Speaker 1: On this episode of This League, we discuss the shocking news,
Speaker 1: as Marty would say, one of the worst hot seats ever.
Speaker 1: We talk about how the Clippers are basically like a
Speaker 1: fine piece of china. We detail this year's most surprising team,
Speaker 1: which is the New York Knicks. I just like calling
Speaker 1: the Clippers fine China, and we get back to answering
Speaker 1: some more. Listener DMS Meyers Leonard saga. As everyone knows,
Speaker 1: he got suspended during a Call of duty live stream
Speaker 1: for saying an anti Semitic slur, leading him to get
Speaker 1: fined and suspended by the league. He just was never
Speaker 1: going to go back to the Heat after that, no way.
Speaker 1: Miami traded him and a second round pick to OKC
Speaker 1: for Trevor Ariza, and that brings immediate help to the Heat,
Speaker 1: but it also got rid of a nightmare PR situation
Speaker 1: for the team, and Miami does not like PR issues.
Speaker 1: Does not solve an issue for Meyers Leonard because OKC
Speaker 1: made it very clear as soon as he got traded,
Speaker 1: we are not bringing him to the team. He will
Speaker 1: never suit up in an Okay see jersey. He's not
Speaker 1: even coming to the city. Like it's just we just
Speaker 1: needed to match salaries and sorry, Meyers Leonard, you go
Speaker 1: out of a job now. They said. Leonard will not
Speaker 1: be an active part of the Thunder moving forward and
Speaker 1: will not report to oka See. How toxic are you
Speaker 1: that in a trade that amounts to an Aresa's salary dump.
Speaker 1: Okay See immediately issued a press release that said that
Speaker 1: the guy that you just traded for will never ever
Speaker 1: ever suit up for your team. Hey, folks, fan base,
Speaker 1: I know that you want to know why we trade
Speaker 1: for Meyers Leonard. It was just a formality. And the
Speaker 1: craziest part was that Leonard had to wave his no
Speaker 1: trade clause in his contract just to be traded to
Speaker 1: a team that declared, no, we don't want him, not now,
Speaker 1: not never, no way, no way. What does that mean?
Speaker 1: That means that the Heat had too strong arm Meyers
Speaker 1: Leonard into doing that, because if I was Meyers Leonard
Speaker 1: be like, no, I'm not true, I'm not waving my
Speaker 1: no trade clause. Who does that? And they were like,
Speaker 1: we don't want you. Either we do this the easy
Speaker 1: way or we do this the hard way. Kid in
Speaker 1: the draft pick that the Heat sent to OKC, this
Speaker 1: is great. A twenty twenty seven second rounder, which means
Speaker 1: that they just took Meyer's letter contract in exchange for
Speaker 1: a mediocre eighth grader. That's crazy. The only funny thing
Speaker 1: about this whole trade is that the OKC thunder now
Speaker 1: have nineteen first round picks or swaps and sixteen second
Speaker 1: round picks in the next seven years. Rumors are flying around, dirty, nasty,
Speaker 1: unadulterated rumors. A team that's fifth in the West way
Speaker 1: out performing their circumstances. They probably should be eleventh in
Speaker 1: the West based on what's going on, and now they're
Speaker 1: getting players back healthy. And on the eve of CJ's return,
Speaker 1: we had a bombshell story dropping that Yes, Terry Stotts
Speaker 1: is rumored to be on the hot seat.
Speaker 2: Say what, Yeah, I mean, like you said, I don't
Speaker 2: really agree with it too much. I understand there's definitely
Speaker 2: some issues with his defensive coaching and stuff like that.
Speaker 2: I just think there's so few coaches in the league
Speaker 2: that can win despite their circumstances, and he's proven to
Speaker 2: be one. And I do think were he to were
Speaker 2: he to be let go, he would be swooped up
Speaker 2: insanely fast.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that that's right. That I think the
Speaker 1: Western Conference Finals appearance speaks volumes about Terry Stott's ability
Speaker 1: to use scrubs and turn them into something. But the
Speaker 1: reason is simple. The Blazers currently are scoring one hundred
Speaker 1: and fifteen points per game, and they're giving up more consistently.
Speaker 1: They ranked twenty ninth in the league in team defense.
Speaker 1: I would say that's not good. How bad is that
Speaker 1: The Blazers one hundred and sixteen point three rating is
Speaker 1: the third worst in the history of the NBA. I
Speaker 1: don't know why that's so funny, but it's terrible, only
Speaker 1: trailing the twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen Calves at one hundred
Speaker 1: and seventeen point six and this year's Sacramento Kings at
Speaker 1: a hundred eighteen point eight. And if you think that
Speaker 1: this is an anomaly, this is just a one off
Speaker 1: in a pandemic year. They were twenty seventh in the
Speaker 1: league last year. In Statt's career, he's ranked in the
Speaker 1: bottom half in seven out of the nine years, and
Speaker 1: the bottom quarter four times out of the nine years.
Speaker 1: But what's really interesting is this article. Jason Quick talks
Speaker 1: about that the Blazers spend eighty five percent of their
Speaker 1: film study and practice on just defense. Besides Tom Thibodeau,
Speaker 1: I've never heard of such a thing. Never. All of
Speaker 1: this to say, Quick points out that there are rumblings
Speaker 1: the ownership is unhappy and there is a tense backdrop
Speaker 1: to his future in Portland. He's got one year left
Speaker 1: on his deal, and it should be noted that the
Speaker 1: Blazers did not pick up in extend Terry Stotts in
Speaker 1: this last offseason. So yes, things are a little tense.
Speaker 1: Despite his team outperforming in the bubble this year. If
Speaker 1: he doesn't fix the defense, there is a rumor that
Speaker 1: there is a quote unquote really good chance that he
Speaker 1: gets the boot. I like Terry Stotts. I do, so
Speaker 1: does everybody else, Dame CJ. Nurk cancer all Rave reviews.
Speaker 1: But the question is, does Terry Stotts know anything about defense?
Speaker 1: Does he know how to teach defense? Does he know
Speaker 1: how to implement defense? If you spend eighty five percent
Speaker 1: of your time on anything and you're still second worst
Speaker 1: in the league at that thing, maybe you're not any
Speaker 1: good at that thing. That's something to evaluate. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about Scotts's defensive ratings over time. He was twenty fifth
Speaker 1: in the league and twenty twelve, sixteenth in the league
Speaker 1: and twenty thirteenth. He's only had two good years in
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen and twenty seventeen, twenty second in the league,
Speaker 1: sixteenth in the league, seven twenty seventh in the league,
Speaker 1: twenty ninth in the league. Yikes. So the Blazers defense
Speaker 1: is just trash as we know. But the good news
Speaker 1: is what the Blazers can fucking score a lot of
Speaker 1: points a ton. We are not just good at offense.
Speaker 1: This is great and it's about to get even better
Speaker 1: with CJ coming back. Harry Giles is coming back and
Speaker 1: he can also play some defense, and within a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks, Useuf Nurkic is coming back. If that man
Speaker 1: can play tough, we will be a tough out. This
Speaker 1: team is exciting. Marty Carmelo Anthony, Can we talk about
Speaker 1: Carmelo Anthony for a second? Jesus Christ, can we.
Speaker 2: Talk about him? Yeah? I want to talk about him.
Speaker 1: On that game that I bet, I bet on the
Speaker 1: Hornets and that was just a terrible, terrible bet. In
Speaker 1: that game, he had twenty nine points, five steals, two
Speaker 1: blocks in thirty minutes of action. Here's where I remind
Speaker 1: you that he was left for dead, picked up for
Speaker 1: table scraps, no one wanted him, and now he's averaging fourteen,
Speaker 1: three and two and can give you twenty on any night.
Speaker 1: Eleven times he scored twenty or more points this year.
Speaker 1: Do you think Marty Carmelo Anthony could be our league
Speaker 1: sixth Man of the Year.
Speaker 2: I think he'll be in the conversation. I think Clarkson
Speaker 2: is playing too well and that team is playing two well.
Speaker 2: I think he's probably the one that's gonna get it.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean, Mellow is doing what a lot
Speaker 2: of people thought he would never be able or willing
Speaker 2: to do. He adjusted to a role and he's adjusted
Speaker 2: to it awesomely. And you know, maybe he needed, you know,
Speaker 2: the entire league to call himselfish and criticize him like
Speaker 2: that so that he realized that he needed to, you know,
Speaker 2: kind of change the way he plays, and I think
Speaker 2: he had. He doesn't look like Nix Carmelo at all.
Speaker 1: Right now. You know, Carmelo reminds me a little bit
Speaker 1: of Tiger Woods Elite. At one point in time, massive
Speaker 1: egos thought that they were a certain kind of player.
Speaker 1: Father time got to them. Injuries obviously got to Tiger
Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden, the game gets snatched
Speaker 1: away from them. And then when they're allowed to come back,
Speaker 1: they come back a different, happier, more grateful player, just
Speaker 1: outperforming what anybody would possibly think that they could end
Speaker 1: up doing. And he's thirty seven and we got him.
Speaker 1: Portland got him for two point six million dollars a year.
Speaker 1: Do you know Luke Canard, La Clippers wing guard combo
Speaker 1: Esque is making almost ten times that amount Luke Cannard,
Speaker 1: who's averaging six point seven points per game. What a steal.
Speaker 1: Melo has played for four different teams in four years.
Speaker 1: This crazy Nick's OKC Houston, Portland and the world. Like
Speaker 1: you said, Marty said, he would not be able to
Speaker 1: accept a smaller role. Nbagm said, Carmelo, you can't have
Speaker 1: him on your bench because he's going to want to
Speaker 1: play more than you can play him for your team's success.
Speaker 1: And it's just not a good look. And now what
Speaker 1: we're seeing is Mellow committed to this role that is
Speaker 1: one of the biggest, I would say, the biggest keys
Speaker 1: to the Blazers winning games, especially when Dame goes cold. Yeah,
Speaker 1: when Dame has an off night, Melo just picks up
Speaker 1: the slack. He is still a bucket at any given time,
Speaker 1: a bucket five steals in a game. When did we
Speaker 1: ever see Carmelo play defense like that? That was his knock, right?
Speaker 1: He does not play defense?
Speaker 2: Oh yet? No, totally. I didn't watch that game. I
Speaker 2: don't know how he came in those five steals, but
Speaker 2: that's definitely a statue head scratcher for sure.
Speaker 1: Who would have ever thought that the Blazers would have
Speaker 1: a plethora of capable wings? Not me, not me. When
Speaker 1: we had Evan Turner, I was like, can we just
Speaker 1: get one wing? I was happy to have Trevor Ariza
Speaker 1: last year. I was like, yeah, I mean he can
Speaker 1: do something, he can defend. Now we've got Covey mellow Hood,
Speaker 1: Derek Jones Junior, and now there's a rumor that the
Speaker 1: Blazers might go and get Aaron Gorton. What do you
Speaker 1: think about that?
Speaker 2: I guess that improves the defensive problem quite a bit.
Speaker 2: I would like it. I kind of like that fit.
Speaker 2: I kind of like that fit with good guard play
Speaker 2: like that would open him up a little bit more
Speaker 2: and he's he's shooting better this year, I believe. Yeah,
Speaker 2: if y'all could pull him. Yeah, that'd be great.
Speaker 1: I think that makes us immediately in the mix. Right.
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's gonna happen, because the Timberwolves
Speaker 1: are trying to get everyone. They've got a plethora of
Speaker 1: assets and picks to trade. But all of that to
Speaker 1: say the Blazers are gonna score. We've got problems on
Speaker 1: the defensive end, and unless they play so some sort
Speaker 1: of defensive scheme, the only path forward for them is
Speaker 1: just to be the Western Conference Brooklyn Nuts. Just shoot
Speaker 1: from everywhere, never miss, go fifty eight percent from three
Speaker 1: and sixty nine percent from the field, score one hundred
Speaker 1: and forty in hoping your opponent doesn'tcore one hundred and
Speaker 1: forty one, which is exactly what happened Tuesday. Did you
Speaker 1: see that game where the Blazers beat your your boys
Speaker 1: Pelicans down seventeen five minutes and fifty seconds left in
Speaker 1: the game, and the best clutch player in the NBA
Speaker 1: just took over, did not miss from two, did not
Speaker 1: miss at all from two, did not miss a free throw.
Speaker 1: It's insane. Three for five from three, three for three
Speaker 1: from two, five or five from the free throw line
Speaker 1: to assist three rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.
Speaker 2: Those also the fourth quarter Pelicans attacking their known to
Speaker 2: blileaves like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Pelicans game, though, does underscore what I would consider
Speaker 1: the biggest problem going forward. The Blazers in the last
Speaker 1: five games have given up one hundred and twenty one
Speaker 1: points per game during that same stretch, Nets have given
Speaker 1: up one hundred and nine, So Nets defense shoring up
Speaker 1: Blazer's defense becoming a sieve. So I'm worried. I'm not
Speaker 1: just worried for the Blazers, Marty. I'm worried that if
Speaker 1: this doesn't get fixed, it might be time for a change. Sorry,
Speaker 1: Terry might have to go expensive, beautiful and highly fragile.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about the Clippers. Yes, I am. A lot
Speaker 1: of news coming out that the Clippers having lost four
Speaker 1: of seven, they got lit up by a bad loss
Speaker 1: to the Pelicans, and Kawhi Leonard was very concerned. The
Speaker 1: news is that he went on a rampage on his team,
Speaker 1: which is just kind of impossible to imagine. Yeah, uh,
Speaker 1: Kawhi lnt As. I like to call him the guy
Speaker 1: that has the least energy in the NBA, the guy
Speaker 1: that they literally make commercials about being a Cyborg is
Speaker 1: telling teammates, listen up, guys, it's time. The time is now.
Speaker 1: I don't know what he said. I don't know what
Speaker 1: a motivational speech looks like from Kawhi Leonard, but I
Speaker 1: imagine it's like very monotone. It's like being lectured by
Speaker 1: a tax accountant because you're just spending a little too free.
Speaker 1: I just don't think.
Speaker 2: I mean, his merch is in time. It's new Romans,
Speaker 2: So that tells.
Speaker 1: You everything exactly. So what did he say, Marty, What
Speaker 1: was Kawhi's quote?
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, the quote was, I'm very concerned. Do you
Speaker 2: want to have it checks at anything. You've gotta be
Speaker 2: consistent nights where energy is not there. It's all about consistency.
Speaker 2: That is what makes a team great.
Speaker 1: That monotone, even if it was monotone and oppressor. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's facts. When you don't feel like competing, you still
Speaker 1: need to do what compete. Fucking compete every single night.
Speaker 1: That's what your job is, and that's what Kawhi Leonard
Speaker 1: does so well. I think that's the difference between mediocre
Speaker 1: players and really really great players. Players that do not
Speaker 1: want to play still show up and compete. Unlike Paul
Speaker 1: George just gets cooked, cooked by Luca cooked. He fell
Speaker 1: on his ass two nights ago, three times fell to
Speaker 1: the ground anyway, just a pandemic. Pe became a trending
Speaker 1: topic again last night. So I just felt like I
Speaker 1: would bring that up. Clipper's very Clipper's very inconsistent, and
Speaker 1: I would say I am concerned. But the world says,
Speaker 1: trist Everything's gonna be okay. This team has an amazing roster.
Speaker 1: They can d up when they want to. They've got
Speaker 1: Paul George and Nebaka and Kawhi Leonard, and when they're great,
Speaker 1: they're really really great. When Kuhi and PG are clicking,
Speaker 1: this is crazy. They have a net rating of plus
Speaker 1: sixteen and a half, which is the best in the
Speaker 1: league among duos who have played five hundred or more
Speaker 1: minutes together. That's crazy. When they're clicking, they're clicking. So yeah,
Speaker 1: you think, oh, they're gonna figure it out. But that's
Speaker 1: what we said last year. We just assumed that just
Speaker 1: because you have these pieces, that everything's just gonna work
Speaker 1: out on its own. That's not how it works, just facts.
Speaker 1: That's just not how it happened. Remember what ended up
Speaker 1: happening was like, Oh, yeah, it's fine, it's fine, They're
Speaker 1: gonna be the Western Conference. Who knows, whoever comes out
Speaker 1: of the West is gonna win it all. Blah blah
Speaker 1: blah blah blah. And then you had pandemic pe hitting
Speaker 1: off the sideboard, blowing a three to win lead, not
Speaker 1: scoring at all in the fourth quarter. That's what happened.
Speaker 1: So you just can't say that things are gonna be fine.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think I'm just a little bit cynical, Marty,
Speaker 1: because the world and the media tells me I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be fine, when everything that I see and read tells
Speaker 1: me things are not gonna be fine. I'm sorry. I'd
Speaker 1: rather be a pessimist and be wrong than being optimist
Speaker 1: and be disappointed, because there are real problems. Lou Williams
Speaker 1: one of the great six men in the league's thirty four,
Speaker 1: and his production just fell off a cliff. He went
Speaker 1: from eighteen three and six to twelve two and four. Yikes.
Speaker 1: And then they decided they were gonna pay this guy,
Speaker 1: Luke Canard casual fans do not know him, do not
Speaker 1: know him. He was on the Detroit Pistons had half
Speaker 1: of a good year and then the Clipper said, yeah,
Speaker 1: we'll pay a twenty million a.
Speaker 2: Year come to la which was so weird because they
Speaker 2: traded for him and he had one more year left
Speaker 2: on his deal and they decided to just extend him.
Speaker 1: Why would they do That's it?
Speaker 2: They figured he was going to outperform it and be
Speaker 2: worth more. But that was wrong.
Speaker 1: That was very wrong. Here's the thing. You're on the
Speaker 1: Detroit Pistons. Your production should be fucking high. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: go to a contender, your production is going to fall
Speaker 1: off of a cliff. Why would you pay that man
Speaker 1: twenty plus million dollars a year. That's gotta be one
Speaker 1: of the dumbest decisions that Jerry West has ever made
Speaker 1: in his fucking life. He's a very very smart guy.
Speaker 2: That was very very dumb uncharacteristic by Jerry.
Speaker 1: Nobody thought it was a good idea when it happened either.
Speaker 1: And now Patrick Beverley has banged up Reggie Jackson. Is
Speaker 1: Reggie Jackson also another former Piston And you know no
Speaker 1: wonder that the Clippers are in the market for a
Speaker 1: new point guard. The problem is the guy that they want,
Speaker 1: Kyle Lowry, makes thirty mili a year, and the other
Speaker 1: guy is Terry Rosier, who's locked in for next year
Speaker 1: and is like making very very little money. So what
Speaker 1: are the Clippers going to get or what are they
Speaker 1: gonna be able to get and what are they gonna
Speaker 1: be able to give? I don't think they have any
Speaker 1: assets or any picks since they mortgage their entire future
Speaker 1: for Paul George.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they certainly don't have any draft backs too.
Speaker 1: No, how can you possibly make a trade enticing for
Speaker 1: the Charlotte Hornets to give you Terry Rozier? I'm what
Speaker 1: are you? What are you gonna do? Like you're gonna
Speaker 1: give Terrence Man, Jay Scrubb and a twenty eight twenty
Speaker 1: twenty eight twenty twenty ninth first round pick, Like you're
Speaker 1: just never gonna have draft picks until like two administrations
Speaker 1: from now. Get the fuck out of here. They also
Speaker 1: are targeting George Hill, but George Hill's production is exactly
Speaker 1: the same as Lou Williams. So I don't know why
Speaker 1: you would do that. No easy answers when you've already
Speaker 1: emptied the cupboard. So it appears that the roster is
Speaker 1: going to go into the playoffs exactly the same way
Speaker 1: as it is right now, and the West is a gunfight.
Speaker 1: Everybody's better. Portland, Utah, Phoenix, New Orleans, all of those
Speaker 1: teams are much better.
Speaker 2: Would you say, oh, yeah, certainly, Yeah.
Speaker 1: Portland, Utah, Phoenix, New Orleans all could beat the Clippers
Speaker 1: in a seven game series. I would say it's possible.
Speaker 1: Not saying it's going to happen, but it's possible.
Speaker 2: New Orleans is the one team out of those that
Speaker 2: I wouldn't bet on at.
Speaker 1: All, but yeah, the one thing. But they did blow
Speaker 1: out the Clippers. That's a matchup problem, matchup problem. The
Speaker 1: one thing that's different though from last year is that
Speaker 1: they have a Baca instead of Montrez Harrel and Abaka
Speaker 1: is the only guy that makes Kawhi Leonard laugh. He's
Speaker 1: the only guy now. Apparently there's a new ESPN story
Speaker 1: out that Sergia Bacha's presence on the Clippers. Now Kawhi
Speaker 1: Leonard is smiling and laughing in front of everyone, and
Speaker 1: a team that was embroiled in controversy over chemistry issues,
Speaker 1: when you've got Kawhi Leonard being the vocal leader, standing
Speaker 1: on top of a bench and being like the time
Speaker 1: is now or whatever he said, and you've got him
Speaker 1: laughing and smiling and joking and joking about trading Abaca
Speaker 1: and putting him on the trade block when he ends
Speaker 1: up elbowing him in the face, and like we're seeing
Speaker 1: a new version of the claw, maybe like comic sans
Speaker 1: version and sometimes do Roman right. I like that. I
Speaker 1: like that. Chemistry is big, and you've got ty Lu
Speaker 1: another chemistry guy. I would be if I was a
Speaker 1: Clipper fan, That's the only reason I would be encouraged.
Speaker 1: And of course because you got Kawhi Leonard. So the
Speaker 1: world is going to say, Trista, why are you so negative?
Speaker 1: The Clippers are gonna be fine? What if they're not?
Speaker 1: It's not like a conclusion that Kawhi Leonard is going
Speaker 1: to resign there, It's just not. I hear rumblings from
Speaker 1: Kendrick Perkins that if Kawhi doesn't win a title this year,
Speaker 1: he isn't re signing. The Knicks are hard rock, they
Speaker 1: really are. I am so proud of what Tom Thibodeau
Speaker 1: has done with this team. It's crazy. It's crazy, is it?
Speaker 1: Is it? It sounds impossible to say, but are the
Speaker 1: New York Knicks not just a playoff team? But a
Speaker 1: dangerous out. Are they dangerous? They seem a little dangerous
Speaker 1: to me here and there with Derrick Rose, I just
Speaker 1: I think.
Speaker 2: They're in that category now where it's they're the team
Speaker 2: that no what he wants to play, which when you
Speaker 2: look at what the Knicks have been, that's an insane upgrade.
Speaker 1: So yeah, insane. You saw the Knicks without Derrick Rose
Speaker 1: take the Nets and then the Sixers to the brink. Yes,
Speaker 1: I know, folks that the Nets were missing pieces and
Speaker 1: also the Sixers were missing mbeat. That's fine, but still
Speaker 1: this is a team that should have been in prior years,
Speaker 1: probably blown out by twenty five. So along with the
Speaker 1: Charlotte Hornets, this is a team that would, if I
Speaker 1: was them, scare the shit out of me. They have
Speaker 1: exciting young players, they've got veteran leadership and Tibbs at
Speaker 1: the helm. You know that they're just this team defensively
Speaker 1: as hard as nils. Did you see Marty Julius Randall
Speaker 1: try to fight the entire Brooklyn Nets team at all
Speaker 1: at the same time and a referee?
Speaker 2: Yeah I did see clips of that. Yeah I love
Speaker 2: Randall me too.
Speaker 1: So I think this all goes back to Tibbs and
Speaker 1: the trade for Derrick Rose. Who would have thought that
Speaker 1: reuniting the Timber Bowls in Madison Square Garden would pay dividends?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, No, it seems like d Rose only gets
Speaker 2: up to play for Thibodeau. You know, that's where he's
Speaker 2: had his only good years in the league, is being
Speaker 2: coached by him. Even in Minnesota, he actually played pretty well,
Speaker 2: and since his addition, they've been consistently I think a
Speaker 2: more cohesive unit for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think the young guys are getting something
Speaker 1: out of them right yeah quickly and RJ. Barrett both
Speaker 1: have credited their production increases to the d Rose arrival.
Speaker 1: I didn't see this coming, and I don't think anyone
Speaker 1: saw this coming except for Nate Robinson. He told me
Speaker 1: if anyone could fix the Knicks culture, it's Tibbs, and
Speaker 1: I laughed, Yes, I did. I thought it was hilarious.
Speaker 1: I actually rolled my eyes. Like I said, I am
Speaker 1: a cynic. I don't believe that anything is gonna change
Speaker 1: until you show me it's gonna change. Because everybody wants
Speaker 1: to make moves. Then they tell you that that's the
Speaker 1: panacea for whatever. The team, the organization, the business, moving forward.
Speaker 1: And you know what, I just don't believe people when
Speaker 1: they tell me lies. I've been lied to enough. And
Speaker 1: of course you've got James Dolan. So as long as
Speaker 1: you have James Dolan, I do not trust anything. But
Speaker 1: this team is gritty as fuck. They are wearing teams
Speaker 1: down Tibbs's m O, which is very true. Whenever you
Speaker 1: watch a Knixt game, it's like this beautifully ugly, Like
Speaker 1: we're just afraid of running suicides tomorrow, so we're gonna
Speaker 1: everyone up, even if we're so gas that we break
Speaker 1: every shot on the other side. Like that's that's Tom
Speaker 1: Thibodeau's team right there. And this roster does all of that.
Speaker 1: Julius Randall having a breakout season, but Emmanuel Quickly is
Speaker 1: probably one of the big reasons, besides Derrick Rose, that
Speaker 1: things have turned around. He's when he's starting, He's averaging
Speaker 1: thirteen two and two as a rookie, and his production
Speaker 1: is just increasing every single week, averaging eighteen three and
Speaker 1: two in the last eight games. Wow. But they're also
Speaker 1: making moves. Did you see that they're looking to get
Speaker 1: either Victor Oladipo, Lonzo Ball or JJ Ruddick.
Speaker 2: I really like the idea of Ola depot. I don't
Speaker 2: think Lonzo's going anywhere, but yeah, I mean jj'd be good. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean they definitely need shooters like that. I think
Speaker 2: if they could somehow pull any of those guys that
Speaker 2: be sick.
Speaker 1: I tell you what, this is a fascinating, fascinating team.
Speaker 1: Even if they stay pat and of course they're not
Speaker 1: trading Randall, They're gonna be a heart out for anyone.
Speaker 1: Barrett's playing some of the best ball of his career.
Speaker 1: De Rose rejuvenated, as I said, And if the Knicks
Speaker 1: can find a way to just keep James Dolan in
Speaker 1: his idiot MSG staff from fucking up the vibe the Knicks.
Speaker 1: The Knicks nets is the ultimate for the first round
Speaker 1: Knicks Nets, MSG and Barclays. Holy fuck, would we be
Speaker 1: in for a rye?
Speaker 2: What do you think of the PJ. Tucker trade?
Speaker 1: Oh? Man, I'll tell you what. There is nothing I
Speaker 1: like more than the world telling me I'm wrong and
Speaker 1: me being right. Every One in the NBA. Seventy percent
Speaker 1: of the NBA was calling about PJ. Tucker. So if
Speaker 1: he was washed, why would twenty out of the thirty
Speaker 1: teams won him on the team I don't know, so
Speaker 1: I am excited for PJ. He has a new fresh start.
Speaker 1: The big move is that PJ. Tucker is now to
Speaker 1: the Bucks. I told you he was in big demand.
Speaker 1: The Bucks gave up DJ Augustine, DJ Wilson, a bunch
Speaker 1: of DJs and their twenty twenty three number ones for
Speaker 1: PJ and Rodion Kuruz and a twenty twenty two first
Speaker 1: round pick. I mean, I knew he was out, he
Speaker 1: was on his way out when he just stopped playing.
Speaker 1: He told Steven Silas, Yeah, I know you thought I
Speaker 1: was gonna suit up, but I'm not gonna suit up.
Speaker 1: So yeah, that is a that's a thing. I think PJ.
Speaker 1: Tucker is a player that provides you. Like I said before, toughness, corner,
Speaker 1: three point shooting, he is valuable. He's three and D
Speaker 1: undersized hard rock, which is also very very valuable. Not
Speaker 1: a lot of hert rocks in the league. Yes, he's
Speaker 1: only shooting thirty one point four percent from three, which
Speaker 1: is his worse since twenty twelve, but it might just
Speaker 1: be because he's playing on the Rockets. That's probably that
Speaker 1: are probably gonna lose twenty five games in a row.
Speaker 1: So Celtics fans went insane when I suggested that PJ.
Speaker 1: Tucker should come to the Celtics and then they should
Speaker 1: move Marcus Smart out and get somebody like Harrison Barnes
Speaker 1: and maybe a pick in. And everybody's like, oh, you
Speaker 1: don't know anything about basketball. You know what. The Bucks
Speaker 1: and the Celtics are in the same boat. And now
Speaker 1: the Bucks did what the Celtics didn't have the furtitude
Speaker 1: to do. Get another dangerous piece to get you over
Speaker 1: the hump, get you another hard rock piece. And one
Speaker 1: of those teams just got a lot tougher, a lot
Speaker 1: more dangerous, and the other is Boston. So let me
Speaker 1: tell you this. If the Celtics don't go as far
Speaker 1: as the Bucks in the playoffs, do not come at me.
Speaker 1: Blame Danny Ainge, Blame Brad Stevens, and put some respect
Speaker 1: on PJ. Tucker's name. All right?
Speaker 2: Up next, next up, we have what do you think
Speaker 2: about the rumors of Lonzo Ball going to the New
Speaker 2: York Knicks.
Speaker 1: Woh, we talked about this a little earlier, right, I
Speaker 1: don't think it's possible. Romelo is the bellow of the
Speaker 1: ball in the NBA. It's easy to overlook Lonzo after all,
Speaker 1: I mean, and most of the time that you hear
Speaker 1: about him is always in trade discussions. The latest is
Speaker 1: that the New York Knicks are hot on the Lonzo
Speaker 1: ball trail, if not before the deadline, then during free agency.
Speaker 1: But here's the thing. The Pelicans don't want to trade
Speaker 1: Lonzo right now. Their offense is number one in the
Speaker 1: NBA in the past month, and Lonzo, now in this
Speaker 1: new system, is finally playing to the level that people
Speaker 1: thought he could under Van Gundy. The Pelicans' role in
Speaker 1: the Pelicans style is to limit We talked about this
Speaker 1: a couple of shows ago. Limit turnovers, offensive rebound, push
Speaker 1: the pace and then move the ball quickly. And then
Speaker 1: you give point zion getting Lonzo off the ball. And
Speaker 1: he is shooting tremendously thirty nine percent from three. He
Speaker 1: has more made threes than Trey Young, Luca Jason Tatum,
Speaker 1: Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Lebron James and a higher
Speaker 1: three point percentage than those players. That is insane. So
Speaker 1: Lonzo's a restricted free agent. The Pels wouldn't sign him
Speaker 1: on a contract extension. Maybe his upt play means that
Speaker 1: he'll get an extension now, but Leon Rose is very
Speaker 1: very high on him. I like that move. I don't
Speaker 1: know what that means for Derick Rose, but I like
Speaker 1: that move. Bobby Marks of ESPN wrote that the New
Speaker 1: Orleans would not match any offer that goes above eighteen million,
Speaker 1: and that's likely what the Knicks will offer him, but
Speaker 1: for this year, I don't see it happening. All right.
Speaker 1: That's all the time that we have for This League podcast.
Speaker 1: Please subscribe, please rate, please review on Apple Podcasts and
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Speaker 1: you for listening. We will be back Monday afternoon, where
Speaker 1: Marty is still remote from Colorado, hopefully with better WiFi.