnesota. That was the only team we would ever get to see, and it was always frustrating because it was like, man, we got why do we always get to see them? But then you were there and it changed everything. And I remember how excited I was to go and see that, and I definitely remember how warm a reception the fans gave to you. So it's always great to see you. Obviously, you and
jazz basketball together. You know, people know the statues outside and they know so many of the personalities from Hot Run Hunt lead to Jerry Sloan. But I think when you think the heart and soul of Utah Jazz basketball and what it means in this community.
And you know, you have to.
Be here and be around here to know what I'm talking about. And I know you definitely do. I think, uh uh, nobody represents that better than yourself. So anyway, I just it's always something I thought you'd have a chance to experience.
I appreciate that, to appreciate that a lot.
To expand on that thorough, to see your your Utah connection from a different point of view. I remember when I was I was a young I want to say, six seven years old, and my dad and I we ran into one John Stockton out out in the city. And I'm not I'm not speaking badly of John. I'm not this merching John, but let's just say it wasn't exactly what a fan experience. Uh what would you'd like if you run into one of your you know, you know,
heroes out on the out, on the move. Now, we weren't disrespectful, we didn't try to waste his time or take much of his time, but it was just, you know, it's dismissive and and we were we were a little a little bum by that. My dad and I talked about it in the car as we left a little upset as we leave. And then a week later, a week later, we see a big te thorough Bailey and I'm still a young kid.
At the home Depot.
In the aisles of the home depot, not only Thurle did you take like fifteen to twenty minutes to stand in the halls of home Depot and talk hoops with me and my late father. At that time, you helped us take heavy stuff to our car and continued the conversation. I'm sure it's long ago, and I'm sure you've had a bunch of these different types of memories, but it left an impression on me that lasted throughout my entire life.
As I went to jazz games, as I watched all this, and then eventually got to meet you and do this thing on the radio every once in a while.
Well, I appreciate that, and let me say just off the beginning of that is that you will never meet a kind of man than John Stockton. The one thing John was not comfortable with was stardom, which I didn't have the kind of Yeah, I didn't have the kind of stardom that John Stockton had. And so for a guy who like that, who's always been a gym rat, just wanted to play the game without all the accolades.
It just was not comfortable with it. A lot of times it would come off as dismissive, right, well, maybe mean so, But you know, John and I still talk to that. I love the guy. He's one of my best friends ever that I've ever had, not just within basketball, but outside of it as well. But you know, it's it's you know, there's there's different approaches, there's different things
that you know different. I promised my mom years ago that that I would always I would always take the time, even if if it was inconvenience for me, I'd always take time because it wasn't about me, right at that point, right, It's about maybe how I could touch person's life in it for a few seconds and they would remember it or whatever. But that's that's the world we.
Live in, man.
I mean, you know, it's what you sign up for, and you may not like it on some days, and it's your choice how to react or not react to it. But I just chose to, for the most part, make it a favorable experience. It wasn't always comfortable or convenient, but didn't have to be, you know, something that that person walked away with with a bad memory.
Right. I saw John at a college basketball game, oh Coled just about a week ago, week and a half ago maybe, and he was very gracious with the fans that were there. I mean, everywhere he goes, he's going to draw some attention and stuff like that. But you could tell that it still may not be something that you know, he's overly cut. He'll do it, but you could tell it since there's something about that and having that that you know, he wanted it to be about
his son. He wanted it to be about anything else other than but but he was still good.
With And just to be clear, uh, no one is entitled to your time. No one, whether they're a celebrity, uh famous athlete, is entitled to like go out of their way for a fan of any kind. And I didn't want to, you know, it never would feel entitled to their time.
It just was.
It was the the way that thorough went out of his time man for some random kid from Oakley, Utah, for you know, way more time than than he needed to uh to do that. It was super cool and it it left a pretty good impact on me. You you and also the late Mark Eden. I got to know Mark be in a park City local really well, uh before before he ultimately passed. And both of you made me feel really small and in another way really.
Big, which is which super cool?
That's good.
I've never felt big around thorough Bailey, especially swatted my shot in the sixteenth throw of the stands and as the crowd ooed and odd in front of a bunch of junior jazz players, and crowd got a good time.
Out of it.
Yeah, I did decide I I okay, so long rebound and I've got a full head of steam, thinking all right, I've got an easy layup here, I've got everybody behind me the floor. Then on the back angle at a forty five degree I see these long strides coming at me and I'm thinking, all right, but I'll probably win this race. And then maybe two steps later you realize, oh, I'm not going to win this race. But then I thought, what the heck? You know it's for the kids. Let's
see if I can score on thorough Bailey. No, No, that ball was in the fifteenth row in the blink of an eye, and the crowd ooed and odd. They had a great time with it. And I'll never forget a little kid sitting in one of the close rows before we inbounded, going.
Mom, that guy sucks. That's lovely. Just need a pump fake. You just need a pump fake.
No, he would have handled that, he had it dialed in on.
I wasn't going.
Mid range games.
Yeah, well the inbound I had a three pointer out of the corner. That's a different discussion, but that's that's the part of the story. We don't tell a girl it's a different era kind of a jazz basketball, right, I mean this is I know that it's kind of a unique approach when it comes to the patients that would be needed overall to take the long game to
winning big. As you watch kind of you know, young players, as you see so much happening night in and night out, and you look at all the different eras of jazz basketball. You see what the Jazz have in front of them, picks, assets, things like that. You know, you take this in day to day and you always have a great perspective of it. What are the biggest things that kind of jump out to you? Is you kind of digest everything that is jazz basketball in this moment.
Well, I think I think if you're watching Jazz basketball and you're part of the Jazz Nation and you're not you don't understand what the blueprint or what the plan is, then then you should understand that that's where you need to start. This team is really trying to develop the young guys. They're trying to put themselves in a position to, you know, get a playoff spot and potentially buy it
for a ring in the next few years. And the only way really that you can do that in the market that we're in, I believe, is to go about it in this way, in this long term way, and Justin and Nanny have really tried to make that clear. And I know it's not a pretty thing to do. It's not easy to do, but I think when you can see progress, like if you couldn't see any progress, it's a lot more frustrating. The arena's aren't is crowded,
but Jazz Nations seeing progress. They're seeing what happened against Indiana, albeit a loss. We were in the game, and seeing what happened against the Warriors in clutch time, and so that's why they're still hanging on. That's why they're still loving Jazz basketball. Is because they understand where we're trying to get to and so it's been interesting to watch as a former player. You know, veterans come out and buy into the plan and raise their value along the way.
You know, trade deadline just ended. So for guys to come out like John Collins and Jordan Clarks and Colin Sexton and understand that they have to develop these young guys as well as you know, raising their own value, I think it's something that's happening and just a crazy business, as you guys know. So you know, we're at it again tonight with a team who tried the free superstar route and it doesn't seem to be working out well for him. So it doesn't work all the time, and
you have to be portunate and lucky. But I think the Jazz are on the right track.
Thirl, you mentioned the trade deadline. What was your big picture reaction first to the Jazz involvement in the Luca Donta trade and that trade big picture and then around the league? What was maybe the most active trade deadline in modern NBA history, at least as you talk about bigger names, it's it's on the upper upper end of that list. How did you intake trade deadline day and how the Jazz involved themselves.
Oh, I think everybody was shocked about the Conta Anthony Davis trade, and I think some even part of it more than the trade itself, was that nobody knew but just a few people, right, And in this day and age, it's hard to do. It's hard to keep that under wraps. But you know, you have to make your own opinion
about who won that trade. It was certainly unusual with the Mavericks, you know, going to the finals recently, and so that just shows you that you know that this is the business of basketball, and as a player, you always are like, I don't know if it's tens of needles, but you always wonder if you're going to be moved, right, And I'm sure it's no different than on this team. I'm sure players were kind of wondering and thinking, well,
there's something going to happen with the Jazz. But you know, as somebody who's been in it and been involved in it and has been traded, it doesn't surprise me as much as people who are kind of entrenched in the real business of it, if you will. But look, the Jazz are who they are right now. Even though the trade deadlines over, there's off season coming up, so I'll have to wait to see if something happens. Then.
You gave me a story once about how one of the biggest ways you had such a trust and a love for Jerry Sloan was he took you to dinner ones to let you know about some of the things that were coming and why he was trying to kind of go to bad for you.
If I recall that right during a moment in your career.
Do you see something like that being a part of today's NBA, with that transparency and with the way the business is.
Now, I hope. So. I just thought it was, uh, it was. It was unusual back then or coach too, you know, to sit down with the players and say, look this possibly something happens. Just wants you to know. I thought it was really big area to do that. It was in Miami actually, and you know, so it wasn't like a super serious blow. I know there's in this day and age, there's you know, the the possibility of players busting up a trade or something like that.
But yeah, I mean in this in this day and age, it's I think it's it happens more that players kind of get that trust even though it's a business, their trust in gms and coaches and and just talk reality. This is the reality of the business. So you know, I think there's a there's a communication there that should be there.
Big T tonight in Phoenix. You got the Suns at eight pm. What are you expecting to see from the Jazz? Maybe maybe not from XM's no standpoint, but as you mentioned, there's always a different feel post straight deadline after you know that you're not on the move or you're staying put, or you know, maybe players that have been moved. Uh kJ Martin of course the only addition for the Jazz, But uh, what are what are your expectations for a matchup with Phoenix tonight?
Well, you know, you never know what's going on in that locker room and what will motivate a team and what we'll just continue to to be, uh, you know, a problem in the locker room. So I just know that the Jazz need to have some carryover for how they've been playing the last few games. I think they can do that. I think they're they're you know, they're they're really consolidated on the buy in as a team, and so I expect them to go out and uh, you know, and go out and try to win this game.
It's off of back to back, so the first quarter is going to tell me a lot about, you know, where their mindset is and how much carryover we will get from that Warriors game.
Big T, we know you got to run, get to that, get that arena, and uh what we'll see on the on the television screen here momentarily.
Thanks man, hey, thank you guys, appreciate it.
Big T thorough Bailey, Big T thorough Bailey, and it's hover loving beast, one of the love that man, one of the greats in jazz land, of course on the floor and in the community and on the broadcast.