Speaker 1: De Jontay Murray, DeMar DeRozan, Bruce Brown, Bucks, Mavericks, Lakers players, teams,
Speaker 1: all the trade talk we can stuff into an episode.
Speaker 1: All that's next here on the latest edition of This
Speaker 1: League Uncut. Welcome to This League Uncut.
Speaker 2: In you rule of twenty four hour NBA news, this
Speaker 2: news you love, Chris Haynes, it's go time, work's time,
Speaker 2: it's some time.
Speaker 1: This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should
Speaker 1: be a good one. Everyone. Welcome in to the latest
Speaker 1: edition of This League Uncut. Chris Haynes and me Mark Stein.
Speaker 1: Recording late on Monday night, which means we basically have
Speaker 1: two days and change to go until the NBA trade deadline.
Speaker 1: The buzzer sounds at three pm Eastern Time on Thursday afternoon,
Speaker 1: so indeed, two days and change to go for the
Speaker 1: remainder of NBA trade season. And I'm guessing this is
Speaker 1: math that you guys really don't want to hear, but
Speaker 1: I feel compelled to repeat it because I do think
Speaker 1: it's important for context. We've had six trades already during
Speaker 1: the season. You expand that number to eight if you
Speaker 1: want to include Damian Lillard getting traded to Milwaukee right
Speaker 1: before the start of the season, and the Blazers turning
Speaker 1: right around and trading Drew Holliday to Boston. So six
Speaker 1: to eight trades already in season. That's quite a bit
Speaker 1: of action. But look, I know how this works. If
Speaker 1: we don't have something significant this week, everyone is going
Speaker 1: to say this trade deadline sucked, it was a dud.
Speaker 1: There was nothing, And like, no, I can't say there
Speaker 1: was nothing. Think about it. Just since September, we've seen
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard traded, Drew Holiday traded, James Harden traded on Halloween,
Speaker 1: Toronto traded Ogannanobi and Pascal Siakam. We saw Terry Rozier move,
Speaker 1: and we've seen quite a bit of action. But Chris Haynes,
Speaker 1: you know the masses and look us two in the media.
Speaker 1: Everybody loves the transaction game. We always want more, We
Speaker 1: always want maximum trade activity. So I got to ask
Speaker 1: you what kind of week you foresee. I think we're
Speaker 1: gonna get trades. For sure, there will be multiple trades
Speaker 1: this week. I have absolutely no doubt about that. I
Speaker 1: just don't know that we're going to see another star level,
Speaker 1: former All Star player move. De Jontay Murray to me
Speaker 1: in Atlanta is probably the best possibility, but things have
Speaker 1: certainly cooled on the Dejonte Murray front, and I don't
Speaker 1: know if there's enough time for them to spark up.
Speaker 1: Zach Lavine is another former All Star who obviously is
Speaker 1: now not getting traded after opting for season ending foot surgery.
Speaker 1: So I just don't know if we're going to see
Speaker 1: a real headline move. But you tell me what you think.
Speaker 2: You know, Stin, I would tend to agree with you
Speaker 2: on just on how many more trades we have left.
Speaker 2: I do think they will be a few trades left.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure it will feature a All Star big name.
Speaker 2: The John Tay Murray is still a name that could
Speaker 2: be moved. But you know, we're not hearing anything of
Speaker 2: significant substance leading up to February to a you know,
Speaker 2: Zach Levine obviously that him opting for surgery kind of
Speaker 2: removes him from the market. You know, there wasn't much
Speaker 2: of a market for him in the first place. But
Speaker 2: don you know, it's really a coincidence. And I haven't
Speaker 2: checked up on this. I haven't looked into this, I
Speaker 2: haven't asked around, So I'm not trying to make any connections,
Speaker 2: but you know, mighty coincidence that you know opts for
Speaker 2: surgery right now with the deadline coming up.
Speaker 1: Well, even if you're not trying to make that connection,
Speaker 1: there are certainly people asking the question. I don't have
Speaker 1: the answer either, but the question is out there. Did
Speaker 1: Zach Lavine opt for this surgery now to ensure that
Speaker 1: the Detroit Pistons back all the way from the table
Speaker 1: here because Detroit was that was the one team that
Speaker 1: was engaged with Chicago to some degree. So I think
Speaker 1: the question is at least out there at some level.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, mighty coincidence. But yeah, there will be I
Speaker 2: think there will be some trades. I think there will
Speaker 2: be some. Bruce Brown is still a name that I
Speaker 2: think would likely be moved before the deadline. I'm here
Speaker 2: in New York. I have the I got Tuesday, I
Speaker 2: got the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks. The Brooklyn Nets
Speaker 2: have a couple of wing players that intriguing. A lot
Speaker 2: of teams out there that's gunning for a title shot.
Speaker 2: Durian Finny Smith, Royce O'Neill, a couple of guys who intrigued.
Speaker 2: You know, there's a lot of teams looking for wing defenders,
Speaker 2: and so Brooklyn. I think Brooklyn is asking for for
Speaker 2: those For those players, Brooklyn believes that they can get
Speaker 2: a first round pick from teams. So yeah, it might
Speaker 2: not be big, splashy moves coming up, but they depending
Speaker 2: on the team, they could be moves that might have
Speaker 2: a significant that might play a significant factor in the postseason,
Speaker 2: in the regular season stretch.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So with Dejontay Murray, we know the Hawks. We
Speaker 1: remember they gave up three firsts and a first round
Speaker 1: swap to get him from San Antonio. The Hawks are
Speaker 1: not going to get that much back when they trade
Speaker 1: de Jontay Murray, but they want to do They want
Speaker 1: to get as close as they can to that. So
Speaker 1: the talk has been for a while now that Atlanta's
Speaker 1: hoping for two firsts and a player of quality in
Speaker 1: return for de Jontay Murray, and to this point that
Speaker 1: offer has not materialized. So the big question here is
Speaker 1: two days and change to go, is that market going
Speaker 1: to change? Is someone going to step up and give
Speaker 1: Atlanta two firsts for de Jonte Murray. You still hear
Speaker 1: the Nets with some interest, but I'm not sure the
Speaker 1: Nets are prepared to go that far. I'm still trying
Speaker 1: to get a clear handle on that, but I think
Speaker 1: the nets are still in there to some degree. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, I reported over a week ago now that
Speaker 1: the Lakers and Hawks, the dialogue between the teams had
Speaker 1: tailed off considerably, and one source at the time, this
Speaker 1: was late January, one source briefed on the talks, one
Speaker 1: as far as telling me that they thought it was
Speaker 1: unrealistic for a Murray to Lakers scenario to materialize. And again,
Speaker 1: things can change fast. When the Lakers and Hawks have
Speaker 1: talked as much as they have to this point, it
Speaker 1: only takes one phone call to get that sparked up again.
Speaker 1: But I do think it's instructive to remember that Atlanta
Speaker 1: had John Collins on the trade block for literally four deadlines.
Speaker 1: Four So it is by no means inconceivable that after
Speaker 1: all of this Dejonte Murray talk that we've been engaged
Speaker 1: in for a month now, it's not inconceivable that Atlanta
Speaker 1: would say, you know what, We're gonna wait Because to me,
Speaker 1: de Jontay Murray and Kyle Kuzman and Washington they strike
Speaker 1: me as two players that you would classify as difference
Speaker 1: makers who are theoretically in play this week and at
Speaker 1: least could be moved this week, because we could come
Speaker 1: up with a much longer list of players who won't
Speaker 1: be traded this week, like you're Jeremy Grants or your
Speaker 1: Lowry markinins, or you're Donovan Mitchell's, you're Jared Allens. None
Speaker 1: of those guys are getting moved this week. But is
Speaker 1: it a Murray trade possible? Yes? Is a Kuzma trade possible? Yes? However,
Speaker 1: both the Hawks and the Wizards are extremely motivated to
Speaker 1: maximize the draft capital they get back in a trade.
Speaker 1: If Atlanta's given up to Jontay Murray this week, they
Speaker 1: want at least two firsts, and I believe the Wizards
Speaker 1: still want at least two firsts if they can do
Speaker 1: something with Kuzma, especially in Washington, because remember Washington traded
Speaker 1: Bradley Beal and Christops Porzingis without getting an outright first
Speaker 1: in either trade. This is all a long winded way
Speaker 1: of me trying to say de Jontey Murray's contract one
Speaker 1: fourteen million over four years. Kyle Kuzma's contract ninety million
Speaker 1: over four years, descending from twenty five million in year
Speaker 1: one to nineteen million in year four, those contracts will
Speaker 1: still have value at the draft in the summer beyond.
Speaker 1: Those teams do not have to trade him this week.
Speaker 1: There is a case to be made, both for the
Speaker 1: Hawks with Murray and for the Wizards with Kuzma. There
Speaker 1: is a case to be made that, you know what,
Speaker 1: wait till June. There might be more first round draft
Speaker 1: picks in play in June at draft time than there
Speaker 1: is right now. Bobby Marks from ESPN had the amazing
Speaker 1: stat the other day that eleven teams control seventy five
Speaker 1: percent of the tradeable picks in the coming June draft.
Speaker 1: It's just manufacturing first round picks right now is not easy,
Speaker 1: and Toronto is finding that out. You mentioned Bruce Brown.
Speaker 1: The Raptors made their trade. They sent Siakam to Indiana
Speaker 1: in mid January. Part of the reason they did it
Speaker 1: was because they wanted to get Bruce Brown as early
Speaker 1: as they could and give themselves as much runway to
Speaker 1: try to trade Bruce Brown for another first round pick,
Speaker 1: and so the Raptors could say we got four firsts
Speaker 1: for Siakam instead of just three. But you know, they're
Speaker 1: down to two plus days to get that done. The
Speaker 1: Raptors do not yet have the first round pick that
Speaker 1: they've been trying to get for Bruce Brown. Not easy
Speaker 1: to do in this marketplace.
Speaker 2: And when it comes to the Hawks, you know, I said,
Speaker 2: I believe it was last week or two weeks ago.
Speaker 2: You know how the Hawks they don't feel any urgency
Speaker 2: of making a Jante Murray deal at the deadline. They
Speaker 2: feel mighty comfortable keeping them going through the season and
Speaker 2: reassessing over the summer and seeing if there is a
Speaker 2: stockpow of first rounds out there available to be had.
Speaker 2: At that point where you see teams like, you know,
Speaker 2: just just throw the Los Angeles Lakers who have been
Speaker 2: tied to the jihnte as well, like, how desperate, how
Speaker 2: more desperate will they be if their season doesn't end,
Speaker 2: you know, end up the way that I'll just say
Speaker 2: this the way Lebron James wants it to end. You know,
Speaker 2: you have to think about what moves will he ask
Speaker 2: to be made, or he don't even have to ask
Speaker 2: what type of mood will he be in? Which will
Speaker 2: lead to the Lakers going out there and trying to
Speaker 2: see what can be done and getting other teams involved
Speaker 2: to try to to satisfy the Atlanta Hawks for a
Speaker 2: package that would include de Jhonta. So you know, another
Speaker 2: thing with the Hawks as well, is that you you
Speaker 2: reminded everybody about how long John Collins was on the market.
Speaker 2: It seemed like for four straight summers. He was on
Speaker 2: the market during the summer trade deadlines and they kept them.
Speaker 2: But this is a new regime, you know, this is
Speaker 2: Landry Fields in charge, but the ownership group still holds
Speaker 2: a heavy hand. And so you wonder if Landy will
Speaker 2: be that, if he's willing to go that route. I
Speaker 2: don't know, but you know, it seemed just just from
Speaker 2: what little I'm hearing on substance, I just say, right now,
Speaker 2: it's not looking it's not looking like as of right now,
Speaker 2: we record this with Monday, February fifth, Monday night. If
Speaker 2: you ask me if Murray's going to be traded by tomorrow, No,
Speaker 2: and which would lead me to think that I don't
Speaker 2: know if anything can pick up by the end. It could.
Speaker 2: All it takes is one folk call to start changing
Speaker 2: the situation. But you know it's the heat is not
Speaker 2: as burning as what it was a month ago, even
Speaker 2: a few weeks ago.
Speaker 1: One team, I think a lot of people are curious
Speaker 1: about is Chicago and what the Bulls might do. Obviously,
Speaker 1: a Levigne trade now is unrealistic in the extreme, in
Speaker 1: the wake of him announcing that he's going for season
Speaker 1: ending foot surgery. I would say in recent days, the
Speaker 1: chatter about the Bulls has been Andre Drummond is the
Speaker 1: most likely current Bowl to be moved. I think that's
Speaker 1: the way most rival front offices see it. And there
Speaker 1: is a lot of demand for Drummond. I mean, who
Speaker 1: doesn't need another big man if you have playoff aspirations
Speaker 1: in a league where Nikola Jokic's team they're the reigning champions.
Speaker 1: Drummond has very quietly had a very productive season in
Speaker 1: terms of rebounding in short minutes for the Bulls, So
Speaker 1: I don't think Chicago will have any trouble moving him
Speaker 1: for some draft capital. And this is hilarious, folks. While
Speaker 1: we're literally while we're taping this episode, Chris Haynes just
Speaker 1: tweeted that Tyrese Maxi will be competing in the three
Speaker 1: point contest at All Star Weekend in Indianapolis, looking away
Speaker 1: from the screen, ignoring producer Ryan and I as I'm
Speaker 1: rambling on here about Andre Drummond. But now that you've
Speaker 1: put that tweet out, I guess I can get around
Speaker 1: to my long winded question. You know the Bulls, well,
Speaker 1: you know DeMar DeRozan. Well, what DeMar Derozen is headed
Speaker 1: for free agency? Could that be one of the surprises
Speaker 1: this week, that out of the blue something happens where
Speaker 1: Chicago trades DeMar Derozen. It certainly doesn't sound like that's
Speaker 1: in the ether. But I know that you know Damar
Speaker 1: in his situation pretty well, So give me your forecast
Speaker 1: on DeRozan.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what I'm hearing is that I'm not hearing really
Speaker 2: anything on a DeMar DeRozan trade front, which leads me
Speaker 2: to believe he will be kept through the deadline, and
Speaker 2: I would think that both sides will get back to
Speaker 2: the table and start trying to talk about an extension.
Speaker 2: You know, the Bulls and Tomorrow's and his agent, Aaron Goodwin,
Speaker 2: they had some they had some contact early on in
Speaker 2: the season. Both sides are far apart and that still
Speaker 2: is the case. But I think past the deadline they'll
Speaker 2: get back to the table see if anything can be
Speaker 2: hammered out, Because, as you mentioned, steinmar DeRozan will be
Speaker 2: an unrestricted free agent and they can risk losing him
Speaker 2: for nothing. I don't know. I don't know that they
Speaker 2: want to put themselves in that situation. I don't know that.
Speaker 2: You know, there are plenty of teams who have done it,
Speaker 2: have surprised us and went along and let a big
Speaker 2: fish just leave. But yeah, I think they will get
Speaker 2: back to the table at some point and see what
Speaker 2: can be done from there. But yeah, no, I don't
Speaker 2: foresee it, Jamar. The rolls and trade occurring.
Speaker 1: Man, the bulls are fascinating. Like their strategy what they
Speaker 1: are so hard to figure out? Man, they came into
Speaker 1: the seat. We've been hearing about potential Levine trade since November,
Speaker 1: and obviously, look, the market wasn't there in today's NBA
Speaker 1: with the first apron and the second apron and the
Speaker 1: tax consequences for teams that have high pay rolls. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's just gonna limit the kind of trade market there
Speaker 1: is for a player like Zach Lavine. Who if you've
Speaker 1: already got two max players and he's your third guy,
Speaker 1: I mean, you are just setting yourself up for an
Speaker 1: incredibly expensive payroll to bring him in, and that certainly
Speaker 1: limited the trade options but I just I don't know
Speaker 1: if we would have gone back to opening night when
Speaker 1: remember the Bulls were reputed to have a player's only
Speaker 1: meeting on opening nights. I just don't I was there.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know what the Vegas odds
Speaker 1: would have been on Opening night that after that team meeting,
Speaker 1: that Levine and de Rosen and Vucevic, that they're all
Speaker 1: in Chicago after the trade deadline. I'm not smart enough
Speaker 1: to know what the odds would have been. But that's uh.
Speaker 1: That seem like.
Speaker 2: I got a question to posed for you that did
Speaker 2: not seem like the likes of scenario. The likely scenario
Speaker 2: would have been that we thought that Chicago would blow
Speaker 2: it up. So my question to you is Levine, at
Speaker 2: the time when all this is going down, Levine, at
Speaker 2: the time we thought had a trade market. We thought,
Speaker 2: you know, DeMar DeRozan, would you know be able to
Speaker 2: hit the market. He would have trade value as well
Speaker 2: as vou Do you feel like Chicago down too long
Speaker 2: and you know past their time? Do you think they
Speaker 2: played this right?
Speaker 1: Where are they going? Where is this team going? Like
Speaker 1: if you re signed to Margaret Roseen, I mean, this
Speaker 1: team has been scuffling for a playing spot all season long.
Speaker 1: I just you know. I mean the silver lining to
Speaker 1: the season is what Kobe White has become with Levine out.
Speaker 1: Kobe White has looked fantastic, But I don't know what
Speaker 1: the end goal is. They still draw fantastically well. But
Speaker 1: where is this team in the East? Where is this
Speaker 1: team going? I would love to have I would love
Speaker 1: to tell you that I have a handle on their
Speaker 1: long term strategy, but I do not.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's what we've we've been trying to
Speaker 2: gauge for this this first half of the season. Is
Speaker 2: what are they doing?
Speaker 1: Let's stay in the Central Division. Because earlier on Monday,
Speaker 1: I reported that there have been some exploratory talks between
Speaker 1: the Bucks and the Mavericks that would have featured Bobby
Speaker 1: Portis in exchange for Grant Williams. After my story published,
Speaker 1: I subsequently heard that Milwaukee would not be willing to
Speaker 1: do that as a one for one exchange, which does
Speaker 1: work salary cap wise, but Milwaukee would not do that
Speaker 1: trade unless there was more in it for them. I
Speaker 1: was told that that particular trade conversation would not progress
Speaker 1: to something serious without some additional names added. But look
Speaker 1: What it did underline is what I think you've been
Speaker 1: reporting as loudly as anyone in the league, how aggressive
Speaker 1: the Bucks are trying to find players who can help
Speaker 1: them defensively. The appeal there would be Grant Williams a
Speaker 1: disappointing first season in Dallas. Grant Williams, as a versatile defender,
Speaker 1: can guard a lot of positions, and Milwaukee's interested him
Speaker 1: naturally would stem from the fact that they need to
Speaker 1: improve on the defensive end and Williams could theoretically help
Speaker 1: them there. But we know the Bucks are trying a
Speaker 1: lot of things, and the reality is they can't do
Speaker 1: anything substantial salary wise unless they're willing to part with
Speaker 1: Bobby Portis and or Pat Conaton. So because they're obviously
Speaker 1: they're they're they're not. They're trying to strengthen the core
Speaker 1: around their four main guys we know, Jannis Dame, Chris Middleton,
Speaker 1: Brook Lopez. Nothing is happening with those four guys, but
Speaker 1: just the Bucks continue to be described to.
Speaker 2: Me as.
Speaker 1: Super, super aggressive. I cross paths with them in Dallas
Speaker 1: on Saturday night, and even though they came back from
Speaker 1: twenty five in Dallas and one there was an unmistakable.
Speaker 1: There's something going to happen with these guys. Vibe. When
Speaker 1: I was around that team.
Speaker 2: Mm hmmm. What was it like being a runner of
Speaker 2: team Start? Well, you got you got them, you got
Speaker 2: them in Dallas and then they went and laid the
Speaker 2: egg the next day.
Speaker 1: Like I said, it just it just felt me like something,
Speaker 1: some something's gonna happen there. There is going to be
Speaker 1: at least one move between now and Thursday at three
Speaker 1: pm Eastern, and I think I think they know it.
Speaker 1: I think they know something is coming.
Speaker 2: Well on something else. Sticking with the Bucks, Stein, you
Speaker 2: reported it, You reported it, but we'll lay it on here.
Speaker 2: What is Doc? What is Doc planning on doing? Because
Speaker 2: I believe Doc is one in three as a head
Speaker 2: coach of the Bucks right now, but he is going
Speaker 2: to represent.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know what it looks. Just to be clear,
Speaker 1: like so before the game, I had a chance to
Speaker 1: interview Doc Rivers, and the full interview it's a short
Speaker 1: inter but he actually we got into some pretty good
Speaker 1: stuff just about his return to coaching and championships and everything.
Speaker 1: That discussion will run on my Saturday radio show. But
Speaker 1: it's like Doc didn't walk into the Building announcing his
Speaker 1: plan to relinquish his All Star coaching share. I asked him.
Speaker 1: I asked him about it. He was responding to my
Speaker 1: question about it, because the Bucks came into that Saturday
Speaker 1: night game against Dallas needing a win to clinch the
Speaker 1: All Star coaching spot, because of course, the Celtics lead
Speaker 1: the East, but Joe Mizzoula and his staff they went
Speaker 1: to the All Star Game last season, so they're not
Speaker 1: eligible to do it this season. So the Bucks came
Speaker 1: to Dallas on Saturday night knowing that a win would
Speaker 1: send their coaching staff to the All Star Game. And
Speaker 1: I asked Doc about it before the game, and he
Speaker 1: was very sheepish about it. He said it's ridiculous and
Speaker 1: he doesn't feel good about it. And he actually told
Speaker 1: me again you'll hear the whole interview on my Saturday
Speaker 1: radio show. He told me that he asked the league,
Speaker 1: can I not do this. I've only coached this team
Speaker 1: three or four games. He doesn't feel right being the
Speaker 1: All Star coach. And the league told him, Doc, here,
Speaker 1: if the Bucks clinched the second best record in the East,
Speaker 1: you will be coaching. You will be coaching the East
Speaker 1: All Stars. So Doc Rivers will be there, but the
Speaker 1: coaching share and the all star ring he is going
Speaker 1: to make sure that Adrian Griffin gets those. But I
Speaker 1: think again, I think people reacted to it like Doc
Speaker 1: walked in, you know, announcing this plan for effect, and
Speaker 1: no I asked him about it. And postgame the Bucks won,
Speaker 1: so obviously he was asked about it.
Speaker 2: Okay, well, I'm glad you set that straight, starn So.
Speaker 2: Bucks right now going through a tough period, adjustment period.
Speaker 2: I think we're seeing Doc Rivers starting to, piece by
Speaker 2: piece implement his own schemes. And you know, he implemented
Speaker 2: a defensive scheme that worked on Dallas, particularly on Luca
Speaker 2: down the stretch. One thing I want to know, You know,
Speaker 2: Dame was questionable for that last game at Utah. Didn't
Speaker 2: play well at all. His ankle, his ankle was he
Speaker 2: was questionable with an ankle injury. He shouldn't have played.
Speaker 2: He probably you shouldn't have played. You know that what
Speaker 2: I was told that that ankle, it was bothering him.
Speaker 2: So we'll see how he moves forward with that injury
Speaker 2: in the games ahead. I'm not ready to report on
Speaker 2: if he's going to miss miss any games right now,
Speaker 2: But I just wanted to just say that, you know,
Speaker 2: that's an ankle injury he's dealing with. That just came
Speaker 2: up recently.
Speaker 1: What about the three point contest. I thought your guy
Speaker 1: Dame was he won it last year, And remember he
Speaker 1: did an interview with us the morning of the three
Speaker 1: point contest when this league uncut was just in its
Speaker 1: infancy stages. Dame goes out wins the three point contest
Speaker 1: and I thought that that was going to be the
Speaker 1: last time we saw him on the three point stage.
Speaker 1: And then last week you reported that he's he's back
Speaker 1: in to defend his title. What happened?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was shocked, as you are. Stein. You know,
Speaker 2: he said that was it. He wanted to win, and
Speaker 2: he even said it after he won the three point
Speaker 2: contests himself that this was his last hurrah. He wanted
Speaker 2: to win a championship. Now he has it. That's something
Speaker 2: that he holds in high regard when you think about
Speaker 2: the best three point shoes in his game. To have
Speaker 2: won that, to won that trophy that was supposed to
Speaker 2: be it, I don't know what got him back in.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's the just the chance to
Speaker 2: come to defend the title. I don't know. I have
Speaker 2: no clue, but he's in it, and not just that
Speaker 2: Stein see Stein, Dame has some good mojo. Came on
Speaker 2: our show day of three point contest, won it. Then
Speaker 2: you know our guy Malik Beasley. I want to say,
Speaker 2: was he the first player we had? Was he was?
Speaker 1: I have to say? When the Bucks? When the Bucks
Speaker 1: were in Dallas on Saturday night? One hand, I know
Speaker 1: you gave me very specific instructions to make sure that
Speaker 1: I speak with Dame while he was in town. And
Speaker 1: somehow you know the MAVs arena that's like my house,
Speaker 1: like I pretty much know every entryway, exit way. I
Speaker 1: have to admit to you. Somehow postgame, Damian Lillard eluded me.
Speaker 1: I never got near him the whole night. I don't
Speaker 1: know how he escaped me, but I did not see
Speaker 1: him at all. But more than once, I know how you.
Speaker 2: Could have Gattle Stein, Stein, I know how you could
Speaker 2: have got him.
Speaker 1: Well, it doesn't help me, now, why didn't you tell me? Then?
Speaker 2: Well, I'll tell you when I go to Dallas. I
Speaker 2: know how you could have got him if you would
Speaker 2: have went in the locker room. Stein, How about that?
Speaker 2: Go with the locker room, Stein, because I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't want if I'm in the locker room, then
Speaker 1: I lose my little hallway tricks. That's the he's he's So.
Speaker 2: This is this is a side joke.
Speaker 1: Guys.
Speaker 2: When I'm in Dallas, I always tell Stean Stein, come
Speaker 2: in to the locker room. Maybe come in locker room. No,
Speaker 2: I want to stay in the hallway. I see everybody
Speaker 2: come and leave here or no, I know what I'm like,
Speaker 2: stin since at least come in the locker room. Get
Speaker 2: to know some of these young guys, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Like let them see a face. Because a
Speaker 2: lot of these guys too that you don't think know you,
Speaker 2: they know you by listen to this.
Speaker 1: If you you were in Dallas, if you were in
Speaker 1: Dallas for a Dame game, obviously I'm going with you
Speaker 1: in there. But no, like I said, I perch in
Speaker 1: my I'm I'm in my little spot up spot. And
Speaker 1: I never imagine that Dame would find a way to
Speaker 1: the bus without me noticing. But he did. He did.
Speaker 1: He got away from me. But that was all long
Speaker 1: winded way of saying that. As I was watching Malik
Speaker 1: Beasley play, yes, I could not forget that. You you know,
Speaker 1: he is another player who has a he has a
Speaker 1: spot in the Haines pantheon and the distinction of being
Speaker 1: the first guest, the first player guest in the history.
Speaker 2: Of this show. Yeah yeah, and that was and so
Speaker 2: at that time he was with the Jazz Correct and
Speaker 2: he was this was a few weeks before he got
Speaker 2: traded traded, Yeah yeah. And at that time he was
Speaker 2: pleading to be in a three point contest, then didn't
Speaker 2: make it. So he does a one he does my
Speaker 2: br Live show comes on, same thing, Please to be
Speaker 2: in the three point contest, and now Stein he's invited,
Speaker 2: He's invited. Malik Beasley will be in a three point contest.
Speaker 2: Him and Dame have been talking trash all season about
Speaker 2: who's gonna win, who's gonna get the better of who.
Speaker 2: Malik Beasley shooting the lights out percentage wise for the
Speaker 2: Bucks this season. So you know you got in this,
Speaker 2: in this in this contest. You know, I reported it
Speaker 2: imported one let me see was it last week? I
Speaker 2: put it? Jalen Brunson is going to be in it.
Speaker 2: I just reported during this podcast that Tyrese Maxi is
Speaker 2: going to be in it. Donovan Mitchell. There's somebody else
Speaker 2: out there that I'm missing, but I think there's about
Speaker 2: once one more spot left out there. You know it's
Speaker 2: Stephen Curry going to do it. We know he has
Speaker 2: his own personal three point contests going up against Sabrina.
Speaker 2: But will he entered the big thing. I would tend
Speaker 2: to think so, but you know, I'm not sure. Tyre's
Speaker 2: Halliburton is another guy that's in Laurie Marknen.
Speaker 1: This is this is not tweet worthy for you. But
Speaker 1: I can also now confirm that I will indeed be
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis. I have finally arranged it. It is set,
Speaker 1: and I will be there too, hopefully make my way
Speaker 1: into the Chris Haynes orbit. Chris Haynes, folks, he's got
Speaker 1: a stacked work schedule Friday and Saturday of All Star Weekend,
Speaker 1: but Sunday before the big game, before he starts doing
Speaker 1: his various red carpet appearances and interviews in the hallway
Speaker 1: with various All Stars. I am going to do my
Speaker 1: best to pull Chris away from the madness, and we
Speaker 1: are we are going to get at least one episode
Speaker 1: of this league uncut done on All Star soil. That
Speaker 1: is going to happen now because I will indeed be that.
Speaker 2: That's a big time that's big time Stein and Indianapolis,
Speaker 2: that definitely is tweet worthy right there. Stein, first of all,
Speaker 2: happy to have you. Indianapolis and the NBA in the league.
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure they're happy to have you.
Speaker 1: They've been up late at night wondering if I was
Speaker 1: gonna make it.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't know if it's All Star Weekend without you.
Speaker 2: But with that being said, Stein, with that being said,
Speaker 2: like King has walked viewers through like what is your
Speaker 2: doing All Star Weekend? Like what do you like? Because
Speaker 2: I have as I've gotten older, you know, as you know,
Speaker 2: you probably get these invites to come to this shoe
Speaker 2: like Nike may hold something, a Das may hold something.
Speaker 2: Then you have these different agencies they'll hold an event,
Speaker 2: and I would my first. These last couple of years, Steinn,
Speaker 2: I've tailed off a little bit, like I minimize my
Speaker 2: plate because I have a lot more of a workload,
Speaker 2: you know, with T and T having to Actually I'm
Speaker 2: working the Rising Stars game, then I'm working the HBCU
Speaker 2: Classic on Saturday on the sidelines for that, and then
Speaker 2: I'm doing interviews during Saturday night events, the dunk contests
Speaker 2: and all that. So I'm pretty busy, so I had
Speaker 2: to kind of scale down like all the off court
Speaker 2: activities that I will usually go to. So Stein, what
Speaker 2: do you do all Star weekend? What do you prepare
Speaker 2: for just in and covering the event and also take
Speaker 2: trying to take in what you can while you do.
Speaker 1: Okay, this is going to surprise you zero percent. But
Speaker 1: agency party Agency parties not a high priority on my list.
Speaker 1: High priority on my list in Indianapolis is I got
Speaker 1: to get into sant elmos Steakhouse at least twice before
Speaker 1: I leave town. That is a very high priority, right.
Speaker 2: It is.
Speaker 1: But in all seriousness, what I'm probably look, I always
Speaker 1: want to try to get to the Tech Summit on
Speaker 1: Friday morning because there are just a slew of heavy
Speaker 1: hitters from all over the sports world. So I hope
Speaker 1: my schedule will allow for that. But honestly, I think
Speaker 1: what I'm most excited about is my dear friends from
Speaker 1: Panini Trading Cards and Collectibles. They sponsor my weekly radio
Speaker 1: show in Dallas. They are based in Dallas, and this
Speaker 1: year I didn't even realize it until the league started
Speaker 1: announcing all the participants for the Friday night game. Panini
Speaker 1: is the title sponsor for the Rising Stars Challenge, which
Speaker 1: has twenty eight guys first year players, second year players,
Speaker 1: guys from the G League, including Mac McClung, who we
Speaker 1: will see defending his slam Dunk championship in Indianapolis after
Speaker 1: he told me earlier in the season that he was
Speaker 1: still thinking about it, deliberating about it. So I'm super
Speaker 1: excited to see all my Panini pals and get with
Speaker 1: them and see if they can help me get to
Speaker 1: some of these younger guys that you are always telling
Speaker 1: me I need to do a better job of trying
Speaker 1: to connect with. So hopefully with an assist from my
Speaker 1: dear friends from Panini, I'm going to meet a few
Speaker 1: more of these younger competitors in the Rising Stars field
Speaker 1: and like here, you know, in all seriousness, Indianapolis is
Speaker 1: one of my favorite cities on the NBA map. I
Speaker 1: always love going there, and from the moment this All
Speaker 1: Star Game was awarded to Indy, I've been trying to
Speaker 1: find a way to get myself there and I'm just
Speaker 1: relieved in the end that I did come up with
Speaker 1: a way. But look, if we really want to go
Speaker 1: inside baseball here. I mean, I'm not going to lie
Speaker 1: to you. The All Star Game. My last four years
Speaker 1: at ESPN, I covered the All Star Game for ESPN Radio.
Speaker 1: ESPN Radio's All Star broadcast team gets the exact same
Speaker 1: access as the TNT squad. It's Chris Haynes level access.
Speaker 1: When you have that level of access to the All
Speaker 1: Star Game when you are on floor level, and then
Speaker 1: when you lose that and try to go back to
Speaker 1: the quote real world is very very hard. So I
Speaker 1: admittedly struggle with that because I remember how good I
Speaker 1: used to have it those you know, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
Speaker 1: was it? Yeah, four at least four years, maybe five.
Speaker 1: And I also in twenty nineteen when I was at
Speaker 1: the New York Time Times, I got to pinch hit
Speaker 1: for a weekend and spend that whole weekend in Charlotte
Speaker 1: with the ESPN Radio. So doing covering the All Star
Speaker 1: Game at floor level is such an intoxicating experience, which
Speaker 1: is what you get to do. Once you've done it
Speaker 1: at that level, it is really hard to just go
Speaker 1: back up one hundred rows and be nowhere near the court.
Speaker 1: So I'm giving you the I'm giving you the reel there, man,
Speaker 1: that that's the real deal.
Speaker 2: So you're spoiled, spoiled.
Speaker 1: I was spoiled. I mean I think my last I
Speaker 1: think in that Charlotte All Star game. I mean I
Speaker 1: was on All Stars Saturday night. I basically got to
Speaker 1: sit right behind the bench. So when you're that, when
Speaker 1: you're that close, I mean it's uh, I mean you
Speaker 1: know you'll be down there.
Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, So Stein, real quick, you were talking
Speaker 2: about the Rising Stars? What does the Rising Stars consist of?
Speaker 2: What do you have to be? Again?
Speaker 1: I think, Look, I don't I don't even know all
Speaker 1: the rules exactly, but basically there's twenty eight players. I
Speaker 1: think they divided into four teams of seven.
Speaker 2: Uh huh yep, what company? Like, what are the qualifications? Yeah,
Speaker 2: I am hold on, but I want to get I
Speaker 2: want to get I'm getting this something here. What are
Speaker 2: qualifications of competing in this Rising Stars game?
Speaker 1: You're a first year player, second year player, or a
Speaker 1: G leaguer?
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, I'm glad you mentioned that. Do you
Speaker 2: know that's this is Scoot Henderson's third time Yeah, being
Speaker 2: the Stars game. Don't you know he will most likely
Speaker 2: be there for a fourth time next year, and that's
Speaker 2: how many years can you be a rising star?
Speaker 1: That will be a record that's never broken.
Speaker 2: He's a rising star vet, you know, four it's gonna
Speaker 2: be four years, two years as a gen leaguer.
Speaker 1: You're covering it, right, I'm gonna ask him about that.
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm asking about that. I'm like, I'm like, hold on,
Speaker 2: you have the most experienced at anybody here, Like, do
Speaker 2: you have any experience too, you know, to pass down
Speaker 2: to your other rookies, other fellow first or sophomore freshman
Speaker 2: of sophomore players here. You know, I'm joking here, but yeah,
Speaker 2: I forgot about Like this was Scoop's third and he's
Speaker 2: wife is going to get a fourth next year. Then
Speaker 2: he'll be done. I don't think. I don't think you
Speaker 2: get a red shirt or extra year. I don't know
Speaker 2: if he can do that, but four years is pretty amazing.
Speaker 1: Four is enough. Four is enough college. But there's no
Speaker 1: such thing as enough Chris Haynes. So get ready, America
Speaker 1: because All Star Weekend.
Speaker 2: Wife will say, All Star Weekend, you're.
Speaker 1: Gonna see a lot of them. All right, let's put
Speaker 1: a bow on this edition of this league. Uncut. We
Speaker 1: really didn't get to the Lakers and their trade deadline machinations,
Speaker 1: but something tells me that when we RecA later this week,
Speaker 1: we will be talking about the Lakers plenty, whether they
Speaker 1: do or don't make a trade, because obviously all of
Speaker 1: that factors into the Lebron James calculus with what happens
Speaker 1: with Lebron after the season and his player option. And remember,
Speaker 1: as Chris Haynes has already explained to our audience, he's
Speaker 1: in New York all week. He's on the TNT sidelines
Speaker 1: Tuesday night for Mavericks at nets Kyrie Irving's return to Brooklyn,
Speaker 1: and then he will stay in New York to stay
Speaker 1: dialed in on this trade deadline. And Chris and I
Speaker 1: will get together again this week for at least one
Speaker 1: more podcast. Remember, as always, please follow the show, rate
Speaker 1: the show, review the show, Spotify, Apple, wherever you get
Speaker 1: your podcasts. Thanks for joining us as always, and be powers.
Speaker 1: Chris and I back together again with you very very
Speaker 1: take care everybody, and that'll do it for us, See
Speaker 1: you next time. This League and Cutta is an iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: production puck a lock up Chris Hanes and Mark Stein