Van McMahon, Van McMahan. That is being old Land, Texas flood as tickets mud, He's man Mcmahvan McMahan.
Then the massive snowstorm we had last night of this morning has disappeared and it's sunny here in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.
Because this date is really weird.
Good stuff from Tom Haberstroke Today, we'll get back to some of the college stuff with Ken Pomeroy.
We got Pablo on the program as well.
RSL back in action taking on the La Galaxy coming up.
But it is time now.
For our weekly conversation with one of our favorites from ESPN, the author of the book that's out now, The Wonder Boy on Luka Doncic's great to have Tim McMahon back on the show on a Tuesday.
Happy Tuesday, Tim, how.
We doing, pahty partner. I appreciate you having.
Me appreciate the time.
So, for the first time in jazz history, we have a team that has lost sixty plus.
Games one two, three, can coon you can tell that.
Look you know the deal, not just players, coaches, front office guys, front office members, broadcasters. I think everybody is ready for the season to be over only six games left him.
What do you have to say to Jazz fans?
Well, I don't know why you're being so negative. I just literally grabbed a package from my front door and I opened it up. And it is a nice little promotional thing for Isaiah Callier for all rookie there's those big mountain lift passes type of things going on. There's nice photography. I thought it was a well done promotional campaign for a man who broke John Stockton's assist record
last night. Now I guess one of Johnston. I guess John Stockton probably has some other assist records now I think about it, but he did break the franchise a rookie assist record. Nice little season and of the number twenty nine overall pick. You know me a guy who finds silver linings while I'm up on those mountain chair lift type of things. And now I have to pass four thanks to Isaiah Colliers house standing rookie season. So why don't we talk about that?
Let's do John Stockton as a rookie started five games and played eighteen minutes a night.
Oh well, g whizz, Ain't that a bitch? You know? I think that this means that callier's on his way to like fifteen thousand, nine hundred more assists or so.
I will say this.
You know I was because when the Jazz released this promotional campaign, you start looking around at this rookie class. I actually think he has a chance to him to make all Rookie I don't know that he will, but I when you look at he's thirty two percent from three since the All Star break, which isn't good, but it's better than twenty three percent. The crew irony is the best picks the Jazz have made since they started this project have been in the late maybe second round
with Philipowski. But do you think Isaiah's got a shot to make call rookie?
Yeah, he's a shot. I mean, look, first of all, most guys who may call rookie teams aren't playing for very good teams for obvious reasons. You know, typically the rookies who play a lot aren't on good teams. There are some exceptions, you know, Jalen Wells and Zachy from the Grizzlies, although there's a different sort of issue there. But you know, I think both those guys end up making it. But you know, he has had a good
rookie season. Talking about Collier, now, as you say, preferably, you'd like for the guy you had in the you drafted the lottery to be the candidate that you're promoting later on. But uh, you know, Collier's got a chance to be a nice player, and he's off to a
promising start. And you know, the thing about Collier is there was a point in time where he was expected to be maybe even an early lottery pick, and obviously didn't have the kind of season people anticipated last year for USC So you know, he's not your tip number twenty nine overall pick in terms of the Kgule upside.
And you know, the Kyle Philipowski pick in the second round. You know, we've talked about this a couple of different times. Now, I mean, the two top ten picks the Jazz have had since this I know I'm supposed to say tear down, but I'm going to say rebuild. Since this all started, Taylor Hendrix, who we don't know. You know, Taylor got hurt. We'll wait and see what he turns into. I actually like him as much as any of these young prospects.
We just need to see more.
And then Cody Cody Williams and you know, Tom Aberstrow, your buddy. Last segment, you know, dropped the Haberstrow numbers on us and Cody as the worst you know player efficiency number based off of rookies played more than a thousand minutes in the history of the NBA. And I just think you want your top ten pick because will has gone all in over the past, you know, six eight weeks or so on, giving these rookies opportunities, starting them,
playing them big minutes, including Cody and Tim. I can point to all of them, Isaiah Keyante, I could keep going, Bryce Sensaba's been knocking down shots. All of them have shown in stretches that they do have NBA skill sets besides Cody, and he's your top ten guy. I don't know if you talk to him over there, and he's only twenty, but is there any worry that this may have been a swing and a miss?
I mean, you know, naturally there has to be worried. I would say, you know, giving up on him would be prevatures. He's still a.
Teenager, he's twenty. He's a young twenty year old.
I'm sure, so I would say, you know, declare making any kind of like permanent declarations would be premature, but hey, it's there's not been a whole lot of reason to be optimistic, you know, as far as what he's shown on the floor for you this season.
If the Jazz get Cooper Flag, what does that look like immediately right away?
Next year?
You know, it looks like they've got a guy to build around, They've got a face the franchise. I don't think it means that they're going to be competitive right away, but it means that there's you know, a clear foundation piece, which you know, as of right now, that guy is not necessarily there's really not like the big foundation piece on the roster at all. I think the question is can market them be your second or third best player once you get good and then you know Walker Kess.
I think is is a complementary piece and potentially can be for a long time. But look, the Jazz are in desperate need of a franchise player, and Cooper Flag would step into that void right away. Doesn't mean like, look, there's no such thing as a guarantee. You know, nobody is guaranteed to be a superstar, but you know he's pretty close to it.
So typically in the history of the NBA.
If you're a twenty five year old generational talent, you don't get traded. And if you're a really good young head coach who has brought your team to a lot of wins playoff berths with what appeared to be good progress training for and I think the piece that Ramona Shelburne and you guys did over at ESPN today on Taylor Jenkins is really good downline some of the offensive changes that they made with some of the international coaching hires, and you know how I think it was all and
eleven against winning teams. I still tim am very shocked that Taylor Jenkins lost his job. Now that it's been a little while and time has passed, what exactly happened here.
Well, he got's knees cut out from under him last summer when he was forced to fire five assistant coaches ob basically you know, gutted his staff and uh, you know had to bring you know, and he was part of the interview process, but these weren't his hires that he brought in. And then he brings, you know, they the Grizzlies bring in the front office, brought in two guys.
One is now their interim coach tauomas Zallo, who you know, was kind of considered, oh, this guy's this bright, rising offensive mine in Europe, but you know it coached the euro Cup championship team last year. Okay, you bring him in. And then Noel the Road, who's a player development guy I was doing some consulting stuff for the Spurs. Had some really interesting, unique conferensive ideas, but those guys' ideas didn't really mesh and so you had this tug of war.
And so, look, everybody in the league knew that Taylor Jenkins probably wasn't going to be back with the Grizzlies next year. You don't have your staff gutted like that and then give up control of your offense to two guys who you didn't know until the interview process started over the summer without your job being in jeopardy. The anticipation was the Grizzies would get bounced in the first round, then it would be done. So the surprise with Taylor
was that it happened when it did. That happened with nine games left in the regular season. The bigger surprise to people who've been following the Grizzlies this season though,
was that Noel la Ross also got fired. This is a guy they gave him a seven figure salary to leave the player development program, but then he was essentially serving as their offensive coordinator and all this new kind of interesting, creative stuff that they were doing this year, very unique stuff that they were doing this year was his. So what that means and by the way, Joe hated it because they've set in the few ball screens and Drew Landolph since the tracking stuff started more than a
decade ago. So what this really means is, Okay, Taylor wasn't going to make it after the season, let's just do it now. And then they went away from a system that had worked to a certain degree. I was really creative and unique, but their face, the franchise hated it.
So this is an attempt to, as somebody there told me, to try to optimize Jaw, and really it's an attempt to try to make Jaw happy because there's also been a lot of noise, and not the drinking's part of it, but getting rid of Nola erosion and the offensive systems and attempts to make Jaw happy because there has been a lot of noise about Jaw's not happy, Jos. You know what's going to happen with John Memphis? Is that going to be Is that going to be something that
bubbles up this summer? And you know, I would say we will see about all that, but doing it the way the whole last year in Memphis has been messy from a coaching staff perspective.
Was there any input?
I mean, Ja's also twenty five, you know, and I'm looking at the Memphis situation maybe through the prism of what we deal with here in Utah with the Jazz roster there right now, in ability to compete at a high level, like you could do a lot worse than what Memphis is and who they've been, and you could do a lot worse than Taylor Jenkins as a head coach. So it's not like that's a bad roster. They do
have a cornerstone and John Moran. Do you know if there was any feedback from Jah or his camp that they wanted to make this change based off of your comments on how upset he seemed to be with his offensive system.
So again, I don't think Joe wanted to play in that offensive system anymore. So I think the firing him know is an attempt to try to appease John Moran my understanding, as none of this was discussed with him directly beforehand. But that's the firing of the seven figure assistant who's sitting on the second row pulling the strings of the offense. The firing of Taylor Jenkins is not something that Jaw pushed for. I don't know if it's something to Job even wanted it at all. I don't
know if any issues there now. I was told that Taylor had quote unquote lost the locker room and the players, including Jaw, had tuned him out. But guess what, that's the kind of thing that happens when you cut the coach off at his knees by making him cut his whole staff and bringing people that doesn't know and turn over the offense to people that he just met. Like, players aren't dumb, they can read the tea leaves on that. And so he lost the locker room. G whiz who
you know? Of course he did, you new to the guy for everybody to see.
So one of the other assistants they brought in didn't just keep his job. He was elevated to the interim in this Tamasa Salo finished coach who is now the interim head coach. Is what is your understanding as far as the difference between uh this this coach and then Laroch who was fired. I mean, he obviously has the respect and admiration of somebody because he has the job now.
Yeah, so he actually his system is much more pick and roll based. You know, there are some creative elements of that, but again where they were setting by far the fewest ball screens in the NBA, like ten feel per game than anybody else. His is more of a pick and roll based system. And look, job, John doesn't want to be off the ball and cutting and you know, moving like John wants the rock in his hands and he wants to he wants to have the keys and
be in charge. And so they're going back to a more pick and roll based offense, you know, which obvious he's more in line with everybody else in the NBA. You know. The interesting thing about it, though, is the Grizzlies are you know, when they made the firings, were the six ranks offense in the NBA, and they had started to incorporate more of the pick and roll stuff, which is kind of a way to try to appease Jaw in the first place. But the other thing is
Jah is a mediocre pick and roll player. Over the course of his career, points per possession when there's a pick and roll for Jah zero point ninety nine the ranks. Thirty ninth got a fifty six skys who have had at least five thousand ball screen set forms since he started his career. Like, that's like the epitome of mediocre.
I was shocked to read that, because I think the assumption is he's so impossible with his with the ball in his hands, whether it's ISO or whether it's with the assistance of a screen, that you would just think to John Moran being John Moran is one of the elite scores off the ball screen in the NBA.
I was surprised to read that today.
Well, John Moran is absolutely one of the best transition players, may be the best. I mean, I guess, you know, we could talk about Johannis with some other guys, but John Morant pushing the pace cham Ran in the open floor, is without question one of the best players, one of the best offensive threats in the NBA. You know, sometimes the ISO stuff, well if Jock can get downhill, There's
no doubt he's awesome. But pick and roll, Like, dude, you're just going to go under the screen on them, like if if John's going to step in the jump shots playing pick and roll. You live with that all day long. And so when you can just go under screens on a guy, it makes it a lot easier to defend them.
So before I set you loose, Tim, actually no two questions. First, Alex Jensen, of course, and you head coach if Utah men's basketball is going to finish out the season with the Dallas Mavericks. In for a minute, I thought that meant at the end of the regular season, are they going to be in the plane? How long is Alex going to be with Dallas? How long is the season going to last?
Well, they'll be in the plane because the Suns are smoke. I don't know that Kevin Durants ever playing another second, and the Sun's uniform, I can't. I mean that unfortunately, was a very ugly roll of the ankle. The thing rolled all the way over. I just can't imagine it's coming back this season, And obviously the anticipation is he's likely to get traded this summer and you know so, and the Sun's scheduled down the stretch is brutal. I just can't imagine the Suns. Are you going to catch them?
And look, the Matters right now are sitting in ninth place. The Kings are falling apart too. So I think the Matters are a playing team and might even host the first playing game. You know, I will be shocked if they actually make it out of the play in. I'll be shocked if they because I would mean beating I mean, hell, it might end up being Memphis or Golden State Clippers or the Wolves. It would be one of those four teams waiting in not in you know, the second round.
I guess you would call it the play in. I mean, but it's the one game thing, so you never know that the Matters might mess around and they're waiting to get their butts worked in the first round of the playoffs.
You're hearing anything about who could make a play for Taylor Jenkins. Does he do a Quinn Snyder sabbatical down in Costa Rica before he coaches again?
What do you think that looks like?
Obviously we've got to see which jobs open up. I think Taylor is going to be top of the list in terms of available coaches this summer. You know, one job Frank is anticipated to be open as the Phoenix Suns. I think that I don't know that he will be a top candidate for that one, in particular simply because he is a Bud protege, and to fire Butd and replace the more one his potegees might be a little bit of a weird transition.
To make right, tim before I said, you lose so almost on a weekly basis, the Western Conference topically has become like Okay, Oklahoma City is historically awesome. Who can make them uncomfortable? And over the past week and a half, I've had more than a couple of guests actually offer up Minnesota. I think we've heard a lot of Denver because of course they have Jokic and the Lakers have those two dudes. In Golden State has looked different since
Jimmy Butler. But if you hont in on the Timberwolves, who probably are playing the best basketball they played all year long, what sort of ceiling do you think they present come playoff time?
Yeah? My thing with the timber Wolves is they have one massive slot that is, they are a bad clutch team, and frankly, it's because in large part because Anthony Edwards. You know, his basketball immaturity shows up in those moments where he just reverts to playing complete hero ball. And I just think it's really difficult to be a bad clutch team and to make a playoff rum because obviously you're going to have to win close games. Except for I gets the series last year against the Nuggets where
it was seven games of blowouts in each direction. But their team that went to the Western Conference Finals last year obviously a little bit different because Cats and Alonger there and that trade happened. You know, they are a team that can be one of the defensive teams in the league. So you know, you have to at least respect him as somebody that's not going to be an easy out. I would I would rank them pretty far
down the list of real threats to the Thunder. But look, man, whether it's Minnesota or the Clippers, maybe even the Warriors or the Grizzlies, it's not like the Thunder get some kind of layup in the first round.
No they don't.
They just continue to win at a really high clip. All Right, my friend, appreciate the time today. Have a great week wherever you're traveling, do that safely and well.
Chat too.
I appreciate chat.
Civic Van covers the NBA for ESPN.
He just released his first book, The Wonder Boy Luka Doncic in the Curse of Greatness. You can get the Lanks do all of his work up on his Twitter page, which is out of ESPN Underscore.
McMahon