Hour 1 of Jake & Ben on June 25, 2025
• Draft night is tonight, who will be in play for the Utah Jazz at Number 5? What strengths and weaknesses does each prospect possess?
• Top 3 Stories of the Day: The Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, The Lakers continue to show interest in Walker Kessler, Draft Night is tonight and it could get crazy.
• Not everybody needs to worry about a prenup…
and now it’s 10:00 a.m
Let’s just get down to it
and it’s time for your sports picks
Strap yourselves in folks
From two guys who have covered the teams you’re passionate about for years
We are professionals
This is Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jacob Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jake Scott Ben Anderson Uh what I was gonna say to David and and if I could have gotten into a word uh
that’s the joke And by the way David’s David’s superpower is projecting the best on people
Okay
And he we were talking about characteristics and drafting and you know what you got to have and what you don’t And uh he we were talking about the the ability to play hard right the the desire to go out there and really bust it on both ends And how do you get that uh out of players and I what I I think David is ignoring is that some people don’t have good intentions
Yeah
You know some people don’t have the desire to put their head on straight and play for the team and do all these things Whereas I I the famous Chibari Parker anecdote
where a coach was getting on him about his defense and he says “I’m not I’m not paid to play defense.”
Yeah
Get away from me
Yeah And you could tell Jabari like “Dude you’re not going to be in the league going forward unless you can do some of this stuff.”
Like he wasn’t going to listen Jabari wasn’t going to listen to that
Yeah
You know what I mean And so I what I love about David is he’s like you you get to these guys and you you you tell them that this is what you got to do and you coach them up and do all this and it’s like “Yeah David James I bet you would listen to something like that.” and you’d be like “Okay
you know what i know DJ listens to what people tell him to do I saw
that.” So if you follow DJ on Instagram
DJ does a preview of their show every night on Instagram He records it at 12:30 at night very often He’s got to be up at what 5
To be here he’s recording at 12:30 every night because he’s outside and the wind is blowing It’s dark And I will tell you just to reveal how the sausage is made I know our boss Maddie said “Hey DJ like probably in an off-handed comment saying like it’d be great to get a little more social interaction Like why don’t you post this on Instagram every night?” And DJ has not missed it since then because he responds to coaching really well
So he would respond to a message like that
but not all And and here’s Thank you Here’s what we were kind of trying to talk to Tim about yesterday when evaluating players is that
how do you figure out if that player responds to that or what that player responds to or if that player is capable of responding
period at all
Yeah I think one of the Donovan Mitchell flaws and let’s just pick a success story because obviously this didn’t set him back that much is he came in and I I did his first press confer we had a one-on-one with Donovan Mitchell the day after he got drafted
and he came in and the the kind of narrative around him because remember Gordon Hayward had not left yet The narrative around him was well I’m gonna get on the floor garden because I’ve got a right 69 wingspan or whatever it was and I’ve really I’m a effort guy
It was a non-negotiable for Rick Patino at Louisville
Yeah Right Yes Exactly And then as soon as Gordon Hayward left and the role was not that all of a sudden Donovan that was the last time Donovan I think ever talked about defense let alone played it
He certainly said it He never did it
No Yeah
No And that didn’t And I always thought if Donovan became a more well-rounded player
like if he was a 61 guy that actually played 66
Yeah He would be a lot better A lot better
I really do wonder you know we’ve talked a lot about how Donovan walked into the perfect situation and all of a sudden the Jazz needed somebody to take 20 shots and he was happy to do it and he turns into a you know borderline if not true superstar in the NBA You do wonder actually if he had played a year next to Gordon Hayward or whatever and did have to get on the floor by playing some sort of defense if he would be a better player now
and learning that lesson
Yeah I wonder
Yeah No this is really applicable to a guy who’s going to be very firmly in the conversation for the Jazz in Ace Bailey where Ace Bailey does have defensive chops Like he is 6’7 and a half He’s got a 7 foot wingspan He really has a weird number of blocks and steals Like he did it in college His interest level is not that high but the tools are absolutely there No question about it And he seems dead set on not going to Philadelphia because he wants to be the guy right away His best case scenario might be go to Philly and learn how to do all the other stuff to get on the court We have a number one scorer We have two guys who are better at scoring than you We have three or four guys who are better at scoring than you So go figure out how to do what Jaden McDaniels does with the Minnesota Timberwolves And then if your offense does click in you’re truly one of the best two-way players in the NBA What you’re talking about is the Kawhi Leonard story
Yes Exactly right
And interesting because with a top five pick which is obviously very relevant uh to the Jazz usually you’re getting a player that carries more heft politically than that The thing about Kawhi Leonard is that he had to do all that stuff to survive He was in eat what you kill mode He was drafted what
14 15 something like that Yeah He wasn’t handed anything He was drafted 14 on the Spurs with Manu Tim Duncan and Tony Parker
Yep
You know top five picks including the one that the Jazz are going to get are often it goes the way of Donovan Mitchell where they’re handed whatever
you get a lot
Like to your point Jaylen Green was handed that in Houston He was drafted and they’re like “Oh please take as many shots as you want and we don’t care about your defense We don’t care about any of that Here you go.” Would he be a better player today if he would have grinded it on a roster where he had to learn a few things and wasn’t just gifted something this is a part of our argument on the tank last year and and the the just play the young players Play them from the beginning Let them fail We don’t want to win anyway It’s like well are they learning the lessons that they got to learn to be a a player in the NBA and everybody has to learn those lessons I you know you could say this might be the biggest complaint you can have about the Jazz coaching staff and what they’ve done with Keonte George I don’t think you can look at Keonte and say there’s not raw talent there There just there is He can get anywhere he wants to on the floor He’s got a good handle He can get to his jump shot off the dribble Like all things that stars do He’s got wiggle Yeah He’s got he’s got good leaping ability Like he he has good physical tools He was given a lot early And I think some of that toothpaste is hard to put back in the Yeah in the in in the what do they call that
the tube
The tube I was going to say bottle but no one uses a bottle
Luka Luca Donuch will never play defense
right
never
Right You know I was watching the finals and I was looking at TJ McConnell and I was just thinking like you know what the Jazz should do it would be the best thing you could ever do Again I try to not tell the Jazz what to do because they know a thousand more times more
Well you’re smarter than all of them obviously
I’m not But uh I would just wonder like can you because Keonte George if he’s still on the team next year as a bench player he’s not going to be starting because that’s what he did the last half of the season Can you just ask him to be TJ McConnell and say like dude I don’t care if you’re actually good at it or not but I want you to start picking up guys 60 feet from the basket and I just want that to be your role and you’re going to play 18 minutes You’re not going to play 25 minutes You’re going to wear yourself out on the defensive end You’re still going to get your touches because they need guys to do what you do But I want to just see if you can do that because actually Keiante if you want to play 15 years in the NBA and make a ton of money and be super valuable that’s your job That’s your role
Yeah I just don’t think you can tell somebody that
That’s that’s probably accurate
The the problem you can’t just how much personal trauma and I mean that in a sports sense uh not personal because I know nothing about TJ McConnell but I’m talking about battling onto rosters and being cut and all that stuff How much of that has he had to endure to become the player that he is in that role
right Alex Cruso same thing Yeah
Right Starts in the G-League goes to the Lakers cast off nobody really believes in him
A local example Royce O’Neal
Yeah
Oh my gosh You mean I have to do all this stuff that nobody else wants to do and I’m only 6’4
right I went to Baylor and then I had to go play overseas and then Yeah All the things right the trauma
There’s a lot of trauma that forms players like that Like that Yeah uh
like that
that Keonte has had none of Correct
The worst thing that’s happened to Keiante is he slipped to the low part of the lottery
Yeah
Right You know
now maybe he’s moved to the bench but yeah Otherwise
every AAOU person he’s encountered has done nothing but uh compliment him on everything
Told him Yes
Right
Yeah Even you look at somebody like Isaiah Collier what that year at USC did and watching his stock just plummet from the guy everybody kissed his rump to wow I got to I got to battle to make a roster here I got to I got to figure it out you know like the the professional trauma teaches play I mean they’re humans right we all we all learn hopefully from our shortcomings because we all have them And what do you do next i mean that’s that’s the story of life right
but If you don’t go through some of that stuff and don’t know what you don’t know sometimes you don’t listen And I honestly I we complimented Will Hardy uh during camp last year on his postgame press conferences and he was kind of surprised But if you really listen they’re incredible and you can really if you listen closely kind of
pick out examples of what he’s talking about but he never spe you know never calls anybody out by name
Yeah
And I I think that is like healthy stuff for postgame commentary You’re not hiding from anything but you’re not trying to you’re not trying to shame anybody You’re just trying to get the message out there right and you could pick out times when he was happy with how hard Kee George played And you could pick out times where man he’s just trying to reach this guy And we could probably go pick through examples I’m embarrassed I can’t uh come up with an exact quote but he would call out effort and what it takes to win And he would do positive examples and he was not afraid to do negative examples Absolutely
And again it wasn’t necessarily aimed in his general direction but you could watch you could watch you could watch how well the team played based on how hard Kee played on Not to oversimplify things but honestly you could
Yeah You know Keant’s not been a bad bell weather for whether the Jazz were playing well When Keante was good Jazz were generally pretty good
He went to the All-Star game you remember that and talked to somebody cuz he came back and he played hard for like two weeks Mhm
And then it kind of went back into the to the other mode But somebody at All-Star break told him like “Dude you’re great.”
Yeah You got it
You got to listen to what Ben Anderson is saying on the radio and and really pour it on out there
Kante would love that Um because he is 6’4
No he’s super talented You know why Jabari got away with being lazy for as long as he did was because he How big was he he was like 69
Yeah 69 240
right
yeah And had a super amount of offensive skill
It’s it’s what’s so hard about the draft and it’s it’s a good conversation to have because as we go into the four guys the Jazz are going to be picking from tonight it’s impossible to project what they’re going to be It’s what’s so difficult about it is like yeah of the four guys the Jazz are talking about tonight Trey Johnson Coniple Ace Bailey Jeremiah Fears Jeremiah Fears and Coniple play the hardest By far they play the hardest They play the hardest because they’re the most flawed right trey or uh Jeremiah Fierce is 6’2 when he can’t shoot Dude you better play hard Yeah you’re not going to see the floor if you don’t play hard There’s a bunch of guys who are better physically than you are So you better play like your hair is on fire And he does Coniple is the same way Couple of dunks all year Does not finish on top of the rim It’s a little He’s like he’s not a bad body by any means but he doesn’t have like an elite NBA body He’s got short arms Dude you better have a a motor that runs so hot And it does He never stops moving He’s an elite shooter He’s figured out those things to compensate for the rest Trey Johnson and Ace Bailey their ability to just hit shots in your face is as good as I’ve seen It’s crazy It’s It’s unbelievable how well they do those things As a result they just take entire stretches off It’s weird Ace Bailey or let’s do Trey Johnson Trey Johnson will hit the craziest crossover step back three that you’ve ever seen Perfect defense and he just sinks it
and then we’ll just watch a guy get a layup
It’s just like what are you doing you you clearly have all the skills You have all the tools
Yeah But your three-pointer is only worth one point because you’re going you’re giving up layups on the other end every time What are you doing and Ace Bailey is the same way So how how do you project who’s going to do what better i get why you would pass on fears I get why you’d pass on Conanipple The physical tools are not what traditionally is elite in the NBA And the guys who have elite physical tools and great skills dominate in the NBA But if they’re Jabari Parker and they don’t care or they’re Kee George and they don’t care
Yeah but what if they’re Paul George and you can talk him into being LeBron’s rival with the Pacers and all of a sudden you’re taking him to seven games in playoff series What if they’re Jaden McDaniels jaden McDaniels at Washington Now it was a little weird They played zone defense but has all these crazy physical tools right he’s 6’9 He looks just like Ace Bailey He’s got the same body super long Out of nowhere there’d be these flashes where it’s like he hits a three and then he blocks a shot and then he gets out in transition and he dunks it and you’re just like “Dude you’re a star Like you are a hundred million dollar NBA player Why do you not care at all at Washington?”
It’s cuz they were probably 4 and 11 through their first 15 games and he just turned it off and now he’s a great NBA player But how do you bet on that because if he’s terrible he’s terrible And you’re not taking him at 28 or whatever where the Timberwolves got him You’re taking him at five
And everyone matures but when
right some guys don’t mature until they get out of the league
right trey Burke never matured
right so maybe that’s the example of not everyone matures
There’s a lot of guys and and Will Hardy I think did say this in a postgame press conference I’ll just steal this straight from Will He says there is a graveyard full of players who say I wish I’d played harder
You meet guys all the time who NBA is left them behind
and they say I just wish I had done some of the stuff I was unwilling to do as a young person Now they might have just not been good enough truthfully
but like there was a good clip earlier this year of Jabari Parker I think he’s in Spain wherever he’s playing He’s crying in a post game because he’s like I a I’m so happy I’m still able to play basketball but b you can just tell like there’s pain that he realized like I kind of blew it I had it and I kind of blew it See Ben I know you like to pretend that that you’re a young person but this is how I know that you were old You have come around to the the way of thinking of every aging generation that we’ve made all these mistakes We’ve made them all I’m screaming at you Do not make these mistakes And what does generation after generation after generation of young person do
make mistakes
Spare me old man
Right
I’ve heard your yarns
Yep Yep
I mean how many how many generations of athletes now like how long has it been since sports athletes were making real money
since the 70s probably
Sure
Like a significant amount of money
Yeah Like you were you NBA players were rich in the 80s
right they were rich guys Not as rich as they are now but they were rich
So since the 70s how many retired players have been screaming at current players about managing their finances man I really wish I would have managed my finances better when I was was making that kind of dough cuz I’m I’m really I’m working I’m hurting now and I shouldn’t be I I should have you done this and this and that and I I didn’t do that Instead I listened to my uh drunk cousin who told me to invest in a vacant lot
Yeah Whatever
Whatever
I would be I would read the book of Crazy Athlete Investments
Yeah It’s why the
I I bet it’s wild
Whatever broke the 30 for30 episode is one of the most shocking and and impactful that you’ve ever seen And everyone remembers it It’s like yeah watching these guys lose all their money is crazy
And athletes are still going broke
Still all the time
Still going broke Who’s the baseball player right now um who is suing is it Tatis who is suing to get his He signed a deal when he was like 17 that okay you’re going to give me $2 million now and you’re going to get 10% of my earnings
It is it’s Fernando Tatis
for the rest of my career Yes You’re seeing some college players have done this as well
It it really happens to foreign players in baseball a lot It was what was happening to Reggie Bush
right and there are sharks everywhere preying on athletes because they make this big public sum
And bad decisions in your 20s can just absolutely cream you
in your 40s or whatever or in Tatisa’s case in his what he just signed like a $400 million deal It’s like 40 million bucks you owe to these morons who just
right You give away prayed on you as a 17-year-old who is here from a foreign country I think I don’t know Pat Tatis’s entire story but probably doesn’t know where I’m going to go where I’m going to stay how I get into this baseball thing and all of a sudden you’re you’re promising 10% But it happens all the time But how many former athletes are like “No dude don’t sound like that guy You’re crazy.” Yeah Like don’t do that I know you’re desperate at the moment but hey they’ll find you Just hang in there Yep
But young people don’t want to listen Anyway to bring this home it’s all all this goes into the calculus of Who are you go going to pick and how much do you weight this stuff bad body language or maybe you talk to an assistant assistant assistant who was like man this dude has effort issues You know what I mean like how much do you calculate that in or even to bring it here’s what I would draft if I were the Jazz as long as Bozo’s out there are creating new draft formulas I’m picking the player with the most professional or sports trauma
Okay Michael Jordan got cut from his uh varsity basketball team as like a ninth grader or something like that
By the way not that traumatic So does every ninth grader
Yeah but the guy thought the guy thought the world was against him
Correct
And you know what LeBron now I’m just picking LeBron because he was he was kind of crowned so to speak so young LeBron never got cut from a team in his life and he turned out to be all right So whatever Maybe there’s exceptions to uh to every rule but I’m I’m picking a kid with some sports trauma in their background So maybe I get some effort especially now in the NIL world where they’re just handed like here’s a zillion dollars It’s true But the chip on your shoulder can’t be that you’re 6’2 because that’s a Yeah guess what you’re never getting that chip off your shoulder
Agreed But Isaiah Thomas had a fine career
Yes he did Not a champion
but a fine career a fine run to the Eastern Conference Finals Guy had a lot of heart
Yes he did Did he lead the league in scoring
he did
Yeah Trying to get that contract and he broke his hip and Danny said “Uh I’m not going to pay you In fact I’m going to trade you Thanks for your service.”
By the way that is the comp for Jeremiah Fears Absolutely Like if he makes it that’s what it looks like And he’s bigger than than Isaiah Thomas is Isaiah Thomas is 510 5’9″ whatever he is very little But Jeremiah Fears if he makes it it looks like Isaiah Thomas Uh to your point
new Isaiah Thomas
I remember the first time I saw Trey Burke stand next to Tony Parks and I thought to myself Tony’s got a few inches
I thought “Wow this guy’s got an uphill battle.” Cuz he’s like 5’11 maybe
It is funny to reckon Do you remember his first summer league
trey Burke
probably
He was awful He couldn’t score
Oh he got outplayed by Neto Neto flies in three games late because Neto was playing overseas and his team was still in the playoffs The playoffs end He comes in his first day Howell Netto was so clearly a better basketball player than Trey Burke Ed was going to have a better NBA career and he he pretty much did Trey Burke ended up kind of resurfacing a couple of times but you could tell from day one uh-oh this Jazz second round pick at 50 is better than their ninth overall pick that they traded up for
Yeah they got Rudy in that draft They had a great draft And that’s the other thing about tonight Maybe five ends up being a bust If you get a great player at 21 you had a good draft
Yeah Who cares
you’re taking swings
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This is 975 the KSL Sports Zone It’s time to break down the biggest stories of the day This is the top three stories of the day on kslsports.com 975 the KSL sport
Jacob Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone Man I hope Christian doesn’t record us during the breaks That would have been a partic particularly spicy one Uh want to remind you Ethan Millard with Teton Wealth will be live in studio with Hans and Scotty uh coming up today To help you with your retirement plan tune in or visit retireton.com for further information Uh time for the top three stories of the day KSLports.com that is brought to you by our friends at Jbrooks Jewelers Cherish your love at Jbrooks Jewelers Explore their expertly crafted engagement rings made from the finest materials J Brooks Jewelers I think I’ve asked you this question Can you use the And you’re engaged so this is relevant to you but I can’t remember what you said Can you use the engagement ring for the wedding ring that’s what I did
That’s what I did as well
cuz I could not really afford another like fancy ring
I can’t justify buying another ring like the one I bought
Now if you’re going either engagement or wedding rings Jay Brooks is your spot But I wondered if there was a uh I wondered if there was a policy
I will add a band
Okay But it will not be goddier than the bling Yeah
Okay Well my my wife can’t even wear her engagement ring anymore so she’s allergic to it which is probably a bad sign
Yeah You shouldn’t have gotten her the arsenic ring
No it’s like she has an allergy to white gold but honestly it didn’t come on till till she goes on vacation No
I can’t wear it on vacation I’m allergic I got to take it off It was several years ago that she developed this allergy and it was very visible to the naked eye So it was not it was not invented No What’s number one
no Her ring finger was swollen to twice its size I was like “Oh what’s going on there?” She’s like “I think I’m allergic to my ring.” Oh that’s probably a bad symbolism at the very least All right What’s What’s first number one the Boston Celtics continue to shed celery Salery not celery Yesterday they said Chris Porzingis to Atlanta
Um this is something you predicted long ago Ben that Boston had some difficult decisions to make this off season And honestly the Jason Tatum injury I mean I don’t think they would tell you that it was a good thing but it did make this decision easier
Made it easy
Yeah To to shed some salary Here’s another trade Uh three-way deal Ben Chrisaps is headed to the Hawks along with a second round pick Terrence Man and Atlanta’s number 22 pick tonight are going to the Nets And then gorgeous George Niang and a second round pick are going to Boston
Um
so Boston is bringing nothing back
Yeah this is we’re going to have to start getting used to seeing these types of trades which is just like we just got to get under the apron And we’ve talked about this apron a lot and so far a lot of it has felt somewhat hypothetical right or theoretical like this apron’s going to be hard This apron’s going to be hard This apron’s going to be hard We’ve said that a lot and I’m not sure until really the last two days we’ve seen teams really getting off of players for a low return Now I don’t actually mind the Anthony Simons return for Boston but Boston didn’t get anything back for Chris Porzingis Anything George Nyang you can have George Niang Whatever Who cares about George Nyang and a second round pick is nothing They just wanted to get off the salary of Chris Apps who two years ago was a key piece in their championship run For the Hawks they didn’t give anything up right they gave up Terrence Man
Who cares yeah
who cares and a first round pick Okay that’s fine 22nd overall pick for Chris Staps is a good value And then Brooklyn they just get a They have five first round picks tonight Five They have the eighth pick the 19th pick the 22nd pick the 26th and the 27th pick They’re just going to be all over the board They’re going to make a trade to move up It’s why I think they’re going to try and make a run at Ace Bailey at number four But the the value here cuz I’ve had the same thought I had a lot of people I was on with the uh JJ and Stevenson Sylvester yesterday and they kind of said like what what is the deal with Chris Absoringis and I had this exact same thought and I will tell you I asked an NBA coach this and he said he’s 7 foot4 and he shoots 40% from three End of story Like that’s it Sometimes I do think I I miss the forest for the trees It’s like he’s 7 foot4 So he’s the tallest guy on the floor all but two games a year when he plays against Victor Wimyama and he spaces the floor
and he’s at least somewhat useful on defense
Yeah he’s a really good rim protector He is he’s a really good shot blocker
Soft and a really soft rebounder for some reason But
but he blocks shots
He can block shots cuz he’s 7’4
So when you get him for next to nothing which is kind of what Atlanta got this is a good value deal for them if he can stay on the court and that’s always the big issue He is injuryprone and had a weird illness last year that never got solved Uh maybe we should make a I don’t know a bit out of uh this person’s having a bad day today But the person having a bad day today is no doubt Chris Sporzingis
Sure Cuz now he has to watch Trey Young play basketball just like he had to watch Luca Donuch play basketball
And it was not a real great role for him You know what was a great role for him was you know the team that
moved it around and played on both ends and uh you know had two wings that weren’t necessarily ball dominant or the the they could be at times I mean don’t get me wrong but that’s not necessarily their game plan and how to do it And now I got to stand in the corner and watch Trey Young play basketball That’s this is just great Catch a lob every once in a while Conceptually Trey and Chrisaps playing pick and roll together is really enticing right those are two great shooters That’s enticing and Trey is a very good passer But to that point you know there was a reason Rick Carile who’s an offensive genius didn’t see value in having Chris Apporzinga set screens for Luca Donuch And I wonder if he’s just a bad screen setter And all honestly I don’t know Uh he might just be a terrible screen setter So he doesn’t do doesn’t generate any value for you there And so yeah you’re just like post up or stand in the corner Now to the credit of Quinn Snyder despite his some some of his flaws he is great at utilizing spacing He really understands NBA spacing right the Jazz were notorious for just having 20 three-point games 20 games with 20 made three-pointers when he was coaching the Jazz He really knows how to space the floor and that should make Chris’s life pretty easy So I think there’s some there’s value there
If I were Chris Staps I would work on this move This is what I would get into the gym and be doing right now to be able to play with Trey Young It’s very easy Okay
it’s you raise your right hand Now all you have to do and people watching on uh on the cameras can see what I’m doing here
Now wave it side to side
I’m open And practice your practice your Carlos Boozer like “Hey Trey Hey hey I’m open I’m right here.”
I think that would I think that would really help his game Nothing He’s gonna get have to get used to that That’s what he did in Dallas That is what he did in Dallas
What he did in Dallas I don’t think he liked it Atlanta has a talented roster I like Jason Daniels a lot Uh I like Zachary Reza conceptually Um and then Jay Jaylen Johnson had a big breakout year last year before he got hurt So they’ve got some interesting pieces They could they could be a top five team in the East next year
Maybe look at it as just good enough to not get fired
Sure And that’s good for Quinn getting fired
right yeah Getting fired is bad
Y
All right what’s next
number two uh as the draft approaches rumors continue to circulate Sounds like the Lakers are really interested in Walker Kesler still
Of course they are He’s just what they need honestly
And again the value of Walker is he’s still on his rookie deal So if you trade for Walker you only have to match what $4 million in salary That’s that’s a great value Uh you know that if you can get that and then you have his rights next year And the nice thing about having a guy’s bird rights is you can go over the salary cap to sign him right it’s based on Larry Bird The Celtics had to go over their salary cap to be able to hold on to their players and they were able to do it with Larry Bird That’s where the name comes from So the Lakers are going to be in salary cap held for the foreseeable future and they’re going to give Luca a bunch of money this summer for his extension and LeBron’s still around and they’re going to pay guys But you get Walker for one more season at 4 million He fits with your very expensive roster and then next year you can extend him and make it work But that’s why Walker probably has more value than any other center on the market right now Even if you extend him this summer it doesn’t kick in until next year or I should say summer of 2026 But then the key question to ask is why would the Jazz do that
sure
That is the most important I know why the Lakers would do that Ben as you very well illustrated out there And if you watch them in the playoffs the Smallier couldn’t uh brew up uh the lack of a center
right
and ended up not playing the center that he did have That was his strategy Well we’ve got Jackson Hayes Okay Jackson you’re not playing I think sometimes you shouldn’t worry about what other teams do and if it makes them better and how that affects you But sometimes you do have to go back to the Milwaukee trading Drew Holiday to Portland only to see him rerouted to Boston and say like “Oh now you got to deal with Drew Holiday for two years in the prime of your you know championship window with Damen Lillard and and Giannis Antmpo.” Not that the Jazz should necessarily be terribly worried about what the Lakers do But like you know what if you’re going to trade them trade them East Don’t don’t give them to the Lakers and then have to deal with Luca and and Walker for
the foreseeable future And I don’t think that’s because here’s the thing If you trade Walker you’re going to get value for him It’s not like the Lakers are the only team that would give you value for Walker C
I hear you I just don’t know if the Jazz are in the phase where they care about that
right and I that is the thing And Milwaukee was foolish not knowing that he was going to end up back on uh Drew Holidayiday that is was going to end up back on on the Celtics That was
and their championship window was open in Milwaukee and the Jazzes is not
I would agree Yeah The Jazz aren’t going to be relevant in theory unless something dramatic happens for the next several years What do they care yeah I I understand that I recognize
I would just want it all I don’t even know what the Lakers have to trade Have it be the the whole thing because you’ve got him by the shorthairs
right
because they really need him and there’s not another player that’s really out there
right
that is nearly as good as him
right clint Capella is not good anymore Brook Lopez is not very good anymore And that’s the other those are your other options
Nick Claxton he’s good He’s fine He’s pretty comparable to to to Walker but he’s also already got his $20 million deal So you’re having to figure out how to get $20 million on your roster Walker you’re bringing on $4 million
But this is the great part about having flexibility if you’re the Utah J I don’t know We keep him I don’t care
Yeah By the way Walker’s a good player
He is a good Exactly
I don’t think I would trade Walker to be I just kind of unless I got a crazy crazy offer
He could very easily fit into the future
Yeah So that’s their that’s their superpower not being desperate You can say “Well
give us all of your assets Lakers You’re the one who’s desperate not me.”
But if you end up with a Trey Johnson tonight or a Jeremiah Fierce tonight or a this nice thing like you said he fits an Ace Bailey tonight or a Coniple tonight you know what’s really great how about a big guy who does all the crappy stuff how about a big guy who offensive rebounds and then blocks a ton of shots
and eats elbows and plays tough and does all those things that you have to do to win in the playoffs specifically and is like a good dude This is just like a legitimately nice guy and fun to have around and like actually has some weird leadership stuff that I was surprised I’d want to know if his free throws were any better but yeah
sure
He’s what they need
Yeah So I’m not sure I’d be willing unless Walker’s camp is just like we need $35 million otherwise we’re going to hit un we’re going to hit restricted free agency and see if we can get it somewhere else
Yeah just keep Walker He’s really good
Yeah it’s easy
He’s young and he’s really good
Exactly All right what’s next number three it is excuse me it is draft day By all accounts it sounds like it’s going to be a crazy night
Uh Jazz have the fifth and the 21st overall pick I made a whole list of uh names that are guarant I I listed 20 guys Six of them are guaranteed to be on the board when the Jazz are drafting at 21 The 21st pick historically is not a very good pick because they never are If they were good picks they would go at five Um but there are interesting names This is going to be a fun draft Steer clear of clutch guys I was reading you the list of clutch guys yesterday Yes you did
That That’s my other draft strategy
Stay away from that
Sure
I don’t need Adele on the other line telling me what to do
Yeah Thank goodness Even though uh Ace Bailey has the worst representation of anyone in the draft Thank goodness he’s not a clutch guy
Not a clutch guy
It’s a green flag No honestly when you hire the random agent it makes teams more likely to draft you because they feel like they can swindle that guy
Yeah Right
Yeah And I do think that that should be recognized I know a lot of people are like “Ace Bailey’s agent’s crazy.” It’s like “Yeah then you should swindle him You should just take advantage of that guy over and over and over.”
No but you got to be aware of the the random Maxur ghouls out there that are actually Sharks even though they only have like one client
Sure
That guy was a genius Got us a lot of money
But anyway you you draft a player that hires their uncle You’re like “All right.”
Yeah
All right By the way speaking of the draft we’re very excited about this Ben Uh we’re going to be out at the cage today Now the station is going to be out there from 3 to 10 Uh so there’s going to be draft coverage really going on that uh that entire time You and I jump in with Coach Cleave at six but we’re going to have the whole staff I mean it’s a you take some cuts
All hands on deck kind of thing out at the cage Um
no I doubt it but I don’t know Maybe I’ll
Are you sore from golfing or what
i could be talked into it
If they give us a booth I’ll step in there
I I just don’t know It’s my willingness to embarrass myself tonight Is that like a high thing i mean I’m not above embarrassing myself per se but it’s not something I’m really excited about
They might want you to get in there man
Yeah right If I’m forced to do it I’ll do I’ll do whatever I got I stood in a batting cage and got hit with a ball once
Yes I want you to do the Happy Gilmore
I had to do that for a stupid on air bit that we did That sounds like a great bit
I had to get shot by paintballs cuz I lost a bet on air once I mean no I mean like I’ll do it I just don’t want to
Okay Groin shot Just don’t bring your own bats
Hence nearly blinded a listener
You have a baseball bat still
Like did you have a nice bat
no
No
not really
Okay
I heard Lloyd’s bringing his own bats to the batting cage tonight
He’s bringing his first base glove I was in I like I wasn’t that particular about what bat I used because I I don’t know I just wasn’t
Sure And so usually teammates had nicer bats than I like had in my bag just to fill out the bag you know
so I would be like “Hey can I take a cut with that one you mind?”
Yeah Worked out all right
You should have should have You should have gone wood bat If you were a contact guy you should have just said “I’m not hitting it out anyways I’m just going to use a wood bat because it’s scarier.”
Yeah I could barely get it out of the infield before Let me try with a wood bat That one got back to the pitcher Uh but we’re excited about the cage This is really cool The concept is is really cool We made the joke about Lloyd because he brought his own clubs to Top Golf
Yeah it’s Top Golf for baseball Yeah they they put games and make it really enjoyable for groups or whatever you’re looking to do So this is not the uh
ballpark snacks So if you’re looking for food they have some of it too
This is not the 49th Street Galleria However I love that place but where it’s just you know stripped down patty cage this is not that
I’m excited to go
So come join us at the cage tonight And by the way you can get 10% off uh with the link at kslports.com and uh 10% off your time at the cage So check it out More Jacob Ben coming up next 975 the KSL Sports Zone This is This is DJ and PK
J Hill defensive coordinator for BYU joins us When I look at your group so many of the guys have experience So it seems like it’s not a lot of holes and the holes that you do have you’re filling them with experience
I love the transfers we took and I love the guys coming back The corners right now are the most inexperienced group on the defensive side but they’re one of the most talented There’s always going to be things that you’re working on and trying to build depth But I do like the roster a lot I think we’re way bigger inside than we were last year The linebacking core is as good as there is in the country I’m excited to see how this defense comes together and how they gel That’s such a critical part of good defense and that’s what we had last year We had the sum of the 11 was pretty special [Music] Catch DJ and PK mornings from 6 to 10 on 975 The KSL Sports Zone The sports you love The teams you can’t live without
Dear sense of urgency This is Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jacob Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone Uh join Hansen Scotty coming up on Thursday That’s tomorrow from noon to 3 my hearing centers 8941 South 700 East It is also Wednesday means it’s a win ticket Wednesday Let’s do it right now Caller number 12 81575 zone We’re hooking you up with two tickets to go to uh Collective Soul and Live the concert July 13th at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater Caller 12 right now 801575 zone
Ben are you uh you’re getting married at some point are um are you going prenup absolutely
Are you
yeah she’s making me sign one
Are you doing that yeah
Is she making you sign one
of course Yeah
Okay She’s a woman of great regard
Of great means
Yeah
And uh
better than me She’s making you go down that road
Yeah I just had to get a new car after my car wrecked Yeah I don’t have any
Do you have to have that convo though was it awkward
she She The first date she told me She said “Listen bud
By by the way if this is going anywhere
said it’s in her Tinder profile.” She said “A prenup comes with
You’re such a freaking bozo Come with a prenup.”
Okay
Said “All right.”
All right But that’s an understanding you two had
Yeah Big time I just spent the break looking into uh the prenup between Bezos and and what’s her name i have no idea what
and there’s there’s no details out there but I he got creamed in his first divorce
Correct And I got to imagine the prenup has got to be pretty
He was Was he married before he started Amazon
yes
So he didn’t get creamed in his divorce She was with him every step of the way through a partnership
Fair enough I’m not making any judgments here I’m just saying like half of his wealth went out of his money
And so I’m guessing the next marriage he
split their money Yes you know this this new gal has no such claim
And so I would guess that that is going to be hammered out in writing I would be fascinated to read what’s in there
You didn’t get it You don’t It’s not made public
It has not been made public But you know I told you all that drama uh with Rory Maroy and his wife I told you that was all about the prenup Remember and then the prenup gets fixed and he comes home Yeah Uh have I ever told you about my buddy Justin
Jeff Bezos’s divorce what they finally settled on what the agreement was do you know what the number is
it’s It’s something wild I mean
$ 38 billion Yeah Billion
Yeah Crazy
That’s so stupid It’s a lot of dough Yeah That’s what I’m saying Billion
He’s not giving 38 billion to this new guy
I bought the Lakers three times and I had eight billion dollars left over And then I bought the Washington football team What’s the What are they now the Commandos Yeah Um my buddy Justin uh bless his heart he met a met a woman and fell in love and they were getting married
and he he asked her to sign a prenup and let me tell you he was bringing like a like a 95 Mitsubishi Eclipse and like a duffel bag and some clothes you know his his family’s like a normal middle class family so it’s not like he was bringing generational wealth to the table or anything Yeah
He’s like
I just got to protect myself
Honey you don’t get the eclipse if this doesn’t make it
because this is my house If if the everything goes bad
this is where I’m living about I was like why’ you do that what’s the point of that
i get it If you’re you know a Rockefeller or something Yeah sure But if And my buddy by the way is it is extremely successful now and has a really cool job But at the time it did not have that
Well good for him
Yeah Right Well he’s protected
You’d have some guts to ask for a prenup
I think But for no reason
Yeah And then
you know to have that face I can’t remember I’m sure she said some sort of show you know Yeah sure
Yeah absolutely Whatever you say pal This protects me too
She’s like an accountant you know she’s just like “Okay it’s hilarious.”
Well
but if you’re Bezos I get it
The world is built on guys who have insane confidence
He just threw a foam party for her uh 19-year-old kid yesterday Like
that’s right
Yeah You make that sign a prenup right yeah The yacht The yacht
Yeah Yacht should come with a prenup
I know the score of that game
Yeah
I’ve seen that before All right We’ll have more coming up next Our friend Kristen Peak is going to join us Uh we’re very excited about that We’ll get her kind of final thoughts on what to expect tonight on draft night It’s Jake and Ben 975 DKSL Sports Zone
