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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Jason tim Podcast. Thank you guys so

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Speaker 1: much for taking time out of your Thursday afternoon to

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Speaker 1: come hang out with Tommy and I after an extremely

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Speaker 1: stressful trade deadline where relatively mediocre relative to other stars

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Speaker 1: type of player held the entire league hostage for nothing

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Speaker 1: to happen, which was Kyle Lowry, which is what we're

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Speaker 1: going to discuss here at the start. But Tommy, how

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Speaker 1: you doing? Man? Are you feeling okay? I know you're

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Speaker 1: a Warrior's fan, so you're probably a little annoyed, but

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Speaker 1: how you doing overall annoyed? Um? I mean, I think

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Speaker 1: the Warriors are making their direction clear. Basically, we're going

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Speaker 1: all in on nineteen year olds. Um, which is I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's a choice that we can say that much. It's

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Speaker 1: a choice. But um, it's frustrating. Um. But yeah, except

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Speaker 1: to talk about all the other stuff. Honestly, I discussed

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Speaker 1: all the Warrior stuff at length on Twitter over the

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Speaker 1: last couple of hours, so we're ready to talk about

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Speaker 1: everything else. Yeah. So one of the recurring themes that's

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Speaker 1: gonna get brought up here in the next you know,

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Speaker 1: half hour hour is going to be this idea that

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Speaker 1: every team in the country. UH seems to be intent

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Speaker 1: on overvaluing draft picks and young players. And it sucks because,

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Speaker 1: like you know, we'll just frame this through the Kyle

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Speaker 1: Lowry situation. So there's intel out there that the Lakers

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Speaker 1: could have had a much better chance of getting Kyle

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Speaker 1: Lowry had they put talent Horton Tucker on the table,

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Speaker 1: but there was no willingness to include him in the deal. Now,

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Speaker 1: the Tyler Harrow one made more sense to me because

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Speaker 1: Tyler Harrow at least had a dominant playoff game, you know,

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Speaker 1: partially responsible for executing the Boston Celtics last year. He

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Speaker 1: has I'm not gonna say his ceiling is necessarily higher

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Speaker 1: than talent Horton Tuckers, but he certainly held a lot

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Speaker 1: closer to it, and given the age of the players

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Speaker 1: on the team, that makes a lot more sense. But

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Speaker 1: it doesn't make any sense to me that the UH

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Speaker 1: that teams are are so hesitant to commit to a timeline,

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Speaker 1: and it really it really drives me nuts. And you know,

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Speaker 1: what's talent Horton Tucker's ceiling? What is he? Maybe in

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Speaker 1: Eric Gordon, maybe a little bit more athletic version of

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Speaker 1: Eric Gordon how does how does that? Uh, and what's

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Speaker 1: he at least four or five years away from being

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Speaker 1: that and Lebron's turning thirty seven this year, Like, I

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Speaker 1: just don't understand that that concept. And and you're you

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Speaker 1: can probably speak to this as well with some of

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Speaker 1: these Warriors young players. Yeah, it's it's interesting because what

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are the Warriors are basically saying is we

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Speaker 1: think these individual players th H T or wise when

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Speaker 1: they're gonna be at the very least stars and maybe

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Speaker 1: superstars because you already have the components to you already

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Speaker 1: have the superstar player that can win you a title.

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Speaker 1: Like for both the Lakers and the Warriors, who are

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Speaker 1: in different positions right now. The Warriors are ninth in

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Speaker 1: the West and have an average roster. The Lakers have

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Speaker 1: one of the best rosters in the league. Um, they

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Speaker 1: can win a title this year. But what they're basically

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Speaker 1: saying by not being willing to include these young guys

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Speaker 1: in trade packages for players that are already really good,

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Speaker 1: is that we think these guys can potentially become superstars,

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Speaker 1: which is I mean, I think both guys like Wiseman

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Speaker 1: and t HD have the talent to do that. But

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Speaker 1: as you're alluding to their so far from the ceiling,

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Speaker 1: it's a pretty wild bet to make when you have

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Speaker 1: superstars in there, either early thirties and Steps case, or

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Speaker 1: their mid thirties in Lebrons case, where they don't have

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Speaker 1: much time left to win championships. Right like that, that

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Speaker 1: window is very, very limited, So not going all in

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Speaker 1: doesn't make sense to me. And that's for any team

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Speaker 1: in this situation. Right then, we can take the Nets,

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Speaker 1: for example, dur Answer in his early thirties hard and

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Speaker 1: the same thing. They're saying, let's go all in. Let's

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Speaker 1: do whatever we can to improve this team right now

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Speaker 1: to win a championship or multiple championships over the next

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Speaker 1: three or four years, and they have continually done that

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Speaker 1: all year. Yeah, it's it's a question of what your

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Speaker 1: goal is. The are like so many teams are obsessed

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Speaker 1: with being interesting, and then when they're interesting and they

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Speaker 1: fall short, they're all super annoyed. At the end of

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Speaker 1: the season. It's like it's like they only care about

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Speaker 1: the ultimate goal when they've lost, and then before that

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Speaker 1: they care about being interesting. And that's something that I

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Speaker 1: struggle with, especially for bigger market teams, like if you're

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Speaker 1: Golden State or you're the Lakers. You have to understand

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Speaker 1: that you're gonna get probably the best midlevel exception guy

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Speaker 1: most years. You're gonna get the best veteran minimum guys

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Speaker 1: most years. You're you. You, you you have all these other

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Speaker 1: things working in your favor. So it's being tied to

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Speaker 1: a draft pick, which is arguably the least valuable thing

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Speaker 1: to a big market team, to me, is completely nonsensical.

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Speaker 1: And I just you know again, like the big thing

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Speaker 1: too for these contenders is that the league is so

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Speaker 1: much better now than it used to be. Like Warriors

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Speaker 1: fans are so caught up in this idea that hey, wait, wait,

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Speaker 1: wait until we get Clay Thompson back, we're gonna be good. Hey,

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Speaker 1: I got news for you, Steph claim dray one is

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Speaker 1: not good enough anymore. That's not not with not with

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Speaker 1: clayoff in a c and Achilles. If you're telling me

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Speaker 1: we're getting two thousand, nineteen Klay Thompson that I think

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Speaker 1: there may be right there with the right moves on

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Speaker 1: the margins, but that's not a garante. And I think

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Speaker 1: the larger point is that injuries happen, Like as a

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Speaker 1: Warriors man I've seen this over the past twenty months.

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Speaker 1: Injuries happened. There's the three best players got significant injuries

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Speaker 1: four times over a twenty month period. So when you

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Speaker 1: have the chance to go all in and your players

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Speaker 1: are healthy, like for the Lakers, for example, even though

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Speaker 1: le Bron and a d are injured right now, they're

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Speaker 1: gonna be fine come playoff time, you gotta go all in.

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Speaker 1: You have to write because Brooklyn is putting together an

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Speaker 1: incredible team. They still have some struggles on defense, but

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Speaker 1: they're gonna be formidable in the playoffs. Denver got better.

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Speaker 1: The Clippers are nothing to laugh at, even though I

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Speaker 1: still don't love their team. If they are clicking on

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Speaker 1: all cylinders, they can beat the Lakers and not moving

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Speaker 1: for a guy like Lowry when he clearly was available

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Speaker 1: over a guy like t HD, who's I think will

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Speaker 1: be a good player, But will he ever even be

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Speaker 1: as good as Kyle Lowry? Like at his peak? Will

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Speaker 1: he be as good as Kyle Lowry? I don't know.

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Speaker 1: Do you think he'll be the second best player on

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Speaker 1: a championship team? That's the question that we're asking And

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Speaker 1: if he if he's not that, then I'd rather have

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Speaker 1: three years of Kyle Lowry as a second or third

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Speaker 1: best player on a championship team, then whatever t H

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Speaker 1: T is in ten years. And what you just said

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Speaker 1: is that the key point. It's it's you know, Brooklyn

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Speaker 1: is good enough that they can beat you, and and

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Speaker 1: that is the key fact that keeps getting that keeps

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Speaker 1: getting lost in all of this. Like I'm as big

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Speaker 1: of an optimist as far as the Lakers go as

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Speaker 1: you'll find out there. Like I last year, I did

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Speaker 1: not think any of those teams could beat the Lakers.

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Speaker 1: I didn't think any of them could. You know, I

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Speaker 1: thought the Clippers were close, but I didn't think any

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Speaker 1: team realistically had a chance to beat the Lakers. I

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Speaker 1: was confident through and through the entire process this season

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Speaker 1: there are at least there's at least one team out

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Speaker 1: there that can beat you. Brooklyn can beat you, you know,

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Speaker 1: like uh, with the way that Phoenix is constructed, they

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Speaker 1: can beat you. With the way that the Clippers are constructed,

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Speaker 1: with Sergebaka, with Cauai getting a little better and Paul

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Speaker 1: George looking better than he did last year, they can

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Speaker 1: beat you there. This is a year or even though

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are theoretically better. The margin that exists between

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Speaker 1: you and the other teams in the league is smaller,

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Speaker 1: and to me, it's like the uh, you you cannot

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Speaker 1: you don't want to go down holding chips and you

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Speaker 1: know what, mark mark my words, man, Like, there's gonna

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Speaker 1: be a moment where it becomes abundantly clear that th

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Speaker 1: HD can't play in the playoffs this year, and he'll

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Speaker 1: have he might have a moment where he looks good,

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Speaker 1: but in a late round, there's gonna be a moment

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Speaker 1: where it looks like he's not ready. And it's not

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Speaker 1: gonna be because it's his fault. It's gonna because he's

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Speaker 1: twenty years old. And in that moment, I hope people

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Speaker 1: understand that the like those little tiny details like improving

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Speaker 1: the third best player on your team, even if it's

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Speaker 1: just a marginal amount, like the gap between Lowry and

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Speaker 1: in Shrewder is real. It's not a huge gap, but

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Speaker 1: there's a gap there, and something like that could be

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Speaker 1: the difference between you hoisting the trophy or going home

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Speaker 1: in the Western Conference finals. Oh and guess what, Lebron

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Speaker 1: turns thirty seven next year, and it's just gonna get

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Speaker 1: harder and so I I just don't understand why why

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Speaker 1: I did that obsession, and I'll never get it. But

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Speaker 1: I think it's just I think it's just it's it's

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Speaker 1: for whatever it's worth. It's something that exists all around

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Speaker 1: the league. So it's not a problem unique to the Lakers.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Bob Buyers is having the same problem all

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Speaker 1: the like pat Riley's having the same problem. This problem

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Speaker 1: exists all over the league. I think what it speaks

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Speaker 1: to mostly is once you have success in one way,

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Speaker 1: it's hard to move off of that. You like, you

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Speaker 1: just hone in on this one way of doing things.

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Speaker 1: That's what's That's what the Warriors are going through, and

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Speaker 1: that's what I think, to a certain extent, the Lakers

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Speaker 1: are going through. They did improve their roster a little

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Speaker 1: bit this offseason, but they're thinking, oh, we we have

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Speaker 1: the same two guys that we want the title with

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Speaker 1: last year. We're still good enough to do it this year.

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Speaker 1: The league has shifted around you, Like Brooklyn didn't have

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant or James Harden last year. I mean, Katie

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Speaker 1: was on the roster, but he was injured. He was

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Speaker 1: never playing a game. Like the league has shifted Phoenix

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Speaker 1: didn't have Chris Paul, Denver didn't have Aaron Gordon, who

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Speaker 1: I don't obviously isn't in the class of any of

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Speaker 1: those guys, but I think he changes the geometry for

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Speaker 1: them a little bit. I think he gets you. And

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Speaker 1: Yokis is way better, like the other guys are improving,

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Speaker 1: and that's going to continue to happen. There's a lot

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Speaker 1: of good young players in the league right now, Like

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Speaker 1: in Beads, probably gonna be better next year. Don Chech

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Speaker 1: is gonna be way better next year. All these young

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Speaker 1: guys are gonna keep getting better, and eventually it's gonna

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Speaker 1: shift from the old guard like Katie or Lebron or

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Speaker 1: maybe Step. If the Warriors make some moves, one of

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Speaker 1: those guys will win the championship in the next couple

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Speaker 1: of years. I think at least one of them will,

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Speaker 1: and then eventually one of them will win one and

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Speaker 1: it will be the last championship that that group of

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Speaker 1: three players wins. And if teams like Lakers and Warriors

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Speaker 1: aren't willing to make the moves to go all in

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Speaker 1: right now, they've already seen those last championships, it's over

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Speaker 1: for them. It's over. They will not win another one.

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Speaker 1: Lebron needs more help than he did at thirty two.

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Speaker 1: He just does. You need a guy like Kyle Lowry

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Speaker 1: who can handle some of that playmaking and just like

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Speaker 1: take the load off of him because he's thirty six.

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Speaker 1: He never used to get high ankle sprains. He's just older.

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Speaker 1: It is what it is. Yeah, No, I I I

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Speaker 1: disagree in the high ankelesprain thing because I think it

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Speaker 1: was a contact injury. But I but to me, the

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Speaker 1: better example that was the growing the growing injury last year.

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Speaker 1: But however, your larger point I agree with. And you know,

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Speaker 1: for like Rob Polinka has done a really good job

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Speaker 1: since Magic has left. And I always have to be

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Speaker 1: careful with this sort of thing, you know, when we're

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Speaker 1: talking about trade discussions, because there's always what is reported

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Speaker 1: and then there's the reality of what happens. And it's

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Speaker 1: very possible that even th HT might not have gotten

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Speaker 1: the deal done. So I don't want to be, you know,

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Speaker 1: super matter of fact in the way trying to up

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Speaker 1: the price for Lowry. It could have been that it

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Speaker 1: could have been them feeding you know, Shellbirn or Wendy

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Speaker 1: whatever and telling them this is on the table, but

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Speaker 1: it really wasn't and Lowry there there was until that

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Speaker 1: Lowry wanted to have some sort of input on where

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Speaker 1: they were going. It's very possible that that that the

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Speaker 1: l a thing was never real. However, in the hypothetical

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Speaker 1: where this should have happened or could have happened with

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Speaker 1: th HT in the trade, to me, that's a catastrophic mistake.

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Speaker 1: And I the only I I thought about this so

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Speaker 1: many times over the last couple of hours because I

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Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something. And

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Speaker 1: the only thing that if I had to be a

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Speaker 1: devil's advocate for why the Lowry trade for th H

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Speaker 1: T KCP and Dennis Shroeder wouldn't have made sense. The

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Speaker 1: only thing I can think of his guard depth this

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Speaker 1: idea that right now the Lakers have five guards the CRUSO,

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Speaker 1: th H D KCP, West, Matthews, and Dennis Shrewder, and

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Speaker 1: if you give up three of them for one, then now,

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Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you've got a guard corps that's

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Speaker 1: only three deep. And now you're looking at playing in

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Speaker 1: Alphonso McKinney, or you're trying to find a buyout guide

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Speaker 1: and maybe you can get Awayne Ellington. I don't know,

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Speaker 1: and so I do see I do see some validity

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Speaker 1: to that. However, to me, the lineup flexibility, provided they

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Speaker 1: stayed healthy and made it into deeper rounds of the playoffs,

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Speaker 1: the lineup flexibility of having a Kyle Lowry as an

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Speaker 1: upgrade over Dennis Shooter, to me was was worth it.

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Speaker 1: But I just that that's the devil's advocate approach. But

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Speaker 1: I still think that that it could potentially have been

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Speaker 1: a big mistake, and there there will be a moment

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Speaker 1: potentially if the Lakers lose this year, there will be

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Speaker 1: a moment. Maybe it's against the Clippers, maybe it's against

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Speaker 1: Brooklyn where it's gonna feel like there's a talent gap

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Speaker 1: and and that is something that could have been remedied

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Speaker 1: here and and that could be unfortunate. End of the day,

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Speaker 1: top end talent is what matters in the playoffs. I'd

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Speaker 1: rather be eight deep and have have my top three

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Speaker 1: be amazing than be ten deep and have like a

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Speaker 1: top two and then everybody else that's just kind of

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Speaker 1: black at the end of the at the end of

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Speaker 1: the roster. So it I mean, I can I don't

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Speaker 1: understand why the Lakers didn't do it if th h

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Speaker 1: T was the sticking point, and I'll leave it at that.

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Speaker 1: We talk some other trades here, Yeah, so okay, So

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Speaker 1: it appears that Miami had a backup plan lined up

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Speaker 1: for Victor Oladipo, which we won't get into it for

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Speaker 1: the Lakers because we've talked enough Lakers. But that was

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Speaker 1: another one the Lakers should have been in on, in

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Speaker 1: my opinion, because Victor Oladipo is an upgrade over the

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Speaker 1: current guard staff that the Lakers have right now. However,

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Speaker 1: that said Miami gets Victor Oladipo, they give up Avery

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Speaker 1: Bradley and uh Kelly owner Kelly Olynnock and I think

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Speaker 1: his second round pick. Yeah, so effectively nothing a guy

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Speaker 1: who Avery Bradley barely played for them at all, and

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Speaker 1: you're giving up a big but they're expecting to get

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Speaker 1: one in the buyout market. They already got the Eliza,

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Speaker 1: so he can fill that Kelly Olynok role at a

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Speaker 1: much smaller price. He costs like five bullion bucks. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and and push comes to shove, he probably won't even play.

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Speaker 1: They'll probably play Little Marcus and Bam and Precious. But anyway,

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Speaker 1: how do you feel surface level about Oladipo, his fit

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Speaker 1: with Miami, so on and so forth. Um, I'm not

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Speaker 1: sure because I don't know exactly what Oladipo has left.

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Speaker 1: I wanted the Warriors to take a chance on him

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Speaker 1: just because their roster is terrible. But if he's eighty,

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Speaker 1: or if he's the guy that we saw in Indie,

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Speaker 1: you know, three or four years a go that took

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Speaker 1: Lebron's Calves to a seven game series, I really like

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Speaker 1: to pick up. You know, they I think they were

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Speaker 1: struggling with lead a ball handling a little bit. Number one,

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Speaker 1: you can't count on drawing. Should be healthy anymore. He's

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Speaker 1: really good when he's healthy still, but he was injured

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs last year. He was injured in the finals.

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Speaker 1: They that's part of the reason why it was so

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Speaker 1: tough for Miami when the Lakers really locked in defensively

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Speaker 1: to generate offense, because they didn't have a second ball

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Speaker 1: handler besides Jimmy. Basically they're relying on Tyler Hero. Hero

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Speaker 1: has has slumped this year. He's looked bad. Um. I

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Speaker 1: think this will help put him more into a role

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Speaker 1: that that suits what his game is currently. I'm talking

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Speaker 1: about Hero Um. If Olidibo can still be kind of

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Speaker 1: that lead slash secondary ball handler who's generating a ton

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Speaker 1: of paid touches and a ton of rim looks for

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Speaker 1: your offense. Um, it will help out Duncan Robinson. And

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Speaker 1: then if he still has that same juice, he's also

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Speaker 1: a really good defensive player. So it's all depending on

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Speaker 1: how healthy he is. And I've watched I started watching,

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Speaker 1: you know, some Rockets games just to kind of get

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Speaker 1: a feel for what he looks like some of the

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Speaker 1: pop is still there, and then sometimes it looks like

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Speaker 1: he doesn't have any thing left, And I'm curious to

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Speaker 1: see if that's more injury related or if that's just

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Speaker 1: I'm really bored. I'm in a terrible situation, and I

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Speaker 1: don't want to try that hard because I don't want

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Speaker 1: to get injured again. So my theory on the Victor

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Speaker 1: Oladipo thing is that he has had some decline from

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Speaker 1: the injury and it's caused some issue more so just

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Speaker 1: with the way the food chain kind of works out

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Speaker 1: with these rosters that he's been on. So for instance,

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Speaker 1: he in Indiana, he gets hurt and all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: Malcolm Brogden is really good and and and Sa Bonus

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Speaker 1: is really good, and so it starts to creep into

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Speaker 1: your head a little bit to where like when you're

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Speaker 1: shooting that pull up three off the pick and roll,

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Speaker 1: you're like, am I actually the guy who should be

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Speaker 1: taking this shot? Because you know so and so has

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Speaker 1: been you know, Brogden has been incredible. You don't have

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Speaker 1: that light anymore, you know, exactly right, That's exactly what

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Speaker 1: I mean. And and then and then you go to

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Speaker 1: Houston and you're on a terrible team and John wall

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Speaker 1: is a black hole in a lot of cases. So

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Speaker 1: I agree with you in the sense that, uh, that

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Speaker 1: there are other factors that play with the way his

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Speaker 1: numbers have looked. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 1: none of this really matters, uh, when you look at

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Speaker 1: the fact that you're not asking him to be lead

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Speaker 1: guard anymore. And Victor Oladipo makes no sense for me

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Speaker 1: as a lead guard. I mean, if you look at

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Speaker 1: the theory that came out that like that the New

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Speaker 1: York Knicks might have been interested in him at one

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Speaker 1: point in time, I'm sitting there looking at that and

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Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm like, I don't want Victor Oladipo to

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Speaker 1: be the best player on my team. However, in in

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Speaker 1: food chain, like he'll experience in Miami or he would

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Speaker 1: have experienced in l A. It's this idea that what

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Speaker 1: you're being asked to do changes. That's why Dennis Shrewder

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Speaker 1: looks great as the third best player in the Lakers.

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Speaker 1: Why he looks, you know, like he isn't worth million

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Speaker 1: dollars anymore now that he's playing without Lebron and na d.

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Speaker 1: The bottom line is is that he's going to kind

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Speaker 1: of slot in into that like second secondary initiator, but

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Speaker 1: like third most important player on that Miami Heat team

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Speaker 1: where uh Jimmy Butler is running most of their actions.

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Speaker 1: He can share that secondary ball handling duty with with

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Speaker 1: Dragic and he's got this awesome pick and roll weapon

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Speaker 1: with bam at a bio and all he doesn't handling,

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Speaker 1: he does some d h O stuff and he'll play

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Speaker 1: some point center like they have a lot of ball

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Speaker 1: handlers now with exactly to to me, it makes a

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Speaker 1: lot of sense for them. And you know, I talked

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Speaker 1: about this a lot in the podcast that I did yesterday,

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Speaker 1: But every team freaks out about the idea of like

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Speaker 1: over paying a star. This idea that like, oh, well,

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Speaker 1: you've gotta pay Victor Oladipo this summer and he's gonna

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Speaker 1: want twenty million dollars, or you're gonna have to pay

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Speaker 1: Dinner Shooter this summer. He's gonna want twenty million dollars.

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Speaker 1: But this is a simple fact that everything needs to

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Speaker 1: become aware of. A player's market value is not what

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Speaker 1: a good team is willing to pay for him. It's

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Speaker 1: what a bad team is willing to pay for him.

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Speaker 1: And guess what. You either pay market value for a player,

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Speaker 1: or you get extremely lucky that a player wants to

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Speaker 1: ring chase, which is rare these days, or the guy's

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Speaker 1: gonna leave, You're gonna You're gonna lose him. So you

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Speaker 1: have the option to either overpay talent or to become

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Speaker 1: a worst basketball team. That's the same predicament that every

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Speaker 1: single contending team is in. You're either gonna pay Dennis

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Speaker 1: Shooter four years eighty million or four years eighty five

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Speaker 1: million this year, or his Shooter is gonna walk and

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are gonna be worse. It's the same problem

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Speaker 1: that the Calves had when they had to resign J. R.

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Speaker 1: Smith and Tristan Thompson. It's the same problem the Lakers

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Speaker 1: had this year when they had to repay contagious call

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00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,359
Speaker 1: well Pope. Every single contending team they win a title

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Speaker 1: and it's like, crap, We've gotta pay all these guys.

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Speaker 1: The Raptors just had to pay a lot for Fred

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Speaker 1: van Fleet and Fred VanVleet is really good, but it's

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Speaker 1: it's hard. It hampers your roster. But you have to

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Speaker 1: think about it. Fred Vanvleet's value, Dennis Shooter's value, Victor

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Speaker 1: Oladipo's value is not what a contending team is willing

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Speaker 1: to pay. It's what a bad team is willing to pay.

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Speaker 1: And that's that's the market. And you need to pay

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Speaker 1: the price to be good or you penny pinch and

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Speaker 1: then you get stuck in mediocrity. Yeah. No, that's a

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Speaker 1: great point. That's a really good point in terms of

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Speaker 1: how the market gets set um. Yeah. And I just think,

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Speaker 1: like I said, I think if Oladipo is close to

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Speaker 1: the guy that we saw near his peak, I think

401
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,400
Speaker 1: it's an awesome move. I he gives them a guy

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Speaker 1: who can guard a Kairie type like guard those lead

403
00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:55,160
Speaker 1: ball handlers and bother them and you know, Kyrie's gonna

404
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,240
Speaker 1: score no matter what, but at least you can bother

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Speaker 1: him now and then they they do already have the

406
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Speaker 1: front line guy is to give you know, Brooklyn, Harden

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Speaker 1: and kd in theories some issues, right, So, but they're

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Speaker 1: gonna be They are a much tougher out than they

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Speaker 1: were an hour ago in the playoffs in my estimation.

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Speaker 1: They just they have a lot more depth in terms

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Speaker 1: of ball handling, and they got better defensively to like

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Speaker 1: Oladipa when he's locked in is an awesome all NBA

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Speaker 1: level defender. So yeah, it's it's an absolute improvement on

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Speaker 1: their roster. I don't think they're necessarily gonna win the

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Speaker 1: East again, um because the conferences obviously changed and Brooklyn

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Speaker 1: looks awesome, Milwaukee's looked better as of late. Um Philly

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Speaker 1: when they're healthy is really good. So I don't know

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Speaker 1: if it changes the It definitely doesn't shift the power

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Speaker 1: in the East, but it makes Miami a lot more

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Speaker 1: serious than they were. They also keep Tyler Hare or

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Speaker 1: excuse me, Duncan Robinson, which was the guy that they

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Speaker 1: had included in the uh the Kyle Lowry trade, So

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Speaker 1: they're undoubtedly better, and and I kudos to the teams

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Speaker 1: that are out there trying to get better because it

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Speaker 1: just it drives it drives me nuts when when teams

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Speaker 1: are stuck in no man's land, which you know, maybe

427
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,840
Speaker 1: Katie is injuredul playoffs, maybe and be gets hurt in

428
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:02,959
Speaker 1: the playoffs, like you just never know. You never know,

429
00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,800
Speaker 1: and that's why you gotta go all in when you can. Exactly.

430
00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,119
Speaker 1: That's the that's the key, is like you're not you.

431
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,159
Speaker 1: Every single inch that you gain in this sort of

432
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,560
Speaker 1: environment is an inch that might put you over the

433
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,560
Speaker 1: top of things break a certain way, and and that's

434
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:18,960
Speaker 1: that's the key. Like Miami, you could say whatever you

435
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,159
Speaker 1: want about them over paying Jimmy Butler or whatever it is,

436
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,640
Speaker 1: it's like they were a d potentially being a little

437
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:26,960
Speaker 1: bit more banged up last year away from winning the title.

438
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,240
Speaker 1: That's literally how close they were. So it's it's something

439
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,879
Speaker 1: to keep in mind. Um So this brings us to

440
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:33,880
Speaker 1: another example of a team pushing chips in the middle.

441
00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:35,399
Speaker 1: There was a lot of talk from Denver that this

442
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:39,480
Speaker 1: idea that uh they were. The reason why they didn't

443
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,720
Speaker 1: pay uh Jeremy Grant was the fact that they were

444
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,000
Speaker 1: concerned that they were gonna have to pay, you know,

445
00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,159
Speaker 1: Michael Porter Jr. To a long term deal. They just

446
00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,480
Speaker 1: signed Jamal Murray. Nicola Yokich is one of the best

447
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,040
Speaker 1: five players in the league. Who's gonna be a super

448
00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:54,800
Speaker 1: Max guy one day. There was this idea that you

449
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,159
Speaker 1: have too much money tied up elsewhere, so there's no

450
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,480
Speaker 1: point in going after Eric Aaron Gordon because that would

451
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,359
Speaker 1: just give you another guy you have to pay. That

452
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,360
Speaker 1: was the concern coming into the trade line trade deadline,

453
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,720
Speaker 1: but they did it. They did it because they understand

454
00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:10,680
Speaker 1: all of those things that we were just talking about.

455
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,160
Speaker 1: And I think we both agree that Aaron Gordon makes

456
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,000
Speaker 1: them way better. But why don't you start by just

457
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,600
Speaker 1: telling us how you see Aaron Gordon improving them? Well,

458
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,960
Speaker 1: I think number one, it's something that kind of gets

459
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,679
Speaker 1: missed with him. He's not one of those super disruptive

460
00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:26,719
Speaker 1: defenders that's gonna get a lot of blocks and steels.

461
00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,240
Speaker 1: Just kind of weird considering his athleticism. But he's really

462
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,040
Speaker 1: good at point of attack, Like he can guard the

463
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,520
Speaker 1: big wings, he can guard you know, reasonably well. The

464
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,040
Speaker 1: lebron Kawai happen, Durant tight Um, that are that you're

465
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:41,040
Speaker 1: gonna see in the biggest playoff series that you come into. Like,

466
00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:42,600
Speaker 1: he can guard those guys, and he's not going to

467
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,119
Speaker 1: be the best at it. Um, Like he struggled against

468
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,359
Speaker 1: Kauai when he was when I was in Toronto a

469
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,760
Speaker 1: couple of years, but that was because Gordon was doing

470
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,760
Speaker 1: way too much playmaking. He's doing way too much ball

471
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,159
Speaker 1: handling in Denver, He's not gonna have to do that.

472
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,360
Speaker 1: They have Yokis, who's obviously who might be the best

473
00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:58,600
Speaker 1: offensive player in the league. Like he's right there. Marie

474
00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,320
Speaker 1: Get does a ton of ball handling and he's looked

475
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,639
Speaker 1: a lot better the last month or show of basketball.

476
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,080
Speaker 1: So Gordon can just finish or concentrate what he's good at.

477
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,000
Speaker 1: He's been shooting spot up threes well this year. He's

478
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,920
Speaker 1: shooting from three, low volume, but he's still making him

479
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,840
Speaker 1: He's an incredible cutter. He's gonna get three, four or

480
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,080
Speaker 1: five dunks a game just cutting off of yokich Is,

481
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,680
Speaker 1: high post actions, driple handoffs to elbow stuff. Um. And yeah,

482
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:21,560
Speaker 1: I just overall, I think it's a really good fit.

483
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,560
Speaker 1: I think he's like, honestly, just a better version of

484
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,000
Speaker 1: Jeremy Grant, like in terms of the way he'll fit there,

485
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,560
Speaker 1: Grants still just was a little bit clunky in some ways,

486
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,240
Speaker 1: even though he was good for them in the playoffs,

487
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,119
Speaker 1: because not a great handler, you can't really rely on

488
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,439
Speaker 1: his shot, and he wasn't a great finisher either. Gordon's

489
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,760
Speaker 1: a really good finisher around the rim, Like, that's an

490
00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,680
Speaker 1: element that he adds that I think people are gonna

491
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,239
Speaker 1: be surprised by is how good he is around the room,

492
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,760
Speaker 1: because he's he's pretty pretty damn good I finishing around

493
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:50,720
Speaker 1: the Rodman playing off Yokich and Mory like he's gonna

494
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,760
Speaker 1: get so many easy looks. It's ridiculous, for sure. I

495
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,600
Speaker 1: think the one thing that I think it's worth pointing

496
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,119
Speaker 1: out is that Jeremy Grant does appear to be very

497
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: good now. But I think I think the thing I

498
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,040
Speaker 1: think with what what happened with Jeremy Grant is he

499
00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:07,560
Speaker 1: signed a deal to become a primary ball ball handler

500
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,600
Speaker 1: in Detroit and UH, and then he went to work. UH.

501
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,320
Speaker 1: He went to work that entire offseason, that short offseason,

502
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,440
Speaker 1: preparing himself for what was going to be a much

503
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,399
Speaker 1: different role than what he had in Denver. And to

504
00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,320
Speaker 1: his credit, I think he got better, but I would

505
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:23,679
Speaker 1: say that I think Aaron Gordon is better than the

506
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,080
Speaker 1: version of Jeremy Grant that existed in Denver in that

507
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,640
Speaker 1: smaller role. Um One of the things that I thought

508
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,119
Speaker 1: was really interesting, particularly in the Lakers series, is Denver

509
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:34,959
Speaker 1: asked to Jeremy Grant to be a little bit more

510
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,080
Speaker 1: aggressive in that series, and Jeremy Grant went after Lebron

511
00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,159
Speaker 1: a few times at the end of shot clock situations

512
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,840
Speaker 1: mainly and had a lot of pretty good scoring opportunities.

513
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,919
Speaker 1: You could see why Aaron Gordon, uh it slots right

514
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,160
Speaker 1: into that same role. And we had concerned coming into

515
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,280
Speaker 1: the season that Denver had missed an opportunity to really

516
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,200
Speaker 1: capitalize on a window because they let Jeremy Grant and

517
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,560
Speaker 1: Tory Craig go and if if it seemed like they

518
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,399
Speaker 1: got worse. And what so interesting about the Aaron Gordon

519
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,760
Speaker 1: addition is it kind of undoes that damage while at

520
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:06,960
Speaker 1: the same time capitalizing in the fact that everyone else

521
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,560
Speaker 1: is better, Like Michael Porter Jr. Better than he was

522
00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,280
Speaker 1: last year, Nikola Vouseovitch better than he was last year,

523
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:14,840
Speaker 1: excuse me, Nikola Yokich better than he was last year.

524
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,840
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you some ship. Now you uh said

525
00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:21,879
Speaker 1: that Jamal Murray's Bubble performance was fake. I think he

526
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,359
Speaker 1: is at least starting to show in the last month

527
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,920
Speaker 1: that maybe it wasn't. More like he's actually shot a

528
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,560
Speaker 1: little bit better and in the last month or two

529
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,480
Speaker 1: than than he did even in the Bubble from every

530
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,240
Speaker 1: single distance. And it appears to be what might be

531
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,960
Speaker 1: a top fifteen ish type of player in the n

532
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,879
Speaker 1: b A if he can be consistent like this. Uh.

533
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 1: He also has kind of a history of starting season slow,

534
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,200
Speaker 1: for whatever that's worth. But the point being is Denver's better,

535
00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,480
Speaker 1: And now you know JaVale McGee is more or less

536
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,680
Speaker 1: what Mason plumbly did for you last year. Maybe a

537
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 1: little bit worse, but who cares. It's a very low

538
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,119
Speaker 1: value position for them, And and overall you just took

539
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,600
Speaker 1: what was a vastly improved roster for the guys that

540
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 1: stayed but that had lost to key Peace, and you

541
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,679
Speaker 1: just replaced that key Peace was something that might actually

542
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,680
Speaker 1: be better. And to me, that makes them super dangerous.

543
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 1: And if I'm the Clippers in particular, because of that

544
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 1: bad matchup with their inability to guard Yokich, I'd be

545
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:21,160
Speaker 1: freaking out because that's gonna be just an extremely difficult

546
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,080
Speaker 1: team to beat now. And this goes back to what

547
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,159
Speaker 1: we were talking about the beginning, like there are just

548
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 1: so many incredibly good teams this year, and at Denver

549
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,679
Speaker 1: there was a slip and now all of a sudden,

550
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:32,919
Speaker 1: there's not And now it looks like they're every bit

551
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,560
Speaker 1: as good as anybody else. And by the way, what

552
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,920
Speaker 1: a great opportunity for Nicola Yokis to make a move

553
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 1: on the MVP award. Absolutely, And I mean I think

554
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 1: with all their troubles earlier in the season, they're still

555
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 1: their fifth in the standings right now, So I mean,

556
00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,000
Speaker 1: they had all those troubles, they started terribly and Yokich

557
00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:51,199
Speaker 1: has been so amazing that he's lifted them to a

558
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 1: t eighteen record. Now the roster has improved, um, and

559
00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,840
Speaker 1: I think they're still going to have some struggles on

560
00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,920
Speaker 1: the wing defensively, like they're gonna be relying on Gore

561
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,000
Speaker 1: to do a lot on that end. Um. I don't

562
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,760
Speaker 1: think that should get lost because they did move Gary

563
00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,240
Speaker 1: Harrison this deal, so all their problems aren't fixed by

564
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,680
Speaker 1: any means, But I think they are one step closer

565
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,200
Speaker 1: with as young as their best players are in Yo kitchen,

566
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,879
Speaker 1: Murray to like truly becoming a contender within the next

567
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:16,720
Speaker 1: two to three years, which is all you're you're trying

568
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,639
Speaker 1: to do. With as young as those guys are, you know,

569
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,080
Speaker 1: they're in their early early to mid twenties. You're not

570
00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:23,840
Speaker 1: necessarily trying to win a championship right now, because guys

571
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: in their early twenties basically don't win championships if they're

572
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 1: the best players on your team. But they're moving towards that,

573
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:32,440
Speaker 1: and Gordon fits the timeline, so they Denver was smart

574
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:34,080
Speaker 1: enough to say, hey, we might have messed up the

575
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 1: Jeremy Grant thing, let's rectify it as soon as possible,

576
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:38,560
Speaker 1: and that Aaron Gordon trade was a great way to

577
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,879
Speaker 1: do it. And there there for the record, I I

578
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:43,920
Speaker 1: do think they can win the title this year, So

579
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,320
Speaker 1: that I would disagree with you there in the sense that,

580
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,800
Speaker 1: like I I understand what you're saying in terms of

581
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:51,200
Speaker 1: the goal in the timeline, but like if you were to,

582
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,440
Speaker 1: like coming into the season, if you were to order

583
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,239
Speaker 1: all the contenders, you would put the Lakers on their

584
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,359
Speaker 1: own tier number one, and then you would add this

585
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,040
Speaker 1: second tier that would have been like Philly in Brooklyn,

586
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,680
Speaker 1: and you might have had the Clippers on there, you

587
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 1: might add a handful of other teams, even Denver. But

588
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 1: then once the season started playing, all of a sudden,

589
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,400
Speaker 1: that shifted. All of a sudden, Brooklyn kind of went

590
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:13,440
Speaker 1: up to the same tier as the Lakers, and then

591
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,439
Speaker 1: Phoenix and Utah jumped into that second tier and Denver

592
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,399
Speaker 1: like fell out of that second tier and appeared to

593
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,240
Speaker 1: be like a third tier contender. This very firmly puts

594
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,800
Speaker 1: them back on that second tier of contenders, which is

595
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,720
Speaker 1: quite frankly, all you're looking at there is Kevin Durant

596
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,280
Speaker 1: being out potentially or which he's literally hasn't been able

597
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,040
Speaker 1: to stay on the basketball court for the last two years,

598
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,920
Speaker 1: and then Anthony Davis and Lebron who both have uh

599
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,600
Speaker 1: Anthony Anthony Davis has an achilles issue which is about

600
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,960
Speaker 1: as scary as it gets, and Lebron has suffered a

601
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:42,439
Speaker 1: contact injury, which is something he hasn't suffered in his

602
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,879
Speaker 1: career and his actual like physical trauma on ligaments and

603
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,680
Speaker 1: can actually be a problem long term. So it's it's

604
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:54,879
Speaker 1: it's absolutely and especially the reverse sprain that high ankle sprain,

605
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,560
Speaker 1: and so that that uh, being in that second tier

606
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:00,680
Speaker 1: of contenders is where you want to be in my opinion,

607
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,880
Speaker 1: because if if, rather than the third, because that's where

608
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,400
Speaker 1: like a couple of things break your way, suddenly you're

609
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:10,880
Speaker 1: holding the trophy. Yeah, and Sham just reported that it's

610
00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:13,840
Speaker 1: at least four more weeks for Lebron. Basically, it's he

611
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: just reported four to six weeks from the time of

612
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,240
Speaker 1: the injury. So I'm assuming basically at least four more

613
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,919
Speaker 1: weeks of Lebron's out and if he's five more at

614
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:23,119
Speaker 1: three to five yeah, yeah, but I would assume it's

615
00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:24,639
Speaker 1: somewhere in the middle of that timeline that would just

616
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:27,440
Speaker 1: be my guests. Maybe not. But so he's not back

617
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,720
Speaker 1: till mid April, and now they only have maybe a

618
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:31,480
Speaker 1: month of games left for him to kind of get

619
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 1: back into shape. Same with a d if he even

620
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,560
Speaker 1: comes back during the regular season. Yeah, things are just

621
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,280
Speaker 1: a lot more dicey, and Denver is now in a

622
00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: position to where they can capitalize much like a two

623
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:43,720
Speaker 1: fifteen more situation where During goes down in the West

624
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:45,840
Speaker 1: and then they get some injury. Look at the East

625
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,360
Speaker 1: two with the Caps, right now you're in a position

626
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,320
Speaker 1: to where you're a little bit younger in a title.

627
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,160
Speaker 1: Maybe your core is, but injuries broke the right way

628
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,880
Speaker 1: and now you can win one. I think it's worth mentioning,

629
00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 1: like uh, with the high ankle sprain thing. It reminds

630
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,120
Speaker 1: me of what happened with Clay Thompson in the two

631
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,960
Speaker 1: thousand eighteen finals, where it's a little bit more of

632
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,680
Speaker 1: a pain tolerance issue than like a re injury issue,

633
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 1: because like the type of movement that requires that sort

634
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,440
Speaker 1: of re injury is extremely rare in basketball. That's why

635
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,480
Speaker 1: the high ankle sprain is rare in basketball, Whereas like

636
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,160
Speaker 1: a traditional ankle sprain, there's weakness moving laterally and it

637
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,240
Speaker 1: can re injure extremely easily. So I think the big,

638
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,600
Speaker 1: one of the big determining factors for him coming back

639
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,920
Speaker 1: is just gonna be pain tolerance, and that I think

640
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:33,560
Speaker 1: will in a large part come down to how the

641
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,360
Speaker 1: stainings shake out. Like if the bottom really falls out

642
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 1: of this thing and it looks really bad, I could

643
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 1: see him potentially trying to force his way back earlier,

644
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,320
Speaker 1: which again was another reason why I thought it made

645
00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:48,640
Speaker 1: so much sense to try to get Lowry but I digree. So, uh,

646
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:53,400
Speaker 1: let's talk about George Hill to Philly. So obviously it

647
00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,920
Speaker 1: appears appears what happened here is uh. There was a

648
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:00,240
Speaker 1: question as to whether or not h Philly was willing

649
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 1: to really get into this bidding war with the Lakers

650
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 1: and the Raptors. And my guess is that Darryl Moray

651
00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 1: did a much better job of picking up on what

652
00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,520
Speaker 1: Massi Eugerry's thought process was during this time, and he

653
00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,480
Speaker 1: got a better read on the situation and got out

654
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 1: while he getting was good credit to him, because the

655
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 1: Lakers and he kind of got dragged along and it

656
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,120
Speaker 1: appeared clear that they did not read Massi Eugerry very well.

657
00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:27,960
Speaker 1: But I actually like George Hill to Philly, So I'll

658
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 1: go first on this one. The thing with George Hill,

659
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: you know, my personal experience with him as someone rooting

660
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,800
Speaker 1: for him was when he was with the Calves, and uh,

661
00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 1: the thing was when he was there, he had he

662
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,400
Speaker 1: had back spasms and was in and out of the lineup.

663
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: He actually missed playoff games, uh, and and was largely

664
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 1: a shell of himself when he was there. That said,

665
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,080
Speaker 1: the because he had some success in Milwaukee is just

666
00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:51,959
Speaker 1: a really He does a lot of things really well,

667
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:53,720
Speaker 1: which we'll get to in a second, But the truth

668
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,240
Speaker 1: of the matter is health is a legitimate problem with it.

669
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,200
Speaker 1: He's more or less than banged up NonStop since he

670
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:01,800
Speaker 1: left Indiana. That's just kind of the m O with

671
00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,000
Speaker 1: George Hill, which is crazy because he's such a chiseled

672
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:08,640
Speaker 1: like freak natural athlete. But what George Hill does amazingly

673
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,720
Speaker 1: well is he's an incredible spot up shooter. If he's

674
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,120
Speaker 1: wide open, he's as good at knocking down wide up

675
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:16,400
Speaker 1: and shots as anybody in the league. And then two

676
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,240
Speaker 1: he is he's capable of making really basic plays as

677
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,760
Speaker 1: a point guard out of pick and roll uh and

678
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,440
Speaker 1: out of close up, close out opportunities. He's not a

679
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,200
Speaker 1: guy that's going to consistently dissect you and hurt you

680
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,120
Speaker 1: and and and do things like really high level things

681
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:32,960
Speaker 1: that you would want from a point guard. But he

682
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,800
Speaker 1: can run basic actions, which makes him great for second units.

683
00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:40,160
Speaker 1: It's an interesting wrinkle to run have him run actions

684
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,560
Speaker 1: with Joel Embiad while Ben Simmons is off the floor.

685
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,200
Speaker 1: Things along those lines. He's a definitive upgrade over the

686
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,920
Speaker 1: backcourt that was playing for Philly with guys like Tyrese Maxie.

687
00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,520
Speaker 1: It's in Shake Milton. So it's a definitive upgrade. And

688
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:56,800
Speaker 1: it's a classic example of a team that's like, hey,

689
00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 1: we're really good. We might win this thing, but let's

690
00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,040
Speaker 1: get better. And I have respect for them in that regard. Yeah, absolutely,

691
00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,360
Speaker 1: I agree with everything you said. I just I don't

692
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: know how much he'll moves the needle at this point

693
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:09,959
Speaker 1: in his career. Like he's a really nice player. He has,

694
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,120
Speaker 1: he's had a great career, but he'll be thirty five

695
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,080
Speaker 1: at the time the playoffs roll around. He is an

696
00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,840
Speaker 1: amazing spot up shooter, but his it seems like it

697
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,240
Speaker 1: keeps getting harder for him to get those shots off

698
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,240
Speaker 1: in spot up situation, Like he's just getting older. You know,

699
00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 1: it's just harder to get looks off when you get older.

700
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:29,640
Speaker 1: Um So, I mean, I think he's a nice player.

701
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,480
Speaker 1: He's he obviously is better at this point than Tyrese Maxie,

702
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,840
Speaker 1: who I really like in Shake Melton as well. Um So,

703
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:37,080
Speaker 1: he's gonna help them just in terms of like bolstering

704
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,200
Speaker 1: the rotation a little bit, and you know, some injury

705
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:42,120
Speaker 1: prevention stuff. Seth Carey has been injured a ton this year, UM,

706
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,640
Speaker 1: so that it gives them some insurance UM in that part.

707
00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,120
Speaker 1: But I don't know if he plays over any of

708
00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:49,440
Speaker 1: their top five guys right now in in down the

709
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: stretch UM, and then give up much for him obviously,

710
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,560
Speaker 1: So it's a good move. I don't hate it, but

711
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:56,760
Speaker 1: I just don't. I don't think it moves the needle

712
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:58,640
Speaker 1: that much. Like, is it really helping you eat Brooklyn?

713
00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,400
Speaker 1: Isn't really helping you be even Milwaukee? Maybe? Is it?

714
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,320
Speaker 1: Is it really helping you beat Um? The new Heat team?

715
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,320
Speaker 1: It's all a depots, super healthy and ninety percent of

716
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 1: what he once was. And I don't think it is.

717
00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,760
Speaker 1: It's still it's still gonna require and B to be

718
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:13,840
Speaker 1: better than he's ever been. And it's going to require

719
00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,360
Speaker 1: um an incredible playoffs from Simmons who's been very, very

720
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,000
Speaker 1: up and down in the playoffs at this point of

721
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,080
Speaker 1: his career. Who did they give up for George Hild

722
00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:22,520
Speaker 1: Do you remember off the top of your heads? No,

723
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,479
Speaker 1: I'll pull it up, UM, But yeah, I just I

724
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:28,640
Speaker 1: like I said, he's a fine player. I I really

725
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 1: do like him. I would have liked for the Warriors

726
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:32,160
Speaker 1: to get up because it would be a rotational upgrade.

727
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 1: But I don't. I just don't think he's swinging a

728
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,480
Speaker 1: championship for anybody, you know, Like, even if if the

729
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:38,840
Speaker 1: Lakers were got him, I don't think it swings anything

730
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 1: in their favor or not in their favor. He's just

731
00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,360
Speaker 1: not on that level anymore. I I agree with you.

732
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,560
Speaker 1: I think they gave up Tony Bradley, Terrice Terrence Ferguson

733
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:48,640
Speaker 1: in two first round picks, so two guys they basically

734
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:52,480
Speaker 1: weren't playing. Uh So it isn't it is an upgrade.

735
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,080
Speaker 1: It's a marginal upgrade on the on the fringe, didn't

736
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,520
Speaker 1: cost him anything. To me, that was a kind of

737
00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,280
Speaker 1: a no brainer move for them. It was a move

738
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:00,960
Speaker 1: that wouldn't have made sense for a team like the

739
00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:02,960
Speaker 1: Lakers because of the salaries that they've had to have

740
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 1: included to match and and they the thing is is

741
00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:07,800
Speaker 1: like it's all about a need. Like the reason why

742
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,680
Speaker 1: I like Skyle Lowry for the Lakers is, uh, you know,

743
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,520
Speaker 1: what Dennis Shooter does to the Lakers is so important.

744
00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:15,480
Speaker 1: We saw that when a d was out and then

745
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,480
Speaker 1: Dennis Shrewter went down, and then the Lakers couldn't win

746
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,040
Speaker 1: because they had nobody that can dribble with their head

747
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 1: up and uh. And the truth is is that adding

748
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,160
Speaker 1: a guy like George Hill is only a marginal to

749
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,120
Speaker 1: below average playmaker, isn't as big of a deal in

750
00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,319
Speaker 1: that specific role to the Lakers that he would be

751
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,040
Speaker 1: for a different team. And you know, they're mainly looking

752
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:38,000
Speaker 1: for a guy that can be almost like a defensive

753
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,560
Speaker 1: lead guard that can do some little ball handling, but

754
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:42,400
Speaker 1: for the most part as an off ball player like

755
00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,840
Speaker 1: he was in Milwaukee. And and uh and and so

756
00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:48,400
Speaker 1: I think it makes a lot more more sense for Philly.

757
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:50,799
Speaker 1: And they still they still strike me as the only

758
00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,759
Speaker 1: team out East that is capable of beating Brooklyn because

759
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,440
Speaker 1: of how much pressure they can put on the rim.

760
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,200
Speaker 1: I agree, I agree, And I think Brooklyn is probably

761
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,440
Speaker 1: gonna bolster their front court on the buyout market. I

762
00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:04,360
Speaker 1: would assume they're going to go after either Drummond or

763
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,319
Speaker 1: all Dridge, even though it sounds like all Dred going

764
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:11,279
Speaker 1: to Miami. Um. But yeah, I mean, I still have

765
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,279
Speaker 1: Silly winning the East tentatively. But I don't think the

766
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,560
Speaker 1: Hill move shifts anything. Is my point, Like, if people

767
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:22,160
Speaker 1: thought that, you know, they were going to be Brookelyn.

768
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,040
Speaker 1: I don't think people think that they're gonna beat Brooklyn

769
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:25,799
Speaker 1: now because they got George Hill. It's just it's not

770
00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:27,759
Speaker 1: a needle moving thing. It just it helps him, but

771
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,719
Speaker 1: it's not this incredible move. So Adrian or Znowski just

772
00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,040
Speaker 1: treated and tweeted. In making trade offers for Kyle Lowry,

773
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,520
Speaker 1: teams had to take into consideration whether he would turn

774
00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 1: out to be a rental for the season or if

775
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:42,560
Speaker 1: they would be able to meet his contract expectations to

776
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,680
Speaker 1: stay in free agency. That impacted how far some teams

777
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:47,600
Speaker 1: were willing to go on him. I suppose we can

778
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,440
Speaker 1: try to parlay that and to cover for the Lakers

779
00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:52,960
Speaker 1: not putting in th h D because there might have

780
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:54,720
Speaker 1: been some intel that he wanted to go to Miami.

781
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:56,719
Speaker 1: Everything was saying that he was gonna end up in

782
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 1: Miami as a free agent, and then he Sham's report

783
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,000
Speaker 1: it earlier today that he wanted to be in Miami.

784
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:04,960
Speaker 1: Uh if if he had the choice between the toy

785
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:10,040
Speaker 1: between the trade offers, so that kind of at some clarification. Uh.

786
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:13,560
Speaker 1: But just like with the Kahila Leonard situation, when the

787
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:17,640
Speaker 1: Raptors trade form, I don't think you can necessarily weigh

788
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:21,840
Speaker 1: a player's future for what the moment might bring. And

789
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,280
Speaker 1: I don't think there's a single Raptors fan in America

790
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:28,719
Speaker 1: or Canada who would who would who would turn down

791
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: that business arrangement that they had with Kauai. Yeah, definitely not.

792
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,120
Speaker 1: Um Alright, so let's talk. We're gonna talk one last

793
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:37,959
Speaker 1: trade and then we're gonna talk about one last non

794
00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:39,960
Speaker 1: trade and then we'll get you guys out of here.

795
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:44,799
Speaker 1: Um So, nick voussovitch to Chicago. What were your initial impressions?

796
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:48,520
Speaker 1: I think, I mean for Wendell Carter Jr. I think,

797
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,600
Speaker 1: and it was Otto porter Wendell Carter Jr. In two

798
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,759
Speaker 1: first round picks, So really not that much going off

799
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:56,799
Speaker 1: the door for a guy who's been incredible this year

800
00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 1: and four on like would be eight two shooting. He's

801
00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,200
Speaker 1: one of the most official efficient offensive players in the league.

802
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,040
Speaker 1: And now you're pairing that with Zach Lavine right, who

803
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:08,680
Speaker 1: has also been one of the most efficient scorers in

804
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:11,480
Speaker 1: the league, so offensively, they are going to be a nightmare.

805
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:13,920
Speaker 1: I wish, just from a bull standpoint, I wish they

806
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 1: could have like maybe worked a trade for a Lonzo

807
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,880
Speaker 1: because now you have some some really really fun lineups

808
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,120
Speaker 1: that probably aren't contenders in the East, but you're building

809
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:23,320
Speaker 1: something around some guys who were young. Booch is a

810
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:25,600
Speaker 1: little bit older than Levine obviously, I want to say

811
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,279
Speaker 1: he's twenty nine, so he's on a little bit later

812
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:30,200
Speaker 1: of a timeline. But he also seems like a guy

813
00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:32,160
Speaker 1: whose skill set is gonna age very very well because

814
00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:34,560
Speaker 1: he's not dependent on any type of quickness. Really, he's

815
00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:37,880
Speaker 1: he's strength and he's skilled. Um, he's an awesome player.

816
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,359
Speaker 1: He obviously makes them much better. The Bulls go from

817
00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:42,160
Speaker 1: maybe a team that could fall out of the playoff

818
00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:44,520
Speaker 1: race to definitely being a playoff team in the East.

819
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:48,200
Speaker 1: And I think it's just the Bulls are signaling, hey,

820
00:37:48,239 --> 00:37:50,880
Speaker 1: we number one, we really like Zach Lavine UM and

821
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,560
Speaker 1: number two, if we can do things to improve this team,

822
00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,000
Speaker 1: we're gonna do him. And that hasn't been um a

823
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,000
Speaker 1: trade of the regimes in the past, Like guar Packs

824
00:37:58,080 --> 00:37:59,840
Speaker 1: was one of the worst front office in the league.

825
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:02,759
Speaker 1: Um they brought in I can't pronounce the guy's name

826
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,920
Speaker 1: our tourists, I don't. I cannot pronounce the last name.

827
00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:07,719
Speaker 1: The guy who was Denver's assistant GM is now their

828
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,799
Speaker 1: gm um, and he's done some really nice things, like

829
00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:13,200
Speaker 1: and I think they're probably they're probably gonna pay you know,

830
00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:16,600
Speaker 1: whatever Levin's extension is. I'm coming up soon. And yeah,

831
00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,640
Speaker 1: I just I think they're signaling that we're trying to

832
00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:22,600
Speaker 1: build something here. UM in Chicago can be a destination,

833
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:24,399
Speaker 1: like it's it's one of the bigger markets in the league.

834
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:26,839
Speaker 1: So if they get good, UM, I think it will

835
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,000
Speaker 1: become a free agent destination too. Yeah. I think like

836
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,160
Speaker 1: the cornerstone for this entire piece is how good Zach

837
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:36,319
Speaker 1: Levine has been. Um. To me, he's like this era,

838
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:40,760
Speaker 1: this generations Bradley Beal And Uh, that's gonna sound crazy

839
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,400
Speaker 1: because there are only a few years apart. But what

840
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,719
Speaker 1: I mean by that is like the guy who's been

841
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:49,560
Speaker 1: on a bad team who like suddenly is like showing

842
00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:52,719
Speaker 1: these scoring flashes that you see from the very best

843
00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 1: players in the league. And it's a it's an actual

844
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 1: translatable thing, Bradley Beale. It's a little bit more skill based,

845
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,000
Speaker 1: it's a little bit more just incredible Paul uh and

846
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:04,200
Speaker 1: was Zach Levine. It's more of this like freak athleticism

847
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 1: mixed with incredible shooting touch. But there's a you can you.

848
00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,520
Speaker 1: I mean, zach Levine has some bona fide weaknesses. He's

849
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:16,480
Speaker 1: legitimately a bad defensive player. However, as an offensive player,

850
00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:18,759
Speaker 1: he's every bit as good as a lot of the

851
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,840
Speaker 1: best players in the league. And and it's crazy because

852
00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:26,240
Speaker 1: it's uh. He was probably one of the more uh

853
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,160
Speaker 1: like like one of the more like despised players by

854
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,920
Speaker 1: the maligned is probably the better word, like disliked players

855
00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:37,880
Speaker 1: around the league in re especially by the analytics community.

856
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:39,560
Speaker 1: And oh yeah, a lot of those guys have like

857
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,160
Speaker 1: done a one eighty on it because he's scoring so

858
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:45,280
Speaker 1: officially he's shooting from the field and from three, scoring

859
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,520
Speaker 1: twenty eight points game. That's insane. That's like rarefied air.

860
00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 1: Nobody does that. So look at now, now what you're

861
00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:56,520
Speaker 1: working with is uh, let's call him a fifteen to

862
00:39:56,640 --> 00:40:00,000
Speaker 1: twenty top twenty player in the NBA and zach Lavine

863
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,280
Speaker 1: and now you're adding a twenty to twenty five type

864
00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:07,600
Speaker 1: of player. And in Nikolavusevich, who who who has been

865
00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:09,799
Speaker 1: playing for really bad teams for a long time. So

866
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:11,680
Speaker 1: there's something to be said about putting him next to

867
00:40:11,719 --> 00:40:14,800
Speaker 1: a really, really talented player. Um I'm with you. I

868
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,480
Speaker 1: don't think they're any sort of real legitimate threat. Uh,

869
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:21,759
Speaker 1: certainly not yet. However, there's something to build on there now.

870
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 1: All you need is for some of these young guys

871
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:25,719
Speaker 1: like Kobe White and Lorie Marketing to pan out, and

872
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,040
Speaker 1: if they do, you could be in a in a really,

873
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:31,600
Speaker 1: really good spot. But I I I'm they've they've they've

874
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:35,799
Speaker 1: become an infinitely more interesting UH League past team to watch.

875
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,240
Speaker 1: That's for sure, way more interesting, and like I said,

876
00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:41,120
Speaker 1: in a big market like that. They're They're obviously not

877
00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:43,280
Speaker 1: as big as you know, the Lakers or the Knicks

878
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,759
Speaker 1: or even the Worries in terms of market, but they

879
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:47,480
Speaker 1: are one of the bigger markets in the league. You

880
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,319
Speaker 1: do become a bigger free agent destination when when that

881
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:53,520
Speaker 1: time comes right, like, more guys will consider playing with them,

882
00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:55,360
Speaker 1: because Hey, it's at the very least, we're gonna be

883
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,359
Speaker 1: on a fun ross. We're gonna be competitive, we're gonna

884
00:40:57,400 --> 00:40:59,200
Speaker 1: win some games, and if things break right, we can

885
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,800
Speaker 1: make some noise in the play us. Yeah, and it's

886
00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:06,000
Speaker 1: it's at least again a team that's trying on a

887
00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:08,959
Speaker 1: team that's uh. I think again, I think this team

888
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,920
Speaker 1: was teetering on on a rebuild. Uh and zach zach

889
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,360
Speaker 1: Levine's ridiculous improvement. Clearly he took advantage of the pandemic.

890
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:20,799
Speaker 1: Zach Levine's ridiculous improvement completely tilted them back on the

891
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:22,680
Speaker 1: other end of that timeline. And I think, I think

892
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:25,560
Speaker 1: that's cool to see, and it's exciting for Chicago fans.

893
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:28,480
Speaker 1: And again, now you're in that zone where you've got

894
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,880
Speaker 1: your two guys, you just need to make some a

895
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,960
Speaker 1: couple of key successful moves on the periphery and then

896
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:36,640
Speaker 1: you can be in good shape. I'm a little bit

897
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:39,160
Speaker 1: surprised they didn't move market in because him and Bukovitch

898
00:41:39,239 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 1: are pretty redundant. Like I thought they would have moved

899
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:43,279
Speaker 1: him for at least some type of defensive pieces or

900
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:46,000
Speaker 1: at least contracts that aren't going to expire, um, you know,

901
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,560
Speaker 1: just to fill the salaries so they can make future

902
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:51,520
Speaker 1: moves um. But yeah, I mean there's something to build

903
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:53,680
Speaker 1: on there, And I think that's that's a great takeaway

904
00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:55,920
Speaker 1: from the trade DeLine, especially when, like you're saying, coming

905
00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:57,880
Speaker 1: to this season almost looked like they should be rebuilding

906
00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:00,879
Speaker 1: for sure. And and for here's what I'll say about marketing,

907
00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:02,640
Speaker 1: And I've watched him for a really long time because

908
00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:05,200
Speaker 1: he came through the University of Arizona, and as a result,

909
00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:07,000
Speaker 1: I've watched a lot of him when he was in Chicago.

910
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:10,319
Speaker 1: The dude has been hurt all the time, which is

911
00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:12,839
Speaker 1: good and bad. It's bad because it means he's shown

912
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:15,560
Speaker 1: a propensity to be susceptible to injuries. But it's also

913
00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:16,960
Speaker 1: good in the sense that there's a little bit of

914
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:20,799
Speaker 1: unknown surrounding it. We don't really know necessarily how good

915
00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:25,560
Speaker 1: he is, and and you know, there's an impression around

916
00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,880
Speaker 1: the league that he's not very valuable, and that may

917
00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:29,719
Speaker 1: have been the main reason why they didn't trade him.

918
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,080
Speaker 1: And so if you're Chicago, you just look at it like,

919
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:35,359
Speaker 1: you know, you know, maybe this dude really does suck,

920
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:37,520
Speaker 1: in which case, you know, we know that in house,

921
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:39,480
Speaker 1: and we can trade him for even if it's just

922
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,200
Speaker 1: something small this summer or maybe just in the long

923
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,200
Speaker 1: In the long run, he finally gets healthy and he

924
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:47,560
Speaker 1: pans into something and then you can move him at

925
00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:50,440
Speaker 1: that point. But I mean, with with how crappy his

926
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:52,640
Speaker 1: first few years in the league have gone, there was

927
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:54,440
Speaker 1: no scenario where they were just going to get a

928
00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:57,160
Speaker 1: bunch of a great value for him. No, definitely not.

929
00:42:57,239 --> 00:42:58,960
Speaker 1: And he I mean to be clear, he does have

930
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:00,680
Speaker 1: some skill. It's just and like you said, it's just

931
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:02,360
Speaker 1: been very up and down. A lot of injuries and

932
00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:04,239
Speaker 1: just a lot of roster change, a lot of just

933
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:07,880
Speaker 1: turnover and turmoil in Chicago. Alright, guys, the last thing

934
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:12,960
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about today is Alonzo ball not getting traded. Um.

935
00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 1: And this one's interesting in the sense because it's it

936
00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:19,719
Speaker 1: kind of falls into the same conversation that we keep

937
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:24,319
Speaker 1: having today surrounding what people are willing to pay for

938
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:27,400
Speaker 1: a player that's a fringe star to a mid level player,

939
00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,560
Speaker 1: and and and part of the problem here is just

940
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:31,520
Speaker 1: kind of like the lack of a middle class in

941
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:35,880
Speaker 1: the NBA's payment structure. It seems like every dude is

942
00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,680
Speaker 1: It's like it seems like you have like half the

943
00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:41,880
Speaker 1: league playing on minimum deals, and then you've got like

944
00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:45,319
Speaker 1: a quarter of the league playing on like mid level exceptions,

945
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,000
Speaker 1: and then another half of the league's I'll make it,

946
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:50,120
Speaker 1: or another quarter at the remaining quarter of the league,

947
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:52,760
Speaker 1: I'll making twenty million plus. And so that's what sucks

948
00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:54,640
Speaker 1: because then like a guy, like a Lonzo comes up,

949
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:57,719
Speaker 1: who you know, is a legitimately good basketball player, Like

950
00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:00,239
Speaker 1: the kid can defend, and now he's made himself into

951
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:02,960
Speaker 1: a really good shooter, and he is a really good

952
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,120
Speaker 1: maybe an extension, an exaggeration, but he's a above average

953
00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:09,880
Speaker 1: shooter as of late. And he has legitimate skill offensively

954
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:11,759
Speaker 1: as like kind of an off ball guard who can

955
00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:14,160
Speaker 1: push the ball in transition, make the right play, run, run,

956
00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:16,279
Speaker 1: pick and roll, all that good stuff. So he has

957
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:19,239
Speaker 1: he's a too, but he he has like secondary playmaking chops,

958
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,560
Speaker 1: especially in transition exactly. And so the interesting thing there

959
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:25,480
Speaker 1: is is you know, what number is that worth? But

960
00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:27,960
Speaker 1: again you have to look at it from the standpoint

961
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,160
Speaker 1: of like a player's worth is what a bad team

962
00:44:31,239 --> 00:44:33,239
Speaker 1: is willing to pay them. And I guarantee you some

963
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:36,200
Speaker 1: bad teams gonna play pylons of fifteen million a year

964
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:40,520
Speaker 1: or something like that. You know, So, uh, I hope

965
00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,960
Speaker 1: you're muted, can you hear me? Yeah? Now again, Okay,

966
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,160
Speaker 1: I think it'll be closer to yeah, and maybe maybe

967
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,279
Speaker 1: it's twenty. But the point is is, like, if you're

968
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:51,960
Speaker 1: New Orleans, you're not getting some big time free agent

969
00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:54,279
Speaker 1: you got you kind of have to approach this with

970
00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:57,759
Speaker 1: the opposite method as some of these UH coastal powerhouses

971
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:01,000
Speaker 1: and you and and to me, it's like you you

972
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,640
Speaker 1: can let a Lonzo walk uh and maybe some of

973
00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:05,520
Speaker 1: your draft picks pay a pan out and you know,

974
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:08,600
Speaker 1: maybe it's especially when you consider the timeline, Like my

975
00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:10,400
Speaker 1: guess is that with Zion and b I, you're not

976
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,800
Speaker 1: going to be contending for three or four more years anyway,

977
00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:15,480
Speaker 1: So why not toss a Lonzo at three or four

978
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:17,399
Speaker 1: more year deal and then if he doesn't fit into

979
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:20,280
Speaker 1: the timeline when b I and Zion are in their primes,

980
00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:22,840
Speaker 1: then you can kind of change your mind at that point. Yeah,

981
00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:25,239
Speaker 1: And I think he'll always have a trade value even

982
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:27,040
Speaker 1: if he's at twenty million a year. I think he

983
00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:29,160
Speaker 1: does enough things well and he's gonna keep getting better.

984
00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:31,040
Speaker 1: It's not like the guy's gonna become a worst basketball

985
00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:33,520
Speaker 1: player unless he just has a weird development track. He's

986
00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:35,719
Speaker 1: gonna keep getting better even at twenty million a year.

987
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,400
Speaker 1: I think he's a pretty valuable player, Like I really do,

988
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,600
Speaker 1: Especially as the I would assume the cap starts to

989
00:45:41,719 --> 00:45:43,400
Speaker 1: continue to go up a little bit, it might get

990
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:45,480
Speaker 1: kind of funky because of what Covid has done to

991
00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:48,640
Speaker 1: the league, um, just in terms of revenue. But I

992
00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:50,920
Speaker 1: think at twenty million dollars a year, as long as

993
00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:52,840
Speaker 1: there's not some crazy overpay where he's at like twenty

994
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,320
Speaker 1: five or thirty, he's gonna be a good contractor and

995
00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,680
Speaker 1: maybe not great, but it will be a solid contract

996
00:45:57,680 --> 00:45:59,440
Speaker 1: for what he can do, especially because it can defend.

997
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:02,759
Speaker 1: Like he's three in D, but he also has playmaking,

998
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,960
Speaker 1: and those guys are super valuable because that's what makes

999
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:06,640
Speaker 1: them rare. There's a ton of three and D guys

1000
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:08,239
Speaker 1: in the league, but there aren't a lot of guys

1001
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:10,960
Speaker 1: who can also like create against the clothes out or

1002
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:13,480
Speaker 1: bring it in transition and really be a good passer

1003
00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:15,920
Speaker 1: and find teammates and create opportunities for teammates. He can

1004
00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:18,520
Speaker 1: do all that stuff. So at twenty million a year,

1005
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:20,640
Speaker 1: I think he's a great value. And I think even

1006
00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:22,759
Speaker 1: if I think New Orleans would be stupid not to

1007
00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:26,839
Speaker 1: match basically any offer a twenty million or under, yep. Agree,

1008
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:28,960
Speaker 1: and and quite frankly, he's a He's a perfect fit

1009
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:32,680
Speaker 1: with brandon ingraman Zion. It just in terms of what

1010
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:35,799
Speaker 1: you'd be willing to uh, what you're asking him to

1011
00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:38,359
Speaker 1: do and what a skill set is. He's not ever

1012
00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:41,279
Speaker 1: going to be asked to do something that that that

1013
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:44,040
Speaker 1: doesn't fit his skill set. And to me that that

1014
00:46:44,080 --> 00:46:47,120
Speaker 1: makes him a natural fit and a guy that makes

1015
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:49,359
Speaker 1: a ton of sense. And he's one of those guys.

1016
00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:51,799
Speaker 1: He's one of those guys for like any of the

1017
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:53,960
Speaker 1: top ten teams in the league. Where isn't he a

1018
00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:56,480
Speaker 1: perfect fit? You know, like, what what top ten team

1019
00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:57,799
Speaker 1: in the league would you put him on? You're like, oh,

1020
00:46:57,800 --> 00:46:59,959
Speaker 1: that doesn't really work. Like I'm not saying he brings

1021
00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,759
Speaker 1: a title, but he makes your team better with all

1022
00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:04,080
Speaker 1: the things that he does. He does things that are

1023
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:07,080
Speaker 1: really really valuable, and that type of stuff isn't going anywhere.

1024
00:47:07,080 --> 00:47:08,960
Speaker 1: The defense, in the passing that will never go anywhere.

1025
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:11,800
Speaker 1: Maybe the shot is a little bit inconsistent, but it's

1026
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,719
Speaker 1: been at thirty from three for like the last two

1027
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,160
Speaker 1: seasons basically, so it's probably not going to be much

1028
00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:19,520
Speaker 1: worse than that for the rest of his career. And

1029
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:23,360
Speaker 1: one last thing on on the Pelicans, Like I there's

1030
00:47:23,400 --> 00:47:26,080
Speaker 1: been some talk about whether or not, uh, you know,

1031
00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:28,640
Speaker 1: it makes sense to keep Zion and brandon Ingram together.

1032
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:33,560
Speaker 1: I am I'm a huge believer in those two together. Uh.

1033
00:47:33,719 --> 00:47:36,400
Speaker 1: To me, it's that like, this is two completely different players.

1034
00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,880
Speaker 1: So I don't want to be uh you know, uh

1035
00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:41,600
Speaker 1: make a complete equivalency, but it'd be like it's kind

1036
00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:44,560
Speaker 1: of like a Lebron type archetype and a Zion type

1037
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:46,920
Speaker 1: or excuse me, into a Kope type archetype. You have

1038
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,960
Speaker 1: this brandon Ingram who's really really really good in the

1039
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:54,400
Speaker 1: margins as like a as like a fine tuned score,

1040
00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:57,680
Speaker 1: and then you've got the bowl in the China shop. Uh.

1041
00:47:57,680 --> 00:47:59,520
Speaker 1: And because there are times when the bull in the

1042
00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:02,120
Speaker 1: China Shop doesn't work, and there are times when this

1043
00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:05,400
Speaker 1: elite fine tune score doesn't work. And so I do

1044
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:08,640
Speaker 1: think there is a universe where it works. I just

1045
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:10,960
Speaker 1: think that David Griffin has to do a better job

1046
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,720
Speaker 1: of of of putting guys around them. The Steven Adams

1047
00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:17,200
Speaker 1: trade was one of the most nonsensical trades that I've

1048
00:48:17,239 --> 00:48:19,359
Speaker 1: seen in recent years. And then they extended the guy

1049
00:48:19,520 --> 00:48:21,640
Speaker 1: for way too much money. The trade was mine. It

1050
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:24,120
Speaker 1: was the extension. Adding the extension on top, like if

1051
00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:25,360
Speaker 1: you want to trade him to bring him in to

1052
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:27,239
Speaker 1: be in minutes eater. So science not always playing the

1053
00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:30,000
Speaker 1: five and then you extend him at six seven eight

1054
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,520
Speaker 1: million a year. Fine, that makes sense, but they gave

1055
00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:35,640
Speaker 1: him what seventeen or eighteen million a year? It was

1056
00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:37,920
Speaker 1: like two years, like seventeen and a half million a year.

1057
00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:39,600
Speaker 1: That's where it made no sense. And then you gotta

1058
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:41,399
Speaker 1: get rid of Bledsoe too. Like they just they need

1059
00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:44,160
Speaker 1: shooting around those two. You that's the name of the game. Now,

1060
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:45,799
Speaker 1: you need to put you in around your superstars. If

1061
00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:48,439
Speaker 1: they can do that, then yeah, that's gonna be a

1062
00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:51,920
Speaker 1: pretty damn good duo moving forward. Because they're both already

1063
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:53,960
Speaker 1: really good. They just got to improve in the margins

1064
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:56,200
Speaker 1: of their game, Like they both have to become better defenders.

1065
00:48:56,239 --> 00:48:58,480
Speaker 1: They have to become more consistent. Well Zigon is already

1066
00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:01,920
Speaker 1: pretty freaking consistent. But um yeah, like they're in a

1067
00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:03,719
Speaker 1: good spot as long as they don't mess things up

1068
00:49:03,719 --> 00:49:06,040
Speaker 1: too much. Yeah, David Griffin is gonna figure his crap out.

1069
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:09,400
Speaker 1: They're they're pretty much a surefire bet in my opinion,

1070
00:49:09,440 --> 00:49:13,319
Speaker 1: to be a top both of them to be top

1071
00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:18,400
Speaker 1: fifteen players within the next two years. Maybe Brandon Ingram

1072
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:21,520
Speaker 1: has add some real defensive slippage since he went to

1073
00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:23,919
Speaker 1: since he went to New Orleans, but I have seen

1074
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:26,640
Speaker 1: him under Luke Walton be an extremely good defensive player,

1075
00:49:26,719 --> 00:49:29,359
Speaker 1: like a flat out dominant defensive player. That kid has

1076
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:32,720
Speaker 1: it in there. I think he shelved that to find

1077
00:49:32,719 --> 00:49:35,080
Speaker 1: tune his offensive game. And for the record, he has

1078
00:49:35,080 --> 00:49:37,759
Speaker 1: fine tuned his offensive game. The kid is unbelievable as

1079
00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:42,880
Speaker 1: an offensive player. So there's this clear cut archetype of

1080
00:49:43,040 --> 00:49:45,359
Speaker 1: you know, Paul George type of player that he's gonna be,

1081
00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:49,120
Speaker 1: uh in the slightly different in the sense that Brandon

1082
00:49:49,239 --> 00:49:51,680
Speaker 1: Ingram is more midrange oriented and and Paul George is

1083
00:49:51,719 --> 00:49:53,839
Speaker 1: more of like a high volume three point shooter. But

1084
00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:56,600
Speaker 1: I just mean that in terms of like a big

1085
00:49:56,640 --> 00:50:00,160
Speaker 1: wing who is a is an elite defensive player and

1086
00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:03,239
Speaker 1: is a twenty six seven point a game guy over

1087
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:07,279
Speaker 1: affective field goal percentage. That's that's the kind of guy

1088
00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,160
Speaker 1: that he is, and that's a you know, if that's

1089
00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:11,600
Speaker 1: a bona fide piece. And then Zion Williamson is on

1090
00:50:11,640 --> 00:50:14,320
Speaker 1: the fast track to being like this generation is Blake Griffin,

1091
00:50:14,320 --> 00:50:16,880
Speaker 1: a guy that in the seasons where he's health he

1092
00:50:16,920 --> 00:50:19,440
Speaker 1: could very easily be a fourth fifth best player in

1093
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:22,600
Speaker 1: the league. So there you have the talent, it's just

1094
00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:25,960
Speaker 1: about figuring out the pieces around it. They did be

1095
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,840
Speaker 1: an amazing team for a Miles Turner type of player,

1096
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:31,120
Speaker 1: uh to play in the front. I don't know why

1097
00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:33,440
Speaker 1: if that, if they can do anything to make that happen,

1098
00:50:33,440 --> 00:50:35,800
Speaker 1: any to do it immediately like that's it's such a

1099
00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:38,239
Speaker 1: nice fit around their core. Even though his three point

1100
00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:41,000
Speaker 1: shooting is almost more theoretical at this point, but he

1101
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:43,520
Speaker 1: does have just some natural kind of like spacing gravity

1102
00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:48,000
Speaker 1: because it does team teams think it looks good. Yeah,

1103
00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:50,120
Speaker 1: a lot of the times. That's what matters, because whether

1104
00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:53,560
Speaker 1: he's shooting thirty two or thirty five maybe matters a

1105
00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:55,880
Speaker 1: little bit. He's gonna need to make some big ones eventually,

1106
00:50:56,200 --> 00:50:58,520
Speaker 1: but it more matters our teams paying attention to him,

1107
00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:00,440
Speaker 1: and teams absolutely pay attention to him on the perimeter.

1108
00:51:00,560 --> 00:51:02,439
Speaker 1: And then to go on top of that, he's a

1109
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:04,960
Speaker 1: defensive Player of the Year level player, Like he's that

1110
00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:07,799
Speaker 1: good on the defense defensive end, So if as long

1111
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:10,680
Speaker 1: as they're not absolutely giving away everything, they should make

1112
00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:13,480
Speaker 1: that move happen. Well, it's the Rondo effect. It's this

1113
00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:16,640
Speaker 1: idea that like you know, Rondo shooting thirty seven percent

1114
00:51:16,719 --> 00:51:18,560
Speaker 1: from three this year. It's like, yeah, but they're still

1115
00:51:18,719 --> 00:51:21,600
Speaker 1: not guarding him and he's not aggressive enough with the

1116
00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:24,600
Speaker 1: shot to where it can make these defenses pay that

1117
00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:27,799
Speaker 1: that that is the the the key difference. It's it's

1118
00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:32,440
Speaker 1: the like you said, theoretical shooting versus actual shooting. There's

1119
00:51:32,440 --> 00:51:34,920
Speaker 1: a there's a huge difference between the two. And and

1120
00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:38,200
Speaker 1: theoretical shooting is enough to generate spacing and and and

1121
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:41,520
Speaker 1: it's like the Marcusol effect, Like Marcusol hasn't shot the

1122
00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:44,520
Speaker 1: ball that amazingly well since he left Toronto. He's had

1123
00:51:44,560 --> 00:51:46,359
Speaker 1: a little bit of a good stretch before he went out.

1124
00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:48,960
Speaker 1: But the truth of the matter is like team's guard Marcusol,

1125
00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:51,640
Speaker 1: and it dramatically impacts the Laker spacing and makes things

1126
00:51:51,640 --> 00:51:54,320
Speaker 1: seem more open. Well, it's different for centers, right, because

1127
00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:58,520
Speaker 1: centers typically they're playing defensively in the paint. So it's

1128
00:51:58,640 --> 00:52:00,640
Speaker 1: it's the inverse of the guard. Uards can kind of

1129
00:52:00,640 --> 00:52:02,600
Speaker 1: stag off and not really close out on guards were

1130
00:52:02,680 --> 00:52:05,439
Speaker 1: bad shooters. Centers, they don't really know how to guard

1131
00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:07,440
Speaker 1: a guy who's constantly standing on the perimeter. It just

1132
00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:09,520
Speaker 1: throws them off. And now if they're just a step

1133
00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:12,040
Speaker 1: or two closer. It's giving your zions and your brandon

1134
00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:13,560
Speaker 1: ingram just more space to work and get to the

1135
00:52:13,600 --> 00:52:16,160
Speaker 1: rim or get to their mid range. M No, exactly,

1136
00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:17,920
Speaker 1: all right, man, did you have anything else you wanted

1137
00:52:17,920 --> 00:52:21,440
Speaker 1: to add? No, that's about it. Um. Yeah, interesting trade deadline.

1138
00:52:21,480 --> 00:52:23,560
Speaker 1: I I didn't like I said, I don't know if

1139
00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:27,440
Speaker 1: there's any like true true title shifting moves Denver. I

1140
00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:29,239
Speaker 1: thought Denver did a great job, like I said, like,

1141
00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:31,520
Speaker 1: Eric Gordon's a great pickup. And then Victor I think

1142
00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:33,520
Speaker 1: is a great pickup for the Heat. As long as

1143
00:52:33,680 --> 00:52:36,120
Speaker 1: he's you know, relatively healthy. He's not going to be

1144
00:52:36,280 --> 00:52:38,080
Speaker 1: what he was his p He's not that guy, but

1145
00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:41,200
Speaker 1: he's if he's at it's a great pickup. Um. But

1146
00:52:41,280 --> 00:52:43,319
Speaker 1: you know, Denver now has a chance to win a

1147
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:45,600
Speaker 1: title if teams keep getting injured in the playoffs, and

1148
00:52:45,600 --> 00:52:47,799
Speaker 1: injuries have been an issue this season because it was

1149
00:52:47,840 --> 00:52:50,960
Speaker 1: a shortened off season. Yeah, Aaron Gordon to Denver to

1150
00:52:50,960 --> 00:52:54,000
Speaker 1: me is easily the most impactful trade. Um, the one

1151
00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:57,400
Speaker 1: that could have potentially swung the result here is you

1152
00:52:57,400 --> 00:53:01,080
Speaker 1: know the eye I am like this close to picking

1153
00:53:01,080 --> 00:53:04,600
Speaker 1: Brooklyn to win the title. And uh, because they looks

1154
00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:07,560
Speaker 1: so good, and uh, I just can't keep lying in

1155
00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:10,400
Speaker 1: the face of incontrovertible evidence. They're better defensive. They're a

1156
00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:12,160
Speaker 1: better defensive team, and we thought they were going to

1157
00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:16,200
Speaker 1: be Uh. Steve Kerr finally got uh, Steve Nash finally

1158
00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:18,160
Speaker 1: got them to start competing on that end. And a

1159
00:53:18,160 --> 00:53:20,000
Speaker 1: lot of that credit goes to Kyrie and James Harden

1160
00:53:20,040 --> 00:53:23,960
Speaker 1: by the way, Uh, they're playing harder on defense than

1161
00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:26,600
Speaker 1: they then you would have expected. Uh. And then they

1162
00:53:26,640 --> 00:53:30,000
Speaker 1: just have That's the route we laid out. We said,

1163
00:53:30,080 --> 00:53:32,560
Speaker 1: if they compete defensively, they can absolutely win the title.

1164
00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:35,719
Speaker 1: And they are. And so I'm not quite there yet,

1165
00:53:35,760 --> 00:53:39,320
Speaker 1: but I'm very very close. Uh. And so that Kyle

1166
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:42,160
Speaker 1: Lowry to the Lakers theoretical deal would have been one

1167
00:53:42,280 --> 00:53:44,359
Speaker 1: that I think would have swung me back to being

1168
00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:49,040
Speaker 1: more convincingly on the Laker bandwagon. But yeah, super interesting.

1169
00:53:49,080 --> 00:53:52,120
Speaker 1: And then hopefully by this time next week we'll have

1170
00:53:52,120 --> 00:53:54,880
Speaker 1: a couple of buyout deals that we can talk about

1171
00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:57,440
Speaker 1: that might transform things a little bit. But everybody, thank

1172
00:53:57,480 --> 00:53:59,160
Speaker 1: you so much for tuning in. I appreciate you, guys.

1173
00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:01,279
Speaker 1: I'm gonna work on the download version of this for

1174
00:54:01,320 --> 00:54:04,680
Speaker 1: the podcast in the next ten fifteen minutes. But as always,

1175
00:54:04,680 --> 00:54:06,359
Speaker 1: thank you guys for your support. I will be going

1176
00:54:06,440 --> 00:54:09,720
Speaker 1: live with RAJ tomorrow morning at eight o'clock Pacific Standard time. Tommy,

1177
00:54:09,760 --> 00:54:11,200
Speaker 1: I hope you have a good rest for your weekend. Man.

1178
00:54:11,640 --> 00:54:13,400
Speaker 1: Thanks man YouTube later see ye