You guys are really nice, and your kind words mean a lot. Thanks.
IMO Zach Lowe is the best sportswriter in America right now (okay, Lee Jenkins and a whole bunch of others deserve shoutouts), so being mentioned anywhere near his name is a compliment.
BTW, I ran into Zach in Houston in December. We were talking about Donovan Mitchell because, seriously, that's all anyone wants to do when see a Jazz writer from out of town. Zach is very on board the Mitchell train, though couldn't believe he wasn't selected before #13. (Especially Detroit, he said. What were they thinking? As a capped-out team, they needed to take high-upside shots like Mitchell, not safe plays like Kennard. So it goes.)
I think one of the really cool things about this beat (which only a couple of other markets can compete with) is how good each of us are at our own things. Tony is incredible at developing relationships with players, coaches, agents, etc. He's a gregarious personality and one of my favorite people to be around. (He also definitely reads JazzFanz, though I'm not just complimenting him on the off chance he reads this). Kyle Goon is the best writer out of all of us. That man can write a game story and make it seem like it took 5 days, not 45 minutes. His features are great, too. Eric Woodyard has a really unique eye for a story: no one else would have driven the eight-hour round trip from Memphis to Meridian, MS to tell Rodney Hood's family story the day before the trade deadline on the fourth game of a 4-game road trip. And I hope I have the ability to look inside the game a little bit with stats, Xs and Os, and my relationships with Quin and the front office.
I suspect that my complete lack of good basketball playing experience disqualifies me from a serious NBA color spot, which are nearly exclusively filled by former players. I'd love to do pre or postgame one day, though, or fill in if possible. I also have a weird voice, as listeners of the SCH Show know.