Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Evan Cohen on the Utah Jazz in Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery, The Jazz's path to contention, NBA Playoffs + more

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Evan Cohen on the Utah Jazz in Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery, The Jazz's path to contention, NBA Playoffs + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: We no.
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  Speaker 2: You tune to the Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
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  Speaker 2: Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred and ninety two one
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  Speaker 2: half MS. Welcome back to the Shot O'Connell Show. Welcome
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  Speaker 2: in von Cohen of ESPN Radios. Unsportsmanlike, but you can
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  Speaker 2: catch right here on ESPN seven hundred and ninety two
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  Speaker 2: to one FM if you are up very early here
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  Speaker 2: at the Mountain time zone. They start at four AM.
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  Speaker 2: Evan Collen, Welcome to the show. How are you, sir?
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  Speaker 3: Great?
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  Speaker 1: How are you uh doing? Awesome?
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  Speaker 3: Man?
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  Speaker 2: We're we're in the thick of these playoffs, so we've
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  Speaker 2: paid a lot of attention to the NHL playoffs. Unfortunately,
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  Speaker 2: our Mammoth are out, and of course the Utah Jazz
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  Speaker 2: are far away from NBA playoffs, but hopefully that changes
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  Speaker 2: sooner than later, and hopefully the upcoming draft lottery this
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  Speaker 2: weekend will help us in that regard. I'm sure you
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  Speaker 2: probably didn't pay a ton of attention to what was
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  Speaker 2: going on here this time last year, approaching an NBA
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  Speaker 2: draft lottery, and it was just anticipation, hope, almost an
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  Speaker 2: assumption that the Jazz had done what they were supposed
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  Speaker 2: to do.
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  Speaker 1: They had tanked their way to being terrible, and.
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  Speaker 2: The reward would be Cooper flag and that number one
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  Speaker 2: draft pick, and then, of course the team fell as
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  Speaker 2: far as they statistically were able to fall to number five.
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  Speaker 2: The pick ended up working out nicely, but the disappointment
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  Speaker 2: this time last year was just thick and insane. And
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  Speaker 2: then you fast forward to now and it's strange, evan
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  Speaker 2: because aj Deboncea is probably even more coveted by the
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  Speaker 2: local fan base here, but there seems to be a
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  Speaker 2: piece an acceptance that it's not gonna happen for this
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  Speaker 2: Utah Jazz team. It's an unfair question, but why do
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  Speaker 2: you think there's such a drastic difference between the two years?
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  Speaker 3: Well, do you remember that year? And I remember it
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  Speaker 3: actually got worse because of remember there were obviously what
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  Speaker 3: do I tell you, you know? But I remember all
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  Speaker 3: the reporting around as Bailey not wanting to go to
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  Speaker 3: specific teams, right, and Jazz being one of those teams
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  Speaker 3: if I'm not mistaken that he wants to go to.
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  Speaker 3: But I think it's different for a couple of reasons.
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  Speaker 3: So I think the disappointment last year obviously was around
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  Speaker 3: a quote unquote, let's call it tank to get Cooper flag.
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  Speaker 3: And while the same results kind of happened this year,
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  Speaker 3: it was done a little bit differently because there's tangible
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  Speaker 3: evidence of eyes for the future and this being the
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  Speaker 3: last year that they're willing to accept doing this, right.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, when you think about when you make the
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  Speaker 3: trade for Jaron Jackson Junior, you're basically saying, we think
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  Speaker 3: we have something here that is unique to us in
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  Speaker 3: the way in which we could put this together. That
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  Speaker 3: if they resigned Walker Kestler and they have Laurie Mark
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  Speaker 3: and then they have Jared Jackson Junior and Ace Bailey,
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  Speaker 3: is what a six ten sho guards somehow wing whatever
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  Speaker 3: you want to call it, and then you add obviously
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  Speaker 3: pieces around them. I think you're looking at it in
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  Speaker 3: terms of bigs, right, I think you're looking at it,
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  Speaker 3: and there's so many of them as it is. Chiante
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  Speaker 3: George obviously, you know. I just think that there's tangible
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  Speaker 3: evidence that this could be a playoff team in the
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  Speaker 3: near future, and the days of tanking are officially done,
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  Speaker 3: but not because of the lottery to me, more so
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  Speaker 3: because of the Jared Jackson Junior trade. Now your initial
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  Speaker 3: point about the Bansta. I think this whole thing is
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  Speaker 3: really interesting. First of all, you know him better than
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  Speaker 3: I would. He seems like a really good kid. I
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  Speaker 3: could be wrong about that, but he comes off like
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  Speaker 3: a really good kid that just wants to play basketball.
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  Speaker 3: I think the tie to Ryan Smith is fascinating in
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  Speaker 3: a way. I hope it happens just from a discussion point,
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  Speaker 3: because the idea of a majority governor of a team
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  Speaker 3: funding a college basketball program and getting a specific player
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  Speaker 3: because of his funding, and then that player being drafted
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  Speaker 3: by his team, Oh baby, we are going to have
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  Speaker 3: rampant speculation, reckless speculation, with no ammo of any evidence
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  Speaker 3: around how he would end up with the Jazz.
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  Speaker 2: I am one who will be stoking those flames. I
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  Speaker 2: love I stubbornly cling to the conspiracy of like, how
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  Speaker 2: did you reward the Dallas Mavericks for trading Luca to
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  Speaker 2: the Lakers, And maybe this will be the reward for
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  Speaker 2: the Utah Jazz. But then wait, mid season we were
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  Speaker 2: given a slap on the wrist, So maybe the NBA
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  Speaker 2: is going to use the Jazz as an example for
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  Speaker 2: their anti tanking initiatives, which, of course we now have
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  Speaker 2: a more cogent sort of rule proposal on and I
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  Speaker 2: want your thoughts on that. The Jazz were singled out
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  Speaker 2: during the season and said, hey, you can't do this.
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  Speaker 2: You can tank. It's a time honor tradition, but you
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  Speaker 2: can't do it this way. That's upsetting for people that
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  Speaker 2: are important to upset, important not to upset. So don't
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  Speaker 2: do it this way. Here's a five hundred thousand dollars fine.
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  Speaker 2: Was that all the punishment, though? Are they are the Jazz,
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  Speaker 2: They they paid their money, they said they're sorryes and
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  Speaker 2: now they're back in the good graces or is this
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  Speaker 2: something that we have to worry about in the future,
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  Speaker 2: the Jazz being the poster boys for NBA punishment.
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  Speaker 3: When you said you're gonna add to the flame, flame
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  Speaker 3: to the fire, that setup was so great that you
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  Speaker 3: just did it, and you did it all like that.
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  Speaker 3: That just did it because that's set up. It's been
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  Speaker 3: suggesting you have the Jazz done enough to be rewarded
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  Speaker 3: that number one take. It's something that it's supposed to
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  Speaker 3: be a lottery. I know you know what you're doing.
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  Speaker 3: You've been doing this for a long time. I've talked
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  Speaker 3: to you multiple times I know you know what you're doing,
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  Speaker 3: but you just did it. I didn't do this. I
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  Speaker 3: want to be clear on this. John O'Connell show, I
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  Speaker 3: did not Evan Gohen, I don't mean to go third person,
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  Speaker 3: did not do what just happened here, which is have
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  Speaker 3: to Jazz paid enough money to the league to apologize
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  Speaker 3: for tanking to get their choice of a pseudo hometown
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  Speaker 3: kid by way of Boston aj Damasta or Darren Peterson.
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  Speaker 3: I did not say that, but you did.
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  Speaker 1: Just to be clear, Yes, I'll accept that responsibility.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, just making sure we're good on that one. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: making sure we're good on that one. I don't know
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  Speaker 3: that it works that Let me rephrase. I know it
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  Speaker 3: does not work that way. I do not think that
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  Speaker 3: is going to happen that way. But I think if
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  Speaker 3: you're a Jazz fan, which obviously everyone listening basically is,
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  Speaker 3: I think you could feel good about the damage has
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  Speaker 3: been done. The years of bad performance are over, the
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  Speaker 3: paying of the fines for tanking are done. You're gonna
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  Speaker 3: get a lottery pick this year, you're gonna have a
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  Speaker 3: healthy team with some flexibility next year, and you are
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  Speaker 3: heading in the right direction. Even if you don't get
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  Speaker 3: the number one pick in the draft.
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  Speaker 1: It is a deep draft, by the way, Can we
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  Speaker 1: just play out one thing?
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  Speaker 3: Know? Yes, what if they do get the number one
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  Speaker 3: pick in the dress?
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  Speaker 1: What if they do it will be what they pick
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  Speaker 1: the undoubtedly like okay, So then who's gone? A better
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  Speaker 1: question would be who's gone?
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  Speaker 2: And maybe maybe you don't move anyone right away because
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  Speaker 2: you want to tweak things. You want to see if
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  Speaker 2: Aj could be a point guard in the NBA. You
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  Speaker 2: want to see if you could hybridize him in some
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  Speaker 2: type of way. Kyante, I think, improved himself and made
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  Speaker 2: a case that he should be a part of the.
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  Speaker 1: Corps moving forward.
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  Speaker 2: It'd be lovely to see what, you know, either AJ
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  Speaker 2: coming off the bench early in his career or Ace
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  Speaker 2: Bailey coming off the bench early in his career could
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  Speaker 2: do for your second unit. I if it's not like
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  Speaker 2: you're if you even if you get Aj Debansa, you're automatically,
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  Speaker 2: you know, an NBA championship favorite. You've still got to
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  Speaker 2: try to keep up with San Antonio and with LA
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  Speaker 2: and most importantly with Oklahoma City. But I mean there's
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  Speaker 2: then you have an embarrassment of riches, which Utah Jazz.
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  Speaker 2: I would make an argument have never had, even going
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  Speaker 2: all the way back to the John and Carl Gears.
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  Speaker 3: But that's a great answer. And you know what, the
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  Speaker 3: more I look back on it, what a terrible question.
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  Speaker 3: Your answer is No, I'm serious. The era that we're
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  Speaker 3: living in is when a guy who scored forty in
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  Speaker 3: the NBA Finals last year, who's an All Star, is
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  Speaker 3: out and there's like six other guys somehow to replace them.
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  Speaker 3: Because Oklahoma City is so loaded with all of their
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  Speaker 3: draft picks under control, signing them early, extending them and
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  Speaker 3: hitting on second round picks, that when Jalen Williams is out,
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  Speaker 3: not that it's okay, they'll be fine. I'm not suggesting that,
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  Speaker 3: but they have enough options to replace him. And what
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  Speaker 3: I did is I acted presumptively and asking the question
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  Speaker 3: as if the Jazz are ready to win a championship
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  Speaker 3: instead of just acknowledge there's a lot of guys on
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  Speaker 3: that team in that scenario, let them all play a
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  Speaker 3: lot of minutes and then figure out who stays and
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  Speaker 3: goes when they are ready to be good enough to
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  Speaker 3: potentially win a championship or compete for a championship, And
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  Speaker 3: Inevitably somebody will say I don't like my role because
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  Speaker 3: I'm better than this, and then they flip that one
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  Speaker 3: guy for two guys who can continue to contribute. Your
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  Speaker 3: answer was way better than my question, and that is
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  Speaker 3: the right statement in my mind. The answer is if
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  Speaker 3: they get the number one pick or the two pick,
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  Speaker 3: no one should go. You all are staying and you
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  Speaker 3: all are going to fight this out as teammates. That's
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  Speaker 3: the answer. Great job by you, bad job by me,
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  Speaker 3: even though you suggested a conspiracy theory that would take
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  Speaker 3: down the lead.
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  Speaker 2: Evan ConA is our guest here on the Sean O'Connell Show,
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  Speaker 2: at least indulging in my conspiracy theory fantasies for a second.
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  Speaker 2: I'm glad we're having this question, though, because the overarching
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  Speaker 2: theme for me when I watch the NBA playoffs right
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  Speaker 2: now with the backdrop of what Utah Jazz Basketball is
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  Speaker 2: trying to be is I'm looking at san Antonio, I'm
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  Speaker 2: looking at Okac, and I'm going, man, I really like
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  Speaker 2: Lowry Markan, and I genuinely do. I think that Jaron
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  Speaker 2: Jackson Junior was the right trade to make, and he's
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  Speaker 2: going to help the defense, which is a big problem
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  Speaker 2: for this young core. I'm incredibly impressed with what Keyanta
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  Speaker 2: George made himself into this year, so I can at
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  Speaker 2: the same time as I'm happy about all that progress
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  Speaker 2: and about getting a top five I think will probably
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  Speaker 2: be a top five pick in this upcoming NBA draft
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  Speaker 2: that will actually mean something because.
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  Speaker 1: It is a deep draft.
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  Speaker 2: I'm watching these other teams and I'm going do I
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  Speaker 2: really buy it that the changes made and the draft
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  Speaker 2: picks that are available are going to be enough in
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  Speaker 2: today's NBA? Because Victor wembin Yama is an alien. He's
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: not like you can't even define his abilities. Yet at
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: twenty two years old, he's already on the verge of
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  Speaker 2: being the best player in the league on both ends
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  Speaker 2: of the floor in many games. And that's what you
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  Speaker 2: have to go up against for the next decade plus.
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  Speaker 3: Well, what do you want them to do is switch
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  Speaker 3: to the Eastern Conference.
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  Speaker 1: No, I just mean, like this experiment.
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  Speaker 2: I guess my question for you there is you know
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  Speaker 2: you already have and the trade and the sort of
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  Speaker 2: end of the tanking era that the Jazz have been
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  Speaker 2: in for the last four or five seasons, Do you
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  Speaker 2: buy it that what they have now is going to
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  Speaker 2: be enough to make them a meaningful contender.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously I was being a smart ass on that.
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  Speaker 3: So I think that the way to do it is
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  Speaker 3: the cliche strength in numbers, right, Because if you're looking
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  Speaker 3: at San Antonio, ultimately Wemby's maxed out, Right, They're gonna
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  Speaker 3: not ability. I'm saying financially, it's going to be maxed out. Uh,
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  Speaker 3: they're gonna have to consider maybe at some point moving
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  Speaker 3: one of the guards. And now all of a sudden,
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: you know, Okay, we have lesser guys, but they have
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: guys that could be maxed out pretty quickly here. And
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  Speaker 3: I think the number one concern if I'm a jazz
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  Speaker 3: fan and I'm thinking I could be like Oklahoma City
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  Speaker 3: and be loaded, But does that even matter in two
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: or three years when Wenby is at his best. Here's
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  Speaker 3: the number one concern that I would have. It's gonna
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: sound weird, but hear me out on this. You actually
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: want Wemby to play in as many games as possible
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  Speaker 3: the next two years. Now, why would I say that
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  Speaker 3: If Wemby continuously plays less and less but has the
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  Speaker 3: same impact of dominance, but he plays less than sixty
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  Speaker 3: five games, He's then not eligible for the supermacs. And
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: why is that important? Because if he's not eligible for
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: the supermax, san Antonio actually benefits because then they have
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: money to spend under the cap and under the apron.
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  Speaker 3: I think the more he plays, the more money he's
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: going to be eligible to make, the less money they're
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: going to have to use for everybody else. You know what,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: the real key to the Warriors dynasty was Steph Curry injuries.
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: Because Steph Curry had ankle injuries early on in his career,
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: and as a result of the ankle injuries, he didn't
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: initially get a huge contract. By not having a huge contract,
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: they were able to sign Kevin Durantz in addition to
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: Steph Clay and Draymond. But if he had no ankle
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  Speaker 3: injuries and he was that guy that we know him
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: to be now early on, they can't sign Kevin ran
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: because he's matched out. He had to take less because
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: nobody was off, they were't gonna offer him more. So
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: what you need, in a weird way is the timing
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  Speaker 3: to work out where it feels like san Antonio is
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  Speaker 3: hamstrung relative to the money they're paying at the same time,
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: you have ten guys that can play strengthen numbers at
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  Speaker 3: that same time. I hope that made sense, but that
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: in my head it did in my head was a
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: really good point. Don't know if it actually came out
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  Speaker 3: that way.
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  Speaker 2: Well, no, it came out as a really good point
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  Speaker 2: because I think that myself and maybe everyone else overlooks
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  Speaker 2: what you were just talking about. What the you know,
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  Speaker 2: the ripple effect of not having to pay super Max's
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: does not two teams, but four teams when they have
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: stars and they can add more because of it, whether
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: it is because of an injury or in this case,
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: your proposal is that you know, Victor winbin Yama staying
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  Speaker 2: below that sixty five game threshold that would take him
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: out of not only postseason award conversations but Super Mac
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  Speaker 2: super Max conversations allows the rich to get richer.
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  Speaker 1: And that's if you.
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  Speaker 3: Think about it this way. Think about it this way.
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  Speaker 3: The number one team that I would associate the Jazz
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  Speaker 3: with if I'm a fan in terms of where does
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: this group come from, would obviously be the Celtics. Right so,
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: because of the ages and because of Will Hardy, right
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: their experience with the Celtics so this year's Celtics versus
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: the last few years. The last few years because the
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: Brown and Tatum contracts hadn't really hit strength in numbers,
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: they had all these guys that were unbelievable, right, and
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: then it's like, oh, well, we can't pay this tax
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: bill for Zingis has got to go. They let Horford walk,
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: they have to trade Drew Holliday, like, you know, all
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: these moves that they had to make. Now, they were
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: great during the regular season, but then if you're really
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: based around two three guys and one of them is hurt,
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: like in the case of Tatum in a short series,
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: you end up boning a three to one lead. But
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: that's not gonna happen into Oklahoma City because of the
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: equivalent of their second best player in Jalen Williams getting hurt.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: They're still going to be fine because all of the
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: contracts haven't fully hit yet.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: Evan calling for another minute or two here on the
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Sean O'Connell show, who has the best chance of dethroning
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Oklahoma City Minnesota?
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: Now that's now. I Also, if you say to me
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: who's gonna win the San Antonio Minnesota Series, I still
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: may say San Antonio. Yeah, but I think so. I
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: actually think Minnesota has the best chance of doing it.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: I don't know that they're gonna get the opportunity even
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: though they're up one nothing to do it. I think
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: the Knicks are playing better than anyone else right now,
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: but I just think Minnesota is more fearless than anyone else.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: And I think you need a little irrational confidence to
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: be able to beat this juggernaut that is the thunder
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: who's five to zero in the post season. Who would
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: you say same question back to.
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  Speaker 2: You, Well, I've been I spent a lot of time
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: on this yesterday, and I think I'm probably being lazy
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  Speaker 2: by echoing your sentiment. The styles make fights thing matters
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  Speaker 2: a lot in this year's NBA playoffs, and I think
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: we saw that in Round one with Minnesota being able to,
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: you know, to beat Joker and cause everyone in Denver
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: to question the future of that franchise. And you need
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: that defensive presence that size, I think to take out
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: some of these teams, including Oklahoma City, and if you're
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: the only squad that has it and that can get
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: you past San Antonio as well, you've got the best chance.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: So I think it is very much.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: A you might not be the best team, but your
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: style and your size make you the best matchup for
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: what we know is I think we know is the
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: best team in the league.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: Well, here's the most interesting part of this. You know,
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: none of this actually may come to fruition, but because
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: on when the draft lottery rolls around, if the Jazz
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  Speaker 3: gets the number one picked, the league is going to
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: fold as a result of the Sean mcconaugh Show. So,
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's what we learn here today. I mean,
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: that's so it doesn't matter. Loklahoma City may be the
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: last champion in NBA history as a result.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: You know, I've had so many people, journalists that get
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: to be in the room during the draft lottery come
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: on the show and they're just like, all right, dude,
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: you know it's not really a conspiracy. I'm like, well, intellectually,
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: I know, I know that, but also emotionally I refuse
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: to accept it. And then last night we had the
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: NHL Draft lottery, and guess what happened there. The Toronto
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: Maple Leafs got the magical number one pick and the
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: San Jose Sharks capitalize on an only five percent chance
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: to get the number two pick and I'm like, ah,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna find some conspiracies there as well.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Evan.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: It's just who I am.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: I love it. By the way I learned last night.
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: De Penn stated of the hockey program, I don't think
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: I knew that. I'm gonna be honest with you.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: I don't expect anything profound, but I hope you have
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: so thing here. I do you agree with, disagree with?
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: Support the idea of removing conference championship games from the
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: college football landscape?
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: Oh? Absolutely, okay, wait, hold on, this is good. I
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: didn't know we were gonna go here. This is great. Okay.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: So not only do I would I do that? Do
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: you know what my bigger pet teave is? Why do
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: small conferences in college basketball that are one big leagues
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: have conference tournaments when all you actually do is lose money.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: People think, oh, it's a huge moneymaker. No, if not,
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: you lose money and then you don't get your best
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: team in the tournament because if they get upset in
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: the conference tournament, and that's much less. But yeah, I mean,
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: if we're gonna have a conference championship game and it's
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: going to hurt a conference getting their best teams into
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: the college football playoffs. Why would we voluntarily do that?
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: If Sean O'Connell is the best host for the Sean
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: O'Connell Show, why would be up for grabs who hosts today?
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: That doesn't make any sense. That's what we're doing. Like, yo,
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: you get all these shows like, ah, you know what,
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: let's see who you know? Why would anyone else host?
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: Well?
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: I actually don't like this analogy because there's probably a
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: lot of people listening right now, just like we would.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: Rather have so and so that Sean o'cooney.
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that idea. Yeah, you know what, too real, bad.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: Hits close.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: But look, there's there's validity to everything that you're saying.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: My worry here is that when you take away a
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: conference championship game in football, I think it's different than basketball.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: In football, take away the conference championship game, you go
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: back to decorating whoever the conference champ is, and maybe
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: you got to share it every other year with somebody.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: We're just deemphasizing the conference championship as a whole. And
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: for most teams, nobody wants to accept this. We're on
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: the Utah station. People don't want to accept this. On
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: the Utestation for most teams, that is the pinnacle of
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: your season. The conference championship is as good as it's
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: going to get. Yes, you could be invited to the
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: College Football Playoff, but it's gonna be Ohio State or
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: Indiana or Alabama.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: At the end of the year. It's not going to
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: be BYU or Utah.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: And so a national championship is an unrealistic goal for
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: ninety nine percent of the college football programs out there,
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: and the expanded College Football Playoff just just furthers that
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: illusion and deemphasizes conference championships as a milestone that's actually attainable.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: I don't want that to go away.
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I understand that, and I understand it's more
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: than just the you know, the one thing that we're
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: talking about here. I get it, and I just I
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: don't know. I don't like the idea like Miami last
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: year gets to the national championship game. It almost didn't
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: get in.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, well, I mean but they were.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: They were the best team though all year in the ACC.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: Two years ago, Ohio State in a four team playoff
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: would not have made the College Football Playoff. They ended
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: up winning the national championship just because we had changed
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: the rules in the year that they needed the rules
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: to be changed. I mean, it's the only reason Ryan
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: Day's still employed. The butterfly effect of all these things
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: is almost impossible to anticipate.
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: For sure, And it's funny. I actually thought it got
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: so absurd in that specific example around Ryan Day that
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: I brought up and people laughed at me. But after
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: they won the championship's like, maybe you should just go now,
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: like they seemingly will never be satisfied with this guy.
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: Just go, just go to the pros right now, call
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: it a day, and just leave because of everything you're
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: just saying, like it. You know, he won a championship,
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: but he didn't beat Michigan, which, by the way, are
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: Utah fans now rooting for Ohio State or Michigan in
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: that matchup? Just so curious.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: I think that right now there's a lot of Ohio
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: State bandwagon jumpers because there's a lot of salt over
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: the way that this exit happened, and more specifically over
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: the coffers being raided and players and coaches that we
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: thought Utah would be able to retain when Kyle Whittingham retired,
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: which of course he didn't. We thought they'd be part
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: of things moving forward. And then he said, oh, I'm
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: still coaching, and it happens to be a Michigan Guess
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: who I'm taking with me.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: That's been hard for a lot of Utah fans to swallow.
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: And he got a hell of a chief of staff
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: general manager, embarrass Nigerian who Utah fans may not be
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: aware of. But that was Bill Belichick's right hand man forever.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: Everyone that knows him speaks glowingly about him, and he's
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: like the real deal. And Whittingham got him to go
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: to Michigan, which was I did not see that one coming.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: I'm sure there's a connection I'm unaware of. But he
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: was at BC for a year or two with Bill
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: O'Brien and then out of nowhere. Now this guy is
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: a big time guy and he's right next to Coyle
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: Wenningham at Michigan.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Wonderful, great glad to hear it. And by the way,
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Colley him.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: I probably didn't need to add that, right because it's like,
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: all right, we had this good appearance. I'm all pro
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: talking to Utah. I think it's a great place, all
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: this stuff. You and I get along well, and then
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: I just did that. That probably felt like a bad
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: decision when you're setting up, Oh you got to get
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: up really early to listen unsports and like at four
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: in the morning, someone out there is like, you know,
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: I may set my alarm a little earlier. Then I
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: added the bearsness, which had no basis to be included anywhere,
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: and now their alarm is still later in the day. Wonderful. Great,
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: I just lost the audience.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: All Right, we've all done it.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Evan, appreciate you, appreciate you jumping on in your thoughts. Man,
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: thanks so much, and please continue to do an incredible
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: job on Unsportsmanlike.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you, I appreciate it.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: That's Evan Cohen.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: Unsportsmanlike is at four am on ESPN seven hundred and
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: ninety two one FM, And I mean you heard it
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: right there.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: Evan is just chef's kiss.
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: He is excellent at the job, really really really good
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: stuff as always