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Speaker 1: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is up?

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Speaker 1: Straight Fire? Fam, It's me Jason McIntyre, Straight Fire for Tuesday, December,

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Speaker 1: getting close to the holidays. Hope you guys have locked

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Speaker 1: up Christmas presents. I was on Amazon over the weekend

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Speaker 1: and ordering stuff. Listen, better get to it like it's

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Speaker 1: the next couple of days or your toast. And you

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Speaker 1: don't want to battle the unwashed masses at the mall.

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Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. I was doing that when I was

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Speaker 1: like a kid. You know, you come back from college,

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Speaker 1: you go to the mall by Christmas presidents, try to

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Speaker 1: meet girls. That was when you were younger. Now, as

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Speaker 1: an adult, I got no time for that. But we

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Speaker 1: do have a great podcast ahead wherever you are on

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Speaker 1: your beautiful Tuesday morning. It's very cold in Los Angeles

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Speaker 1: this week. I'm not gonna lie walking the dog. I

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Speaker 1: got winter gloves on the winter hat. I'm freezing. Yes,

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Speaker 1: s yes, l A will make you soft, but I

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Speaker 1: don't think forty seven degrees and anything to scoff at

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Speaker 1: is cold, downright freezing. I don't even own a winner jacket.

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Speaker 1: We did go skiing once since we've been out here.

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Speaker 1: I'm not a skier. You guys know that. And I

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Speaker 1: can't even find my jacket. It's buried somewhere in some box.

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Speaker 1: So I just put on a couple of sweatshirts and

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Speaker 1: a hoodie and glove up and I'm good to go. Usually,

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Speaker 1: but I do not like this cold weather soft man.

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Speaker 1: I'm soft. I like my the blood pumping through my

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Speaker 1: veins as Caribbean blood. Thus I'm a warm weather creature.

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Speaker 1: That being said, we have a great podcast today. Eric

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Speaker 1: Pink has stopped by from Bleacher Report. It feels that

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Speaker 1: time right We got some ad bys on the gambling

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Speaker 1: side for NBA. We've got NBA news hot and heavy.

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Speaker 1: The last couple of days regarding trades, because obviously December

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Speaker 1: a key day when contracts signed this past summer become

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Speaker 1: eligible to be traded, You're starting to see some teams

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Speaker 1: fade away and the teams that stink right now are

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Speaker 1: making the decision. Hell do we just want to do?

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Speaker 1: We just want to get rid of everything, Just dump

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Speaker 1: any of our good players and get in the web

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Speaker 1: Ban Yama sweepstakes. We know the Spurs are already there,

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Speaker 1: although they did get a stunning win, stunning last night

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Speaker 1: over the Cleveland Cavaliers. I don't even really know who's

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Speaker 1: scoring for San Antonio because their team. When you I'm

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Speaker 1: just telling you, when you look at what's going on

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Speaker 1: with the Spurs, you're like, wait, Robie Collins, I know,

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Speaker 1: Kelton Johnson, Trede Jones, Romeo Lank for the former Indiana Guard.

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Speaker 1: That's their starting lineup. I like the kids, Sohan coming

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Speaker 1: off the bench, the rookie they're trying to pedal done.

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Speaker 1: Doug McDermott. I'm not seeing a lot of Yaka Pearle lately.

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Speaker 1: They're trying to keep him healthy to trade if possible.

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Speaker 1: I'm seeing ce Bassie here. Any idea is that Charles

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Speaker 1: bass Yes, it is the kid out of Western Kentucky.

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Speaker 1: He was like hyped from like high school. Oh, this

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Speaker 1: guy's gonna be a first round pick. And uh, you

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Speaker 1: play twenty minutes. Got six and eleven last night. Not bad,

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Speaker 1: But overall the Spurs do not want to be winning.

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Speaker 1: So Eric Pinks will talk to us about teams that

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Speaker 1: are tanking ones we know, and then a couple that

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Speaker 1: are maybe's and teams that are you know, either struggling

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Speaker 1: or middle of the pack and need a surge. A

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Speaker 1: boost if you will, and that includes the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Speaker 1: Is there a Kyle Kuzma reunion possibly happening in Los Angeles? Uh?

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Speaker 1: Chicago Bulls looking to move off to Rose and Bulls

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Speaker 1: are disappointing. Poor Zach Lavine, My guy, you know I'm

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Speaker 1: a huge Zack Lavine fan. So interesting stuff from Eric

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Speaker 1: Pinks on the NBA. I gotta talk about the NFL

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Speaker 1: last night. I don't really want to do much on

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Speaker 1: it because it was such a sad game. Kyler Murray

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Speaker 1: going down opening drive, non contact injury, knee buckled, and

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Speaker 1: you knew instantly it's over. He's done, He's not coming back.

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Speaker 1: The cart comes out, tears, a lot of Arizona Cardinals

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Speaker 1: come out. That's listen, man, There's no way around it.

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Speaker 1: That is absolutely shitty for a team that has been

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Speaker 1: going through a lot of crap this season. Cliff Kingsbury,

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Speaker 1: Kyler Murray, and now you lose on an island game.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Colt McCoy came in and was admirable. It

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Speaker 1: all fell apart in the third quarter that over did

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Speaker 1: not hit. I'm done with totals, guys. I don't know why,

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Speaker 1: you know, I went on heard yesterday, you know. I

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Speaker 1: recorded podcast some afternoon, some evening, some warnings, and I

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Speaker 1: said on heard Patriots, you know, And I said on

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Speaker 1: the podcast yesterday over I didn't take the Patriots. I

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Speaker 1: I said I would take the Patriots. I bet the

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Speaker 1: over forty four. I was a loser. For a moment

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Speaker 1: it looked like it was gonna hit on that Cardinals

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Speaker 1: interception slash Phumba returned. Then it was overruled and nobody

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Speaker 1: did anything really after that. There was it and it

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Speaker 1: was just a disappointing fourth quarter. I tried not to

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Speaker 1: watch it much. But overall Arizona's toast. We know that

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Speaker 1: they're not going to playoffs. New England seven and six

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Speaker 1: now back in the playoff mix, they for the time

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Speaker 1: being surge ahead of my Jets despite both being seven

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Speaker 1: and six. We know the Patriots swept the Jets. Disappointing

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Speaker 1: but true. We all know the Patriots are not a

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Speaker 1: good football team. The game basically swung after after Kyler

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Speaker 1: Murray left, Arizona was able to hang around. Then DeAndre Hopkins,

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Speaker 1: who is on my fantasy team, fumbles over the middle

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Speaker 1: at about like the twenty yard line. Rare fumble by him,

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Speaker 1: Patriots scoop and score. Patriots go up a touchdown. That

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Speaker 1: was it. Kyle Colt McCoy through a terrible interception on

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Speaker 1: the next drive, and that was a game. However, interesting

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Speaker 1: A couple of games ahead for the Patriots. This is

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Speaker 1: why I think the Jets have a better chance. Patriots

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Speaker 1: are at Las Vegas this week. It is I believe. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's this Sunday, uh four o'clock game. Belichick McDaniels gonna

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Speaker 1: be tough not to love Belichick in that one. Then

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Speaker 1: they play the Bengals at home, Then they play the

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Speaker 1: Dolphins at home, and they close out with Buffalo. Buffalo

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Speaker 1: likely still gonna be fighting for the number one seats,

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Speaker 1: so they won't be sitting guys. They do get Miami

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Speaker 1: and two at home Joe Burrow. They're rolling, So I

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Speaker 1: don't know. The final four games. Are the Patriots winning

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Speaker 1: three of those, I don't think, so I'll give them

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Speaker 1: the win over the Raiders. They're not beating Buffalo. I

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Speaker 1: don't think they're beating Cincinnati. So ultimately their season will

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Speaker 1: probably come down to the New Year's Day tilt against

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Speaker 1: tah And remember, Belichick has really struggled with two in

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Speaker 1: the Dolphins in the last couple of years. Um, but

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Speaker 1: enough about the New England Patriots. This Kyler Murray news

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Speaker 1: is depressing because remember it is mid December. A c

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Speaker 1: L injuries depending on the player and the severity and

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Speaker 1: if it's an a c L, m C all that stuff,

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Speaker 1: it could be anywhere from eight months to a year.

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Speaker 1: And Kyler Murray and his speed and his escapability in

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Speaker 1: the pocket is what makes him. Kyler Murray throws a

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Speaker 1: beautiful ball, but let's be real, guys, when he is scrambling,

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Speaker 1: that's when Arizona is the most dangerous because you gotta

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Speaker 1: cover de Hop, you gotta cover when the rest of

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Speaker 1: their offensive skill position players are healthy, that's a lot

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Speaker 1: of guys to cover. And when the offensive line is good,

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Speaker 1: Kyla Murray's deadly. Look at him last year, man, he

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Speaker 1: was awesome. This year offensive line was awful. They were

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Speaker 1: down four starters from Week one for like the last

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Speaker 1: three weeks. Kyler doesn't want to run. I don't know this,

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Speaker 1: this real. This a c L injury really screws up

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Speaker 1: a lot of stuff with Kyler Murray. I don't think

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Speaker 1: he'll be back till at least I would say, the

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Speaker 1: earliest at the minimum, if he has a bionic comeback,

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Speaker 1: would be Halloween. So now you're missing at least the

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Speaker 1: first two months. I think it's more realistic to say Thanksgiving.

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Speaker 1: So what do you do if you're Arizona? Do you

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Speaker 1: draft a quarterback? Can you counter cold McCoy? Like small

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Speaker 1: doses of coldlcoy? Okay, a week to whatever, two and

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Speaker 1: a half months of coldbl koy. Next season you just

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Speaker 1: forget You just forget about it. You're not going to

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Speaker 1: the playoffs. Seahawks have gotten better in that division. Seahawks

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Speaker 1: are fading, but they're they've gotten better. Rams will bounce back.

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Speaker 1: Niners ain't going nowhere. I don't know, guys. It's looking

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Speaker 1: very bleak for Arizona. Just super depressing. At least the

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Speaker 1: good news is you have your own pick. Let's say

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Speaker 1: you don't win any more games. You're looking at the

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Speaker 1: top six pick. Now. I don't think you go quarterback.

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Speaker 1: But one interesting thing if you look around at some

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Speaker 1: of these wide receiver contracts, the most interesting position players

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Speaker 1: the last couple of years have been wide receivers because

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Speaker 1: what happens the teams that got to pay them get

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Speaker 1: off of the wide receivers, and the teams that scoop

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Speaker 1: up up and overpay are the teams with quarterbacks on

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Speaker 1: rookie deals. Check out DeAndre Hopkins if you've got some

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Speaker 1: free time this morning. He's coming off that suspension and

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Speaker 1: he's getting up there in age, and he had a

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Speaker 1: good run in Arizona. If DeAndre Hopkins he's gonna leave,

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Speaker 1: I think you've gotta look at receivers for Arizona. Then

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Speaker 1: the question becomes, who gets DeAndre Hopkins? Well, I listen,

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Speaker 1: my Jets made a strong play for Tyreek Hill. Jets

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Speaker 1: have good receivers. But any team with a quarterback on

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Speaker 1: a rookie deal, I think you've got to look at

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Speaker 1: the hop who is still Listen. I don't know that

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Speaker 1: he is as elite as he was, say three years ago.

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Speaker 1: Um last year, very very good. DeAndre Hopkins is still

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Speaker 1: a damn good player. I just I don't know that

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Speaker 1: I would put him in this in the top five,

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Speaker 1: maybe not top seven anymore. His his numbers this year

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Speaker 1: a little depressed. The turns thirty one in June. And

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Speaker 1: this is a guy who you know, he had a

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Speaker 1: great run in Houston. They inexplicably traded him first year

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Speaker 1: in Arizona UM four hundred yards. Last year he missed

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Speaker 1: some games with the injury, and the the offense struggled.

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Speaker 1: But I think DeAndre Hopkins has a lot left in

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Speaker 1: the tank. He's gonna be a valuable chip for a

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Speaker 1: team with a quarterback on a rookie deal. You could

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Speaker 1: even toss Jacksonville in there. They did overpay for Christian Kirk,

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Speaker 1: but you know, Trevor Lawrence looking good. Is Trevor Lawrence

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Speaker 1: gonna finish strong? And they say, hey, we're going all

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Speaker 1: in for next year, Gonna make a run. We'll see,

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Speaker 1: But the DeAndre Hopkins situation certainly bears watching. One other

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Speaker 1: interesting note in the NFL before we get to our guests.

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Speaker 1: So it was lately at late Monday afternoon, word comes

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Speaker 1: down the Dallas Cowboys have signed veteran wide receiver t

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Speaker 1: Y Hilton had a long run and Indy with Andrew

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Speaker 1: Luck very good receiver, just I mean quality player. We've

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Speaker 1: been on the market for a while. What do you

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Speaker 1: think this does for their odds of getting Odell Beckham. Basically,

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Speaker 1: Jerry Jones company came out and was like, hey, Ohdell

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Speaker 1: is not gonna be ready for the playoffs. I don't know.

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Speaker 1: They probably low bald him. He said, bleep off, and

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Speaker 1: the Cowboys said, all right, check your latter, We're gonna

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Speaker 1: go grab t Y Hilton. This is an interesting quote

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Speaker 1: from Mike McCarthy. The timing is right. He's ready to go.

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Speaker 1: He's an excellent addition, especially at this time of year. Okay,

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Speaker 1: Hilton has not been with the team all year. I

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Speaker 1: would assume he's been working out. T Y Hilton is

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Speaker 1: not the guy, the guy who just gotta slack off.

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Speaker 1: He still got a lot to prove um fifty three

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Speaker 1: career touchdowns, four time Pro bowler. He did definitely did

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Speaker 1: look like a shell of himself last year. But this

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Speaker 1: is the most interesting aspect. Again, you're not looking at

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Speaker 1: him to be a number two with him, but I

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Speaker 1: don't even know about a number three. Noah Brown seems

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Speaker 1: like an invaluable guy. Dak Prescott loves him. You got

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Speaker 1: Noah Brown, You've got Gallup healthy again, You've got Ceedee Lamb.

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Speaker 1: Why Hilton is a bit of a luxury um, if

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Speaker 1: you will, a insurance policy should the number two or

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Speaker 1: three guy get hurt, here's the kicker. The Cowboys guaranteed

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Speaker 1: t Y Hilton six hundred thousand over the final four

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Speaker 1: weeks of the regular season, and he'll count eight hundred

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Speaker 1: thousand against the cap earns fifty k for each regular

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Speaker 1: season game he is on the roster. He can earn

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Speaker 1: up to seven hundred thousand in playoff incentives that the

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Speaker 1: Cowboys win the Super Bowl and he playstent of the

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Speaker 1: Snaps MAXI money can get one eight million. Now, I

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Speaker 1: will say this, everybody and their mom knows. Odell Beckham

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Speaker 1: was in town last week a recruiting visit. If you will,

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Speaker 1: I mean Micah Parsons, Uh was it? Digs the cornerback

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Speaker 1: Trayvon Digs. Everybody was like, Ojo, we need you, we

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Speaker 1: love you. Ever like recruiting him and Jerry Jones, McCarthy

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Speaker 1: and the brain trust says, no, we're gonna go with

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Speaker 1: the cheaper option. We're gonna snap up t Why Hilton.

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Speaker 1: Very interesting move, Odell Beckham, what are you gonna Are

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Speaker 1: you gonna go to the New York Giants? You're not

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Speaker 1: going there. They might not even make the playoffs. I

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Speaker 1: don't think the Packers are in a position to go

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Speaker 1: after you. Christian Watson's emerging Dobbs should be coming back.

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Speaker 1: They're not a playoff team. Are the Buffalo Bills even

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Speaker 1: getting in the mix for you? They lost Von Miller.

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Speaker 1: They need a defender. Is there an offense out there

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Speaker 1: where Odell Beckham could be a factor. I don't know that.

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Speaker 1: If you listen, if he's not ready to run now,

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Speaker 1: are you sure he's gonna be ready to run in

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Speaker 1: five weeks in the playoffs are here. It's just maybe

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Speaker 1: there's a chance that this was just a big tease

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Speaker 1: and Odell doesn't play all season and he makes a

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Speaker 1: move in the off season. But does he want to

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Speaker 1: train in the off season? Does he want to play

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Speaker 1: a full season? Or is he just gonna be like

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna be a playoff guy from now on. I

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Speaker 1: don't know. We'll see, but if you're Odell Beckham, you've

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Speaker 1: gotta be pretty ticked off. I don't think the Eagles

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Speaker 1: are making a move for you, right, Minnesota Vikings, I

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Speaker 1: don't see it, although on turf indoors could make some sense.

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Speaker 1: San Francisco, they just lost Deebo Samuel, there's Odell, say Kyle.

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Speaker 1: Any interest gotta be a consideration if you're San fran right,

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Speaker 1: you just lost Stebo. Samuel Odell is obviously not gonna

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Speaker 1: be running the football, but on the outside you got

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Speaker 1: a yuk got Kittle like he's gotta be. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's gonna want to go to Baltimore.

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Speaker 1: And I guess the last one I would toss out

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Speaker 1: since I tossed that, like a third of the league

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Speaker 1: at this point is Cincinnati, which was out without Tee

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Speaker 1: Higgins and Tyler Boyd last week. And we're throwing to

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Speaker 1: just kind of dudes off the street. Trent Taylor. You

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Speaker 1: probably know, uh slot guy was with the Niners. Maybe

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Speaker 1: maybe he wants to go to Cincinnati. I don't know

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Speaker 1: how much time does he want to spend in since

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Speaker 1: and again this is like again we have there's a

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Speaker 1: two months left in the NFL season, and that's for

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Speaker 1: two teams. Everyone else has less than that. So Odell

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Speaker 1: Beckham gonna be, I guess, in high demand this week.

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Speaker 1: All right, without further adode, let's get to our guest.

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Speaker 1: Bleacher Report NBA columnist Eric Pinkis Top Jason likes to

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Speaker 1: think he knows everything when it comes to sports. I

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Speaker 1: know what sports dance want, but for everything he doesn't

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Speaker 1: he knows a guy who does. Let's just say I

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Speaker 1: know a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's welcome into straight fire a guy who's

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Speaker 1: been here before. You know him for his work on

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Speaker 1: Bleacher Report. He sent Lakers fans into a frenzy this week.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if it was a good or bad one.

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Speaker 1: Eric will tell us about how the reaction was. He's

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Speaker 1: also an instructor at the Sports Business Classroom helping place

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Speaker 1: people in the NBA. Very cool job, Eric, Pinkas, how

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Speaker 1: you doing, man? Doing really well? Thanks for having me. Yeah, first,

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Speaker 1: let's start with the Sports Business Classroom. I get asked

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Speaker 1: at least twice a week, how do I get a

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Speaker 1: job at Fox? Can you get me an internship at Fox?

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Speaker 1: Just from random people on social media? And I have

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Speaker 1: been able to help some people out. I am curious.

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Speaker 1: What what do you guys do in helping place folks

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Speaker 1: at NBA positions? Well, I'm sure you know. Networking is

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Speaker 1: a huge part of any really any industry, but specifically

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Speaker 1: the sports industry, sports based industries, and we have a program.

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Speaker 1: We have multiple programs around the year, but our our

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Speaker 1: headline program is in Las Vegas at Summer League. You're

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Speaker 1: actually in the gym. And last year we had like

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Speaker 1: Jerry West talk we have We've had Adam Silver in

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Speaker 1: the past, We've had Cuban and like great coaches and

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Speaker 1: we teach I teach salary cap stuff and basketball operations.

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Speaker 1: We also teach scouting, video analytics, broadcast, all that kind

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Speaker 1: of depending on what you're interested in. And just by

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Speaker 1: the networking and by the reputation our our organization has

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Speaker 1: partnering up with a lot of NBA teams, We've gotten

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Speaker 1: a lot of people placed. Uh, there's no like one

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Speaker 1: magic answer other than you have to be good at

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Speaker 1: something that adds value to someone else, and you have

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Speaker 1: to be able to uh communicate what it is that

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Speaker 1: that value is. And that's a it's that and of

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Speaker 1: itself is hard. But then you also have to have opportunity.

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Speaker 1: And so we at least can help shape that vision

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Speaker 1: and then increase that opportun Yeah. Not well at bleach

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Speaker 1: your report, we know your value. Add your column this

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Speaker 1: week about potential trade destinations for a certain Laker by

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Speaker 1: the name of Kyle Kuzma. I should add former laker

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Speaker 1: um was really captivating stuff. Um, there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: stuff on the Chicago Bulls. Obviously, the Lakers are in

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Speaker 1: the mix for a lot of players because they're close,

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Speaker 1: but they're not quite there. In terms of the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like a bunch of teams are going to

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Speaker 1: be selling. We're talking about bottom dwellers in the one

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Speaker 1: Ban Yama Sweet stakes, like Orlando, Detroit, San Antonio. I'm

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Speaker 1: just curious, Eric, what is the team that generates the

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Speaker 1: most interest in your columns? Is there a team fan

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Speaker 1: base player that really has popped here in the last

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks. I mean, of course, you know, I

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Speaker 1: I work out of l A and I've been covering

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Speaker 1: the Lakers, and uh like, technically I'm a national guy.

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Speaker 1: Used to be more of a beat guy for the Lakers.

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Speaker 1: Uh And Bleacher loves us to hit the Lakers because

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Speaker 1: it's got such a you know, a big response. The

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Speaker 1: fan base is very fashould Uh yeah, passion, that's the

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Speaker 1: right word for it. And you know, and crazy is

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Speaker 1: also another one. And I don't mean that as an insult.

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Speaker 1: If you're Laker fan, please don't take that as an insult.

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Speaker 1: I mean, uh, if you spend all day thinking about

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Speaker 1: the Lakers and how they can fix their problems, your

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Speaker 1: little nuts. And you know, that's literally what I get

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Speaker 1: paid to do, among other things. So I'm not blaming

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Speaker 1: you for that. But there I mean, there are certain

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Speaker 1: teams that always paying the radar, you know, like of course,

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Speaker 1: Warriors have a tremendous fan base. Uh. The Celtics are

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Speaker 1: really good, so they do have a huge fan base,

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Speaker 1: but right now they're not there's you know, they're they're

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Speaker 1: pretty good. They're not gonna be making anything crazy. You know,

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Speaker 1: maybe they'll make a small move. Um. But then there

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Speaker 1: are of course players that you know, what what are

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Speaker 1: the Lakers going to do with Russell westbrook And you

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Speaker 1: know what's gonna happen? Is KD gonna ask out again?

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Speaker 1: And there's some fear maybe in Brooklyn. You know, you

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Speaker 1: can go down each team. There's a story for every team, uh,

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Speaker 1: and my job is to try to identify, you know,

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Speaker 1: what's just fan um gossip and hope and what is

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Speaker 1: grounded in in what could actually happen. And and you know,

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Speaker 1: certainly I can't predict the future with certainty, but I'm actually,

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Speaker 1: you know, relatively decent of at least setting the table

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Speaker 1: of the conversations that are actually happening in the NBA.

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Speaker 1: What who's available, who's being discussed, what the decisions are

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Speaker 1: that we have to wait and see. You know what

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Speaker 1: teams they decided to make a move or hold. I

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Speaker 1: don't We'll have to wait. So we'll start with the Lakers,

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Speaker 1: who I would say, I think they started something like

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Speaker 1: three and ten. They were awful at the beginning. Everybody

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Speaker 1: was nearly panicked into doing a move, because you know,

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Speaker 1: when you're maybe what like a seventh of the way

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Speaker 1: through the season and you're already like seven games under

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Speaker 1: five hundred, it's it's okay to panic. Now, I know

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Speaker 1: the Lakers peeled off some wins and got back in

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Speaker 1: the mix, still have a negative point differential, still outside

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Speaker 1: of the playoffs, and there's still a Lebron or a

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Speaker 1: d injury away from being completely irrelevant. That being said,

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Speaker 1: Russ has worked off the bench. Where are you on

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Speaker 1: the Kuzuma versus the Chicago Bulls options that are offered

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Speaker 1: to the Lakers. So yeah, like the the teams that

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Speaker 1: are by tyres are dependent on the sellers. You can't

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Speaker 1: make a trade with somebody who's not willing and so

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Speaker 1: uh one of the articles. One of the aspects of

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Speaker 1: the article was like Kuzma, he's a he can opt

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Speaker 1: out of his contract. Will opt out of his contract

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Speaker 1: and we'll seek a larger salary. And from what I've

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Speaker 1: been told, has interest in like a bigger market or

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Speaker 1: a contender, So sons may not be hold on Eric.

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Speaker 1: Would you agree he got a taste of it in

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Speaker 1: l A. Want a title was dating a supermodel. He

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Speaker 1: was loving life in l A. And now he's in Washington,

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Speaker 1: which isn't a bad city, but they're not going anywhere.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know, all right, he's playing better do you?

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Speaker 1: But do you think he's long for Washington? Well? I

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Speaker 1: think what's the pro is is that he's had the opportunity.

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Speaker 1: My dog's barking at someone, he's had the opportunity to

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Speaker 1: actually perform and like in a way that he wasn't

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Speaker 1: given that opportunity in in l A. Because if you're

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Speaker 1: playing with Lebron and you're playing with a D they're

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Speaker 1: the focus. And so he was a complementary score. Here

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Speaker 1: he's able to be like because Beale is out of

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Speaker 1: the lineup a lot, he's been able to flourish as

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Speaker 1: like the guy as far as the primary score, and

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Speaker 1: he's done really well, and I think he is going

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Speaker 1: to get a raise somewhere. I don't know if he

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Speaker 1: wants to be back in that kind of tertiary. I'm

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Speaker 1: the third guy role. But now he'd be started like

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Speaker 1: it would be kind of because they'd bring him in

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Speaker 1: and then talking a new deal, and you'd probably have

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Speaker 1: some sort of handshake, even though it's legal in the NBA.

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Speaker 1: They'd probably have worked out like, Okay, we'll pay you

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Speaker 1: this much and they agree to an idea of it

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Speaker 1: non binding. But let's say that they give up a

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Speaker 1: first and he commits to staying. I think the lifestyle

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Speaker 1: matters for Kuzma a lot. Now I'm projecting, and he

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Speaker 1: might disagree, but this is not a guy who wants

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Speaker 1: to necessarily go with his supermodel girlfriend. I think they're

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Speaker 1: still dating. I mean, last I heard that, you know,

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Speaker 1: I haven't been on his Instagram in a while. I mean,

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Speaker 1: he he's a handsome young guy. He's you know, very successful,

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Speaker 1: he's got style and like fashion. I think he's somebody

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Speaker 1: New York appeals to him, is what I was told.

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Speaker 1: And there's also and I wrote in detail that there's

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Speaker 1: a CIA connection. He's with sports and the Nicks are

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Speaker 1: run essentially by former ci A top executives, so there

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Speaker 1: is a if you look at well, it's no coincidence.

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Speaker 1: It's like Julius Randall, Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein, like a

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Speaker 1: lot of their contracts that they've given out our CIA clients.

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Speaker 1: There's some connective tissue there where I could see, like

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Speaker 1: that's a team that needs a splash, needs a guy

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Speaker 1: who's got a personality and could be Maybe he's not

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Speaker 1: like your you know, like a Lebron or Steph level superstar,

423
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:38,479
Speaker 1: but he is a guy you could build around and

424
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,720
Speaker 1: and and have as a face, very sellable guy. Um

425
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,680
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think there's some potential. I don't know

426
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,480
Speaker 1: if the Lakers primary goal is Kuzma. I do think

427
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,159
Speaker 1: that they are looking at Chicago uh and seeing if

428
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,000
Speaker 1: they'll blow that up with d Dr Demarda rosen And

429
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,399
Speaker 1: and Nikola Vusevic. I don't think Zach Levine would be

430
00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,040
Speaker 1: in that kind of conversation, but um, I think the

431
00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,840
Speaker 1: Bulls right now are like, no, we don't want to

432
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,760
Speaker 1: do that, but you know they're they're a losing team

433
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,000
Speaker 1: at some point like today is we're doing this in December.

434
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:10,920
Speaker 1: A decision made in December is not a decision made

435
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,399
Speaker 1: in February. And so if you are still four or

436
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,760
Speaker 1: five six games below five hundred in two months, you're

437
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,800
Speaker 1: gonna have Okay, well, let's go in the other direction.

438
00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,239
Speaker 1: Maybe it's time to blow this up verse. Let's go

439
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,040
Speaker 1: and meet the bulls right now. Probably want to add

440
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,440
Speaker 1: a piece that makes them better, not worse. But there's

441
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 1: a possibility the bulls turn it around, and then you're

442
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:33,240
Speaker 1: kind of caught in the middle. I don't know. I

443
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,760
Speaker 1: think the Kuzma stuff is interesting. If I'm Kuzuma's agent,

444
00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:41,080
Speaker 1: of course I am pumping up Nick's fashion Kuzma. But no,

445
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,199
Speaker 1: by the way, you'll get shots because it's like Jalen

446
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 1: Brunson and then they don't do they even have a

447
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,600
Speaker 1: definitive second score. It's just Julius Julius Randalls like and

448
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,240
Speaker 1: they play they share a position. But at the same time,

449
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,679
Speaker 1: I think Julius and Kuzma could share I think, you know,

450
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,679
Speaker 1: because they do play very differently. H Randall's more bullyball,

451
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,679
Speaker 1: but he's also a playmaker, and he's he's he's a

452
00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,639
Speaker 1: relatively highestist. You know, big man uh and Brunson is

453
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,000
Speaker 1: a point guard who scores first and passed a second.

454
00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,640
Speaker 1: But I think there could be a combination where that's

455
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,120
Speaker 1: like to me, a team needs to know how they're

456
00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:20,920
Speaker 1: going to score, and then you put complimentary pieces around

457
00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,880
Speaker 1: that to defend and and complement those scores. Right, So

458
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,119
Speaker 1: is that like a perfect combination for New York. I

459
00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:29,520
Speaker 1: don't think so. But at the same time, I don't

460
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,399
Speaker 1: think New York is close to I don't think a

461
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,760
Speaker 1: perfect combination exists for certain teams yet, right, Like, the

462
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:37,480
Speaker 1: Lakers are not in a place based on previous decisions

463
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,160
Speaker 1: where there's perfection. I can guide them in my articles

464
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: on what I think would be better, but like I'm

465
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,640
Speaker 1: working within the parameters they created by trading away picks

466
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,960
Speaker 1: and trading away good you know, good depth quality players,

467
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,480
Speaker 1: same as the Knicks. They're kind of in in a

468
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 1: I don't see that they're not going to catch the

469
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,600
Speaker 1: Celtics or the Bucks this year, but it would be progress.

470
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,040
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

471
00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,080
Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports

472
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 1: Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app

473
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,520
Speaker 1: search f s R to listen live. Would you agree

474
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 1: Eric that if you go to the Lakers it is

475
00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,080
Speaker 1: the A D and Lebron Show period and also featuring

476
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,480
Speaker 1: Kyle Kuzma some nights um with the Knicks, Like, yeah,

477
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:25,040
Speaker 1: Brunson Randall are above Kuzma. I don't think it's definitely

478
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,880
Speaker 1: that much above him as as players that were gonna

479
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:29,840
Speaker 1: be making more than him. But I don't know. It's

480
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,239
Speaker 1: just if I'm Kuzma, do you want to make a

481
00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,560
Speaker 1: little less play for the Lakers and in less of

482
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,800
Speaker 1: a pressure role, or you could say a higher pressure

483
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:38,359
Speaker 1: role because you're gonna get few shots and you gotta

484
00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:41,200
Speaker 1: make them, but you're a contender or the Knicks where

485
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 1: unlikely you're getting out of the East. And I do

486
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:44,960
Speaker 1: think the Lakers can still be a contender. I know

487
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,679
Speaker 1: some people, I mean that's generous towards the Lakers being

488
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 1: a contender, but like let's say, you know, and and

489
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,199
Speaker 1: in theory, if your kuz when you're like if I

490
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:57,160
Speaker 1: go back, it's from his thought process, right, Like if

491
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,200
Speaker 1: he thinks if I go back will be a contender,

492
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,480
Speaker 1: then that's the decision in right, So it doesn't matter

493
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:03,639
Speaker 1: what the reality is, It matters on the person making

494
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,160
Speaker 1: the decision what they believe or not what we believe.

495
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,520
Speaker 1: So if he believes, he makes them a contender, but

496
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,560
Speaker 1: he gets to go to New York. But I I

497
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,800
Speaker 1: the CIA connection to me, Like the Lakers didn't have

498
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,440
Speaker 1: a great experience with c A under the current Laker leadership.

499
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:23,320
Speaker 1: Like they had Julius Randall, they had D'Angelo Russell, they

500
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,240
Speaker 1: had a few other CIA clients that basically didn't work out.

501
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,840
Speaker 1: They ended up they don't. I don't know if they

502
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:30,480
Speaker 1: have anyone c A right now. I have to check,

503
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,920
Speaker 1: but none of their like they're basically a clutch team

504
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,960
Speaker 1: there clutched sports there Rich Paul, that's Lebron and a

505
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:40,560
Speaker 1: d and Kendrick Nunn and um, you know like hopefully

506
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,440
Speaker 1: Walker and last year it was like we go even

507
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:49,000
Speaker 1: Tre's like yep, th HD was clutched. Like there's a

508
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 1: long list of guys who were either with clutch at

509
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 1: the time or currently with clutch. So there there there

510
00:26:55,359 --> 00:27:00,639
Speaker 1: are some sort of territorial teams that are loosely so

511
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,080
Speaker 1: like some of the Knicks have they have a couple

512
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,159
Speaker 1: of really like they have a couple of Wasserman clients.

513
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,159
Speaker 1: They have other I'm not saying like a team is

514
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,280
Speaker 1: only gonna You can't build a team that way in

515
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,680
Speaker 1: the NBA, But where are you if they're worried about,

516
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 1: like kus MC making sure he gets his money, And

517
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,639
Speaker 1: if c A is kind of partnered with the Knicks,

518
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,199
Speaker 1: they're not only helping the Knicks, They're helping Cia to

519
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:23,240
Speaker 1: make sure he gets the kind of contract he wants.

520
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,879
Speaker 1: He gets the lifestyle, he gets the fame that he

521
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,919
Speaker 1: wants in New York, and he does get to be

522
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,040
Speaker 1: more of the guy than he would necessarily with Lebron

523
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,119
Speaker 1: and a D. So, to me, I think the Knicks,

524
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:34,919
Speaker 1: you know, I threw in the article I mentioned the

525
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: King's almost traded for him from the Lakers before they

526
00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:41,720
Speaker 1: got Westbrook. I could see some interest they're resuming, like

527
00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,680
Speaker 1: replacing Harrison Barnes essentially, like just upgrading that Alec Harrison.

528
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,760
Speaker 1: But he's around thirty and has a new contract coming

529
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:50,639
Speaker 1: if he wants if they want to keep him, I

530
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,840
Speaker 1: could see that um. And then I mentioned the Sons

531
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,920
Speaker 1: like if if I could see maybe Cameron Johnson being

532
00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,199
Speaker 1: an interest to that. He's hurt right now, but as

533
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,200
Speaker 1: soon he's healthy, he's restricted. There's a difference. You know,

534
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,560
Speaker 1: when a players unrestricted, they can leave go wherever they want.

535
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,800
Speaker 1: When a players restricted, like DeAndre Ayton was restricted and

536
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,800
Speaker 1: he signed with the Pacers and then the Sun said, no,

537
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,720
Speaker 1: we'll match will keep him. You have the same logic

538
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,520
Speaker 1: with Cam Johnson. And so if if you can acquire

539
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,040
Speaker 1: Cam and you're the Wizards and you value him and say,

540
00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,440
Speaker 1: we're not gonna be able to keep Kuzma and Cam

541
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,280
Speaker 1: Johnson is the next best thing that we can do,

542
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,720
Speaker 1: and he can't leave, so we can pay him, and

543
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,120
Speaker 1: if someone else offers more, we have the option of matching.

544
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 1: I could see, you know, theoretically the Sons, the Lakers, uh,

545
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,879
Speaker 1: the Kings, and the Knicks being in on that, and

546
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,479
Speaker 1: I I don't know if we I don't know if

547
00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 1: the Wizards are ready yet to make that. You know,

548
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 1: they may may be making the play in is enough

549
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,160
Speaker 1: and they'll just play the cards out and see what happens.

550
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,200
Speaker 1: So that's where the buyers are eager to find out.

551
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,000
Speaker 1: So where we are in February is when those there

552
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,160
Speaker 1: could be decisions sooner. But where we are when we

553
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 1: get to February, that's when you have to decide. And

554
00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,640
Speaker 1: so teams the rule of thumb, don't make a decision

555
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,160
Speaker 1: until you have to make a decision. That's generally how

556
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,960
Speaker 1: teams operate, not always, but sometimes. So Eric talked me

557
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,600
Speaker 1: through a hypothetical Lakers trade with the Bulls for Derosan.

558
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:16,280
Speaker 1: It would be Derosan and that seems like a lot. Sorry, um,

559
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:22,280
Speaker 1: so for for what? Well, so, the Lakers have two

560
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,120
Speaker 1: first round picks that they can offer, And I would

561
00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,520
Speaker 1: say that the Lakers reputation right now is that they're

562
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 1: not necessarily doing a great job building a team. So

563
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 1: when teams look at them and they say, wow, we

564
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,720
Speaker 1: have first rounders that are after Lebron's career is probably done,

565
00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,480
Speaker 1: after a d is probably gone. Uh And at that point,

566
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,080
Speaker 1: the Lakers are probably rebuilding, and I don't trust them

567
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,160
Speaker 1: to successfully rebuild quickly. They will rebuild because of the

568
00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,080
Speaker 1: Lakers in l A. They'll eventually get the next star.

569
00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 1: But until then we might be able to benefit and

570
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,360
Speaker 1: get like a really really high pick in and twenty nine.

571
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:00,680
Speaker 1: And so, if you're a fan of a team that

572
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,240
Speaker 1: wants to win right now, pick down the road doesn't

573
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:04,600
Speaker 1: do anything for you. But there are a lot of

574
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,560
Speaker 1: teams and if if Chicago, who traded a lot of

575
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,080
Speaker 1: of their own first to build this team, realize like, hey,

576
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,320
Speaker 1: we we went for it. Alonzo ended up not being

577
00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 1: healthy enough. We're just not good enough, and Pat Williams

578
00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:19,760
Speaker 1: hasn't taken a big enough step. Maybe it's time that

579
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,440
Speaker 1: we just say let's divest. Because Vosovic is going into

580
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:26,080
Speaker 1: last year of his continence, last year, so if they

581
00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:29,120
Speaker 1: want to resign him, fine, resign him, keep all those guys,

582
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,800
Speaker 1: stick it all, go ahead, stay mediocre. If that's what

583
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:33,720
Speaker 1: you believe is the right thing to do. Maybe you

584
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 1: have a vision of how you can take this mediocre

585
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 1: team without any first. You know, you have a first

586
00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 1: every other year of your own, but you basically, oh first,

587
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,840
Speaker 1: you don't have any tradeable first. How are you going

588
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 1: to get from point A to point B, C, D

589
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 1: and E? And I don't know how you get there?

590
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,840
Speaker 1: And so maybe they go, Okay, you're right, I'm we're

591
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,040
Speaker 1: we're not going to be good. Let's let's move on.

592
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,440
Speaker 1: Let's not resigned Lussovitch. Since we're not resigning him, let's

593
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,440
Speaker 1: get a first him. Let's get out of what we

594
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,920
Speaker 1: owe tomar let's get another first and Russ they're not

595
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,280
Speaker 1: getting rust for Russ. They're getting rush for the sake

596
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,200
Speaker 1: of money matching. At that point, Russ is a number

597
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:14,800
Speaker 1: and alleger to get those firsts. And I don't think

598
00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: it's going to happen because I think the Bulls, right

599
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: and at least right now, believe that they can be better.

600
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:21,360
Speaker 1: They have to. We have two months to find out

601
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,080
Speaker 1: if they can actually be better. Let me ask you this, erk,

602
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,040
Speaker 1: is there anything funny that the Pacers with Turner in

603
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,200
Speaker 1: the last year of his deal and Vuchvich in the

604
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,000
Speaker 1: last year of his deal, both big men, I mean,

605
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,480
Speaker 1: one place defense the other doesn't. I think Nick is

606
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,640
Speaker 1: a better offensive player than Miles Turner, but Miles is

607
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 1: hitting some outside shots. Is it any coincidence that two

608
00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,520
Speaker 1: overpaid bigs are both being pedaled to the Lakers in

609
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,080
Speaker 1: hopes of getting a future one? So I think the

610
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,360
Speaker 1: Turner being pedaled to the Lakers is overstated. So yeah,

611
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,160
Speaker 1: so there was. And I've written on this a few

612
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,440
Speaker 1: different ways in a few different times. My stories have

613
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,400
Speaker 1: evolved as as the situation is evolved, because the Pacers

614
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,120
Speaker 1: are not the same pacers that they were last year, right,

615
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 1: like they're above five hundred, they are not a great team,

616
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,080
Speaker 1: but they are definitely a team that has a real

617
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,120
Speaker 1: shot to make the playoffs. Certainly the plan and their history.

618
00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 1: They don't tank. They just won't. Last year they were

619
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:20,880
Speaker 1: terrible because they had injuries. But they don't tank. Their

620
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,960
Speaker 1: owner won't let him tank, and they won't pay the tax.

621
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,200
Speaker 1: There's always sort of gonna be a middling team. The

622
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,400
Speaker 1: thing about mouse Turner is is that they shopped him

623
00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,680
Speaker 1: for two years in a row, but then when a

624
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,960
Speaker 1: deal came, they found a deal for Sabonis and got

625
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,120
Speaker 1: Haliburt and they love Halibur and they feel really good

626
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:38,560
Speaker 1: about the move they made. So the the goal was

627
00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:42,080
Speaker 1: to move Turner, not Sabonis, but when they had the opportunity,

628
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,280
Speaker 1: they made the other choice. So to give up on

629
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,800
Speaker 1: Turner is not The owner loves Turner, I've been told,

630
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:53,280
Speaker 1: and and there's a real chance they may just keep him. What. Yes,

631
00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:57,280
Speaker 1: So that's where things have evolved over the course of

632
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 1: of the of the year. So yes, they they had

633
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 1: flat out told Turner over the course of two years

634
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,280
Speaker 1: that they were putting him on the block, they're trying

635
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 1: to trade him. And then he even responded and had

636
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,960
Speaker 1: like an emotional kind of conversation with media about how

637
00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:12,880
Speaker 1: you know, he'd like to be the focus anyway. He

638
00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:16,160
Speaker 1: wants to show he can do more and do it up. Um.

639
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,720
Speaker 1: But now he actually has that focus, now that he's healthy,

640
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,960
Speaker 1: now that you've got Halliburton who makes everyone better. So

641
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,680
Speaker 1: I think there's a reasonable chance that he sticks around,

642
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:27,880
Speaker 1: uh Russovic. I don't know what his future is, um,

643
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,600
Speaker 1: but they gave up like when Will Carter Jr. The

644
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:34,080
Speaker 1: Bulls did, and I think to first to get him,

645
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,920
Speaker 1: and yeah, it led to some positive things. And you know,

646
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,880
Speaker 1: you're able to keep Zach Levine, You're able to get Damar,

647
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,760
Speaker 1: and you were able to build a team that last

648
00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,200
Speaker 1: year was good until they got hurt. But the problem

649
00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,000
Speaker 1: with Alonzo is Alonzo, you know, always hurt unfortunately. So

650
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 1: I just don't think he's got the the the physical

651
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:54,840
Speaker 1: ability at this point to be a regular player in

652
00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:58,240
Speaker 1: the NBA. Just it happens to got Brandon Roy, remember

653
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,760
Speaker 1: how great he was, and you just some guys age

654
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,360
Speaker 1: out really early. I'm hoping that that's not Alonzo's case,

655
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,520
Speaker 1: but I'm worried that that is. It feels like when

656
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 1: you look at this Bulls team, Um, DeMar Derosion works

657
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,960
Speaker 1: because of the three point shooting around him or the spacing.

658
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,840
Speaker 1: At least I put DeMar dear Rosen on the Lakers

659
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:23,200
Speaker 1: and I'm like, Okay, Lebron, a d and DeMar de

660
00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,920
Speaker 1: Rosen three real non three point shooters, and then you're

661
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:27,640
Speaker 1: looking at one of the worst three point shooting teams

662
00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:29,879
Speaker 1: in the league. Is that a clunky fit or can

663
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:33,759
Speaker 1: you have him? Then? In the Russell Westbrook roll off

664
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,239
Speaker 1: the bench um for for the Lakers, I don't know

665
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:39,960
Speaker 1: how does DeRos and fit with so Anthony Davis and

666
00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:44,080
Speaker 1: Lebron so Like in my articles, I don't always put

667
00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:48,280
Speaker 1: in my opinions, especially when I'm reporting. If I'm reporting something,

668
00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:51,439
Speaker 1: I feel like my my opinion doesn't belong there. It's

669
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,600
Speaker 1: more about my opinion on maybe that. Like certainly I'm

670
00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:59,319
Speaker 1: not writing like Blanket Fact, where I've talked to Rich

671
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,920
Speaker 1: Rich Paul and Rob Polinka and Tommy Shepard all the GMS,

672
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:06,400
Speaker 1: but I feel like that's my my input is is

673
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,239
Speaker 1: more about um the year's worth of reporting that I'm

674
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:14,000
Speaker 1: I'm executing. My actual opinion is is that a D

675
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,480
Speaker 1: is a center for this team, and I don't think

676
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:19,759
Speaker 1: bringing in a center like Vu helps them because then

677
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,680
Speaker 1: I think that a D the team is slower. I

678
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,040
Speaker 1: think that defensively they're worse. So take him out of

679
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,480
Speaker 1: the equation for a minute. If you put Crusoe in there,

680
00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 1: who they never should let go, now it changes things

681
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,200
Speaker 1: a little bit. Crusoe is also not a great shooter.

682
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 1: De Rozan is not a great shooter. But to be honest,

683
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,920
Speaker 1: when the Lakers want the title, they were not a

684
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,200
Speaker 1: great shooting team that year. They did spike at a

685
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,520
Speaker 1: few times in the playoffs, there were, but they were

686
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:44,320
Speaker 1: They were certainly better than they are now. But like

687
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:51,720
Speaker 1: Hetavious called a pope, like Crusoe was good enough, like Rondo,

688
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:54,400
Speaker 1: there was a stretch where he shot way above his averages.

689
00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:57,319
Speaker 1: A D shot at a much higher clip than he

690
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:01,000
Speaker 1: usually does. And Lebron that was a defensive team though

691
00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,600
Speaker 1: right top top three in the number one right, so

692
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:08,520
Speaker 1: dMar like when we start bringing in my opinion, I

693
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:10,880
Speaker 1: think the Lakers. My opinion is the Lakers would do

694
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,919
Speaker 1: and Damar and it's probably not the right thing. My

695
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,960
Speaker 1: opinion would be is if you went and got Tamar

696
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,600
Speaker 1: without Uch and brought in Caruso, I can squeeze my

697
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,760
Speaker 1: I can squint a little bit and say it could

698
00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,080
Speaker 1: work as a bad shooting team. It's not ideal. But

699
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:30,399
Speaker 1: what DeMar does that some of these other players don't

700
00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,840
Speaker 1: is he's averaged nearly seven assist the game in San Antonio. Recently,

701
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,480
Speaker 1: he's been a five to seven ass This guy he

702
00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:41,360
Speaker 1: creates shots for others because of the gravity he draws

703
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,520
Speaker 1: driving into the mid range. And it is a clunky fit.

704
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,320
Speaker 1: I'm not going to pretend it isn't with a d

705
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,719
Speaker 1: who's also either a low or mid range scorer and

706
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,960
Speaker 1: Lebron who's either a three point shooter or now a

707
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,280
Speaker 1: face up three point shooter not effectively, or he's creating

708
00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:59,920
Speaker 1: more in the post, uh then he used to be.

709
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:01,640
Speaker 1: Because he's eight. You know he's aging. I'm not saying

710
00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:03,759
Speaker 1: Lebron isn't great, but he's aging. And I talked to

711
00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:06,400
Speaker 1: Lebron recently about that after a game, and you know,

712
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:08,799
Speaker 1: he's he's had to evolve his game, and I don't

713
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,640
Speaker 1: think he's fully evolved his game this year to who

714
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,640
Speaker 1: he is physically. Yet I still think he's searching for

715
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,200
Speaker 1: that and not having shooters around him hurts, and De

716
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:21,800
Speaker 1: Rosen doesn't give them that, but he does create for others.

717
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:23,839
Speaker 1: He's somebody you really have to deal with. He might

718
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,080
Speaker 1: be able to do some of what Russ does, which

719
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:29,760
Speaker 1: is create for for a D. Russ is successfully creating

720
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:33,320
Speaker 1: for a D. He's not successfully creating enough for Lebron.

721
00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,440
Speaker 1: Maybe de Rosan can be a better version of that.

722
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:40,839
Speaker 1: I'm not sold that that's a great answer. I like

723
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 1: Bogdanovitch as as a fit for the lady. The next

724
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:45,120
Speaker 1: guy I wanted to mention, but how do you get

725
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,320
Speaker 1: him now? I should add we're recording this on Monday

726
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:50,880
Speaker 1: afternoon and a little bit ago Kate cutting him was

727
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,399
Speaker 1: announced out for the season for the Pistons, their number

728
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:58,320
Speaker 1: one pay up last last year, and like obviously Detroit,

729
00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:00,600
Speaker 1: they have the worst record in the league, tied with Charlotte.

730
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,920
Speaker 1: They are firmly in the one Badama Sweet stakes, like

731
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,319
Speaker 1: if they sell Buggona. The cheese are leading score, Kate

732
00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:10,200
Speaker 1: cunning Games are overall best player. They are officially like

733
00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:15,000
Speaker 1: a thirteen win team. Maybe, um, I don't know, Ken Podonna,

734
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:16,440
Speaker 1: that we had is Detroit and I have a big

735
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,319
Speaker 1: asking price or do they just want to quickly get

736
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:23,840
Speaker 1: off of them? So, um, what's the best way to

737
00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:28,960
Speaker 1: put it, there's in in an executive has a history

738
00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:34,080
Speaker 1: of making trades that good organizations study. You look at like, okay,

739
00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,080
Speaker 1: what are the trades that Rob Polinka has made? What

740
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:39,440
Speaker 1: are the trades that you know, I don't know, I

741
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,239
Speaker 1: guess Danny Ainge when he was with the Celtics, now

742
00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:44,360
Speaker 1: with the Jazz, what has Pat Riley or you know

743
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,840
Speaker 1: the manny You look at the track records of the executives.

744
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,279
Speaker 1: So my point here is is that and I'll use

745
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:54,279
Speaker 1: an example when the Jazz were shopping Bogdanovitch, they were

746
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:56,960
Speaker 1: demanding a first from the Lakers and ended up trading

747
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:02,000
Speaker 1: him for no picks and Kelly olynok right, So you

748
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,480
Speaker 1: see what I'm saying. The track record of the Lakers

749
00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,640
Speaker 1: is perceived as such that you're going to ask for more.

750
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,280
Speaker 1: There's a perception that they are more desperate than other teams,

751
00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:13,800
Speaker 1: that they have more pressure to win because of Lebron.

752
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:19,440
Speaker 1: So I think Detroit's asking price exists as probably you know,

753
00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,640
Speaker 1: a first round pick from the Lakers there probably would

754
00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,080
Speaker 1: want no protection and the Lakers would probably want heavy protection. Uh,

755
00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:28,360
Speaker 1: they could do a deal centered around Pat Beverley and

756
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:33,279
Speaker 1: Kendrick Nunne among other smaller pieces like Damien Jones or

757
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:35,560
Speaker 1: you know, they could they could find a way a

758
00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:38,200
Speaker 1: little bit of throwing to make the numbers work. But

759
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:41,600
Speaker 1: I might have to look at exactly the pieces. But

760
00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:45,040
Speaker 1: they can certainly get to a trade with without giving

761
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,399
Speaker 1: up rus Uh and maybe they and they would still

762
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:51,080
Speaker 1: have a first theory if they wanted to trade russ

763
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,920
Speaker 1: So in theory, you could do Bogdanovitch for Bev nunn

764
00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:58,960
Speaker 1: a filler and a first and you know my recommendation

765
00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:04,080
Speaker 1: given his age, he's thirty three and then but he's

766
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:06,279
Speaker 1: he has a very friendly contract. They gave him an

767
00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:10,880
Speaker 1: extension in Detroit. That's a very team. They basically traded

768
00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:14,080
Speaker 1: a link and got a player who they then extended

769
00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:16,799
Speaker 1: in a way that was friendly so that he was

770
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,319
Speaker 1: they basically it's it's kind of like you know, when

771
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:21,840
Speaker 1: you flip a house and then you put in upgrades,

772
00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:24,799
Speaker 1: you know, And I don't want to like, these are

773
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:26,920
Speaker 1: human beings, and I don't want to like diminish that, like,

774
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,560
Speaker 1: but part of the job for a front office is

775
00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:32,359
Speaker 1: to take player like This's what the Thunder had been

776
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,360
Speaker 1: doing for the last three or four years, getting players

777
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:37,640
Speaker 1: who are good players who have been hurt or have

778
00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:40,239
Speaker 1: been in situations where it wasn't perfect, building them up

779
00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:42,920
Speaker 1: a little bit, trading them off, and and whatever they

780
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:45,399
Speaker 1: got him for was less. They're basically paid to take

781
00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,400
Speaker 1: players and then they trade him and they get paid

782
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 1: to give him away, whereas the Lakers are kind of

783
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,160
Speaker 1: the opposite, Like if they got Kuzma, they paid to

784
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:54,439
Speaker 1: trade him, and as part of the deal with russ

785
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:57,640
Speaker 1: they traded a first and other things, and if they

786
00:40:57,719 --> 00:40:59,840
Speaker 1: paid them a first to get him back, that that

787
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:01,480
Speaker 1: kind of on brand. And I mentioned that in the

788
00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,680
Speaker 1: article that that's that's just their recent history of transactions,

789
00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:07,000
Speaker 1: and teams are well aware. So I think the Pistons

790
00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:08,920
Speaker 1: would want to first. I think it's very doable. I

791
00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:11,560
Speaker 1: think that if the Lakers were aggressive and active and

792
00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:14,080
Speaker 1: today or in the next week or so, and maybe

793
00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:16,000
Speaker 1: it has to wait till after December fifteen, which is

794
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,719
Speaker 1: in a few days when some trade restrictions left, they

795
00:41:18,719 --> 00:41:22,759
Speaker 1: could certainly get Bogdanovitch if they were motivated. I just

796
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,960
Speaker 1: think if they wanted sooner, they have to go U

797
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,760
Speaker 1: with a heavier you know, lower protections, you know, heavier

798
00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:32,200
Speaker 1: price to pay if you want to get it done now,

799
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:34,200
Speaker 1: you gotta pay for it if you wanna wait two months,

800
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:36,440
Speaker 1: and maybe we'll trade him somewhere else, because you're not

801
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,480
Speaker 1: the only team who wants him. And that's you know,

802
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:40,839
Speaker 1: that's what the Lakers are facing, and and it maybe

803
00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:42,200
Speaker 1: they just killed them the other day. I mean they

804
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,040
Speaker 1: beat him, They beat the Pistons, But he had like

805
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:48,680
Speaker 1: thirty Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup

806
00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:51,360
Speaker 1: in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox

807
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:54,719
Speaker 1: Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio

808
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:57,799
Speaker 1: app search f s R to listen live. But I

809
00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:02,279
Speaker 1: gotta ask, like on an tender, not shots on the

810
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:04,480
Speaker 1: worst team in the league. He was going on the Jazz.

811
00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:06,879
Speaker 1: He was going on the Jazz like like three years ago. Right.

812
00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:11,080
Speaker 1: So the problem with the Jazz were over the last

813
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:13,840
Speaker 1: year or two is they had first of all, uh,

814
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,239
Speaker 1: you know, fundamental issues between their two stars as far

815
00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:18,399
Speaker 1: as on the same page. But they also had a

816
00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:26,440
Speaker 1: terrible combination of wing defenders like Magdanovich. You know, Clarkson's okay,

817
00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,640
Speaker 1: but he's not like a plus defender necessarily. They had

818
00:42:29,719 --> 00:42:32,080
Speaker 1: Royce O'Neil who was but colmly at the end, you know,

819
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:35,120
Speaker 1: at the end of his career, Donovan who doesn't really defend. Now,

820
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,320
Speaker 1: Donovan on a team with like Jared Allen and Evan

821
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,320
Speaker 1: Mobley and whoever else you know, Koro and some of

822
00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:43,880
Speaker 1: the other pieces that they put in Prince and stuff

823
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:46,160
Speaker 1: like that can work. But on a team like they

824
00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:48,920
Speaker 1: just they didn't have any So it played to the

825
00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:52,759
Speaker 1: negative of what Boyan can do. But like he is,

826
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:55,120
Speaker 1: there's some players who are just running around like and

827
00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:57,240
Speaker 1: they don't know what they're doing. That's not him. On defense,

828
00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,200
Speaker 1: He's gonna get beat on an individual matchup, uh, But

829
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:02,839
Speaker 1: he knows how to be where he can follow a

830
00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,440
Speaker 1: coaching defensive scheme. He can go where he's supposed to be,

831
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 1: and he's smart. And he's also a good playmaker. He's

832
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,360
Speaker 1: not like a primary playmaker, but he's a just secondary playmaker,

833
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:16,040
Speaker 1: so he can create for others. And he's a good

834
00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:17,799
Speaker 1: catch and shoot guy. So he would be a great

835
00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:21,920
Speaker 1: fit at the price I described to me. Heavily protecting

836
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,320
Speaker 1: that pick makes it work. And maybe they know the

837
00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:26,040
Speaker 1: Lakers have a history of giving up more than I

838
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:28,319
Speaker 1: would recommend, so maybe they do it, you know, with

839
00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:30,600
Speaker 1: less protection than I would do. But I'm looking at

840
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:32,919
Speaker 1: the Lakers is where did where does he fit in?

841
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:34,360
Speaker 1: And if you're just looking at the end of the

842
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,360
Speaker 1: game a d Lebron, I think you need Lonnie Walker

843
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:41,320
Speaker 1: out there for defense on the wing um hit Russ

844
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,200
Speaker 1: can be hit or miss. I think Austin Reeves is

845
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:45,680
Speaker 1: probably your best shooter. And then are you adding Bogdanovich

846
00:43:45,719 --> 00:43:50,279
Speaker 1: in there? Yeah, so it would you want Obviously it's situational,

847
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:54,480
Speaker 1: but in the general situation of of like day to day,

848
00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:57,440
Speaker 1: you would want three shooters around Lebron and a D

849
00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:01,080
Speaker 1: who can also playmakes. So you have Austin who's a playmaker,

850
00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:03,719
Speaker 1: and you have boy On who's a playmaker. So what

851
00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:06,919
Speaker 1: that means is that if there's too much pressure where

852
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:10,400
Speaker 1: the Lebron has the ball and every the entire defense

853
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:12,839
Speaker 1: is loaded up against him. So you get the ball

854
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:14,160
Speaker 1: out of his hands, you give it to someone like

855
00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:16,520
Speaker 1: Austin and he can create a little bit, or if

856
00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:18,560
Speaker 1: you get it into boy On and he can create

857
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:22,440
Speaker 1: a little bit. Now it's harder to guard Lebron because

858
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:26,840
Speaker 1: the Lakers can run an offense, whereas Walker is not necessary.

859
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:28,760
Speaker 1: He can create his own shop, but he's more feasting

860
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:32,560
Speaker 1: off of the attention on Lebron and and a D

861
00:44:32,719 --> 00:44:34,920
Speaker 1: and he's been great in that role. You put in

862
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,760
Speaker 1: boy On as a floor spacer. So now if Lebron

863
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,640
Speaker 1: is creating, he's got three shooters. If a D has

864
00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:42,400
Speaker 1: the ball, you know, you're trying to get a D

865
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:44,759
Speaker 1: the ball at the basket. But if he's got too

866
00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,040
Speaker 1: much you know, defense, there's double teams or this, he's

867
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:49,879
Speaker 1: got to kick it out. You've got shooters. And then

868
00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:53,799
Speaker 1: if you're trying to get if Lebron is being overloaded

869
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:55,840
Speaker 1: in defense, now you get the ball to one of

870
00:44:55,840 --> 00:44:58,520
Speaker 1: these other players, specifically Austin or boy On, and they

871
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:02,879
Speaker 1: can help create something out of that. I like it now. Defensively,

872
00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:08,120
Speaker 1: Austin is a positive defender, uh. Lebron is uh an

873
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:15,520
Speaker 1: occasional defender. Uh, you know, among the best defenders in

874
00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:20,200
Speaker 1: the world. Uh. And Lonnie is perfectly you know, like Celtic,

875
00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:22,719
Speaker 1: and he's giving effort. And I don't know if he's um,

876
00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:26,279
Speaker 1: you know, an elite defender, but he's he's certainly, you know,

877
00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:28,799
Speaker 1: rock solid. So if you put boy On in the

878
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:33,560
Speaker 1: right position, now maybe maybe situationally that's where you might

879
00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:36,560
Speaker 1: have lineups where maybe you need somebody like when in

880
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:40,560
Speaker 1: Gabriel because he's an incredible athlete, or you might need, uh,

881
00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:42,480
Speaker 1: maybe they need to upgrade and get a few more

882
00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:45,799
Speaker 1: guys like Pat Beverley. He hasn't hit a shot all year.

883
00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:49,360
Speaker 1: There are things that he's doing in certain defensive situations

884
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:52,359
Speaker 1: that are very positive. The numbers bear that he's been

885
00:45:53,719 --> 00:45:56,799
Speaker 1: a non negative on defense. He's not offenses, you know,

886
00:45:56,840 --> 00:46:00,799
Speaker 1: forget about. But there are moments where he'll have an opportunity,

887
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:03,600
Speaker 1: an opportunity to stick steal, or he'll blow up some

888
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:06,439
Speaker 1: coverage because he reads it well. So there there are

889
00:46:06,719 --> 00:46:09,719
Speaker 1: situations where you they would need somebody who's a better

890
00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:12,200
Speaker 1: defender than boy On, but at least you have you

891
00:46:12,239 --> 00:46:14,759
Speaker 1: want to give the coach options. You want to give like,

892
00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:18,160
Speaker 1: here's an offense and a team that should be really,

893
00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:21,040
Speaker 1: really really hard for other teams to get to get

894
00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:23,560
Speaker 1: stops on, Like, if you've got those five players, it's

895
00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:25,879
Speaker 1: gonna be there. It's good enough defensively and it's really

896
00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:28,680
Speaker 1: hard to stop. Whereas, yeah, fine, if you pull out

897
00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:31,799
Speaker 1: a boy On in a key situation where you can

898
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:33,600
Speaker 1: you have a time outcoming so that you could put

899
00:46:33,640 --> 00:46:36,440
Speaker 1: in a defender and then at the time out or

900
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,440
Speaker 1: whatever at the free throw then you could, you know,

901
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:41,919
Speaker 1: offense defense sub so there there. You want to give

902
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,439
Speaker 1: him the opportunity to show how good of a coach

903
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:46,520
Speaker 1: he is, which he's a rookie, we don't really know yet.

904
00:46:46,560 --> 00:46:48,279
Speaker 1: We know he's a great guy, and I've known him

905
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:50,799
Speaker 1: since he was an assistant with the Lakers a long

906
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:53,320
Speaker 1: time agoing to Mike Brown. So on the great guy scale,

907
00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,239
Speaker 1: he's he's like a tent um as someone who I

908
00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:59,240
Speaker 1: think is a great motivator of players, really high exits

909
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:01,960
Speaker 1: and nose and aam execution and playoff series. That's all

910
00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:04,320
Speaker 1: unproven other than you know, being a very good assistant

911
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:06,160
Speaker 1: on a very good team is great. But you know,

912
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,000
Speaker 1: we we've yet to see. If you're the Laker front office,

913
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:12,080
Speaker 1: you want to give your coach, a rookie coach, but

914
00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:13,719
Speaker 1: someone who's been around long time, a chance to win,

915
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:15,520
Speaker 1: a chance to succeed, a chance to show what he

916
00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:18,080
Speaker 1: can do. I think he's been doing the best he

917
00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:20,279
Speaker 1: can with what he has, but it would be from

918
00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:22,200
Speaker 1: a point of view of liking Darvin, I would like

919
00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:24,839
Speaker 1: him to have a better team. We'll wrap up with

920
00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:27,719
Speaker 1: this Eric. It is December twelfth, and I'm putting you

921
00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:30,440
Speaker 1: on the spot, who do you have in the NBA Finals?

922
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:32,919
Speaker 1: If you want a couple of seconds, I'll toss out

923
00:47:33,560 --> 00:47:36,840
Speaker 1: Celtics Warriors rematch. I know the Warriors don't look like

924
00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:38,960
Speaker 1: it right now. They're still mired in those struggles, and

925
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,560
Speaker 1: I'm sure the Clippers will come on eventually, but I

926
00:47:41,560 --> 00:47:45,719
Speaker 1: will go Celtics Warriors rematch. I mean, that's probably the

927
00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:49,719
Speaker 1: safest best. I think there are two teams that I

928
00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:52,759
Speaker 1: think go to the finals. In the East. It's either

929
00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:56,040
Speaker 1: the Celtics of the Bucks, and right now, the Celtics

930
00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:59,359
Speaker 1: are playing the best basketball, UH in the league. I

931
00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:03,279
Speaker 1: think it's you pick your poison if you're a West team,

932
00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:07,400
Speaker 1: either one. Uh. The Cavaliers are fun and I like them.

933
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:09,319
Speaker 1: I don't know if they're ready yet. The Nets are

934
00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:11,759
Speaker 1: just a little too dysfunctional, as are the Sixers. And

935
00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:13,960
Speaker 1: I don't look at anyone else on that list. You know,

936
00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:17,120
Speaker 1: there's always like you know, Raptors Hot and the Heat

937
00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:20,600
Speaker 1: have championship pedigrees, so I don't want to throw them out,

938
00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:22,640
Speaker 1: but I think it's really those two teams, and then

939
00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:27,120
Speaker 1: in the in the in the West, it's it's it's

940
00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:30,800
Speaker 1: a little wide open, and I think that's that's really

941
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:34,920
Speaker 1: why we're having some of these conversations about are there

942
00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:37,279
Speaker 1: are more buyers in the I think there are more

943
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:39,560
Speaker 1: buyers in the West than there are in the East,

944
00:48:40,239 --> 00:48:43,320
Speaker 1: because like, what can you do unless you're the Calves

945
00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:47,879
Speaker 1: or maybe the Sixers, like of those who can buy,

946
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:50,879
Speaker 1: you know, by trading and adding a piece that could

947
00:48:50,880 --> 00:48:52,880
Speaker 1: get you to the level of the Bucks and the

948
00:48:52,920 --> 00:48:54,919
Speaker 1: Celtics are at. And I think the answer is maybe

949
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,120
Speaker 1: the Calves, but no one else whereas in the West,

950
00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:00,560
Speaker 1: like the Warriors. Yeah, you may be, you may be right,

951
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:04,560
Speaker 1: like they they may be the best of a relatively

952
00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:07,360
Speaker 1: mediocre class. Not to say that the West is mediocre.

953
00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:09,640
Speaker 1: There's a lot of great teams, But is there anybody

954
00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:12,080
Speaker 1: who's like, yeah, they have an unlock And the answer

955
00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:15,279
Speaker 1: is no. And so I think, you know, and if

956
00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:17,400
Speaker 1: we had to go by the roster constructions right now,

957
00:49:17,560 --> 00:49:22,239
Speaker 1: probably the Warriors, but trade deadline and you know, injuries

958
00:49:22,239 --> 00:49:25,040
Speaker 1: and health. I don't think the story has been written yet,

959
00:49:25,040 --> 00:49:26,799
Speaker 1: and I think there's I think it's a pretty wide

960
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:30,840
Speaker 1: open ready to Pelicans. I'm not ready to go Pelicans,

961
00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:33,560
Speaker 1: but they are pretty damn good. Right now, feel like

962
00:49:33,719 --> 00:49:37,839
Speaker 1: there a threat to be conference finals this year. They

963
00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:41,040
Speaker 1: have a real shot to go third round, which is

964
00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:43,160
Speaker 1: a lot. I think Nuggets are a potential third round

965
00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:47,120
Speaker 1: Sons are potential third round Grizzlies. Maybe I still think

966
00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:50,040
Speaker 1: that they're probably at best a second round team. I

967
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:52,120
Speaker 1: don't see and I mean the Clippers if healthy, then

968
00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:54,680
Speaker 1: we haven't really seen them healthy. I don't know yet.

969
00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:57,520
Speaker 1: In on paper, they could be one of the best

970
00:49:57,520 --> 00:49:59,040
Speaker 1: teams in the West, and then in theory of the

971
00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:02,359
Speaker 1: Lakers somehow do something crazy, then I guess we can

972
00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:04,960
Speaker 1: add into the conversation. But right now I can't comfortably

973
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:06,880
Speaker 1: say that they're in that mix. I love how Kawhi

974
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,799
Speaker 1: Leonard plays like you know, every fourth game, just like yeah,

975
00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:12,719
Speaker 1: set out seventeen months, but it will eventually play more.

976
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:15,840
Speaker 1: We're saving him. I have a lot of friends in

977
00:50:15,960 --> 00:50:17,880
Speaker 1: LA who are Clipper fans, and for their sake, I

978
00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:21,080
Speaker 1: would love to see just like this team at full strength,

979
00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:23,719
Speaker 1: just to see what they are. But that was the risk.

980
00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:25,640
Speaker 1: When you got Kauai and he missed all that time

981
00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:28,000
Speaker 1: in San Antonio, there was a reason why, you know,

982
00:50:28,040 --> 00:50:30,640
Speaker 1: you had some what people called is like the generative

983
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:33,799
Speaker 1: health issues that might impact him, and they certainly have,

984
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:37,120
Speaker 1: so we'll see. Alright, good stuff, Eric Pinkus. You can

985
00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:39,319
Speaker 1: read his stuff at Bleacher Report. Thanks a lot, man,

986
00:50:39,360 --> 00:50:43,560
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be a wacky and be a trade

987
00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:45,719
Speaker 1: deadline and also December fifteenth as well, Thanks a lot.

988
00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:47,320
Speaker 1: All right, thanks for having me anytime,