Salt City Hoops Utah Jazz Podcast

After a pair of deadline week trades by the Utah Jazz, Mark Russell Pereira, Ken Clayton and Dan Clayton came together to talk about how the deals fit into Utah's ongoing rebuild and forecast just how bumpy the closing stretch could be after the resulting rotation shuffle.

On the eve of what will be a very different Utah Jazz season, Salt City Hoops' Dan and Ken Clayton came together to discuss six (and ultimately seven) big questions relating to the season and the club's future. They first spent a few minutes reacting to news about Jazz GM Justin Zanik's extended contract, and then dove in on questions about Utah's current talent and how they will aim to construct a contender on their current foundation of players and assets.

The Jazz finally made the deal everybody expected -- by making the deal nobody expected. They moved on from All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, but not by trading him to the New York Knicks, whose pursuit of the Westchester County native had been well documented. Instead. the Jazz got three young players, three unprotected picks and a pair of first-round swap options from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will be the next employer of a player who has brought Utah's fans a lot of joy for five seasons.

Mark Russell Pereira joins Dan Clayton to think back on what Mitchell's tenure meant for fans, and to react to the trade, both from a visceral and an analytical perspective. They look at the rebuilding period ahead of the Jazz and along the way philosophize about fandom.

The Utah Jazz's offseason saw yet another plot turn on Tuesday afternoon when Adrian Wojnarowski reported at ESPN that the club is increasingly "showing a willingness" to entertain trade offers for star guard Donovan Mitchell. The asking price is "steep," Wojnarowski reports, but the Jazz are reportedly listening.

Ken Clayton and Dan Clayton jumped in front of microphones to proffer their interpretations on just what this shift in language from the NBA's biggest newsbreaker does or doesn't signal. They also analyze the diverging paths in front of franchise leadership, and just for good measure scan the NBA landscape for teams with enough draft capital to meet a theoretical (or maybe not that theoretical anymore) Jazz asking price.

This week always had a high likelihood of being consequential for the Utah Jazz, but all date was erased with a major announcement that came Tuesday: Will Hardy will be the Jazz's next head coach. Ken Clayton and Dan Clayton used that news as a springboard to talk about the likelihood of imminent roster change. Each came prepared with a list of (ostensibly) budget free agents who could be available to fill out the roster around whichever Jazz players return for the 2022-23 season.

This Utah Jazz postseason could potentially define the next decade of the franchise, so it's worth analyzing all the ways it could turn out. To do that, Dan Clayton and Ken Clayton fired up the Salt City Hoops podcast to dive into Jazz-Mavs. They start by looking at how the games/series could change with or without Mavs star Luka Doncic, including examining how the Jazz have done in Luka's off-court minutes. Then they speculate about these "weapons" Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic says the club has been keeping in reserve, and finally wind through a couple of random topics that could influence the series.

The Jazz might have brought back their entire core, but that doesn't mean there aren't still interesting storylines surrounding many of the key personalities as they head toward a season with high expectations.

Ken and Dan Clayton decided to pepper one another with specific questions about Jazzmen and what their growth, roles and narratives could entail as Utah tries to establish itself as a title threat. Neither brother knew what specific queries the other was going to ask, so the conversation winds and weaves through a number of tangents as they tackle topics that could very well determine how good the 2021-22 Jazz can be.

The Utah Jazz quickly re-signed Mike Conley Jr. as free agency opened, then completed three other transactions that may have solidified their 2020-21 roster. Ken Clayton and Dan Clayton reconvene on the Salt City Hoops podcast to talk about the active week for Utah and where it leaves them as they look to build on last season's No. 1 finish and, perhaps more importantly, finally break through in the postseason.

Draft expert Adam Spinella from The Box and One (@TheBoxAndOne_) joins Salt City Hoops' Isaac Adams and Dan Clayton ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft. Adam and Isaac each share some names that make some sense as Jazz draft targets, and the trio also examines some broader questions along the way. What do the Jazz need the most after their playoff collapse? Do they target an immediate contributor or a high-upside prospect? 

The Jazz and Clippers have, perhaps fittingly, found themselves knotted up at 2-2 in their best of seven series in the Western Conference semifinals. Heading into a massively important Game 5, Ken Clayton and Dan Clayton convene on the long lost SCH podcast to react to Game 4 and process some award news that will cost one Jazz player $32 million. Dang injuries!

Then we spend the bulk of the episode addressing concerns about Quin Snyder's adjustments, and discussing just how valid fan concerns are in three specific areas: Rudy Gobert's playoff minutes, the back of the rotation and general rigidity on sets and subs.