12/17/2025
Spelunkers — Matt is tired.
Unemployed since June. Bills piling up. Bank account in the red.
And somehow the Mammoth, Jazz, and RSL have all decided to be absolute messes at the same time.
The Mammoth get pushed around like a grocery cart with a bad wheel and never push back.
The Jazz can’t win for losing and feel completely rudderless in a league that barely acknowledges they exist.
RSL can’t sign impact talent, can’t trade for anyone of note, and will somehow still find a way to raise prices.
So the question is simple: is there a lifeline out there for these teams… and maybe for Matt too?
For the Mammoth, two things need to happen fast:
1️⃣ Veterans need to be dumped in favor of hungry players. Olli Määttä, Barrett Hayton, Nick Schmaltz, and John Marino all need reality checks.
2️⃣ The front office needs to make a trade for their coach now to see if the bench is the problem. If it is? See ya, Bear. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
The Jazz? A franchise drifting in circles. The only possible lifeline might be expansion, which Adam Silver has hinted could arrive by 2026. More teams means diluted talent — and maybe, just maybe, someone worse than Utah (hard as that is to imagine).
And RSL? New ownership that talks big, spends small, and will happily raise prices while pointing at a token signing and saying, “See? We tried.”
It’s one of those weeks where sports feel a little too close to real life.
Grinding. Frustrating. And searching for a spark.
🎧 Full thoughts on the latest episode of The Matt Cave Podcast.
