Speaker 1: The Anthony Edwards Donovan Mitchell playoff takeover, what's next for
Speaker 1: the Sixers, what's next for the Bucks, what's next for
Speaker 1: the Heat? And a spin on the NBA coaching carousel.
Speaker 1: All that is next on a brand new edition of
Speaker 1: This League Uncut.
Speaker 2: Welcome to This League Uncut in the world.
Speaker 1: Of twenty four hour NBA news.
Speaker 2: This's you, Lou Chris Haynes. It's so time, Mark Stein,
Speaker 2: it's some time. This League Uncut is underway and on fire.
Speaker 2: This should be a good one.
Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome into the latest edition of This League Uncut.
Speaker 1: Mark Stein and Chris Haynes back together. It is the
Speaker 1: waning hours of Cinco de Mayo. By the time this
Speaker 1: podcast drops, it will be Monday, May sixth, the first
Speaker 1: round of the NBA Playoffs finally complete. We are fully
Speaker 1: onto the second round. Chris Haynes. After some arduous Sinko
Speaker 1: Demayo travel, he is safely ensconced in New York, getting
Speaker 1: ready to cover the start of the Knicks Pacers series.
Speaker 1: Game one of the Nixon Pacers, renewing nineteen nineties hostilities.
Speaker 1: That is Monday night. I will be covering at least
Speaker 1: some of the Dallas Oklahoma City series that starts Tuesday
Speaker 1: night in OKC. We'll get to the second round matchups,
Speaker 1: but man, this weekend was absolutely dominated by two NBA
Speaker 1: figures in the West. Anthony Edwards, who star just keeps
Speaker 1: rising and staking Minnesota to a one oh series lead
Speaker 1: with his Game one heroics Saturday night in Denver. Man
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Timberwolves five and oh in these playoffs. In
Speaker 1: the thirty four seasons of Timberwolves basketball before this season,
Speaker 1: the Wolves as a franchise were only twenty one and
Speaker 1: forty two all time in the playoffs. They're off to
Speaker 1: this five and oh start, and then Donovan Mitchell with
Speaker 1: the Cavaliers under huge pressure, they go down eighteen in
Speaker 1: Game seven at home to Cleveland, end up coming all
Speaker 1: the way back. Donovan Mitchell eighty nine points in Game
Speaker 1: six and a loss and Game seven a win, but
Speaker 1: eighty nine points in the final two games of the series,
Speaker 1: saving Cleveland season and delaying the inevitable speculation about Donovan
Speaker 1: Mitchell's future and frankly JB. Bickerstaff's future. So Chris Haynes,
Speaker 1: first of all, great to be back with you. Producer
Speaker 1: Ryan is always getting on me that I talked too
Speaker 1: long at the beginning. I don't get I don't toss
Speaker 1: it to Chris Haynes fast enough, so I've already I'm
Speaker 1: already off to a bad start. But maybe I too
Speaker 1: will rally like the Cleveland Cavaliers did.
Speaker 3: Earlier, Producer Rye. But he's he's showing his true colors.
Speaker 1: Of yeah, he's you don't know. He sends me notes
Speaker 1: like will you just get to Haynes already? Shut up?
Speaker 3: Damn, Producer Ryan got all right, Uh no, it was
Speaker 3: it was. That was a pretty That was a pretty
Speaker 3: good performance by Donovan Mitchell. Cleveland Calves Game seven. I watched,
Speaker 3: try to watch some of it. I have to go
Speaker 3: back and watch it the rest of it later in
Speaker 3: the morning, maybe even later tonight. I'm up now.
Speaker 1: But the Wi Fi on your two flights did not cooperate.
Speaker 3: Not at all, not at all, And and my head
Speaker 3: starts hurting when it starts when the picture starts pausing,
Speaker 3: and then the audio doesn't match what's actually being played.
Speaker 3: So yeah, those were my difficulties. But I saw a
Speaker 3: lot of the highlights. I saw a pretty good, decent amount.
Speaker 3: I still want to watch some. But no, that was
Speaker 3: a big, big game. Strus came through as well. Uh,
Speaker 3: you know he could have definitely Miami could have used
Speaker 3: him on the team that in this in this postseason.
Speaker 3: But a good good win. So we get to see
Speaker 3: the Cleveland and in Boston. I saw the fans in
Speaker 3: Cleveland chanton, we want Boston, we want Boston. I'm not
Speaker 3: I'm not so sure about that. I am not not
Speaker 3: at all.
Speaker 1: Well, let's be honest. They obviously want Boston more than
Speaker 1: a first round exit, which the way that game starts.
Speaker 3: Well just say they just say we want the second
Speaker 3: round as catchy.
Speaker 1: That's not as catchy a chant.
Speaker 3: Come telling you I have Boston for most of that
Speaker 3: first round. They are serious, They're legit.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Look the Calves, their season has been an absolute
Speaker 1: roller coaster, and of course the league at large, there
Speaker 1: is great curiosity about giannas Antetokumpo. How does he respond
Speaker 1: to Milwaukee's early exit, Jimmy Butler in the Miami Heat?
Speaker 1: What happens there? How did the Heat respond to a
Speaker 1: first round exit and not having Jimmy Butler on the
Speaker 1: court and Jimmy Butler being eligible for a two year
Speaker 1: extension worth an excess of one hundred million dollars as
Speaker 1: of July seventh. How will the Heat react? How will
Speaker 1: that impact Jimmy Butler's future? But Donovan Mitchell might be
Speaker 1: at the top of the list for players who have
Speaker 1: rival front offices wondering about his future. And had the
Speaker 1: Calves lost a Game seven at home, surely JB. Bickerstaff,
Speaker 1: who has been under various levels of pressure all season,
Speaker 1: he would have absorbed the immediate brunt of a second
Speaker 1: straight first round exit for the Calves. But Donovan Mitchell
Speaker 1: is eligible for an extension this summer. The belief has
Speaker 1: been out there that if the Calves can't get him
Speaker 1: to agree to an extension, that they're going to have
Speaker 1: to trade him. The Calves, of course resist that thinking
Speaker 1: and have brushed aside any notion that they're even thinking
Speaker 1: about trading Donovan Mitchell, and they turned away all in
Speaker 1: season trade interest in Donovan Mitchell. All of Monday's NBA
Speaker 1: programming would have been talking heavily about Donovan Mitchell's future.
Speaker 1: But with thirty nine points in Game seven to follow
Speaker 1: the fifty ball he had in a losing effort in
Speaker 1: Game six, where if he just had gotten a little
Speaker 1: bit of help from somewhere. The Cavs probably finished that
Speaker 1: series in Orlando, but Donovan Mitchell has put all that
Speaker 1: to bed, at least for the short term. And man,
Speaker 1: he just the aggression he was playing with just kept
Speaker 1: getting to the rim. He was in such a fierce
Speaker 1: attack mode against an Orlando team that look, we all
Speaker 1: know about Orlando's offensive shortcomings. We saw them play out
Speaker 1: as painfully as possible. Here the Magic are. It's the
Speaker 1: only game seven in the first round. It's an ABC Sunday,
Speaker 1: it's a rare national TV showcase for both of these teams.
Speaker 1: And man Franz Wagner goes one for fifteen from the field,
Speaker 1: just a nightmare. But Donovan Mitchell. The one thing we
Speaker 1: know the Magic can do is defend. And Donovan Mitchell
Speaker 1: just put on an offensive masterclass in the last two
Speaker 1: games of this series and put it in my face
Speaker 1: and others who question, you know, what's his health like?
Speaker 1: Is he really? If my memory and math are correct,
Speaker 1: Mitchell was only healthy enough to play six of Cleveland's
Speaker 1: last twenty one regular season games, so there were legit
Speaker 1: questions coming into these playoffs about what he would look like.
Speaker 1: But the Cavs did it. No Jared Allen at the
Speaker 1: end of the season. But they find a way, they
Speaker 1: get to the second round. They will now play the Celtics.
Speaker 1: But honestly, as great as Mitchell was in Game six
Speaker 1: and Game seven, I'd say the weekend still belonged to
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards. This is such a weird time in the
Speaker 1: NBA because you hear this now, you hear people covering
Speaker 1: the game and they say Anthony Edwards is the best
Speaker 1: American player, And it's just crazy that we even have
Speaker 1: to say that. But because of what Jokic and Embiid
Speaker 1: and Doncic and SGA and all these players who hold
Speaker 1: other passports are doing, this has become a thing. But man,
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards, what a statement with the way he played
Speaker 1: in Game one and Chris Haines, I'll just ask you,
Speaker 1: I mean, can the Minnesota Timberwolves actually win this series?
Speaker 1: Are they going to knock the defending champs out? That's
Speaker 1: the first Game one loss for Jokic in five years,
Speaker 1: going all the way back to twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they got a shot. They're the truth. They are
Speaker 3: absolutely the truth, and they can do it on both
Speaker 3: ends of the floor. So that's what makes them scary.
Speaker 3: Anthony Edwards is just on a his confidence of sky
Speaker 3: high right now. Man, you can't you can't guard him
Speaker 3: one on one. And this season he stepped up his
Speaker 3: ability to make plays for other people. So he's a
Speaker 3: much more well rounded player into your you know. But
Speaker 3: you know, as you started talking about this series, you mentioned,
Speaker 3: you know, is Carl excuse me, you mentioned as Anthony Edwards?
Speaker 3: Is he the best United States born player? Might might be.
Speaker 3: I mean he might be. I mean it's still tough to.
Speaker 1: I mean, he just I'm not ready to walk away
Speaker 1: from the thirty your curries, your durrance, your.
Speaker 3: Obviously he just swept. Yeah, he just swept the durrant. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Booker Bradley Beal. I mean god, I mean, look, I'm
Speaker 3: not I wouldn't place him like if I'm saying if
Speaker 3: I'm given a top ten, if I had to give
Speaker 3: a top ten player, the United States player in the league,
Speaker 3: I don't know that I put him over KD yet
Speaker 3: or maybe a few other guys. But he's definitely on
Speaker 3: the verge. I mean, think about style. I wants jump
Speaker 3: jump ahead to a couple of months down the road. Oh,
Speaker 3: but you know who's going to be the go to
Speaker 3: player for the Olympic team. You know, God, he's playing.
Speaker 3: He's bawling out right now.
Speaker 1: You know, since Jason Tatum texted you, I don't know,
Speaker 1: maybe we should ask him, like, Jason Tatum, what do
Speaker 1: you what should the rank?
Speaker 3: I don't think Jason Tatum would give up. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: don't think he would. He will put after that wards
Speaker 3: above him right now. You know, you know, it's but
Speaker 3: it's it's fun to watch. It's fun to watch. This
Speaker 3: is really we are witnessing the changing of the guard.
Speaker 3: You know, not just United States player but s g
Speaker 3: A and Okay, see you know what those what he's doing,
Speaker 3: what those youngsters are doing over there, We're we're we're
Speaker 3: we're witnessing a change right now.
Speaker 1: It doesn't bother me, though, How do you feel like,
Speaker 1: Like I'm like, I'm not sitting here throwing things at
Speaker 1: my TV because some of these more marquee teams are
Speaker 1: now home for the summer. Like I like seeing new
Speaker 1: stuff in the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, that's that's what happens. You know, at
Speaker 3: a certain point, there's a changing of the guard, and
Speaker 3: that's what happens. And I think right now We're just
Speaker 3: seeing a plethora of the guys who used to be
Speaker 3: the face of the league. Lebron, Lebron, James, Stephen Curry,
Speaker 3: and I'm saying it used to be because they still
Speaker 3: pretty much are still. Uh, face of the league doesn't
Speaker 3: necessarily mean the best player, but it means probably the
Speaker 3: most marketable.
Speaker 1: I cannot that face of the league.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's still it's still hard. Like I
Speaker 3: get I get you people struggle with that, but but Steph, Lebron, Katie,
Speaker 3: those guys still have it. It doesn't mean that they're
Speaker 3: the best in the league anymore, but those guys still
Speaker 3: have the cachet to hold that.
Speaker 1: And look, I talked about this when the Solo pod
Speaker 1: on Friday. It is crazy to look at it and
Speaker 1: say that Golden State, the Suns, the Heat, the Sixers,
Speaker 1: the Bucks and both LA teams. It's crazy that they're
Speaker 1: all out. They're all done. Like I don't know what
Speaker 1: kind of odds you could have gotten in Vegas for
Speaker 1: such a thing, but that none of those teams could
Speaker 1: get past round one is really wild. I can't even
Speaker 1: do it justice. I just think about the Celtics. They
Speaker 1: have a chance to get back to the NBA Finals
Speaker 1: without facing Philly, without facing Milwaukee. And yes, they played
Speaker 1: the Miami Heat in Round one, but the Miami Heat
Speaker 1: without Jimmy Butler, it's just not the same. So things
Speaker 1: have really opened up for the Celtics to get back
Speaker 1: to the finals. And of course they likely won't have
Speaker 1: Christaps Porzingis until the conference finals at the earliest, and
Speaker 1: maybe not until the NBA Finals, so they will take
Speaker 1: the easier path if that's indeed the way it plays out.
Speaker 1: But like I said, I'm not sitting here just depressed
Speaker 1: because all these marquee teams are on the sideline already.
Speaker 1: I think we have four really good second round matchups.
Speaker 1: Your series is going to be really interesting with the
Speaker 1: emerging Pacers and the Knicks and the whole Madison Square
Speaker 1: Garden factor and the history between those teams that had
Speaker 1: such a good playoff rivalry in the nineties and Jalen
Speaker 1: Brunson against Rick Carlile. I cannot wait for the Chris
Speaker 1: Haynes sideline report about Jalen Brunson, remembering how he only
Speaker 1: got ten minutes in a Game seven the last time
Speaker 1: he played for Rick Carlile, and now he gets to
Speaker 1: go up against Rick Carlile. There will be fireworks there.
Speaker 1: You know my series Dallas, Okay, see, that'll be a
Speaker 1: good one. Boston, Cleveland will see how much the Cavs
Speaker 1: have left after all the energy they expended just to
Speaker 1: get to Round two. And then Denver Minnesota is just
Speaker 1: a whopper of a second round series.
Speaker 3: And stein for the series that I'm doing, as you
Speaker 3: mentioned New York Indiana, you know, it's a lot of
Speaker 3: nostalgia attached to those two teams playing together, had some
Speaker 3: big playoff bouts back in the day. I don't think
Speaker 3: this is a secret.
Speaker 1: I hope it's a secret and you're revealing a secret.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, well I'm gonna reveal it slightly. I don't
Speaker 3: think it's a secret. But just in case it's a secret,
Speaker 3: you want to pay attention to our broadcast coming up
Speaker 3: where we might have somebody that was that had a
Speaker 3: lot of history with that series back in the day,
Speaker 3: with those playoff big playoffs bounce back in the day
Speaker 3: between the Knicks and the Pacers. So you should know
Speaker 3: what I'm talking about. But if you don't, you just
Speaker 3: have to wait and see.
Speaker 1: Well, I would like to think Reggie Miller is somehow
Speaker 1: involved in this.
Speaker 3: Oh, it's been interesting. Okay, that would be cool.
Speaker 1: Are you how much of that series are you doing?
Speaker 1: Do you know how many games you're doing in that
Speaker 1: series already?
Speaker 3: I'm doing I'm doing the whole series. So I'm doing
Speaker 3: the whole series. Of the games that are tn T.
Speaker 3: So Game one and Game two are tn T games.
Speaker 3: Game three and four ESPN and ABC. Game five is
Speaker 3: tn T as well. If there is a game five, six,
Speaker 3: and seven is not. They haven't revealed that yet as
Speaker 3: far as the game so.
Speaker 1: But but you're gonna stay on that series even if
Speaker 1: the games aren't on TNT. That is your series in
Speaker 1: the second round.
Speaker 3: No, actually going home for three and four?
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, but you're not switching to some others.
Speaker 3: No, I'm not, No, I'm not. I'm just I'm staying
Speaker 3: on that sitting in it was not just locking it
Speaker 3: on the series. I'm locking it on New York because
Speaker 3: the games that I'm assa signed that TNT has are
Speaker 3: all the games that are in New York, which Stein
Speaker 3: I have no problem with whatsoever. TNT has been treating
Speaker 3: the brother really good this season, really good. Traveling is
Speaker 3: the traveling my schedule Oh, it's been impeccable. Thank you everybody.
Speaker 1: No more Miami games, but New York ain't a bad fallback.
Speaker 3: New York is my favorite, my favorite city.
Speaker 1: Miami's your favorite. What do you mean New York?
Speaker 3: Miami's my second. Miami is my second. You know that
Speaker 3: New York.
Speaker 1: I thought Miami was your favorite.
Speaker 3: New York number one, Miami number two.
Speaker 1: I love Indy. I'm sad for you that you're not
Speaker 1: getting to go to Indianapolis. I had a great time
Speaker 1: at the All Star Game, especially Friday when it was
Speaker 1: freezing cold. I loved it.
Speaker 3: I'm not surprised. Don not surprised one bit.
Speaker 1: Hey when I sent you to Saint Elmos? Did it deliver?
Speaker 1: Did you like Saint Elmos?
Speaker 3: At least it did? It was great. I mean, I'm
Speaker 3: not visiting Indiana just for Saint Elmos though, but it
Speaker 3: was pretty great.
Speaker 1: Producer Ryan, can you believe this guy like if it's
Speaker 1: not Miami or New York, he just he'd rather be.
Speaker 4: I'm still a little in shock that New York took
Speaker 4: the top spot. Now, I think this bears a little
Speaker 4: bit more discussion. Are we talking New York's number one
Speaker 4: based off of the time of year, because I have
Speaker 4: questions if New York is your favorite place in January
Speaker 4: and February as opposed to Miami.
Speaker 1: I also would love I don't. I know you can't
Speaker 1: do this at the touch of a button, but I
Speaker 1: do think we need to go back into the archives
Speaker 1: of this league uncut, because I don't. I don't remember
Speaker 1: Chris as ever saying Miami is my se favorite city
Speaker 1: in the league. I remember those sentences.
Speaker 4: I have.
Speaker 3: I have an explanation I have to explain to dude,
Speaker 3: you know, this is this league un cut. The listeners here.
Speaker 3: I consider you guys family. You know. I pour out
Speaker 3: a lot of my personal life to you guys and
Speaker 3: gals and and hope that it will help you all out.
Speaker 3: So if you did go back into archives, Stein and Ryan,
Speaker 3: you might have heard me say Miami was number one.
Speaker 3: But I'm gonna tell you I got a questions about
Speaker 3: Miami being my number one about two weeks ago. And
Speaker 3: the question came from my wife, and she's like, you
Speaker 3: talk about Miami a lot. Why are you always raving
Speaker 3: about it? Why are you always talking about you love
Speaker 3: the scenery? She said, I know what you be talking about.
Speaker 3: I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1: I know, the scenery you're talking aboutte Haynes.
Speaker 3: Is hon Yes, she said, I don't think that's appropriate
Speaker 3: it for you to be saying it like that. I said, Babe,
Speaker 3: that's not though I like it. I like it for
Speaker 3: the weather. I like the weather. You know, the weather
Speaker 3: is beautiful, and every it's a it's a vibe. The
Speaker 3: city is a vibe. Yeah, but I ain't. She was like,
Speaker 3: that ain't what you're putting out there. People ain't thinking
Speaker 3: you talking about just the weather of the vibe. They
Speaker 3: think you talking about the scenery. And so uh. I
Speaker 3: tried to thank you Steyn and Ryan because I tried
Speaker 3: to like sneak in a new number one and then
Speaker 3: like create a new narrative. But you guys stop me
Speaker 3: in my tracks. So thank you for that. But New
Speaker 3: York is always been. It was like New York in Miami.
Speaker 3: So I'm not totally fibbing. I'm just.
Speaker 4: Narrative was brought on, perhaps by a walk home from
Speaker 4: KFC one night after a certain.
Speaker 3: No Po Pope popa, yes, Popeyes, Papa, get it right right,
Speaker 3: get it right? Yeah. So uh yeah, y'all know how
Speaker 3: I feel about Miami. But I had to have a
Speaker 3: little I had to change, I had to move some
Speaker 3: things around. But New York that I love New York.
Speaker 1: I love it so to this day, there is no
Speaker 1: place I would rather watch a game than Madison Square Garden.
Speaker 1: I am old school. This will surprise you guys, zero percent.
Speaker 1: I like an arena that features an old school organist.
Speaker 1: And the soundtrack at MSG is poetic. It is magical.
Speaker 1: Just I love hearing it. And when the knicks are
Speaker 1: playing well and that building is rocking, it's just the
Speaker 1: whole soundtrack. There is electric even on television when you're
Speaker 1: not in the building. So I'll be jealous because working
Speaker 1: sideline means you're on the floor. We've talked about this before.
Speaker 1: In the glory days of MSG, when I started out
Speaker 1: as a beat writer, I mean, we used to get
Speaker 1: incredible seats on the baseline and there was no real estate.
Speaker 1: The baseline table was just stuffed right into the fan
Speaker 1: area and there's like so little room to move around.
Speaker 1: But just being at floor level at Madison Square Garden
Speaker 1: is one of the truly special experiences in our profession.
Speaker 1: And so for you to know that your next three
Speaker 1: sideline gigs are there on that floor in that building.
Speaker 1: You are a lucky, lucky.
Speaker 3: Man, Stei. The Knicks feel the same way about me
Speaker 3: being lucky because every game that I've covered in New York,
Speaker 3: they've won. Jeremy Watkins, the head PR guy over there,
Speaker 3: over both the business side and basketball side, he always
Speaker 3: asked me, when am I coming to New York? We
Speaker 3: need we need some good luck. We need some good luck.
Speaker 3: So he's definitely ecstatic that I that I touched down
Speaker 3: over here. Now I can't you know, you can't put
Speaker 3: it all on me. It has nothing to do with me,
Speaker 3: even though Patune Patuone feels the opposite. He says, I'm
Speaker 3: a black cat. Yeah, he hates having me around because
Speaker 3: they do tend to lose whatever. When he was the
Speaker 3: Clippers and then over there with the Sixers. So depends
Speaker 3: on who you talking.
Speaker 1: But how many games did you do in this series?
Speaker 1: He can't blame you for this series? Right you didn't?
Speaker 1: You did one game in that series?
Speaker 3: Yeah, but it was that game too where they were up,
Speaker 3: they were up, like.
Speaker 1: No, I already forgot about that.
Speaker 3: You did the game too, Yes, I was on that game.
Speaker 1: Oh, Mike, did you talk to Batom after.
Speaker 3: He just looked at me and hurry up and walked away.
Speaker 3: Man I said, I'm sorry, brother.
Speaker 1: He might have a point. He might be.
Speaker 3: Of all games that one.
Speaker 1: Yes, he's not going to come back on to give
Speaker 1: us the breakdown because.
Speaker 3: Man he yeah, he finished, he finished the year strong.
Speaker 3: I'm happy for him. Man, I remember what was that
Speaker 3: five years ago? It looked like he was out of
Speaker 3: the league when he was with Charlotte, they weren't playing
Speaker 3: them at all. And so he's he's been able to
Speaker 3: find a find an extra life show with the Clippers
Speaker 3: in finishing games strong for Philly, So kudos and Nicholas Patoon.
Speaker 1: Well, you know we're gonna use that to segue. We
Speaker 1: will get to the coaching carousel in a minute. Again.
Speaker 1: We have this list of marquee teams who now are
Speaker 1: going to face really difficult off seasons. But I think
Speaker 1: Philly's actually, you know, they're in the strongest position, probably
Speaker 1: out of all the teams we could list, because they're
Speaker 1: going to have more than fifty million in cap space,
Speaker 1: maybe closer to sixty million, so they'll be able to
Speaker 1: chase Paul George. Everybody knows that Paul George is at
Speaker 1: the top of the Sixers list. If that doesn't work out, though,
Speaker 1: they can try I do trade for a star player
Speaker 1: to fit into that cap space, and then after using
Speaker 1: that cap space, they can resign tyresee MAXI to a
Speaker 1: max deal. And I know I've told you guys this
Speaker 1: story before, but when I type MAXI on my key
Speaker 1: to L. E. BlackBerry that I still use spellcheck often
Speaker 1: changes MAXI to max. I think they're right, and I
Speaker 1: think they know because he is getting a Max deal.
Speaker 1: And so the Sixers, you know that it's a real
Speaker 1: interesting one that's starting to circulate. Would they try to
Speaker 1: trade for Jimmy Butler if the Heat and Butler cannot
Speaker 1: come to terms on a contract extension, And again, Jimmy
Speaker 1: Butler can't get a contract extension from the Heat before
Speaker 1: July seventh. But let's just say that the Heat decide
Speaker 1: to prioritize financial flexibility over giving Jimmy Butler two more years.
Speaker 1: When Jimmy Butler is nearing birthday number thirty five, would
Speaker 1: Philly try to pursue him in a trade and undo
Speaker 1: one of the worst mistakes in franchise history When the
Speaker 1: Sixers prioritize keeping both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris. They
Speaker 1: signed and traded Jimmy Butler to the Heat, who had
Speaker 1: almost no cap space, and Jimmy Butler has ended up
Speaker 1: leading Miami to two NBA Finals and was one shot
Speaker 1: away from a third NBA Finals in the space of
Speaker 1: five seasons. Would the Sixers try to undo that very
Speaker 1: costly decision by trading for Jimmy Butler, And honestly, I can.
Speaker 1: I think I can talk myself into the idea that
Speaker 1: Butler might be an even better fit than a Paul
Speaker 1: George because he and Embiid already have such a great relationship,
Speaker 1: and they already know that they can play together. And
Speaker 1: I remember Darryl Moury saying that they really want to
Speaker 1: make sure that whoever comes in is that third star
Speaker 1: really does have some playmaking ability. I don't know. I mean,
Speaker 1: Paul George is obviously a very talented, very versatile player.
Speaker 1: But I am intrigued by the idea of Philly trying
Speaker 1: to make a trade run at Jimmy Butler again. The
Speaker 1: Heat might turn around and say, no, we're not interested,
Speaker 1: We're extending Jimmy. We're gonna find a way to extend
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler. And try to add to the core. But
Speaker 1: that's one we got to keep an eye on. And
Speaker 1: you know again, there are so many fascinating situations with
Speaker 1: I mean, these are when you look at it with
Speaker 1: the starting with the play in tournament, these twelve teams
Speaker 1: have all begun their off seasons. The Warriors, the Kings,
Speaker 1: the Bulls, the Hawks in the West, Pelicans, Lakers, Suns,
Speaker 1: Clippers in the East, Heat six Bucks, Magic, I mean again,
Speaker 1: Golden State, Lakers, Sons, Clippers, Heat Sixers, Bucks. These are
Speaker 1: all marquee teams. These are teams that Vegas loves to
Speaker 1: tell us had title possibilities. And I think, you know again,
Speaker 1: Philly has the financial flexibility to really make some moves
Speaker 1: in the offseason. For several of those other teams I named,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a lot tougher. And let me use
Speaker 1: that as a way to now pitch the ball back
Speaker 1: to you, Chris Haynes. You know the Milwaukee Bucks as
Speaker 1: well as anyone. What happens in Milwaukee. How does Jannis
Speaker 1: Antetokumpo respond to a first round exit? Man, your guy,
Speaker 1: I was terrified for your guy, Dame Lillard playing in
Speaker 1: that game six. I am just Honestly, I'm just I'm
Speaker 1: glad Yiannis did try to play, and I'm just really
Speaker 1: glad that nothing happened to Dane.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was that was scary. He still, I mean
Speaker 3: watched the game. He was nowhere close to eighty five percent,
Speaker 3: nowhere close to that, and he was a better decoy
Speaker 3: than he was, you know, initially after he sustained that
Speaker 3: that flare up in that Achilles. But he wanted to go.
Speaker 3: He wanted to he wanted to buy you know, he
Speaker 3: wanted some you know, more time bought, you know, so
Speaker 3: him and Giannis can return together. That was always the plan.
Speaker 3: But uh, you know, Gianni's calf just just didn't cooperate
Speaker 3: with him. I do think if there was a Game seven,
Speaker 3: I think Gianna's plays I think he was trended in
Speaker 3: that direction. But luckily for Dame, he got out unscathed
Speaker 3: as far as not damaging that achilles injury any further.
Speaker 3: So right now, he's going to take some time to rest,
Speaker 3: get it back, get it back healthy, and then go
Speaker 3: into the off season. He's I'm telling you right now.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously I spoke with him, but he's very
Speaker 3: he's feeling very good. About this summer of having an
Speaker 3: off season to just know where he's headed. Could remember
Speaker 3: when he requested the trade in July, he didn't know
Speaker 3: where he was going to be at, didn't know what
Speaker 3: type of system. And so now he knows the team's
Speaker 3: going to be on, he knows the coach, he knows
Speaker 3: what he needs to work on, and I know him
Speaker 3: and Giannis. They have plans to get together to train
Speaker 3: in the off season. Giannis will go to Portland train
Speaker 3: with Dame a few times. Dame has a Dame bought.
Speaker 3: Dame had a house. He had a mansion built in
Speaker 3: Portland that he hasn't really been able to live in
Speaker 3: because the house finished. I want to say the house
Speaker 3: finished around a month before he was traded, and this
Speaker 3: this home stign Dame would send me like update videos
Speaker 3: just how things are coming along in the house. He
Speaker 3: has this full court basketball gym in there that is
Speaker 3: just immaculate with murals all over the walls. And I
Speaker 3: haven't gotten a chance to get out there yet, but
Speaker 3: Gianni's a Dame. They would get together with dames trainer,
Speaker 3: who who was Dame's assistant coach at Weaver State, Phil Beckner,
Speaker 3: who's trained a dozen NBA players since Dame it has
Speaker 3: been in the league. Michel Bridges to be one of them.
Speaker 3: So they're they're looking forward to, they're looking forward to.
Speaker 3: I remember before Dame and Giannis got together, Yannis does
Speaker 3: not train with anybody. He doesn't train with, He doesn't
Speaker 3: train with with players that are not on his team.
Speaker 3: He doesn't do it. But him and Dame were very
Speaker 3: hose to getting together last off season to train. This
Speaker 3: is before the trade request or anything. This before they
Speaker 3: even know that it was on the radar, and uh,
Speaker 3: it did never happen. But you know, so Jiannis always
Speaker 3: wanted this to happen, and Phil Beckman was going to
Speaker 3: be the instructor during that training session. So they're looking good,
Speaker 3: they're they're they're feeling good about themselves, and you know,
Speaker 3: I think they got they got another year to figure
Speaker 3: this out, a year with Doc.
Speaker 1: I do think there are a lot of rival teams
Speaker 1: out there that are crossing their fingers, crossing their toes
Speaker 1: that Giannis is going to get fed up and somehow
Speaker 1: try to push his way out. Sure doesn't sound like
Speaker 1: it if he's lining up off season workout plans with mister.
Speaker 3: Lillard yeah, but I don't know about the rest of
Speaker 3: the Bucks roster. That's that's the unknown right there. Obviously
Speaker 3: some changes need to be made, some additions need to
Speaker 3: be made. Now the Bucks have a better idea of
Speaker 3: what they need to surround, what type of talent they
Speaker 3: need to surround Damn and Giannis with.
Speaker 1: We should say, one of the few silver linings, Chris Middleton,
Speaker 1: had a great series. After all the injuries he dealt
Speaker 1: with this season, Middleton was fantastic.
Speaker 3: He was lights out in the playoffs. They definitely needed
Speaker 3: him definitely. So you know, it's remains to be seen.
Speaker 3: What's what's going to happen from from on that standpoint,
Speaker 3: you know, Pat Bev is will he be back? I
Speaker 3: don't know about that. I don't know about that.
Speaker 1: I'm I would say after the week Pat Bev had
Speaker 1: far less than a lock that he will be asked
Speaker 1: to return to Brewt Town. But I guess we shall see.
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna throw this out there, probably too ambitious
Speaker 1: of a request, but when Giannis goes out to Portland,
Speaker 1: I think you should just tell those guys, hey, this
Speaker 1: league uncut would be happy to make a road trip
Speaker 1: to the Pacific Northwest and do a do a four
Speaker 1: man pod sit down with those guys. We would be
Speaker 1: happy to do that.
Speaker 3: I'll throw it. I'll throw it out there.
Speaker 1: Or three if you just got to delete me. If
Speaker 1: they only want to do it with you, I'll I'll
Speaker 1: step aside and let you.
Speaker 3: That wouldn't that wouldn't you You're you're not you would
Speaker 3: not be the one that would ruin that interview from happening.
Speaker 3: I'll produce Ryan, probably produce a Ryan, producer Ryan, because
Speaker 3: he has demands. Now he's he's calling shots. Now, he's
Speaker 3: telling you Stein you have a when you talk, you
Speaker 3: got a minute on the clock. You got exactly sixty seconds,
Speaker 3: get in and out. So I see prod.
Speaker 1: The thing is, he's actually right. I just can't help
Speaker 1: myself from abbing.
Speaker 4: Hey, hey, dame, thanks so much for taking the time. Now,
Speaker 4: I want you to keep it tight because we need
Speaker 4: more Haynes here.
Speaker 3: Hey, you know what's you know what's funny, like producer Ride,
Speaker 3: you probably can relate to. It's like, so when I
Speaker 3: do my br live sessions, we'll have you know, we'll
Speaker 3: have the NBA player come on and you know, ideally,
Speaker 3: when you're doing a video you guys tell Ideally you
Speaker 3: want them on the laptop, but when you get these
Speaker 3: players come on, they're gonna be on their phones. They're
Speaker 3: gonna be You saw even coach Jason Kidd, he was
Speaker 3: in a car when he did mine, So you know
Speaker 3: you and so then you have Okay, so the player
Speaker 3: is there now, and so it's the producer's job to
Speaker 3: tell them, Hey, all right, excuse me. Can you can
Speaker 3: you center your mic? Keep it right there?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 3: Can you move? Can you not? Can you turn your
Speaker 3: phone up? Can you turn it on airplane mode? Can
Speaker 3: you know? You're giving all these instructions so you can
Speaker 3: see the players Sometimes they're getting a little agitated with
Speaker 3: all these requests and they don't even know you, Like,
Speaker 3: who are you? You should be lucky I'm even doing
Speaker 3: this and now you asked. You know. Hey, that's why
Speaker 3: the producers get paid the big bucks many got is
Speaker 3: that they gotta make it.
Speaker 1: Hey, the truth is this league uncut was at least
Speaker 1: at least forty to fifty producer Ryan's idea. I mean,
Speaker 1: that is the truth.
Speaker 3: He knew about this happening before we did.
Speaker 1: No, he just he's the one who who said we
Speaker 1: need to do a show and you.
Speaker 3: Know is that right? Yeah, that's news to me.
Speaker 1: I didn't know anyone at iHeart until I got an
Speaker 1: email one day out of the blue from Ryan Music
Speaker 1: of iHeart Industries that that is the truth.
Speaker 3: Well, start, I could tell you what else is the truth.
Speaker 3: I can guarantee you he were fully regret sending that email. Now,
Speaker 3: after dealing with us, especially our traveling hiccups and everything
Speaker 3: that he has to deal with our editing process. I
Speaker 3: could guarantee you he goes to bed at night thinking
Speaker 3: why did I send that email?
Speaker 4: It all goes back to that email.
Speaker 3: What did I do?
Speaker 1: Listen?
Speaker 3: What did I get myself into it?
Speaker 4: It's more than paid for itself by learning the most
Speaker 4: sage advice I've ever received in my life.
Speaker 1: Tis and Ryan's Ryan's Ryan's conversation for this podcast is
Speaker 1: the life coaching he gets from you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, ties and losses, that's true. Take that wherever you go, people.
Speaker 1: It's all about ties and losses, underdog putting that on
Speaker 1: a T shirt? All right? You know what, Let's talk
Speaker 1: some coaching carousel before we go, because obviously the Lakers
Speaker 1: have dismissed Darvin Ham. That news came down Friday. There
Speaker 1: are still questions about Frank Vogel's job status in Phoenix
Speaker 1: and then with the Clippers. Basically they were in Dallas Friday.
Speaker 1: Friday was a weird one. It was Tylo's forty seventh birthday.
Speaker 1: The Clippers season ended on Friday night when they lost
Speaker 1: Game six here in Dallas. But the Clippers went to
Speaker 1: great lengths to let it be known that they want
Speaker 1: to sign Tylo to an extension because they know both
Speaker 1: the Lakers and the Suns would have massive interest in
Speaker 1: trying to hire ty Lou if he made it to
Speaker 1: the coaching market. Both teams have tried in the past.
Speaker 1: The Lakers, of course, offered their coaching job to Tylu
Speaker 1: before hiring Frank Vogel, and then Tylu and the Lakers,
Speaker 1: of course, in that instance could not come to terms.
Speaker 1: Tylu ended up joining Doc Rivers' staff with the Clippers
Speaker 1: and then ended up succeeding Doc Rivers as the Clippers coach.
Speaker 1: Took them to the Western Conference Finals in his first
Speaker 1: season as Clippers coach, and now the expectation is that
Speaker 1: he will secure a contract extension from the Clippers like
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard has, and so the Lakers will not have
Speaker 1: a chance to go after him again and the Suns.
Speaker 1: The Sons wanted Tyleru last offseason after firing Manni Williams,
Speaker 1: but at that point Tylu had two seasons left on
Speaker 1: his deal. There was no way that the Clippers were
Speaker 1: going to let him out of that deal. But all
Speaker 1: of that is a lot of long winded background to
Speaker 1: say that Tylu will not be on the market. And
Speaker 1: the reality with the Lakers is the two most natural
Speaker 1: candidates for this job would be Tylu and Jason Kidd.
Speaker 1: And I don't think the Lakers are going to have
Speaker 1: a shot at Jason Kidd either, because there is the
Speaker 1: strong expectation here in Dallas that Jason Kidd is going
Speaker 1: to get an extension as well. So the question then
Speaker 1: becomes who can the Lakers high Who are the Lakers
Speaker 1: actually going to hire.
Speaker 3: You made a great point about those are the two
Speaker 3: natural candidates. You're definitely right. You know, I saw somebody
Speaker 3: throw out Charles Lee, and he's definitely earned the right
Speaker 3: to have a head coaching spot. Charles Lee is now
Speaker 3: the assistant coach over there with the Boston Celtics, but
Speaker 3: you know, he spent time with Milwaukee under Bootenholzer. I
Speaker 3: don't know, like, I don't know that the Lakers want
Speaker 3: another Bootenholzer disciple. You know, they just just left from
Speaker 3: They just excuse me, they just departed with Darvin Ham.
Speaker 3: And you know, just think about guys that don't do
Speaker 3: not have a job. One is Bootenholzer. You know, maybe
Speaker 3: if Doc didn't take the Bucks job, didn't leave after
Speaker 3: the Boots, maybe he would have been a viable option.
Speaker 3: There's just not a lot of names that make sense
Speaker 3: for a team like the Lakers, who are trying to
Speaker 3: win now, you would think they would want a proven god. Again, Stan,
Speaker 3: I've been out of the loop for like the last
Speaker 3: few days. I had a funeral to deal with for
Speaker 3: a couple of days, and so the Ham news actually
Speaker 3: broke while I was at my ancies funeral, and so
Speaker 3: I saw and again I don't know who's reporting whatever
Speaker 3: because I haven't been able to really get into it.
Speaker 3: But was JJ Reddick's name really thrown out there?
Speaker 1: Yeah? See, And that's I was actually just gonna say. Look,
Speaker 1: JJ Reddick has a legitimate, already existing working relationship with
Speaker 1: Lebron James because the podcast they've started, and that is
Speaker 1: meaningful in this case, because the Lakers, if they're going
Speaker 1: to proceed with Lebron James as a centerpiece player for
Speaker 1: the next season or maybe even two more, they're going
Speaker 1: to have to find a coach who vibes with Lebron
Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis and JJ Reddick. He does check that box.
Speaker 1: But on the flip side, JJ Reddick has no coaching experience,
Speaker 1: and as you just said, the Lakers after hiring a
Speaker 1: first time coach in Darvin Ham. Of course, Darvin Ham
Speaker 1: had been an assistant for many, many many years. Darvin
Speaker 1: Ham interviewed for numerous head coaching spots before he finally
Speaker 1: got the Laker job, so he was a very seasoned
Speaker 1: assistant coach even though it was his first head coaching job.
Speaker 1: JJ Reddick doesn't have any NBA bench experience, and the
Speaker 1: Lakers coaching job is as scrutinized a coaching position as
Speaker 1: there is in professional sports anywhere. Do you really want
Speaker 1: to put a first time coach in that position? But
Speaker 1: it's been stressed to me that the JJ Reddick candidacy
Speaker 1: is real again because tylu and Jason Kidd, who are
Speaker 1: two natural targets for the Lakers to go after. My
Speaker 1: sense is the Lakers do not expect either one of
Speaker 1: those guys. They don't expect to have a chance to
Speaker 1: go after either one. Both are expected to get contract
Speaker 1: extensions here in the near future from the Clippers and
Speaker 1: the Mavericks, respectively. So what direction do the Lakers go?
Speaker 1: Is it a first time coach who would have player
Speaker 1: support like JJ Reddick If they are looking for a
Speaker 1: coach with championship experience, The list right now really is
Speaker 1: Mike Budenholzer, and that's as far as it goes. Budenholzer
Speaker 1: is the most experienced and decorated coach available, and Kenny
Speaker 1: Atkinson obviously serving as Steve Kerrz lead assistant in Golden
Speaker 1: State since leaving his head coaching post with the Nets.
Speaker 1: But that's where we are right now, and the Lakers
Speaker 1: don't have the ability as things stand, to just draft
Speaker 1: up a list of five or six sensible candidates without
Speaker 1: access to Tron lou or Jason Kidd and Stein.
Speaker 3: Another thing that I think the Lakers have to think
Speaker 3: about when you think about JJ Reddick, no doubt, you know,
Speaker 3: I think he's a brilliant mind basketball mind. You know,
Speaker 3: if he wants to coach at some point he's going
Speaker 3: to become a head coach in the NBA. But it's
Speaker 3: not easy coming over and coaching one of your peers
Speaker 3: that you've played with for a long time, and on
Speaker 3: top of that, coaching somebody that you have a podcast with.
Speaker 3: You know, that's that's another dynamic, Rightyan.
Speaker 1: Could you imagine me trying to coach Chris Haynes.
Speaker 4: Well, Hey, one thing we know about it is he's
Speaker 4: getting this shots. No matter what coach says.
Speaker 1: That the players league, he'd probably win that battle.
Speaker 3: As long as long as the coach knows that understands
Speaker 3: that we'll get together.
Speaker 1: You know, in his league, he's coach GM and number
Speaker 1: one shot taker. Somehow he does it all.
Speaker 3: You know, that's just gonna be tough. You know, when
Speaker 3: everything's going well, maybe it works, but you know that
Speaker 3: that will that would be a strange dynamic. I don't
Speaker 3: know that that will be the right situation for JJ
Speaker 3: and Lebron. I would I just if they go that,
Speaker 3: If they go that route, that means they are they
Speaker 3: think very highly of JJ. Reddick's potential star prowess as
Speaker 3: a head coach.
Speaker 1: It's just putting him in an incredibly difficult position. What
Speaker 1: is basically the first thing we heard from Darvinham when
Speaker 1: the season ended. One of the first things he said
Speaker 1: in that press conference was basically, the two years I've
Speaker 1: spent in this seat, It's been a hell of a
Speaker 1: two years. He knew what was coming, and just I
Speaker 1: don't even like to say these two words together in
Speaker 1: a sentence, but I'm gonna have to. It's very much
Speaker 1: like managing Manchester United in England. The level of scrutiny, pressure, expectation,
Speaker 1: demands criticism. Coaching the Los Angeles Lakers. It's unlike sitting
Speaker 1: you know, maybe the Yankees, maybe man United. Like there's
Speaker 1: just a very short list Dallas Cowboys. You'd probably throw
Speaker 1: into that sentence like, there are certain coaching jobs that
Speaker 1: are just you're under the microscope to a degree that
Speaker 1: other coaches don't have to face. And so does JJ
Speaker 1: Reddick really want to be thrown into that situation to
Speaker 1: start his coaching career? The difficult difficult ask?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it just be. It would be it's to be
Speaker 3: a tall task. That would be a tall task, and
Speaker 3: it would be a strange, unprecedented dynamic.
Speaker 1: And then Phoenix, We're gonna have to wait and see,
Speaker 1: it's not one hundred percent certain that the Suns would
Speaker 1: opt to make a coaching change. There were certainly reports
Speaker 1: in the immediate aftermath of Phoenix getting swept by Minnesota
Speaker 1: that Frank Vogel's job is in peril. But I have
Speaker 1: heard that one option that the Sons have considered is
Speaker 1: just completely redo the staff around him. Maybe there is
Speaker 1: a former player who can come in to be on
Speaker 1: his staff. Obviously, with Kevin Young going to BYU, that
Speaker 1: certainly opens up the lead assistant slot. So there will
Speaker 1: be changes on the Sun's bench. Whether it extends all
Speaker 1: the way to the head coach remains to be seen,
Speaker 1: but it's the same thing. There just aren't with Doc Rivers,
Speaker 1: as you said, taking the Milwaukee job mid season. You know,
Speaker 1: you only really have Budenholzer out there in terms of
Speaker 1: readily available recent championship coaches, And so the Suns might say,
Speaker 1: you know what, We're gonna give Frank Vogel another season.
Speaker 1: They haven't made that decision yet. That was another crazy
Speaker 1: thing that happened last week, and I got into it
Speaker 1: in the Solo pod on Friday, that what are we
Speaker 1: worried about the Suns? For Matt Ishbia says it's an
Speaker 1: easy fix and that twenty six of twenty nine other
Speaker 1: gms would trade their whole situation with the Suns right now.
Speaker 1: So what are we worried about Phoenix? For all right?
Speaker 1: I think that's going to do it for this edition
Speaker 1: of this League uncut. Chris and I we'll get together
Speaker 1: again in a few days time if I can pull
Speaker 1: him away from all the fun he's having in his
Speaker 1: undisputed number one favorite NBA city. There never was another choice.
Speaker 1: There is no second place, New York. And there you go.
Speaker 3: This is a business decision.
Speaker 1: New York. You should go. You should fly home in
Speaker 1: an iHeart New York T shirt that's easily found at
Speaker 1: any local shop near your hotel. Oh, and maybe brings
Speaker 1: Charlotte and I Love New York coffee cup home. That
Speaker 1: a good That'd be a good gift. Show contributor Charlotte Haynes.
Speaker 3: Just try to be transparent with the with the listeners, y'all.
Speaker 3: I hope y'all appreciate it.
Speaker 1: All right? Everyone, you know what to do? Follow us.
Speaker 1: Please rate the show. Review the show. We would love
Speaker 1: a five star rating if you see fit to bestow
Speaker 1: that upon us and Like I said, Chris Haynes, producer
Speaker 1: Ryan and me, the babbling Mark Stein, we will be
Speaker 1: back together with you again very very soon. Thanks everyone
Speaker 1: for listening and that'll do it for us.
Speaker 2: See you next time.
Speaker 1: This league uncut it is and iHeartRadio production.
Speaker 2: Chris Haynes and Mark Stein