Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Gordie Chiesa on training camps finishing up for Utah Jazz and NBA, Latest on expansion to Vegas + more

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Gordie Chiesa on training camps finishing up for Utah Jazz and NBA, Latest on expansion to Vegas + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: Peace out.
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  Speaker 2: Let's get the latest on the Utah Jazz with former
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  Speaker 2: Jazz assistant coach Gordy Chiesa. He's forgotten more about the
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  Speaker 2: NBA than any of us will ever know.
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  Speaker 1: Let's not get crazy. Come for the Hoops Talk.
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  Speaker 2: Stay for his list of the day.
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  Speaker 1: My list today.
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  Speaker 2: Here's OC with basketball savant Gordy Chiesa on the Sean
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  Speaker 2: O'Connell Show.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Sean O'Connell Show.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome back to our resident NBA guru, Gordy Chiesa, longtime
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  Speaker 3: assistant coach in the association. He's forgotten more about basketball
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  Speaker 3: than you or I will ever know.
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  Speaker 1: Gordy, welcome back. How are you?
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  Speaker 4: Sean, I'm doing well. Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: So I was just reading this article from Shams Charania
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  Speaker 3: about how the bids for the new Las Vegas expansion
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  Speaker 3: in the NBA, there's three ownership groups that are kind
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  Speaker 3: of vying for the rights to be the expansion owners.
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  Speaker 3: And the numbers they're reporting are even higher than the
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  Speaker 3: ones we speculated on. $ 12 to $ 13 billion for a
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  Speaker 3: franchise and a new arena. And it's It's, of course,
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  Speaker 3: some big-money players here that are leading the charge in
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  Speaker 3: all these three different competing groups. Gordy, which one of
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  Speaker 3: these are you part of? Which one of these did
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  Speaker 3: you lend your billions of dollars to?
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  Speaker 4: No, the answer is none. However, you and I said
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  Speaker 4: recently back in the summertime, we said roughly $ 9 billion
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  Speaker 4: to $ 10 billion. So just think about it. Billions of dollars.
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  Speaker 4: Used to be millionaires that owned teams. Now it's billionaires.
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  Speaker 4: And usually speaking, it's also not one person. It's a
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  Speaker 4: group of people. That's how much the franchise has run out.
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  Speaker 4: So let's put it in context. An expansion team will
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  Speaker 4: be much harder as far as owning a team. Recently,
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  Speaker 4: the Lakers went for $ 12.
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  Speaker 2: 5 billion.
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  Speaker 4: So an expansion team with a new arena and startup
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  Speaker 4: costs will cost more than the Lakers, one of the
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  Speaker 4: most premier franchises in the NBA. That's how much it
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  Speaker 4: costs to own a team.
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  Speaker 1: That's wild to me. And look, I get it.
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  Speaker 3: You get to touch down in a new market and
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  Speaker 3: there's a lot of lucrative possibilities that come with that,
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  Speaker 3: but Why does it make business sense for a brand-new franchise,
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  Speaker 3: an expansion franchise, to be more valuable, to be more
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  Speaker 3: costly than the Lakers? Or, I guess, I mean, this
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  Speaker 3: would put them up there with, like, what the Knicks
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  Speaker 3: are probably valued at.
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  Speaker 2: Correct.
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  Speaker 4: The Knickerbockers, world champion. No one really knows because it's
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  Speaker 4: midtown Manhattan. Also, the Knicks own the owner, the own
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  Speaker 4: Messler Garden. And so the Knicks, I'm just guesstimating, Sean,
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  Speaker 4: be worth– I'm pausing, like, showing $ 25 billion?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, yeah.
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  Speaker 3: The thing is that these numbers, this funny money, this
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  Speaker 3: monopoly stuff, used to be so pie in the sky.
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  Speaker 3: When I was a kid and franchises were selling for
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  Speaker 3: $ 100 million, and people would kind of laugh and like, okay, wow.
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  Speaker 3: And then they crossed the billion-dollar threshold. And now you
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  Speaker 3: can't buy a franchise for a billion dollars.
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  Speaker 1: You can't get.
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  Speaker 3: Like, NHL franchises have been historically the cheapest ones in
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  Speaker 3: pro sports, and now you can't get an NHL franchise
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  Speaker 3: for a billion dollars. So the inflation and the escalation
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  Speaker 3: of pricing in these pro sports is one of the
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  Speaker 3: hottest growing, the fastest growing assets you can find.
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  Speaker 4: Very much. And what is an NFL team worth? Yikes.
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  Speaker 4: Because you can see the NFL, when it used to
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  Speaker 4: be owned by family people, Now it's not because it's
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  Speaker 4: so much. And again, that's the power of television. So
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  Speaker 4: much is tied up into live programming where we know
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  Speaker 4: the NFL rules and the NBA is a close second.
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  Speaker 4: Now the playoffs start in baseball, the postseason, which is
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  Speaker 4: exciting time. And I'm sure soccer is trying to catch up.
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  Speaker 4: And so is hockey. And that's the consumer. They want
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  Speaker 4: live programming now. And that's why some of these franchises,
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  Speaker 4: let's put it in context, though. So for the listeners,
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  Speaker 4: is that Sean and I are talking about a franchise for, say,
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  Speaker 4: the New Vegas team, which will come in the 28-29
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  Speaker 4: season in the NBA. The expansion fee is roughly, Sean,
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  Speaker 4: I'm assuming, they haven't said it yet, between $ 900, 000 to
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  Speaker 4: $ 1 billion for the expansion fee, which goes to the
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  Speaker 4: other NBA owners. When the Jazz became a franchise in
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  Speaker 4: New Orleans in the 1974-75 season, the expansion fee was $ 6. 35 million. $ 6. 35 million.
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  Speaker 4: Now it's going to cost roughly a billion dollars just
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  Speaker 4: to be part of the club.
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  Speaker 3: And look, if you want to get into professional sports ownership,
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  Speaker 3: it's one of those things you probably got to do
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  Speaker 3: it now before... did prices get even more ridiculous because
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  Speaker 3: you just mentioned, well, what about these NFL franchises? There've been,
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  Speaker 3: there's been three NFL franchises sold in the last four years.
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  Speaker 3: The Broncos cost 4.65 billion in 2022. And then the
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  Speaker 3: very next year, the Washington commanders were sold for 6.05 billion.
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  Speaker 1: So that's a $ 1. 4 billion increase in one year.
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  Speaker 3: And then, after winning the super bowl, the Seattle Seahawks
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  Speaker 3: were sold to the coastal family for $ 9.
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  Speaker 1: 6 billion.
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  Speaker 3: So a 50% increase from the last previous sale, 9.6
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  Speaker 3: billion for the defending super bowl champs. And if you
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  Speaker 3: continue with that trend, then the next NFL team sold
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  Speaker 3: would have to be, you know, $ 10 or $ 11 billion,
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  Speaker 3: and then the next one after that would be $ 13 billion.
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  Speaker 3: So if you're in that category, you're in that place
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  Speaker 3: where you can play in these waters, even you might
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  Speaker 3: be outpriced sooner than later.
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  Speaker 4: Very much. So it's a fascinating time in professional sports,
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  Speaker 4: but it's all about the fans and still, Sean, the competition.
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  Speaker 4: Speaking of competition, in the NBA, training camp is right
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  Speaker 4: now in full force. And In every training camp, the
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  Speaker 4: number of players in it, the max number is 21.
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  Speaker 4: So you can have 21 guys in jazz practice this morning,
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  Speaker 4: which started at 10 o'clock in game two. And all
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  Speaker 4: those 21 players, they're under some sort of contract, either
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  Speaker 4: NBA guaranteed contract, a two-way contract, or make a team deal.
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  Speaker 4: So you cannot be in an NBA training camp without
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  Speaker 4: being under some sort of contract. Now, just for the discussion,
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  Speaker 4: let's put it in context. If you're a person that's
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  Speaker 4: on a non-guaranteed contract, if you last with the team
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  Speaker 4: through the preseason, through January 10, 2027, which is the
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  Speaker 4: guaranteed date for contracts for a full season, the lowest
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  Speaker 4: you get paid this year in the NBA is $ 1.
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  Speaker 3: 357 million.
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  Speaker 4: $ 1. 357 million for a guy that was undrafted or played
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  Speaker 4: in Europe, fight, fight, and claw to make a roster.
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  Speaker 4: That would be the lowest you get paid in the
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  Speaker 4: NBA this year. So that's a whole bunch of money,
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  Speaker 4: to say the least.
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  Speaker 3: So when we're talking about the guys that are just
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  Speaker 3: trying to make a roster, right, in other sports, you
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  Speaker 3: do everything you're asked. You play special teams in football.
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  Speaker 3: You carry the bags in baseball, whatever it is, right?
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  Speaker 3: What's the equivalent of that in the NBA?
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  Speaker 4: Well, the standing also is that the rookies carry the bags,
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  Speaker 4: helps out the cooking people, and they get all the
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  Speaker 4: menial jobs, as far as in a fun way, in
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  Speaker 4: a locker room. So that's the equivalent of it, that
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  Speaker 4: rookies are treated as rookies, even star rookies. So A.J.
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  Speaker 4: the Bouncer of the Washington Wizards, he'll be treated as
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  Speaker 4: a rookie, even though he's a very talented guy. And
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  Speaker 4: so was Cooper Flagg last year. So it's almost like...
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  Speaker 4: An initiation period of being a rookie in pro sports. Now,
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  Speaker 4: that's off the court, but on the court, when you're
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  Speaker 4: a rookie, if you can play, you can help a
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  Speaker 4: team win. People gravitate towards you and are respectful of
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  Speaker 4: your ability. Now, how do you make a team? So
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  Speaker 4: if I was counseling people, which I once did in
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  Speaker 4: the NBA for over 20 years, is that if you're
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  Speaker 4: an NBA hopeful, to make a team, this is what
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  Speaker 4: you should be. Low-maintenance persona. One, two, first player on
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  Speaker 4: the practice floor and the last to leave. Three, offensively
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  Speaker 4: be trusted. Four, urgently defend. Five, frequently pass. And six,
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  Speaker 4: make open shots. So if you want to make an
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  Speaker 4: NBA roster with your talent that the Lord gave you,
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  Speaker 4: those six things will help you make it make a
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  Speaker 4: roster because the coaches all value what I just said.
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  Speaker 3: Who are those guys for the Utah jazz that are
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  Speaker 3: on the bubble that you think will be doing all
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  Speaker 3: the things right and end up on the opening day roster?
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  Speaker 4: Okay, the answer is probably none because the Jazz right now,
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  Speaker 4: the Jazz have right now under contract 14 players on
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  Speaker 4: the standard contracts and then three on a two-way contract,
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  Speaker 4: which you get to pay this year on a two-way contract.
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  Speaker 4: It's $ 678, 000 and change. And so the only guy I
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  Speaker 4: think that possibly could go from a two-way into a
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  Speaker 4: standard would be this guy named Blake Henson, who played
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  Speaker 4: last year for the Jazz, who's a knockdown shooter and
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  Speaker 4: does compete hard. So what you want to do if
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  Speaker 4: you're in a training camp, it's not your team only
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  Speaker 4: that you're trying to make. You're trying to make also
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  Speaker 4: the other 29 teams. So everyone's in full force as
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  Speaker 4: far as the scouts are out there watching every NBA
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  Speaker 4: game and you're trying to attract the eye of someone.
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  Speaker 4: Here's the problem, Sean. In yesteryear, just for the discussion
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  Speaker 4: right now, you should play between six to eight preseason games.
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  Speaker 4: In this generation, it's only four. So, for example, in
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  Speaker 4: jazz basketball, they're only playing four preseason games, and that's
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  Speaker 4: the norm, either four or five now. And so if
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  Speaker 4: you're a player and one of those guys trying to
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  Speaker 4: make a team, hey, I wish it was eight because
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  Speaker 4: I want to play versus only playing in practice where
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  Speaker 4: the coaches on that team see you perform, but not
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  Speaker 4: the other teams, the 29 other teams. Yeah, they saw
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  Speaker 4: you play in college. They saw you play in summer league,
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  Speaker 4: but now you're an NBA player. and it is one
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  Speaker 4: more look right now that the scouts are looking at
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  Speaker 4: you and maybe someone got hurt in practice and they
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  Speaker 4: think that you could help their team as far as
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  Speaker 4: making the roster. So I'm all for more games in preseason,
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  Speaker 4: not for the starters. I'm talking for guys usually the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th,
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  Speaker 4: 12th man or guys trying to make the roster.
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  Speaker 1: Gordy, what's your list today?
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  Speaker 4: Sean, my list today is right on point about The
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  Speaker 4: all-time leaders in most seasons played. We thought of making
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  Speaker 4: a roster. I cut it off at 20 years, so
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  Speaker 4: it's really a short list. So, Sean, think about playing
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  Speaker 4: 20 years or more in the NBA with the rigors
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  Speaker 4: on your body and the mental focus. Hit some common
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  Speaker 4: traits of these guys that did this. One, durability. Two,
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  Speaker 4: competitive junkies. Three, enjoy being a member of a team. Four,
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  Speaker 4: love of the game. And five, as the decades moved on,
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  Speaker 4: they adjusted their offensive game from only airborne to more
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  Speaker 4: gravity plays. So as the years go on, for all
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  Speaker 4: their time, you go more on the ground plays versus what?
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  Speaker 4: Airborne totally.
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  Speaker 2: Here we go.
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  Speaker 4: With 20 years already in the NBA, 20 years these
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  Speaker 4: guys played, they are Kyle Lowry, Judas Haslam, Jamal Crawford,
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  Speaker 4: Kobe Bryant, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They all played 20 years
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  Speaker 4: with 21 years credit service. These guys played are Chris Paul,
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  Speaker 4: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Robert Parrish, and Kevin Willis. with
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  Speaker 4: 22 years credited service in the NBA. His nickname shown
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  Speaker 4: was half man, half amazing, Vince Carter, with 22 years,
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  Speaker 4: and the number one player in the history of basketball.
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  Speaker 4: He has credited right now 23 years, but it'll be
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  Speaker 4: 24 years when he played the first game this year,
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  Speaker 4: when he plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, is LeBron James.
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  Speaker 4: So that is so few people that play 20 years
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  Speaker 4: or more, and LeBron leads the pack. My instincts tell
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  Speaker 4: me minus golf a bit injury for LeBron, he's going
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  Speaker 4: to try to play 25 years, meaning this year, coming up,
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  Speaker 4: and next year. Just quickly, two notes. 19 years credit,
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  Speaker 4: let's give a shout out to two Jazz players. With
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  Speaker 4: 19 years credit service, they are John Stockton, John played
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  Speaker 4: in 1,504 games. But Sean, after 19 years in the NBA,
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  Speaker 4: he played 17 times every game in that season. And
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  Speaker 4: Carl Malone played 19 years also, 18 years with the Jazz,
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  Speaker 4: and one year with the Lakers. Carl played in 1,476 games.
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  Speaker 4: So it's hard to do that you've got to take
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  Speaker 4: care of your body, have also old school luck, and
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  Speaker 4: also the mental focus that you enjoy being on a team.
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  Speaker 4: That's Sean. That's my list of today.
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  Speaker 3: That's Gordy Chiesa, our resident NBA guru. Conversations with the
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  Speaker 3: legend brought to you by Aladdin Industries, your Utah V-Lux dealer. Gordy,
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  Speaker 3: always appreciate your time, sir. Thanks for hopping on.
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  Speaker 4: Thanks, Sean. Stay well. Bye now.