NBA started last night.
The Utah Jazz open up their season this evening against the Grizzlies.
Pit Bull is on my radio show.
It must mean the triumphant return of one Zach Harper on a beautiful Wednesday.
Zach, I love you, I hate you.
How are you? I'm great? I love you and I love you. You know, no hatred here, even though you're wrong about pit Bull. A concert happened yet in Salt Lake City.
I wouldn't know if it did, Buddy. That's where I'm at with pit Bull.
The perfect cover.
How you been man, I'm good man.
You know. I try to take time and not get excited about the season until like opening night, and yesterday I was geeks for it. I was so excited that everything was back, and I'm here for well. Tonight's games are terrible, but for the most part, I'm here for the return of everything for sure.
And I follow you, follow you on social So you had a rather eventful off season, mister world traveler, tell us give us the cliff notes.
You know, much like much like Pitbull, I was trying to be mister worldwide. Uh. I went to Europe, I went to Amsterdam, I went to Copenhagen. I went to Prague, I went to Paris, I went to London. I was everywhere.
Now has your palette changed? That's the number one thing that changes when you travel travel internationally.
I mean, I like, I learned about some you know, check or Czech Republic, Chech food. I don't know. I don't know what. I don't know what you call it, Chech food, prog food. I learned about some stuff, and I wasn't a huge fan. I was reinforced on all things French cooking, and then just very surprised how into Italian food that Amsterdam was ah a lot of and also in Copenhagen apparently known for hot dogs.
I did not know that.
I've only been to the airport in Amsterdam, so I haven't really sampled the cuisine.
But we can move on.
Nobody gives a rip outside of me. But it's my show, Zach, as you know. So indeed, so we sit here opening night for the Utah Jazz. We'll start locally and then we'll expand it to some other topics and conversation around the NBA. They essentially ran it back with three new rookies, Justin Zanik for his preseason media availability. When asked about the big game hunting Moniker, he said, we tried and there was nothing out there. Well, I'll leave aside the
fifteen really good players that actually did move. I guess what he's saying is there was nothing out there that was worth it to sacrifice. You know, the assets they have Vegas over under is twenty nine and a half, So they think we're in for another year of maybe some decent basketball, but mostly mediocre basketball. Their pick is top ten protected. If it's out of the top ten,
it goes to OKC. I know this sounds like we're just, you know, replaying an interview we did last October, but we're kind of in the same spots, ac, What are you expecting from the Jazz.
I feel like we're the two radio guys and in the movie groundhog Day, just yelling in the groundhog Day.
Yeah right right, yeah, yeah.
I mean where this is where the Jazz exists. They don't want to do a full tank. They want to be competitive. I expect a lot of like the same
as the last two years. Like, I think they'll be surprisingly good to a lot of people outside of the Salt Lake City market, right, I think a lot of people are expecting, oh, well, the jazz they're rebuilding, they'll be bad, and in the first couple of months they'll be pretty competitive, pretty good, and then at a certain point, I don't know it's called January, it's called it February, you'll see them turned towards quote unquote development. I think
part you know, the rosters. The roster's good, like they if they stayed healthy like that roster could compete for a playing tournament spot in most years, except this year, it's going to be like thirteen teams competing for a playing tournament spot. So it's a little more crowded. But you know, especially like last year is whatever, right, Like
the rookie class was terrible the year before. You and I had talked about that, and I kept quoting Marcellus Wallace from Fault Fiction saying, like that ceiling in the back of your head when you try to win this thing, that's pride bleeping with you. Like that, it feels like we're in the same spot because this draft class has four, five, six guys who could be franchise players at some point. I mean, it's you know, it's probably don't all pan
out that way. But it's pretty deep with possibilities, and so you know it has and you're trying to rebuild and you're trying to do it, you know the right way, but stay can you just got to let you got to let it go at some point and just be bad.
And that's where I've been at.
But they disagree and they run the show and they've yet to hire us as their consultants even though our business is out there.
Just go ahead and hit us up on the socials too. Yeah, I know, man, and they're blowing it by not bringing us in.
But ultimately, since you and I last spoke, they did bring back Marketing in on a max deal.
And that's who he is in the league, and that's who he is to this team.
Do you have any insight as to whether or not they were ever close to actually pulling the trigger on a move with him?
And what do you make of who they perceive to be? And look, he's really good.
I don't want to come across like I'm knocking on Marketing because he's awesome.
Uh.
They talk about him as if he's a legitimate cornerstone. I think he's more like the third best player on a title winning team. But they're not close to that. So do you have any insight as far as how close they were to movie him and what are your thoughts on them committeing a big portion of their cap to him in the future.
I don't think it got particularly close, you know, I know, I know Sacramento called in, I know, you know the Warriors were heavily involved, but you know, some other teams were were definitely interested. But you get into this negotiating standoff and it happens a lot. It's not just a Danny Ainger a jazz thing, but you get into the standoff where, hey, this is our guy. We like him a lot, We're gonna max him out. He you know, he's he's an all star, he's an all NBA level player.
We want all these assets, we want all these things in return. And the other team looks at them like, yeah, we like him, but he's not our number one. We're not gonna give up all that. You know, you just get into this this just ping pong negotiation. And I think because of what Utah was asking for, and I don't them you should ask for a lot, especially in the summer when deals are more, you know, are easier to get done. I just I don't think it ever
really got close. He is a really good player. I'm with you, Like I think he's probably a number two on a title contending team. I don't. I definitely don't think he's the number one. But he's he's awesome, Like he's so good, and so they bring, you know, they bring him back on this max deal and it and it eliminates all the trade chatter for this year and we'll revisit next summer and see, you know, when when the dust starts to settle, who really wants to go get them?
So xanik Age, even Ryan Smith, the owner, whenever they're asked about kind of the.
Plan for this season, they refer to.
The youth and they talk about development, and they've all said, with some small variation with each, like, the only way to develop our young players is to play them.
So there are seven players twenty three or under.
It's Walker Kessler is the oldest, and obviously all these rookies all the way down to Isaiah Callier.
The question is Will Hardy.
Right, because ultimately the rotation is going to be up to him, and so do you anticipate Will leaning into simply developing young players, and on the night that Isaiah Colliers one for seventeen and isn't gonna impact winning, will he allow these young players to play through mistakes? Are
we gonna have to suffer? Hearing David Locke breaking down the Patty Mills Drew Eubanks pick and roll ratio in the third quarter because he goes to the vets, I mean, I'm wondering how Will's going to handle this?
Yeah, I mean I think Will. I think, you know, like I do think they empower Will from what I hear, and I think they should. I think at a certain point it won't be up to Will as much, right in terms of like, hey, you know, we're five ten games under five hundred. It's the middle of the season. We're good, but we're not terrible. You know, maybe we start focusing, maybe this guy is a little injured, maybe
we trade away this guy. But I think eventually, you it's just a lot of what happened last two years, like you go towards that. I think I think Will would you know we thought it with Chanta George. Actually think Chianta George is a perfect example. Last year there were times where he showed glimpses early on. I'm like, Yo, this kid is good. This kid deserves to be on the court. And there were times where he played and you were like, I don't know why he's out there, right.
I mean, it was more good than bad. But he was a rookie. He was a rookie point guard, and I think it led to that kind of ebb and flow, and he's stuck with him. But I don't think everyone gets that same luxury as Kante George gotten, nor should I do. I think they should, because I don't know how many of these guys are are ready to kind of deal with the lows when also going through the hives.
And so that's a long winded way of saying I don't know, but I think it will be taken out of his hands at some point.
Yeah, let's let's dig into Kiante a little bit.
So the fact of the matter is, and you brought this up a couple of times, he was not a great shot maker in college, and he was not a great shot maker his rookie year, even though he had some volume in some usage. I mean, he averaged eleven field goal attempts to knife, but shot thirty nine percent shot six threes and I but only shot thirty three percent.
You like the body you like to build.
I still am a little bit skeptical about his ability to lead a team as a lead guard. Will continuously talks about not using labels and it doesn't matter who initiates the offense. That's fine, but somebody still got to make a play. So your two keyante, George, what do you think it looks like?
I mean, I think I think it looks you know, I think it looks a lot better I you know, he it's it's weird. It's with him, everything looks good in terms of creation and ability, Like he creates a shot that I think is like that's a good shot, and it just doesn't go down. I don't look at his shooting form and think, God, it needs an overhaul, right Like I look at him like, yeah, it's pretty good. Like his shooting forward is pretty good. He seems pretty comfortable.
He seems comfortable attacking the basket. He seems comfortable in the middle of the floor. But the results aren't there in terms of shot making. I like their approach with him of just kind of letting him figure it out. But you probably only have another season until that's the problem. Right, Like he's he's good, Like he has great poise for being a you know, going into his second years as
a lead guard. He like he's he's got a good build, like he's you know, everything is, everything looks like he's a player. But if that shot doesn't start falling and isn't progressing, and the finishing at the rim isn't progressing, like all that stuff isn't progressing as this season goes on, yeah, like early on next season, if that's still an issue,
you have to be concerned. I don't think there's anything to be concerned about right now, but it is weird that everything looks so good and the results in terms of just accuracy don't come close to mirroring that.
So it's a big year for Walker because ultimately, you know, year three rookie year, they did pick up his option, which isn't a surprise so beyond the team next year, but second Rookie of the Year voting shout out Andy Larson, who voted for him for Rookie of the Year.
Oh Andy, God bless you.
He was never gonna be that uh and the year one to year two jump was not there all of his numbers dip outside of blocks per game, but the opponent's field goal percentage at the rim actually improved a lot.
So he was blocking shots.
But not affecting them in a way that he did as a rookie. So for Walker to convince the organization that he's not just a guy in a rotational piece, but a guy that you can start and roll with, what does this year have to look like?
I mean, you know, it starts with health obviously, but he he just has to be someone. Can he run, dribble, handoff stuff. Can he you know, be alone on the perimeter with the ball And it's not a complete minus. It doesn't mean he has to shoot threes, but he has to be able to, like, you know, kind of dribble into some action, find a you know, find a guy coming off the screen with a crisp pass. Like. All that stuff has to happen. He has to finish at the rim. He has to be a lob thread
at the rim. He has to be great kind of orbiting that that circle and getting into the dunker spot all that stuff. Offensively. I think he'll be fine because of that. He can't foul. He has to rebound at a at a you know, almost an all star rate. I mean, he just has to be a guy where there's no doubt you want him on the court in big minutes, and there's no doubt you want him on the court when things are going poorly, like that's the
guy that can help calm things down. And we saw it develop with Gobert, you know, pretty quickly once they turned the keys over to him. I don't think that's fair to expect. I think everything like that we talked about that was talked about in general after that trade and in that first year post trade, I think it actually did him a lot of disservice because he was good.
He was surprised, but he wasn't Gobert right if this whole thing like that became this is the worst trade ever to now, hey, that's a good trade for both sides.
I think he just has to go in with sticking on the floor and they they got to trust him, like they have to trust him early on to make mistakes even as they're being competitive, because if they start yanking his minutes and they start pulling him off there, now you just get into a very complicated situation of what the future of him on that team and his contract and everything looks like.
We had local media members saying after two weeks that he was better than go Bear when he was a rookie. So you know, uh, that's kind of how we roll around here. I suppose I should ask you, is there any player on this roster that reminds you of a young Manu Ginobili.
You know, h one that actually does. Maybe Cody Williams. I love Cody Williams like that for Rookie of the Year. I'm a big Cody Williams guy. I don't know if that's Manu territory, but you know there's time for that to develop.
Yeah, one step at a time.
Let's move into the Cody space because, like you, I like him a lot, and I do think he's gonna get run out of the gates.
I think he's gonna play right away.
I don't think the other two will Isaiah Collier is hurt tonight and he might crack the rotation. I think Philipalace he's gonna start the season in the G League, which is fine.
He's a late first round pick.
But I, like you, I'm pretty enamored with Cody, So I hope to see him quite a bit starting tonight. What do you like most about this young lottery pick rookie for the Jazz.
I just think he's stealed for the game, you know, I don't. I don't think it's fair to compare him to his brother for those who don't know, you know, Jayla Williams and the good One and okay, see the guy who's a borderline All Star, Like they have similar games, but it's you know, his brother was just so much further along than he is at this point. But I think, like, I think the SHOT's good. I think his feel for you know, just doing things with the basketball. I think
there's great instincts. I think he's great size, his athleticism is good. Like I just every box is ticked for me in terms of what I think he can be as a just a really really good role player. I don't think he's a star, but I think, you know, in terms of everybody else in this draft class, I would take his stock over anybody's. He was my probably my third favorite prospect in the draft, and I just
love everything I see fro him. I think he'll earn minutes early on, and he'll be someone that you just flat out can't take out of the rotation. The only thing is, you know, if he has injury problems like he had a little bit last year, then maybe he's not getting the time. But I just, man, I think he's such a can't miss prospect in terms of becoming a really good role player.
Last Jazz thing. Then we'll move on to some other topics. Before I said, you lose for the way this Wednesday hit.
And you know, Dennis lindsay the prior iteration of the Jazz front off is Quinn Snyder. Those guys, and they often talked about both on and off the record, by the way, kind of calculating their build to coincide at its peak with the rest of the league, kind of going down a little bit with age with Lebron, aging with Steph Age, aging with Durant aging and things like that. And you know, Donovan's still really good, although it's hilarious that he loves Cleveland so much. New York did watch
you so you love where your feet are at. Bottom line, go.
Bear is still good in his prime.
I mean, most of those guys outside of like Ingles and Conley are still in their prime. So you can see what Dennis was talking about with his calculation of making them at their peak when some of the league his aged. Now, the problem is the league has reset, but the Jazz if not so Okac is good and young, Minnesota and still a kid, and I could keep going, you know the deal Wembin Yama, san Antonio, I could continue. There are five, six, seven very good teams that are still very young.
Lucas Dill in his twenties, Yokiches too.
So what does the calculation look like now as far as the next window that could be open if the Jazz actually builds something special over the next few years, Because it doesn't seem like it's anytime soon.
Yeah, I mean I don't. I don't think you can look at it that way anymore. Right, There's so many different timelines throughout the Western Conference. And again like if the Spurs can be just solid all season and not go through those big dips like they did last year, they'll be in the mix of the playing tournament too.
Because I don't know how many wins it's gonna say, like, there are just too many good teams in the Western Conference to believe that you know you're you're gonna have a forty seven to forty eight win team in the ten spot, Like, I think it's gonna be much more close to to you know, five hundred teams there because the winds there are only so many wins available. With that said, like, I just I think you just have
to get good. And I know that sounds super simple, but you like you got to go get your guy, whether that's you know, Cooper Flag or Ace Bailey or Dylan Harper or whoever, you know, the big kid from Duke, like whoever that is. They're like, there's just so many prospects in the next couple of years. Maybe you're maybe you're gunning for, like, you know, one of the Boozer twins,
you know, the year after. Like I don't know what that plan is, but you have to go get those guys and just start building and knowing that you're not walking into you know, a battle royale with just like four teams that like, yeah, you're probably like trying to jockey for position with with eight nine teams that are on a similar timeline or a close enough one that you don't feel like, oh yeah, when that when that
dip happens, we will be on the way up. I just I don't think the West is built that way anymore. And in order to have that kind of approach, I think you have to be in the East, and it's pretty difficult to get Salt Lake City into the into the Eastern Conference.
Yeah, I've applied. I've not heard back, so we'll see kind of how that plays out.
Hey, before fulting service though, right, I know we.
Do, I know, I know, I mean we are worldwide to speaking of Pitbull, I mean prestige worldwide. You know, hit us up then I'll set you loose. Since Memphis is in town tonight, I'm wondering what you expect now. Jared Jackson Junior is not playing. Neither's Luke Canard, neither's Gig Jackson their rookie cam spencer from Yukon. They're without four rotational pieces, but they do get job back, who
only played nine games last year. What what do you expecting to see from the Griz starting tonight all year long?
You know, I've been anti Zachi Edie just I don't. I didn't haven't thought it's gonna work in any way. I'm you know, it's just preseason, But like I was, I was impressed with how he moved sure impressed with with how they used him and how John and him played off each other a little bit. So I do think that adds a really interesting just presence, and especially if you're talking about a Jazz team that has Walker
Kessler is the other guy. Well, it's one of the few instances in which Walker Kessler isn't going to be bigger and longer than the guy who's going yet, right, So I think that actually presents a very tough matchup where he can just plant, he can roll, he can he can just do a lot of things. And it's because you have to have your focus on job, you have to focus on done bank just jaw in those nine games he was back with the Grizzes last year was just a reminder of, oh, yeah, that guy is
so good. I get all the nonsense he's been through, but that guy just galvanizes a team in a way few can. And so I expect them to be up and down the floor. I expect them to try to play at a really fast pace. I think the defense is going to be very aggressive. I think the Jazz can take advantage of that because it's still kind of new getting everything back into it. But I think Canty George is in for a tough night. I think the
backcourt is in for a tough night. And how they respond to dealing with a Marcus Smart at John Moran, any of those guys. I think we'll show, you know just how resilient or how I know it's just one game, but you want to start off with a good, lasting impression, and I think this is their chance to go up against a better backcourt and still hold their own and feel pretty confident going into the next game.
Great to have the NBA back, Zach, Great to have you back. Have a great week and we'll chat soon.
Buddy, okay, balle Oh goodness.
Hit ball fan NBA expert Zach Harper on show Jazz in Action tonight taking on the Grizzlies,