Just out of curiosity.
Do you do you in xact discuss which horrible Pitbull track you're gonna play and ruin everybody's day?
Or do you just choose one occasionally? But this one was uh, this one was me. So you'll have to get the feedback from Zeke.
Zach Harper on a Tuesday. You know what Tom it is? You already know because it's pit Bull. Do you do you have a like a mount rushmore of pitbull songs? Or do you celebrate their entire catalog?
I mean I do celebrate the entire catalog. I don't know if I could tear it down to four that's asking a lot.
Celebrate the entire catalog. Of course.
Office Space Michael Bolton reference too good of a movie for cenaphobe.
I would imagine, yeah, way too good.
Yeah, not even close to qualifying.
Okay, while while we're in this space, I have begged Porter, my producer, to watch Off of Space for years and he simply won't do it.
Will you get my back please? Will you get my back? Please?
It's one of the funniest movies over.
Thank you. See, I told you I'll watch what I'll watch it.
I'll watch what's it today?
Yeah? Leave, just go, I'll watch it right now.
You guys got this?
I very much don't. If he's not here, I don't know what I would do.
Zach Harper, Tuesday afternoon, better known as NBA Cup Championship Day.
What's the level of buzz for you for Bucks Thunder tonight?
Oh? It's an eleven out of ten? Easily easily eleven out of ten? How could you not be excited for this? You know what I love about this this final, now that we have our second one, is that it counts, but it doesn't count right Like it counts for these guys will win money. If they win, they get the Cup, they have to raise a banner. It sounds like no matter where you are. We saw that with the Lakers last year. But this is this is what we're like.
Giannice could score one hundred points tonight and it doesn't count in the record books. And I love that. I love that it's in this weird state of like limbo.
Yeah, it's uh, It's something that I'm sure will continue to evolve. I wonder if do you ever believe like, twenty years from now, dudes will look at this as not close to the Larry O'Brien, but something that really has value because the parallel that's always drawn is like the FA Cup in the Premiership, or it's the US Open Cup here with MLS.
I know you're a big soccer guy, so you're.
Following me, right, and those trophies do have appeal, but they don't have the same appeal as like winning the league. What's the best case scenario for NBA basketball years from now with this project they've started.
Yeah, I mean, I think it will take time. I think it will take a generation of fans coming through and having this be a regular thing. Like you know, people like us. We can like it, we can be excited about it, we can buy into it, but it's never going to hold the feeling of a true like championship for a tournament the way the way it does in other leagues around the around the world. But it doesn't it doesn't mean it won't hold value for the
people who win it. I do think there will be a point where you're right, It's never going to be the Larry O'Brian troupe, but there will be times, you know, I don't know, ten to fifteen, twenty years from now, where yeah. Has it absolutely has meaning and the teams.
Won it all right, Well, we do have a good matchup. I suppose it could be worse. But before we get to the game, I did watch some of the semi final and it felt like a corporate all star crowd.
Oh yeah, so I think that's a problem, Zach. I don't know what the answer would be.
But since we're both smart basketball guys and we're still waiting for people to take us up on our, you know, our offer to come in and clean up the franchise with our side hustle, could you do something like you reward the fan bases for teams that have advanced and send I don't know, a couple thousand Hawks fans or whatever to make it feel like it's not just a bunch of corporate suits sitting on their hands or their phone. I mean, the atmosphere was underwhelming for the semis.
For sure, it was super indowement. I think the games were great, but the atmosphere it didn't feel like anything right. And I think, I think, you know, I actually have this this here's a little preview of the bouncer free newsletter at the Athletic for tomorrow. I actually asked Jason Concepcion. He's at Network on Twitter and all these social media spots, does a great podcast called Six Trophies with h Serano. Like Jason is really smart with the stuff. He follows
soccer even more than you and I do. And he had this great suggestion of in in you know what, the euro leagues in soccer and everything, they have these official and unofficial kind of fan clubs right for each team, and when you get to these tournaments, they find ways to get those people kind of what you're talking about, to get those people into those matches in order to have a real environment. And the NBA absolutely has to do that, Like this can't just feel like another All
Star crowd or anything like that. Like it has to feel like something that's special for the fans in order for people to buy in. And I think that's a great way of doing it. And didn't they just sign a seventy six billion dollar deal. I think they could afford to get the teams to like get a couple thousand fans of theirs two Vegas to at least have that moment and that support within the within the arena.
Speaking of the NBA's profit and lost statements. You know, the hot button topic in media over the past week or so has been the ever declining ratings of NBA regular season, And of course they are trying things.
It's not like they're not doing anything.
But I'm of the opinion, Zach, the revenue streams created with the international interest in basketball kind of allows the NBA to look at the domestic ratings with a bit of like a not necessarily we don't care, but we're going to be fine no matter what. It is the second biggest sport globally. The Sports Business Journal out a good piece over the weekend. Soccer is still the world game,
as you know, and basketball is two. So really, you know, people can bellyache about the ratings all they want, but it just feels like the money that comes in from overseas that expedites potentially something compromising domestically just allows the NBA to'll kind of laugh at conversations like this.
Is that is that fair to say? And is that good business?
I mean, yeah, I think that's fair to say. They just signed seventy six billion dollars deal with low ratings, right right, Like I don't I gotta be honest, Like I want people to to watch basketball. I want people to celebrate basketball. I want people to be into it like I am and like you are, Like it matters to me. I just can't care about ratings anymore. Like
the league is doing really well. They just signed a historic deal, not like, yes, they get their bus kicked by the NFL every damn time there's there's any kind of conflict and even when there isn't, Like you just compare the numbers. It's not close. Fine, but yes, you're you're right, Like internationally seems to make up for it and then some and then on top of that, aren't they kind of like getting back in with China now, like that that's more money that's gonna come in, right,
that's more interest. Like I just I think from a global standpoint, it's fine. I think from a US standpoint, yeah, it's disappointing, but they're doing fine. Like the salaries are going up, the salary caps going up, the league is getting all this money. I just I don't think it's an actual issue until they have to start peeling back some of this financial progress.
Well, and it also comes down to you know where your yard is at, where your feet are at. We we had Tom Haberstrow on your buddy Tom on yesterday, and we were kind of reflecting back because if you really pay attention to how profitable the business is based off of what you just said with the TV deal, and then you listen carefully, sometimes people on the inside of the league, players and coaches and execs will say,
as the kids say, the quiet part out loud. And when a couple of years ago, after the MAVs were eliminated from the postseason and Jason Kidd took the dais and said, what you guys don't get is we're millionaires cheering for each other.
I just went, oh, like yep, Like we know, Jason.
But you know, like there is this feel from people that are in the league that kind of laugh at everybody else to believe that because you're not the NFL, you're in trouble when these guys are essentially living the life they always want to live.
Yeah.
I mean I saw I think Andrew Schleck, who's who's a great, you know, thunder person for the Athletics, does a great job with our audio and stuff. I saw him on a on a clip of something saying that the next contract that Shake Gilders Alexander signs he's gonna
be the first eighty million dollar a year player. Do you think shake Gilders Alexander thinks, like, oh no, these ratings are low, of course, not like Jason Kidd was right about that, Like you're what you're saying is correct, Like, yes, there could be a bubble that burst at some point. I do think the league does a poor job of marketing itself. They don't know what to do when it's not Lebron and Stephan kd These are all issues. This Thunder team should be super popular around the entire league,
the entire world. Everything that Like, they have a bunch of issues, but the money keeps rolling in. It's it's like, you know, I've talked about this with with Trey Young and Karl Anthony Towns and everything, where people are like, hey, they should be better at this and they should be doing this to you know, affect winning and change these habits.
And I'm like, yeah, I'm with you, But when you're signing two hundred three million dollar deals, how can I tell you you're wrong in the way that you do this right? Like until the money stops coming in the way it is, I just don't I don't see the actual fear of these low ratings or any of the stuff.
And this is always, Zach what I come back to whenever anybody does the whole like, well, the game was different in the nineties and people played more games in the nineties. You want to know why players had to pay for play for paychecks in a way they don't
have to play for paychecks back now. Back then were they were their exceptions where they're the you know, they were the You had the Jordans, you had the Ewings, you had the guys that made big money, but you had I can remember this vividly, you had a lot of players in real financial issues that had to get paid twice a month. So therefore, yes, they were going to show up and play. The reason it feels different is because the money is different. You always follow the money if you want the.
Yes, absolutely, like a perfect example, like you know, from what ninety six to ninety eight or whatever, Jordan made thirty a year, right, thirty million a year, and yes, inflation all this, I get all that, Like, I don't need that explained, but to put that in perspective, Ben Simmons makes forty million dollars, this year and I was shocked he played as many as thirty one minutes last night.
That's where we are. That's where inflation is, right, Like, that's that's just the case, Like you're right, they had to play for their careers now, you know, back then now it's you know, and I don't think it's any like. Look, there are parts of the nineties game and all the
all the nostalgia stuff I love. There are also parts where I look at him like that's a bad product, Like we romanticize it, right, And there are times with the current NBA, I think this is great, and there are times and like, yeah, that's a bad product at times, right, Like you're always going to have those ebbs and flows. But you can't tell me these players are in trouble. The league's in trouble when all this money keeps coming in.
Well.
And also to add to that, you know, it's very easy for anybody on the outside, whether it's fans or media to criticize, you know, players that don't appear to be motivated to play, or players that appear they're just kind of going through the motions. Any one of us with that type of money in the bank, Like if I knew I had a seventy million dollar guaranteed deal. Twice a week, I'd show up and make fart noises for four hours in the microphone.
Like I'm not, you know, I'd look like I looked like Orlando Sean Kemp out there constantly.
Like it's it's it's hard to blame them when the money's there.
So I'm not, I'm not. I'm not judging.
I guess what it is is from a basketball fan standpoint, there's really nothing better than basketball when it's played by the best players in the world who care.
And I would just I would like some more of that is all.
Absolutely, I would too, Like, don't get me wrong, I'm not absolving these players. I just understand it, right, that's human nature. Like we've seen that, you know, for decades and decades and decades, and and they're you know, yes, Like there was a game last night Denver Sacramento that was one of the best games I've seen in the year. Yep, right, it was incredible. Denver up big in the first quarter, Kings come back the last seven possessions of the game
until Jamar DeRozan missed on the final play. Seven lead changes on seven straight possessions like it was incredible, and if we had more games like that, like, yes, you could, you could justify all this stuff. We don't. Those are highs and lows. Like I said, the ebbs and flows of it all. I just like people's watching habits are different and we've just got to accept that. And I think the way to change that is for people to
make the games actually matter. That means the media. That means the fans, That means the players, that means the coaches, that means the teams, that means the league, and the league again just does a bad job of promoting itself. But at the same time, all this money just came in. How can you tell them they're doing a bad job.
And that's always going to be the bottom line.
I can bark about their issues, they send me their P and L statement, and then they just dropped the mic, and I get it, right. You know Tom's point yesterday was, you know, basketball in the NBA is at its best when there are compelling stories to be told. And you reference to Oklahoma City, and I don't think their story is being told enough because every time I dial in, I just think this team. You know what, Sam Presty has done, and you guys released the front office rankings
and OKAC was at the top deservedly. So what Sam has done to build this thing to be awesome now and potentially awesome forever with everything they have in their back pocket is pretty stunning. And every time I hone in on them, I do feel like we might be high speed ahead. Even though we talk about the era of parody to OKAC in Boston, I'm not sure anybody can do anything about it. Tim McMahon hopped on the
show earlier. He dropped the stat OKAC is seventeen and two when they have a seven foot are available either chet or heart and steam like they're they're insanely good. What stands out most about not just in a vacuum, but thirty thousand feet about what Sam has built.
I think it's the dominance right Like the versatility in the dominance is just so apparent. Twenty wins right now, seventeen of them are by double digits. They have a net rating like think about the Warriors with Kevin Durant, think about the Boston Celtics last year, think about the Miami Heat with the Big Three, think about all these dominant teams we've seen over the last twenty years. There are three teams in NBA history instead of a higher
margin of victory than this thunder team. It's like the seventy one Bucks, the seventy two Lakers, and the ninety six Bulls. That's it. Like they are dominant no matter what. Chests out, No big deal. Isaiah Hartenstein's out, No big deal, Shay's having an off night, no big deal. Like it just doesn't matter. This team is so well coached, so well run. Like I mean, I'll just throw this name out there now because I didn't know who he was before the season. He's some rookie for them, and not
even like a high draft pick or anything. This dude aj Mitchell. I watch their games and AJ Mitchell comes in for like eight minutes and plays great basketball. I'm like, who is this guy? How did they find him? Like they just it doesn't matter who they play. There's few teams around the league, you know, Boston's this way. Orlando has become this way despite the injuries. Oka see is this way. It is truly like that cliche of next man up. When someone's out, they embody it, they embrace it,
They thrive with it. And I think Oka See is the best example of that right now. I think the best thing that I like, I get markets and all this crap. If you want the best basketball, the best thing that could happen for the NBA right now as things stand is Celtics Thunder in the finals. That would be sort of the best basketball We'll ever get.
On board with that.
Man, give me seven games or not more if that's possible, but it's not.
But for sure, I'd love to see those two teams play.
And you know, in the name of trying to tell a compelling story, this is essentially my eighteenth year doing live radio full time, my twenty second year doing any sort of radio part time for four years.
You know the deal, you got to do part time for a while.
And I don't think I've ever been more challenged to tell a compel, compelling story about our pro basket here in Salt Lake. Look, man, I'm watching the game last night and I never tap out. Hardin was shooting practice three point shots. They were down like forty. I'm like, dude, I'm not watching this. Yeah, is there a compelling story? It's in three years they are starting front court is Lowry Marketing, Cooper Flag and aj DEBANSA. Maybe that's compelling.
I don't know what's compelling about the Jazz this year, Zach.
I don't.
There was a point last so I you know, I'm I'm locked into to Nuggets Kings last night, and it's just this incredible finish that I couldn't believe the Rosen missed that shot. You know, kind of a bunny, a tough shot, but it's still kind of a bunny at the same time, he should make that, and I'm just like, man, I like even I was like, I need a cigarette after this, right, Like that was basketball euphor you It
was great. And then the only game that's left is Clippers Jazz, and I'll admit I hadn't watched the first like forty minutes of it. I turn it on. The Clippers are up thirty eight at that point, with about eight or ten minutes ago. I can't remember exactly what it was, but they're up thirty eight and I and
I actually wondered. I thought, if they pulled three athletic fans from the wall in that arena and had them with two other Clippers players anyone's choice, could they keep this thing above twenty for three minutes like that, And part of that is the Clippers are playing really well, and part of that is the Jazz. Just I don't know. I don't know, man, Like I I've covered some bad teams before, Like I covered the Kings during the you know, the early Tyreek Evans years, which at least like he
was compelling. So there was that. I covered the Minnesota Timberwolves to the point where I wrote about so many twenty five point losses during the season that one night, I think against the Grizzlies, I just said I'm gonna write about hand dryers in public restrooms instead, and eventually found a tie in to the Timberwolves. But like I was just ranking, like this is what I think is
a good one. I hate that, like that one like continuous cloth that just keeps going through this alleged sanitizer, Like that's like a typhoid rag to me, Like I hate that. Like there were all these things I wondered about. But yeah, when you're covering a bad team, like there's just not a way to make them interesting unless there's a player that supersedes all that, and they just don't have that right now.
No, they don't.
And we'll land on this because I read your piece today at the gym Rear Delt Fly Day. It's not a big deal. If you want my workout, I'll send it to you. It's pretty impressive. I told you Saturday, I told you over the weekend. You know, if you want before and after photos, you know, just hit me up off air.
But I did read today that you wrote just you know, keep your phone on.
Later on you wrote potential trades and you name three jazz players, John Collins, Colin sext and Jordan Clarkson. What sort of interest do you think there really legitimately is on the market for those three jazz players And do you think that it's a good shot one or all three get moved.
I don't know. It's tough to read this market right now because it is so new. I think they're trying to figure out is Butler really available? Is brandon Ingram really someone you want to go get? You know, there's just all this there's oh sho, sorry, tugs them with her, about to go nuts. There's just all these all these issues with it. But I think I think for the jazz they're kind of towards the end of those dominoes falling.
I think Collins, maybe Sexton maybe. I don't think Jordan Clarkson has much value at this point, but we do have, we do have potential for a lot of moves, or the CBA to just not allow it at all.
All right, buddy, go ten to those dogs. We'll set you loose. Appreciate the time metal checks in, all right.
Zach Harper from The Athletic writes a daily piece and a daily newsletter, and today it was all about the trade market. You can find it up on his Twitter page, which is at tak hoops NBA Cup Final tonight. Did you guys even know bos thunder U Dame? We can watch for Dame, right, We love Dame around here. Milwaukee's kind of turned some things around.