Speaker 1: You're listening to the Hottest the Hottest podcast out here.
Speaker 1: I said what I said.
Speaker 2: It's the Heat Check, The Heat Check, Heat Check. It's
Speaker 2: just a critic on this episode of The Heat Check Today,
Speaker 2: amidst training can't beginning in the wake of all of
Speaker 2: the media days, we talk about four teams in various
Speaker 2: stages of chaos, beginning with Phoenix, who has some serious
Speaker 2: issues to deal with uh with in the wake of
Speaker 2: owner Robert Sarver being forced to sell the team. It
Speaker 2: wasn't really forced, but it kind of was forced. You know,
Speaker 2: it was his own decision, but it wasn't. We then
Speaker 2: move on to Boston, where the fallout from ema Udoka
Speaker 2: getting suspended continues. We move on to the Nets, who
Speaker 2: are in the midst of probably one of the most
Speaker 2: dysfunctional family reunions NBA history, and then my favorite Los
Speaker 2: Angeles Lakers, as per usual, continue to be an absolute
Speaker 2: dumpster fire despite them telling us that everything is fine,
Speaker 2: we are all best friends when we know that shit
Speaker 2: is not true at all. Plus, we also do a
Speaker 2: little around the league stuff, including the beginning of gas
Speaker 2: Light Season, which is a training camp. The NBA is
Speaker 2: officially back, and so is the heat check. So do
Speaker 2: me a favor and drop that beat. A girl can't
Speaker 2: go on vacation, can't choose like I've been. I've been
Speaker 2: trying to get away for months. I was like, can't
Speaker 2: get away post Summer League because Kevin Durant still hasn't
Speaker 2: been traded. Then Kevin Durant decides he's staying in Brooklyn,
Speaker 2: and it's like, all right, well everything's done. The season
Speaker 2: has come, the off season. Really, all the news has
Speaker 2: come to a conclusion, right, No, I go on one
Speaker 2: little trippy trip. I leave my phone in my drawer,
Speaker 2: I turn all, I delete Twitter, I delete Instagram. Yeah,
Speaker 2: little me time, Little Tree Tree time, and maybe the
Speaker 2: biggest scandal upon scandal. I had to come back and
Speaker 2: figure out what was going on with Adam Levine. I
Speaker 2: had to come back and figure out what was going
Speaker 2: on with Harry Styles and why he spit on Chris
Speaker 2: Pine emy Udoka suspended for the year, hold up what?
Speaker 2: I had to read TMZ and figure out what Neil
Speaker 2: Long is saying. I'm deep into Reddit. Not exactly the
Speaker 2: vacation that I was hoping for. I was hoping for
Speaker 2: the most dead time on Earth. Two weeks before training
Speaker 2: camp to just get away. But we are here and
Speaker 2: we are now processing. And oh yeah, by the way,
Speaker 2: Robert Sarver decides to sell the team. That happened while
Speaker 2: I was on vacation as well. And now we have
Speaker 2: training camp, which you know what that means. I've been
Speaker 2: thinking about training camp a lot, which is where every
Speaker 2: bit of the future is ahead of us. So what
Speaker 2: does that mean? That means gaslight season. That means the
Speaker 2: teams will lie to us about their goals. It means
Speaker 2: teams will lie to us about their relationships with one another.
Speaker 2: It means teams will lie to us about what happened
Speaker 2: in the off season, and what that means going forward.
Speaker 2: It is now fully the machine, the propaganda machine is
Speaker 2: now fully on humb mode. It is fully humming alone,
Speaker 2: generating all sorts of nonsense designed to hype up the
Speaker 2: fan base to sell ticket they get excitement for the
Speaker 2: upcoming season. I am wise to it, and I am
Speaker 2: here to peel back the onion on what is true
Speaker 2: and what is not true, except for which I actually
Speaker 2: fucking respect people who are not immersed in the propaganda machine. Phoenix,
Speaker 2: Boston to some degree, Brooklyn, and let me be honest, LA,
Speaker 2: They're trying real hard, but they know it's a thinly
Speaker 2: veiled propaganda machine for them. We'll get into all that
Speaker 2: in due time, but let's look at some news that's
Speaker 2: popping from around the league. So we begin with a
Speaker 2: really sad day in Chicago, And by sad, I mean
Speaker 2: just like legit really awful. I loved watching Lonzo ball
Speaker 2: at UCLA. He's one of the most unique playmakers. I
Speaker 2: think Magic Johnson drafted him for a reason because he
Speaker 2: had some of those characteristics that Magic saw in himself.
Speaker 2: And he now undergoes another knee surgery, and let's be honest, like,
Speaker 2: if he sees the court at all this year, it
Speaker 2: will be a celebration, because there were troubling reports that
Speaker 2: the dude may never recover and may never play another
Speaker 2: game of basketball in his life. This is what he
Speaker 2: told Clutch Sports quote. I really can't run. I can't
Speaker 2: run or jump. There's like a range from like thirty
Speaker 2: degrees to like sixty degrees. Trying to do the angles
Speaker 2: with my hands right now, I don't know what thirty
Speaker 2: degrees is pretty small, thirty degrees to sixty degrees when
Speaker 2: my knee is bent, I have no force and I
Speaker 2: can't catch myself. Wait, wobble, wobble. He's wobbling when he's
Speaker 2: standing up and his knees are bent. Fortunately, though, Sham's
Speaker 2: reported today that the second knee surgery has repaired the
Speaker 2: things that they missed or fucked up on. I believe
Speaker 2: it was a botched surgery where things were still loading
Speaker 2: inside the kneecap, and there is a chance that he
Speaker 2: can come back this year. Really good news. Lonzo not
Speaker 2: just a good guy, but I think he was a
Speaker 2: major piece of what the Bulls decided to do last offseason,
Speaker 2: and they were not the same after he came back.
Speaker 2: And when it got injured last year, right their whole
Speaker 2: identity spiraled into an abyss. It was him, and then
Speaker 2: it was Caruso, and then it was Levine, just like
Speaker 2: I predicted. I mean, I don't want to take a
Speaker 2: victory lap on someone's grave, but it was a proper
Speaker 2: and correct prediction. Lots of speculation online about whether he
Speaker 2: was misdiagnosed, whether the surgery didn't go as planned, or
Speaker 2: they messed up the surgery. He went to rehab, the
Speaker 2: rehab did not work. The bottom line is that he's
Speaker 2: finally back on track, hopefully getting on court in the future.
Speaker 2: He's young too. If he was to cut his career
Speaker 2: short based on a bot surgery, Oh boy, oh boy.
Speaker 2: That's good news, though, Need them, need them, need them,
Speaker 2: need them. Down in Miami, there is lots of news
Speaker 2: popping on as well, not just subtle jabs about Jimmy
Speaker 2: Butler's non extension extensions. I mean, I don't know what
Speaker 2: he was thinking to try to pedal again. Gaslight season
Speaker 2: is fully here. When Jimmy Butler tells you that his
Speaker 2: hair grew faster than like like uh, like faster than
Speaker 2: I don't even know what, faster than a thirteen year
Speaker 2: old in a gross spurt on a summer he said,
Speaker 2: those were not extensions. If you have not seen Jimmy
Speaker 2: Butler's haircut right now, I don't It's not even a haircut,
Speaker 2: it's more of a hairstyle. The man has extensions. He
Speaker 2: shaved his face. I don't even want to say the
Speaker 2: things that go through my head all the like the
Speaker 2: worst parts of me that come out when you're workshopping
Speaker 2: joke Like, I don't need to workshop jokes on this
Speaker 2: because I just might get canceled. But listen, we don't
Speaker 2: judge Jimmy for whatever he's going through right now. We
Speaker 2: don't judge Jimmy for whatever experimentation he's up to in
Speaker 2: the midst of this career. That jump shot, that misjump shot,
Speaker 2: must have really started to make him start to think
Speaker 2: about some new alternative decisions. Kyle Lowry's apparently in shape.
Speaker 2: I doubt it. Like I've seen him from the clavical up.
Speaker 2: I don't know what he looks like. Really, we'll see
Speaker 2: what he gets on the court. I don't mean to
Speaker 2: be mean. I got back from a monastery. I'm trying
Speaker 2: to be nice. I really am. I'm trying to not
Speaker 2: they told me. I asked him. I said, hey, do
Speaker 2: you think I'll lose my light if I get more enlightened?
Speaker 2: And they said, well, I said, you know, I don't
Speaker 2: want to lose my sense of humor. And they said, well,
Speaker 2: do you make fun of a lot of people? And
Speaker 2: I said, I decline a comment. I decline to comment anyway.
Speaker 2: Tyler Hero here comes. Tyler Hero wants his extension after
Speaker 2: not getting traded in this very weird offseason where they
Speaker 2: thought Donovan Mitchell might go to Miami. Whether you think
Speaker 2: he deserves the extension or not, that's a different question.
Speaker 2: What isn't is that he is an All Star and
Speaker 2: the Ranning sixth Man of the Year whose absence due
Speaker 2: to injury in the Eastern Conference Finals hurt the Heat
Speaker 2: in a big way. I think without him they were
Speaker 2: barbecue chicken. If he's healthy, maybe they go to the finals.
Speaker 2: This is what he said on media day. Very interesting.
Speaker 2: There are players across the league that have gotten paid
Speaker 2: this offseason who I know I'm better than, So it's
Speaker 2: gotta be the right number for me to sign it.
Speaker 2: Who is he talking about, you might order I did
Speaker 2: a little digging, did a little go to a spoke
Speaker 2: track see some of these extent some of these new deals.
Speaker 2: Jalen Brunson almost certainly who he's talking about getting paid
Speaker 2: over one hundred million dollars for four years, Zach Clovine
Speaker 2: getting paid forty something, and change Man's got one knee,
Speaker 2: one usable knee, Anthony Simon's he's had a moment like
Speaker 2: he's had one moment Dame got shut down. He shot
Speaker 2: fifty times a game, and of course his stats look good.
Speaker 2: The man had the usage rate of a professional in
Speaker 2: Las Vegas. You know what I'm saying, high usage guard.
Speaker 2: If you're Tyler Hero, you're wondering when that payday and
Speaker 2: what that payday looks like when it is coming. Doesn't
Speaker 2: seem any reason to trade him Now that Kevin Durant
Speaker 2: is staying there, Donovan Mitchell is now in Cleveland, which
Speaker 2: still is baffling to the mind. So we will see,
Speaker 2: we will see if we will call him Historically frugal.
Speaker 2: Pat Riley very quick to cut ties with players who
Speaker 2: are either not worth the value that they think they
Speaker 2: are or their body starts to break down. Except for
Speaker 2: you Donnis Haslam, So who knows he's MAX eligible for
Speaker 2: five years one hundred and eighty eight million dollars. Little
Speaker 2: quick tidbit pat Riley sees himself in Tyler Hero. Both
Speaker 2: went to Kentucky. Both sort of skinny, how would I
Speaker 2: put it? Sharp jaw lines, slick back, pretty boys. Moving
Speaker 2: on though, Moving on. News from the Pelicans camp probably
Speaker 2: the complete opposite of what it was this time last year.
Speaker 2: Remember when we came to Media Day, Well I didn't
Speaker 2: actually go, but someone went to Media Day and David
Speaker 2: Griffin got to the podium. He's like, Hey, we're so
Speaker 2: excited about this season. Also just want to quickly. I
Speaker 2: don't even think he really put his stamp on it
Speaker 2: like that. He was just like, Yeah, we're looking forward
Speaker 2: to the season. Everything's good. Excited to have Willy Green here.
Speaker 2: Zion Williamson had a foot surgery in the middle of
Speaker 2: the off season, so we're not sure when he's gonna
Speaker 2: be back. Also really looking forward to Herb Jones. He's like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
Speaker 2: wait wait, Zion had foot surgery. You're just gonna like
Speaker 2: sort of like squeeze that in there between Willie Green's
Speaker 2: announcement and the excitement of Herb Jones. Yes he did.
Speaker 2: He tried to. He tried to fool us this year.
Speaker 2: None of that. Zion looks great after one of the
Speaker 2: great Houdini acts of all time last year because they
Speaker 2: were dead. Let's be honest, the Pelicans looked like they
Speaker 2: could be the worst team in all of the NBA.
Speaker 2: They were what three and eighteen. Something crazy ended with
Speaker 2: the Pels, team that actually took Phoenix to the brink
Speaker 2: in the first round, started incredibly bad, riding the ship,
Speaker 2: putting a scare in the number one seed Suns. If
Speaker 2: you're Willie Green, you gotta be feeling like pat yourself
Speaker 2: on the back a little bit. There early reports on
Speaker 2: Zion one healthy, two thin, as Zion can be back
Speaker 2: like cow back, very back. Here are the words from
Speaker 2: various sources, and we'll call them unbiased sources, not people
Speaker 2: inside the team, to describe Zion's first practice lean. I
Speaker 2: liked that that was the first word lean, fast, in shape, dominating,
Speaker 2: an all star, a bully, a wrecking ball. This is
Speaker 2: one scrimmage. I have to remind you, very skeptical media
Speaker 2: jumping on the Zion bandwagon kind of rare. A scrimmage
Speaker 2: where Zion apparently did not miss one shot, not one.
Speaker 2: Larry Nat said this about Zion.
Speaker 3: I gotta be honest with you. I didn't know how
Speaker 3: much we were letting go. But yeah, dude, look, I
Speaker 3: mean again, yeah, I would say dominate is a good word.
Speaker 3: Dominated is a good word. I you know, he didn't
Speaker 3: even realize it, but in the locker room, you know,
Speaker 3: talking about it afterwards, I was like, did you know, like,
Speaker 3: you didn't miss a shot? And you know it was
Speaker 3: the first time. He didn't realize it until I pointed out.
Speaker 3: But now he he didn't miss a shot. He looks
Speaker 3: like the same wrecking ball we all know and love,
Speaker 3: so very pleased to say the least.
Speaker 2: By the way, Larry Nance, you don't know Zion like that.
Speaker 2: Zion wasn't playing basketball when we Portland Trailbasers traded your
Speaker 2: ass with CJ. McCollums. So he's not the same Zion
Speaker 2: that we know in love. Like this version of Zion
Speaker 2: I don't even think we collectively have seen yet. Coach
Speaker 2: Willie Green said z looked amazing his strength, his speed,
Speaker 2: He dominated the scrimmage pretty much, and then he did
Speaker 2: a good job looking for his teammates. What stood out
Speaker 2: the most was his force. More than anything, force on hardwood.
Speaker 2: Just want to say, makes me a tiny bit worried. Listen,
Speaker 2: I don't think that there's any team I'm more excited
Speaker 2: to see than the New Orleans Pelicans. I think that
Speaker 2: they are quite easily the most intriguing team in the NBA. Yes,
Speaker 2: we're excited to see all of the depth and versatility
Speaker 2: and health of Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers. For sure.
Speaker 2: We want to see that. Of course, we want to
Speaker 2: be the Rubbernecker people watching the train wrecks that are
Speaker 2: the Boston Celtics, the LA Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, of course,
Speaker 2: but in terms of Wow, this team could be really good,
Speaker 2: they could make a jump. I think it's between them
Speaker 2: and the Minnesota Timberwolves in terms of what this team
Speaker 2: can be. If they're fully jelled, if Zion is healthy
Speaker 2: and in shape and committed to playing defense, Oh my goodness,
Speaker 2: they could be the Memphis Grizzlies this year. They could
Speaker 2: be a legit two seed in the West. That is
Speaker 2: no joke. That is absolutely no joke. Like this, this
Speaker 2: team could come out of nowhere. They are twenty to
Speaker 2: one to come out of the West right now. Might
Speaker 2: sprinkle little Pepperoni money on it now, I'm just saying. Finally.
Speaker 2: Also moving forward down to OKC, the rookie that everyone
Speaker 2: wanted to see. Chet Holmgren, like I said before, hurt
Speaker 2: himself in the Pro Am, will miss his entire rookie
Speaker 2: year list Frank surgery very tragic stuff. He was amazing
Speaker 2: in Summer League and would have been mussy TV for OKAC.
Speaker 2: I think they would have become a league pass Mussy
Speaker 2: Team of the Year. Obviously, career or not, and it's
Speaker 2: not a career ending injury players like Joel Embiid have
Speaker 2: missed a rookie year. Ben Simmons has missed his rookie year.
Speaker 2: A lot of Philadelphia Sixers missing their rookie year. I'm
Speaker 2: not just saying uh, and they come back without missing
Speaker 2: a step. I expect the same for Chet as well. However,
Speaker 2: a lot of people wanted to know what about these
Speaker 2: pro ams? Should they be doing this? Should they not?
Speaker 2: People are pointing fingers at the Drew League, pointing finger
Speaker 2: at the Seattle proram they have exploded on the scene.
Speaker 2: This is what Chet had to say and weighed in
Speaker 2: on the situation. There's freedom of speech. Pause, he just
Speaker 2: goes right there. For freedom of speech, there's freedom of
Speaker 2: speech and criticism that comes along with anything basketball. Players
Speaker 2: are going to play basketball. You have to feed the
Speaker 2: love of the game. I don't want an injury like
Speaker 2: this to take away from that. Yes, too many of
Speaker 2: these players are playing basketball and the love and the
Speaker 2: joy get sucked out of their soul because it's a business.
Speaker 2: So when you go playing these programs and you play
Speaker 2: in front of people who have never seen maybe an
Speaker 2: NBA game up close in their lifeh that just maybe
Speaker 2: injects a little life back into You could not love
Speaker 2: this more from Chet. The truth of the matter is
Speaker 2: these NBA players are playing regardless. They're gonna play in
Speaker 2: the offseason at Lifetime Fitness and whatever little open runs
Speaker 2: at UCLA that they play without cameras. So the fact
Speaker 2: that they're playing in front of people means nothing. Prorams.
Speaker 2: Like I've said a million times, I will say it again,
Speaker 2: they serve a very important role in growing the game
Speaker 2: and providing a product to underserved communities who cannot afford
Speaker 2: tickets to the game. Could you imagine being an eight
Speaker 2: year old boy and seeing Polo ban Carrol up close
Speaker 2: an eight year old boy in some outskirt of Seattle.
Speaker 2: They have no NBA team, You've got no process. You
Speaker 2: got to go and see dogshit Portland. If you want
Speaker 2: to see a game. I'm not gonna call him dogshit.
Speaker 2: We'll move forward. Last year they were bad. That's what
Speaker 2: they would have to do. So for him to say
Speaker 2: he doesn't want his injury to impact the pro am circuit,
Speaker 2: huge move. I think that could have swayed how we
Speaker 2: felt about it if he said, yeah, I kind of
Speaker 2: regret playing in it. Chet another check mark that he's
Speaker 2: for the culture. Probably no bigger news in an off
Speaker 2: season that saw Kevin Durant, with four years left on
Speaker 2: his entire contract, tell the entire front office for the
Speaker 2: Nets to fuck right off and to provide an ultimatum
Speaker 2: to Josi, the owner of the Nets, to say it's
Speaker 2: either me or pretty much everybody below you. And then
Speaker 2: that standoff, and that standoff not be the biggest thing.
Speaker 2: The biggest news, by far was not Kevin Durant, was
Speaker 2: not Kyrie was not the Lakers. Boston Celtics suspending head
Speaker 2: coach Eme Udoka for the entire season for things we
Speaker 2: are not really clear about yet. To say that this
Speaker 2: news came out of nowhere would be an understatement. I
Speaker 2: saw Emi Udoka at summer League, asked him to come
Speaker 2: on the pod. He agreed to come on the pod
Speaker 2: in July mid July, midway through this investigation, and no
Speaker 2: one knew he was walking around there, Freeman. No one
Speaker 2: knew what was going on. I saw Damon Stodamer, no
Speaker 2: hint anything was going on. I saw his assistant, Aaron Miles,
Speaker 2: no hint anything was going on. I met with multiple
Speaker 2: people from the Boston TV cast. Nothing. That was two
Speaker 2: months ago. It was a beautiful September, full of tranquility.
Speaker 2: Boston looked great. They had added pieces Daniella Gallinari, Malcolm Broggen,
Speaker 2: and they've got their entire rest of their team that
Speaker 2: they love coming back. Ema Udoka reinvigorated. And then this
Speaker 2: is the bomb. This is the sound of the Wojes bomb,
Speaker 2: and it's just like that, he was gone, Just like that,
Speaker 2: it's over. You saw the report. You saw the Boston
Speaker 2: Celtics come out with some random news conferences about how
Speaker 2: mad they were that random women were being accused of
Speaker 2: being a part of this salacious scandal. And there are
Speaker 2: many details that have come out and rumors that I
Speaker 2: will not get into because I have no clue. I
Speaker 2: have done a little digging, but I don't know. I
Speaker 2: have no idea. I have like three people who have
Speaker 2: kind of clued me in on the general sort of
Speaker 2: scope and framework of how this went down, why it
Speaker 2: went down, why now. But I don't care to comment
Speaker 2: on that because it's a sad situation. And truthfully, I
Speaker 2: ride for my people from Portland and I am not
Speaker 2: here to spread any dirty rumors about Emi Udoka because truthfully,
Speaker 2: their second third hand and I don't know what is true.
Speaker 2: All I know is that Nei Long is very messy,
Speaker 2: going on TMZ saying that she was absolutely shocked and
Speaker 2: stunned and whatever other adjectives, going on and doing full
Speaker 2: on one on one interviews with TMZ in the middle
Speaker 2: of your husband or no, your fiance of seven years
Speaker 2: getting suspended for the year, probably his career getting just
Speaker 2: absolutely obliterated. So the whole situation is messy, but particularly
Speaker 2: Neolong getting involved very messy as well. What we do
Speaker 2: know though, is this Boston Celtics. I don't know that
Speaker 2: that many people are framing it like this, but they
Speaker 2: are on their third coach in three years. They become
Speaker 2: the first coach the first team since the Showtime Lakers
Speaker 2: who fired Jack McKinney after going to the finals when
Speaker 2: he had his bike accident, and then Paul Westead got
Speaker 2: It was bad back then to not have the head
Speaker 2: coach that took them to the finals there to start
Speaker 2: the next season. Add that, and you add that to
Speaker 2: the fact Rob Williams, who probably would have won Defensive
Speaker 2: Player of the Year last year if he was completely healthy,
Speaker 2: He's now out three months at the very least before
Speaker 2: he can return to basketball activities. Rob had another knee
Speaker 2: surgery on the same knee that kept him out of
Speaker 2: some of the playoffs. He didn't like the way that
Speaker 2: his knee felt. Had to get another knee surgery, just
Speaker 2: like a couple of weeks ago. I think maybe last week.
Speaker 2: Add that to Danela Gallinari, one of their pickups who
Speaker 2: they were very excited about, He's out for the entire season.
Speaker 2: Acl taar just like that, add insult to injury. So
Speaker 2: Brad Stevens he gets asked to come back and coach,
Speaker 2: which would have been an absolute disaster, by the way,
Speaker 2: unmitigated disaster. I hear Jason Tatum asden to come back
Speaker 2: and he was like, mmm, no. Tries to get laren Naga,
Speaker 2: Jay Larenega to come back. This is how toxic things
Speaker 2: are being perceived. Brad Stevens personally reaches out to Jay Larenega,
Speaker 2: the former assistant who is the runner up to get
Speaker 2: Udoka's job, to come in be the interim head coach.
Speaker 2: I would imagine ask them, hey, would you leave the
Speaker 2: Clippers to be the interim head coach and return back
Speaker 2: to Boston to settle some of the shit down and
Speaker 2: his answer, I quote, I prefer to stay in La Nah.
Speaker 2: I'm good. That's like when it really reminds me, because
Speaker 2: I would prefer to stay in La is about as
Speaker 2: classy as of an answer as you're gonna get, as
Speaker 2: gentle and like, you know, I would prefer means that
Speaker 2: there's some sort of ambiguity about whether you have control
Speaker 2: of your decision. Right. It's like when the TSA agent
Speaker 2: I've got my little dog in her carrier and they
Speaker 2: want to see whether there's enough space inside the carrier
Speaker 2: for her. And they see her and they're like, she's
Speaker 2: growling at the TSA agent. She's snapping at the actual
Speaker 2: at her through the material and she's like, hey, could
Speaker 2: you open up the zipper and let her out so
Speaker 2: I could see her. I'm like, bitch, she will bite
Speaker 2: your face off. And I'm like, you know, I really
Speaker 2: prefer not to. I'd rather not. I'd honestly rather not,
Speaker 2: And for you, I think you should rather not too,
Speaker 2: Like that's the kind of I'd rather not. That was
Speaker 2: at another telling detail, interim head coach to take e
Speaker 2: May Spot Joe Missoula A Brad Steven hold Over, one
Speaker 2: of the only ones left from his regime, not Damon Stodomayer,
Speaker 2: not Aaron Miles, not any of Udokah's asistants that he's
Speaker 2: known his entire life who has come over to help
Speaker 2: him build a championship caliber team in two seconds flat, No, no,
Speaker 2: both were passed up in favor of a Brad Stevens holdover.
Speaker 2: That about tells you everything, folks, that you need to
Speaker 2: know about what's about to happen to emy Udoka and
Speaker 2: the rest of his fucking crew. And I hate to
Speaker 2: say that, I don't want to make light of it.
Speaker 2: I mean, these are my guys. I am fucking heartsick
Speaker 2: over it. Just when we get some good things in Portland,
Speaker 2: just like twelve months, I could only get one season
Speaker 2: of Portland Pride. I was gonna get some Boston Celtics gear.
Speaker 2: Good thing I didn't. Good thing I didn't. Rumors are
Speaker 2: that obviously Emay Udoka's done done coaching, probably for a
Speaker 2: long time. Missoula has promised to keep the schematic stuff
Speaker 2: the same, to try to instill some level of consistency
Speaker 2: for a team that was one of the best defensive
Speaker 2: groups in the league. Jalen Brown said this after his
Speaker 2: first practice with Missoula. I think from day one, Joe
Speaker 2: has set a standard. All of our guys are setting
Speaker 2: the standard, taking care of the ball, getting to our spots,
Speaker 2: playing the right way, just setting an expectation level that
Speaker 2: we've got to be accountable every single day. Truth is,
Speaker 2: the Celtics still need to add a coach and are
Speaker 2: scouring the woods for an experienced assistant to help take
Speaker 2: the burden off this brand new, I don't know thirty
Speaker 2: four year old head coach. I mean he's he's literally
Speaker 2: younger than Al Horford. This guy, I mean, Al Horford's
Speaker 2: fucking old, but he's very young too. All a work
Speaker 2: in progress, and still with all of this drama, the
Speaker 2: Celtics are the odds on favorite to win the title.
Speaker 2: Can you believe that? Plus five hundred? Do they not
Speaker 2: know all this stuff? All the players were shocked. They
Speaker 2: heard the news when we did on social media. So
Speaker 2: to recap, a top center out for the out for
Speaker 2: half the season, a guy who is critical for the
Speaker 2: defensive identity of this team, another key rotation player out
Speaker 2: for the year. A new point guard who has a
Speaker 2: history of always being injured and kind of feeling like
Speaker 2: if he hurts a toenail, he's going to sit out
Speaker 2: a few games. A starting power forward who's just shy
Speaker 2: of forty so a lack of depth hurts him quite
Speaker 2: a bit. A scandal and controversy looming over a franchise
Speaker 2: over a head coach having a sexual relationship with a
Speaker 2: member of the team who has gone for at least
Speaker 2: the entire year, but probably more. And a new head
Speaker 2: coach interim who has his own little stuff that isn't great.
Speaker 2: Sounds right to me plus five hundred. Yeah, willing to
Speaker 2: put my money on this team to win it all, folks,
Speaker 2: I would totally do that. That makes all the sense
Speaker 2: in the world. Is it not Start getting ring sizes
Speaker 2: for Rob Williams, Like figure it out, Malcolm Brogden, get
Speaker 2: your banner, get your championship party entourage ready. In all seriousness,
Speaker 2: I think it's gonna take a while for this team
Speaker 2: to get things together. I think that's saying a lot
Speaker 2: that they will get things together. Things couldn't have gone
Speaker 2: much worse than last year towards the until the All
Speaker 2: Star break when they were one game shy of five
Speaker 2: hundred in January, But boy, is there gonna be tumult
Speaker 2: and a lot of questions, and as more news reports
Speaker 2: come out, who knows what kind of shit continues to brew.
Speaker 2: If anyone rivals the Celtics for off season drama and
Speaker 2: organizational dysfunction, probably the Phoenix Suns, right, they set a
Speaker 2: record in the off season for a most amount of
Speaker 2: tweets by their fan base that just sent gifts of
Speaker 2: flaming dumpster fire at them. Let's face it, like you
Speaker 2: look up dumpster fire in the dictionary and Robert Sarver's
Speaker 2: photo will be staring right at you. The NBA suspends
Speaker 2: Phoenix Son's owner Robert Sarver one year after he gets
Speaker 2: accused by dozens of employees and former employees for every
Speaker 2: ism under the sun, every racial slur, every bit of
Speaker 2: sexual misconduct, every bit about hey, how about you see
Speaker 2: my Michael Pennox junior. And he gets the same level
Speaker 2: of suspension as e may Udoka. Does that feel weird
Speaker 2: to anyone? Because it does. Every ism under the sun
Speaker 2: under the sun's get it? And I don't know. My
Speaker 2: first thought is shit, that's that's wild. That is not
Speaker 2: gonna fly though, folks in today's day and age, Adam Silver,
Speaker 2: what you doing, baby, what you're doing? I reached out
Speaker 2: to some friends, like, hey, uh, what's going on in Phoenix?
Speaker 2: You heard anything about this Sarver suspension? How are people
Speaker 2: taking it? Had some very trusted media members, and they said, oh,
Speaker 2: and they live in Phoenix. Oh no, this is not
Speaker 2: the end. There's not even close to the end. And
Speaker 2: and yet and they said, oh, yeah, Sarvar's not gonna
Speaker 2: survive this. And I'm like, really, it feels like he's
Speaker 2: got this audacity to stay put, even after Braun came
Speaker 2: out against him, even after Chris Paul came after again
Speaker 2: out against him, even Draymond Green, who had an amazing
Speaker 2: soliloquy about forcing the owners to take a vote. Hey, y'all,
Speaker 2: let's see where you guys are at on it. Let's
Speaker 2: take a vote, see how you guys feel about Robert
Speaker 2: Sarver continuing to be an owner of this league. But
Speaker 2: then sponsors start pulling their dollars. Then other owners of
Speaker 2: the Suns start coming forward. Then you've got the head,
Speaker 2: the new head of the NBPA, the union saying I
Speaker 2: speak for all players that this man cannot stay around
Speaker 2: this league, and in a few short days could put
Speaker 2: Robert Sarver capitulates and he announces he's selling the team
Speaker 2: since it's pr season. Here is Robert Sarver's statement, and
Speaker 2: we'll decide whether it gets any comment. As a man
Speaker 2: of faith, oh God, let me just let's start again.
Speaker 2: As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and
Speaker 2: the path to forgiveness. I expected that the commissioner's one
Speaker 2: year suspension would provide the time for me to focus,
Speaker 2: make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams
Speaker 2: that I and so many fans love. Really, but in
Speaker 2: our current unforgiving climate, oh it's cancel culture, it has
Speaker 2: become painfully clear that that is no longer possible. That
Speaker 2: for whatever good I have done, Oh baby, Oh you
Speaker 2: think this is like a like a balance sheet, like, oh,
Speaker 2: I'd have done, so we'll continue. Whatever good I have
Speaker 2: done or could still do is outweighed by the things
Speaker 2: I have said in the past. For those reasons, I
Speaker 2: am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the sun
Speaker 2: Sons and Mercury. This is a man who seems riddled
Speaker 2: with contrition, doesn't he? He seems broken up about the
Speaker 2: whole thing. He seems ready to do the work, doesn't he?
Speaker 2: He seem like he was ready to take the next
Speaker 2: year to really peel back the layers of why he's
Speaker 2: so racist, why he feels he can speak to women
Speaker 2: however he wants. But he's not gonna do that now.
Speaker 2: He's just gonna sell the team. So it's us that lose.
Speaker 2: It's us that lose because we try to cancel Robert
Speaker 2: Sarver and instead he will not be canceled. He's not
Speaker 2: gonna do the work. He's just gonna sell the team.
Speaker 2: By the way, he's gonna sell a team for like
Speaker 2: three billion dollars, so he'll be fine. Sure, he'll put
Speaker 2: all those dollars to work on himself and bettering the
Speaker 2: communities that he has harmed. This is the third team
Speaker 2: in the last eight years, by the way, due to
Speaker 2: some sort of racial issues, have had to be sold.
Speaker 2: It's almost like there's a it's like the problem, like
Speaker 2: there's a systemic thing. It feels like maybe we should
Speaker 2: start peeling back the onion, start lifting up the hood
Speaker 2: on the rest of these guys. See if anything else
Speaker 2: shakes out, See if any rats come open. If you
Speaker 2: pick up those two by fours and see what starts
Speaker 2: scurrying out. I think it's the best thing for everyone. Honestly,
Speaker 2: you cannot tell me that this investigation didn't have a
Speaker 2: cloud over the Suns. I don't care that they were
Speaker 2: the number one seed. They started out slow, they went
Speaker 2: out with a bang to this Dallas Mavericks the beginning
Speaker 2: of their season had that cloud of Baxter Homes this
Speaker 2: article looming over them and his problematic behavior of Robert Sarver.
Speaker 2: So turns out Sarver also still reaping the benefits or
Speaker 2: we are still reaping the benefits of him and DeAndre Ayton.
Speaker 2: Apparently Robert Sarver is the reason that DeAndre Ayton didn't
Speaker 2: get his MAX deal. Remember, the Suns did everything but
Speaker 2: kick eight and out out the door until just snatching
Speaker 2: him back by matching the extension sheet by the NBA
Speaker 2: and Pacers eight, and of course was outraged, as you
Speaker 2: might imagine. A report dropped though today from Mark Spears
Speaker 2: and Ramona Shelburne that said the following I was told
Speaker 2: that it was Robert Sarver who didn't want to give
Speaker 2: him that fifth year. He wanted to save money. Oh baby.
Speaker 2: My understanding from talking to people close to DeAndre is
Speaker 2: he thinks that this was Robert Sarver's decision, as well
Speaker 2: the whole bizarre situation rounding the team's treatment of Aton.
Speaker 2: It feels like it's starting to make a little more
Speaker 2: sense now. Cheap owner who's probably gonna be forced to
Speaker 2: sell the team, doesn't want to make any big moves,
Speaker 2: so they decide we'll just see what everybody else wants
Speaker 2: to pay him. Add this to the fact that Ayton
Speaker 2: has not, according to him, spoken to Monty Williams, the
Speaker 2: head coach, since Game seven. If you don't think that's weird,
Speaker 2: and I know people are trying to tell us this
Speaker 2: is the part of the gas lighting that exists. Like
Speaker 2: people are trying to tell us that's not weird. Oh yeah,
Speaker 2: it's like totally normal. As soon as you end the season,
Speaker 2: we just never speak again, not like hey buddy, how
Speaker 2: you hold it up? How is your summer going? I
Speaker 2: don't know, like when summer league is happening, Hey, you
Speaker 2: want to grab dinner? None of that. They're trying to
Speaker 2: tell us that's not weird. That I have to tell you.
Speaker 2: If that's normal, then the entire league is a little weird.
Speaker 2: Here's what Ayton said. You can just hear it for yourself.
Speaker 2: How you and Monni has kind of been able to
Speaker 2: have spoken. Mom Oh boss, have you and MONI been
Speaker 2: able to move? Cuts him off. I haven't spoke to
Speaker 2: MONI looks at him dead in his face. Nope, continue you, No,
Speaker 2: I haven't spoken it all ever.
Speaker 1: Since the game.
Speaker 2: Nope, haven't spoke to him at all ever since that game.
Speaker 2: So not even no hope that gang. You're very good.
Speaker 1: I'm here.
Speaker 2: Are you hoping that that changes? I'm here?
Speaker 1: You happy to Yeah, I'm all right. I'm living between
Speaker 1: those lines.
Speaker 2: And now I just works. You know, I'm not playing
Speaker 2: for myself. You know I'm a hoganization across my chest.
Speaker 1: I need't go back a half a minute. You just
Speaker 1: hear it work.
Speaker 2: I'm just here to work. And this sounds like a
Speaker 2: guy who's like, listen, I've got generational wealth come in
Speaker 2: my way. Life's not that bad. I grew up in Phoenix,
Speaker 2: but I can't stand these motherfuckers truthfully. And I know
Speaker 2: in January, when I get to choose whether I want
Speaker 2: to be traded or not, I can ask them to
Speaker 2: get me the fuck out of here if I want to.
Speaker 2: We'll see if Chris Paul wants to grind me. Down
Speaker 2: to dust between now and January, maybe I get my
Speaker 2: dipset ass out of here. You know what, I get
Speaker 2: that Sometimes you work for someplace and you get paid well,
Speaker 2: and you're like, they're so lucky. I get paid well
Speaker 2: because I can't stand it here. I can't stand my teammates.
Speaker 2: I can't stand my bosses. I can't stand being having
Speaker 2: them on top of me all day long. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean run down the full video. Look on Ayton's face.
Speaker 2: It just comes off so much worse. His body language,
Speaker 2: his facial expressions, his energy. In other words, the season
Speaker 2: could not have started worse for the Phoenix Suns. Lots
Speaker 2: of teams with talent have had their seasons go down
Speaker 2: like the Titanic due to chemistry issues and with the
Speaker 2: locker room overflowing with frustration about the cyber situation, an
Speaker 2: unhappy big man. And now you've got Jay Crowder, the
Speaker 2: glue of this team, sitting out of training camp until
Speaker 2: he is traded because his starting role was in jeopardy.
Speaker 2: Safe to say there is a ton of murkiness about
Speaker 2: how good this Phoenix team can actually be the season,
Speaker 2: especially early on in said season. So now we have
Speaker 2: two playoff teams with serious dysfunction and serious ambiguity about
Speaker 2: what happens next. Have you ever known a couple maybe
Speaker 2: they got married a little too early, you know, right
Speaker 2: out of college, and you kind of knew when they
Speaker 2: were together, like, I'm not sure how long this is
Speaker 2: gonna last. And you start finding out hearing whispers right
Speaker 2: that they're on the verge of divorce and maybe even
Speaker 2: one of them moved out. You're like, oh, yeah, Cheryl's
Speaker 2: living with her sister right now. Oh yeah, what's John doing?
Speaker 2: I think eating a lot of potato chips, just kind
Speaker 2: of just kind of hanging out, building this fantasy team,
Speaker 2: just on the waiver wire. He seems okay, but he
Speaker 2: doesn't look okay. And then so it's like done right,
Speaker 2: You're just like done. And then, for some reason, some
Speaker 2: unforeseened circumstance dance, they get back together and they declare
Speaker 2: on social media everything's fine. They've got they're holding hands,
Speaker 2: they're making posts. They're kissy, kissy. But when you look
Speaker 2: and you zoom in, because I'm a zoom in girl,
Speaker 2: like you take the photo, you screen capet. This is
Speaker 2: what you do, screen capet, and then you zoom right in,
Speaker 2: zoom into their eyes. See what's going on back there,
Speaker 2: the eyes of the windows to the soul. And you
Speaker 2: look and you're like, Cheryl's still hurting. She's not happy.
Speaker 2: John looks like he's ready to cry. This is bad.
Speaker 2: He's gray, He's gained ten pounds. This is not gonna
Speaker 2: work out. That's Katie and Nash right now. That's who
Speaker 2: that is. Here's what Nash said when literally everyone was like, Hey,
Speaker 2: how are you dealing with the aftermath of a star player,
Speaker 2: the one that can his Yoda not only asking out
Speaker 2: to not be with you anymore, but the only way
Speaker 2: that he would stay is if you were fired, like
Speaker 2: actually fired. You had to go in order for him
Speaker 2: to be happy. He said, We're good. Yeah, there's nothing's changed. Yeh.
Speaker 2: I have a long history with Kevin. I love the guy.
Speaker 2: Families have issues. We had a moment and it's behind us.
Speaker 2: That's what happens. It's a common situation in the league.
Speaker 2: Pause is it is that a common situation in the
Speaker 2: league is I don't recall many instances of this occurring
Speaker 2: in this manner. I can't remember another player saying he
Speaker 2: would only stay the duration of his brand new contract
Speaker 2: if his head coach was fired. Not only his head
Speaker 2: coach was fired, but his GM was fired. Which do
Speaker 2: not make any mistake about it. Is what Kevin Durant
Speaker 2: said to Josi when they had a meeting in Paris
Speaker 2: or London or wherever that meeting occurred. Nash must go,
Speaker 2: Sean Marks must go. These dudes are chaos and I'm
Speaker 2: not trying to have all that. Of course, though the
Speaker 2: unforeseen circumstances take place. Trader Danny does Trader Danny things.
Speaker 2: He quote unquote fleeces the Minnesota Timberwolves in the deal
Speaker 2: for Rudy Gobert, making it impossible to get back anything
Speaker 2: reasonable because no team is going to give you what
Speaker 2: Rudy Gobert commanded. And that's for Kevin Durant. These are
Speaker 2: crazy prices. So if Rudy Gobert gets five first round picks,
Speaker 2: what's Kevin get ten? We're not giving you. We don't
Speaker 2: even think the CBA allows ten first round picks. So
Speaker 2: it blew up the trade market, and then it made
Speaker 2: Katy impossible to trade make the best things. So like
Speaker 2: these divorces, it's always money. It's always money. So Cheryl
Speaker 2: and John they reunite and now we get to see
Speaker 2: their asses on Twitter and social media, trying to tell
Speaker 2: us and convince us that everything is fine. Durant said
Speaker 2: he wanted out because of a quote uncertainty around last
Speaker 2: year's team and all the drama surrounding Kyrie Irving and
Speaker 2: James Harden caused the situation where we were quote all hurt.
Speaker 2: What he didn't point out, though, much more important to me,
Speaker 2: is that the fact that Steve Nash played them, I
Speaker 2: don't know, forty five to forty eight minutes per game,
Speaker 2: just draining his batteries to the brink, to the point
Speaker 2: where in Game seven of the Milwaukee Bucks series he
Speaker 2: chucked up an air ball in overtime. You never seen that.
Speaker 2: Have you ever seen a wide open three air ball
Speaker 2: by Kevin Durant in a clutch moment? Not me, he
Speaker 2: was absolutely gassed. Or the fact that Steve Nash had
Speaker 2: trouble figuring out what his lineups really were, who was
Speaker 2: on this roster, basically getting out coached multiple times in
Speaker 2: his very short career. He's basically, let's be honest, he's
Speaker 2: a Stepford coach. He says, all a little Teddy ruckspin doll.
Speaker 2: You just pull the string and all the right little
Speaker 2: things come out of I'm okay. I love Kevin kids like, no,
Speaker 2: are you a human being? Because there's no chance that
Speaker 2: a real human being would feel like everything's fine. He's
Speaker 2: just programmed. He's just programmed with like little soundbites. We're
Speaker 2: not trading James Harden. We're committed to James. It's like, dude,
Speaker 2: you're a liar, you're lying to everyone. You're really good
Speaker 2: at it. Of course he's gonna say everything's all right
Speaker 2: moving forward. Ben Simmons. Steve Nash very high on him
Speaker 2: as well. He's coming into the camp in the best
Speaker 2: shape of his career, proclaiming he is happy to play
Speaker 2: the what the center position? Yeah, Ben Simmons gonna play
Speaker 2: center for the Brooklyn Nets. One. I told the world
Speaker 2: he wasn't a point guard. He's so far from a
Speaker 2: point guard. He's actually a center. Folks, Like, that's how
Speaker 2: much of a point guard he's not, Like, you don't
Speaker 2: just go ahead and play center or point guard. That's
Speaker 2: not where we're at, and even in position in this
Speaker 2: basketball that's not where we're at right now. And of course,
Speaker 2: right now, Ben Simmons is being told by Teddy Ruckspin
Speaker 2: aka Steve Nash. Hey, you don't have to shoot at all.
Speaker 2: You don't have to shoot. Not only do you have
Speaker 2: to shoot any threes, you don't have to shoot any
Speaker 2: jump shots at all, not one. Just be you just
Speaker 2: lean in to the things you do. Well, we're fine.
Speaker 2: And you know who else said that. Brett Brown said
Speaker 2: that right before he was fired. Brett Brown said that
Speaker 2: for the Philadelphia seventy six ers, and those chickens came
Speaker 2: home to roost. Nash said on media he does not
Speaker 2: Media day, he does not give a flying fuck if
Speaker 2: Ben Simmons ever shoots a jumper, because I Ben Simmons'
Speaker 2: versatility is so unique. That's what makes Ben great. I
Speaker 2: don't care if he ever shoots a jump shot. He's
Speaker 2: welcome to, but that's not what makes him special, and
Speaker 2: that's not what we need. He's a great compliment to
Speaker 2: our team. Are you serious, Steve Nash, He's got to
Speaker 2: shoot jump shots. We've got fives like Brook Lopez out
Speaker 2: here shooting threes. Yanna shoots threes. You're telling me he's
Speaker 2: not gonna shoot one jump shot if he's playing the
Speaker 2: four or the five. Okay, you can get away with
Speaker 2: not shooting many jumpers, I guess, but Nash says he
Speaker 2: could still also play the point guard position. Also, Kyrie
Speaker 2: quickly said he willingly gave up over one hundred million
Speaker 2: dollars to not be vaccinated. So congratulations to him for
Speaker 2: whatever that means in terms of whatever ethos that he's
Speaker 2: living by. I'm happy for Kyrie that he stood by
Speaker 2: his guns. Also, TJ. Warren will not be out, will
Speaker 2: not be back until at least November. I don't know
Speaker 2: which franchise is the most dysfunctional. I can't tell it.
Speaker 2: Is it Phoenix, is it Boston? If you want to
Speaker 2: say Brooklyn's Number one, wouldn't blame you. I mean their
Speaker 2: former owner was a part of the fucking kremlin. I
Speaker 2: don't know. I won't argue with anyone dealer's choice. Choose
Speaker 2: whoever you want. They all have their own little, unique,
Speaker 2: special wrinkles that make them some variation of completely dysfunctional.
Speaker 2: Lots of shit popping out in Lakerland. Number one really
Speaker 2: number one, just the first one on the list. Lebron
Speaker 2: James is investing in professional pickleball leagues. Cool if I
Speaker 2: have to, If I have to start betting on pickleball
Speaker 2: or thinking about a new sport because it comes to
Speaker 2: this like boiling point, where the world somehow gives a
Speaker 2: shit about something we didn't care about a decade ago.
Speaker 2: I don't. I think that's it for me. I think
Speaker 2: I'm hanging up my shoes. I think I'm hanging up
Speaker 2: my microphone. I think that's it. Patrick Beverly is saying
Speaker 2: that he's as good as of a three point shooter
Speaker 2: as Steph Curry. Let me say that again. Patrick Beverly
Speaker 2: is claiming he's as good of a catch and shoot
Speaker 2: three point shooter as Steph Curry. Check the stats, he says,
Speaker 2: and Kendrick Nunn seems to become the spokesperson for the
Speaker 2: entire team. My joke, I will continue to say until
Speaker 2: it becomes until Kendrick Dunn gets healthy. You can't really
Speaker 2: judge the Slaker team until Kendrick Nunn is fully healthy.
Speaker 2: It's been twelve months. We still haven't seen it. Until
Speaker 2: he's fully integrated back in the line, we don't know
Speaker 2: what they could be. Who knows. Maybe they're a contender.
Speaker 2: And right now, though, there's two stories I want to
Speaker 2: highlight because the propaganda machine is fully humming in Lakerland.
Speaker 2: One Ad is trying to pitch us that he's gonna
Speaker 2: play eighty two games this year. They call him a
Speaker 2: paper skin and bones of glass. They call him a disney,
Speaker 2: they call him street clothes. Anthony Davis eighty two games
Speaker 2: for someone who has a reputation of not playing any
Speaker 2: games is rich. Here's where I remind you that the
Speaker 2: last time Anthony Davis played anywhere close to eighty two
Speaker 2: games was his last year for the New Orleans Pelicans
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen. It's been five years. That's four
Speaker 2: major five major surgeries and injuries ago. This is what
Speaker 2: he said. I'm so excited. I've got goosebumps just thinking
Speaker 2: about this year. Me too, Ad, I can't wait to
Speaker 2: watch this doves a fire. I can't wait. I'm looking
Speaker 2: forward to a healthy year and doing what I know
Speaker 2: we can do. I went into this summer focusing on
Speaker 2: strengthening my body. Pause. Remember in the offseason when he
Speaker 2: hadn't touched a basketball for like three and a half months,
Speaker 2: and then he got bullied by the internet to touch
Speaker 2: a basketball. Also, every summer, when you're as injury prone
Speaker 2: as you are, should be focusing on strengthening your body,
Speaker 2: So this is a new one for him. I have
Speaker 2: to be on the court and be at my best
Speaker 2: to put us in position to be our best. I'm
Speaker 2: ready to do that just now. Huh, just after you
Speaker 2: miss the playoffs, he says. He says, I'm ready to
Speaker 2: do it now. I'm glad that, finally, five years later,
Speaker 2: you're committed to being healthy. I want him to be healthy,
Speaker 2: I really do, because I want to be able to
Speaker 2: say that the Lakers aren't good even when Anthony Davis
Speaker 2: is fully healthy. That's all I want. I want to
Speaker 2: be able to say, point blank period. I have the data.
Speaker 2: Ad played sixty five games, bron played seventy five games,
Speaker 2: Russ was traded for who, I don't care, Buddy healed,
Speaker 2: and this team was still an eight seed. I still
Speaker 2: want to be able to do that because everybody's like, oh,
Speaker 2: we can't really can't really judge him, can't really fully
Speaker 2: know what Rob Plink was envisioning. Because injuries unforeseen. They're
Speaker 2: not unforeseen. They happen every year with street clothes. Anthony Davis.
Speaker 2: Now I know why clutch sports hates me. I'm always
Speaker 2: saying he's hurt. It is what it is. He is
Speaker 2: a lot of people. Uh, this is what Ad says.
Speaker 2: He says the reason he played so poorly because I
Speaker 2: remember he couldn't shoot last year either when he was healthy.
Speaker 2: He was a bad jump shooter. So there's now a
Speaker 2: new reason that he was shooting poorly. This is what
Speaker 2: he has to say. A lot of people don't know this,
Speaker 2: but since January, I was battling a wrist injury. It
Speaker 2: was tough for me to shoot how I wanted to shoot.
Speaker 2: So on top of all of the other injuries ankles, knees,
Speaker 2: lower extremity issues, we now have a wrist issue to
Speaker 2: start thinking about as a possible re injury as well.
Speaker 2: Is that what you're saying, Ad and Matt stopped you
Speaker 2: from shooting, which is probably one of the things that
Speaker 2: makes you very unique as a big man. Thanks for
Speaker 2: disclosing that eight months later. Appreciate that, of course. He
Speaker 2: says that injury is now fixed and Ad is looking
Speaker 2: forward to being the Lakers number one option. They said
Speaker 2: this last year. I have this in my notes from
Speaker 2: last year. Ads willing to take the ball bull by
Speaker 2: the horns. AD's ready to be the number one option.
Speaker 2: Lebron James is saying, take the Reins take the reins.
Speaker 2: Don't call me a cynic, but I'll believe it when
Speaker 2: I see it. I believe it when I see it.
Speaker 2: Second Laker story really quickly relates with Russell Westbrook. Very
Speaker 2: strange offseason with Russ. He fires Thad Bouchet, his agent,
Speaker 2: because Thad says, listen, you got to be able to
Speaker 2: do whatever you need to do, and Russ wants out
Speaker 2: and he's telling them, listen, you should just stay the course.
Speaker 2: You can't be switching teams and getting buyouts and taking
Speaker 2: the minimum because at that point you're now a minimum player. Right,
Speaker 2: everyone thinks he's getting traded. We're speculating all the places
Speaker 2: that Russell Westbrook could end up. Is it Indiana to
Speaker 2: take a buyout, which would have been hilarious. Is it
Speaker 2: going to be a place like Oklahoma City where old
Speaker 2: stars come to be rejuvenated for multiple multiple picks. But
Speaker 2: no one has had their career and their skills besmirched
Speaker 2: more in the last year than Russell Westbrook, by the way,
Speaker 2: an MVP, And you could never hold it against him
Speaker 2: if people if he was salty when people basically said, hey,
Speaker 2: how do you feel about everyone thinking you're trash, but
Speaker 2: this is what he did. He has been doing what
Speaker 2: Robert Starr should do, which is looking inward and fixing
Speaker 2: himself after Russell Westbrook has been i would say, very
Speaker 2: difficult to deal with from a media perspective. This is
Speaker 2: what he had to say when they asked him a
Speaker 2: very disrespectful but also relevant question. H Russ, you said
Speaker 2: you've bought it.
Speaker 3: You're buying into the Lakers.
Speaker 2: Do you think the Lakers are buying into you? Do
Speaker 2: you think the Lakers? Once you hear when you look
Speaker 2: at Russell Westbrook's eyes when he's looking at that media member,
Speaker 2: he's about to rip his head off, and then he realizes, Russ,
Speaker 2: everything you do right now is going to be evaluated
Speaker 2: and scrutinize. Chill the fuck out, don't kill him, go
Speaker 2: back into personal development mode.
Speaker 1: I mean, whether that they want me here or not now,
Speaker 1: it doesn't really matter. Honestly. My job is to be
Speaker 1: a professional, show up to work like I've always done
Speaker 1: thus far, do my job the best way on know
Speaker 1: how to, and that's it. I mean, we all have
Speaker 1: jobs that sometimes people at our jobs don't like us
Speaker 1: so don't want us there as you guys probably can
Speaker 1: attest to in any other job across the world, and
Speaker 1: as a professional and as a working man, I have
Speaker 1: to do my job and do it the best way
Speaker 1: I know how.
Speaker 2: Pr class what that? I can't believe that. I saw
Speaker 2: that and I was like, that's Russell Westbrook. Classy move.
Speaker 2: He's now said he's willing to come off the bench.
Speaker 2: He's willing to do whatever Darwnham wants from him. He's saying,
Speaker 2: I don't care whether you want me here or not.
Speaker 2: I'm making my forty something million dollars and you guys
Speaker 2: will like that and take it. And considering how he's
Speaker 2: been depicted I think as a very salty, sort of sharp,
Speaker 2: prickly human, think that's pretty awesome. Whether things work out
Speaker 2: with him or l in La, it get's not. They're
Speaker 2: already Rob polink is already saying he's willing to We
Speaker 2: didn't even talk about the fact that that Lebron James
Speaker 2: basically forced the Lakers to trade those first round picks
Speaker 2: in order to sign his extension. It was a tit
Speaker 2: for tat move. If you don't get rid of those
Speaker 2: two first round picks, I'm not signing with you. And
Speaker 2: Rob Plinkett came out during media day and said, listen,
Speaker 2: we're getting rid of it. We're trading those picks. We're
Speaker 2: trading them. Why why are we trading them now? Why
Speaker 2: are we committed? Because Lebron is committed to us and
Speaker 2: we owe that to him. So if those picks aren't
Speaker 2: getting Russell Westbrook out the door for some sort of peace,
Speaker 2: I don't know what that is. I don't know what
Speaker 2: it is, but we'll have to see if he's happy
Speaker 2: living in the end of the bench making forty million
Speaker 2: dollars and they keep those two first round picks and
Speaker 2: they go out and get Kyrie Irving in free agency.
Speaker 2: I tell you what, as much as I hate the Lakers,
Speaker 2: they could get good real fast. They're just not gonna
Speaker 2: be good now. Somebody tried to say, oh, if the
Speaker 2: Lakers are fully healthy, are they a five seed? No,
Speaker 2: they're not. They are a bad team. And I hope
Speaker 2: that Anthony Davis is healthy enough for us to find out.
Speaker 2: That's all the time that we afer the heat check.
Speaker 2: We will be back Monday with a new episode. For
Speaker 2: those who have missed it. We have three interviews with
Speaker 2: Jerry west all different, all interesting. I love the last
Speaker 2: one where he was basically Rainman just giving me player names,
Speaker 2: and I just give him player names and he just
Speaker 2: gives me a full evaluation and breakdown. We also have
Speaker 2: an interview with Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, which
Speaker 2: was very rare, very special. He doesn't do those a lot,
Speaker 2: so check that out. And if you haven't, please follow us,
Speaker 2: please subscribe, put us on your feed so you get
Speaker 2: notifications when new episodes come out and get you ready
Speaker 2: for this new season. Do not forget to download, subscribe.
Speaker 2: Please tell your friends if they like the NBA, to
Speaker 2: follow this podcast to every single one of them, and
Speaker 2: please follow us on social at this heat check and
Speaker 2: at Trista Crick on TikTok. Thank you to my brand
Speaker 2: new producer, Nick Berlanski, the man with the master plan.
Speaker 2: We will see next week, sir