WEBVTT - Adam Silver Broaching The French Connection 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:02.880 You're tuned into Heat Check with Triste Quick. 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:10.400 On this episode of the Heat Check, we're digging in 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:16.360 to why Adam Silver and how Adam Silver loves France 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:18.000 just so damn much. 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:22.920 We break down Jeremy Sohan's new free throw shooting style 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:26.239 to break down his free throw blue. We have some 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:30.840 Karl Anthony Towns drama shocker, he's never in the news, 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:32.920 and we also get into some other. 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:34.680 Tea from around the league. 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:38.239 So much popping as a trade deadline approaches, So do 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:48.839 me a favor, Nick and drop that generic each before 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:53.360 we get into everything popping around the league. I wanted 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:57.960 to give a special shout out to all the good, fine, 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:03.920 fine folks in buff New York for hosting me as 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.360 America's guest in Buffalo for the Bengals Bill's game. 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:10.440 I I'm not sure. 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:12.360 I haven't gone through a table yet, but I believe 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:15.440 just shy of that I'm a part of Bill's mafia, 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.000 which means, of course I take some sort of blame 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.480 in going there and declaring my AFC fandom just so 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:25.360 they can get their ass at home. I'm sorry, Buffalo, 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.240 we know it's a huge sports town. We talk about 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.160 that not only in some of these radio hits that 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.440 I do in Buffalo, but also in Rochester, so I 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:35.720 got to talk a little hoops with them. A lot 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:39.120 of people there reminded me multiple times that Buffalo was 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.280 the original home of the what is now the LA Clippers. 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:44.880 Did you know that? If you're not a historian, you 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:45.160 did not. 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:52.040 And I was told an incredible story about the Buffalo Braves, 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.560 which was the original NBA team, well one of the 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:59.160 original NBA teams in Buffalo. 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:00.640 So I had to fact check. 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.400 It turns out this crazy story that they told me 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:08.120 while I was tailgating near double propane burners trying to 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.680 warm myself up at their tailgate was true. It's actually 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.839 maybe the craziest reason that an NBA player has been 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:17.280 traded in league history. 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:19.080 It's absurd. 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.079 It's it's got a little ism to it, you know 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:24.640 what I mean, Like, there's a little there's more to 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.600 this story than just that anyway. So the Buffalo Braves 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:31.880 NBA franchise from nineteen seventy to nineteen seventy eight. They 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:34.920 have a fascinating history in the sense that they have 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:38.480 three Rookies of the Year in four seasons. 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:39.760 Think about that. 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.400 Three out of four of their years, they had the 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.680 Rookie of the Year, and they were a team on 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.280 the rise, and then all of a sudden, ownership decided, 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.400 fuck it, we're just gonna take We're just gonna try 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:56.160 to sell this team. Pretty bad luck if you're trying 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.040 to sell the team with multiple Rookie of the Years 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.880 in nineteen seventy six. So they're shedding guys, right, They 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:07.520 shed Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, the league MVP and 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:11.160 a four time All Star at this point for cash. 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:15.240 First of all, outside of this trade story, that's bonkers 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:20.120 and that is absurd. David Stern would have stepped in 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:24.880 and said no. So they wanted to deflate attendance numbers 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:28.799 so they could just break their lease in Buffalo twenty 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.240 twenty two. Buffalo would never allow this to happen, I 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:31.880 promise you. 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:34.200 The Braves then turned. 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:39.200 Around and got Moses Malone, who was just absolutely a 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:42.120 monster in the pain as we know later World champ 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:43.120 with the Sixers. 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:45.240 His career lasted. 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:52.920 Exactly two games in Buffalo, two games before he was 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:53.920 traded to Houston. 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:56.880 Why why did he get traded? What did he do 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:58.160 that was so wrong? 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.080 What was so egregious in his behavior that would cause 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:06.160 them to move someone who's this level of a player 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:13.600 in two games. Well, coach Tates Locke immediately got it 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:18.320 in his mind that Moses Malone, Moses Molan was lazy 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:25.360 because Check's notes he slumped on the bench during timeouts. 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:29.200 No, that's the reason. 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:33.280 That's the reason it is Moses Malone got traded from 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:41.520 Buffalo because of bad posture. Or maybe a more reasonable 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:45.839 idea is that Tates locks as an asshole. Edie didn't 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:50.240 like Moses Malone like that's probably more accurate. According to 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:53.320 the recent history of the Buffalo Braves, Locke talked the 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:58.400 owner into trading Moses Malone immediately because I just don't 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:00.560 like the way he sits on the bench, just rubs 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.520 me the wrong way. He gives me vibes of just man. 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:08.719 It feels like a very complacent player. 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:13.599 Moses Malone. We're not talking about some janitor. We're talking 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:14.880 about Moses Malone. 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.240 A year later, the Braves are in San Diego, so 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.520 their efforts to get themselves shipped out of Buffalo worked. 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.560 They then later as we know, moved to Los Angeles 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:28.200 because of all of the things that were happening with 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.240 the Clippers, and that's where they are now. But what 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:34.719 a story. I gotta make my way back to Buffalo. 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:36.720 What an incredible story. 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:37.800 That was big. 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:40.440 Thanks to all the folks in Buffalo who came by, 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:43.279 said hello, did not throw me through a table, gave 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.640 me the original Buffalo Wings, showed me a great time. 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.280 Went to Auto's amazing subs. 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:52.279 I think there's like a sausage patty and some sort 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:55.919 of meat thing in there and cheese awesome. Also Chop 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.160 Gene Battaglia bulldog who did not come out, but we'll 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.679 see him next time. And now I know what Bill's 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:05.480 mafia is truly like. So onto the league current league news. 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.720 I just had to share that before we got into 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.000 more ridiculousness from our current commissioner. 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:12.320 Adam Silver. 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:19.480 So we've talked about how much Adam Silver just fawns 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:23.160 over Europe, just loves it, just loves everything about the culture. 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.200 Clearly wants to be a part of the culture, wants 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:27.320 this culture to be a part of the. 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:28.159 NBA in some way. 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:33.040 And now I feel like there's even more evidence of that. 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:38.320 A new country has struck Adam Silver's fancy and it 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:39.360 is France. 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:45.080 Currently in love, currently a Franco file real quick. 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:48.800 As an aside, if you look at Adam Silver, does 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.719 he kind of just look like the guy who just 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.599 picture him in your mind? Doesn't he look like someone 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:58.640 who would correct you for saying croissant wrong? I guess 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:03.920 quissant it's and I was like, okay, guy, you're American. 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:06.839 Doesn't he seem kind of like the guy who has. 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:11.280 A couple maybe five, maybe seven berets in his closet 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.560 in different colors that he wears with a turtleneck when 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:19.520 he goes out to a French restaurant and orders Flakral, Like, 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:20.720 doesn't that seem. 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:21.320 Like Adam Silver? 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.000 Like you just know when he goes to dinner parties, 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:28.360 he regales you with that time that he discovered one 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:31.080 of the best cheeses on the planet when he took 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.640 his trip with his lovely wife to Roquefort. You know, 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.679 like that's him, That's Adam Silver, and he's gonna shove 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.200 French culture down our throats whether we like it or not. 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:42.640 That's just what's going down. 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:46.400 So last week they decided to have a game in Paris. 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:50.480 NBA did first ever game in the city of Lights. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:52.160 Who played in that game? 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:52.920 Was it? 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.760 Was it Lakers Bucks? Was it somebody star studded? Do 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.760 we get to see I don't know, do we get 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:04.680 to see Steph Curry and the Warriors play against I 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.120 don't know, even the Boston Celtics. 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:09.240 Oh, it was much better than that. 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:13.800 Something really to just warm your palette up a little bit, 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:18.080 get you get the juices going. It was they decided 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:21.800 to send the dead last Detroit Pistons with a total 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:26.720 of twelve wins, to face the Chicago Bulls on the 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:29.400 verge of a rebuild. Did the French have they not 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.920 been tuning into the NBA since Michael Jordan era, because 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:38.439 that that game in nineteen ninety one would have been amazing. 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.480 But hey, zach Lavine's name does sound. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.720 A little French, Leval zach Levan, so that counts, I 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:49.720 think for something. So I'm watching the game at three PM, 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:55.440 which is in itself weird, but nothing is weirder than 0:08:55.480 --> 0:09:02.439 when you're watching Adam Silver chare karoons with Emmanuel Macron 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.480 of French Presidents, right, like that's how he wanted me 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:06.800 to say it. 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:08.560 I wouldn't say it like that. That's how he wanted 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:09.040 me to say it. 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:13.960 So, according to the AP over a Cafe, Adam Silver 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:19.400 and Macron struck a deal to work together with the 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:23.560 hopes of continuing to grow the game of basketball internationally 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.560 in France. So the question is now, why now, why 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.240 are we doing this now? Well, if you know anything 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:34.000 about what's popping around the league, you know why. Adam 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:38.400 Silver has been commissioner for a very long time. We 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:42.199 know he's been loving things France, all things French since 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.480 I don't know, like he went to the Louver on 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.680 a senior class trip at his private school. We know 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:53.240 he's been in love with French women for fifty years now. 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.839 So why the urgency, why this international deal at this moment? 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:02.320 I mean, it's very simple. It's two words. It's stick 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:04.160 your Wambiyama like it's him. 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:07.320 Yeah, the guy Magic Johnson just came out and called 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.160 the best player of the world. He is coming to America, 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:15.080 presumably going to blow basketball up in France along the way, 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:17.840 because the French are gonna be so excited. They have 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:22.040 only had Tony Parker and Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:25.959 like they finally get a real guy in the NBA, right, 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:27.880 they finally get someone they can be proud of, not 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.600 some chucklehead that they all get made fun of about. 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:33.920 And then you add in the twenty twenty four Olympics, 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.760 which by the way, is in Paris. Even though we 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.959 just had the Olympics in Tokyo, feels like just yesterday 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:42.679 and now we have a. 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:48.080 Full blown partnership going on. So what is in this 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:49.800 international coord that they just struck? 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.960 First and foremost, They're going to have a collab between 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:58.319 the NBA and the LNB, the French Professional Basketball League. 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:00.560 So we already saw that to a degree so far 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:04.360 this year. More exhibitions like we saw with the Metropolitan 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:07.880 ninety two and Victor Wambiyama against the G League Knight 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:11.080 and Scoot Henderson Rights. That was a game that we 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:12.600 all liked to see. Was in Vegas. 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:15.200 It was lit. And beyond that, there were two things 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:18.280 that came from this trip. The league. You're gonna hype 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:20.640 up the Olympics, probably. 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:22.520 Meaning that Adam Silver is going to put pressure on 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.440 all the big stars to show up and play. Steph Curry, 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:27.920 You're fucking playing in these Olympics now, like you're not 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:31.720 ducking this anymore. You're on the tail end. You've been saying, 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:34.480 you've been part of this championship window. You don't want 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:36.920 to compete in international basketball because it messes up your 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:43.120 your training regimen and your calendar of load and duration frequency, 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:45.559 and you don't want to tail off before the season 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:47.960 gets to a turning point. 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:50.360 But no, no, no, you're playing in Paris, Steph. That's 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:52.840 what's happening. Demarto Rosen's already committed. 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.839 Not sure if that moves the needle from an international perspective, 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.760 but the second thing that they decided. 0:11:58.320 --> 0:11:59.280 On is fascinating. 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:04.400 NBA and French officials are going to work together to 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:10.120 grow the game in Africa. Why well, we've heard this 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.439 multiple times from folks like Jerry West. Other gms around 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:17.360 the league are talking about Okay hoopers from Victor Wambayama, 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:23.000 Rudy Gobert and Bape and Soccer all having roots in Africa. 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:26.280 Jerry West has said that at Summer League that the 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.000 NBA is deeply interested in that corner of the world 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:35.200 because that partnership feels like probably where the NBA is 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:39.640 going future of the league all stems from that France 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:43.560 Africa connection. And now Adam Silver has aligned himself with 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.800 the government whose colonial policies. 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.040 Controlled most of the area. So it's a win win, 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.360 right Like, so who knows what that means? What is 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:52.559 the end goal of all this? 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.559 Well, there's a closer relationship, most likely between the NBA 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:59.920 and the EuroLeague, and surprise, surprise, the same day of 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:03.920 the accords of the EuroLeague announced they were having talks 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:08.000 to fix the kind of fractured relationship between the two entities. 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:10.199 Everybody wants the. 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:14.040 Olympic Games to go well, right, but ultimately, for Adam Silver, 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.920 a franchise in Paris has to be the end game. 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:23.080 Pick me, pick me, I'm coming, I'm going. Whatever the 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:26.600 name of the franchise is, I am in. I'm changing 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.720 my entire life. I'm sure that they would love an 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:33.120 NBA betting analyst to show up and eat some. 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:35.000 Macaroons with Macron. 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.520 I don't think it's gonna happen like tomorrow, but maybe 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:44.040 like ten years, ten, fifteen years from now. The NBA 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.400 is going to be international folks in our lifetime and Paris, 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:55.240 of course is at the top of Adam Silver first list.