Speaker 1: Welcome to this League Uncut in the rule of twenty
Speaker 1: four hour NBA News. This's you, Chris Hanes. It's so time,
Speaker 1: Mark's time. It's some time. This League Uncut is underway
Speaker 1: and on fire. This should be a good one.
Speaker 2: Good evening friends, Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes for
Speaker 2: another fresh and clean addition of this League Uncut. We're
Speaker 2: recording Sunday night. The second round is over, the Conference finals,
Speaker 2: soon to begin the NBA Lottery almost upon us. But
Speaker 2: just in a matter of seventy two hours since Chris
Speaker 2: and I last connected to do one of these pods, man,
Speaker 2: has a lot happened in this league. There's a reason
Speaker 2: we call it this league with a hashtag in front
Speaker 2: of it, because it has been NonStop madness. As I said,
Speaker 2: since Chris and I were last together. Saturday night, landed
Speaker 2: in Chicago for my five day stint here for the
Speaker 2: Draft Lottery, the league's annual pre draft combine, and was
Speaker 2: barely on the ground when it emerged that the Phoenix
Speaker 2: Suns had dismissed coach Monni Williams less than two years
Speaker 2: after Bonnie Williams had the Sons in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 2: So what we've done here is like I said, we
Speaker 2: could go in probably ten different directions, but we've narrowed
Speaker 2: it down to six. We're going to try to spend
Speaker 2: six ish minutes on each topic so we get to
Speaker 2: them all. Never really done a format like this, but
Speaker 2: we're going to see if it works. Chris, let us
Speaker 2: start with Boston comfortably winning Game seven at home, but
Speaker 2: we're going to focus on the flip side of that equation.
Speaker 2: The Philadelphia seventy six Ers go from up three to
Speaker 2: a chance to close out the Celtics, their longtime historic nemesis,
Speaker 2: but especially a nemesis in the Joel Embiid era. They
Speaker 2: have a chance to win that series at home. Jason
Speaker 2: Tatum starts one for fourteen from the floor. The Sixers
Speaker 2: can't do it. Game seven man a brutal, brutal showing
Speaker 2: that is going to heap tons of criticism on Joel Embiid,
Speaker 2: on James Harden. Doc Rivers is certainly going to be
Speaker 2: put in the crosshairs his future. I mean, this was
Speaker 2: as bad an ending as the Sixers probably could have
Speaker 2: mustard after what had seemingly been a very very successful season,
Speaker 2: so successful that Joel Embiid is the first time regular
Speaker 2: season MVP. What happens next? Peer into the ch crystal
Speaker 2: ball and tell me Doc, James Harden, Joel Embiid take
Speaker 2: it wherever you want, but what happens next for these
Speaker 2: guys after? Man, this was a rough finish.
Speaker 3: It was the worst case scenario of a finish for
Speaker 3: the Philadelphia seventy six Ers's that's definitely that's definitely a
Speaker 3: true fact. I think if we're talking about what's next, Stein,
Speaker 3: you gave us first of all, what did you report?
Speaker 3: What was it twenty four hours forty eight hours before
Speaker 3: the game? What did you report before? I answer that, Stein.
Speaker 2: Well, on Sunday morning, morning of the game, I posted
Speaker 2: an around the league look at all the various coaching posts,
Speaker 2: and I did include a line in a line in
Speaker 2: there that Obviously there have been murmurs about Doc Rivers
Speaker 2: potentially being in danger if the Sixers don't win this series,
Speaker 2: and after the game, Doc was very candid about it.
Speaker 2: Doc River's own quote was no one in this business
Speaker 2: is safe. And I get that, and that is the
Speaker 2: climate for coaches more than ever. I would say, though
Speaker 2: I don't this is not Doc's fault. I don't think
Speaker 2: that this series loss should be pinned on him because
Speaker 2: of his record in closeout games, which is now seventeen
Speaker 2: and thirty three, because this was his fifth successive loss
Speaker 2: in a Game seven, that talk's going to be there.
Speaker 2: But to me, I'm sorry, this is on the two stars.
Speaker 2: This is not on the coach. The Sixers shot sixteen
Speaker 2: for seventy one from three in Game six and Game
Speaker 2: seven as just putrid shooting. And you know, James Harden,
Speaker 2: we've been talking about the possibility that maybe he goes
Speaker 2: to Houston. You know that's been circulated around the league
Speaker 2: for ages now. But I mean, this add the Sixers
Speaker 2: to that list of teams that grows longer every week
Speaker 2: that the playoffs goes on. Of the you know these
Speaker 2: teams that have major crosswords. I mean, they have major,
Speaker 2: major decisions to make in the offseason, and none of
Speaker 2: them easy.
Speaker 3: With all that being said, I don't see Doc coming back.
Speaker 3: I don't I don't see Doc coming back the way
Speaker 3: that the way this thing in it, like I said,
Speaker 3: it was the worst case scenario. Philadelphia had a chance
Speaker 3: to close this out before Game seven, did not let
Speaker 3: Jason Tatum get loose in the fourth quarter and in
Speaker 3: this game. Come on, now, come on, now, it's just yes,
Speaker 3: it's not on you know, everything is not on dot,
Speaker 3: but we know how to.
Speaker 1: Know you're right.
Speaker 2: And look that third quarter thirty three to ten.
Speaker 3: Come on, come on, unacceptable.
Speaker 2: I think Lom Murray had a stat on Twitter thirty
Speaker 2: three to ten might be the worst fourth quarter ever
Speaker 2: in a game seven in terms of scoring disparity.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't see Doc coming back. I do not
Speaker 3: see him coming back. This will be an offseason where
Speaker 3: we have we got a lot of premium coaches out
Speaker 3: in the market. I don't know that there was a
Speaker 3: lot of premium jobs out there in the market, but yeah,
Speaker 3: I think Doc will be added to that list. But
Speaker 3: he's not. You know, what does James Harden do? If
Speaker 3: you look at if you listen to what Joelnbid said
Speaker 3: at his post game address, he made it seem like, oh,
Speaker 3: he didn't talk about James's future too much, but he
Speaker 3: said those two can't do it alone. As if that's
Speaker 3: his guy, that's his that's his partner, as if those
Speaker 3: two are in it for a long haul. I don't
Speaker 3: know that that is the case. So with that being said,
Speaker 3: we all heard about James Harden's desire to go back
Speaker 3: to Houston. I mean, does it change things that that
Speaker 3: there could possibly be a new coach on the horizon.
Speaker 3: Does that change Harden's stance? James Harden was asked about
Speaker 3: his relationship with Doc Rivers after the game, and he said,
Speaker 3: it's okay, that's it. So there's gonna be a lot
Speaker 3: I think there's gonna be a lot of upheaple in
Speaker 3: this offseason. But if we're talking again, whenever you're talking
Speaker 3: about removing a coach or whenever you're talking about replacing
Speaker 3: a key player, the question that comes to my mind is, Okay,
Speaker 3: who's the upgrade? Who is that? Because even even if
Speaker 3: you know I'm talking about prime coaching canvas out there,
Speaker 3: all of them come with some failure, all of them
Speaker 3: come with warts. There's no perfect coach. Is there a
Speaker 3: star coach? I guess you could call Botenholzer or Nick
Speaker 3: Nurse a star, but you know they just got to
Speaker 3: let go for you know, for some reasons. You know,
Speaker 3: there's some things that they they all have.
Speaker 2: I mean, I would think of the coaches who are
Speaker 2: freshly available, MONI would would probably.
Speaker 4: Be the one.
Speaker 3: MONI would be the out of all them. Mini would
Speaker 3: be probably the awkward.
Speaker 2: I guess there's you know, Manni and Doc are such
Speaker 2: good friends.
Speaker 4: I mean they're really really close friends.
Speaker 3: So but can Monnie work with Darryl? Can they coexist?
Speaker 3: Do they have the same philosophy on basketball? That's that's
Speaker 3: another question. I don't know that friendship will play a
Speaker 3: factor in the mighty taking that job or not. You know,
Speaker 3: mightey don't have anything to do with what what Doc
Speaker 3: is going through. But so there's a lot of questions
Speaker 3: that we just don't know the answers to right now.
Speaker 3: But there's going to be changing to the field, DeFi
Speaker 3: seven six ers, roster, coaching staff, I don't know, maybe
Speaker 3: even some sprinkles in the front office. Oh, we'll see.
Speaker 2: Well, I can tell you this one of the things
Speaker 2: I'm hoping to find out while I'm here in Chicago,
Speaker 2: and I don't know that I'm going to get the answer,
Speaker 2: but I'm you know, the the hardened to Houston stuff.
Speaker 2: It's just been out there now for so long, literally months,
Speaker 2: not weeks. But I'm just so curious that you know,
Speaker 2: what if the Rockets win the lottery, what if the
Speaker 2: Rockets win the right Tuesday Night to draft when Mina
Speaker 2: and do you if you're the Rockets, would you still
Speaker 2: want to go after Harden at that point? But we've
Speaker 2: already can't we hit the sick, We've already passed a six.
Speaker 4: Minute mark on top of number one.
Speaker 2: So we are going to shift less than smoothly to
Speaker 2: our second topic. It is the Phoenix Suns sat you know,
Speaker 2: Thursday night, game six at home, game six, to keep
Speaker 2: their season alive.
Speaker 4: No DeAndre Ay, no Chris Paul.
Speaker 2: They go down by thirty at the half, eighty one
Speaker 2: to fifty one at the half, they lose by twenty
Speaker 2: five total no show, and less than forty eight hours later,
Speaker 2: Mani Williams is gone. Now again, you can't be surprised
Speaker 2: anymore because as we've just been talking about, like in
Speaker 2: the climate that we're in now, with this new CBA
Speaker 2: coming in, you know, we it's always been said that
Speaker 2: changing the coach is the easiest change to make. It's
Speaker 2: the easiest way to show the fans and try to
Speaker 2: convince everybody in the organization that we're making a major shakeup.
Speaker 2: But with this new CBA coming that's going to make
Speaker 2: team buildings so much more restrictive and challenging and complicated
Speaker 2: for the foremost spenders in the league. We know the
Speaker 2: Sons are going to revolve around Kevin Durant and Devin
Speaker 2: Booker going forward. So you know already they have the
Speaker 2: challenge of do they have to trade Ayton and or
Speaker 2: Chris Paul just to restore the depth and ensure they
Speaker 2: have the right mix around their two main guys. But
Speaker 2: now there's this coaching change and man Matt Ishby has
Speaker 2: just come in there, and I think a lot of
Speaker 2: people around the league are looking at this going man,
Speaker 2: this guy pushed so many chips into the into the
Speaker 2: middle of the table to trade for Durant and now
Speaker 2: he you know, ouss Maani Williams so quickly. I mean,
Speaker 2: there are a lot of people looking at this, just saying, man,
Speaker 2: this guy is you know, I mean putting his own
Speaker 2: stamp on it, is putting it mildly.
Speaker 3: He's not playing. He's not playing. You definitely see the urgency.
Speaker 3: That's that's one thing you can see, definitely on his
Speaker 3: first day on the job. Where do they go from here?
Speaker 3: What I can tell you is that you know, it's
Speaker 3: no secret the only two untouchable players are DeAndre Ayton
Speaker 3: and excuse me, excuse me, the only two, the only
Speaker 3: two untouchable players, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Let me
Speaker 3: get that out start. I definitely don't want the aggregators
Speaker 3: to run run with that. But so, but that's not
Speaker 3: to say there's going to be wholesale changes on the roster.
Speaker 3: I know Matt Matt Ishbia has been in contact with
Speaker 3: Chris Paul. I know he's spoken with Devin Booker. You know,
Speaker 3: he's communicating with these guys. He's you know, he's still
Speaker 3: trying to get a pulse on what the best voice
Speaker 3: would look like in coaching this team. And so you know,
Speaker 3: there's definitely gonna be some wholesale changes on the perimeter
Speaker 3: of the roster, on the edges of the roster, and
Speaker 3: somewhat in the middle. It's not one hundred percent sold
Speaker 3: yet that there's going to be movement as it pertains
Speaker 3: the DeAndre Aight and Chris Paul. Those are still conversations
Speaker 3: that have to be had. I would expect those to
Speaker 3: be had this coming week. But the Sons are not
Speaker 3: of the mindset that they have to move DeAndre Aiight
Speaker 3: know Chris Paul. So where do they go from here. Well,
Speaker 3: first you have to find a coach and this is
Speaker 3: this is this, this is more of a trickier situation,
Speaker 3: you know, you know Stein, you know, the grand as
Speaker 3: you report it, the grand prize of coaching for this
Speaker 3: team would be if they can somehow Land Clippers head
Speaker 3: coach Tyron Luke. I don't know how fees that is.
Speaker 3: It's hard for me to fathom the Clippers allowing TYLERU
Speaker 3: to go to to go in conference, not.
Speaker 2: Just in conference, in division. I mean it's yeah, oh yeah, no,
Speaker 2: I mean it's both. And I tend to agree with you.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think that's who they would want. But
Speaker 2: you know, you spend a lot more time around these
Speaker 2: teams than me. But but from what I know, Steve
Speaker 2: Balmer is a huge Tylo fan. And beyond the fact
Speaker 2: that Steve Balmer is a huge Tylo fan, I mean,
Speaker 2: he's not an owner who gets out bid, and Tyler
Speaker 2: is not even a coaching free agent, so it's unclear
Speaker 2: how the Sons.
Speaker 4: Could get him.
Speaker 2: But I do think, like like you said, he's he
Speaker 2: is at the top of the wish list.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and he's the top of the wish list. But
Speaker 3: for other teams as well. That's just a tough ass.
Speaker 3: I don't see I don't see Balmer allowing that to happen.
Speaker 3: So let's talk about some other candidates. Mike Butenholzer I reported,
Speaker 3: you know he's on their list. Mike Butenholzer, Nick Nurse,
Speaker 3: and Kevin Young, who is an assistant coach who was
Speaker 3: also I mean it was actually the associate head coach
Speaker 3: under Monty Williams. He's somebody the Sons are looking at.
Speaker 3: He's somebody who is an ally of the players on
Speaker 3: that roster, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, to be exact. There's
Speaker 3: intrigue with him. There's some intrigue with him. He's actually
Speaker 3: going to interview with the Milwaukee Bucks this week, I believe.
Speaker 3: So he's somebody who's caught the eye of some general
Speaker 3: managers across the league. The only question would be, if
Speaker 3: the Sons did make that move, is is he ready?
Speaker 3: Is he ready to handle this? Is he ready to
Speaker 3: handle the trajectory of which the Sons are trying to
Speaker 3: go and easy ready to handle the personalities that come
Speaker 3: with that. There's some people that locker room that believe
Speaker 3: he's up to the task. So that's the triggering. But
Speaker 3: you know, like we connected the dots with Philly, I
Speaker 3: think Mini Williams is a prime candidate, really good. I
Speaker 3: think he should be number one if he's not the
Speaker 3: number one target in Philly. And again, I'm saying this
Speaker 3: as if Doc Rivers is fired already. I'm just that
Speaker 3: I'm pretty sure that's the way it's going to go down.
Speaker 3: But in Philly, I don't see that prime candidate yet.
Speaker 3: And there's going to be more prospects coaching prospects added
Speaker 3: to the list of candidates in the interview pool. But
Speaker 3: I just don't see that prime candidate. Do you see
Speaker 3: one for Phoenix? That just makes sense? You say that's it?
Speaker 2: No, not, I mean unless not unless Tyler was suddenly available. Look,
Speaker 2: I mean there's there's excellent coaches out there. Nick Nurse,
Speaker 2: Mike Budenholzer, and Frank Vogel, just to name three I
Speaker 2: have all won championships and are all on the open
Speaker 2: coaching market. So there are plenty of accomplished coaches out there.
Speaker 2: But you know, I guess we're just gonna have to see.
Speaker 2: I guess we're gonna have to see. You know, why
Speaker 2: does the Tylu stuff keep coming up there is is
Speaker 2: there more to it than just smoke, And definitely before
Speaker 2: we move on to the next topic, we got to
Speaker 2: stay tuned on DeAndre and then Chris Paul because I
Speaker 2: I think they are going to try to trade them both.
Speaker 2: I totally get that it's early in the process. Their
Speaker 2: elimination just happened, but you know, they've got to get
Speaker 2: depth around Durant and Booker, and the easiest way for
Speaker 2: them to do that is to try to trade eight,
Speaker 2: but also Chris Paul because of his contract. I mean
Speaker 2: it's you know, Chris Paul's contract, it's only fifteen point
Speaker 2: eight million guaranteed. If either the Suns or a team
Speaker 2: he is traded to gets off that contract by June
Speaker 2: twenty eighth, you only owe Chris Paul fifteen point eight
Speaker 2: million out of next year's thirty point eight million. So
Speaker 2: that's why we have not discussed the prospect of an
Speaker 2: eight and or CP three trade for the last time.
Speaker 2: But we went long on the Suns. I'm guessing we
Speaker 2: went long on the Sixers, and knowing us we will
Speaker 2: go long on all of these. We're trying to keep
Speaker 2: them to six minutes, trying our hardest not doing a
Speaker 2: great job.
Speaker 3: It's uncut.
Speaker 4: We're uncut league uncut.
Speaker 2: Six minutes might equal nine minutes. The Golden State Warriors,
Speaker 2: the defending champions, out nineteen to zero against the West
Speaker 2: in the Steve Kerr Era. Until they come up against
Speaker 2: Lebron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 4: The Warriors lose.
Speaker 2: But I have been very resistant to the last dance
Speaker 2: stuff because this is not It's just not the last dance.
Speaker 2: First of all, there's a really strong likelihood that Steph,
Speaker 2: Clay and Draymond are all going to be there when
Speaker 2: camp starts. Bob Myers is the most likely prominent Warrior
Speaker 2: to exit. And look, they have tough decisions to figure out.
Speaker 2: I mean, Draymond Green has a twenty seven point six
Speaker 2: million player option, Clay only has one year left on
Speaker 2: his deal.
Speaker 4: These guys want new deals.
Speaker 2: The Warriors are certainly going to want them to take
Speaker 2: team friendly contracts to stay, which basically means pay cuts.
Speaker 2: You know, not an easy thing to go to guys
Speaker 2: like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green after everything they've done
Speaker 2: for this franchise and say will you please take a
Speaker 2: lot less money to stay. But that's what the Warriors
Speaker 2: are going to have to do. Those discussions become even
Speaker 2: more complicated if it's not Bob Myers as the point
Speaker 2: man for those negotiations. But as uncomfortable as that could
Speaker 2: all get, I just I cannot see. I mean, Clay
Speaker 2: Thompson to me is going nowhere, absolutely nowhere. And Draymond
Speaker 2: came on this very podcast and spoke for a minute
Speaker 2: after minute after minute, spoke for way longer than six
Speaker 2: minutes about how much he wants to finish his career
Speaker 2: with the Warriors. Reiterated as such at the podium. He
Speaker 2: wants to ride out with the guys he wrote in
Speaker 2: with he said, and I think that is what's going
Speaker 2: to happen.
Speaker 3: I agree as well. I agree as well. I think
Speaker 3: they they're going to give him another run. I don't
Speaker 3: know if this run, I don't know if the run
Speaker 3: means another two year run, three years, one year or whatever,
Speaker 3: but they're going to give him another run. They still
Speaker 3: And look Clay, the way Clay finished his playoffs, it
Speaker 3: just wasn't up to par. He really struggled leave this
Speaker 3: three for nineteen in the last finals, but he really
Speaker 3: struggled in that series. But Clay had a really good
Speaker 3: regular season, led the NBA in three pointers made, you know,
Speaker 3: so I can't forget. Let's not act like he's tope.
Speaker 3: He just doesn't have it anymore. Is he the same
Speaker 3: Clay after those multiple injuries. No, he's not. But he
Speaker 3: had a really good season, all star level type season,
Speaker 3: so you know he's struggled. He struggled in the playoffs,
Speaker 3: is particularly against the Lakers. So put that out. I
Speaker 3: don't think anything is over yet again, Bob Myers, that's
Speaker 3: the only hiccup that needs to be resolved. I don't,
Speaker 3: and we should stay.
Speaker 2: We should also say Steve Kerr needs an extension as well.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's his contract is running near the end,
Speaker 2: so they have a lot of tricky contractual stuff to
Speaker 2: deal with. Beyond the fact that Jordan Poole's new deal,
Speaker 2: which is at minimum one hundred and twenty three million
Speaker 2: over four years, that is only just going to start
Speaker 2: in this next season coming up. So I mean, they
Speaker 2: have a lot of tricky financial stuff to work out.
Speaker 2: But it's just it's just so hard for me to
Speaker 2: imagine Draymond going somewhere else.
Speaker 4: I just can't.
Speaker 2: I'm not I cannot pick.
Speaker 3: I don't see that at all, he said. He what
Speaker 3: was his exact quote, something along the lines of, you know,
Speaker 3: he wants to finish out his career with the Warriors.
Speaker 3: He's letting it be known. I don't think. I don't
Speaker 3: think that's gonna change at all. Now we're talking Jordan Poole,
Speaker 3: we're talking Jonathan Cominga, We're talking guys like that. You know,
Speaker 3: that's where that's where things can get tricky. What I
Speaker 3: mean by tricky, I think they're going to uh, I don't.
Speaker 3: I don't see them being back. I don't see them
Speaker 3: being back. I think Steve Kurr wants to rely on
Speaker 3: some veteran guys. I think that's really what hurt him
Speaker 3: this year. He didn't have the veteran guys. He didn't
Speaker 3: Kamiga talent is ooh. I love Cominga. I love his game,
Speaker 3: but I understand the hesitancy in coach Kerr not to
Speaker 3: put him into games of this magnitude. Probably just doesn't
Speaker 3: think he's ready. That might be the case, and that's
Speaker 3: why I think Kaminga, just like they did with Wiseman,
Speaker 3: you know, he's he's going to need to flourish on
Speaker 3: a team with no expectation Warriors going to be allowed
Speaker 3: to play through mistakes. He's not going to have the
Speaker 3: opportunity with to go to State Warriors. But with that
Speaker 3: being said, the Warriors, I think they can get a
Speaker 3: real nice package back for Kaminga. I think Kaminga is
Speaker 3: that talented in the league. Knows also for Jordan Poole,
Speaker 3: even though his extension is kicking in had a the season,
Speaker 3: didn't you know? The season was derailed a little bit
Speaker 3: by what happened with him and Draymond. But I think
Speaker 3: Pool can go somewhere and flourish and reach his potential.
Speaker 3: So the Warriors have some really good assets that they
Speaker 3: can alload to bring back some veterans that can help
Speaker 3: them win now. So the Warriors are in a good
Speaker 3: with all the question marks surrounding the Wars, they're in
Speaker 3: a really good position to put themselves back into contention
Speaker 3: and put themselves back in a situation where they were
Speaker 3: better than this year. Steve Kurse said it after the
Speaker 3: after the lost Game six loss of the Lakers, said
Speaker 3: this was not a championship team.
Speaker 2: Pier, Well, it's interesting that you say that because I
Speaker 2: was talking to a team earlier today and kind of
Speaker 2: that team expressed the same thought that, oh, you know,
Speaker 2: if they decide to move Jordan Poole, they'll be able
Speaker 2: to And man, I guess I just am in the
Speaker 2: other camp of Jordan Poole's season was so rough. I
Speaker 2: don't know how easy it's going to be to find
Speaker 2: a trade partner for him if that's what the Warriors
Speaker 2: decide they need to do, because they want to keep
Speaker 2: the Steph played Draymond trio together and try to put
Speaker 2: depth and veterans around it. I mean, I would certainly would.
Speaker 2: I would certainly rather trade Pool than trade Kuminga. But
Speaker 2: it's going to be interesting to see how Jordan Poole
Speaker 2: actually is. Okay, we zoomed through our six minutes on
Speaker 2: the Doves as well, So let's move forward to the
Speaker 2: Western Conference Finals, because I'm pretty sure we're on opposite
Speaker 2: sides of this one. I am going to boldly predict
Speaker 2: that Chris Haynes is boldly predicting the Lakers to win
Speaker 2: these West Finals. I think the Denver Nuggets are the
Speaker 2: favorites in the league at this point. I think they're
Speaker 2: playing the first two rounds has validated that and earned
Speaker 2: them that respect. And this is the rematch of the
Speaker 2: Western Conference Finals in the bubble, but I think it's going.
Speaker 4: To be a really going to be a very different
Speaker 4: series on this scorecard.
Speaker 2: Am I right in suspecting that you are picking the
Speaker 2: Lakers to win the series?
Speaker 3: Okay, now that's this is the question I have. I
Speaker 3: have a question for a question. Why would you assume
Speaker 3: I was picking the Lakers? I agree with you want
Speaker 3: that the Nuggets are favorite in this series. Wow, hold on,
Speaker 3: but why are you assuming that I will pick the
Speaker 3: Lakers over.
Speaker 2: The Leak Because you've been you, to your credit, you
Speaker 2: thought the Lakers could make a playoff run even before
Speaker 2: the playoffs started, and I really did not.
Speaker 4: I was dubious.
Speaker 2: So that is why that is why I assumed it.
Speaker 2: And look, they've won two rounds I have.
Speaker 3: Yes, I have. You're right, I did see this run.
Speaker 3: But I've also been watching the Nuggets play as well.
Speaker 3: So I mean, I'm not saying. Look, I'm not gonna
Speaker 3: give a prediction. I really hate predictions. I really do
Speaker 3: you know. We're NBA riders, were national NBA writers comments. Whatever,
Speaker 3: we all we can go off based off all we
Speaker 3: can base our selections are picks on. Is the information
Speaker 3: that we received, the people we talked to, what we
Speaker 3: see being behind the scenes, understanding what's going to happen
Speaker 3: in the future, not knowing what's going to happen, but
Speaker 3: having an understanding of what teams are trying to do,
Speaker 3: and then we make our picks from there. But we
Speaker 3: don't know, you know, we don't know what's going to happen.
Speaker 3: But so Denver is the favorites. They are the favorites.
Speaker 3: It's going to be a tough task, very tall task
Speaker 3: for liquors going there and win. I don't know who's
Speaker 3: going to win. If I was a betting man, which
Speaker 3: I don't bet, I don't believe in losing my money
Speaker 3: that way. Maybe other ways, but not that way. I'll
Speaker 3: probably go go nuggets. But this is a this is
Speaker 3: going to be a tough one.
Speaker 2: You want to elaborate on other ways you're willing to
Speaker 2: lose your money.
Speaker 3: We have that would have to be an uncut podcast
Speaker 3: in a different lane. I don't know if people want
Speaker 3: to know that Chris Haynes, I know, I don't know
Speaker 3: if people are ready for the other lane of Chris Haynes.
Speaker 3: Let's keep Chris Haynes in the NBA lane right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look in the bubble, remember in the bubble,
Speaker 2: Like I don't want to diminish what the Lakers did,
Speaker 2: but there was no travel.
Speaker 4: There was no travel.
Speaker 2: No, I'm not missing it's a fact there was no
Speaker 2: travel in the bubble and that helped. And now there's
Speaker 2: not only travel, but they got to go to Denver,
Speaker 2: where the Nuggets have been sensational at home. The Lakers
Speaker 2: are going to have to deal with the altitude.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: You also have to say, on the flip side, the
Speaker 2: Lakers have been sensational at home in these playoffs. The
Speaker 2: Lakers of Los Angeles the first team in twenty nine
Speaker 2: series to deny the Golden State Warriors a road win.
Speaker 2: The Warriors had won a road game in their previous
Speaker 2: twenty eight playoff series in a row, an NBA record,
Speaker 2: and they went zero to three at Staples in these playoffs.
Speaker 2: The Lakers have been great at home. Two and look
Speaker 2: the Lakers, I mean, at least Lebron and Ad they
Speaker 2: can go back and you know, look at how they
Speaker 2: dealt with Jokic and Murray in twenty twenty. But both
Speaker 2: players I think are much better now. Now, Murray, I
Speaker 2: guess you could probably argue that because someone will say
Speaker 2: the Bubbles the best he's ever played, But Jokic for sure.
Speaker 2: I mean, Jokic had no MVP awards at that point,
Speaker 2: so I think Jokic is a different beast than he
Speaker 2: was in twenty twenty. And yes, if the Lakers can
Speaker 2: get past Denver on this stage, man, they are going
Speaker 2: to make a lot of people eat some serious crow.
Speaker 3: And I'm looking forward to a Stein. When you think
Speaker 3: about the Joker, look at look at the MVP, Starn,
Speaker 3: look at the MVP. You know, it's always a bad look,
Speaker 3: always a bad look when, even though I know the
Speaker 3: MVP is a regular season award, there's always a bad
Speaker 3: look when the MVP is bounced prematurely in the first
Speaker 3: couple of rounds. And then there are people now that's
Speaker 3: saying that it should have been Jokers MVP to begin with,
Speaker 3: and I would say that I believe Joker had the
Speaker 3: better year this year than he had you know, two
Speaker 3: previous MVP seasons he's at so this is only going
Speaker 3: to add fuel to the fire. And I don't know
Speaker 3: if joking, because he doesn't talk to us about these things.
Speaker 3: So I don't know if Joker is like even more
Speaker 3: fired up that he didn't get the award and he's
Speaker 3: just gonna take it up on the opposition. I don't
Speaker 3: know if that's how he's built. You know, maybe he's
Speaker 3: just internally motivated in the first place, or maybe he does.
Speaker 3: I don't know, but you know, it's never a good
Speaker 3: look when the MVP has bounced prematurely.
Speaker 2: And that's why it's only gonna make the summer longer
Speaker 2: for Joe El Embiid because Joker is on the stage now.
Speaker 2: Jokers in the conference finals for the second time in
Speaker 2: four years, a stage Philadelphia has not reached. But it's
Speaker 2: really the two years that Joker didn't make it. In
Speaker 2: those four Jamal Murray didn't play. So Jokich is you know,
Speaker 2: Jimmy Butler to me was MVP of Round one, with
Speaker 2: apologies to Jason Tatum and his fifty one point game
Speaker 2: in Game seven to send Boston on. I think Jokich
Speaker 2: has been the best player in the NBA in Round
Speaker 2: two and it's gonna be a fantastic It's gonna be
Speaker 2: a fantastic contrast this Lakers Nuggets rematch. And again, remember
Speaker 2: the Lakers.
Speaker 4: They were. They had so.
Speaker 2: Much size in the bubble. Besides Anthony Davis, they had
Speaker 2: Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. That's a big question mark
Speaker 2: for me with now a D and really no size
Speaker 2: to support him.
Speaker 3: This is where this is where Tristan Thompson. What if
Speaker 3: he's going to play in any series like play Maniful Minutes,
Speaker 3: it's going to be this series and Mobama don't have
Speaker 3: to get a shot here. I don't like that at all. Mobamba,
Speaker 3: I know, I don't like that at all. Come on, now,
Speaker 3: I don't like that at all. I think Tristan Thompson
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be surprised if he's the backup center with
Speaker 3: this series. Can't have a D.
Speaker 2: Say we went long on the West Finals, so let's
Speaker 2: move to the East Finals. Our last two topics here
Speaker 2: East Finals, and of course we will close with John Moran,
Speaker 2: but let's let's look at the East so you know,
Speaker 2: Boston survives huge props. They were down three to two,
Speaker 2: I said on the last pod.
Speaker 4: And maybe even the previous pod.
Speaker 2: I can't remember now, but I I I thought Philly
Speaker 2: was winning the series when it was three to two.
Speaker 2: I thought the have finally crashed through their second round barrier.
Speaker 2: They're going to finish the Celtics in six. They did
Speaker 2: not Tatum with those fifty one points in Game seven.
Speaker 2: Stephen Curry's fifty points in Game seven of Round one,
Speaker 2: that was the NBA record for game sevens, and look
Speaker 2: what happens. That record doesn't even last one round. It
Speaker 2: now belongs to Jason Tatum, who's fourth quarter in Philly
Speaker 2: saved Boston's season. His Game seven outburst takes Boston into
Speaker 2: the conference finals. But man, Jimmy Butler, Jimmy Butler and
Speaker 2: Eric Spolster are on the other side, and I even
Speaker 2: though the Heat are the eighth seed, I can't pick
Speaker 2: Boston to beat miam Like I just Miami conceptually basketball wise,
Speaker 2: you look at the two rosters. With all the talent
Speaker 2: Boston has and the versatility Boston has, the Celtics should
Speaker 2: win the series. But I can't, Like I said, I
Speaker 2: can't pick against Jimmy Buckets and.
Speaker 3: Spoke and think about this for a minute. I hear you,
Speaker 3: I understand, But I was covering the Miami Heats play
Speaker 3: in path they go from al They lost their first
Speaker 3: play in. They were the seventh seed, lost their first
Speaker 3: playing match to the Hawks. Then they had to they
Speaker 3: had to win either go home or go to get
Speaker 3: to the A seed. When they beat the Chicago Bulls,
Speaker 3: there was no way in hell that I saw this coming.
Speaker 3: You win your your second playing game, and now you're
Speaker 3: that A seed going up against the Milwaukee Bucks, Janni
Speaker 3: after and now we're at the Eastern Conference Finals, tinn
Speaker 3: and you were taking them over the ten that represented
Speaker 3: the East in the NBA Finals. That's saying an awful lot.
Speaker 2: I'm that big a believer in Jimmy bo That's why
Speaker 2: ever since you showed up on South Beach in your
Speaker 2: white suit, they got it together.
Speaker 3: That's what it was. Well, I would tell you, I
Speaker 3: don't I wouldn't mind showing up on South Beach again.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't mind doing that, but I would be I
Speaker 3: would be on the Western Conference finals. But you know,
Speaker 3: I hear you. And then you think about, look, Tyler
Speaker 3: Hero has been out the entire does.
Speaker 2: He have a shot.
Speaker 4: Do you think he could come back in this series?
Speaker 3: So when I was told when it first happened, I
Speaker 3: reported that the only way he can return is if
Speaker 3: they made it to the NBA Finals. And at that point,
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, he's out for the season. He's out,
Speaker 3: Like they see, Miami ain't making it to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 3: So I have to I have to check in with
Speaker 3: that to see if if there's any new movement, if
Speaker 3: he's getting better, if there is a possibility he can
Speaker 3: make it back for the conference finals. But yeah, when
Speaker 3: the injury with Down, I was told the NBA Finals
Speaker 3: was the was the goal of the timeline. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I hear Miami. God, it's tough. Again. I don't like predictions,
Speaker 3: but yeah, it's tough to go against Miami, even though
Speaker 3: they're starting off on the road like they have been,
Speaker 3: which I think it's fine.
Speaker 2: I think they like it. I mean that's the thing
Speaker 2: is like, it's more that my confidence in the Celtics
Speaker 2: is shaken, even though they survived Game seven, even though
Speaker 2: they came back from three to two, even though they
Speaker 2: extended the series when Philly had a chance to close
Speaker 2: it out at home. I just think Philly's own shakiness
Speaker 2: was too much of a boost to the Celtics in here.
Speaker 2: I'm not trying to diminish the achievement because again, you know,
Speaker 2: we've never seen anyone score fifty one points in a
Speaker 2: game seven, like Jason Tatum just did. And you know,
Speaker 2: Horford has had great moments throughout these playoffs. Jalen Brown
Speaker 2: and Tatum are a great duo on their day. The
Speaker 2: Celtics have more depth. There's all kinds of things that
Speaker 2: I mean, there's a reason why. You know, Boston was
Speaker 2: initially seen as such a likely favorite after Milwaukee lost
Speaker 2: in Round one to those same heaters in five. But again,
Speaker 2: like I said, I just Jimmy Butler. To me, he
Speaker 2: has been since he got to Miami. He has been
Speaker 2: a top ten player in this league. People think he
Speaker 2: only does in the playoffs, the whole playoff Jimmy thing.
Speaker 2: I mean to look at his Look at the numbers
Speaker 2: he put up in the regular season. This is going
Speaker 2: to be the second time in his career. This is
Speaker 2: he did make it. This was already because we know
Speaker 2: the All NBA teams. Now second time in his career
Speaker 2: he got snubbed from the All Star Game and ended
Speaker 2: up being an All NBA player because the end of
Speaker 2: the season writers realize that the coach is messed up
Speaker 2: by not having him in the All String. I mean
Speaker 2: he is and he's playing as well as he ever has,
Speaker 2: even though he's got his own ankle issues. Like Boston
Speaker 2: can win the series, all I'm saying is I'm just
Speaker 2: not ready to pick them. You know, I am not
Speaker 2: ready to proclaim that they're gonna beat Miami. I just
Speaker 2: I think the Heat are just as tough and out
Speaker 2: as There.
Speaker 3: Is no argument there. I think for Boston, they will
Speaker 3: say they got some momentum now. Jason Tatum carried them,
Speaker 3: has propelled them to this stage. They have a blueprint.
Speaker 3: They've been here before, so they're trying to rely on experience.
Speaker 3: It's recent experience, but they're trying to rely on that
Speaker 3: to try to get them back to the NBA Finals,
Speaker 3: which you know, I don't know, Like I'm trying to think,
Speaker 3: what is Celtics the favorites against the Warriors going into
Speaker 3: the finals last year. I don't know. But it's still
Speaker 3: up for grabs. Even though I believe Denver pound for pound,
Speaker 3: probably has the best team, has been playing the best
Speaker 3: all in the postseason, they still could be beat. They
Speaker 3: still could be beat. So it's it's it's it's a
Speaker 3: good it's a good situation where we're having parody. We're
Speaker 3: seeing Peri we don't know what's going to happen. You
Speaker 3: didn't think the Lakers going to beat the Golden State Wars.
Speaker 3: I felt like they had a great chance, and we
Speaker 3: saw the Kings push to the Wars to game seven.
Speaker 3: You know what Miami has been doing, you know the Knicks.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's it's been it's been really good. It's
Speaker 3: been really good playoff games to watch.
Speaker 2: And just to be clear before we move on to
Speaker 2: our final topic, So you said you're doing your West
Speaker 2: all the way in this round.
Speaker 3: I am West all the way in this round. I
Speaker 3: will be reporting for tn T, so you'll see my
Speaker 3: appearances on Inside the NBA, on the pre or post
Speaker 3: game shows. The Eastern the Eastern Conference Finals is going
Speaker 3: to be with tn T and Ali LaForce. She'll be
Speaker 3: over there doing the sideline, so I'll be on.
Speaker 2: The west sidebar question, how much does the altitude in
Speaker 2: Denver mess with the Chris Haynes pregame routine?
Speaker 4: Do you feel it when you're there?
Speaker 3: Yes, I just make sure not to be talking on
Speaker 3: the phone as I'm walking up the stairs anywhere, because
Speaker 3: that's when you can lose your breath. That's when I
Speaker 3: can feel the shortness of breath when I'm walking, walking
Speaker 3: up the steps, walking stairs. So you know, I'm not
Speaker 3: gonna be on the phone because I don't want. You know,
Speaker 3: I could be on the phone with an important source
Speaker 3: and they may be expecting me to have a comment
Speaker 3: at that time, and you know, I just can't talk
Speaker 3: because my breath is short, and they just hang up
Speaker 3: on me at a at a crucial point, I can't
Speaker 3: have that. So that's the only time I really feel
Speaker 3: it anything different. I don't really I don't really work out.
Speaker 3: I haven't really worked out in Denver, so I don't
Speaker 3: think I'll be doing that. So no, it won't affect me.
Speaker 3: You won't be able to tell during my tn T
Speaker 3: hit that the altitude is getting to me.
Speaker 2: All right, we moved to the last topic. Man, this
Speaker 2: is just so dispiriting. Just I can't even believe that
Speaker 2: we're here again. It emerges Sunday morning that there is
Speaker 2: a new video in which John Morant of the Memphis
Speaker 2: Grizzlies appears to be brandishing a handgun. The League is
Speaker 2: going to investigate it, but the Grizzlies almost immediately suspended
Speaker 2: him from all team activities. I mean that we are
Speaker 2: here again. I don't even know if I have the
Speaker 2: words to describe the shock.
Speaker 3: I had the word and this was I report, you know,
Speaker 3: I reported, I report, I report. People Go follow my
Speaker 3: Instagram and go follow Stein's Instagram as well. My instagram
Speaker 3: is at chris By.
Speaker 4: My instagram is useless. You don't need to follow my Instagram.
Speaker 4: I don't even post on there.
Speaker 2: My son, by the way, my son, by the way,
Speaker 2: keeps me very posted on your Instagram activity since I.
Speaker 3: Yes, lots of haircut material. But Tissha Pinero, you remember her,
Speaker 3: the great point guard that played for the Sacrament of
Speaker 3: Monarchs the w n b A. So I posted a
Speaker 3: picture with the details of John Morant in my on
Speaker 3: my Instagram account and in the comments she commented, and
Speaker 3: this speaker when we talked about where the where are
Speaker 3: the words for this, she commented, this day ja vu
Speaker 3: you get to start sin that that that hits it.
Speaker 3: That that's right there. Stein. I've had so many comments,
Speaker 3: I mean, excuse me, so many d ms hit to me.
Speaker 3: Why are you reporting this now? This was two months ago?
Speaker 3: Why you report this now? This is old? That's just
Speaker 3: that's you media people just always bringing up old stuff,
Speaker 3: bringing up old stuff. Some of them I let it go,
Speaker 3: but a few that I actually do interact with from
Speaker 3: time to time, I was like, no, this one happened,
Speaker 3: is we ken? This is a new one.
Speaker 4: No, it's it's.
Speaker 3: This is it. It's a bad it's a bad look.
Speaker 3: I even think, you know, it's a bad look for
Speaker 3: the league.
Speaker 2: No, And that's that's that's what I think most. That's
Speaker 2: what was such a common reaction after this story hit,
Speaker 2: that this is this is not just a Grizzlies crisis. Now,
Speaker 2: this is a league crisis. This this is something that
Speaker 2: impacts all thirty teams. And you know, the league was
Speaker 2: very lenient the first time, only issuing an eight game
Speaker 2: suspension to John Morant, and it was really only a
Speaker 2: two game suspension because they counted six of the games
Speaker 2: when he was away from the team on his own.
Speaker 2: And this happened in the wee hour, you know, either
Speaker 2: late Saturday or early Sunday, just on Wednesday, just a
Speaker 2: few days ago. It was Wednesday that the All NBA
Speaker 2: teams were announced, and it was Wednesday that John Morant
Speaker 2: got confirmation that he did not make the All NBA team,
Speaker 2: which essentially cost him forty million dollars his MAX deal
Speaker 2: that he signed last summer and kicks in next season,
Speaker 2: instead of rising to two hundred and thirty three million
Speaker 2: as it should have based on his play on the court.
Speaker 2: In his production, he was clearly headed for an All
Speaker 2: NBA berth until the March incident in Denver. So just Wednesday,
Speaker 2: he finds out that what happened the first time cost
Speaker 2: him nearly forty million, and that didn't stop it this time.
Speaker 4: Stunning.
Speaker 3: Let's let's walk. Let's let's break down a little bit
Speaker 3: what happened in this video, just a little bit for
Speaker 3: those who haven't seen it. I don't know why you
Speaker 3: haven't seen it, but for those who haven't seen it,
Speaker 3: He's in the car with some friends and it looks
Speaker 3: like the guy that's driving is going is goes on
Speaker 3: IG live and nothing against that. Nothing with guys going
Speaker 3: on ig live. Music is playing in the background. They're
Speaker 3: feeling themselves and John Morant is in the passion seat
Speaker 3: and so you know, they show Jahn Morant. Everybody's grooving,
Speaker 3: everybody's feeling himself. The music. I don't know what song
Speaker 3: was being played, but during this time, John Morant appears
Speaker 3: allegedly flashes a gun and to his I've seen people
Speaker 3: like go at his potnam and I and I can
Speaker 3: understand going out his partner for for other reasons aside
Speaker 3: from this scenario right here. He didn't know Joe was
Speaker 3: gonna flash that gun. So me, when Joe flashes it,
Speaker 3: he drops the phone, drops the phone to his knees,
Speaker 3: you know, look like you know, Job puss it, push
Speaker 3: the push the gun down. Then he he comes back
Speaker 3: on the live and they finished what they were doing.
Speaker 3: And I see people saying, man, why he put Joah
Speaker 3: in that situation? Well, you know he didn't like he
Speaker 3: told John to pull it out. You know, so we
Speaker 3: we gotta we gotta stop blaming others in and you know,
Speaker 3: others do have a part to play for sure. That's
Speaker 3: that's another conversation we can have about the responsibility of
Speaker 3: those who are around you. But at the end of
Speaker 3: the day, he didn't make Job do what he did,
Speaker 3: and he surely didn't expect him to do what he
Speaker 3: did at that point. So now we find ourselves to
Speaker 3: brown zero. What does the NBA do now? Because Jah,
Speaker 3: the NBA was criticized when a Jah levy that penalty
Speaker 3: that they did before. Now what now he's making Now
Speaker 3: it appears the NBA has to come on a little
Speaker 3: bit stronger and they're gonna say they're starting their investigation,
Speaker 3: and so we'll see what happens from there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all eyes on the league now, because let's face it,
Speaker 2: in the Adam Silver era, the reputation is that sanctions
Speaker 2: will be on the forgiving side, and the criticism that
Speaker 2: the league will get if it happens in this case
Speaker 2: will be incredibly, incredibly loud. All right, we I think
Speaker 2: again we I don't know that we did any of
Speaker 2: them in six minutes, but I think we did a
Speaker 2: pretty good job of getting to six major headlines in
Speaker 2: this league. Of course, there are many more, because that's
Speaker 2: the kind of May it's been. And it's only going
Speaker 2: to get newsier because Tuesday night NBA Draft Lottery. It
Speaker 2: appears that I am going to be a witness to
Speaker 2: the actual events in the drawing room for the first
Speaker 2: time ever, a first for me. So that is going
Speaker 2: to be a fascinating experience to actually see who wins
Speaker 2: the lottery and then be behind those closed doors for
Speaker 2: sixty to ninety minutes, however long it is when the
Speaker 2: actual show takes place and no phones, and.
Speaker 4: Then the world finds out.
Speaker 2: And it'll be two in the morning Paris time when
Speaker 2: the lottery starts, and Victor Wembin Yama's Metropolitans ninety two
Speaker 2: team has a game Tuesday in Paris, and so he'll
Speaker 2: he will not be in Chicago. He'll be in Paris
Speaker 2: watching in the middle of the night to find out
Speaker 2: who he lands with. Houston, San Antonio, Detroit all three
Speaker 2: teams with the best shot at winning the lottery, but
Speaker 2: only a fourteen percent shot here in the era of
Speaker 2: Flatten lottery odds. So I'm in Chicago. Chris is on
Speaker 2: his way to Nuggets Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Speaker 2: He and I will connect again soon for in the
Speaker 2: next pod, we will discuss who won the Victor when
Speaker 2: Benyama sweepstakes, the Brick for Vic Sweepstakes. We will discuss
Speaker 2: the early happenings in each of the conference finals, and
Speaker 2: of course, the way things are going, we will probably
Speaker 2: have more spins on the coaching carousel that we're going
Speaker 2: to have to dive into and the other thing that
Speaker 2: we're doing out here in Chicago. This is where the
Speaker 2: free agency and trade discussion starts.
Speaker 4: To take shape.
Speaker 2: So lots of stuff going on in this league. Thank
Speaker 2: you guys so much for being with Chris and I
Speaker 2: for another edition of This League Uncut. Please rate, review,
Speaker 2: and subscribe to the show.
Speaker 3: And Happy Mother's Day to all the money.
Speaker 4: I totally please don't tell that I forgot.
Speaker 2: I wasn't gonna even We were almost gonna shut this
Speaker 2: thing down before you sneak that in.
Speaker 4: That's good.
Speaker 2: You saved us, all right, everybody, thanks for being with us.
Speaker 4: We'll be back with you soon.
Speaker 2: Take care of everyone, and that'll do it for us.
Speaker 1: See you next time. This League UNCUTAG and iHeartRadio production.
Speaker 1: Christine and Mark Stein