Speaker 1: Welcome to this league uncut in the world of twenty
Speaker 1: four hour NBA news. Just do you lose? Chris Saines
Speaker 1: did go time, Mark Stein did so, Timeousuka Loka, Chris
Speaker 1: Haines and Mark Stein. This ligue uncut is underway, and
Speaker 1: then fire. This should be a good one. We are
Speaker 1: indeed underway here on this league uncut. Now that Super
Speaker 1: Bowl fifty seven is in the books, I must confess
Speaker 1: I didn't watch fifty seven seconds of it. I'm right there.
Speaker 1: If my Buffalo Bills ain't playing, I'm not. I'm not
Speaker 1: tuning in. It's just too far down my too far
Speaker 1: down my sports packing order. Although sources say that America
Speaker 1: does love Rihanna, I did. I did confirm that tonight.
Speaker 1: She had a surprise. I hear as well while she
Speaker 1: was performing. I guess she's expected of you. I mean,
Speaker 1: I didn't watch it. It was on in the other room,
Speaker 1: Missus Stein and goalkeeper in the house. They were watching it,
Speaker 1: and I saw Twitter going absolutely crazy wild for it.
Speaker 1: So I have to say this Stein, because I have
Speaker 1: a problem with that. So I'm not the biggest football
Speaker 1: fan myself, but I do make it a ritual of
Speaker 1: watching the super Bowl each and every single year. But
Speaker 1: I have an excuse. My daughter had a club volleyball
Speaker 1: tournament today. It started at seven am. I thought I
Speaker 1: was going to be out of there by two pm,
Speaker 1: but it lasted from seven am all the way to
Speaker 1: six pm. So my neighbors had this big old Super
Speaker 1: Bowl party ready and I didn't make it back home
Speaker 1: until around seven. And at that point it was the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter and I was like, I'm just not going.
Speaker 1: I don't feel up to it. So I have an excuse,
Speaker 1: like I plan to go, but I couldn't. Stein You're
Speaker 1: at the house, your family is watching it in the
Speaker 1: living room, and you didn't think it was necessary or
Speaker 1: important enough to get at least two minutes of your
Speaker 1: visual attention. It's just not my game. It just isn't
Speaker 1: my sport. I mean, I know I am I'm already
Speaker 1: well established as a basketball nerd, but look, you know
Speaker 1: I'm a soccer guy. I'm a huge tennis guy. This
Speaker 1: week we had professional tennis in Dallas, a top level
Speaker 1: professional tournament. I thought I was gonna be able to
Speaker 1: sneak out there today for the final in singles and doubles.
Speaker 1: I had friends playing in both matches John Isner and
Speaker 1: the men's singles Jackson withthrow in the doubles. I was
Speaker 1: desperate to get out there and say, okay, at least
Speaker 1: I saw one day of one of my three favorite
Speaker 1: sports while it was in town, and I couldn't get
Speaker 1: out there. It's just been this week. Look, the trade
Speaker 1: deadline is not over. I mean, that's that's the truth.
Speaker 1: I mean, the four team trade that finally lands Gary
Speaker 1: Payton back with the Warriors and sends James Wiseman to
Speaker 1: Detroit and so Deep Bay to Atlanta, that finally got
Speaker 1: agreed to tonight, and then the buyout market's been in
Speaker 1: full flow. I mean it's it's the deadline's not over.
Speaker 1: So I have just not had. I used the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl to catch up on man, this is pathetic, un
Speaker 1: clerical work. Sty. I get all that. I hear all that.
Speaker 1: What about the commercial sty? What about the commercials? The
Speaker 1: great commercials. These companies spend millions and millions of dollars
Speaker 1: to make these creative I just fear that if the
Speaker 1: commercial is so great, I'm gonna hear about it on Twitter. Anyway,
Speaker 1: Were there even? I mean, like I said, I was,
Speaker 1: I was. I actually tuned out of Twitter pretty well
Speaker 1: because I was like, you know what I was actually
Speaker 1: And this is a good question for you. What level
Speaker 1: of NBA news had to happen for you to tweet
Speaker 1: during the Super Bowl Because I was thinking if I
Speaker 1: tweet a bunch of stuff, people gonna be like, Stein,
Speaker 1: shut up, not now, we don't want to hear it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a good question. I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I remember this. This this is the anniversary. It's probably
Speaker 1: three years ago now when I forgot what Super Bowl
Speaker 1: that was, where it was just a boring super Bowl.
Speaker 1: No team was scoring, and Lebron tweeted out, tweeted out
Speaker 1: me and shams and woes and McManaman tweet out break
Speaker 1: some news now, like this game is born, break some
Speaker 1: news now. I will say, while I was at the
Speaker 1: volleyball game, some people were keeping me abreast of the score.
Speaker 1: It was pretty close throughout. So you didn't have that
Speaker 1: problem this go around. But yeah, I'm with you. I
Speaker 1: didn't watch the Super Bowl, but I feel like I
Speaker 1: had a valid reason you, even with your explanation, still
Speaker 1: not so much. Okay, Well here's here's my other explanation
Speaker 1: real quick, and then we'll get to the we'll get
Speaker 1: to the business and had also impacting again. My team's
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills. They lost four in a row. Of
Speaker 1: these four in a row, that wounds you deeply. And
Speaker 1: after that, I was I was just off the NFL.
Speaker 1: My son brought me back because it is the NFL
Speaker 1: is his favorite sport as a spectator. He is the
Speaker 1: president of the Texas chapter of the Josh Allen Fan Club.
Speaker 1: This kid lives and dies with the Bills. He brought
Speaker 1: me back. So the Bills I'm back on. I'm back
Speaker 1: on the bandwagon. But if the Bills ain't playing, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm out. Okay, well you're gonna be out most years,
Speaker 1: so now I'll go ahead. Well we'll see, all right,
Speaker 1: So I want to hear yeah, like they probably don't.
Speaker 1: They probably are not signing up for our NFL commentary.
Speaker 1: So we will get we will. We will certainly get
Speaker 1: to the Gary Peyton to trade saga, which I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna enlighten enlighten us on a bit later on.
Speaker 1: But let's start with the buyout market because I think
Speaker 1: that has the broadest interest. You know, the trade deadline ends,
Speaker 1: and I feel like even more than trade analysis people
Speaker 1: what's gonna happen on the buyout market. So it's interesting.
Speaker 1: Is a lot of the biggest names, Russell Westbrook, John Wall,
Speaker 1: Patrick Beverlely Serjebaka, we don't know where they are going.
Speaker 1: The players that have landed that we do know. Reggie
Speaker 1: Jackson a very nice pickup for the Denver Nuggets who
Speaker 1: traded for Thomas Bryant and now appear to be getting
Speaker 1: Reggie Jackson. You know, those aren't splashy moves. But I
Speaker 1: think the Nuggets very quietly have strengthened their team in
Speaker 1: a pretty significant way. And when Yoki is playing at
Speaker 1: the level he's been playing and Jamal Murray starting to
Speaker 1: inch his way back to bubble Jamal Murray, you know,
Speaker 1: they've gotten stronger. They've been the most consistent force in
Speaker 1: the West. Some pretty good, pretty good business from the Nuggets.
Speaker 1: And then the team where I live, Dallas. They thought
Speaker 1: they were getting to Arence Ross. They had strong indications
Speaker 1: Saturday that Terrence Ross wanted to be a Dallas Maverick.
Speaker 1: That was their belief at least, and nope, the Phoenix
Speaker 1: Suns swoop in and convinced Ross to go to Phoenix
Speaker 1: rather than Dallas. So another pickup for a son's team
Speaker 1: that is already a lot of people's favored in the
Speaker 1: Western Conference. After trading for Kevin Durant, now they fortified
Speaker 1: their bench a little bit. Danny Green is going to
Speaker 1: Cleveland after getting his buyout from the Houston Rockets. And
Speaker 1: then I also reported today that the Mavericks have turned
Speaker 1: their attention to Justin Holliday. The Rockets will be put
Speaker 1: if they do a buyout with Holiday, which it sounds
Speaker 1: like they will, Houston will have put three players into
Speaker 1: this buyout market. John Wall again still we don't know
Speaker 1: where he's gonna land, but Danny Green soon to be
Speaker 1: a calve and Holiday the MAVs are chasing him. What
Speaker 1: do you think of all that nonsense? I just spewed, Well,
Speaker 1: all those all those out there, you know, Terence Ross,
Speaker 1: we knew Phoenix was going to be a heavy recruiter
Speaker 1: in this buyout market. We knew that all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: they're probably the most attractive team out there on the
Speaker 1: market right now, And it makes all the sense in
Speaker 1: the world. Phoenix is a good place. Phoenix is a
Speaker 1: great city to play in. I just left Phoenix. The
Speaker 1: weather was beautiful, gorgeous weather. But I got out before
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl frenzy of travel trump by people that
Speaker 1: are that will be departing Phoenix, so I was able
Speaker 1: to get out before that. But with that being said,
Speaker 1: so Terence Ross goes to Phoenix. Good pickup Reggie Jackson
Speaker 1: and Denver. They've been looking for more, you know, more
Speaker 1: more veteran presence with bones Highland trading, bones to clip,
Speaker 1: you know, to the Clippers and bringing in Reggie Jackson
Speaker 1: and market. That's a great pickup for them. I like
Speaker 1: Danny Green in Cleveland, you know, he was over there
Speaker 1: early in his career. Could pick up for them. But
Speaker 1: there's a lot of unknowns now like, So let's talk
Speaker 1: about Russell Westbrook real quick. I was told Billy Donovan
Speaker 1: with the Bulls he's made, his message has been relayed
Speaker 1: to Russ that Chicago should be the place for him.
Speaker 1: So I don't know, I don't know if they've talked extensively.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it was a text, but I
Speaker 1: was told his message has been relayed to Russ that
Speaker 1: Chicago should be the place. That's interesting because you know
Speaker 1: they didn't, you know, at least from what I remember,
Speaker 1: I mean, did they have a great you know, I
Speaker 1: seem to remember there were some tensions there when when
Speaker 1: Russ was at the end of his thunder time, or
Speaker 1: at least that was the that was the whisper. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that that I'm not too sure about. That's just you
Speaker 1: know what I was told. Then you have obviously the
Speaker 1: La Clippers, who we heard Paul George openly campaigning for
Speaker 1: Russ to pick the clippers and stay home. And you
Speaker 1: know that that was just be a storybook type of
Speaker 1: a chapter right there with Russ going over across the hall.
Speaker 1: And excuse me, if you hear a howling, that's my
Speaker 1: dog in the back of howling. Isn't the full moon
Speaker 1: back there? What time is its forty five pm? Here?
Speaker 1: I don't know what's going on. My dog gotta check on.
Speaker 1: But uh so you got that, and then we get
Speaker 1: such a glimpse into your life and out of the show.
Speaker 1: I mean, I thought I knew you pretty well, but
Speaker 1: I mean we're only like seven we're like seven episodes
Speaker 1: into this thing, but I've learned a lot about you.
Speaker 1: You never know what's going to happen in the Haynes household.
Speaker 1: My dog is hell Is because I'll tell you this.
Speaker 1: When I walk into press rooms, I'm still getting questions.
Speaker 1: Did Haynes really order a pizza? And I'm like, yes,
Speaker 1: that was not made up, that was not for effect.
Speaker 1: That was real. My kids were hungry and I knew
Speaker 1: I couldn't do anything the next hour or so, so
Speaker 1: I'll order a pizza so they can stay quiet. And
Speaker 1: you don't. You don't hear my dog? Oh no, this
Speaker 1: is a that's the thing. But it's you know, it's
Speaker 1: your dog sounds like a wolf, like this is like, no,
Speaker 1: it's like a wolf sound. Yeah. No, he's husky mixed
Speaker 1: with parrenees. But so he looks like, yeah, what is it?
Speaker 1: What is it? Y'all? Hear this? Everybody? I don't think
Speaker 1: he does. This mean he doesn't Your dog does not
Speaker 1: like our work product. We're not We're not bringing it.
Speaker 1: Or maybe he wants to talk about the Temple Warves.
Speaker 1: I don't know what it is, but god Lee is
Speaker 1: not happy. Prince buy out mark press, Chill, press, press,
Speaker 1: chill Quiet. I'm doing a pod quiet all right. So
Speaker 1: what I was saying, this will be impressive if Prince
Speaker 1: heeds those instructions. What I was saying, so John Wall.
Speaker 1: I don't know what the market is for him right now.
Speaker 1: I really don't. I don't trump think have I heard
Speaker 1: of a team. I don't know that I've heard a
Speaker 1: team linked to him as of yet. Well, I want
Speaker 1: to have back to Russ for a second, because I mean,
Speaker 1: you said it. Paul George came out two nights ago
Speaker 1: and basically told the assembled media he wants Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: on this team. But is that a unanimous opinion in Clipperland?
Speaker 1: Is the front office on board with that? Are the
Speaker 1: rest of the players in that locker room on board
Speaker 1: with that? And I'm asking it more rhetorically, not trying
Speaker 1: to put you on the spot. I genuinely don't know.
Speaker 1: But you would think Paul George has out a voice
Speaker 1: there is just about anybody. So I thought that was
Speaker 1: really interesting that he was so openly campaigning for Russ
Speaker 1: to I mean, look at this. I mean I think
Speaker 1: we all have to question it to some degree. I mean,
Speaker 1: for sure, for sure, but what else do they have
Speaker 1: at that position? Well that seems you know, Bones Highland
Speaker 1: is not a pure playmaker by any stretch, but he
Speaker 1: certainly gives them another guy who can do stuff with
Speaker 1: the ball, So you know, I I thought the Clippers
Speaker 1: had one. You know, I thought the Clippers had a
Speaker 1: pretty strong rebound. Obviously, they weren't as desperate or eager
Speaker 1: to get into the Kyrie Irving situation as the Lakers were.
Speaker 1: But I thought both LA teams did okay at this deadline.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Lakers came away with four or five
Speaker 1: new players and completely refurbished their rotation. And you know,
Speaker 1: got guys who you know, are very capable NBA players,
Speaker 1: And if they can get if they can get Lebron
Speaker 1: right and keep a D on the court, they should
Speaker 1: be a much stronger team with Ruey Hatchemura and Vanderbilt
Speaker 1: and Malik Beasley, you know, and DeAngelo Russell, with all
Speaker 1: these newcomers, they should be much stronger. And the Clippers, okay,
Speaker 1: they did not get the you know, the full fledged playing.
Speaker 1: They didn't get a Mike Conley type, which I think
Speaker 1: a lot of us have said they need to make
Speaker 1: the offense flow better for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Speaker 1: But you know, they do get plumbly, they do get highland.
Speaker 1: I'm leaving out who the third person in that Mick
Speaker 1: who who was who who was their third acquisition. Why
Speaker 1: can't I man, it is a yeah, who did they
Speaker 1: get from? And Eric Gordon? So they got I mean,
Speaker 1: so they upgraded, they upgraded their bench, you know, very noticeably.
Speaker 1: So look adding ding a Russell Westbrook in the buyout market,
Speaker 1: it would be I mean, it would be I mean
Speaker 1: for us, it would be delicious if Russ stays in
Speaker 1: LA and doesn't you know, just moves across the hall.
Speaker 1: But you know that we I think we also do.
Speaker 1: I have to acknowledge here that to this point, you know,
Speaker 1: the vibes coming out of Utah have been Russ wants
Speaker 1: to take a little time here and figure out what
Speaker 1: to do. I still think he ends up doing a biout.
Speaker 1: I can't see him finishing the season with the Jazz,
Speaker 1: But the Jazz are kind of sending that message that
Speaker 1: we'd be happy to keep him if he wants to stay. So, uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't see it. I don't see it. I mean,
Speaker 1: if he stayed, the benefit would be they have a
Speaker 1: bird rights. But I don't. I don't see that at all.
Speaker 1: But yeah, so I think at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: once it does get to the point where he does
Speaker 1: get that buyout Bulls Clippers, and look, Miami has there.
Speaker 1: I have not heard any fresh rumbles about Miami's interest,
Speaker 1: but you know, my aunt, there was a there was
Speaker 1: a point in time. I'm a few years ago Miami
Speaker 1: tried to trade for Russell Westbrook. They he's always been
Speaker 1: on their radar, to radar to some degree. And as
Speaker 1: I've said a zillion times, you know pat Riley, Eric Spoelstra,
Speaker 1: they are never afraid to take on a strong personality.
Speaker 1: They're never afraid of reclamation projects if they think Russell
Speaker 1: Westbrook or John Wall can help them, and won't surprise
Speaker 1: me one iota if the heat jump in there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and another guy out there, Pat Bev. You know, I
Speaker 1: thought I thought I was hearing rumbles all season long
Speaker 1: about how he would like to have a reunion in Minnesota,
Speaker 1: until your report came out and said Minnesota they don't.
Speaker 1: They don't have any interest that's not in their plans,
Speaker 1: and so you try to think about where could he land. Milwaukee.
Speaker 1: I don't think I haven't heard anything with Milwaukee linked
Speaker 1: to Pat Bev. Miami. I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1: Back to the Clippers, I know people saying saying that
Speaker 1: I don't know. So the rest of these guys you
Speaker 1: talk about, Pat bev Russ, no, Pat bay of John
Speaker 1: wall a lot of unknowns as it right now. Someone
Speaker 1: else we should throw in here who is not part
Speaker 1: of the buyout market because he's been trying to find
Speaker 1: his next stop all season. De Marcus Cousins is another
Speaker 1: former All Star who is available and itching to get
Speaker 1: back in And you know it hasn't materialized yet, But
Speaker 1: there are a lot of very accomplished players who are
Speaker 1: suddenly free agents in the league. Serge Ibaka as well.
Speaker 1: You think Serge is still you think he's still serviceable.
Speaker 1: I mean the fact that a title chasing team in
Speaker 1: Milwaukee didn't see the need to keep him and made
Speaker 1: it so clear that he was going to be made
Speaker 1: available at the deadline, I mean that certainly raises red flags.
Speaker 1: But I also would think with his resume and experience
Speaker 1: that if a team needs a big they would certainly
Speaker 1: consider him. They'd have to take a look at him.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's it's, uh, it's you know, I've found
Speaker 1: it interesting that, uh, you know, the way the way
Speaker 1: the buyout market has kind of started with you know,
Speaker 1: Reggie Jackson, Terrence Ross, Danny Green, and you know justin
Speaker 1: Holiday generating more interest now than than some of these
Speaker 1: other names. Will Barton as well, Will Barton, another guy
Speaker 1: Will So that's it. Yeah, I mean, I mean Will
Speaker 1: Barton's you know, less than two seasons removed from what
Speaker 1: the average fourteen and seven in Washington. So, um, there
Speaker 1: is talent out Denver, in Denver, my bad. I told you,
Speaker 1: don't trust it if my memories involved, don't trust it
Speaker 1: unless I can look it up. Um. Yeah, So, I mean,
Speaker 1: we still have a good bit bit of action here.
Speaker 1: But let's let's pivot to the Let's pivot to the
Speaker 1: trade that is amazingly only just getting agreed to tonight
Speaker 1: as we record this, and when this comes out Monday,
Speaker 1: the teams will finally announce it, you know, the Warriors
Speaker 1: and the Blazers. At odds. The Warriors say that the
Speaker 1: Blazers did not disclose all the requisite medical information on
Speaker 1: Gary Payton, the second that they should have in the
Speaker 1: team's trade talks. The Warriors are insisting that Gary Peyton
Speaker 1: too is going to be out for an extended stretch
Speaker 1: and is not ready to play, and that the Blazers
Speaker 1: did not convey that now. In the end, Golden State
Speaker 1: is going through with the trade. They're getting back a
Speaker 1: player they didn't want to lose in the first place,
Speaker 1: a player they felt they couldn't resign because of luxury
Speaker 1: tax reasons. He's not gonna be able to play right away.
Speaker 1: Stephan Curry's out right now. I mean, there is a
Speaker 1: lot to this story, and I'm just going to turn
Speaker 1: it over to you. The word is that if any
Speaker 1: violation is found that they could issue a fine or
Speaker 1: remove some draft picks. So we'll see what happens from that.
Speaker 1: But you know, there's another layer to this from the
Speaker 1: Warrior standpoint. I was told that they've urged the league
Speaker 1: to look into Portland's dealing with New Orleans last year
Speaker 1: when it was the CJ. McCallum Larry Nast trade. They've
Speaker 1: urged the league to look into that, particularly Larry Nast Jr.
Speaker 1: Because they believe that a similar incident happened in that deal,
Speaker 1: and they feel like the Blazers may have a pattern
Speaker 1: of doing something where they're either withholding information or presenting
Speaker 1: misleading information. And so without having all the details, what
Speaker 1: I do know is the Warriors have made it clear
Speaker 1: to the lead that they need to look into that
Speaker 1: trade from last year, and that was around the deadline.
Speaker 1: That was about two days that deal happened, I believe
Speaker 1: about two or three days before the trade deadline. So
Speaker 1: it's a little bit different. But you would expect the
Speaker 1: league to call New Orleans to see what they say
Speaker 1: and get their take on what happened in that deal. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because if I mean, I mean, that's that's definitely something new,
Speaker 1: a new development, and if there is any evidence of
Speaker 1: a pattern here, that is certainly going to factor into
Speaker 1: how the league deals with it. Because I think it's clear. Look,
Speaker 1: it was pretty clear when you know, Gary Peyton is
Speaker 1: watching the Warriors play, sitting with team officials and wearing
Speaker 1: a Warrior sweatshirt on Saturday night, It's that was a
Speaker 1: pretty strong sign that this trade was going to go
Speaker 1: through in the end. But I think it's also clear
Speaker 1: that the Warriors do want some sort of punishment levied
Speaker 1: against the Blazers. Whether that means you know, they made
Speaker 1: that clear, Hosta, they made that abutly clear. Yeah, they
Speaker 1: want some type of puss. Yeah. Yeah, So are they
Speaker 1: gonna get you know, is there gonna be a fine here?
Speaker 1: Is there? You know, do they lose pick somehow, um,
Speaker 1: because the Warriors gave up five you know, five second
Speaker 1: rounders as part of this trade to bring Gary Payton
Speaker 1: the second back. Did you at any point this weekend
Speaker 1: think this deal was not gonna happen. No, No, not
Speaker 1: at all, not at all, not at all. I mean
Speaker 1: the financial ramifications for rescinding that deal wouldn't have been
Speaker 1: on Golden State side. No. I think at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, the league, the Warriors were in communication
Speaker 1: with the league, and I know Adam Silver was heavily
Speaker 1: involved with trying to see it. I believe they were
Speaker 1: trying to see what more they could get out of it.
Speaker 1: But being at this deal happened at the trade deadline,
Speaker 1: like right at the buzzer, there was no way that
Speaker 1: they can get any type of compensation back for a
Speaker 1: player who failed the physical And so I think they,
Speaker 1: you know, there's exhausted all their options. They went up
Speaker 1: into the deadline to try to see what can be done,
Speaker 1: what penalties can be levy, what can they be had,
Speaker 1: And I think at the end of the day they
Speaker 1: realize that, Okay, we know we can't get anything out
Speaker 1: you know about of this deal, right now, but it
Speaker 1: still serves us, serves our interests in keeping this trade,
Speaker 1: keeping this trade executed. Bringing Gary Payton him sitting, you know,
Speaker 1: I think he's going to be out for maybe a
Speaker 1: few weeks or something like. I don't think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be out long. So I think they had to look
Speaker 1: at it from that standpoint. But it is clear that
Speaker 1: they made a point that they feel like something was
Speaker 1: not on the up and up, and they want the
Speaker 1: league to investigate. And you know, I can believe they're
Speaker 1: hoping that the League finds something and issues them issues
Speaker 1: the issues Portland, you know, whatever that and that's the thing.
Speaker 1: They want a Pielty Levy. But it's not necessarily going
Speaker 1: to help them out. But that's just so just that's
Speaker 1: just how distraught they are by the situation. Let me
Speaker 1: ask you something. Since you are still in the Bay Area,
Speaker 1: you moved there to cover the Warrior years, the year,
Speaker 1: the one year at ESPN that we got to work together.
Speaker 1: You were basically living with the Warriors like I had,
Speaker 1: you know, the previous three years. I know you know
Speaker 1: this team very very very well. I'm guilty of this.
Speaker 1: Like I I give them the ultimate benefit of the doubt,
Speaker 1: and I keep saying they're gonna they're gonna flip this.
Speaker 1: They're gonna find the switch. They're gonna flip the switch.
Speaker 1: They're gonna be fine. But they're twenty eight and twenty
Speaker 1: eight entering Monday's play. They're ninth in the West. There's
Speaker 1: still seven and twenty one on the road. They are
Speaker 1: big trade deadline acquisition, can't play right away. Stephen Curry
Speaker 1: is out until after the All Star Game at the soonest,
Speaker 1: I mean, are they gonna Are they gonna get in
Speaker 1: the top six? These are the defending champions, I believe,
Speaker 1: So yeah, Steph coming back after the All Star break,
Speaker 1: you know, GP would be out a few weeks. I
Speaker 1: think they'll be fine. You know, but you know the
Speaker 1: question you ask is are they gonna be all right?
Speaker 1: And so I was going to come back to you with, okay,
Speaker 1: it depends on what does all right mean? Like it's
Speaker 1: all right meaning like are they still going to be
Speaker 1: a championship Continent team? I don't know, because I feel
Speaker 1: like Phoenix has just raised the bar so much. I
Speaker 1: really I expect a lot out of Phoenix, Like this
Speaker 1: is a championship or bust type of a tenure as
Speaker 1: long as those three are together, or I should say
Speaker 1: those four including DeAndre Aiden. So you know, I think
Speaker 1: the Warriors are still a good team. I still think
Speaker 1: they're going to be in the mix. I think, and
Speaker 1: Steph Curry comes back relatively soon after the All Star break,
Speaker 1: and it's healthy the duration, Yes, go to State's a
Speaker 1: top six team, and they're a better team than even
Speaker 1: the top six. You can probably put them top four
Speaker 1: if they're healthy. So I think from that standpoint they'll
Speaker 1: be fine. I just don't put them above Phoenix or Denver.
Speaker 1: And if I force you to make a choice, you
Speaker 1: would you would say, as of again, this is dropping
Speaker 1: on February thirteam. You got Phoenix winning the West. I
Speaker 1: don't see how that's come on. It's kad Chris Paul,
Speaker 1: Devin Booker, DeAndre Aiden, you bring it in, Terrence Ross.
Speaker 1: They're not done. Yeah, they are not done. I think
Speaker 1: I think they will. They will bring in at least
Speaker 1: one more player. Yeah, they're not done, and I like
Speaker 1: I like. A player that I like for this team
Speaker 1: is a player that's already on this roster, and this
Speaker 1: player might have had to do a little bit more
Speaker 1: than what he's comfortable doing, Tory Craig, I think he
Speaker 1: fits with this team so perfect where he can go
Speaker 1: back to doing purely all the dirty work play defense,
Speaker 1: Like he doesn't have to take as much shots, he
Speaker 1: don't have to put the ball in the ground as much.
Speaker 1: He can just fall right back into doing all the
Speaker 1: dirty work and just let those let the let that
Speaker 1: big four handle you handle the offensive voad. So I
Speaker 1: really like what he can bring to the table. And
Speaker 1: Damian Lee has been playing stellar all season long. Man,
Speaker 1: I think he's going to be a good piece of that.
Speaker 1: So I like Phoenix man, I really do. And no
Speaker 1: disrespect to Denver, I understand they've been the most consistent
Speaker 1: team number one seed. I like it. I like the
Speaker 1: additional Richard Jackson, no disrespect, but you're bringing Katie over
Speaker 1: to that Phoenix squad man, and if if, if we're
Speaker 1: just if health is equal all across the board for everybody,
Speaker 1: I just can't see Felix losing. Sounds like KD will
Speaker 1: do his introductory press conference in the Desert later this week.
Speaker 1: I'm eager to hear it, because you know, usually we
Speaker 1: don't we hear from KD quite a bit, but we
Speaker 1: really haven't heard from him since the trade went down.
Speaker 1: Have we Like, we don't. Does anybody have a decent
Speaker 1: pulse on I'm kind of how psyched he is for
Speaker 1: this move, and obviously this is the move he wanted.
Speaker 1: We know that, but I haven't. I haven't talked to KD.
Speaker 1: The last time I talked to KD we were texting
Speaker 1: back and forth. That was probably it was a matter
Speaker 1: of fact, it was Tuesday, so it was two days before. No,
Speaker 1: it was a day before the deadline. It was a
Speaker 1: day before the deadline, and you know, I was trying
Speaker 1: to see how he was doing, you know, seeing what's up,
Speaker 1: and basically just told me at that time, he's just
Speaker 1: you know, trying to hurry up and get back on
Speaker 1: his court, you know, trying to get back on the court.
Speaker 1: And that was pretty much the pretty much the whole conversation.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know these guys much better than I do,
Speaker 1: Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton. How quick
Speaker 1: does it come together? I think these guys are I
Speaker 1: think these guys are really smart. I think it comes
Speaker 1: together pretty quickly. I really do. I think they'll make
Speaker 1: it work. They'll make it work. These guys understand the timeline.
Speaker 1: This is a win now window. I think they get
Speaker 1: it done. I mean and Chris, I mean, Chris is
Speaker 1: the one who needs it more than anybody. I mean
Speaker 1: the only thing missing for him in his career is
Speaker 1: the championship. And I mean he's never going to have
Speaker 1: a better shot than than with this this club. Nah,
Speaker 1: for sure, that's it. I thought he had it a
Speaker 1: couple of years ago when that first you know, the
Speaker 1: NBA Finals in Milwaukee, Man and Janice came off of
Speaker 1: the injury, just just completely dominated that series. But you know,
Speaker 1: I think I think if this Katie, this Katie arrival
Speaker 1: never happened, I think most people will believe that that
Speaker 1: year was Chris Paul's best year to get a title.
Speaker 1: And last shot Yeah, last shot. Yeah, that's in last shot.
Speaker 1: So this this gives this gives him another window. And
Speaker 1: I'm happy for him, man, I'm happy for him that
Speaker 1: they'll have the opportunity to have a team that not
Speaker 1: a team like it. Even in that Phoenix squad, even
Speaker 1: when they were playing great, I don't know that many
Speaker 1: still picked them to like go all the way. Like
Speaker 1: I don't know if they were still clear cut favorites,
Speaker 1: like say Denver, like so say that, say that Katie
Speaker 1: move never happens. Denver is the number one seed, But
Speaker 1: are they still the clear cut favorite favorite out of
Speaker 1: everybody else? I don't know that you can say that.
Speaker 1: You know, there's it's still there's so much parity this
Speaker 1: year in the Western Conference. But again, man, I really
Speaker 1: I could be wrong. I very well could be wrong.
Speaker 1: It may not work. You know this this No. I
Speaker 1: think you're right in the sense that there's parody, but
Speaker 1: it's also skepticism, like Denver, because they've never done it.
Speaker 1: Until they do it. The way the NBA works, people
Speaker 1: are not going to believe that they can do it
Speaker 1: until they do it. I mean, that's it's not fair.
Speaker 1: Yok Yokich right now is winning the MVP race. The
Speaker 1: dude is averaging a triple double and playing the most
Speaker 1: efficient basketball possible. He should be leading the MVP race.
Speaker 1: The Nuggets have the best record in the West, but
Speaker 1: there will be skeptics about the Nuggets. Memphis has certainly
Speaker 1: with the way things have been going here lately. They're
Speaker 1: in a you know, they're in a three and seven
Speaker 1: skid in their last ten. You know, they've certainly picked
Speaker 1: up some skeptics here after getting off to a great start.
Speaker 1: Everybody from three to thirteen down are on sub fifty
Speaker 1: win paces. So yeah, I mean, Phoenix, this is set
Speaker 1: up for Kate if if KD can rebound from this
Speaker 1: nice brain the way he did last season and just
Speaker 1: get right back to his best. Yeah, I mean, Phoenix
Speaker 1: is going to be a Phoenix is going to be
Speaker 1: a problem. And I don't mind at all because I love,
Speaker 1: you know, with T and T. I'm thankful for T
Speaker 1: and TV because they don't send me out East too much.
Speaker 1: You know, a lot a lot of you know, the Lakers, Lakers,
Speaker 1: even in their bad they're still entertaining. There's still there's
Speaker 1: still a following. So I'm in LA a lot. I mean,
Speaker 1: go to state. I had a lot of Phoenix games too,
Speaker 1: and I don't think I have many Phoenix games, but
Speaker 1: I don't think I have any Phoenix games left on
Speaker 1: my T and T assignment. But I think that's definitely
Speaker 1: going to change. I think Phoenix to definitely get some
Speaker 1: games flexed for the rest of the season. So I
Speaker 1: want that's where I want. That's actually where I wanted
Speaker 1: to end this with a two part personal question. A okay,
Speaker 1: two part personal question, A. Are you at any more
Speaker 1: liberty to reveal anything about your top secret trip to Phoenix?
Speaker 1: You said you left the day before the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: so you got out before the actual big game chaos,
Speaker 1: But you did make your top secret trip to Phoenix.
Speaker 1: I want to know A if you can reveal anything
Speaker 1: about that, and then be you are headed to the
Speaker 1: All Star Game? I am currently not. Just tell us
Speaker 1: what your week looks like. I don't know. Do you
Speaker 1: have do you have games Tuesday and Thursday this week?
Speaker 1: Are you going straight to Salt Lake? Or what's what's
Speaker 1: happening with you? So that was about three questions right
Speaker 1: this Stoh you said too, you should know better to
Speaker 1: trust my what I So? The first question was can
Speaker 1: I reveal who I was with in Phoenix? I will.
Speaker 1: I would just say this, it was an owner. I
Speaker 1: was with an owner at an event in Phoenix. That's
Speaker 1: what That's what I was. It nice, lovely, the best
Speaker 1: best party I've ever attended. Wow, breaking news, we need
Speaker 1: a break. I gotta talk to mister Kitzer from the
Speaker 1: bag and we need some sort of breaking news. Drop.
Speaker 1: I can say that and the second question, what what
Speaker 1: would I'd be doing? What would I be doing at
Speaker 1: All Star Weekend? I will I'm doing the interviews. I'll
Speaker 1: be on the See the I'll be on the pregame
Speaker 1: show for Saturday the night, and I'll be on the
Speaker 1: pregame show for Sunday Night for the All Star Game
Speaker 1: and Saturday Night Dunk Contest and everything pregame shows with
Speaker 1: E J. Kenny Chuck shot my role. I'll be interviewing
Speaker 1: players and so I'll be popping in in and you know,
Speaker 1: in throughout the pregame show for both nights, Saturday Night
Speaker 1: and Sunday Night. And lastly, your last question, you asked me,
Speaker 1: I'm getting old. You got games this week? Yes, I have.
Speaker 1: I believe I leave tomorrow. So this is Sunday night,
Speaker 1: when this pot um drops, I will be in the
Speaker 1: air going to Los Angeles. I have the Clippers Warriors Tuesday,
Speaker 1: and so from there, from LA, I'll come back home
Speaker 1: real quick and get some more I was thinking like,
Speaker 1: should I go straight to Salt Lake from l But
Speaker 1: now I'm gonna come home grab some more stuff. Well,
Speaker 1: Clippers worries, It's perfect because then you can you can
Speaker 1: by the time we drop our next pod. You will
Speaker 1: have a much better handle on the feasibility of Russell
Speaker 1: Westborough going to the Clippers, because all those guys love
Speaker 1: you and they're just gonna tell you last, last, last question.
Speaker 1: You got some good I'm too old to say this,
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna say it anyway. You got some good
Speaker 1: drip for the weekend, and we need to see some
Speaker 1: Are we gonna see some fire fits from Chris Haynes.
Speaker 1: I will be going shopping this week. I don't have
Speaker 1: it yet. I'm going shopping this week, so I gotta
Speaker 1: I gotta get me two new suits. I gotta give
Speaker 1: me two new suits. And the problem with this is
Speaker 1: it's not you know, the problem with you know, getting
Speaker 1: these suits, like especially when you get like a nice suit.
Speaker 1: I love, I love getting to have, you know, wearing
Speaker 1: a nice suit and then everybody's complimenting you on it.
Speaker 1: If I remember last All Star weekend, right, I wore
Speaker 1: this Um I got it in Cleveland. Yeah, I forgot
Speaker 1: the name of the company in Cleveland. Want to give
Speaker 1: him a shout out, But it was a it was
Speaker 1: an orange and kind of orange and brown suit. And
Speaker 1: I wore like this orange turtleneck to go with it,
Speaker 1: and it just fits the Cleveland vibe so muscular, was
Speaker 1: so cold. But I was getting a lot of compliments
Speaker 1: on that suit. And I'm working the Rising Stars game
Speaker 1: and Shot comes walk towards me. As I walk working
Speaker 1: the game, he walks behind me, gets behind me, leans down,
Speaker 1: whispers in my ear. That's a nice suit. But you
Speaker 1: can only wear it once. Remember that? And I was like, damn,
Speaker 1: he's right, when can I wear this again? Like? When
Speaker 1: can I wear this combination again? Publicly? People people watch
Speaker 1: that type of stuff, right except us Humble reporters, or
Speaker 1: we Humble reporters, whatever the grammatically correct way to say
Speaker 1: that is. We don't have Shock's clothing budget, so it's
Speaker 1: not that easy for us. Once we can't You can't
Speaker 1: do it. You can't wear the same combination, especially if
Speaker 1: the if the suit is so bright, you can't wear
Speaker 1: it again. You should have a you have have a
Speaker 1: what you should have a clothing contract. I'm gonna make
Speaker 1: it my mission. I'm gonna we need to get you
Speaker 1: a clothing contract. So it just so then you just
Speaker 1: get your new stuff. You don't have to worry about it.
Speaker 1: Just yeah, I don't have to It's all about a
Speaker 1: mixing and match up. That's what it's about. It's all
Speaker 1: about mixing and match up. All right, Well, we will
Speaker 1: be keeping an eye off for that. Like I said,
Speaker 1: I'm still a couple of weeks ago when you and
Speaker 1: stan Van Gundy walking down the hall and the TNT
Speaker 1: Kicks cam featured both of you and your kicks were
Speaker 1: better than stands. Will give you that one point for Haynes.
Speaker 1: Good stuff as always, and we will do this again
Speaker 1: later this week before the madness of All Star weekend,
Speaker 1: and then next week you can tell us all the
Speaker 1: stories of your of your out of control chaos and
Speaker 1: all the parties. I will be oftended. Well yes, yeah,
Speaker 1: I hope. I mean, if I was there, I'd be
Speaker 1: getting invited to none. But I expect you to. I
Speaker 1: expect you to at least break into two or three
Speaker 1: good ones. All right, everybody that does it for this
Speaker 1: edition of This League Uncut Episode seven, Please rate, review,
Speaker 1: and subscribe Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods,
Speaker 1: and Chris and I will be back very very soon
Speaker 1: with more of the latest from this league, and then
Speaker 1: I'll do it for us. See you next time. This
Speaker 1: League Uncut it, and I heard radio production