1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:07,160
Speaker 1: The volume. The Colin Cowherd Podcast brought to you by

2
00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,720
Speaker 1: Fan Duel. It's never been easier to play fantasy on

3
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,000
Speaker 1: Fan Duel. Well they love basketball, golf, soccer, or any

4
00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:16,840
Speaker 1: fantasy sport. There is a contest for every fan Fan

5
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:30,159
Speaker 1: Duel more ways to win. Hi, everybody, Welcome to the

6
00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,280
Speaker 1: Wednesday Morning Colin Cowart Podcast. I'm so fired up for

7
00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,720
Speaker 1: Ethan Strauss, NBA writer for the Athletic. I think he's

8
00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,000
Speaker 1: the smartest guy cover than the NBA. I think he

9
00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:44,000
Speaker 1: has so many different angles. Every time I read him,

10
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,519
Speaker 1: every time I talk to him, I get smarter. So

11
00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,080
Speaker 1: we're gonna go about thirty thirty five minutes on the playoffs,

12
00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,440
Speaker 1: the state of the league, Adam Silver, all sorts of

13
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,400
Speaker 1: good stuff. I want to start with this though an

14
00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,160
Speaker 1: interesting team now they're the Gonzaga of the NBA. The

15
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,880
Speaker 1: Utah Jazz. We never give him respect. It's really interesting

16
00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,080
Speaker 1: when you look at the West. Anybody else think it's odd?

17
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:09,200
Speaker 1: The Lakers opens a seven point favored over the Warriors

18
00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,040
Speaker 1: in the playoff game, it drops to four to four

19
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,679
Speaker 1: and a half. The wise guys are selling the Lakers.

20
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:21,040
Speaker 1: Why Lebron's health? Jamal Murray Denver second best player out.

21
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,600
Speaker 1: Clippers Paul George has struggled in the playoffs. Bad late

22
00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,119
Speaker 1: game team. Portland don't really have wing defenders or wing

23
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,160
Speaker 1: explosion sons. Aren't we asking a lot to go from

24
00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: bad to the finals? Why aren't we paying more attention

25
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:41,839
Speaker 1: to the Utah Jazz folks? Same coach, rim defender, all

26
00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:47,440
Speaker 1: star guard, excellent bench, excellent late game team, tremendous home

27
00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,520
Speaker 1: court basketball operation. Listen, I tell people this, Gonzaga is

28
00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,480
Speaker 1: now a top three basketball program in America. They are

29
00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,960
Speaker 1: now consistently better than Kansas. I'm sorry they are. They're

30
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,680
Speaker 1: better than ever It. They're better than Syracuse, They're better

31
00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,160
Speaker 1: than Yukon right now, last five years, they're better than Duke.

32
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,160
Speaker 1: Should we come to terms that because of the star

33
00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,000
Speaker 1: power of the league, we are literally disregarding the team

34
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,720
Speaker 1: that ended up with the best record. Think about that,

35
00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,160
Speaker 1: best record in any other sport is the talk of

36
00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:27,680
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Utah isn't in any single conversation. And with that,

37
00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:34,000
Speaker 1: I bring in the athletics Ethan Strauss. So I'm gonna

38
00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,160
Speaker 1: throw a theory at you, Ethan. And You've been one

39
00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:37,880
Speaker 1: of these guys that one of the thing. One of

40
00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,000
Speaker 1: the reasons I'm attracted to your writing is that you're

41
00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,640
Speaker 1: willing to be You remind me a little of Tom Verducci,

42
00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,000
Speaker 1: in which you examine the long play the macro. You

43
00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,560
Speaker 1: can be critical of the league. Obviously, you love the league,

44
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:52,919
Speaker 1: and I said this the other day with the Nets

45
00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:58,280
Speaker 1: and the Lakers. Short term, the league loves Lebron, ad KD,

46
00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,360
Speaker 1: Kyrie Harden in the finals. Number rating has been sagging

47
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,480
Speaker 1: a lot of star power, but I wonder the message

48
00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:10,359
Speaker 1: it sends if Brooklyn got into the finals to other players,

49
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,079
Speaker 1: which is, you don't really need to play more than

50
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:18,920
Speaker 1: forty five games. Stars converging two can play. And I

51
00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,200
Speaker 1: wonder if I mean that team's played together six games

52
00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:27,880
Speaker 1: now Lebron and ad one's really really old. One's brittle.

53
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,080
Speaker 1: But it did feel like at times this year Brooklyn

54
00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,280
Speaker 1: was sort of to some degree manipulating. I mean, Kyrie

55
00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,840
Speaker 1: just took two vacations. I wonder if the league would

56
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:44,360
Speaker 1: rather have a Philadelphia, would rather have a Milwaukee at

57
00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:46,920
Speaker 1: least represent the East, or you know, there's always the

58
00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:48,640
Speaker 1: theory they just don't care at all. But I do

59
00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,600
Speaker 1: wonder sometimes, I mean, you know this Ethan. If the

60
00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,840
Speaker 1: Clippers would have won last year, it was validating load

61
00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,080
Speaker 1: management that wasn't good for the league. I guess what

62
00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,440
Speaker 1: my thought process, and you're you're identifying something very interesting

63
00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,040
Speaker 1: to me because I think about this, it seems like

64
00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,040
Speaker 1: that old guard making the finals, making the Eastern Conference

65
00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,680
Speaker 1: Finals is more withdrawal than an investment. You know, you've

66
00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,600
Speaker 1: spent all this time investing in these stars for so long,

67
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,359
Speaker 1: their household names. You get the good ratings, and it's good.

68
00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,960
Speaker 1: It's like a quick fix, you know, it props you up.

69
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,560
Speaker 1: But they should really be concerned about that next generation

70
00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,679
Speaker 1: because I don't think other than Zion, that that's really

71
00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,560
Speaker 1: penetrating in the consciousness of America. They try it a

72
00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,839
Speaker 1: little bit with the Addisa to the Kumpo. I look

73
00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:39,520
Speaker 1: at the numbers. You know, a lot of those regular

74
00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,280
Speaker 1: season games Zakumpo, they're less than a million people. I mean,

75
00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,279
Speaker 1: they averaged nearly fewer than a million people. And he's

76
00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,640
Speaker 1: the back to back MVP. So something has not worked

77
00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,400
Speaker 1: for them with the younger generation. And we can come

78
00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,520
Speaker 1: up with answers. We can say maybe it's because they're

79
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,560
Speaker 1: international versus Zion. That might be part of it, But

80
00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,800
Speaker 1: I agree with you that they should be focused on

81
00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,240
Speaker 1: the future. Now here's the complicating factor. And you know

82
00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,800
Speaker 1: this because this is why I love talking with you.

83
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,400
Speaker 1: You love thinking about the industry and the state of play.

84
00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,080
Speaker 1: The problemt for the NBA is that this comes at

85
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:15,080
Speaker 1: a very precarious moment. They've had this pandemic, They've lost

86
00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,839
Speaker 1: all this money. Teams need equity lines opened up. Well,

87
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,880
Speaker 1: how do you get them. You get them by getting

88
00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,839
Speaker 1: a new TV contract that assures the spigot is flowing

89
00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,880
Speaker 1: and there's going to be tens of billions of dollars someday.

90
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,640
Speaker 1: It opens up your credit lines. So it's to the

91
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,560
Speaker 1: NBA's advantage right now to look good right now, which

92
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,320
Speaker 1: is why you see that it's almost assured that should

93
00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,560
Speaker 1: the Warriors make the playoffs off the plan, they will

94
00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,360
Speaker 1: play on a Sunday. That's really the show piece place.

95
00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:47,880
Speaker 1: Same with the Lakers. They're really putting it. It's almost

96
00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,440
Speaker 1: like a playoff baseball game where maybe the starter has

97
00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:52,880
Speaker 1: to come back and close the game. You know, it's

98
00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,840
Speaker 1: all hands on deck. So I agree with you that

99
00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,159
Speaker 1: they should be focused on the future. I agree with

100
00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:00,440
Speaker 1: you that that would be better for the future of

101
00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,840
Speaker 1: the NBA. But when it comes down to the money,

102
00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,120
Speaker 1: I think the NBA desperately wants to rely on that

103
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,480
Speaker 1: old guard and rely on their household names right now. Yeah,

104
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,480
Speaker 1: it's one of the things you've pointed to is Lebron's

105
00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,880
Speaker 1: been pissed off all season. He didn't want to come

106
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:18,719
Speaker 1: back in December, he didn't want the All Star Game,

107
00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,919
Speaker 1: he didn't want to play in tournament. Instead of one

108
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,520
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty days off, he gets seventy. He's not

109
00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:25,760
Speaker 1: been in a good mood all year. He's been very

110
00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,480
Speaker 1: critical of the league. Do you think they hear it

111
00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,719
Speaker 1: or care? I think they should care, and I definitely

112
00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,239
Speaker 1: think they hear it. And you've seen Adam Silver respond

113
00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,000
Speaker 1: to it and say, look, I have to contradict him

114
00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,400
Speaker 1: and whatnot. But it's not a good look. And I

115
00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,240
Speaker 1: don't know what conversation needs to happen. But for all

116
00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:47,559
Speaker 1: the problems they used to have on David Stern's watch,

117
00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,360
Speaker 1: I don't think this kind of thing would happen. Where

118
00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,320
Speaker 1: the NBA is pushing out a product it really cares

119
00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,440
Speaker 1: about and seeing everybody needs to watch this play in tournament.

120
00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,479
Speaker 1: It's exciting and you've got the biggest star in the

121
00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,280
Speaker 1: league go into the media and saying whoever came up

122
00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:07,400
Speaker 1: with it should be fired. I mean, that's like I'm

123
00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: trying to think of the analogy, but it's like tarnishing

124
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,880
Speaker 1: a product and then trying to sell it to the customer.

125
00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:16,000
Speaker 1: And there's some disconnect happening there where Lebron isn't seeing

126
00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,840
Speaker 1: the league's health as good for him and they need

127
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:21,960
Speaker 1: to get on the same page. And maybe it has

128
00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,760
Speaker 1: something to do with how indulgent Adam Silver has been

129
00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,720
Speaker 1: in general, where there isn't this sense of carrot and stick,

130
00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:32,120
Speaker 1: where James Harden flouts the coronavirus regulations and does crazy

131
00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,760
Speaker 1: stuff and Adam Silver doesn't really punish, and he says,

132
00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,600
Speaker 1: it's Christmas, what are you going to do? I think

133
00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,080
Speaker 1: that he's perhaps gotten a little bit indulgent, and in

134
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,600
Speaker 1: that indulgence, a lot of stars have lost sight of

135
00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,640
Speaker 1: the mutually beneficial relationship of the league for them, that

136
00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 1: the league's health is their health and they will share

137
00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,920
Speaker 1: and share alike and things will get better. So I

138
00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,760
Speaker 1: think the league here's it. I just don't know if

139
00:07:55,760 --> 00:08:00,160
Speaker 1: they've had the stones to put it to really to

140
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,880
Speaker 1: really speak up for their side of things and trying

141
00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:07,160
Speaker 1: to advance their own interests. I always feel Adam Silver

142
00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:11,400
Speaker 1: reminds me of John Skipper, who was always my ally

143
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:16,680
Speaker 1: at ESPN, that they felt, at some point with the

144
00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,960
Speaker 1: company they inherited a little hopeless. The money's pouring in

145
00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,120
Speaker 1: the union strong, and they wanted to be on the

146
00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,120
Speaker 1: right side of history, and that meant being on the

147
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:32,079
Speaker 1: right side of labor. And so I think Adam Silver

148
00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,720
Speaker 1: and John Skipper I think they have the right heart,

149
00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:41,280
Speaker 1: but both I think fail at times as being David

150
00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,800
Speaker 1: Stern was a barker. He would bark at the television networks,

151
00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,680
Speaker 1: he would bark at players, he would call Popovitch in

152
00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:53,920
Speaker 1: the middle of the night. I think Adam Silver tends

153
00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,240
Speaker 1: to be a little too pro labor. Is that a

154
00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,480
Speaker 1: fair criticism? I think that's absolutely fair. And I think

155
00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,400
Speaker 1: it's a difficuld job. I always say that if Adam

156
00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,120
Speaker 1: Silver wasn't already bald, he'd be going bald. I don't

157
00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,199
Speaker 1: think that's an easy job. I'm not acting like if

158
00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,360
Speaker 1: I was the person in charge of it all, I

159
00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:11,480
Speaker 1: would know what to do. But I do think that

160
00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,880
Speaker 1: I think that there are often overcorrections. You hear this.

161
00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,480
Speaker 1: I talked to Warren Lea Garry. He's a fascinating NBA character.

162
00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,480
Speaker 1: He invented Summer League. He's the agent to a third

163
00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,520
Speaker 1: of the coaches. He's really an agent's agent. He runs

164
00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,200
Speaker 1: vast sUAS of the NBA out of his Victorian and

165
00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,680
Speaker 1: they hate Ashbury District of San Francisco. And something he

166
00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,360
Speaker 1: said to me, because he's involved in all these coach

167
00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,439
Speaker 1: firings and coach hirings, that's his business. And he says,

168
00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,439
Speaker 1: all of these teams they overcorrect. You know, they get

169
00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,240
Speaker 1: the disciplinarian, they've got to bring in the players coach.

170
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,400
Speaker 1: They've got the players coach, they got to bring in

171
00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,640
Speaker 1: the disciplinarian. And it's always an overcorrection. And he was

172
00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,000
Speaker 1: talking in terms of the Warriors. Actually, he was saying

173
00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,480
Speaker 1: that the Warriors after Mark Jackson, wanted to go stan

174
00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,000
Speaker 1: Van Gundhi and that would have been way too much

175
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,000
Speaker 1: of an overcorrection. And they lucked into Steve Kerr, who

176
00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,600
Speaker 1: was a good in between. And I think that Adam

177
00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,000
Speaker 1: Silver had a lot of pressure on him coming in

178
00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:07,560
Speaker 1: to not be David Stern, even though David Stern was

179
00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:11,280
Speaker 1: wildly successful. Even though he was respected, the new money

180
00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,840
Speaker 1: owners were tired of him. They wanted to be rid

181
00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,360
Speaker 1: of him. They did not like that he would be

182
00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,000
Speaker 1: so acerbic, that he would act like he was their

183
00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,920
Speaker 1: boss as opposed to how they were his boss. And

184
00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,120
Speaker 1: they wanted somebody a little bit more pliable, at a

185
00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,400
Speaker 1: little bit kinder, a little bit gentler. And I think

186
00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,880
Speaker 1: that Adam Silver he wanted to do that. He was

187
00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,280
Speaker 1: sensitive to that criticism from the ownership. And then he

188
00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,480
Speaker 1: came in. And you always think about how your biggest

189
00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,320
Speaker 1: success is almost your load star. And his big success

190
00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:46,760
Speaker 1: off the bat, like two months in was banishing Donald Sterling.

191
00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,559
Speaker 1: Great move, and the players were celebrating him, and the

192
00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,000
Speaker 1: players love him. And I think when that is how

193
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,640
Speaker 1: you start out, it is difficult then to be the

194
00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,400
Speaker 1: bad guy. But I'll tell you this much. Call him

195
00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:05,040
Speaker 1: Adam Silver, I think gets nary a criticism in the media,

196
00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,560
Speaker 1: and I think that's a problem. I think you need

197
00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:09,880
Speaker 1: to be the bad guy if you're a commissioner. I

198
00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,319
Speaker 1: think that is not a positive indicator. If you've got

199
00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 1: a job approval over sixty to seventy percent in media

200
00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,400
Speaker 1: and you're a commissioner of a major sports league. I

201
00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,120
Speaker 1: would argue that you're doing something wrong instead of that

202
00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:26,040
Speaker 1: you're doing something right. Well, I mean, the media loved

203
00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:30,600
Speaker 1: Andrew Cuomo. The media is fairly predictable. They want you

204
00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:32,559
Speaker 1: to lean a little left, they want you to be

205
00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,000
Speaker 1: they kind of like when you're a little snarky, funny.

206
00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:39,200
Speaker 1: They're okay with narcissism. We have studies that show that

207
00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:44,920
Speaker 1: the media drink more, go out to eat more, spend

208
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,800
Speaker 1: more than the average American. It's a very coastal life,

209
00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:52,360
Speaker 1: and so a Silver feels cool. I always said this.

210
00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,280
Speaker 1: I was an Obama fan. I voted for him twice,

211
00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,880
Speaker 1: but he was cool, and most presidents aren't. And the

212
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,920
Speaker 1: media was really reluctant, very reticent to ever criticize him.

213
00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:10,640
Speaker 1: And I do think Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred are capitalists.

214
00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:12,720
Speaker 1: That's what they are, and they're okay with it, and

215
00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,200
Speaker 1: they don't curry favor with the media. Silver is pro player.

216
00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,240
Speaker 1: He you know, he's very well read, he's very smart.

217
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,960
Speaker 1: I always said this about John Skipper. John was impossible

218
00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:24,760
Speaker 1: not to like if you were in media. He was

219
00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:29,280
Speaker 1: pro media. George Bodenheimer was pro business. He walked into

220
00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,680
Speaker 1: his office you weren't winning a negotiation. So I think

221
00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,320
Speaker 1: to your point, sometimes when I see somebody with an

222
00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:40,520
Speaker 1: absurdly high approval rating, I'm a little cynical that the

223
00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:43,160
Speaker 1: truth is Noah's coming out. I want to talk about

224
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,040
Speaker 1: a couple of series that I think are fascinating. I

225
00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,120
Speaker 1: don't think Brooklyn's gonna win a championship when you covered

226
00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:51,800
Speaker 1: the Warriors. Now you work at the Athletic. When you

227
00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:58,320
Speaker 1: covered the Warriors, and I mean you cover obviously the

228
00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,240
Speaker 1: entire league. I consider you a sort of a writer

229
00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,480
Speaker 1: for the league, verducisque. But when you were really night tonight,

230
00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,000
Speaker 1: day to day hovering over the Warriors, and this is

231
00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,280
Speaker 1: one of the things I respected about you. You had

232
00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:19,280
Speaker 1: a very acrimonious relationship with Kevin Durant. When you look

233
00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,079
Speaker 1: back at it, I thought it was a huge error

234
00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:28,800
Speaker 1: in judgment leaving a star friendly organization to Brooklyn. You

235
00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,559
Speaker 1: had said before it happened, I think you would kind

236
00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:33,600
Speaker 1: of hedge that you thought he was going to leave.

237
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,120
Speaker 1: You didn't guarantee it, but you thought. You look at it, now,

238
00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,559
Speaker 1: he's been hurt one year and hurt a lot second year.

239
00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,280
Speaker 1: Have we just seemed the best of kd like like

240
00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:49,480
Speaker 1: the great days are over. I'm not sure, because he

241
00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,120
Speaker 1: has the exact qualities you would want to have to

242
00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,280
Speaker 1: age gracefully. In the NBA, the two main things you want.

243
00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,199
Speaker 1: You want to be big, and you want exquisite shooting abilities.

244
00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,600
Speaker 1: So we're seeing Steph Curry just with the shooting ability,

245
00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:05,840
Speaker 1: not with being big, hold onto his prime and extend

246
00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:10,000
Speaker 1: his peak. So I wouldn't write him off, right, But yeah,

247
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,720
Speaker 1: you can't just dismiss an achilles injury. That's serious. I

248
00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:18,720
Speaker 1: think we have a tendency as observers to just filed

249
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,840
Speaker 1: injuries away as whatever and treat these guys like robots

250
00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:27,280
Speaker 1: they are not. It matters. You saw Kobe's achilles his leg,

251
00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:29,560
Speaker 1: like one of those legs looked half the size of

252
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,880
Speaker 1: the other after he healed after the atrophy. That's a

253
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,920
Speaker 1: lot to compensate for now. I don't want to say

254
00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,880
Speaker 1: that I know everything about his situation or his medical condition.

255
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,760
Speaker 1: I can't make those judgments. I don't fault him for

256
00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,440
Speaker 1: the move he made, first because it's his choice. Second,

257
00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,080
Speaker 1: because the story had just run out with the Warriors,

258
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,720
Speaker 1: it was done. I don't think anybody would have been

259
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,880
Speaker 1: too enthused other than Joe Lacob. Joe Lacob would have

260
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,960
Speaker 1: been over the moon of Kevin Durant came back, but

261
00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,560
Speaker 1: everybody else, even if they realized that he was their

262
00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,440
Speaker 1: best ticket to a championship, it was a story that

263
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,840
Speaker 1: it ended, and people wanted it to go. I know

264
00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,520
Speaker 1: Steph Curry made that final, that final pitch, and good

265
00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,320
Speaker 1: on him. I think that he prioritizes winning more than

266
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,880
Speaker 1: the average, even a superstar. But I think it's a

267
00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:21,800
Speaker 1: move that made sense in the end of it, and

268
00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,200
Speaker 1: if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out.

269
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,840
Speaker 1: But it does feel, to what you're saying, a little rickety,

270
00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:32,440
Speaker 1: a little decadent. I'm just not sure it's exactly what

271
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,920
Speaker 1: the league needs at the moment. I think it's you

272
00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,520
Speaker 1: know what it is, Colin, It's that poison is determined

273
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,720
Speaker 1: by the dose. I thought when Lebron went to Miami,

274
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,600
Speaker 1: that was great for the league when he did that.

275
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,120
Speaker 1: I know it pissed people off in Cleveland, but I

276
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,440
Speaker 1: thought that was great for the league to have this villain,

277
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,880
Speaker 1: to have this heel, or alternatively, if you loved him,

278
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,600
Speaker 1: somebody who was just standing up for himself and what

279
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,880
Speaker 1: he wanted and how dare all these people get mad

280
00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,400
Speaker 1: at him? And it was conflict and it was beautiful

281
00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,320
Speaker 1: and it was high drama. But I think if everybody

282
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,600
Speaker 1: does the Lebron playbook, and every star is looking for

283
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,200
Speaker 1: their own situation and they're looking to team up with

284
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,160
Speaker 1: their buddies and they're not that loyal to the original

285
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,720
Speaker 1: situation they're in, Well, now you don't have a little bit.

286
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:17,320
Speaker 1: You don't have a little bit of salt on your

287
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,000
Speaker 1: steak that makes it delicious. You have an entire pillar.

288
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:21,680
Speaker 1: And I think that's what the league is going through

289
00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:27,760
Speaker 1: right now. Hey Golf, this weekend, fan Duel is hooking

290
00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,480
Speaker 1: new users up with an instant bonus up to five

291
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,720
Speaker 1: hundred bucks when you make your first Fantasy deposits. So

292
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,280
Speaker 1: just sign up to unlock your deposit bonus, then use

293
00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:41,080
Speaker 1: that bonus to play in this weekend's five hundred thousand

294
00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,160
Speaker 1: dollars PGA Eagle Contest, where the first place winner takes

295
00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:50,200
Speaker 1: some hundred thousand bucks in cash. All Right, Fantasy Golf

296
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,000
Speaker 1: on FanDuel really easy to play. You pick six golfers

297
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:57,520
Speaker 1: for your lineup, one lineup needed for an entire weekend

298
00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,520
Speaker 1: of action, easy scoring. You get points for Bertie's Eagles, etc.

299
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,679
Speaker 1: Fast payouts get paid in as little as twenty four hours.

300
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,040
Speaker 1: But most of all, I love the variety of contests

301
00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:13,000
Speaker 1: you can enter. Okay, there's the big major contests, there's

302
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,760
Speaker 1: the Daily Snake Draft contest for Daily Action, Final round contests,

303
00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:20,360
Speaker 1: a lot of them. The fields loaded for this weekend's

304
00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,880
Speaker 1: major championship, which makes for some exciting fantasy golf. So

305
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,480
Speaker 1: get in on the action. Download the Fandel Fantasy app today.

306
00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,439
Speaker 1: Sign up to unlock your instant deposit bonus up to

307
00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:37,480
Speaker 1: five ound bucks, Age and location restrictions up lot. So

308
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,359
Speaker 1: you're a sports fan, right, that's why you're listening, But

309
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,520
Speaker 1: if you're considering getting in on the fun of sports gambling,

310
00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:45,760
Speaker 1: I want to let you know about a great resource,

311
00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,080
Speaker 1: the Action Network. The Action Network is where fans go

312
00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,480
Speaker 1: when they're ready to bet smarter and turn a profit

313
00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:56,600
Speaker 1: betting on sports. In fact, they're free Action Network app free,

314
00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:00,359
Speaker 1: recently named the best app in sports betting. With the

315
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,320
Speaker 1: Action App, you can want see the latest picks and

316
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,399
Speaker 1: articles from the Action Network. Gambling experts too, compare odds

317
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,119
Speaker 1: from different sports books, and three track every bet you

318
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,720
Speaker 1: make so you always know how your picks are doing

319
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,000
Speaker 1: so if the game means more to you, download the

320
00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:23,640
Speaker 1: Free Action Network app and start betting smarter. You said

321
00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,880
Speaker 1: the league was sort of the Golden State thing had

322
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:32,040
Speaker 1: played out. That's fascinating. Clay's smart, Steph smart. KD seems

323
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:37,840
Speaker 1: to be pretty smart. Curs smart. I mean, Draymond knows

324
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,359
Speaker 1: what he's doing. How does smarter people not say we

325
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,159
Speaker 1: could win three more championships? Like why it's you were

326
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,320
Speaker 1: in the belly of this thing, but you're almost willing

327
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,080
Speaker 1: to acknowledge it was over. The Patriot dynasty lasted almost

328
00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:58,680
Speaker 1: twenty years. Why did it have to be over? That's

329
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:03,359
Speaker 1: a great question. Operating theory is that in football, it

330
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:08,000
Speaker 1: is age and is injury that unseats the dynasty. In

331
00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,399
Speaker 1: the NBA, it's almost always ego. And what is it

332
00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:14,840
Speaker 1: about the NBA that makes it bad? I think one

333
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,439
Speaker 1: aspect is that your statistics come at the expense of

334
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:20,560
Speaker 1: one another. I mean, I've noticed, I mean to shift

335
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,600
Speaker 1: it to another league. When you watch MLB tonight, if

336
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,840
Speaker 1: you watched these former players, it is so different from

337
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,399
Speaker 1: watching these former NBA players. They are cheerleaders for the

338
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,920
Speaker 1: young players. They're excited when they see them doing well,

339
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,280
Speaker 1: when they see them hitting home runs. Whatever you watch

340
00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,239
Speaker 1: and I love inside the NBA. I enjoy it. But

341
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:45,040
Speaker 1: they're crotchety. They're talking about how much worse guys are today.

342
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:49,200
Speaker 1: I think that that is conditioned from how credit is

343
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,959
Speaker 1: apportioned in the NBA, where if I'm getting more touches,

344
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,320
Speaker 1: you're getting fewer touches. If I'm scoring thirty points, you're

345
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,040
Speaker 1: less likely to be scoring thirty points. That's not how

346
00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,680
Speaker 1: baseball is. That's not how football is. Generally. In baseball,

347
00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,280
Speaker 1: if I'm hitting thirty forty home runs, I'm helping you

348
00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,639
Speaker 1: in the order, I'm helping you. It's protection, it's all,

349
00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,480
Speaker 1: it's all for the good. That's not how the NBA is.

350
00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,639
Speaker 1: And I think these guys from a very early age

351
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:19,080
Speaker 1: have a very exquisite understanding that one guy's credit comes

352
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:23,240
Speaker 1: at my expense. And the whole endeavor of winning a

353
00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,320
Speaker 1: championship is this act of sacrifice, and it's almost like

354
00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,040
Speaker 1: balancing on the log that's spinning. It can only go

355
00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:34,760
Speaker 1: for so long until somebody gets mad because the championship

356
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,040
Speaker 1: is just not sating their ego and it's not fulfilling

357
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:43,480
Speaker 1: them like the sacrifice requires I have never heard it

358
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:47,640
Speaker 1: put that way. That's great. I've never heard it put

359
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:52,560
Speaker 1: that way. Your points come at the sacrifice of someone else.

360
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,159
Speaker 1: I've never even thought about that way. Yeah, I mean,

361
00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,600
Speaker 1: you're totally right. You know, I look at this Brooklyn

362
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:03,680
Speaker 1: Nets team on your belief and you'd think, Okay, Well,

363
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:08,119
Speaker 1: if Hardness thirty six, Katie's got twenty seven, do you

364
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,760
Speaker 1: think it's problematic? Then? Do have three of the league's

365
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,440
Speaker 1: five best finishers on one team? Are they a championship team?

366
00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:20,119
Speaker 1: To you? They can win it? And I think that

367
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,800
Speaker 1: it's about time. It's about sustainability. You can do it

368
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,680
Speaker 1: this season. You can get everybody together, have them make

369
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,880
Speaker 1: the sacrifice at the moment they need to make it.

370
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,840
Speaker 1: Have one or two guys defer, and it's going to

371
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,359
Speaker 1: be Katie to close. And even if these guys aren't

372
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:40,400
Speaker 1: defensive savants, they'll step up hard and we'll take a charge. Right,

373
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,400
Speaker 1: they can do it for one run. I think it's

374
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:45,840
Speaker 1: about the sustainability. There are only going to be so

375
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,520
Speaker 1: many bites at this apple with that particular setup, with

376
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,520
Speaker 1: guys who are used to having a certain amount of

377
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,560
Speaker 1: attention and for being the guy in their respective situations,

378
00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,200
Speaker 1: and so they all talk about it. They all talk

379
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,200
Speaker 1: about the sacri fice. And remember Chris Bosh was saying,

380
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,160
Speaker 1: looking back at the Miami Heat adventure, that it's so

381
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,360
Speaker 1: easy before you make the sacrifice. That it was so

382
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,920
Speaker 1: easy for him in all those interviews to say, yeah,

383
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,040
Speaker 1: we're teaming up, and yeah it's going to be great,

384
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,720
Speaker 1: and not one, not two, not three. But once you

385
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:23,240
Speaker 1: actually make the sacrifice and you're on the periphery, then

386
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,080
Speaker 1: it's different, and then it's actually hard. So Colin, I

387
00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:28,639
Speaker 1: think they could win the championship this year. I just

388
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,520
Speaker 1: don't see the wheels staying on this particular wagon for

389
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:36,240
Speaker 1: too long beyond this season. I think the Clippers are fascinating.

390
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,080
Speaker 1: My theory, if you've heard it yet, I've only used

391
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,600
Speaker 1: it a couple of times, is that there's a reason

392
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,359
Speaker 1: Staff's teams lebronze teams. Chris Paul's teams historically have been

393
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:52,080
Speaker 1: good end of game teams. They're verbal, they're communicators. Kaui

394
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:56,720
Speaker 1: as Clippers two years now two coaches, are atrocious late

395
00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:03,200
Speaker 1: game teams. He's nonverbal, he's odd, he is a unique

396
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:08,040
Speaker 1: non personality. Have we are we coming to terms Now

397
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,720
Speaker 1: with that, I mean, Jerry West is a smart guy,

398
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,959
Speaker 1: but when you inserted Kauai into ready made cultures, he

399
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,359
Speaker 1: was great icing on the cake. When he's the cake,

400
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:28,680
Speaker 1: there are absolute limitations based on his communication holes that

401
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:34,960
Speaker 1: this team will be talented but mostly non communicative, late

402
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,160
Speaker 1: in games and poor in crisis because two years, two coaches,

403
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:44,240
Speaker 1: two systems, that's what I see. I completely agree, and frankly,

404
00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,760
Speaker 1: I'm almost surprised that he has had as much success

405
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:50,320
Speaker 1: as he has had. It's a tremendous credit to him

406
00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 1: that he has won championships. But it's in situations where

407
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,400
Speaker 1: you have other leaders, other communicators. You have Kyle Lowry,

408
00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,760
Speaker 1: for instance with the Raptors, who has that leadership role.

409
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,199
Speaker 1: But is it going to be like Pat Beverley? I mean,

410
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,560
Speaker 1: what is it with the Clippers. I don't see them

411
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:09,960
Speaker 1: having that. And that's the type of stuff It does matter.

412
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,280
Speaker 1: I know that I like analytics, I like any sort

413
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,960
Speaker 1: of any sort of numercle anything where I can learn

414
00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,720
Speaker 1: something new or convey information. But this part of the

415
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,399
Speaker 1: game does get lost. It is not a video game.

416
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,320
Speaker 1: These guys are communicating with one another. The stuff that

417
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,000
Speaker 1: they are saying to each other out there on the

418
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,800
Speaker 1: court actually does matter. They model behavior for one another,

419
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,480
Speaker 1: for the young guys. All of that's happening behind the curtain,

420
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 1: out of the view of fans, And I do think

421
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,440
Speaker 1: that at the very least with Kauai, you can win

422
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,000
Speaker 1: a championship with him on your roster. That's been demonstrated.

423
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,800
Speaker 1: But you need to compensate for what he doesn't bring

424
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,840
Speaker 1: to the table. I think that's also been demonstrated, and

425
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 1: I don't think that the Clippers have added that or

426
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,159
Speaker 1: have compensated for that in constructing the roster. And it

427
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 1: seems like they're mo mostly just relying on the talent

428
00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:07,200
Speaker 1: to overwhelm opponents. By the way, Kawhi bought a mansion

429
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 1: in the last I think eighteen months. He's a free agent.

430
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,680
Speaker 1: He wouldn't go anywhere. But if Paul George is as

431
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,520
Speaker 1: abysmal as he was last year, Ethan in the playoffs,

432
00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:23,240
Speaker 1: that's not gonna last, right who Let's say, let's go ahead,

433
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:28,199
Speaker 1: they lose in the second round. Okay, Steve Balmer is

434
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,400
Speaker 1: making moves? What move does he make? Wow? I mean,

435
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,880
Speaker 1: does he for instance, because I'm just going to think

436
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,440
Speaker 1: about the local team. Does he talk with the Warriors.

437
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,080
Speaker 1: Do you want to trade in conference? I mean, I

438
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:45,200
Speaker 1: think the Warriors have a very strong when now change

439
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,320
Speaker 1: things up makes Steph happy impulse. I don't know if

440
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:49,920
Speaker 1: you trade, I don't know if I mean it's trading

441
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 1: him within the division, I don't know if you look

442
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,520
Speaker 1: in that direction. But I think in general, it would

443
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,760
Speaker 1: be to get Paul George out, supplement wing talent and

444
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,520
Speaker 1: just get some sort of veteran voice, get somebody who's

445
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,359
Speaker 1: going to be a leader on the team. But my

446
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,399
Speaker 1: mind is immediately going to Warriors, just because I'm thinking

447
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,000
Speaker 1: about what are they gonna do, what can they get?

448
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,280
Speaker 1: Because they're also a little bit far away, and I've

449
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,480
Speaker 1: thought about that. I've thought about, well, what if Paul

450
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,680
Speaker 1: George is unhappy, what if he's demanding to get out

451
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:21,560
Speaker 1: of there. The Warriors, i think, have found James Wiseman

452
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,560
Speaker 1: to be an awkward fit for all the talent that

453
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,439
Speaker 1: he has. They've got some of these draft picks to

454
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:30,680
Speaker 1: play around with, you know. It's it's just I'm sorry,

455
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,359
Speaker 1: I got Warriors on the brain with them in the

456
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:36,200
Speaker 1: play everything else. But there are other teams that would

457
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 1: potentially want Paul George's services. Yeah, and Andrew Wiggins is

458
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: not really an ideal fit. When Clay comes back, he

459
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 1: gets fewer shots. You're paying him a lot of money

460
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:46,960
Speaker 1: for a guy. That would be a weird third option. Wiseman,

461
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,160
Speaker 1: to your point, is a weird fit. Do you believe,

462
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,160
Speaker 1: you know with Kevin Durant the Wanderer or Lebron mister mobility,

463
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 1: there's always the worry they leave. Steph feels like such

464
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,600
Speaker 1: a warrior beginning to end. But you said something there

465
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,760
Speaker 1: where they are worried about appeasing him. Is there any

466
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 1: chance he would end his career elsewhere? I think Lebron,

467
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,640
Speaker 1: I think so. I think there's a chance. Now would

468
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,280
Speaker 1: he actually do it? Or is this one of those

469
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 1: if this one? Is this one of these arguments with

470
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,000
Speaker 1: a spouse where where you act like you would but

471
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,080
Speaker 1: you never would actually, you know, you want you want

472
00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:30,480
Speaker 1: the implication there that you're not just going to take

473
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:32,920
Speaker 1: this or that treatment or you want this or that done,

474
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:35,760
Speaker 1: but you would never actually leave. I mean that's the

475
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,639
Speaker 1: thought process I often have, because look, you don't really

476
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:41,520
Speaker 1: have to even read between the lines. You can just

477
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,320
Speaker 1: look at some of his press conferences during this season.

478
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,120
Speaker 1: I don't think that he's been ecstatic with the talent level,

479
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 1: certainly happier recently now that they've made this run. They've

480
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,439
Speaker 1: come together and they're playing better towards the end of

481
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:58,360
Speaker 1: the season. But what he wants is clear. Everybody can

482
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,280
Speaker 1: see it. He wants him to win now. He doesn't

483
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 1: want to sacrifice yet another season. It's going to be

484
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,560
Speaker 1: season three. Yeah, he got hurt last season, but that

485
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 1: season was not going to add up to anything this season.

486
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:12,840
Speaker 1: I guess job well done and making the play and

487
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,320
Speaker 1: cut off and we'll see what they do. But not

488
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 1: near enough talent to compete for a championship. And in

489
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,760
Speaker 1: a way he has put pressure on them Colin because

490
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,200
Speaker 1: I think if he just had a decent season, then

491
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,879
Speaker 1: you would say, hey, the Warriors can be patient. Staff

492
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,960
Speaker 1: isn't falling off, and they can bring these young guys

493
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,960
Speaker 1: along and he can teach them what to do and

494
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,159
Speaker 1: they can rebuild and he can be there. Tim Duncan

495
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:41,120
Speaker 1: on the Spurs type of guy. But instead he was incandescent.

496
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:45,480
Speaker 1: He was at an MVP level. He'll be getting near

497
00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,160
Speaker 1: the top of the MVP votes, even if it's going

498
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,000
Speaker 1: to be the joker. And so now you have a

499
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 1: situation where you've got MVP level staff and you're squandering

500
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,920
Speaker 1: it unless you start making some moves to win now

501
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,760
Speaker 1: and align your timeline. I think that he has gotten

502
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,280
Speaker 1: leverage with through Planes so well to make some of

503
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:05,720
Speaker 1: these demands and not have the answer just be don Draper.

504
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,200
Speaker 1: That's what the money's for. I think it's a different

505
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,640
Speaker 1: situation before that. I think by Plane so well, he's

506
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:16,120
Speaker 1: potentially accelerated their timeline. All right, I don't even want

507
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 1: your NBA predictions because I want to bring you on

508
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:20,640
Speaker 1: again in three weeks to a month. You're so good today,

509
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:27,080
Speaker 1: I will say with no confidence, literally less today than yesterday.

510
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,040
Speaker 1: I like Milwaukee in the East, although I think the

511
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 1: Miami matchup is so tough. But I do think PJ.

512
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:40,880
Speaker 1: Tucker and Drew Holiday with Jannis, that's a really formidable

513
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:48,520
Speaker 1: defensive threesome. So I would say Milwaukee finals. Is my

514
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,560
Speaker 1: crazy opinion, Lebron healthy Lakers finals? Is there an upset

515
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:57,280
Speaker 1: in the making anywhere in these playoffs or an outcome

516
00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 1: that you think is against the grain in your opinion,

517
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,720
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers are in trouble, and that's that's

518
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:08,280
Speaker 1: my opinion. I've been talking to bookmakers. Jeff Sherman one

519
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,000
Speaker 1: of the best ones. He's a Laker fan, but he's

520
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,120
Speaker 1: objective and he's saying to me, he's saying, I can't

521
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,160
Speaker 1: believe all these Lakers futures. I'm still getting don't people

522
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:19,400
Speaker 1: know the injury situation, And I'm inclined to agree. I

523
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,960
Speaker 1: think high ankle sprain that is a different beast than

524
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 1: a low ankle sprain. And again, when it comes to injuries,

525
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,880
Speaker 1: it's so easy for us on the outside to say that, oh,

526
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,520
Speaker 1: you know, suck it up. Everybody's banged up at the

527
00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,800
Speaker 1: end of the season. This is different. Man. Lebron James

528
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,640
Speaker 1: has come back twice and reaggravated it. He reaggravated it

529
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,480
Speaker 1: in the last game of the season. High ankle sprain

530
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,960
Speaker 1: you can't hide. You can't put that old falconeering glove

531
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 1: like you do on your foot. When it's a low

532
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,320
Speaker 1: ankle sprain, it's just it's just out there. Maybe you

533
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,480
Speaker 1: put some tape on it, but you're vulnerable. And it,

534
00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,800
Speaker 1: to me, not a doctor, is the obvious caveat. It

535
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,240
Speaker 1: just looks like a ticking time bomb. And I think

536
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,160
Speaker 1: I would be very impressed and relieved on behalf of

537
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,040
Speaker 1: the Lakers if they could go through an entire playoff

538
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,720
Speaker 1: run nursing that high ankle sprain that is yet to

539
00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:16,400
Speaker 1: heal and win a championship. So that's my general take

540
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:19,440
Speaker 1: is that I'm shorting the Lakers mostly because of the

541
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 1: Lebron James health situation. And I think you see the

542
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:25,440
Speaker 1: sharp saying that the Lakers Warriors playing game opened at

543
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,760
Speaker 1: seven and dropped like a stone to four point five.

544
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: That is the savvy people talking amongst themselves saying that

545
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:38,720
Speaker 1: this is a serious problem. Interesting, Shrewder probably goes to

546
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,400
Speaker 1: the market. They're not going to resign on right Drummond

547
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,640
Speaker 1: for the price he'd want. This is gonna look much

548
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 1: different next year in Los Angeles. My guess is either

549
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,840
Speaker 1: they go big game hunting, they go after a big

550
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:56,760
Speaker 1: star here. That's why I feel the step things in play. Yeah,

551
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,360
Speaker 1: and you know, how do you get guys on your team?

552
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,240
Speaker 1: They almost do the hostile takeover now, and maybe Silver

553
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,760
Speaker 1: has to has to intervene the way that they have

554
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 1: guys forcing a trade to them like Anthony Davis did.

555
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,880
Speaker 1: I would it would be really interesting to see if

556
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,040
Speaker 1: they try it again and if Silver does anything, If

557
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,160
Speaker 1: they go big game hunting in that respect as opposed

558
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,640
Speaker 1: to a free agency situation. But yeah, I mean that

559
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:23,760
Speaker 1: seems to be the play that seems to what they do.

560
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:26,840
Speaker 1: It's it's it's all about the decadence. It's all about

561
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:30,400
Speaker 1: adding stars on stars and forget about the chemistry. Will

562
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,120
Speaker 1: figure it out later. That would be in keeping with

563
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:38,120
Speaker 1: what they do. Yeah. Yeah, I like Dennis Shrewder, but

564
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:40,960
Speaker 1: I just don't see with the money he could get

565
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:42,920
Speaker 1: on the market, I don't see that as a long

566
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:46,240
Speaker 1: term Laker play, do you. I don't. He's been having

567
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 1: interesting off the court situations, shall we say, saying interesting

568
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:57,840
Speaker 1: things talking to certain publications. I think it's it would

569
00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 1: not surprise me to see him in a different uniform,

570
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:02,840
Speaker 1: I guess, is what I'm saying. So, if you're shorting

571
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,200
Speaker 1: the Lakers, who are you buying? As my stockbroker, who

572
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,680
Speaker 1: are you buying? That's a great question, because it did

573
00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,720
Speaker 1: seem like the Lakers were on the pedestal and it's

574
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,520
Speaker 1: them and everybody else, at least in the West. I

575
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,160
Speaker 1: like the Bucks. I haven't in the past, but I'm

576
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,600
Speaker 1: talking myself into them just because I want to see

577
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 1: that series between them and the Nets. That's what I

578
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,400
Speaker 1: want to see because I love defense. I'm a big

579
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 1: believer in defense. I think defense doesn't get enough credit.

580
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,120
Speaker 1: It's half the game. We actually it's a tenth of

581
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 1: the game. And I think to myself, who among all

582
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,960
Speaker 1: players has guarded Katie better than anybody? Well, I think

583
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,479
Speaker 1: backed all the games I saw with kad it's your

584
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:45,280
Speaker 1: honest Janice guarded him better than anybody who was guarded

585
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,400
Speaker 1: James Harden better than anybody. Think back, I think Drew

586
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,040
Speaker 1: Holiday has guarded Jerry James Harden better than anybody. Now

587
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,840
Speaker 1: what you're gonna do about Kyrie Irving? And I don't know.

588
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,000
Speaker 1: I'd have to start looking in and looking in on

589
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,680
Speaker 1: a granular level and picking it apart. But I think

590
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:02,880
Speaker 1: that is a series where the nets would come in,

591
00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:06,280
Speaker 1: they would be very favored. And perhaps it's yet another

592
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,439
Speaker 1: scenario where defense didn't get its credit and you could

593
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:12,440
Speaker 1: see an upset there. But as far as the Western

594
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:17,160
Speaker 1: Conference right now, especially after the Jamal Murray injury, it

595
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,279
Speaker 1: is pretty muddled. Colin. I might have to give some

596
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,240
Speaker 1: sort of take about who's going to win the West

597
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,000
Speaker 1: next time, my mom, because I have not I have

598
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,400
Speaker 1: not figured it out I'm just shorting the Lakers in general,

599
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,000
Speaker 1: and I mean it is it is hard to say

600
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,400
Speaker 1: something like the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals, but

601
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:37,480
Speaker 1: it is a plausibility. It's certainly a plausibility. Well, if

602
00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 1: Lebron gets hurt, Jamal Murray's not there for Denver. We

603
00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:42,880
Speaker 1: don't trust the Clippers late. It's too big of a

604
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:46,160
Speaker 1: jump for the Phoenix Sun's Band to great. Part of

605
00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:50,040
Speaker 1: me thinks, are we just dismissing them? They're like Gonzaga.

606
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,160
Speaker 1: Well you know, it's it's Utah and all of a

607
00:34:53,200 --> 00:34:57,280
Speaker 1: sudden you look up and they are Quinn Snyder, same guys,

608
00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:01,680
Speaker 1: same offense, rim protector. I do worry about Donovan Mitchell's health.

609
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,480
Speaker 1: They don't have a great wing defender, but Paul George

610
00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,759
Speaker 1: struggles in the postseason. I'm not shocked if they get

611
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,600
Speaker 1: to the Western Conference finals. Quinn Snyder is Brad Stevens West. Yeah, yeah,

612
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:15,040
Speaker 1: I'm not shocked either. And they're battle tested. They've been

613
00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,560
Speaker 1: through playoff pain. Not that the media really cares too

614
00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,879
Speaker 1: much about them or will show everybody, but they've had

615
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:26,960
Speaker 1: their disappointments, they've been through the fire. They've got veterans Yeah,

616
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,680
Speaker 1: it's just it's the scenario that can happen that almost

617
00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,960
Speaker 1: nobody wants to fathom. To bring it full circle, because

618
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,480
Speaker 1: the NBA really needs somebody else to be in the

619
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:41,400
Speaker 1: NBA Finals to secure its next TV contract. Ethan, I

620
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,040
Speaker 1: love talking to you. We'd love to bring you on

621
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:46,719
Speaker 1: regularly on the Volume. You do great work for the

622
00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:49,160
Speaker 1: athletic And by the way, I want to promote Ethan's book.

623
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:54,480
Speaker 1: It's called The Victory Machine, The Making and Unmaking of

624
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:58,760
Speaker 1: the Warriors Dynasty. And I just talked to Marcus Thompson

625
00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,160
Speaker 1: the other day, who's also in some books. I love

626
00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:06,680
Speaker 1: going back and reading books for a second time after

627
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:11,000
Speaker 1: something has happened and trying to add perspective. How right

628
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,359
Speaker 1: were you? This book is a great read for those

629
00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:19,640
Speaker 1: that love insights, dynasties, the falling of empires. Man, I

630
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,560
Speaker 1: just love talking to you every time. Well, Colin, the

631
00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,200
Speaker 1: feeling is more than mutual and I'm happy to come

632
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:30,600
Speaker 1: on anytime. And thanks for having me all right, man? Okay,

633
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:35,640
Speaker 1: I told you Ethan Strauss every time I learned something

634
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:40,439
Speaker 1: at the Volume. Sports on Twitter and Instagram, sign up, rate,

635
00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:43,960
Speaker 1: review and subscribe. Can't get enough of that. Guy, you

636
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:47,800
Speaker 1: know what, athletic better not screw around. I'm gonna hire him,

637
00:36:48,000 --> 00:37:22,520
Speaker 1: damn straight. I am talk soon. The volume