WEBVTT - Reaction to NBA trade madness and Super Bowl opening night 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.800 Welcome in What's Driving the Great episode two ninety nine 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.000 on what is a really cool I've got to say 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.200 mourning for me. I just got done doing Scott Van 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:16.080 Pelt's podcast, and I've told the story before. I tell it, 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:19.360 retell it to Scott about right before the debut of 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:22.720 First Things First eight years ago, him reaching out to me, 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:25.040 even though we didn't even know each other, saying like, hey, 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:27.479 if you freak out right before the show, call me. 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:30.360 And I did freak out, and I did call him. 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:32.120 And he's such a great guy and a legend in 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:36.240 the industry. I think Scott, Ernie Johnson, and Kevin Wilds 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.920 are the only three people in sports media with universal 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:42.519 approval rating where no one's ever been like, you know 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.600 who I can't stand And they say, Scott van Pelt, 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.000 that's a lane I'll never be in. But I'm a 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.479 little envious of Scott for being able to be in it. 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:56.080 So that happened. And the other thing is Washington Post 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.120 wrote a pretty sweet article about me growing up as 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.040 a Chiefs fan and now kind of being the voice 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.640 of the Chiefs. There are demands. There are some absurd 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.480 pictures in this article of me wearing the Chiefs fleece 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.200 on set. They have a sweet picture of the never 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:17.360 a Doubt tattoo. So if things couldn't you know, be 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.399 coming up more perfectly for my exact sports opinions. The 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:25.800 other thing that happened over the weekend was the Lakers 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:28.560 traded for my second favorite player in the league. So 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.319 now my favorite player in the league, Lebron James, plays 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:33.720 with my second favorite player in the league, the Goat, 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.479 with my large adult Slovenian son, So all that's great. 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:40.920 We did a live reaction on Sunday morning that we 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:43.160 got a lot of new viewers to the channel from. 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:47.280 So if you're new, a little quick introduction like rate, subscribe, review, 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:52.600 appreciate that. I'm Nick TV Show. First things first, that's Demanse. 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.360 He's my son. I know it's a little complicated in 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.520 the little bit. You'll figure out as it goes. He's 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.360 in LA and we do this pod together two or 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:05.200 three times a week and welcome in. So I thought 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:08.160 demon's a this week would be all super Bowl, but 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:13.000 when the biggest trading in NBA history happens, that changes things. 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:16.480 So let's first quickly get to miss the cut. Yeah, 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:20.240 well it's the it's the most shocking trade in history. 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:24.480 And okay, so since you said that, let me just 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.320 do this real quick before you miss the Before we 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.280 do miss the cut single biggest trading in NBA history. 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:35.280 The Milwaukee Bocks trade kaream Op Lilul Jabbard to the 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.640 Los Angeles Lakers after he had led them to a title, 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:41.840 had won three league MVPs. He then goes to the 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:46.320 Lakers wins three more league MVPs and five titles. That's 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:50.880 number one. Number two. The San Francisco Warriors trade Wilt 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:55.000 Chamberlain to the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. He immediately rips 0:02:55.040 --> 0:03:00.520 off three consecutive league MVPs and wins the title. Number three, 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.960 lukanncis traded at twenty five years old a Los Angeles Lakers. 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.880 So it's the biggest trade in fifty years. It's the 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:10.080 most shocking trade ever. We'll get to that in a moment. 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.400 What missed the cut? Tyre Listen, Noah Lyles keeps trying 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:17.079 to beef with Tyreek Hill. Stop it. Cooper cup Rams 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.040 don't want him anymore. Kind of saw the writing on 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.320 the wall coming and Taylor Swift wearing Casey right to 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:27.040 the Grammys, demase. I gotta tell you they're a small 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:34.320 little house. No, a little stress in the house. I'm 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:38.360 not naming names, but a lot of the women or 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:42.080 girls I live with, meaning my wife and or daughters, 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.920 not only not Taylor Swift fans like actively you know, 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:51.160 active non Taylor Swift fans. And at this point, I've 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:54.560 got to tell you, maybe it's the chief's red bleeding 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:57.720 through the veins. I'm like, I don't know. She seems 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:02.720 pretty cool to Mendrick. Everybody seems to like her, Like 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.480 I don't know anything about music, seems popular, so I 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:09.480 don't the I don't. I can't call myself full blown swifty, 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:12.000 but I got no problem with Taylor Swift. I like 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:18.080 her music. Uh yeah, whatever it is, okay, demon, Let's 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:21.240 get to the most shocking trade and NBA history. 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:25.400 Yeah, so the trade her around the world. Luke obviously 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:27.839 got traded for Anthony Davis in a first round pick, 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.159 I believe. Uh, but a player of this caliber and 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.880 being so sudden. What was going on over there though 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:35.640 was so bad to where they just got Luke out 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.240 of there so abruptly. 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:43.839 The answer is nothing could have been going on over 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:48.040 there so bad you would trade Luka Doncic without him 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:51.640 demanding to be traded, all right, it's quite simply one 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:55.720 of the worst transactions in the history of professional sports 0:04:55.760 --> 0:05:02.039 on the map side of things, and Bruce said that 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:11.359 somebody you know in NBA circles called him and said 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:16.640 that if the MAVs had called them and said Luka 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:23.040 Doncic is available, his response would be who did he kill? 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.960 And how likely can we cover it up? Like the 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:35.240 idea that this player and I am baffled baffled by 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:39.760 the number of people and it's not a lot, but 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:42.120 the fact that it's any and the fact that it 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:47.480 is includes the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks who 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:52.120 have tried to convince themselves that because Luca, let's just 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:56.960 say he's permanently out of shape. I don't buy that, 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:00.240 but let's say he is. And let's say the guy 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:04.120 actually has a drinking problem. I don't think he does, 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:12.000 but let's say he does that that means you trade him. 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:16.400 It's incomprehensible. So here's just some This is where it's 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:20.440 very important that we have facts that we deal with. 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:26.680 The argument for trading Luca was his condition, which I'm 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.720 not going to act like is elite. But I am 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:34.479 going to act like this. The most recent NBA season, 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:40.919 who do you think played the most minutes of any 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:46.120 player in the league, by by the way, by more 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:53.960 than one hundred. The answer is Lukadjic to play thirty 0:06:54.000 --> 0:07:00.279 FTEs all those yes, okay, of course, but he played 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.760 more minutes than Jason Tatum. He played more minutes Anthony Edwards, 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:05.920 who were second and third. Yeah, of course. I mean, 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:10.000 but are we like, oh yeah, and you and you 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:15.000 saw what that he wore down in the finals? Yeah, 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:20.480 maybe a little like the last year. In the finals, 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.760 he was so incredibly out of shape. He only averaged 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:29.120 twenty nine to nine and six, which was down from 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.920 what he did in the conference finals, which is thirty two, 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.480 ten and eight. So that's why I find this so ridiculous, 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:41.840 because it's like, oh, man, guy's conditioning's brutal, Okay, so 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.360 we need to make sure that he has five percent 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.080 left in the gas tank. And maybe one of the 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:51.840 reasons because in the conference finals, in the second last 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:55.480 series of the year, the guy lit the Minnesota Timberwolves 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:59.920 on fire and got him out of there in five games. 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:05.880 In the semifinals, he got the Oklahoma City Thunder out 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.560 of there, and in the first round got the Clippers 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.560 out of there. Then they lost to Boston, who is 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:17.360 awesome and was a better team. And it's like, oh, 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.600 he's out of shape and he's terrible defensively. The MAVs 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:24.480 last year, once they made the trades, were a top 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:31.160 eight defense. So even with Luca's defensive limitations, you had 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:35.880 a top eight defense. And you know what, it's exhausting 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:41.600 being double and tripled teamed throughout a game. I just 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:49.600 he is, at worst, at worst, the fourth best player 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.520 in the sport. And he's younger than all the guys 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.520 ahead of him. Again, I think he's the third best 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:59.160 player in the sport. I think he's better than SGA. 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:04.160 But if you want to say SGA has trumped him, fine, 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:08.240 He's a few months younger than SGA. He's years younger 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:14.120 than Jannis and Jokic. He is demand say he has 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.360 five First Team All NBAS five five in a row. 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:22.200 Here is the complete list of active NBA players with 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:28.040 five First Team All NBAS or more. Lebron James, Kevin Durant, 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:34.880 Jannie Harden, Luca. That's the list. Steph doesn't have it. 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:39.600 Jokic doesn't have it. I think Steph doesn't have it. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:45.400 Steph has four Lucas five. I he is coming off 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:50.400 the best season of his life. And the MAVs going 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:54.520 into Christmas were nineteen and ten. Then he got hurt. 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:58.280 They're seven and fourteen. Since then they have fallen apart 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:05.240 without him. And it is so it listen when a 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:13.120 trade is so bad that smart people are offering conspiracies 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:19.520 such as the new MAVs owners are actually trying to 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.959 tank the fan base so they can move the team 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:28.000 to Vegas, as if that's a real rationale. And the 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:30.600 reason the smart people think that could be going on 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:33.840 is because no one would be this dumb to make 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:41.920 this trade. I you have just created a catastrophic error 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:44.920 the likes of which I've really Demanda. I've never seen. 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:52.400 I've never seen a team opt into trading their generational 0:10:52.559 --> 0:11:00.280 star at the peak of his powers because they they're 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:01.440 arguing defense. 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.760 What do you meaning like a bunch of discussions were 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.199 at It seems like it was just between two guys, 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:10.440 Paulinka and Harrison. 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:15.199 So that listen, I think that's correct. And I said 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:19.120 something about Nico on TV yesterday that brew really disagreed 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:24.199 with where I said, Listen, I think Nico Harrison got 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:28.640 to the MAVs. He he's been a relationship guy, he 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:32.600 was a sneaker rep at Nike. He's always he got 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.880 the job because of great relationships with superstars. Did not 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:39.680 have a great relationship with Luca. Luca had more power 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:43.760 in the organization, and so he moved him out. So 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:47.120 now he's the most powerful person in the organization. And 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:51.280 Bruce said, and listen, Bruce knows Nico. I don't. And 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:57.840 brew was like, that's basically that's unscharacter, And so I said, Okay, 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:05.280 the alternative, he's one of the worst evaluators of talent 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.040 and team building in the history of the league. Like, 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.000 I don't know what's more of an indictment. I don't 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:16.400 know that it was like a Machiavellian power move. Okay, 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:24.319 that's too harsh. Fine, So the alternative is he doesn't 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:29.640 know what he's doing. You traded like and it's not 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:38.000 only that trading Luca is really unforgivable. How many guys 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:43.560 could you have called about and the team just hangs 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:49.000 up the phone. I honestly think the list is two. 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.719 I think if you call about Wimby, the Spurs hang 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:58.640 up the phone because he's so much younger. And if 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:03.400 you call about Yokid, the Nuggets hang up the phone. 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:05.760 I think everyone else there is at least a meeting. 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:11.640 If you called about Yiannis, the Bucks say, let us 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:16.200 call you back and they discuss it. It's if you 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:23.880 call about Jason Tatum, the Celtics say, don't tell anyone 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.440 we're talking about this, but let us call you back. 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.199 If you call about Shay Now, I'm not saying they 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.640 do it one for one, but they at least have 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:37.640 a meeting. And certainly if you call, like, could you 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:43.720 have gotten better than this return? I think so because 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:48.120 I think that they are. I think Anthony Davis is excellent, 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:50.600 but he's about to be thirty two. And if you're 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:53.000 worried about Luca's injuries, how are you not worried about 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:56.280 Anthony Davis's injuries. At the end of the day, you 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:00.720 are a team that does not have your own draft pick. 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.959 You being the MAVs in twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty eight, 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:09.200 twenty twenty nine, or twenty thirty, so four years straight 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:12.320 you don't have your own pick. Kyrie is turning thirty 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.320 three and now has all the leverage in the world 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:19.040 this summer to opt out and demand the Max, and 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.840 Anthony Davis is turning thirty two, and your window is 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:27.800 immediate as opposed to having a decade of Luca and 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:32.560 Luca wanted to stay. Luca wanted the Supermax. This costs 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:38.960 Luca one hundred million dollars and you you don't and 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:41.800 if you're doing it, and it's not because you're just 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:48.800 doing a full reset of calling Houston and asking for 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:55.440 Thompson and Shingoon and all the picks or Thompson and 0:14:55.520 --> 0:15:01.040 Jalen Green and all the picks or I am. I 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.480 know other people have made this joke, but it's true 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:10.000 when the immediate reaction is, uh, you must have been hacked. 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:18.960 This trade makes no sense. You got absolutely annihilated. So 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:25.480 let's go to some of these follow ups. De Manse, Well, well, yeah. 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.640 The Supermax thing with him about to get the hundred million, 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.000 that's the GM just not wanting to give him the money. 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.720 You're saying that. You said that, yeah, so they would 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:35.400 be the greatest. 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.200 So he was eligible for five years, three hundred and 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:43.960 forty five million, and the because of his conditioning or 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:48.560 injury risk or whatever they were concerned about giving that 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:54.040 to him. The reason that's idiotic is because he would 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:58.880 have actually had more trade value if you had signed 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:03.560 him to the Supermax, because then the whole league you 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:07.960 can auction him off too. The reason you couldn't technically 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.880 hold a real open auction for Luca right now is 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:13.560 he only has a year and a half left on 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.680 his deal. So let's say Milwaukee was like, you know what, 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:20.400 we will give you Giannis. But it gets out and 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.760 Luca's like, Okay, do what you want, but I'm not 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:27.280 staying in Milwaukee after a year and a half, then 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:29.720 maybe they don't do the deal. If you have him 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:33.440 signed to the Supermax and he's under contract for five 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:37.360 more years, he can trade it wherever you want. Like, 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:45.520 the return on this is just truly unprecedented. When the 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:50.720 Nets traded Kevin Durant, they got four first round picks, 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:54.480 Cam Johnson and McHale Bridges, and then they traded McHale 0:16:54.520 --> 0:17:02.320 Bridges for five first round picks. The MAVs got Anthony Davis, 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.520 Max Christy, and one first round pick. They didn't even 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:11.000 get both of the Laker picks and the flip side 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:17.120 to that is I have heard, you know, for years, 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:22.399 not so much these days, but you hear a lot about. Man, 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:26.040 how much did the Lakers give up for Anthony Davis? 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.800 They give a Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, brandon Ingram, the 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:34.280 number four overall pick, and two more firsts. Okay, so 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.440 the Lakers, and again everyone's like, Nick, are you gonna 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:41.240 give Rob Bolinka credit here? I mean, did a great 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.080 job with this one, There's no doubt about it. But 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:47.720 I'm gonna play the game that everybody plays, which is 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.960 Rob Bolinka gets credit and blame, and of course lud 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:55.960 GM Lebron James gets credit and blame. And so people 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:57.840 were like, well, Lebron had no idea about the Luca 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.280 trade one hundred percent that is correct, but we all 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:06.119 agree Lebron got him Anthony Davis. Right, So, ultimately the 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:12.320 Lakers traded Lonzo Ball, brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Max 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:16.080 Christy and what ended up being four first round picks 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:20.760 for a championship and for Luke A do Ancic. That's 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:24.760 one of the greatest trades ever. Took those guys got 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:29.119 Anthony Davis, got a championship, then took Anthony Davis added 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:32.720 one first round pick and got Luke ad Ancic and now, 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:38.320 and here's the other piece of it, Demons nineteen sixty 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:43.840 to now sixty five years of basketball, there have been 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:51.000 eight seasons total when the Lakers didn't have a top 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.520 ten all time player or a guy who could be 0:18:54.960 --> 0:19:04.320 Jerry Weston, Wilt Kareem Magic, Shaq, Kobe, le Bron, now Luca. 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:07.280 They were gonna for the first time ever be kind 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:10.320 of out in the wilderness, and the MAVs gave him Luca. 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:13.760 All right, let's talk about Luke and Lebron together. 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.560 Go ahead, Yeah, what do you think with Luca being 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.360 over there, what did the next couple of years look 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:18.920 like for them? 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:29.200 Well, I think people are overestimating or overstating how bad 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:33.000 of a fit this will be Luke and Lebron. You 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.399 seem you seem like you don't you have your concerns 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:36.879 about it. 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.640 Well, no, I was. I was talking to Daniel yesterday. 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:42.280 I think, like three or four years ago, it would 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:44.800 have been bad. But now that Lebron's like waning and 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:47.480 he's like older, I think I think it works. I 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:49.200 think a while ago it would have been bad. 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.000 But that's exactly how I feel Lebron has given If 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:55.840 people watch Lakers this year, Lebron has been happy to 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:58.800 give the car keys to Austin Reeves so he can 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:05.919 play off ball. Right the people saying like, oh, the 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:11.600 Lakers took a step back. Listen, defensively, they went from 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:17.120 bad to horrifyingly bad defensively because Ad was their only 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:20.320 great defender and he's gone. Now Now, I do think 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:22.520 they're gonna make more moves for the deadline. They have 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:27.440 to add a center. I understand that, But offensively they're 0:20:27.520 --> 0:20:32.159 going to be elite. Luca by himself, guarantees you a 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:36.640 top six offense. By himself. You put LAGUDANCC on the team, 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:40.600 you have top six offense. Now, every single possession you're 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.560 gonna have all game long is either gonna be orchestrated 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:46.800 by Luka Dancic or Lebron James. Are you kidding me? 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:52.520 Lebron's gonna be able to play off ball Lebron's forties 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:57.840 and year twenty two Like, yes, Historically, Lebron has not 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:01.000 been wanted to hand the car keys to anyone. He's 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:04.880 never in his life had a teammate better than him. 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:10.000 Now he does, Like I think that Lebron's going to 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:11.040 really enjoy it. 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:14.720 You don't think Ad better than Lebron, like Weather playing snow. 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:21.120 Here's the thing. AD might have been the last two 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:26.359 years better than Lebron in the aggregate, but Ad was 0:21:26.400 --> 0:21:31.760 still not the guy who was dictating the offense. ADI 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:35.359 was not better than Lebron offensively. First of all, I 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:38.359 don't think even right now, I don't think offensively is better. 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:40.280 You can say he's better. He's the best defensive player 0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:42.240 in the league, sure, but on the offensive side of 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:45.719 the ball, he wasn't better than him. And he also 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.840 Lebron still had to because of positions, had to dictate everything. 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:55.879 Lebron's never had a teammate that it was even close. 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:57.439 As far as well, how are we going to get 0:21:57.440 --> 0:21:59.320 the best possession? The answer has always been giving me 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:01.840 the ball. The only reason he's handed it over to 0:22:01.880 --> 0:22:04.639 Austin is because it's so exhausting to play that way 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:07.600 like he can't he doesn't have the energy for it anymore. 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:12.520 But now Luca will do it Luca. Lebron drafts Luca 0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:15.720 in every All Star draft. Lebron tried to sign Luca 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:18.480 to his sneaker line. That doesn't even exist. He was 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:23.080 gonna create it for Luca. Lucas said, Lebron is my 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:26.919 basketball idol. Now they're on a team together, So I 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:32.320 think that's gonna be awesome. I really actually think it's 0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:35.119 gonna be awesome offensively. And if they can make a 0:22:35.160 --> 0:22:40.760 move for a center. Here's here's what I know. Luca 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:47.160 owns the thunder and if Lebron, because of Luca, can 0:22:47.240 --> 0:22:51.800 get to the playoffs with more energy, and that's gonna 0:22:51.800 --> 0:22:54.879 be This team's gonna be a bitch to play. You 0:22:54.960 --> 0:22:59.120 better be able to match buckets. Go ahead, I see 0:22:59.359 --> 0:23:01.040 the twinkle in your eye. 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:04.600 Yeah, So you're saying that the Lakers, they obviously got 0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:06.760 the better end of the bargain here with the whole 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:10.840 Dallas trade, But this don't this year. You couldn't see 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:15.600 Dallas being better than the Lakers, not. 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:20.119 Pieces they have now. So no, So this is so 0:23:20.240 --> 0:23:25.560 a lot of people think that. I think that's insane, 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:28.080 And that's not about the Lakers as much as it 0:23:28.160 --> 0:23:30.680 is about Dallas, which actually will just take me to 0:23:30.760 --> 0:23:34.480 takes on takes. The people ask me the most ridiculous 0:23:34.520 --> 0:23:39.480 reactions to the Luca trade. I saw, I am. There 0:23:39.600 --> 0:23:46.240 is a number of folks in the media who for 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:50.879 the last couple of years have been as hard on 0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:55.720 Anthony Davis as anybody could imagine. And the moment he's 0:23:55.720 --> 0:23:59.639 on the Lakers anymore. Now he's awesome again. Now and 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:03.680 now now the MAVs could be the I saw it take. 0:24:03.760 --> 0:24:06.719 The MAVs could be the one seed that the MAVs are. 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:11.280 I would be very surprised if the MAVs won a 0:24:11.280 --> 0:24:17.119 playoff round. They built a team. Now they are going 0:24:17.160 --> 0:24:19.639 to be great defensively. I will give them credit that 0:24:19.720 --> 0:24:23.600 they will be great defensively. They have one guy on 0:24:23.640 --> 0:24:26.920 their roster, one guy that can create his own shot. 0:24:27.040 --> 0:24:31.440 It's Kyrie Or They built a whole team of guys 0:24:32.240 --> 0:24:37.400 that are catch and shoot specialists or defensive guys because 0:24:37.760 --> 0:24:41.200 they didn't have to worry about offense because they had Lukatanjij. 0:24:42.880 --> 0:24:47.480 Now you don't have Lukancij. You have two guys who 0:24:47.680 --> 0:24:54.640 have only ever been a part of winning basketball if 0:24:54.680 --> 0:24:59.000 they have had one of the single greatest offensive creators 0:24:59.040 --> 0:25:03.040 in the history of basketball alongside them, and Anthony Davis 0:25:03.080 --> 0:25:06.679 and Luca and Kyrie Irving with Lebron or with Luca. 0:25:07.119 --> 0:25:11.560 Those guys are gone now, so Like, what does Kyrie 0:25:11.640 --> 0:25:15.639 Irving look like on a team full of great defenders, 0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:19.480 but he is the only initiator of offense. Go ask 0:25:19.560 --> 0:25:24.560 the Celtics. And Kyrie's been awesome with the MAVs, but 0:25:24.640 --> 0:25:29.959 since Luca's been out there seven and fourteen like and 0:25:30.000 --> 0:25:33.440 so in Ad. I love Ad. I think Ad is 0:25:33.440 --> 0:25:39.359 an underrated player. But Ad is very hit and miss offensively. 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:43.600 You gotta get buckets somehow. I just think the MAVs. 0:25:43.720 --> 0:25:47.160 The MAVs are gonna be an awesome defensive team that's 0:25:47.200 --> 0:25:50.960 gonna get whacked in Round one. And people are arguing 0:25:51.320 --> 0:25:55.760 the MAVs could be the one seed, the MAVs could 0:25:55.800 --> 0:26:01.800 win the title. I don't. Maybe I'll be wrong. I 0:26:01.800 --> 0:26:05.320 I do not see that. I saw it. You know, 0:26:05.480 --> 0:26:09.120 Barkley was big on the MAVs chances. Now I think 0:26:09.119 --> 0:26:12.119 Steve and A said Dallas could be the one seed. 0:26:12.480 --> 0:26:15.879 I think they're fourteen games out of first and the 0:26:16.000 --> 0:26:21.199 nine seed. I don't, I mean, honest question. Let me 0:26:21.200 --> 0:26:26.040 look this up real quick. If Dallas went undefeated the 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:29.520 rest of the way, would that guarantee them the one seed? 0:26:30.200 --> 0:26:35.080 Dallas right now has twenty four losses. Okay, so if 0:26:35.119 --> 0:26:38.960 they went undefeated. By the way Anthony Davis currently injured, 0:26:40.680 --> 0:26:43.679 they would be fifty eight and twenty four. Do we 0:26:43.720 --> 0:26:46.960 think Oklahoma City's not getting to sixty wins. I think 0:26:46.960 --> 0:26:49.720 Oklahoma City's getting to sixty wins. So I'll go ahead 0:26:49.720 --> 0:26:51.439 and say they're not going to be the one seed. 0:26:52.640 --> 0:26:56.960 I think that the I think that if they won 0:26:57.240 --> 0:27:00.800 thirty two in a row, they wouldn't be the one seed. 0:27:01.000 --> 0:27:03.040 And you know what, maybe I'm a little too down 0:27:03.080 --> 0:27:04.960 on them. I don't think they're gonna win thirty two 0:27:05.000 --> 0:27:07.560 in a up. Here's what I think is more likely. 0:27:08.600 --> 0:27:10.800 The Dallas Mavericks are in the play in this year. 0:27:12.680 --> 0:27:16.280 That's what I think is gonna happen. I mean, right 0:27:16.280 --> 0:27:20.080 now they're the right now, they're the eight the So 0:27:20.680 --> 0:27:23.520 I just I don't I know. I was saying. 0:27:24.920 --> 0:27:26.840 Just to get a little bit better on defense, and 0:27:26.920 --> 0:27:29.160 eighty obviously isn't just a little bit better. 0:27:29.280 --> 0:27:34.960 But no, I mean, this is the part that I 0:27:34.960 --> 0:27:38.720 don't understand with the Lakers skepticism and the Dallas optimism 0:27:38.800 --> 0:27:45.840 is this, there's only two ways in this league to 0:27:45.920 --> 0:27:52.320 compete for a championship. One way is what the Celtics 0:27:52.359 --> 0:27:55.480 did last year. What the Thunder are trying to do 0:27:57.040 --> 0:27:59.080 what the Knicks are trying to do with the Calves 0:27:59.119 --> 0:28:05.040