WEBVTT - EPISODE 21: Let's go inside with the insiders 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to this week Uncut in the world of twenty 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:12.760 four NBA news. This Chris Hanes works time. It's some time. 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:21.840 This Liguncut is underway in that fire. This should be 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:27.400 a good one. Everyone, Welcome to another edition of this 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.280 League Uncut. Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes, coming to 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:36.200 you one day later than we anticipated. Some scheduling curveballs 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:41.279 fired at us. We're working on a really, really tasty 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.919 surprise that I don't want to spoil, I don't want 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:49.320 to jinx, but as we're getting that situated, that caused 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:51.959 us to kind of move some things around. But I 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.360 think I think it's okay that we're going on a 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:58.400 Tuesday instead of the usual Monday. Tons of stuff happening 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:02.920 in the league. As usual, there were no games Monday, 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:08.120 as the NBA gave the floor to the men's championship 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.760 game in the college ranks. But look, lots of news, 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.520 and I think I think we're gonna focus on news. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.440 There's obviously, you know, we're entering the last week of 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:20.520 the regular season, so there's a lot of talk about 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:24.920 playoff positioning, but that stuff seems to change by the night. 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:30.080 So I think we're gonna both Chris and I posted 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:35.360 Newsy stories on Monday, so you know what, let's let's 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.119 dig in to some of those things. The first thing 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:42.560 I think, Chris, and this is obviously maybe it's not 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:46.240 the most entertaining podcast topic, but I do think it 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:48.520 is the most important thing that has happened in the 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.800 NBA in twenty twenty three. They have a labor deal. 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:55.920 It happened in the wee hours of Saturday, April Fool's Day. 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.280 They missed their midnight deadline, and that was after pushing 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:04.280 that deadline back twice. But at around three am on 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.080 Saturday morning, the league and the union jointly announced that 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.240 they have a tentative deal. There's a lot of details 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:15.160 that have not been written in permanent inc We don't 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.680 have a term sheet to look at yet, but just 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:21.400 the most important thing, there will be labor piece in 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.120 the NBA through at least twenty eight twenty nine. You 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:29.240 will be seeing Chris Haynes in his beautiful custom suits 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:33.080 through at least the twenty eight twenty nine season. No 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.320 work stoppage, because look the way this season started back 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.519 in October, when the NBA was pushing for a hardcap. 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:41.680 You know, I wrote a long story about how they 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.840 wanted an upper spending limit, which was basically their way 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.680 of trying to introduce a hardcap without calling it a hardcap. 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:51.200 But in twenty twenty three, pretty much once the NBA 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:55.640 backed off that push, I think behind the scenes there's 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.120 kind of been this belief that they would get a 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:02.079 deal done and it took lawnger maybe than they anticipated. Again, 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:05.040 they had to move that deadline back twice, but they 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:07.840 did get the deal done in the end, and we 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.320 will learn much more about it in coming weeks and months. 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:12.040 But that, you know, the big thing is there is 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:14.320 there is labor peace in the NBA, and that you 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:18.480 can't understand how huge that is. Yeah, I you know, 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.040 you can say, you know, they they extended the deadline. 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:25.560 I think people might have assumed that this was going 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:30.679 to be a contentious set of negotiations, and from what 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.680 I heard, it didn't really get to a boiling point 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:37.480 where there was a lot of frustration. You know, we've 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:40.520 we've covered a lot of we cover a lot of 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:44.160 these situations where things got bad. You know, So you 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:47.840 got to give Tamika the Players Association give her credit. 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.800 You got to give Adam Silver credit for coming, you know, 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:53.920 coming to terms and getting something done out the way. 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:57.720 Now they can kind of move forward toward looking towards 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:01.520 the future. And that's going to be on the NBA side, 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:06.040 the TV landscape and stide. That's going to determine if 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.440 I'm still wearing some suits not on TV, you're gonna 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:12.680 be fine. Bold predictions, You're going to be just because 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:16.599 that's the thing this. And look, the NBA and the 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:21.560 Players Association. No league gets along with its union better 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:25.240 than the NBA. It is a very close relationship. I 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:29.159 think some might even say too close, you know, in 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:35.440 certain situations and among certain personalities. But really, since the 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:39.680 bubble and how closely the league in the union had 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:43.040 to work together to get the twenty nineteen twenty season 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:47.599 back on track after four months off and to make 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.680 the bubble happen, and just kind of what came out 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.680 of that season and being able to salvage it and 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:59.480 crown a champion. There is just a stronger relationship between 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.080 these twoes than we see in the other sports leagues. 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:06.400 But you would also have to say the NBA has 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:09.560 rebounded from the bubble and is an overall such a 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:14.040 good place a work stoppage would have been the dumbest 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:17.560 in league history and maybe any league's history, because there 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:21.840 is a massive new media rights deal looming in twenty 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:25.640 twenty five twenty six. We just saw the Phoenix Suns 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:31.400 sell for four billion dollars expansion. We know that the 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:37.400 league will start thinking about expansion after finalizing this labor 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:41.240 agreement and after getting that TV deal done, so after 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:45.280 twenty twenty five twenty six, expansion becomes a real thing. 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:48.400 And now we're talking about more billions pouring into this 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:52.000 league if it grows from thirty teams to thirty two. 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:56.000 So there is so much money. Last season, the NBA 0:05:56.200 --> 0:06:01.320 recorded its first ever ten billion dollars season and revenue. 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:05.040 If I'm citing the figure correctly, if I'm not, apologies 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.240 to Tim Reynolds, who he's the one who always points 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:09.839 that out. I'm pretty sure it was the first ten 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.599 million in revenue season last year. I will try to 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.640 double check that as we go here. But that's there's 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:20.640 so much money that is pouring in. It would just 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.680 it would have if there was even a day in July, 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.520 a one day lockout, it would have been foolish and disastrous. 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:30.480 So to get this deal done now and ensure free 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:33.840 agency will start on time, Summer League with mister wembon 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:37.400 Yama will start on time. Like that's these are you know, 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.600 it's important, it's important just for the for the overall 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:43.919 health of the league. And I echo what you said initially, 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.120 you have to start in the pot is that I 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.840 want to wait until I see all the details of 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:54.160 the term sheet before we go into who got the 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.560 best of who. I've seen some reaction. I've seen some 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:00.560 reaction from some players off of the you know, the 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.159 little details that's out there already. So I want to 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:07.200 hold judgment as of right now full of grass. What 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:12.320 exactly was agreed to before I wigh in. You know, yeah, 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:15.120 I think you have to I think, well, you don't 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.800 have to be I think you don't have to style 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:21.280 because most people don't. No, you're right, but I think 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:23.160 it is the let me rephrase that. I think it's 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:27.600 the wise move because there we're just getting this stuff piecemeal. 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:31.560 We don't like, you know, a key element of this 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:34.120 that that And I didn't do a great job of 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:38.000 discussing of kind of explaining this in my Monday piece, 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.680 even though I preach caution and said let's wait until 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.760 these deals are all written in final and we can 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:47.480 really dig into them. But not just that they're going 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.720 to be phased in. All these changes will not go 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:56.880 immediately into this offseason because you know, they've they've made 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.800 a provision, you know, reportedly they've made a provision, for example, 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:03.880 for smoothing it anticipation of the new TV deal that 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:07.960 hasn't happened yet. Smoothing, of course, didn't happen the last 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.200 time there was a huge TV deal and it led 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.680 to the huge cap spike in the summer of twenty 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:15.840 sixteen that you know, made salaries crazy for that one 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:19.120 summer and basically enabled Golden State to have enough cap 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.880 space to sign Kevin Durant. So we've heard that there's 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:25.200 going to be some form of smoothing in this new CBA, 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:27.240 but the specifics of how that's going to work, we 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.760 don't know them yet. So I think there are still 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:36.240 many many details to learn and digest wise words, wise words, 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.280 and we gotta stick with that. Now. With that being 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:42.360 say it, stun, you have some news today, I asked, 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:44.679 let's jump into the Yeah, I wanted to get that. 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:46.679 I wanted your news is I wanted to well, if 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:49.040 my first question is how many MAVs beat writers do 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.920 we have on this podcast? At this point, You're putting 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:54.720 out a notebook today and you got you have like 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:56.720 two MAVs items in there. Like now, I feel like 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:58.240 my next piece I got to come back with some 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:00.559 Dame news because I gotta. I don't know how I'm 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:01.920 gonna get it, but I need to come up with 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:07.440 something to to counter you. I get mass nuggets twice 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:10.120 a year. Sty do you getting on me about that? Star? 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:13.040 Let me get Let me get my two times a year. 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:17.880 Come on, stun, don't don't haul the mask all season long. Man, 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.920 Be careful, Just be careful. You never know when I'm 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:25.880 gonna drop a Dame Lillard exclusive on you. So you 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.319 you reported in your piece today you had around the 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:31.800 league notebook, and I did as well. But let's let's 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.040 we're gonna start with yours, because I think you had 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:37.280 some some really good stuff in there. You wrote that 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:42.360 Kyrie Irving intends to he does intend to go all 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.320 the way to free agency. He will be eligible for 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.320 an extension with the Mavericks. He is eligible today for 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:50.960 an extension with the Mavericks all the way up till 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.600 the end of June. But you reported he does want 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.200 to actually go to free agency, and I think that's 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:59.560 not a huge surprise because he can get a larger 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:04.920 deal by waiting until the summer. But um, you know, obviously, 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:09.040 even just a suggestion, and you didn't even suggest it, 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:12.680 you wrote it very factually, but even the suggestion that 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:17.560 Kyrie Irving might be going somewhere else naturally gets fans 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:19.960 in Dallas pretty nervous. And they're already living on the 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.120 edge because the Mavericks, as we talked about last week, 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:27.720 are if not mathematically done, they are they know they're done. 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.480 You said they were done? Was it last week? I 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:34.840 did last Monday and got to this point, and they 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:38.040 have with their last week they were one in three 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:41.280 on a four game trip East. So their chances to 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.760 make me look stupid are dwindling. I mean they are. 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.840 They are one in seven since the Max, since the 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:51.360 Moxi Kleiba three pointer at the buzzer that beat the 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:58.440 Lakers one and seven. Not exactly a playoff drive. But Kyrie, 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.760 I mean, what you know, he you know, Kyrie has 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.480 said please don't ask me about my future. I don't 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.280 you know? That was his message on the day he 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.000 was introduced to the local media in Dallas that he 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.200 doesn't want to talk about his contract, but something tells 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.959 me that at some point this week it's going to 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:17.880 be getting contract questions because again, the season in Dallas 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:21.120 is nearly over. What get out your crystal ball. What 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:25.920 do you think happens? Well, I do think the Dallas Mavericks, 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.320 we'll for sure. I know that they they want to 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.200 resign him. I don't know what that would look like, though, 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:37.679 and that is the questionable part. That's where things can 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:41.000 kind of go sour because we've seen what happened in 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:46.600 Brooklyn when Kyrie wanted to get an extension done and 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.840 how Brooklyn came back with terms that were not guaranteed 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:55.280 and they were heavily laced with incentives. And then we 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:57.719 know that was a straw that broke the Chemil's back 0:11:57.800 --> 0:11:59.839 as far as Kyrie was concerned, and that's what led 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:03.079 him him to request the trade. So you know he's 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:04.800 going to go into free ac too. For the point 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:08.560 that you mentioned as well, he can get more, he can, 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:11.360 He's he's elgible for more if he goes that route. 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:16.920 So I just think the Mavericks. You know, and this 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:19.520 is a better question for you, Stein, because you know 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:21.840 the DNA of this team, the history and the track 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.320 record you have with that franchise. Is that the question 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:28.680 I have. Yes, there's interests, Yes they want to resign him. 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:34.240 But Stein, considering how things ended with Jalen Brunson losing 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:38.440 him for nothing, then what they gave away to get Kyrie, 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:41.280 or do you feel like they're in a position where 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:45.360 they just cannot lose Kyrie or do you feel like no, 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:49.800 there there still should be boundaries. There should be still 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:53.760 should be a limit on what you're willing to offer 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:56.319 this guy in order to keep him a part of 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:58.599 the club and franchise. And that's what I wanted to 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:00.920 ask you about. I think the truth is they want 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.120 it all like Kyrie Irving's eligible for a five year 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.600 deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks, I would 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.920 be stunned if they're going to be presenting Kyrie with 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:14.960 the five year offer now. But because of what you said, 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:19.440 they lost Jalen Brunson for nothing, and all Jalen Brunson 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.640 has done is gone to New York and improved as 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:26.600 a player for the fifth successive season and didn't get 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.880 an All Star. Berth might not get an All NBA spot, 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:34.200 but has a case for both. He has been absolutely fantastic. 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:37.120 He has gone to a new level in New York. 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:42.800 Under the supposed pressure of playing in the Gotham spotlight, 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.000 it hasn't bothered him a bit. So yeah, I mean, 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:50.320 on one hand, the Mavericks absolutely positively cannot lose Kyrie 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:54.960 Irving after losing Jalen Brunson without compensation. But the Mavericks 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:58.800 also can't give him a five year deal or I 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:02.040 don't even know if it's me, I've said it. You know, 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:07.280 if it's me, I would want to offer one plus one, 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.760 and I'm sure Kyrie Irving has zero interest in that 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:16.280 kind of deal. But from the Mavericks perspective, I'm sure 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:18.720 they want to make They want to do a deal, 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.680 you know, as as team friendly as they can. Kyrie's 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:24.880 aiming for a deal that's as close to the five 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.960 year max as he can get. The question will be 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:34.440 what leverage can he generate? Will Coo out there wants 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.120 to bid on Kyrie in free agency, And to this 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.800 point in my searching, I have not been able to 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:45.240 find a team that's interested. I wrote this two weeks ago. 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:47.600 I think it was when I did a piece on 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.640 Kyrie's first six weeks as a Maverick. The Lakers and 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.680 the Suns are the teams that are most frequently mentioned 0:14:54.920 --> 0:15:01.120 in league circles as potential Kyrie suitors, but we have 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:05.480 no tangible indications that I know of from either team 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:10.520 that they planned to act on that and actually make 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.880 a bid for Kyrie. Erie. Maybe there is a team 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:15.960 or two out there that is planning to make a 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:18.360 free agent run at Kyrie that we don't know about, 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:22.720 but to this point, I haven't been able to pinpoint one. 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.240 I don't know where his external interest is coming, and 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:29.600 so he's going to have to generate that to get 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.120 the offer he wants. And I think it's a little 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.520 bit too early to tell as of right now what 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.080 is for him. You know, we've heard the teams that 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.840 the teams that were he was tied to in previous seasons, 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:47.880 the Lakers, Phoenix, Suns. I just don't know how feasible 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.480 that is from a cap situation, going into free agent 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.080 and trying to pursue Kyrie Irving. But one thing I 0:15:54.120 --> 0:16:00.280 will say Stein, you mentioned the one in one. My 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:08.080 fear is that you're you're really asking for problems. If 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:10.480 a one and one that is presented to Kyrie, that 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:14.480 is my fear. And I think we're back at okay. 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:18.480 Where does Kyrie go from here? And I will say this, 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:24.360 I remember when Brooklyn let me see was it last? 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.960 Was it last offseason? Had to be last offseason? There 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:32.920 was a threat that Kyrie will opt out of his 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.160 player option. It was before the off season started, a 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:39.400 threat that he will opt out of his player option 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:46.280 and potentially sign with the Lakers or some team for 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.680 the minimum, the veteran minimum or something like that. And 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:54.480 I think it was a bluff, But I will say, 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:57.880 if there is a player that would I don't know 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:59.560 that he has to go down this road, but if 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.800 there's a player that would think about, Okay, hey, I'm 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:07.040 not getting the offer that I feel I deserve from 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:10.040 my home team. You know what, if I'm gonna do 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:11.840 a one in one or do a one year deal, 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:14.600 I'm gonna go do it somewhere where I want to 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:18.560 play at and build up my market value for the 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.040 next summer. If it's somebody that I would do that, 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.080 Kyrie would do that. I don't know that he will 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.360 have to. But I just think that if if an 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.960 offer is presented that he feels is a low ball pitch, 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:35.840 I wouldn't discount. Well, excuse me, I wouldn't be surprised 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.760 if he were to take that type of approach. Now, 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:43.320 just to be clear, though, the one plus one idea, 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.159 that is what mark Stein would do if he was 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.000 in charge. I'm not in charge. So you will start 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:55.280 a whole summer frenzy of Kyrie watch because you made 0:17:55.359 --> 0:18:01.159 him that offer and and star and star. Let's get okay, 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.240 one and one is one thing, But what are you 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:05.960 offering or is he getting his max doing that one 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.560 and one? Yeah, I would offer him. I would offer 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:12.480 him max at least. But again, this is just what 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:14.920 I would do. If you're asking me what I think 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:19.080 the Mavericks will do. I think the Mavericks will make 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:22.199 a multi year offer. It will be better than the 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:26.399 offer that I would be presenting. I don't know the 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:29.840 specifics yet. I don't know how many years, but my 0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:33.440 instinct is my early read, and again it's still way 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:37.800 too early. I that would be my expectation of some 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:40.600 sort of multi year deal. Is it going to be 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:46.320 long enough and rich enough to make Kyrie happy. I 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.960 can't answer that question. I genuinely don't know, but I guess. 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.879 You know, I also wrote in that piece, and you know, 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.800 Bobby Marks was the first one at ESPN who I 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:58.680 kind of heard say this, and I've adopted the same 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:04.680 of approach Kyrie. Talent wise, the dude is still a wizard. 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.560 He just turned thirty one, same birthday as his coach, 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:12.680 Jason Kidd, who turned fifty. I mean, Kyrie in Atlanta, 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:16.000 second out of a back to back incredible Sunday. I mean, 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:22.119 the guy can still score like few on this planet can. 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:24.760 But you know, Bobby kind of threw out there that 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.400 he's a MAX player one year at a time. If 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:30.359 you can get that approach, and that again, that is 0:19:30.600 --> 0:19:33.960 you know, that is a that is a what's the 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:36.720 word I'm looking for? It's a It's an approach that 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:43.639 I have basically copied and swiped and agree with. But again, 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:45.960 that's just me. I don't speak for the team. I 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:49.840 don't know exactly what kind of contract they're going to 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:53.480 offer Kyrie, but I suspect it will be longer than 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:59.560 I'm suggesting. Yeah, I can pretty much know what to 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:04.119 expect that if that type of offer is presented. But 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.399 that's fine, get clarity. Let's make sure for the aggregators 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.680 out there, this is Stine, not the Mavericks. This is Stine. 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:13.119 Like Jake Fisher would say, please don't aggregate this, but 0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:16.199 I'm sure it won't work. Um. Yeah, So that so, 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:20.200 look that those these are the two variables missing that 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:23.560 we do not know what kind of offer exactly. We 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:26.640 know the Mavericks want to keep Kyrie Irving. You had 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:30.600 that in your piece today. What type of offer will 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:34.159 it be? How long will the offer be? And then 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:38.120 what kind of market can Kyrie generate? Can he get 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:44.800 interest from elsewhere that forces the Mavericks to make an 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:47.720 offer closer to what he wants. I mean, we'll see, 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:51.560 we'll see what kind of market there is for Kyrie. 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:53.399 Because you know, again at this point it's you know, 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.960 we've we've just clicked into April free agency is still 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:00.359 nearly three months away. But you know, may attacks to 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:04.119 pinpoint what the Kyrie Irving market would will be not 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:13.320 super successful to this point. Also, in your piece today 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:16.720 you had Stephan Curry. You convinced Stephan Curry to share 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:20.480 with you his mythical MVP vote. Steph does not have 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:23.720 a ballot. He is not voting, but he said if 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:28.920 he were a voter, he would be voting for Joel embiid. 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:33.159 Were you surprised by that selection? I was surprised that 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:36.439 it didn't take any pulling of the teeth for me 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:38.280 to get that out of Steph. That's what I was 0:21:38.320 --> 0:21:42.400 surprised about. You know, Steph is real calculated, real calculated. 0:21:42.920 --> 0:21:46.639 If there's something he's not sure of, if there's a 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:49.719 question he's not sure of answering, he will kind of pause, 0:21:50.200 --> 0:21:53.040 go into space, think about it for a minute before 0:21:53.040 --> 0:21:56.800 he responds, or even if he responds. It didn't take that. 0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:00.560 He went straight to Joel. He was with Joel, and 0:22:00.640 --> 0:22:04.240 he went on to talk about the lead that he 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:08.120 feels Joel had this year and how he's pretty much 0:22:08.200 --> 0:22:11.840 carrying his team, And you know, I was surprised. I 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:15.280 was surprised he had that. I was surprised he had 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:20.360 that take. But I think it rings volumes because steps 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:23.040 a two time MVP, no know what it takes to 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:27.320 win that award. He's the only player in NBA history 0:22:27.320 --> 0:22:31.200 who's won that award unanimously. So I think from from 0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:35.200 what he sees and how he judges it and bases 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:39.320 his MVP off of I think his I think that 0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:43.720 speaks volumes. But you know, I do look at occasionally 0:22:44.080 --> 0:22:47.280 look through skim through social media and see what fans 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:49.080 are saying. You know, I like to get a pulse. 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:51.160 Not all the time, but I like to get a pulse. 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:53.879 And I started seeing there was a there was a 0:22:53.920 --> 0:22:58.119 little trend, a little minor trend of people saying, hey, 0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:01.160 what do you expect Steph to say? Him? And him 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:04.240 and Joel Embi share the same Uh, they're both with 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:08.280 under armor. And I forgot about that. I don't know 0:23:08.400 --> 0:23:10.960 that I know Steph pretty well. I don't know. I 0:23:11.000 --> 0:23:12.680 don't know that that played a part. You know, he's 0:23:12.680 --> 0:23:15.879 really he's going to keep it real. I do genuinely 0:23:16.080 --> 0:23:20.399 that's his choice for MVP. UM, But I wouldn't you know, 0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:22.679 I was. I was surprised that it didn't take It 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:25.679 didn't take really anything at all to get the answer 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:28.080 out of him. Are you surprised by his answer? Stein? 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:33.080 Um Na not. You know, I think I think a 0:23:33.119 --> 0:23:35.800 lot of people feel the same that you know, Joe 0:23:36.160 --> 0:23:39.480 is and look, he's come in second two years in 0:23:39.480 --> 0:23:43.359 a row, and a lot of people around the league, 0:23:43.520 --> 0:23:47.639 not just Steph, feel as though he's due that he 0:23:47.720 --> 0:23:51.920 should have one, you know, but that shouldn't decide Stein 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:54.920 like I don't. I don't like that premise of Okay, 0:23:54.960 --> 0:23:58.159 he was robbed before, he should get it this year. No, 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:01.919 it's a year of the Year award. Now, if you 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:04.399 ask me personally who I think I will vote for, 0:24:04.640 --> 0:24:07.760 I think I will go for Joel. And let me 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:10.560 just announce this real quick, because I told you I 0:24:10.640 --> 0:24:13.920 didn't I haven't told the public on this podcast. I'm 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:16.520 actually I actually would not have a ballot of postseason 0:24:16.560 --> 0:24:21.840