Speaker 1: Welcome to this league, Uncut. In the world of twenty
Speaker 1: four hour NBA news, Just do you lose? Chris Haynes,
Speaker 1: did go time? Mark Stein? Show Time bumukaka Chris Hanes
Speaker 1: and Mark Stein. This link uncut is underway and then fire.
Speaker 1: This should be a good one. Good to be back
Speaker 1: with you on this week, Uncut. Good to be reunited
Speaker 1: with the one and only Chris Haynes. Already on the
Speaker 1: move again. The NBA season restarts tonight. This is dropping
Speaker 1: on Thursday. We're actually recording this on Wednesday night, but
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say tonight because by the time you guys
Speaker 1: hear this, it's Thursday. All Star break is over. Chris
Speaker 1: Haynes already back at work. But gotta tell it, Gotta
Speaker 1: ask you. You were in Salt Lake City. I was not.
Speaker 1: I think the less we say about that game the better.
Speaker 1: Not the most watchable All Star game in NBA history.
Speaker 1: But we want to hear about your escapades, what you
Speaker 1: did behind the scene. I was a little sad. I
Speaker 1: have to say. You had some sort of aggressive new
Speaker 1: Cardigan on on Sunday. We just got a glimpse of
Speaker 1: it when you did your one on one with Luca Donchech.
Speaker 1: But tell us, just tell us, man, what was it like?
Speaker 1: What was it like behind the scenes off camera at
Speaker 1: All Star weekend. All Star Weekend is always pretty cool
Speaker 1: depending on the city that you're in for logistic purposes.
Speaker 1: But for Utah it was it was a pleasant surprise.
Speaker 1: I had more fun than I thought I would. UM
Speaker 1: everything like all the events, the different affairs that agents
Speaker 1: through or shoe companies through. Um, you were pretty close
Speaker 1: to one another. So it wasn't pretty, It wasn't spread out,
Speaker 1: and so that was that was really good about Salt Lake.
Speaker 1: So you know, Rich Paul had an event. I went
Speaker 1: to his event, Jeff Schwartz had an event. For Excel,
Speaker 1: I went to his event. Adigas had an event, Puma
Speaker 1: had an event. Trying to think who else? Kenny Smith
Speaker 1: had his party? Who will talk about that? Who else?
Speaker 1: He didn't lose all your money, did you? So let's
Speaker 1: get to that. So last we left off, I Kenny
Speaker 1: invited me to participate in his charity poker tournament, and
Speaker 1: so did I said I would play because he said
Speaker 1: he really needed me this. So this is like two
Speaker 1: days before I had to leave for Salt Lake, and
Speaker 1: so I didn't know how to play. And that's the
Speaker 1: one thing I left off when talking to Kenny, because
Speaker 1: he acted like he needed me so bad. He said
Speaker 1: these big celebrities who were going to be there, and
Speaker 1: I'm like, man, Kenny think I'm a celebrity. I gotta
Speaker 1: be there. So I grabbed my I grabbed my neighbors.
Speaker 1: This would have been Wednesday of last week. I grabbed
Speaker 1: my neighbors. They all know how to play poker. They
Speaker 1: came over. We played poker at my house like eight
Speaker 1: pm to like midnight, and I got pretty good. I
Speaker 1: actually won the last two games. So I'm feeling okay.
Speaker 1: So Stein, I go to Kitty's party, which is slash
Speaker 1: a poker tournament. I go to the table and the
Speaker 1: man that's conducting this particular table. There's multiple tables, but
Speaker 1: man's conducting this particular table. Baron Davis is there, Robin
Speaker 1: Think is there, and the guy tells me it's a
Speaker 1: ten thousand dollars buy in. I immediately turned around and
Speaker 1: went to the party instead. That was the end. I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna lie. I was worried for you, but ten
Speaker 1: I mean ten thousand. You are a celebrity, but We're
Speaker 1: still just sports. We're just humble sports writers. Man, what
Speaker 1: is Kenny trying to do to you? Thousand dollars buy in?
Speaker 1: I immediately heard that number and retreat it to the
Speaker 1: dass floor. There was no way you could buy in
Speaker 1: and then turn that in as a work expense to
Speaker 1: NBA research. Ten thousand dollars. There was no way staring. Look, look,
Speaker 1: I have to I haven't had a chance to call
Speaker 1: Kenney yet and tell him about that buying that that
Speaker 1: little little detail he left out. But again, I was
Speaker 1: thankful and I was humble that he chose me to
Speaker 1: be a part of that game. I think he thinks
Speaker 1: I'm making dough like I think. You know, I'm being prayed,
Speaker 1: paid well, being paid well, being paid the most I've
Speaker 1: ever been paid. Turner is taking care of a brother.
Speaker 1: They ain't taking care of her brother. Well, I can
Speaker 1: sput ten thousand on the game right there, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? I can. I can do it. But
Speaker 1: then for the next week or so I'll be eating
Speaker 1: below these sandwiches. So you know, it just wasn't the
Speaker 1: right move for me. I think I made the right
Speaker 1: decision at the end of the day. Paying a picture
Speaker 1: for us, I see when I was not at All
Speaker 1: Star Weekend. But you know, I can't say that I've
Speaker 1: been to many of these agent parties painting what is
Speaker 1: what is the Clutch Sports party at All Star Weekend?
Speaker 1: Look like Clutch Sports party is all the all of
Speaker 1: the Clutch Um players are obviously there who are in
Speaker 1: the All Star Game or either in the Friday and
Speaker 1: Saturday events. So it's it's like a dinner for them,
Speaker 1: but it's a slash kind of like a party dinner.
Speaker 1: And so Lebron was there, Dremond was there, Um, Jordan
Speaker 1: Clark was there at the Edwards Deer and Fox. Who
Speaker 1: else was in there? And there there's a bunch of gms.
Speaker 1: I don't want to start naming those names, but there's
Speaker 1: I want you to know that. Yeah, that's pretty good.
Speaker 1: I don't know if they want that out there, but
Speaker 1: that's pretty good. There are there are a bunch of
Speaker 1: gms in there as well. Um, there are shoe executives there. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to think any celebrities. Twenty one Savage was
Speaker 1: in there. Who's a rapper. I don't know if you
Speaker 1: know who he is, Ty Gail, kids have heard of him?
Speaker 1: I have heard of him. Progress. Gail Kings showed up.
Speaker 1: Gail King, and that is Oprah's best friend and she
Speaker 1: has her own talk show. Gail King was there. I'm
Speaker 1: trying to think there was a bunch of other people.
Speaker 1: But yeah, that's pretty much how it is at a
Speaker 1: Clutch Sports party slash dinner. The Excel party is the
Speaker 1: same thing or is that a different vibe? Uh? Same thing?
Speaker 1: It had a few had a few had a few
Speaker 1: GMS in that one, but not not really the celebrity
Speaker 1: um status there. But yeah, a few gms. So the
Speaker 1: players there. CJ. McCollum was there, My guy Trey Murphy
Speaker 1: was there. Who would participate in the slam dunk contests?
Speaker 1: Trying to think who else did I see in there
Speaker 1: as a player? Then Richard Jefferson showed up, Um Channing
Speaker 1: Fry showed up. All former players. So that that's pretty
Speaker 1: much how it goes. Man, So in Indy, will missus
Speaker 1: Haynes let me be your plus one or can you
Speaker 1: get a plus two for one of these parties? Come hostine,
Speaker 1: you can get your own you can get your own invitation.
Speaker 1: Stop it you and just let's go way back. I'm
Speaker 1: pretty sure he'll he'll look out for you sometimes sometimes
Speaker 1: we do, sometimes we go. But it was cool. It
Speaker 1: was cool all the events. And then at the end
Speaker 1: of the day. So after after Sunday Night's game, they
Speaker 1: all star Game watch. I know you have something to
Speaker 1: say about. But Charles Barkley's birthday. You know, he turned
Speaker 1: sixty at midnight, so Turner had a a kind of
Speaker 1: a send off party slash birthday party for Chuck, and
Speaker 1: so that was cool. Man. Chuck was all emotional. Man,
Speaker 1: He's a good dude. I spent Yeah, Chuck, Chuck's a
Speaker 1: really good dude. Man. I spent so much time with
Speaker 1: him over the weekend. And he knows my family, he
Speaker 1: knows my best friends, and so you know, it's good
Speaker 1: spending time with Chuck. Man. We watched the whole Saturday
Speaker 1: night together. We left because we only had the pre
Speaker 1: game obligations on the pregame show, and from there we
Speaker 1: went back to our hotel. We went to the bar,
Speaker 1: meat chucking, my family, we watched, We watched all of
Speaker 1: Saturday to night with him. Charles Barkley is one of
Speaker 1: my all time favorite people that I've ever encountered in
Speaker 1: this job, and I can only imagine getting to spend
Speaker 1: in close quarters like you have on TV. But I mean, look,
Speaker 1: you know now you're gonna get me on my old notes.
Speaker 1: But I remember, like when I started covering the league
Speaker 1: in the mid nineties, I mean, it was just it
Speaker 1: was just a different time and Charles would just after practice,
Speaker 1: he would sit there for a half hour, forty five
Speaker 1: minutes like he on TV. He loves to act like
Speaker 1: he can't stand us in the media and we all
Speaker 1: annoy him, but it's totally not true. And before games
Speaker 1: in Houston, his Houston days, I mean the whole forty
Speaker 1: five minutes before a game, he would hold court. He
Speaker 1: would be available to the media the whole time. And
Speaker 1: I remember my first playoffs nineteen, my first three or
Speaker 1: four years covering the league at the La Daily News.
Speaker 1: My playoffs ended when the Lakers were out the Clippers.
Speaker 1: The Clippers did not make the playoffs the years that
Speaker 1: I was on the beat, so basically, once the Lakers
Speaker 1: were out, my season was over. When I came to
Speaker 1: the Dallas Morning News that you know, the Mavericks were terrible,
Speaker 1: but they were like, no, we're the we are the
Speaker 1: We're the paper of record in Texas. Week. You know,
Speaker 1: the Houston Rockets are in the conference finals, the Spurs
Speaker 1: or in the conference finals, you will cover it. You
Speaker 1: will cover those those teams as far as they go.
Speaker 1: So I remember my first playoff series for the Dallas
Speaker 1: Morning News Utah Houston. We're in Salt Lake City and
Speaker 1: Charles Barkley's eating on the street dinner, just him and
Speaker 1: a pal. And he barely knew me then. I mean,
Speaker 1: I was like, I was only covering the league three
Speaker 1: four years. Like he just insisted I joined them and
Speaker 1: sit with them. Like, you know, he definitely has a
Speaker 1: soft spot for us that I don't think comes through
Speaker 1: on TV. So to be his teammate like you are,
Speaker 1: I am. I am jealous. I know he's he is
Speaker 1: a fantastic teammate. I'm would say this about Chuckle Quickso Stine,
Speaker 1: So we're leaving again this Saturday night. We're leaving the
Speaker 1: arena together. We're both hopping and sprinter together. So as
Speaker 1: we're leaving, you know, he's loved by everybody. So we're
Speaker 1: leaving and fans are saying we love you, Chuck, we
Speaker 1: love you, and he yells back at love you too.
Speaker 1: And so I whispered and Chuck ere As we're walking
Speaker 1: out the arena, I said, Chuck, you don't love them.
Speaker 1: He was like, hey, I gotta pay the bills. You
Speaker 1: know what, though, I think you work with two guys though,
Speaker 1: Chuck and Shock. Yeah, like as famous as they still.
Speaker 1: I mean, you see, Shock does more commercials than anybody,
Speaker 1: more than any current player. I've never seen two superstars
Speaker 1: who are so comfortable in crowds and with people. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they really like everybody wants to talk to them and
Speaker 1: touch them and you know, say something to them, and
Speaker 1: like they really have incredible patience for everybody that wants
Speaker 1: their attention. Yeah, it's it's cool to see. I'm glad
Speaker 1: that there is you know where players can have a
Speaker 1: probably even a more high profile career post their playing days.
Speaker 1: And that's you know, those are two Hall of famers,
Speaker 1: the best ever played at their position. But you can
Speaker 1: make its case they're probably more famous now. And Charles
Speaker 1: is definitely more lovable now. I think you can say that,
Speaker 1: you know, he's a more lovable character than he was
Speaker 1: when he was a player. So it's pretty cool to
Speaker 1: see this, this formation of these guys right now. All right, well,
Speaker 1: I would actually, I mean we could do a whole
Speaker 1: pod on this, but I know everybody wants to get
Speaker 1: to the to the real deal, because look, we're back
Speaker 1: at the All Star break. It's very short for players
Speaker 1: and very long for all of us on the outside
Speaker 1: who want the game to come back and don't like
Speaker 1: You know that All Star Game end Sunday night, and
Speaker 1: we got to get through three plus days with no
Speaker 1: games and we don't like it. So obviously, some big
Speaker 1: news this week the Atlanta Hawks abruptly making a coaching change,
Speaker 1: only the second coaching change of the season. Of course,
Speaker 1: Brooklyn earlier replaced Steve Nash with Jacque Vaughn, and now
Speaker 1: in Atlanta, Nate McMillan out. Joe pruntie In is the
Speaker 1: interim coach, but the Hawks have already begun the search.
Speaker 1: Former Jazz coach Quinn Snyder is probably generating the most
Speaker 1: buzz as a potential candidate, But like I said, I
Speaker 1: always get it confused. I'm trying to keep us on
Speaker 1: Thursday time, even though we're actually recording Wednesday night. But
Speaker 1: tonight Wednesday night, I reported that former Celtics coach Emayludoka
Speaker 1: is a candidate being considered by the Hawks. Also a
Speaker 1: lot of buzz surrounding Charles Lee, the Bucks assistant who's
Speaker 1: been in numerous head coaching searches lately. Just timing wise,
Speaker 1: tell me, tell me what you thought when you heard
Speaker 1: that Atlanta was making this change. Now, not surprised, Not surprised,
Speaker 1: I would say it. I kind of thought Nate would
Speaker 1: walk away, walk away mid season at some point, and so,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm curious to know if Nate felt, if
Speaker 1: he was shocked by this move. You know, I don't know,
Speaker 1: maybe maybe there was a meeting or something like that
Speaker 1: that happened where they kind of knew that Nate was
Speaker 1: looking elsewhere, looking to get out out the door. I
Speaker 1: don't know, but ultimately they made the decision, and so
Speaker 1: I wasn't surprised that much. But I will say this
Speaker 1: is that, you know, this is what's been going on
Speaker 1: with the Atlanta Hawks. You know this this uh passes
Speaker 1: super exceeds Nick McMillan's tenure there. This is something that's
Speaker 1: been going on for a while. When I'm talking about dysfunction,
Speaker 1: when you're talking about accountability, and I have to give
Speaker 1: John Collins props, man, he came out stunt. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you heard him in this press conference, he
Speaker 1: was kind of saying, how you feel like Nate McMillan,
Speaker 1: the way that he coaches, what he demands, he's more
Speaker 1: suited for a veteran team. And he talked about the
Speaker 1: need for guys to kind of grow up in this
Speaker 1: locker room, to start being professional and handle things like men.
Speaker 1: And so I give him props for saying something like that,
Speaker 1: but I will say this, it's going to take an
Speaker 1: awful lot And I know when Landry Fields took over
Speaker 1: as a general manager, you know, we had a conversation
Speaker 1: and he said what he wanted to implement was accountability. One,
Speaker 1: to be a resource to players where they can reach
Speaker 1: out and voice their concerns with things. They want this
Speaker 1: organization to be a more player friendly environment, and that
Speaker 1: really hasn't been the case over the last four or
Speaker 1: five years. There's been a lot of frustration with that
Speaker 1: with that team, from ownership level, management level they're owned
Speaker 1: down to the players. There's been a lot of frustration. So,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't know if one coach can come
Speaker 1: in here and fix things, but that's definitely a start,
Speaker 1: and this will be the start of Landry Fields bringing
Speaker 1: in his own guys, and no more important role than
Speaker 1: the head coach. Yeah, look, I mean you know you
Speaker 1: said it. I mean a coaching change in February after
Speaker 1: in December, a full front office change. You don't often
Speaker 1: see a front office shake up the magnitude that we
Speaker 1: saw in December with multiple changes, you know, Travis Schlank
Speaker 1: stepping away, Landry Fields and Kyle Korvern now coming in.
Speaker 1: You know, Quinn Snyder, he's going to have a chance
Speaker 1: at probably every coaching opening that arises here in the
Speaker 1: near future. He had an incredible tenure in Utah, left
Speaker 1: on his own terms. You know, it's been out there
Speaker 1: since last March, almost a year, and it really goes
Speaker 1: back even before that. Because I reported it last March,
Speaker 1: I was hearing it over a year ago that you know,
Speaker 1: San Antonio, there's interest there in Quinn Snyder to be
Speaker 1: Pop's eventual replacement Atlanta. You know, Landry Fields had a
Speaker 1: press conference Wednesday, and the only candidate that the Hawks
Speaker 1: have publicly acknowledged as a replacement potential replacement for Nate
Speaker 1: McMillan is Quinn Snyder's. Now, I think I think part
Speaker 1: of that Landryfields was pretty open that Quinn is not
Speaker 1: affiliated with a team right now, So that's why he
Speaker 1: feels comfortable saying his name. He's not going to mention
Speaker 1: someone like Charles Lee, who was obviously on Mike Budenholder's
Speaker 1: Mike Budenholzer's staff in Milwaukee. But yeah, like, how quickly
Speaker 1: the Hawks will move, what direction they ultimately go, How
Speaker 1: seriously emay Udoka will be considered for this position after
Speaker 1: the circumstances, circumstances surrounding his exit in Boston. What other
Speaker 1: candidates they have that we don't know about yet. A
Speaker 1: lot of questions and look and you know a lot
Speaker 1: of you know, there will people will be watching very
Speaker 1: closely how Landry Fields and Kyle Korver proceed in this search.
Speaker 1: But also Trey Young, I mean Trey the spotlight, the
Speaker 1: scrutiny that Trey Young is going to face now. This
Speaker 1: is the second significant coaching change in his time as
Speaker 1: a player. And the reality is, you know, it's Charles
Speaker 1: Barkley saying, you know, the stars get all the blame
Speaker 1: and the Stars get all the credit, and the Hawks
Speaker 1: have you know, not been able to maintain haven't come
Speaker 1: close to being able to maintain the momentum from their
Speaker 1: trip to the East Finals a couple of years ago,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one. So I mean, yeah, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of curiosity league wide about where the Hawks go from here.
Speaker 1: There are a few Hawks players who would love a
Speaker 1: potential edition of email Udoka. I'll just throw that out there.
Speaker 1: But definitely already for the reasons you've said, But definitely
Speaker 1: Quinn Snyder, it looked like he's going to have a
Speaker 1: fantastic opportunity to get this job. You know, wants the
Speaker 1: process really starts with them interview in candidate. So I
Speaker 1: like Quinn Snyder. Hell of a coach, great, great coach
Speaker 1: in mind relationships. One thing that I hear about him
Speaker 1: is like he's good with relationships and communication, and that's
Speaker 1: going to be key when you're talking about the Atlanta Hawks,
Speaker 1: because it seems like over the last i don't know,
Speaker 1: half a decade, that hasn't been the case over there.
Speaker 1: So that's one thing they want to install. And look,
Speaker 1: email Udoka is a great coach. You don't get to
Speaker 1: the NBA Finals in your first season if you can't coach.
Speaker 1: I mean, he had an instant impact as a coach there.
Speaker 1: But the reality is emay Udoka was suspended for this
Speaker 1: entire season by the Celtics for what they deemed to
Speaker 1: be a relationship with a female staff member that violated
Speaker 1: team policy. Boston has made Joe Missoula the full time replacement,
Speaker 1: so obviously Emote Emayudoca's not going back to Boston. How
Speaker 1: seriously with the Hawks consider him? When it comes to
Speaker 1: Quinn Snyder, we don't know are the Hawks his first choice?
Speaker 1: You know, I don't know that. I have not seen
Speaker 1: Quinn since the playoffs last season, so I don't know.
Speaker 1: You know, this search on one hand, it's in its infancy.
Speaker 1: But on the other hand, you can probably assume that
Speaker 1: the Hawks have been thinking about this for some time,
Speaker 1: knew that one way or the other, this very well
Speaker 1: likely was going to be Nate McMillan's last season. So
Speaker 1: surely the Hawks have been pondering this and probably have
Speaker 1: a better idea of the direction they want go than
Speaker 1: we do. Twenty four forty eight hours after the announcement. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they should. This is something obviously they've been planning for
Speaker 1: a while. And you know this, this is Langrye Field.
Speaker 1: This is his first major move that he's going to
Speaker 1: make to try to get you know, get this team
Speaker 1: in turn the corner because they have you know, Trey Young,
Speaker 1: and I know Trey Young. People are blaming him for
Speaker 1: Nate McMillan's ouster. This is the second coach that has
Speaker 1: has been fired, you know, while Trey has been there,
Speaker 1: Lloyd Pierce first, now Nate McMillan, and I think it's
Speaker 1: unfair to blame Trey. You don't, that's that's not how
Speaker 1: this happened. I haven't heard anything. I was not told
Speaker 1: that Trey asked for it, for Nate to be let go,
Speaker 1: anything like that. So that's that's just not true. That's
Speaker 1: not factual. But what I what I will say is
Speaker 1: that the Hawks have a window here. They have they
Speaker 1: have a window to get this right. With their star player, Trey.
Speaker 1: He wants to win, He wants to win big. I
Speaker 1: know him and know him and know him well, I
Speaker 1: know him and his family. They want they want to
Speaker 1: win big. So there's a window right here to try
Speaker 1: to get things right. And so you know, that's that's
Speaker 1: why you know, you add on top, you add the
Speaker 1: trade element to it, and that's why this this decision
Speaker 1: on this next coaches is a real pivotal moment for
Speaker 1: the organization. How do you think, I mean, put the
Speaker 1: Atlanta coaching situation aside, your Trey Young is not he
Speaker 1: was not an All Star. He's not selected by the coaches.
Speaker 1: He was. The play where he landed in the player
Speaker 1: vote was low, and I think a lot of eyebrows
Speaker 1: were raised by that. How do you think he's handling
Speaker 1: this kind of I don't know, rocky road bumpy period,
Speaker 1: however you want to describe it. When you know again
Speaker 1: two years ago he was you know, he's one of
Speaker 1: the young toasts of the league leading the Hawks to
Speaker 1: the conference finals. Obviously this season they're there, They're way
Speaker 1: off that level. I haven't spoken trade yet, but what
Speaker 1: I will say, you know I spoken to him previous
Speaker 1: times with other situations that may have occurred. But he's
Speaker 1: used to it. He's used to it. You know, he's
Speaker 1: he's a guy that came into the league. I believe
Speaker 1: he still does it. But you know, he used to
Speaker 1: write down and keep tally of all the writers or
Speaker 1: reporters who had negative things to say about him, and
Speaker 1: he like kept tally. He kept track to see what
Speaker 1: they said and to go out there and prove them wrong. Like,
Speaker 1: so he's he's somebody that's used to, you know, hearing
Speaker 1: his name kind of be I guess you could say disrespected.
Speaker 1: I believe that's the way he would see it. And
Speaker 1: you know that that that kind of fuels him. So
Speaker 1: with this situation right here, I really think he's like,
Speaker 1: I don't think this situation right here has him fretting
Speaker 1: at all. I really think he's used to it. He's gonna,
Speaker 1: you know, get through it, like he's gotten through all
Speaker 1: the other you know, obstacles that came throughout his career,
Speaker 1: and I think this is just one more. But ultimately,
Speaker 1: I think it's going to come a day where the
Speaker 1: Hawks are going to have to get this right. And
Speaker 1: I think, to your question, Stein, so it sound like
Speaker 1: you you're kind of you're kind of questioning his star capacity.
Speaker 1: What are you what are you doing stearing? Oh yeah, man, Well,
Speaker 1: I think I think I don't think it's just me
Speaker 1: at this point. I mean the fact that among his
Speaker 1: fellow pros that he and of course I should have
Speaker 1: this right at my fingertips, and I don't. I'm actually
Speaker 1: gonna look it up as we speak. But it was
Speaker 1: eye opening to me that when the players voted in
Speaker 1: the All Star that. You know, he wasn't as high
Speaker 1: as you would you would have thought a caliber you know,
Speaker 1: the kind of caliber player he is. I mean, I look,
Speaker 1: I I thought that Trey and Janta Murray. I loved
Speaker 1: the Dejontay Murray move. I thought that those guys were
Speaker 1: gonna flourish. I know there were fit concerns and you know,
Speaker 1: Ganta shoot it well enough for them to click well.
Speaker 1: But I mean that's the thing. There's talent here for
Speaker 1: whoever that next coach is. You know, it's not like
Speaker 1: there's nothing to work with in Atlanta. And you know
Speaker 1: you mentioned John, you mentioned John Collins as well. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's amazing John Collins has now been his name has
Speaker 1: been bandied about at four consecutive trade deadlines, and I
Speaker 1: really thought this time was the year he was gonna move.
Speaker 1: But I mean there was definitely some hesitation out there
Speaker 1: to take on his contract with three more years left
Speaker 1: on it. But yeah, I'm looking at this. I'm looking
Speaker 1: at this now. So where did he fall? Because before
Speaker 1: you tell me, I'm just going to name off. You know,
Speaker 1: Kyrie was voted in so among player votes, Trey was
Speaker 1: twelfth among East guards among players, and that I mean
Speaker 1: that does He was twelve amongst guards among yeah, in
Speaker 1: player vote, you know, not the media. Um, so that
Speaker 1: was that was surprising. Okay, twelve, Yeah, that's pretty low there.
Speaker 1: That's pretty low there. In the player vote, Kyrie Irving one,
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell two, Jalen Brown three, Damar de Rosen four,
Speaker 1: James Harden five, Tyrese Haliburton six, Darius Garland seven, Jalen
Speaker 1: Brunson eight. What the NBA sent out doesn't even list Okay,
Speaker 1: LaMelo Ball was nine, ten and eleven were not even
Speaker 1: listed on what was released by the NBA. And Trey
Speaker 1: Young was twelfth among the players in the guard vote.
Speaker 1: So I mean that that says he's got work to
Speaker 1: do on his reputation. When your peers are ranking you six, five, six,
Speaker 1: seven spots below where the fans and the media have you,
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's something. That's that's not that's not nothing.
Speaker 1: No horness, our second to last place, and Lamel always
Speaker 1: picked ahead of Trey Is that right? Steinla was nine
Speaker 1: among the players, seven among the fans, ten among them. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and he's missed half to say, yeah, players don't always
Speaker 1: get it right, obviously, But no, with that being said, yeah,
Speaker 1: like there's been speculation that Trey is hard to play with.
Speaker 1: We've heard that, but the guy, come on, now, he
Speaker 1: is an all star talent. He is an all star
Speaker 1: talent that you know you have to and that that's
Speaker 1: not a talent that any franchise just wants to lose.
Speaker 1: So you know, that's that's another reason they're trying to
Speaker 1: do everything they can to get this thing right. They
Speaker 1: really value the Hawks, really value Trey as a player
Speaker 1: and person. So you know that's why this is such
Speaker 1: a pivotal move. Yep, no question, It's gonna be very
Speaker 1: interesting to see, you know, the kind of what other
Speaker 1: candidates emerge or maybe you know, maybe we already know
Speaker 1: the three main candidates. I guess we will. I have
Speaker 1: a feeling more names William urge. And I'm really curious
Speaker 1: to see what they do here because again, this is
Speaker 1: for a new coach, this should be one of the
Speaker 1: better situations because again there is still a lot of
Speaker 1: talent on this Hawks roster despite what's happened here last
Speaker 1: season and this season. I know you got to go
Speaker 1: soon and tomorrow night, you got Warriors at Lakers. Is
Speaker 1: that your that's your assignment is correct. So it's been
Speaker 1: pretty busy in the buyout market. A lot going on.
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook is a Clipper now, Terrence Ross is a son,
Speaker 1: Reggie Jackson is a nugget. Kevin Love to Miami with
Speaker 1: the heat, Justin Holliday in Dallas, Pat Bev is a bull,
Speaker 1: Danny Green with the Calves. We've seen a lot of movement,
Speaker 1: but then there's the reality about the buyout market. Haja
Speaker 1: Stoyakovich in twenty eleven as a buyout guy, he helped
Speaker 1: the Mavericks win a championship. I had a front row
Speaker 1: seat for that. But it's funny. PJ Brown, who is
Speaker 1: often described as the number one most successful buyout market
Speaker 1: story and I know because I've said that fifty times,
Speaker 1: But the truth is PJ was actually not playing that
Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven o eight when he joined
Speaker 1: the Celtics. He really was more like a DeMarcus Cousins
Speaker 1: or a Carmelo Anthony. Now, guys who haven't played all
Speaker 1: season then PJ Brown hadn't played that season and then
Speaker 1: joined the Celtics and had a big role. So even
Speaker 1: PJ Brown, who's so frequently suggested to be your meant
Speaker 1: you described as this buyout market success. He's not really
Speaker 1: a buyout market success. It's rare that we see a
Speaker 1: buyout market guy make a difference. Out of all those guys,
Speaker 1: Who's going to make the biggest difference? Does does Love
Speaker 1: end up carving out a big role in Miami? Does
Speaker 1: Russ and the Clippers? Does that work? There's a lot
Speaker 1: of skepticism already. Which is the one that you are
Speaker 1: most interested in? Well, I think the difference I think
Speaker 1: Kevin Love and Russ I think stand out to me
Speaker 1: over the other ones you mentioned, because I believe those
Speaker 1: other ones they're going to be complimentary pieces. And don't
Speaker 1: get me wrong, Kevin Love and Russ, they're going to
Speaker 1: be complimentary pieces. But I think that they'll have probably
Speaker 1: more of a workload, and even more so Russ because
Speaker 1: I just think the way he plays the game, that's
Speaker 1: just what comes with it. He's going to give you
Speaker 1: his all. He's going to get to the rim, He's
Speaker 1: going to attack the rim. You can't have Russ on
Speaker 1: the team and not allow him to be able to
Speaker 1: be himself. And so I think pay dividends. Look, I
Speaker 1: would like to see a nice storyline of Russ going
Speaker 1: over there and making things work, proving a doubt is
Speaker 1: wrong standing in La maybe, you know, having a series
Speaker 1: with the Lakers, I would like to see something happen
Speaker 1: with where, you know, where he could kind of redeem himself.
Speaker 1: But with that being say, if if we're talking about
Speaker 1: Russ and Kevin Love, I will go towards Sam. Russ
Speaker 1: will probably have more of an impact. How big of
Speaker 1: an impact that is, how much will it equate to winning?
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I think the Clippers and Russ
Speaker 1: are committed to trying to make this work. Well, look,
Speaker 1: the players are back at him, the other members of
Speaker 1: the Clippers. It really sounds like they're the ones who
Speaker 1: made this happen. Because Lawrence Frank was pretty adamant when
Speaker 1: he spoke to the media after the trade deadline. If
Speaker 1: we're going to bring another garden here, we need a
Speaker 1: floor space or a good shooter who's not going to
Speaker 1: be ball dominant, and you know Russ is ball dominant
Speaker 1: and not a floor space or so on one hand,
Speaker 1: you sit here and say, how is this going to work?
Speaker 1: But to me, the Bulls are too far gone for
Speaker 1: Pat bev to make any kind of significant difference there.
Speaker 1: I think Reggie Jackson will help Denver. I really like
Speaker 1: Thomas Bryan and Reggie Jackson are nice additions for the
Speaker 1: Nuggets just to clean their bench up. Danny Green brings
Speaker 1: an old head presence to Cleveland that they they with
Speaker 1: Kevin Love leaving, they you know, that's a void that
Speaker 1: he certainly fills. And you know that's a young team
Speaker 1: with big dreams, and so they need some veteran guidance.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, look, Russ. Russ and Love are
Speaker 1: the two that jump off the page for me too.
Speaker 1: And Miami needs shooting, so there is going to be
Speaker 1: an opportunity for Love to get on the floor there
Speaker 1: and see if he can make shots and get into
Speaker 1: that heat rotation and make a difference. But yeah, Russ
Speaker 1: to the Clippers is going to be fascinating theater, no question.
Speaker 1: All right, sir, I'm gonna let you go and get
Speaker 1: five minutes of rest before your next assignments. Warriors at Lakers.
Speaker 1: No Steph Curry for at least another week. Lakers the
Speaker 1: first of the most important twenty three games of Lebron
Speaker 1: James career. As he said the other day, Chris Hanes
Speaker 1: will be on the sideline for that. No cardigan though,
Speaker 1: right tonight. No cardigan. No cardigan, regular suit, regular suit.
Speaker 1: I thought you'd be proud of me. We're in that
Speaker 1: card I liked it. I liked it. I'm sad we
Speaker 1: didn't see more of it. Yeah, there's a story behind
Speaker 1: that cardigan. But well, I'll tell you in the next episode,
Speaker 1: all right, and I will, I will, I will, I
Speaker 1: will wait for it because I do want to hear it.
Speaker 1: All right, everybody. Thanks to Mel for joining us another
Speaker 1: edition of This League Uncut in the books. Please rate, review, subscribe,
Speaker 1: Chris and I will be back Monday, and that'll do
Speaker 1: it for us. See you next time. This League Uncut
Speaker 1: is and I Heeart Radio Production