WEBVTT - Well Actually 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.520 On this episode of This League, we break down the 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.960 firing and the hiring of the new Timberwolves head coach 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:09.920 in a matter of ten minutes. We talk about the 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:12.400 two types of basketball fans that exist in the world, 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.840 ones that enjoy the beauty of basketball and ones who 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:20.640 look at only wins, losses and numbers. Then it's time. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.439 It's finally here, the Lamello ball appreciation segment. 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:27.640 Yeah, no, it's our our first coaching change. Big news, 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:28.400 big news. 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:32.199 Big news, coaching carousel. It's been a long time coming 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:38.680 for our man, Ryan Saunders, who is essentially hired because 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:41.760 he's the son of Flip Saunders. That's his main credential. 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:49.120 So yeah, that's the facts. Minnesota Timberwolves fired Ryan Saunders 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.040 after their loss against the Knicks. Probably not a surprise 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:55.600 to anyone, given that the Timberwolves have only had seven 0:00:55.800 --> 0:01:00.000 wins on this season. They are seven and twenty four. 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:03.360 This season's been a train wreck, it is. There's been 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:06.480 nothing good to say. Well, there's just been like one 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:08.600 or two good things to say about the Timberwolves, which 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.880 we'll get into next. Karl Anthony Towns has missed a 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.360 ton of games almost the entire season, with COVID D'Angelo 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.679 Russell has missed the last eight games, who knows when 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:23.040 he's coming back, and the team has lost eight of ten, 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:26.920 including four in the row. So yeah, the Saunders getting 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:28.920 the boot is definitely not shocking. I think it's been 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:33.400 a long time coming. But the thing that was shocking 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:38.399 was what happened right after. So you get whoaed little 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.839 put a little tweet out, breaking news, breaking news, Ryan 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.759 Saunders has been fired. This is at like almost midnight 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:49.600 last night. Boom. And then you're like, okay, thinking in 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:51.360 your head, who are they going to replace him with? 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:57.280 And within ten minutes Shams dropped the hiring news whoa 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.720 all of a sudden, Timberwolves have hired Chris Finch, not 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:04.040 on an interim basis, to be their head coach of 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:12.200 the Minnesota Timberwolves multi year contract. Holy moley, And this 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:19.200 hire is very much a non Timberwolves type. Higher Finch 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.280 is who is he? Because he's not a huge name 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.639 to the average casual NBA fan, Finch is an under 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:30.320 the radar coach in the mold of Nick Nurse. In fact, 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:33.200 he is so in the mold of Nick Nurse. They 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:38.360 met while coaching in Britain as rivals, struck up a friendship, 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:43.200 worked together on and off ever since NBA Outsider. By 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:48.799 all intents and purposes, he's won championships in Britain and 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.280 in Europe. He's coached Olympic basketball. Considered one of the 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:57.440 best offensive minds in the game, his motion offense has 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:03.360 transformed the high lying Rockets with James Harden. He came 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.520 in to transform that with Dan Toni and Daryl Moury. 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:10.839 He then went to the Nuggets in twenty sixteen, transformed 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:15.080 a little player named Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray that 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.000 became the fourth best offense in the NBA and in 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.720 the last sixty games the first best offense in the NBA. 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:26.400 Three fourths of that year. They were number one pretty 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:30.720 much overnight in terms of points scored in efficiency. Then 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.600 he bounced to New Orleans and had a little fun 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:38.920 run with Drew Holliday and Boogie Cousins and Brandon Ingram. 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:43.600 Last year, his entire role was to transform Brandon Ingram 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:49.560 and revive his career that Drew Holliday DeMarcus Cousins. After 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:55.280 DeMarcus Cousins got injured right he had Drew Holliday and 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.320 Rondo and turned them into the monster that beat the 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:04.200 Portland Trailblazers in a sweep. There was no business, no business. 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:07.040 He put Miratic on. This is some nerd talk, but 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:10.480 he put Miritic on Nurkic our center and pretty much 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:13.680 locked Dame the fuck down with Drew and we went home. 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.000 And now he pretty much got dicked out of the 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:20.599 New Orleans job. So when Alvin Gentry got fired, he 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:22.280 was supposed to be waiting in the wings to get 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:26.280 the head coaching gig there, and then they gave the 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:30.800 job to stan Van Gundy. Yuck. And when they gave 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.560 the job to stan Van Gundy, Chris Finch was like, 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:38.760 I'm out. I'm out. So since then he's been in 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:42.599 Toronto for this part of this year, transforming Siakam and 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:46.920 transforming this Raptor's offense into a more motion style offense. 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:49.640 Now that they have different pieces than they had when 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:52.440 they were a contender before, and it's been a rocky 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:56.279 road and now they've seen to smooth things out and 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:02.480 are beating good teams again. He also interviewed the first 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:06.880 time that the Minnesota Timberwolves had a job opening and 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:11.480 instead Gerson Roses was the director of Player Personnel and 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.720 the GM in Houston when Chris Finch was running the 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.560 Rio Grand team, the D League team in Houston, and 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.600 also when he was an assistant coach for the Rockets. 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:22.960 So they've got a little history there, right, And Gerson 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:27.560 Ross is the GM now of the Minnesota Timberwolves. So 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.560 Chris Finch interviewed with Gerson the first time around when 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:35.720 they gave that job to Ryan Saunders, and now he's 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.159 been basically waiting in the wings for the shoot to drop, 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:42.560 and within ten minutes of the firing gets hired. That's 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:45.200 where we are. Do you feel like you've learned anything? 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:47.800 I do? I do. It's funny how things like this 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:49.359 can go under the radar. People are gonna have this 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.640 big impact and a lot of people don't even really 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:52.320 know who they are. 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:56.680 It's crazy, right, it's crazy, But not everyone. I personally 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.039 am happy with this. This feels like a changing of 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.640 the guard of a team and a franchise as a 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:08.520 whole that has been we'll call it not great decision makers. 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:10.400 Yeah, let's go with that. 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:14.520 We'll call it their talent evaluation hasn't been exactly stellar. 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:15.880 Pretty poor pretty poor. 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:19.600 What they've gotten out of their pieces has been even 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.560 worse than the pieces that they actually get. So I 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:24.360 was happy when I saw this news. 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.839 I was like, oh shit, okay, I feel like we 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:28.360 all pull for the Wolves like a little bit. 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:33.240 Come on, they've been They're a beaten child. They're beaten child, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.200 and I want to see Carl Anthony town succeed, don't you. 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:41.280 But not everybody else was happy. One of the key 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:45.160 members of saunders coaching staff is this guy named David Vanderpool. 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:52.520 David Vanderpool worked in Portland and mentored, raised up and 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:56.280 made Damian Lillard and CJ. McCollum into the two guards 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:59.080 that they are today, which are one of the most 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:03.679 potent back courts in the league besides probably Chris Paul 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:08.440 and Devin Booker and Harden and Kyrie. Yeah that's I 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.720 would say, and then obviously Clay and Steph. But Clay 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:16.200 is injured right so early in Dame's career, when you 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.600 would see Dame getting coached up having a little like 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.040 little iPad in his hand, it was David Vanderpool right 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:24.240 next to him every single time. And I know this 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.720 as a Portland Trailblazers fan because I'm like, who is 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.040 this guy that Dame is attached to the hip too? 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.560 That was David Vanderpool. He's been in Minnesota for a 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.560 while now, and a lot of people thought that David 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.480 Vanderpool would get a head coaching gig. He actually interviewed 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.960 for the Houston head coaching job that Steven Silas got 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:44.160 didn't get it. Wow, So everyone thought Vanderpool was next 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:46.960 in line to get the Timberwolves job when Ryan Saunders 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:51.280 eventually hopefully got fired, and I think everybody wanted him 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:54.080 to get fired because he was a legacy hire. Around 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.800 midnight last night, just after the news of Finch's hiring broke, 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:02.160 Damian decided to go on Twitter and express his discontent. 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.400 This is what he says, How the hell do you 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:09.560 not hire David Vanderpool And he's right there on the bench. 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:13.360 He's been in the front office successfully all Caps and 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:15.120 on the front of the bench of a winning team 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:19.160 successfully for seven years and has also played a major 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.560 role in the development of a dominant backhourt shaking my 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:27.560 damn head. That's damning, and just for good measure, CJ 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:33.960 decided to chime in as well. Make it make sense respectfully. 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:37.000 It does make sense, though that's the problem. The Chris 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:41.360 Finch hire does make sense. Not hiring or not interviewing 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:45.800 Vanderpool makes zero sense in this league where we've got 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:50.840 these protocols, these rules and regulations in terms of how 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:53.320 you hire people and how you do not exclude people. 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:58.760 Not interviewing Vanderpool was a mistake. But this hire does 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.280 seem to be driven by Karl Anthony Towns. I think 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.200 Karl Anthony Towns is saying, based on what I'm reading, 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:08.680 I want to become Nikola Jokic. I too, would like 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:12.760 to be a passing, distributing, playmaking big man that can 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:16.280 turn into an MVP candidate and be the focal point 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:18.880 of an offense in a new way. I don't want 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.800 to have to put up fifty every single night down 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.520 on the post. I don't want to have to do that, 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:29.120 and I like that. I think if Karl Anthony Towns 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:31.600 was a six to three guard and that was who 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:34.520 you were building your franchise around, David Vanderpool would probably 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:38.800 be a go to hire. But Chris Finch is known 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:44.280 for developing wings and big man Anthony Davis brandon Ingram 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:51.880 Nikola Jokic, so on and so on Siakham. So yeah, 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:57.040 I would say that this is a complicated issue. I 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:59.360 like David Vanderpool as a human being and as a coach. 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:02.800 I know him person. But for once, the Timberwolves are 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.880 actually interesting and dominating the news cycle, which they haven't 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:09.000 done in a very long time, and that is something 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.640 that I thought I would never say. So I do 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:13.839 love Vanderpool. I wanted to be a head coach. I'm 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:17.520 a Portland Trailblazers fan. But I understand fully why Gris 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.560 and Rosis made this decision and made the move long 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:24.520 term relationship and fit Amine. This guy Amine is a 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:28.800 Portland native, went to school with, went to my high school. 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:29.480 Did not know that. 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:31.960 Wow, so there was a Portland little Portland mix, a 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:35.319 little Timberwolve mix. You know. It's really interesting. Just as 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:38.960 an aside, is that the Portland Trailblazers and the Minnesota 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:42.520 Timberwolves are almost like sister franchises. They do a lot 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:48.360 of trades with one another, Flip Flip Saunders and a 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.480 bunch of different gms in Portland. You could even go 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:54.840 back to the Kevin Pritchard days when he was running things. 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:56.880 They did a lot of things together. They've had some 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:01.160 bad blood coaches who go from Portland sometimes end up 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:05.560 in Minnesota and vice versa. So this Portland Minnesota news 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.600 back and forth was very interesting to me. Yeah, we 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:11.400 have another Timberwolf segment. 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.880 Though, let's go. Let's go Wolve's podcast. 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:15.439 This is a Wolve's podcast. 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:15.760 Now. 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:18.440 I've been putting off talking about this franchise, like I said, 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:22.440 because one, they've won seven games, so what are we 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.920 really talking about? And they've been largely irrelevant in terms 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:30.680 of news, and I've been asked to discuss them from 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:36.040 a multiple amount of listener dms and I just had 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:39.920 said no, no, But they just dominated the news this 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:44.240 entire weekend. So let's do it. I want to get 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:48.439 deep Marty for a second with you. We're living in 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:53.720 two Americas. Yes, as it relates to the NBA, there 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:59.720 are people who find joy in the individual and beautiful 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:03.199 moment of the game because of what it means not 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:05.400 only for their soul but for the culture. 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:06.120 Right. 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:10.600 They take pleasure it in a crossover or in a 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.520 Kyrie or a Lucas step back. Right, that's what gets 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:19.240 them going. Group chat type vibes Twitter. Because basketball is 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:21.160 supposed to be fun. Yep, they fell in love with 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:25.280 the game because of those moments, right, Highlights are cool. 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.600 Highlights are cool. And then there are other people who 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.400 look at basketball as a business. Wins, losses, How close 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:36.440 are you to winning a championship? Stats or something called 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:40.160 raptor I really don't know what it is, how close 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:45.760 the team reading, net rating, dead cap, space, storylines, et cetera, 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.960 et cetera. When you break it down like thatugh, do 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.480 you want your It's basically like, are you an over 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:53.640 person or you an under person? Do you bet on 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.880 the over or do you bet on the under? Do 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:58.559 you love joy? Do you take pleasure in the game 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:00.719 or is it all about how how close you are 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:04.480 to winning? And breaking it down in terms of Excel spreadsheets, 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:09.679 I understand both povs. I kind of live somewhere in 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.840 the gray of those two places. 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:13.320 Yeah, me too, I would say. 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:19.040 And the Timberwolves Aunt Edwards dunk on Friday Night put 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:24.560 a spotlight on this philosophical divide in basketball. This is 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.679 where we are. Aunt Edwards was the number one pick 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.760 selected by the Timberwolves, and he's a rookie right now. 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.240 Timberwolves are what a perennial loser. 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:36.520 Yeah, probably the biggest one. 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.840 We have, probably the biggest one and the biggest disappointment 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:43.360 in terms of players that they could have drafted and 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:44.880 then the players that they did draft. 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:46.960 Sure. Yeah, when you're in that many lotteries, there's gonna 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:47.080 be a. 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:52.559 Lot of misses facts the satisfacts. They could have drafted 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:56.360 Steph Curry and instead I think they drafted Ricky Rubio 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.840 and Ny Flynn and Johnny Flynn yep and Johnny Flynn. 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:04.120 Timberwolves at this point, like I've said multiple times, so 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.960 far have only seven wins. They have a twenty two 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.960 percent winning percentage. So at this point, the Wolves on 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:13.640 Friday Night are playing the Raptors, the team that I 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.760 told you was surging, the team that I told you 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:20.760 their offense is starting to gel and they're up on 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:26.440 the Raptors by eight. Whoo, let's go and Aunt Edwards 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:33.120 posterizes this kid wanton Nabe going viral, top end game 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:38.080 dunk in years just immediately broke the internet. 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:39.560 Yeah, it was a hammer hammer. 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.400 He put his nuts on wanton Nabe's face and put 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:46.320 his hand on he stiff armed him and put his 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:49.040 nuts in his face at the same time, the Internet 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:52.440 was a blaze. They were filled with enthusiasm and joy. 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.720 Finally something to be excited about as it relates to 0:14:55.760 --> 0:15:00.640 the Minnesota Timberwolves, until a few Big Jay journals and 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:04.840 some Timberwolves fans decided to rain on the parade of 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:10.400 everyone who is enjoying that moment. Nate Duncan, who I 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.560 have ran into many times in the NBA media. He 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:19.280 is a mah cap cap analyst. MA Nate Duncan came 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:25.240 in and well, actually, Edwards, well, actually, I know you 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.360 think this dunk is cool, but here's his stat line. 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.440 Aunt Edwards tonight with the dunk of the year. He 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:36.040 also has seven points on three for fourteen shooting and 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:41.680 zero for seven from three. Fuck you, Nate Duncan, Fuck you. 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.800 And Danny and Danny and whoever. 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:48.600 Is shitting on Aunt Edwards in his shining moment, let 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:52.880 that man live. Did you just well, actually Aunt Edwards 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.360 who put his nuts on Wanton Abe's face in a 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:58.640 viral moment that we're probably gonna be talking about ten 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:02.320 years from now. Yes he did, Yes he did. And 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:07.560 the Internet was a ratio. Here's the number that tells 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.320 you everything that you need to know, forty five hundred 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:16.840 quote tweets, thirteen hundred comments, and fifteen thousand likes. What 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:20.240 does that tell you? People responded to that pretty strongly, 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:20.720 didn't they? 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:21.240 They did. 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.960 That's the only stat that matters, and the numeric response 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:29.000 shows you how polarized NBA Twitter is. There's this kid, 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.200 Justin Tinsley who works for The Undefeated, and he summed 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:36.360 it up perfectly. He said that Anthony Edwards statline tweet 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:40.720 really was a masterclass between seeing basketball as a culture 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.880 and seeing basketball as an Excel spreadsheet. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.440 Yeah. I mean, I'm one of those that, especially with 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:50.160 young players, I really want to appreciate all the cool 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:52.480 things they can do, because, especially when you go to 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:54.760 a team like that, there's not gonna be a whole 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:58.720 lot of winning nights. So like, let's appreciate when guys 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:03.200 do something cool and just coming in and immediately expecting 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.480 nineteen year olds to have, you know, the most polished 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:10.200 advanced stat line is just ridiculous. So yeah, like I 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:13.000 was thrilled to see the Anthony Edwards dunk and I 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:14.320 hope we see a lot more. And I don't really 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:16.080 care what his stats are in that game exactly. 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:20.400 I don't think anybody really was worried about Alan Ivernson's 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:24.920 stat line when he broke Michael Jordan's ankles. Yeah, no one. 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:26.480 Yeah, do we have any idea what his line was 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:26.840 in that game? 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.359 Nope, have no idea. But we're still talking about it, 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:34.720 aren't we. This Marty is complicated. Is so complicated because 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.080 the more you think about it, the more complicated it becomes. 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:43.240 Why because Aunt Edwards was the number one draft pick 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:47.640 by the Timberwolves. Anytime you're the number one draft pick 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:53.080 for whatever reason, you're expected to not only produce right away, 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:58.359 but you're expected to affect that team's winning percentage in 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:04.240 a major way right way. That translates to wins and losses. 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:06.640 You're gonna get a ton of playing time, so you're 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:13.720 gonna be expected to make an impact. Is that expectation fair? No? 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:18.040 But this is a business with billions of dollars on 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:21.600 the line, and the Timberwolves have a history of drafting 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.720 players in a lottery. Like I said, that don't work 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:33.040 out over ones that become superstars and storylines are what 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:36.600 drives the NBA is a business. Do you think a 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:42.199 dunk can get you five six columns for the week. No, 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:47.600 is that fair? No, But the media is also a 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.920 business to the tune of billions of dollars a year, 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:56.760 where clicks and views are what matter. You can't squeeze 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.119 a ton of juice out of that Anthony Edwards dunk. 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.440 But what you can squeeze out is whether the Timberwolves 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:06.440 made the right decision by drafting him when LaMelo Ball 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:11.840 was right there, and the storyline is here's a guy 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:15.359 with the horrible stat line expected to produce right now, 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:19.560 not now, but right now, and he told the world 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:25.440 pre draft, I'm not that interested in basketball. I like football. 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:29.640 If the NFL drafted me, I would go there immediately. 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:34.240 That's not good with a bad team who a bad 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.679 team took a chance on over a sure thing in 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:42.239 Lamello Ball, and he had a great dunk. So if 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:47.680 you're a Timberwolves fan or an NBA insider journalist, that's 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:51.280 what you're gonna think about, is all that context. It's 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:57.800 a dirty game. It leads us to make assumptions, prognostications, 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:01.679 say things that are a little early, like me. I 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.000 say things that are a little early all the time, 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:05.919 because that's what you kind of have to do. You 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:09.840 can't just wait and react because what are you really doing. 0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:12.399 That's really the only time the stat guys get to 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.040 me is when they just want to be so quick 0:20:14.080 --> 0:20:16.600 to shit on a young player, like, let me give 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:18.440 him some time, Give them some time figured it out. 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:22.600 Nate Duncan is the no Fun Police, but he's been 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:24.480 in the media a long time and he knows the game, 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:29.879 and that's the game. So it's complicated, right because that's 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:33.440 his job. But it's like, can you give us fifteen 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:38.480 seconds to enjoy this kid? Can we let this kid 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.679 have his moment in the sun when there hasn't really 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:44.840 been very many moments in the sun. If you're a timberwolf, 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:49.200 I mean, that's it. Please let us enjoy something anything, 0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:52.400 in the middle of a two year long pandemic, can 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:56.960 we have something to be happy about? This pandemic has 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:02.720 devastated the league, this country, our mental health, and I 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:06.119 don't know, maybe it's just something about this climate that 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:09.880 makes the juxtaposition between these two philosophies and these two 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:14.000 mindsets so much easier for me to see. They cannot 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.960 see these people, these big Jay's, these no fun polices, 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:22.600 They can't see Anthony Edwards by himself. He's not just 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:26.760 a kid from Georgia who's the number one pick. All 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:29.520 they can see is the list of other lottery players 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:32.600 that didn't work out. All they see is the seven 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:37.320 wins that he's not helping them get anymore. All they 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:40.920 see is the bleak future of their franchise. I mean, 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:46.480 this shit is sad. Really, it's trauma. These fans have trauma, Oh, 0:21:46.520 --> 0:21:50.760 no doubt, no doubt. They cannot experience joy from a 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:54.399 historically good dunk because it came from Aunt Edwards. It 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:56.960 could have been anyone else and everyone would have been excited. 0:21:57.359 --> 0:22:00.840 But because it was Aunt, who is expected to do 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:03.919 all of these things for this perennial loser, and he 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:07.520 is not, and they made a wrong decision in drafting 0:22:07.600 --> 0:22:10.800 him over another player like LaMelo, all they can see 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:15.520 is the what ifs, and so it immediately diminishes this moment. 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:19.399 He's the symbol to them of everything that's wrong with 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:22.280 their favorite team. I mean, people, though, can we just 0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:26.200 say wake up? This kid is nineteen and he is nasty. 0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:33.000 That dunk was beyond nasty. Let's just relish in something 0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:36.520 that we can talk about twenty years from now. Much 0:22:36.640 --> 0:22:39.639 like that Ai cross on Jordan. By the way, the 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:40.480 Sixers lost that. 0:22:40.440 --> 0:22:41.240 Game, Oh they did. 0:22:41.320 --> 0:22:45.320 Yeah, nobody talks about that. Take those small victories, those 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:50.800 moments of happiness wherever you can get them. Laugh, exclaim, 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:54.520 feel some joy. This is why we love the game 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:58.280 of basketball, these moments, not because of war or raptor 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:04.040 or fucking stats. Don't let anything take the joy away 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:08.360 from you in a game that we love, especially stats. 0:23:08.480 --> 0:23:12.680 LaMelo is up late night, ballin' up early, ballin' ballin' 0:23:12.720 --> 0:23:14.959 all the time. One of the reasons that the Wolves 0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:19.280 are so scarred is a rookie that they should have 0:23:19.520 --> 0:23:24.960 taken is LaMelo ball, and LaMelo ball is fucking bond. 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:27.719 We talked a little bit about the Hornets earlier as 0:23:27.720 --> 0:23:29.840 one of the three teams that have become very, very 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:32.120 fun to watch, and a lot of that is because 0:23:32.160 --> 0:23:33.480 of LaMelo. Yeah. 0:23:33.520 --> 0:23:36.320 I mean, he's so precise with everything he does, and 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:38.679 that's something I really try to look for in young players, 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:43.320 like the precision with passing, and he's affecting the game, 0:23:43.800 --> 0:23:46.119 not in a way that a lot of rookies come 0:23:46.160 --> 0:23:49.040 in and just put up good stats on middling teams, 0:23:49.080 --> 0:23:53.720 like Michael Carter Williams like he's actually really improved that 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:57.440 team's level of play. And you can see it everywhere. 0:23:57.800 --> 0:24:01.199 You can see it with players who who were not 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:04.280 doing shit, who now all of a sudden are performing 0:24:04.960 --> 0:24:07.800 like that franchise expected them to when they were drafted. 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:11.280 And we'll get there. So what do we know about LaMelo. 0:24:12.359 --> 0:24:15.480 He's been in the spotlight since he was fourteen years old. 0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:18.560 He is Lonzo Ball's little brother. And Lonzo Ball was 0:24:18.560 --> 0:24:23.560 balling at UCLA right, and LaMelo was like fourteen, yeah, 0:24:23.640 --> 0:24:27.120 putting up ninety two points in a high school basketball game. 0:24:27.200 --> 0:24:28.840 Yeah, there was that clip of him pulling up from 0:24:28.840 --> 0:24:30.320 half court where he was pointing at the line. He 0:24:30.359 --> 0:24:31.040