Speaker 1: Well, well, well it's Austin Reeves and Ants world.
Speaker 2: We're all just living in it.
Speaker 1: We have figured out who the next Laker is gonna be.
Speaker 1: According to super purser Jabbari, We're back to continue to
Speaker 1: discuss Team USA in the FOVA Tournament before breaking down
Speaker 1: the Northwest Division with podcaster Greg Foster. On today's episode,
Speaker 1: I'm Jack O'Brien.
Speaker 3: And I'm producer Jabari and for Miles, and this is
Speaker 3: Miles and Jack got sometimes got mad.
Speaker 4: I think that I think we got that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, beauty, there we go. Davis be driving
Speaker 2: Spitty Cory A three stuff Cory from Gotown again. Nat,
Speaker 2: what you got, honesty? What's happening?
Speaker 1: Man?
Speaker 5: Hi, thank you guys for having me.
Speaker 3: I just want to say, just right off top, I'm
Speaker 3: enjoying the FOBA Tournament tournament a lot, and I think
Speaker 3: it's the like the one time, you know, like that
Speaker 3: and the Olympics is when I can actually like be
Speaker 3: a nationalist. Yeah, like you know, like every other time
Speaker 3: it's like man, whatever, okay, sure, but like as soon
Speaker 3: as like I hear that national anthem during like FOBA.
Speaker 5: Or you know, the Olympics, yeah, I'm all in.
Speaker 4: You know, get straight. You're saluting.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, I did.
Speaker 4: You got in the corner.
Speaker 5: I got you. Yeah, I'm not mad at im. I'm
Speaker 5: all in.
Speaker 3: It's fun and I uh would do just about anything
Speaker 3: to get ants on my team.
Speaker 1: I feel like I know what it's like to be
Speaker 1: a Lakers fan when watch it, when like watching FOBA,
Speaker 1: because it's like there's such a superiority complex I get
Speaker 1: when I'm like watching like somebody do something for another
Speaker 1: team and I'm like, oh, okay, that was cute.
Speaker 5: Yeah, this is what it's like.
Speaker 3: To win and have a story, franchise and like legacy
Speaker 3: of winning. Yeah, yes, this is a this is a
Speaker 3: nice change.
Speaker 4: I gotta be honest with you guys. It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1: It's pretty I was more talking about from like a
Speaker 1: toxic uh condescension standpoint of just assuming everybody for every
Speaker 1: other team would like to be playing secretly wishes they're
Speaker 1: playing for my team. That's how I feel what I'm
Speaker 1: watching international ball. I don't think it's necessarily true, but.
Speaker 4: It doesn't help that Team USA was teasing US US
Speaker 4: Lakers fans, US toxic you know nation uh, saying things
Speaker 4: like this duo and putting up a picture of Ant
Speaker 4: and Austin. I mean, if you don't want if you
Speaker 4: don't want me to come to the party, don't send
Speaker 4: me an invite.
Speaker 3: I mean, honestly, that's the that's the white men can't
Speaker 3: jump sequel we actually deserve.
Speaker 1: Yes, Yeah, that's absolutely that's a lot of fun. They'd
Speaker 1: be a good time together. I love that. That is
Speaker 1: that is just them tempting you. That just putting a
Speaker 1: putting them in a pick sure together and referring to
Speaker 1: two players as a duo is a statement about the
Speaker 1: future of the Lakers.
Speaker 4: I mean really, that's like, you know, not to lean
Speaker 4: into the stereotype. But I mean, is there any other
Speaker 4: eventual outcome? I mean, like this is you know, this
Speaker 4: is it was written so I'll see you guys.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they posted that photo of social and all of
Speaker 3: a sudden photoshops stock Rose likes dollars.
Speaker 2: But Greg, you are friend of the show.
Speaker 1: Uh you co host Unsalvageable with one of our favorite
Speaker 1: guests in Miles and Jack. I'm mat Boostie's history, Sarah
Speaker 1: Todd's when she's the best, she's.
Speaker 3: Like exploring the catacombs right now somewhere in Paris or
Speaker 3: I don't know what the.
Speaker 4: For both of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Miles is in Europe, Kanye is in Europe, appears
Speaker 1: to be having a good time.
Speaker 2: Sarah is in Europe.
Speaker 5: How is everyone affording Europe right now?
Speaker 2: I don't know. I think we're all just going to
Speaker 2: need secrets here.
Speaker 5: They're wide open.
Speaker 3: Please, I'm supposed to go next year, and like, I
Speaker 3: don't know, I hope my kid likes not going to college.
Speaker 1: I went to, uh, the Jersey Shore this weekend this summer,
Speaker 1: and so why would I need to go to Europe
Speaker 1: when I went to the Jersey Shore?
Speaker 5: I mean, get you get your tailco accent going.
Speaker 1: Like a Pittsburgh Is that the Pittsburgh accent?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I get them confused, They're pretty close.
Speaker 3: They're pretty Yeah, yeah, Pittsburgh. It's all kind of the
Speaker 3: same thing. Yeah, because that.
Speaker 5: Means Eagles or Ravens and you got it covered.
Speaker 2: So what have you guys been watching?
Speaker 5: Feebaball? What? I what?
Speaker 2: I Your takeaway has been.
Speaker 3: I think that Boa Cruise is the greatest player of
Speaker 3: all time, and I'm really looking forward to hustle to
Speaker 3: So yeah.
Speaker 4: I'm looking at you like Aunt looked at him. My
Speaker 4: I mean, my biggest takeaway, and I mentioned this, you
Speaker 4: know before the show, is that, you know, outside of
Speaker 4: Team USA, and you know we can get into that.
Speaker 4: I'm sure Luca's basically Luca, regardless of the regardless of
Speaker 4: the court. Like if he's on the NBA, he's gonna
Speaker 4: give you, you know, thirty six is ten ish and
Speaker 4: five is or whatever the case may be. If he's
Speaker 4: in FOBA tournament, same deal. You know, he's pretty much
Speaker 4: going to He's pretty much a lock for those numbers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, the guy obviously like unsalvageable. I'm a
Speaker 3: Utah Jazz man, the guy who I'm obviously very high
Speaker 3: on and very excited about his lowry marketing. And you know,
Speaker 3: the big question going into the Utah Jazz this season
Speaker 3: this year is can he have a repeat performance? You know,
Speaker 3: he was an All Star last year, started the All
Speaker 3: Star Game put up you know what was it, twenty
Speaker 3: five seven and I think two or three four assists
Speaker 3: And he looks great and I've had my eyes kind
Speaker 3: of focused on him and I'm I'm excited for what
Speaker 3: he can do for my team next year.
Speaker 1: And then Austin on the US team, Austin Reeves looks
Speaker 1: really good.
Speaker 3: But I mean, if if this is the Austin Reeves
Speaker 3: the Lakers get, it's regular season, that's really that's annoying,
Speaker 3: scary and yeah.
Speaker 1: Exception, yeah yeah. He has at times looked like the
Speaker 1: best player on the team, on a team where like
Speaker 1: I thought he was just going to be like, you know,
Speaker 1: in the in the mix for like a solid contributor
Speaker 1: on the second team. But he's he's been putting up
Speaker 1: numbers everywhere and like just been doing basically at his
Speaker 1: like what what he was doing at best for the
Speaker 1: Lakers in the playoffs and tres ended last year, Like
Speaker 1: that's what he seems to be doing again, just picking
Speaker 1: up where he left off.
Speaker 4: I gotta be upfront about this. Look and I'm miss you.
Speaker 4: I'm placing aside the usual you know jokes that I'm
Speaker 4: going Austin Reeves is the basketball is a good is
Speaker 4: a solid basketball player. He's really going to put if
Speaker 4: you put him on a team that's you know, that's
Speaker 4: laces with talent, he's going to really shine, specifically because
Speaker 4: he does a lot of he does a lot of
Speaker 4: the little things. Well you know what I mean, he's
Speaker 4: you know, he's not he's not you know, dunkin from
Speaker 4: the free throw line, but he's you know, he's still
Speaker 4: in that. You know, he's still athletic. He's not shooting
Speaker 4: forty eight percent from three, but he's gonna you know,
Speaker 4: he's gonna knock down the open ones.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 4: You know, I get it. Folks get tired of Lakers
Speaker 4: players and Lakers fans in general, but in particular Lakers
Speaker 4: players always being in the conversation. But this is one
Speaker 4: where it's actually warranted.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean one of the things that the Sarah and
Speaker 3: I talk about a lot is, you know, if you
Speaker 3: want a winning team, and I'm simplifying this, but you've
Speaker 3: got your you've got your guys, and you've got your dudes.
Speaker 3: You know, someone like for the Utah Jazz Lowry Markin
Speaker 3: is our dude.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 3: And then we've got you know, your role players. Who
Speaker 3: are your guys on this team? You, I say, Austin
Speaker 3: Reeves surprisingly looks like it. He looks like a dude.
Speaker 3: He looks like again we've talked about, uh, the the
Speaker 3: Robin to Aunt Edwards batman, and that's a that's super surprising.
Speaker 3: But yeah, if if this is who he is moving forward,
Speaker 3: in the contract he's going to get and moving forward like,
Speaker 3: this is a guy that a lot of people are
Speaker 3: going to want on their teams and seems like he
Speaker 3: can be that kind of missing piece and that ancillary
Speaker 3: playmaker the the Lakers need, especially as Lebron continues to age.
Speaker 1: Yeah, an Ant seems like he continues to improve. Are
Speaker 1: you are you guys seeing like based on what he's
Speaker 1: doing in the tournament, are you are you expecting like
Speaker 1: kind of a step up for him or a kind
Speaker 1: of same same general area he was in before.
Speaker 3: I have a scorching hot take about Ant and I
Speaker 3: think every year that I've seen him. First of all,
Speaker 3: I thought that he should have been Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 3: I'm not that I'm like a smirching LaMelo ball or anything,
Speaker 3: because he's great, But I thought that Ant was just
Speaker 3: the better player and I still do. Uh and then
Speaker 3: him making the All Star team last year and him
Speaker 3: looking like he is, you know, he's the guy on
Speaker 3: this team and could be, you know, the guy moving
Speaker 3: forward in the Olympics. I think if he continues on
Speaker 3: this trajectory, we could in a couple of years be
Speaker 3: talking about Aunt Edwards is the face of the league.
Speaker 3: I think he's like he's right up there. I think, like,
Speaker 3: you know, almost figuratively, but also sorry for the stupid pun,
Speaker 3: but Jahn Morant kind of shot himself in the foot
Speaker 3: with all of the stuff that he did, and I
Speaker 3: kind of thought that he was going to be that guy.
Speaker 3: You know, I have I have a five year old
Speaker 3: who I coached, and like all the kids his age
Speaker 3: and kind of in that age group were just obsessed
Speaker 3: with Jahn Morant and it could very much be Ant
Speaker 3: because he is he's so exciting and he's so good,
Speaker 3: and like he's really kind of proven that he's like
Speaker 3: the dude in Minnesota now, yeah.
Speaker 5: And I think that can move forward.
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't know if Minnesota is the market,
Speaker 3: and who knows if he stays there, but like I
Speaker 3: I'm I'm what I'm saying is I'm buying all the
Speaker 3: stock on at rank.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1: There were like there are a couple times in every
Speaker 1: game where he does something and I'm like, oh, he
Speaker 1: has like multiple levels still to go up, Like he's
Speaker 1: already really like really really good and he has like
Speaker 1: he does things on defense and offense every once in
Speaker 1: a while where I'm just like man, he he could
Speaker 1: be like just incredible, like we've like nothing we've ever
Speaker 1: seen before.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I'm excited about that.
Speaker 1: The other big story I feel like was Ronde Hollis
Speaker 1: Jefferson just showing up and like everybody was saying he
Speaker 1: reminded them of Kobe, like from his game perspective, but
Speaker 1: he also like just like kind of looked like Kobe,
Speaker 1: like like built like him, like just all the different
Speaker 1: things he was doing. It was wearing number twenty four,
Speaker 1: It was it was interesting. He like was really doing
Speaker 1: a pretty good Kobe impression, like in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 5: Did you guys catch that coming to a comic con
Speaker 5: near you?
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly cosplay FIBA edition.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Look, more than anything, I looked at it and say, like, wait,
Speaker 4: is he still in the league, because you know, look,
Speaker 4: I recognize the NBA is different than FOBA. You know,
Speaker 4: international tournaments or to play there is going to be different.
Speaker 4: If you're in a situation where you can put up
Speaker 4: you know, thirty plus in back to back games, I
Speaker 4: would at least and you're six six and you're still
Speaker 4: you know, young enough, I would at least expect you
Speaker 4: to get a look. So I'm actually intrigued to see
Speaker 4: if he gets a look in camp, like from a time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so this is uh, you know, a Lakers fan
Speaker 1: looks at whoever the best player is in the whole
Speaker 1: tournament and says, they're gonna.
Speaker 2: Want to play for us.
Speaker 1: Uh, it's it's a matter of time until he's on
Speaker 1: the Lakers. A Sixers fan is like, oh, that guy's
Speaker 1: not in the league. Oh, maybe we could like get
Speaker 1: him in for like a tryout or something. Maybe we
Speaker 1: could like sign him to it so that this is
Speaker 1: the guy that got my uh got my eyes lighting up.
Speaker 4: Six foot six and can do damage from the mid post.
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, yeah, man, I'll take it.
Speaker 3: And then there's us Jazz fans that we're just like him.
Speaker 3: That's a nice player. I hope he does well.
Speaker 4: He seems nice, so nice. She seems great.
Speaker 2: He seems like a nice guy.
Speaker 1: All right, speaking of your jazz fandom, we are going
Speaker 1: to take a quick break, and when we come back,
Speaker 1: we're going to do our preview of the Northwest Division.
Speaker 1: I love that we're doing these previews divisionally, and I
Speaker 1: know I've this is the only time in my life
Speaker 1: I think that I've thought of teams based on their divisions,
Speaker 1: like like, oh, the Northwest Division of course getting abolished divisions,
Speaker 1: Yeah for real, get rid of useful for podcasts. Yes,
Speaker 1: so we're gonna, uh take quick break. We'll be right back,
Speaker 1: and we're back and all right. So the Northwest Division
Speaker 1: is the Nuggets you might remember won the NBA championship
Speaker 1: last year, the Jazz, the Wolves, who might have the
Speaker 1: future face of the league on their team, the Thunder
Speaker 1: who might also have the future face of the on
Speaker 1: their team.
Speaker 5: Great FIBA performances.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was talking about chet you guys are who
Speaker 1: are you talking about?
Speaker 2: Just playing? Uh? And the Blazers of course.
Speaker 1: So we we have been looking at what what their
Speaker 1: record was last year and what they're over under is
Speaker 1: the year the Nuggets. It seems like the pattern has
Speaker 1: been that Vegas inexplicably is going is thinking every team
Speaker 1: is going to lose, is going to decrease the number
Speaker 1: of wins. The Nuggets they are had giving a game
Speaker 1: and a half over last year. So last year they
Speaker 1: went fifty three and twenty nine. This year they have
Speaker 1: them going fifty four and a half as the over under.
Speaker 1: That seems about right to me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's hard for me to like count out any
Speaker 3: team with nikolae Jkic. I think he pretty firmly cemented
Speaker 3: himself this last year as the best player in basketball.
Speaker 3: And you know, I think until somebody can prove that
Speaker 3: they can stop him and Murray, then yeah, I'm not
Speaker 3: gonna I'm not gonna bet against them.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I'm right there with you. Fifty four and
Speaker 4: a half seems about right. I wouldn't be honestly, if
Speaker 4: they stay healthy. I wouldn't even be shocked if it's
Speaker 4: in the high fifties.
Speaker 2: They did lose Bruce e b.
Speaker 4: Brucey ain't going nowhere?
Speaker 2: Oh okay, sorry, is he not?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Is he not?
Speaker 1: Sir? To Indiana because everybody looked at him and had
Speaker 1: the same idea he was. Is that fantasy sleeper that
Speaker 1: everybody has and everybody's like, oh, I was gonna take him.
Speaker 1: But anyways, Brucey be gone. They re signed Reggie Jackson
Speaker 1: and signed Justin Holiday. I don't I might just to
Speaker 1: be a contrarian take the under on this, like, and
Speaker 1: by the under, I mean like expect them to be
Speaker 1: as good as they were last year and win the
Speaker 1: title again. But like that would still be the slight
Speaker 1: under I don't know why there's much better than they
Speaker 1: were last year.
Speaker 5: I don't know.
Speaker 1: I I guess like this is assuming they're at peak
Speaker 1: health for the whole season.
Speaker 4: Yeah for sure.
Speaker 5: I mean this is always with the caveat of injuries,
Speaker 5: right right?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 4: Like you know, I posed a question, you know, will
Speaker 4: there be a champion championship hangover? And while it's certainly
Speaker 4: a possibility, for whatever reason, this scene SEMs like a
Speaker 4: team that's not going to have one. And you know
Speaker 4: that that could be conjecture, but I'm not sure it did.
Speaker 4: For whatever reason, it seems like they're just gonna kind
Speaker 4: of roll back into the season like they did before.
Speaker 2: All right up next to your Utah Jazz.
Speaker 1: Super Last year they went thirty seven and forty five.
Speaker 1: This year they have them going thirty five and a
Speaker 1: half wins.
Speaker 5: What say you, Greg, I think that's insanity.
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe.
Speaker 3: I'm being a homer, but I think if you look
Speaker 3: up and down this roster and the moves they've made,
Speaker 3: as well as the progress that this team made, I mean, like,
Speaker 3: let's let's reward the tape back a year ago from now.
Speaker 3: I had the Jazz slated as winning somewhere between like
Speaker 3: eighteen and twenty two games.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I thought they were going to be garbage.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I was like fully buckled in, strapped in
Speaker 3: for just like a complete rebuilt and with Lowry's ascension,
Speaker 3: with Walker Kessler coming in and being an all rookie guy.
Speaker 3: Uh and then just like a cavalcade of role players
Speaker 3: and you know, the rise of another rookie and o
Speaker 3: Chaia Baji.
Speaker 5: Like they completely exceeded expectations.
Speaker 3: This is probably a team who, if they weren't actively
Speaker 3: tanking last year, at least makes the playing game. And
Speaker 3: you know, and then you add, you add, you know,
Speaker 3: I thought that they had a really solid draft with Keyante,
Speaker 3: George Taylor Hendrix and Bryce Sensiba and then making the
Speaker 3: move for John Collins, Like I think, especially.
Speaker 5: When you when you when.
Speaker 3: You analyze that, like you got John Collins for the
Speaker 3: corpse of Rudy Gay and a couple of second round picks,
Speaker 3: and like that alone makes your team better. And I
Speaker 3: know that there are question marks about John Collins and
Speaker 3: if he still got it, he still got the fit.
Speaker 5: But the fact of the matter is he's a better player.
Speaker 3: Than Rudy Gay and he's probably you know, I would,
Speaker 3: I would say, a better player than Kelly Olinik, who
Speaker 3: they were starting for the majority of their season. So
Speaker 3: if they if they end up having a worse record
Speaker 3: than last season, I will be I will be pretty shocked.
Speaker 3: I don't think that this is a team that's like
Speaker 3: a contender right now. You know, I would say that
Speaker 3: their ceiling is five hundred. I would say, are sorry,
Speaker 3: their floor is five hundred, and their ceiling is like
Speaker 3: an eight seed, seventh or eighth seed, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean a five hundred might be eight seed, right Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think I think I think that their ceiling is
Speaker 1: the play it.
Speaker 3: I really do, and I or I keep saying, I
Speaker 3: keep saying they're ceiling their floor is the play it
Speaker 3: and their ceiling is like so if everything goes perfectly,
Speaker 3: you know, Lowry has another repeat performance and everybody on.
Speaker 5: The team continues to.
Speaker 3: To you know, elevate and become better and develop, like, yeah,
Speaker 3: this is a sixth seed.
Speaker 2: Wow, I love it.
Speaker 5: I love it.
Speaker 1: Must be so nice to be a fan of a
Speaker 1: team that's not the seventy six ers and just like
Speaker 1: have like you know, hope and just positive.
Speaker 2: Energy for your two lives and just that, like, and
Speaker 2: I'm convinced too.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying like it must be nice to like
Speaker 1: be delusional, like you just convinced me.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm in. I'm on board.
Speaker 1: This is like a lock that it's over, because why
Speaker 1: would they be worse than last year?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like there's nothing that makes sense about that.
Speaker 3: And I would I would also say that, like, I
Speaker 3: also don't think the Jazz are gone. The Jazz have
Speaker 3: what is it, twelve first round draft picks between now
Speaker 3: and twenty twenty nine. This is a team that knows
Speaker 3: they still need to develop. This is a team that
Speaker 3: knows that still has holes in the roster. And if
Speaker 3: there is a big name at the trade deadline who
Speaker 3: is disgruntled, one of the first team that general manager
Speaker 3: calls is the Utah Jazz, knowing that they're like the
Speaker 3: ones who could actually facilitate a big tree raid yea,
Speaker 3: and you know if they if they land someone, let's
Speaker 3: just say, like Austin's like hypothetically, someone like Luca is
Speaker 3: you know, fed up with Dallas at the trade deadline
Speaker 3: and demands of trade like that's that's the deal the
Speaker 3: Jazz can do. The Jazz have enough assets and cap
Speaker 3: space to be able to do the Kevin Durant of
Speaker 3: Phoenix Suns deal three times over.
Speaker 4: Oh right, So we talked about this actually before the summer.
Speaker 4: It might have been during the season on your show.
Speaker 4: What about what about the idea of bringing your man,
Speaker 4: you'll bring you know, bring bringing Dame over to this
Speaker 4: Miami thing? Who knows what? You know, you know what's
Speaker 4: gonna come of it. He's just sitting there. You know,
Speaker 4: we're gonna get to Portland. They can't really do anything
Speaker 4: until they pulled the switch on that. Why not go
Speaker 4: after him?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 3: I say this with with the caveat that, like I'm
Speaker 3: full Dame. HIVE been a fan of him since you know,
Speaker 3: he was at Weber State.
Speaker 5: I got the uh, you know, all brag, and I.
Speaker 3: Was able to even play pickup ball with him a
Speaker 3: few times when he was back here in Utah.
Speaker 1: You know, like you you smoked him, you said he
Speaker 1: was actually, oh yeah, you were way better than him.
Speaker 5: Yeah, uh, fat white guy.
Speaker 3: Uh you know, he wasn't able to handle the three
Speaker 3: foot vertical Al Jefferson baby hook.
Speaker 5: That is what I go to. But I love Dame
Speaker 5: and I think absolutely.
Speaker 3: You add Dame to this team and he elevates the
Speaker 3: ceiling right now. But we're talking about a guy who's
Speaker 3: on the wrong side of thirty who's also owed sixty
Speaker 3: five million dollars when he's thirty six. Yeah, And like
Speaker 3: I still don't believe in my heart of hearts, you
Speaker 3: put Damian Lillard on this team, you know, and you
Speaker 3: facilitate that trade with all the you know, the assets.
Speaker 3: You're probably saying goodbye to either one, if not both,
Speaker 3: of Walker Kestler and o Chaiabaji for that trade. Uh,
Speaker 3: and then you still have holes. You put Dame on
Speaker 3: that team, it still doesn't beat Denver in a seven
Speaker 3: game series. That's like adding Damian Lillard to the Utah
Speaker 3: Jazz does not get them over the hump.
Speaker 5: It does not.
Speaker 3: It does not help them reach the mountaintop. And then
Speaker 3: you've blown your load for a guy who you have
Speaker 3: about a two year window to win. And I don't
Speaker 3: think that's possible. I think this is a team that
Speaker 3: is still in development and is still in a rebuild
Speaker 3: while rebuilding and developing quicker than we thought they were
Speaker 3: after the Gobert and Mitchell trades. It's it's not enough,
Speaker 3: and I think that it would be misguided, Whereas like
Speaker 3: if you put him on a team ostensibly like like
Speaker 3: or hypothetically like Miami with a BAM and with a
Speaker 3: Jimmy Butler, like that's a title contending team within the
Speaker 3: next two years.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So I like Dame, I think he's great. Future Hall
Speaker 3: of Famer. Does not fit the Utah Jazz timeline.
Speaker 1: I had no idea that we were state was in
Speaker 1: Utah prior to like, you know, yeah, it's.
Speaker 5: Like forty five year and a half from my place.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 4: Dame mentioned in it a couple of years back. Was
Speaker 4: when I found out. Yeah, I was like, I was like,
Speaker 4: Utah Ties, what are you talking about?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, what why did he end up there? Is he
Speaker 2: from He just like.
Speaker 5: No, he's from England.
Speaker 3: He just like he wasn't highly regarded or highly recruited
Speaker 3: coming out of high school, and that was the the
Speaker 3: team that gave him a scholarship, gave him a chance.
Speaker 1: We're so underrated documentary. Yeah, I'm sure I'm here. He
Speaker 1: got the Modello commercial, doesn't that. I mean, you know
Speaker 1: that's a preview, that's the trailer.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there you go, all right, The Wolves.
Speaker 1: They have forty three and a half wins over under
Speaker 1: last year they were at forty two lost to the
Speaker 1: Nuggets in the first round. The big thing that I
Speaker 1: think would determine like how good they are is Aunt
Speaker 1: gets way better, like or continues to get better. You know,
Speaker 1: Kat is obviously a question mark. Uh go, bet, real
Speaker 1: question mark. But I don't know it's it like that.
Speaker 1: You know, they were getting em fist fights like at
Speaker 1: the end of last season with each other, like what
Speaker 1: do we do?
Speaker 2: What do we do here?
Speaker 4: Can I quickly piggyback on Greg's hot take from earlier,
Speaker 4: because for one, I don't think it's necessarily as hot
Speaker 4: of a take and is currently on the trajectory of
Speaker 4: Dwyane Wade and Kobe and that type. I to be clear,
Speaker 4: for anybody out there that is, you know, like that
Speaker 4: doesn't understand what I'm saying. I'm not saying he's as
Speaker 4: good as those guys, but the trajectory that he's currently
Speaker 4: on is that type of pace. If he has another level,
Speaker 4: we're already going to be having that type of conversation
Speaker 4: in terms of his impact on this team. I not
Speaker 4: only am I going over on this, you know much
Speaker 4: like Greg was very positive that they were going over.
Speaker 5: Uh you know, you know.
Speaker 4: That the Jazz we're going to go over. You know
Speaker 4: their expectations. I think the Wolves are a solid playoff
Speaker 4: team this year. I think it's going to be on
Speaker 4: the back of and whoever else is still left there
Speaker 4: after the deadline.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. I think they are a
Speaker 3: solid playoff team. I think they're are four or five seed.
Speaker 3: I don't, however, think that the Cat Gobert pairing works. No, no,
Speaker 3: And I don't know how you get rid of the
Speaker 3: You can't get rid of Gobert.
Speaker 5: That's the most untradable contract in the league right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, props to Justin Zanak and Danny Ainge for the
Speaker 3: absolute fleece of the century. And like you know, I have,
Speaker 3: I have my my hang ups and my beasts with
Speaker 3: Rudy Gobert. But he did do some great things for
Speaker 3: my team. But rim running centers do not all of
Speaker 3: a sudden get better after they turn thirty, and that
Speaker 3: could be a stretch.
Speaker 1: Fun I think, because I was like, my hot take
Speaker 1: to you guys' hot take was that he is the
Speaker 1: future of the lead in the face of the NBA
Speaker 1: is Rudy Gobert.
Speaker 5: That's I think.
Speaker 3: I think we're gonna get a lot more bag at
Speaker 3: Beyonmbos and han Makers than.
Speaker 5: I just DP wise.
Speaker 1: I mean, anyone with the instincts to touch all those microphones.
Speaker 1: You know, it's just like he has social media instincts
Speaker 1: and clout. You know, he knows how to seize a moment,
Speaker 1: like both globally and and in the league.
Speaker 3: Anyway, thanks for Walker Kestler. There was a play though,
Speaker 3: in particularly that really kind of raised my eyebrows, like
Speaker 3: even outside of the kind of lackluster season he had
Speaker 3: for Minnesota last year, and that was in that France
Speaker 3: versus Canada game, he got banged on by Dylan Brooks.
Speaker 3: Was like a pretty routine drive and dunk, whereas like
Speaker 3: Rudy Gobert a couple of years years ago, sends that
Speaker 3: back into the eighteenth row and he's just seems like
Speaker 3: he's just a step slower and doesn't cover the same
Speaker 3: kind of ground or doesn't have that that's quite that
Speaker 3: same verticality as he did when he was a three
Speaker 3: time Defensive Player of the Year. And I don't think
Speaker 3: you know, that doesn't get better. What made Rudy Gobert
Speaker 3: such a dynamic and versatile player, was his ability to
Speaker 3: cover so much ground and absolutely just completely like you know,
Speaker 3: watching Gobert in his prime with the JAB, like watching
Speaker 3: Gandolf with the staff, just like putting it down and
Speaker 3: being like, you shall not pass. And I think those
Speaker 3: days are behind them. And then of course just the
Speaker 3: two big pairing. I was kind of really intrigued by it.
Speaker 3: I thought that they would compliment each other because you know,
Speaker 3: what Kat does well, Rudy doesn't, and then vice versa.
Speaker 3: But I just don't see that working. And I think
Speaker 3: if the I think, if Minnesota really wants to make
Speaker 3: a push a answerer guy moving forward, yes, and b
Speaker 3: you've got to somehow trade Cat and get some sort
Speaker 3: of big time haul for him, whether that's another star
Speaker 3: or a whole lot of depth.
Speaker 5: Yeah, because I hope that's what it is.
Speaker 3: Not Like I kind of see the Wolves as kind
Speaker 3: of in basketball purgatory, where you're somewhere between the four
Speaker 3: and six seeds, and yes, you make the playoffs every year,
Speaker 3: but you're a first second round exit at the very very.
Speaker 5: Best, yeah, the best.
Speaker 1: Like somebody described their problem last year being that like cat,
Speaker 1: you have to hide.
Speaker 2: Like on like you can't.
Speaker 1: You can't have him guarding your four because they're just
Speaker 1: going to slice you up, so pick and roll all day.
Speaker 1: But you also can't have go bear guarding your four
Speaker 1: because they're going to slice you up all day.
Speaker 2: They're going to draw him out, and then.
Speaker 5: I then you don't have a rim protector, right.
Speaker 1: So yeah, so they're just out of luck on defense
Speaker 1: when they're playing cat and go bear next to one another,
Speaker 1: and like the stats really bar it out, like they
Speaker 1: were really bad with those two next to each other
Speaker 1: last year. So it's I don't know, it's it's tough,
Speaker 1: but I yeah, I think they need to get rid
Speaker 1: of one of those two. And Gobert seems untradable, so
Speaker 1: probably Kat probably, Yeah, somebody who fits a little bit better,
Speaker 1: and maybe, like I don't know, a new front office.
Speaker 1: Let's move on to the thunder.
Speaker 5: Julius Randall, you are a timberwolf.
Speaker 2: That is what they would do, though, isn't it what
Speaker 2: they would do.
Speaker 4: They go get Macal instead of Julius and actually give
Speaker 4: an a running mate.
Speaker 2: You know they would do, but they would do Julius.
Speaker 2: They would do Julius Randall. Oh my god, would they ever.
Speaker 4: The wrath of the ghost of David Kahn?
Speaker 1: Alright, sorry, James Harden. In like two years, they'll bring
Speaker 1: him in. The Thunder are a team I'm excited about
Speaker 1: because I have a ticket with them winning the title
Speaker 1: on it from Vegas. When I went to Vegas, I'm
Speaker 1: just saying I saw one game highlight reel of Chet
Speaker 1: and I was like, this man is the truth.
Speaker 2: He is the future.
Speaker 1: No, I don't know that that was an extreme long shot.
Speaker 1: Last year they went forty and forty two. This year
Speaker 1: forty three and a half wins. That that feels pretty
Speaker 1: optimistic to me.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 1: They were really good last year. They didn't add that much,
Speaker 1: but I guess they added Chet, right, So they're really
Speaker 1: big on Chet.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they think and a half Chet.
Speaker 3: It's also another year of chemistry and continuity that you're
Speaker 3: building with that core. Yeah, and I don't know. I again,
Speaker 3: like you know, Sandra hot take alarm. I don't think that,
Speaker 3: you know, OKAC is necessarily contender, but they might be
Speaker 3: the most intriguing team league.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: They remind me kind of of like what the Grizzlies
Speaker 3: were a couple of years ago, where like like they're
Speaker 3: right on the cusp of being really really good, and
Speaker 3: you know, like, you know, I think Shy's bona fide star,
Speaker 3: if not superstar.
Speaker 5: I think Chet is going to be really good. I
Speaker 5: like Jaden Williams.
Speaker 3: Like and they just they seem like they're building just
Speaker 3: that prototypical modern NBA roster where you have a bunch
Speaker 3: of guys between six six and six ' ten who
Speaker 3: can do everything, handle the ball, can switch defensively, rebound,
Speaker 3: block shots. You know, I think it's going to take
Speaker 3: a few years for them to really gel, but they're
Speaker 3: absolutely my league pass team.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Credit to Presty because like I was one of those
Speaker 4: folks three years ago when everybody was, you know, giving
Speaker 4: him all the credit for stockpiling all those picks, I
Speaker 4: was like, yeah, well, what are you gonna do with him? Well,
Speaker 4: he's he has shown and he has absolutely put together
Speaker 4: a ruster.
Speaker 5: It's the Utah Jas blueprint right there, baby.
Speaker 1: Figure enough, let's go Yeah, all right, So maybe my
Speaker 1: pick is right on and they do win the title,
Speaker 1: and I become a very rich man and nobody ever
Speaker 1: hears from me again, because I just like become a
Speaker 1: weird person who lives in a Vegas casino, grow my
Speaker 1: nails long move.
Speaker 5: To Atlantic City.
Speaker 2: To Atlantic City, that would be the move.
Speaker 1: Actually, yeah, just lives in one of the abandoned taj
Speaker 1: Mahall suites. Yes, Atlantic City is a weird, post apocalyptic city.
Speaker 5: One of the strangest places I've ever.
Speaker 2: Yeah, very strange.
Speaker 1: The Blazers over Under is off the board currently due
Speaker 1: to the uncertainty with Dame. I could see them, you know,
Speaker 1: last year thirty three and forty nine. I could see
Speaker 1: Scoot and you know, Jeremy Grant and you know that,
Speaker 1: I could see them putting together more wins.
Speaker 2: Than people are expecting personally. But we'll say.
Speaker 4: Personally, I think they're going to I think it's going
Speaker 4: to be at least similar to the beginning of the
Speaker 4: season for Utah, where you know, to your point, they
Speaker 4: are winning a few games, but I think they have
Speaker 4: to look at the future in this one and and
Speaker 4: and kind of pull it back. I think they ultimately
Speaker 4: win like twenty five games. But Scoot is in the
Speaker 4: conversation for Repee of the Year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm I'm right there with you. I think Scoot's
Speaker 3: going to be awesome. I'm super high on the guy.
Speaker 3: You know, I think Jeremy Grant's a nice player. I
Speaker 3: think Anthony Simons is a nice player. But I you know, A,
Speaker 3: I think they are going to fully embrace this rebuild.
Speaker 3: I don't expect Dame to stay in Portland. I think
Speaker 3: it's you know, it's a matter of time until some
Speaker 3: sort of deal gets done, uh, and then.
Speaker 5: It's, you know, it's full rebuild.
Speaker 3: And I think they have it in their mind that
Speaker 3: this is a multi year rebuild and it's going to
Speaker 3: take a few years for Scoot to really reach his
Speaker 3: potential and then no, who knows from there. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I think twenty five thirty wins sounds right.
Speaker 1: Okay, Yeah, yeah, I feel like it'll probably be right
Speaker 1: that that's probably where they're gonna come on the board
Speaker 1: once once the trade happens.
Speaker 2: If the trade happens.
Speaker 3: It certainly wouldn't surprise me though, like Ji said, if
Speaker 3: Scoot ends up winning Rookie of.
Speaker 1: The Year, though, yeah, I would if Chet wins. But
Speaker 1: I also think there's a chance Victor wembing Emma is
Speaker 1: right away the generationally defensive like Stopper and people.
Speaker 5: I'm so excited.
Speaker 3: I got my I got tickets to go see him
Speaker 3: when he comes to Utah.
Speaker 5: Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. I mean it's like.
Speaker 4: You have to you should.
Speaker 3: He was supposed to be at Summer League and canceled
Speaker 3: like this was the year, the first year in god
Speaker 3: knows how how many that Uh, the Salt Lake Summer
Speaker 3: League has not featured the San Antonio Spurs, and I
Speaker 3: bought like my.
Speaker 5: Three day pass.
Speaker 3: Everything was announced, uh, like getting all excited like after
Speaker 3: the draft and then.
Speaker 2: With Britney Spears. You know.
Speaker 1: All right, let's take another quick break and when we
Speaker 1: come back, Greg Greig, great, great, great time. It is
Speaker 1: time for the fastest segment and podcasting. We'll be right back.
Speaker 1: And we're back and it's time. Oh yes, it's time
Speaker 1: rapid fire to close it out. We're going to be
Speaker 1: asking you to answer some questions. We need to just
Speaker 1: give us first thought. Go strong and wrong, you know,
Speaker 1: whatever it is, and we are leaning on you to
Speaker 1: keep things moving.
Speaker 2: Let us don't let us have been known to both
Speaker 2: Dally and Dilly.
Speaker 4: He's more of a Dilli.
Speaker 1: But all right, first up, us a team no one
Speaker 1: is considering for title contention this year, but should be.
Speaker 5: In the conversation, go the Los Angeles Sakers.
Speaker 2: But hey, I was not considering them. Who's not considering that?
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a good question, actually, Jack that that's that's
Speaker 4: where that's the problem, because I.
Speaker 3: Mean I don't think that they're like the top tier team.
Speaker 3: They're not a Bucks, Celtics or Nuggets Sixers. I mean
Speaker 3: I'm a Philly guy too, like I mean, I lived
Speaker 3: in Roxboro, but like.
Speaker 1: Man, yeah, remember last year, remember they were like up
Speaker 1: three to two.
Speaker 4: Somebody on this panel foolishly say it, no, we are
Speaker 4: good and it was the band of the team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, I would never I'm not a not
Speaker 1: an idiot, but.
Speaker 4: Yeah, which teams will have the biggest increase in wins?
Speaker 5: Thunder?
Speaker 4: All right?
Speaker 2: Uh? Where Pascal Siakam, James Harden and Dan playing?
Speaker 3: You know the Pascal in my heart? And sorry? What
Speaker 3: was that was the last one? I apologized?
Speaker 2: James Harden?
Speaker 5: I mean he's gonna go to l A right, Yeah
Speaker 5: for the Clippers. Yeah Clippers. No, No, don't you listen.
Speaker 3: Man, it's bron Hive all the way. I know I'm
Speaker 3: a Jazz fan, but like I wouldn't wish.
Speaker 2: That evil me too.
Speaker 1: All right, you can take two players from all of history.
Speaker 1: To create your Mad Boostie's Edition NBA Jam team, they
Speaker 1: have to have played on the same team at some point.
Speaker 2: Which two players are you taking?
Speaker 1: Like they don't have to have played together, but like
Speaker 1: you could take Patrick Ewing and Walron.
Speaker 2: Shack oh Ron and Shack.
Speaker 3: Right, yeah, Laker Shack Yeah, Laker Shack and like twenty
Speaker 3: sixteen fine Lebron.
Speaker 5: Yeah. It's all right.
Speaker 4: Best NBA city in terms of food choices and what
Speaker 4: does you go to?
Speaker 5: I mean, god, that is that is tough.
Speaker 3: I mean if we're just going, if we're just going
Speaker 3: like straight food, it's New York City, man, Yeah, and
Speaker 3: like it's it's pizza. I The thing that I missed
Speaker 3: the absolute most about the East Coast is the Hilal
Speaker 3: cart chicken lamb right, vegetables, a little bit of herisa
Speaker 3: and some white sauce.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And then what's your go to dish in Salt
Speaker 1: Lake City? What's the one that, like when people come to town,
Speaker 1: you say I got you and take them them.
Speaker 5: I go to we go to Elmore Lens and we're
Speaker 5: getting out past or tacos.
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2: Do you do any of the soda shops any of
Speaker 2: the dirty.
Speaker 5: So I'm not a soda guy. This is my in fact,
Speaker 5: I'll just I'll get it.
Speaker 3: I know I'm dillying and dallying, but I'm also gonna
Speaker 3: I'm also gonna brag.
Speaker 5: Right now.
Speaker 3: I am going to hit one hundred pounds lost this
Speaker 3: week from my heaviest and one of the first things
Speaker 3: I did when I started losing weight was cutting out soda.
Speaker 3: So like, I got my Parkling, I got my sparkling water.
Speaker 3: I know, don't I'm doing a visual bit on a podcast,
Speaker 3: but you know, just for I got the crooking signature
Speaker 3: line and it's carrying me.
Speaker 4: All right, all right, If you could have any player's
Speaker 4: skill set for a day, who's and what skill set
Speaker 4: would it be?
Speaker 5: It's Lebronx.
Speaker 4: Okay, I guess, I guess.
Speaker 5: Is it just like wait, is it a single skill?
Speaker 4: So it could be like Iverson's crossover Sandy shooting.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, that's the yeah.
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker 1: We asked this of everyone, and every almost everyone lands
Speaker 1: on Steph Curry shooting, and I always say that's the
Speaker 1: right answer. Nobody else is Yeah. That would be cool
Speaker 1: to just be like, ah, this this feels.
Speaker 5: Let me just from forty feet in a pickup game.
Speaker 4: Yeah, because all right, I mean I do that either way.
Speaker 5: We got to the next question.
Speaker 1: I know we got a peak prime Stockton or prime
Speaker 1: Zeke prime Zke.
Speaker 4: I love it, I love it. I I'm sorry. I
Speaker 4: put that in there specifically because I knew he was
Speaker 4: going to say that and had his jazz fan followers
Speaker 4: would be upset.
Speaker 3: Okay, I mean Stockton did great things during his career,
Speaker 3: like you know, personal life notwithstanding. But I mean Zeke
Speaker 3: in a single playoff run went through Jordan's burden magic. Yeah,
Speaker 3: as the best player on a team, Stockton ever came
Speaker 3: anywhere close to that.
Speaker 2: Ugh.
Speaker 4: You can go back and attend to any single playoff
Speaker 4: game in NBA history. Which game are you choosing?
Speaker 3: It would really really hard for me to turn down
Speaker 3: the Game seven of that twenty sixteen Finals.
Speaker 4: Yes, the block, the shot, a completing neck comeback terminator Brown.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, that'd be that would be really hard for
Speaker 3: me to say no too.
Speaker 1: All Right, And finally, the question we ask all our
Speaker 1: guests when Jabari is co hosting Jack or Jabari?
Speaker 5: Jabari was the one who sent the invite.
Speaker 4: I knew this was no favorites.
Speaker 2: I mean, you can say no favorites.
Speaker 5: This is this is no offense to anyone.
Speaker 3: But Jabari has been my guy for for god years now,
Speaker 3: so it's team Jabari over here. But I say that
Speaker 3: both also saying that it's it's love to everyone. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I am Switzerland right now. All I want healthcare and.
Speaker 1: But Switzerland, it's not like Switzerland actually fires a shot
Speaker 1: in the war and then says that they're pacifist, like
Speaker 1: you just did when you took me out behind. They
Speaker 1: shot me in the back of the head.
Speaker 2: He did, like like siblings, when.
Speaker 4: You'll smack your you'll smack your little siblings and act.
Speaker 2: Like And that's why I'm a pacifist.
Speaker 1: And all right, all right, Mary diplomacy, I don't know
Speaker 1: what all right, Well, Greg Foster is such a pleasure
Speaker 1: having you on Miles and Jack and sometimes Jabari got
Speaker 1: mad Boost's Where can people find you?
Speaker 2: Follow you? Hear you all that good stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can follow me online on Twitter as well
Speaker 3: as Blue Sky if you've got one of the invite
Speaker 3: codes that I am at Dad Sham Dad.
Speaker 5: My podcast is on.
Speaker 2: Salvage Dad Sham Dad on Twitter.
Speaker 5: I am dad sham Dad on Twitter.
Speaker 1: Okay, I think I've like read one of your tweets
Speaker 1: before on on TDZ.
Speaker 5: Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 2: Great, great name, great handle.
Speaker 5: Thank you very much.
Speaker 3: And then if you're in you know, like politics and
Speaker 3: pop culture, I have another podcast with a couple of
Speaker 3: my good friends called Brigham Young Money and that is
Speaker 3: b y M podcast on the twitters.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm easy to get a hold of. Thank you
Speaker 5: so much for having me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks for doing it man, and thank you guys.
Speaker 1: Shout out to our listener of the week, Gritsy Roth,
Speaker 1: who gave us a five star review and titled their review.
Speaker 2: We love to see it, don't we? Folks?
Speaker 1: And especially the review the review the best and only
Speaker 1: NBA podcast that I listened to.
Speaker 2: Shout out to you. Actually, Ross, that's the that is
Speaker 2: the correct answer. We are the only NBA podcast you
Speaker 2: should listen to.
Speaker 1: I'm told there are others, but people are saying we're
Speaker 1: the best one. We're the only one with listening to folks,
Speaker 1: many are saying.
Speaker 2: Like a dog, like a dog, they follow us along,
Speaker 2: follow us around like a little dog.
Speaker 1: That's funny to talk about how your followers follow you
Speaker 1: around like a dog. One of them on the Major
Speaker 1: I could they wouldn't do anything, all right, make sure
Speaker 1: you give us a follow on Twitter. I'm at Jack Underscore, O'Brien, Jabari,
Speaker 1: where are you at?
Speaker 4: I'm at Jabari Davis NBA. And also make sure you
Speaker 4: follow our guy at Miles of Gray.
Speaker 1: Yeah see all his pretty pictures from Europe and hashtag
Speaker 1: Matt boost for show links and updates.
Speaker 2: That's gonna do it. We are back next week.
Speaker 1: Miles will be back, uh and we'll be back talking
Speaker 1: NBA basketball.
Speaker 2: Who we got next week? What's the division? Do we
Speaker 2: know yet?
Speaker 4: Or we're just winging it.
Speaker 2: We're winging it. We're winging it. How don't we? Folks?
Speaker 2: All Right, that's gonna do it. See you next week.
Speaker 2: Bye bye