Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Bobby Marks on the NBA offseason, Still waiting for LeBron's free agency decision, Jazz a playoff team (?) + more
Transcript
- 0:09Speaker 1: You're tunedoo.
- 0:10Speaker 2: Sean O'Connell Show for the Murdock Chevrolet Studio of ESPN
- 0:14Speaker 2: seven hundred and ninety two one f M.
- 0:17Speaker 1: Sean O'Connell Show.
- 0:18Speaker 2: Here on ESPN seven hundred and ninety two one FM,
- 0:21Speaker 2: talking a little bit more NBA. Bobby mars NBA insider
- 0:25Speaker 2: kind enough to join us here on a Thursday in
- 0:28Speaker 2: the midsummer.
- 0:29Speaker 1: Bobby Marx, Welcome to the show. How are you, sir?
- 0:32Speaker 3: I'm good, appreciate for you having me on.
- 0:34Speaker 2: I was gonna say happy offseason. But is there such
- 0:36Speaker 2: a thing that as an NBA off season?
- 0:39Speaker 3: Oh? Goodness, I guess if you're with a team. With
- 0:41Speaker 3: some teams right now, I get probably in Utah, there's
- 0:43Speaker 3: an off season right now, there's no there's not a
- 0:46Speaker 3: I guess we're all on Lebron watch and writing other
- 0:49Speaker 3: things and kawhi and yeah, I would say eighty percent
- 0:54Speaker 3: of the league is probably has a shut it down
- 0:56Speaker 3: for a bid, and there's probably a group that's still
- 0:58Speaker 3: in that holding pattern.
- 1:00Speaker 1: Well, let's start with the Utah Jazz.
- 1:02Speaker 2: You made yourself very popular with Utah jazz fans a
- 1:04Speaker 2: few months ago, as you're well aware and look, whether
- 1:08Speaker 2: we agree on the methodology or whatever, the tanking ended
- 1:11Speaker 2: up working out pretty well for the Utah Jazz.
- 1:14Speaker 1: They get the number two overall pick.
- 1:16Speaker 2: They turned that into Darren Peterson, and the early looks
- 1:19Speaker 2: at that look like it's going to be something with
- 1:22Speaker 2: potential at least to be special. I haven't had a
- 1:25Speaker 2: chance to talk to you since the pick happened. What
- 1:28Speaker 2: do you think of Darren Peterson and the fit with
- 1:30Speaker 2: the Utah Jazz.
- 1:31Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I thought going into the draft there
- 1:35Speaker 3: was three number ones with AJ, Darren and Cam Cameron Bruce.
- 1:41Speaker 3: I thought you could probably make the case for Kato
- 1:43Speaker 3: Wilson also, who played extremely well and during during the
- 1:47Speaker 3: summer here, I had. I had Darren, you know, for
- 1:50Speaker 3: my own big board as as a top prospect, just
- 1:54Speaker 3: because I thought I thought people looked at his year
- 1:57Speaker 3: at Kansas in a little bit of a different way than
- 1:59Speaker 3: I probably that I it's almost like when you're evaluating
- 2:03Speaker 3: players that are overseas sometimes whether it be the system
- 2:07Speaker 3: that doesn't fit. And I know there was the injuries
- 2:09Speaker 3: that came up, but I thought, you know, I thought
- 2:12Speaker 3: he was the best best talent wise upside wise, and
- 2:16Speaker 3: I thought he showed enough his first year at Kansas
- 2:20Speaker 3: to make him the number one pick. So Utah, Yeah, listen, Utah,
- 2:24Speaker 3: I got a really good player. I mean, I think
- 2:25Speaker 3: you saw it in Spurts during the during the summer league,
- 2:30Speaker 3: and it's it's a guy that they can continue, they
- 2:32Speaker 3: can build around. They've got some good players players already.
- 2:35Speaker 3: But you're right, I mean, it did work out for them.
- 2:38Speaker 3: You know, it worked out probably two ways. You know.
- 2:40Speaker 3: The one the pick that goes to Memphis is there
- 2:42Speaker 3: could potentially be their own and there's no chance that
- 2:44Speaker 3: will be in the top five because of these lottery
- 2:46Speaker 3: reform rules and everything like that. So yeah, I liked.
- 2:49Speaker 3: I liked going into the draft. I thought Utell was
- 2:52Speaker 3: in a really good spot. I didn't understand people say, well,
- 2:55Speaker 3: they should move up and they you know, I said, no, no,
- 2:57Speaker 3: they're in a really good spot. They're going to get
- 2:58Speaker 3: a really good player here. And I think you have
- 3:02Speaker 3: to be happy with what you where. You saw it
- 3:04Speaker 3: there during the summer.
- 3:07Speaker 2: You mentioned the season at Kansas, and I was among
- 3:10Speaker 2: those who kind of at least put up an eyebrow
- 3:13Speaker 2: and questioned, like, okay, we're hearing an explanation of like
- 3:17Speaker 2: creatine as maybe a problem for the cramping and stuff,
- 3:20Speaker 2: and I was like, man, it feels like a place
- 3:23Speaker 2: like Kansas they would be able to get stuff dialed
- 3:24Speaker 2: in a little quicker than they did. Did we ever
- 3:27Speaker 2: truly get to the bottom. Do you feel of exactly
- 3:31Speaker 2: how everything and why everything went down the way it
- 3:33Speaker 2: did at Kansas?
- 3:35Speaker 1: Yeah?
- 3:35Speaker 3: I mean I think, you know, certainly the cramping played
- 3:37Speaker 3: a big, big role into it, and whether it be
- 3:39Speaker 3: you know, certainly he went on the record with with
- 3:43Speaker 3: Ramona Shelbourne and basically he gave it, you know, full detail,
- 3:46Speaker 3: and that now you can dispute that or you mean, listen,
- 3:49Speaker 3: I'm not in the medical world or I'm not in
- 3:51Speaker 3: the sports science world and everything like that. So everybody's
- 3:53Speaker 3: got an opinion on that. I think certainly the cramping
- 3:57Speaker 3: did play a role. I think the availability played a role.
- 4:01Speaker 3: It's certainly, like you know, sometimes when you have an injury,
- 4:03Speaker 3: you're always kind of like looking over your shoulder waiting
- 4:06Speaker 3: for something else to happen. Here, I thought when he
- 4:10Speaker 3: was out there, you know, there was some really good
- 4:14Speaker 3: moments and then there was some uneven moments. And I
- 4:17Speaker 3: think that's why I said like, I think, if you're
- 4:19Speaker 3: evaluating him almost you had to go back to watching
- 4:22Speaker 3: him in high school and things that he was able
- 4:24Speaker 3: to do in a little bit of a different role
- 4:27Speaker 3: and everything like that. So they didn't see we didn't
- 4:30Speaker 3: see anything any issues during the summer, thankfully, and everything
- 4:35Speaker 3: like that. And you know, we'll see how you know,
- 4:37Speaker 3: he holds up over an eighty two game schedule.
- 4:39Speaker 2: I don't know how you feel about the player comp
- 4:41Speaker 2: thing that we do to rookies all the time, but
- 4:44Speaker 2: is there is there somebody that Darren Peterson reminds you of.
- 4:48Speaker 1: I don't.
- 4:49Speaker 3: I don't. Yeah, I'm not a big comp guy. I
- 4:51Speaker 3: just think listen, I think he's a you know, he's
- 4:53Speaker 3: a three level score. I think what will probably pop
- 4:57Speaker 3: on the radar a little bit more this year, especially
- 5:00Speaker 3: when he's got you know, with the with Gyeron kind
- 5:03Speaker 3: of in the you know, kind of you know, in
- 5:05Speaker 3: the front court, there is his ability to defend. I
- 5:09Speaker 3: think he could become an elite level defender here. So yeah,
- 5:13Speaker 3: I don't know about comps or who he compares to
- 5:16Speaker 3: or if it's you know, players from the past here,
- 5:20Speaker 3: but I think his length gives him an advantage. We
- 5:25Speaker 3: joked on set a couple of weeks ago after they
- 5:27Speaker 3: played their first Summer League game in Vegas that we
- 5:29Speaker 3: I didn't remember a team basically game planning for a
- 5:32Speaker 3: players summer league wise, which which which happened in that
- 5:36Speaker 3: his first game, basically trapping him when when he came
- 5:39Speaker 3: over the court, off over a center court and everything
- 5:42Speaker 3: like that. But but as I said, I think he's
- 5:44Speaker 3: got a I think he's got I think he's he's
- 5:46Speaker 3: got a really good feel for him. He's got a
- 5:47Speaker 3: great pace. I mean, if we're if we're talking paste,
- 5:50Speaker 3: maybe I think there's a little bit of James Harden
- 5:52Speaker 3: in him, just based on how he can kind of
- 5:54Speaker 3: get to his spots and it feels like sometimes it's
- 5:57Speaker 3: it's effortless.
- 6:00Speaker 2: Do you like him and Keante George in the back
- 6:03Speaker 2: back court together?
- 6:05Speaker 3: I do. I mean I think there's a I think
- 6:07Speaker 3: there's a little bit of a wait and see too.
- 6:09Speaker 3: I think a lot of this, a lot of things
- 6:11Speaker 3: are new, and the ability for both those guys to
- 6:13Speaker 3: play together, which wasn't hasn't been the case, and we'll
- 6:17Speaker 3: learn about it here. But I do listen, I think
- 6:19Speaker 3: on from a talent level. I think you know, certainly
- 6:22Speaker 3: what Kante was able to do last year and have
- 6:26Speaker 3: a career year, And I think what and what Darren
- 6:29Speaker 3: brings to the table. And then you add whether it
- 6:32Speaker 3: be Ace or Cody or marketing or you know, Jaron
- 6:37Speaker 3: and some of the some of the other pieces that
- 6:39Speaker 3: you got and you still return and everything like that.
- 6:42Speaker 3: I think I think the players on this roster compliment
- 6:44Speaker 3: each other.
- 6:45Speaker 2: Bobby Marx is our guest talking a little NBA hoop
- 6:48Speaker 2: here on the Sean O'Connell show for a few more minutes. Uh,
- 6:51Speaker 2: all of us, I shouldn't say all of us, many
- 6:54Speaker 2: of us here in Salt Lake City had this vision
- 6:56Speaker 2: that whoever the number two pick was going to be
- 6:59Speaker 2: was going to be there with a massive front court. Sure,
- 7:03Speaker 2: Triple J Lowry market and Walker Kessler. And obviously Walker
- 7:08Speaker 2: Kessler is traded away. And you know, I far be
- 7:11Speaker 2: it for me to question the ages on that decision,
- 7:14Speaker 2: but sure, I ask you how much of a subtraction,
- 7:17Speaker 2: how much of a loss is Walker Kessler in this team,
- 7:20Speaker 2: in this roster, and you know the picks and the
- 7:23Speaker 2: assets they got back, is it enough?
- 7:27Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean I think there was a price point
- 7:29Speaker 3: as far as with Walker and based on how much
- 7:31Speaker 3: you had committed already to Jaron and and Larry Ver.
- 7:35Speaker 3: As far as what the number was, I thought, I
- 7:39Speaker 3: thought originally what was offered was fair based on on
- 7:42Speaker 3: the Center market and it you know, Utah didn't want
- 7:45Speaker 3: to kind of meet that price point, which is certainly fair.
- 7:47Speaker 3: Now you replace him, certainly with You've got Nurkic coming back,
- 7:52Speaker 3: who you signed and had some good moments when he
- 7:55Speaker 3: was with. You know, it was a small sample with
- 7:57Speaker 3: with marketing and Jarron here, and you bring Jackson Hayes
- 8:01Speaker 3: and it gives you a ton of flexibility. As far
- 8:04Speaker 3: as you mentioned the picks and the swaps and everything
- 8:06Speaker 3: that basically they kind of reloaded their draft assets that
- 8:10Speaker 3: were lost in the Gyran trade. Basically you just swapped
- 8:13Speaker 3: that out and everything like that. And yeah, I mean,
- 8:15Speaker 3: I think the end game is probably finding something permanent
- 8:18Speaker 3: down the road, and maybe it is with one of
- 8:20Speaker 3: those picks or maybe those multiple picks here. But I understand,
- 8:23Speaker 3: I understand the philosophy as far as why they went.
- 8:25Speaker 3: I think the intention was to resign him, and I
- 8:29Speaker 3: think the one thing you didn't want to do is
- 8:32Speaker 3: the players sign a qualifying offer, and I know would
- 8:34Speaker 3: have been early in free agency and everything like that,
- 8:36Speaker 3: and I think what the Lakers offered, I think was
- 8:38Speaker 3: really too good to pass on.
- 8:42Speaker 2: One of the most fascinating things about this Jazz team
- 8:44Speaker 2: moving forward is, you know, after four or five years
- 8:47Speaker 2: of tanking, Will Hardy and everyone on this roster are
- 8:51Speaker 2: expected to flip a switch and to be able to
- 8:54Speaker 2: flip a switch and just say, now we're going to compete.
- 8:58Speaker 1: Now, we're going to know how to win.
- 9:00Speaker 2: Now we're going to actually press through when we have
- 9:02Speaker 2: these bumps and bruises instead of sitting out for twenty games.
- 9:06Speaker 1: How difficult is that?
- 9:07Speaker 3: In your mind, Bobby, that's the hardest part of it.
- 9:10Speaker 3: And I and I equate it similar to kind of
- 9:12Speaker 3: what the Wizards are going to go through. I think,
- 9:14Speaker 3: you know, everybody's talking about Washington and they're kind of
- 9:17Speaker 3: similar positions. Both teams with AJ and Trey and and
- 9:22Speaker 3: Anthony Davis and everything. And I and you go back
- 9:26Speaker 3: for both teams, and the ability to learn how to win, right, like,
- 9:29Speaker 3: that's the most important. It's the ability to put games together.
- 9:33Speaker 3: It's the ability to deal with adversity. It's the ability
- 9:36Speaker 3: to play meaningful games when we get to March in April,
- 9:39Speaker 3: and you know, prior to getting you know, Jackson and
- 9:44Speaker 3: you know, and Josh on the roster and certainly re
- 9:46Speaker 3: signing Nirk. Like you really when you look at the roster,
- 9:49Speaker 3: it was really Jaron and John Contrard as far as
- 9:51Speaker 3: guys who play in the playoffs. So a lot of
- 9:54Speaker 3: this is going to be a newness for them. For
- 9:56Speaker 3: Kante or for Darren, or for h for a Sir
- 10:00Speaker 3: Cody or you know, Bryce and Isaiah, you know, the
- 10:04Speaker 3: former draft picks and everything. As far as going through
- 10:07Speaker 3: this process, which until you go through it, there is
- 10:10Speaker 3: the great unknown. I mean we could have said it
- 10:12Speaker 3: with San Antonio a year ago or two years ago
- 10:15Speaker 3: and with Victory and that group there, and they said, well,
- 10:17Speaker 3: they really know how to win, and you know, they've
- 10:19Speaker 3: kind of you know, they've taken some mumps and everything
- 10:22Speaker 3: and then you kind of, you know, piece some games
- 10:25Speaker 3: together and then you kind of get rolling. So I
- 10:27Speaker 3: think getting off to a great a good star is
- 10:29Speaker 3: going to be priority. I mean, that's going to be
- 10:31Speaker 3: the biggest thing here. But as as you mentioned, like
- 10:33Speaker 3: we probably don't know until they actually go through it.
- 10:39Speaker 1: In twenty twenty five.
- 10:41Speaker 2: All of us were devastated to not see the Utah
- 10:43Speaker 2: Jazz win the lottery and get Cooper Flag as a result,
- 10:46Speaker 2: and then Ace Bailey ends up being I think a
- 10:49Speaker 2: nice piece and a revelation for a lot of fans.
- 10:52Speaker 2: And I count myself among that group that probably underestimated
- 10:56Speaker 2: him and his enthusiasm for playing in Utah. Now he
- 10:59Speaker 2: had into his second year, Is he ready, based on
- 11:03Speaker 2: what you've seen, to be a true difference maker, to
- 11:05Speaker 2: be a guy who can you know, if they ask
- 11:08Speaker 2: him to, can be in every game starter and maybe
- 11:10Speaker 2: carry some of the scoring load, et cetera.
- 11:13Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't know, because it was his limit.
- 11:17Speaker 3: He was so limited in Summer League, only playing in
- 11:21Speaker 3: a couple of games, and you know, you know, you know,
- 11:23Speaker 3: thirteen minutes, you know, and it certainly was very uneven
- 11:26Speaker 3: and everything like that. And I think there were I
- 11:28Speaker 3: think there were a lot of good moments from Ace
- 11:30Speaker 3: last year. I think the ability to play seventy two games,
- 11:34Speaker 3: the ability to get better as the season gets along.
- 11:39Speaker 3: Now you're asking him to, you know, take a leap, right,
- 11:41Speaker 3: take a big step. As far as his development, I
- 11:45Speaker 3: think the beauty of it is is that we don't
- 11:47Speaker 3: have cameras inside of what these guys are doing right now,
- 11:49Speaker 3: right so you we might get to late September and
- 11:53Speaker 3: be like, Wow, he added fifteen pounds of muscle where
- 11:55Speaker 3: he's really developed his He was able to stredge the
- 11:58Speaker 3: floor and do a lot of things differently here. So
- 12:00Speaker 3: I would say, I think what you saw last year,
- 12:04Speaker 3: I think you have to like, I think there's still
- 12:06Speaker 3: a great unknown as far as how much better he
- 12:09Speaker 3: will get. And I think he will get better.
- 12:12Speaker 1: I think the whole team is going to get better.
- 12:14Speaker 2: And then I look around the West and I say, well,
- 12:16Speaker 2: how much is it going to matter that you got better?
- 12:19Speaker 2: Because San Antonio is probably still getting better, and Denver
- 12:22Speaker 2: could be better and La I mean, everyone is trying
- 12:25Speaker 2: to get better all at the same time. So as
- 12:27Speaker 2: far as upward mobility for this Utah Jazz roster, I've
- 12:31Speaker 2: said it at you know what, I think there at
- 12:32Speaker 2: least a play in team would be really nice. Surprise
- 12:35Speaker 2: if they were just a straight up playoff team. Is
- 12:37Speaker 2: that too much? Am I expecting too much in a
- 12:40Speaker 2: year like we already mentioned? Or you just got to
- 12:42Speaker 2: flip a switch.
- 12:44Speaker 3: It shouldn't be. I mean, I think you can make
- 12:47Speaker 3: an argument in jazz stans will probably think I'm nuts
- 12:49Speaker 3: when I say this. I said, like, you'd probably rather
- 12:51Speaker 3: be in the West and the East. And I say
- 12:53Speaker 3: that not because of where we're Oklahoma City and San
- 12:56Speaker 3: Antonio is I think the Eastern Conference from a depth standpoint,
- 12:59Speaker 3: is much better than the West.
- 13:00Speaker 2: I really do.
- 13:01Speaker 3: I think what teams were able to do, and so
- 13:03Speaker 3: certainly if the Kauhi trade goes through, and I don't
- 13:06Speaker 3: know what the Clippers have, and certainly Phoenix and the
- 13:09Speaker 3: Lakers are all new, and Denver really didn't add any
- 13:11Speaker 3: pieces to their roster, and Houston the same thing, and
- 13:16Speaker 3: so there's there's there's that. So yeah, I mean, if
- 13:20Speaker 3: they're not in contention for playing spot, I think it
- 13:23Speaker 3: would be, you know, certainly a disappointing year as that.
- 13:26Speaker 2: The entire NBA holds its breath waiting on the decision
- 13:29Speaker 2: of a forty two year old.
- 13:32Speaker 1: How many how many playoff.
- 13:34Speaker 2: Wins does Lebron James add to a roster in twenty
- 13:37Speaker 2: twenty six, twenty twenty seven.
- 13:39Speaker 3: Oh, that's a good question. I think I think that
- 13:42Speaker 3: all the teams are different. I think, you know, certainly
- 13:45Speaker 3: at least the three in the West. In the East
- 13:46Speaker 3: with with I think Miami probably makes the biggest impact,
- 13:49Speaker 3: certainly because of a team that you know couldn't get
- 13:52Speaker 3: out of plane and yet Jannis and Lebron to that
- 13:55Speaker 3: group with Bam and some other piece. This year, I
- 13:57Speaker 3: think Cleveland gets to an Eastern com finals but get swept.
- 14:01Speaker 3: So can you take another step with Lebron, I think
- 14:04Speaker 3: he can. Philly is an interesting because you've got him
- 14:08Speaker 3: and Jalen Brown to a group with Maxi Edgecombe and
- 14:11Speaker 3: beat already and some other players you know, Wade, Dean
- 14:14Speaker 3: Wade and Anthony Simon's here, So I think he doesn't
- 14:18Speaker 3: have to be the guy like he was in twenty
- 14:20Speaker 3: ten or twenty eighteen. I think he's probably more of
- 14:24Speaker 3: what we saw since March when Luca and Austin were
- 14:27Speaker 3: out there. You can be your third best player on nights.
- 14:30Speaker 3: He could be your best player here. But certainly I
- 14:33Speaker 3: think whoever gets him and you know signs him and
- 14:35Speaker 3: everything will probably catapult to probably one of the favorites
- 14:38Speaker 3: in the East. I'm not ready to put them in
- 14:40Speaker 3: ahead of where New York is just based on what
- 14:42Speaker 3: New York was able to do in the playoffs.
- 14:45Speaker 2: All right, last thing before I let you go, I'll
- 14:47Speaker 2: finished with an unfair question and you can throw Lebron
- 14:50Speaker 2: into this mix as we await his decision if you want.
- 14:52Speaker 2: But all of the players on new teams heading into
- 14:55Speaker 2: this year, all of the movement, who makes the biggest
- 14:59Speaker 2: impact for that franchise?
- 15:02Speaker 3: I think if the trade goes through, which I think
- 15:05Speaker 3: it will eventually, I think Kawhi in Toronto. I just think,
- 15:09Speaker 3: and there's a there's a big if to that. Of course,
- 15:11Speaker 3: as you know, I think him being able to stay
- 15:13Speaker 3: healthy will be of the big if in him getting
- 15:15Speaker 3: through playoff series is it will be a big thing too.
- 15:19Speaker 3: But I just I just look at what he was
- 15:21Speaker 3: able to do last year and basically have a career
- 15:23Speaker 3: year at his age and be available. I think it matters.
- 15:27Speaker 3: And I think by swapping him out for I think
- 15:29Speaker 3: Brandon Ingram, who you know, was kind of a little
- 15:32Speaker 3: bit of an uneven playoffs yere, I think that probably
- 15:35Speaker 3: takes them to a team contending to be the sixth
- 15:37Speaker 3: seed or fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. So one
- 15:39Speaker 3: of the teams we're talking about uptown.
- 15:42Speaker 2: Bobby, can't tell you how much I appreciate your time.
- 15:45Speaker 2: Thanks for your expertise as well. Let's chat again soon.
- 15:48Speaker 1: Appreciate it.
- 15:49Speaker 3: Thanks for having me, Bobby Mark.
- 15:51Speaker 1: S it'd be a insider over at ESPN. You can