WEBVTT - Covid Show 2: The Pandemic Proceeds 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:19.239 Come home on this episode of the Heat Check. Guess what, 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:24.080 another COVID episode. Just when, just when I thought maybe 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:28.040 my obligatory COVID episode was done for the year. Since 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:31.640 that dropped literally a week ago, shit has hit the 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:36.520 fan even more. Goddamn Omarion. With that being said, Brock 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:50.680 dropped that motherfucking beat. So we did the COVID show 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:56.320 last week and then guess what, shit fucking got worse? Yeah, 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.880 how bad has it gotten in the last week. We 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:06.800 are currently approaching one hundred NBA players currently in health 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:10.959 and safety protocols, the vast majority of them having caught 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:14.640 the omar On variants. Here's where I have to remind 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.360 you to go to math school. There is only four 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.959 hundred and fifty active NBA players at any given time 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:26.680 in the league. That's fucking a quarter of the league 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:31.000 that's currently quarantining. Like right now, a quarter of the 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:36.720 NBA is in health and safety protocols and Adam Silver 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:38.760 and the NBA are in full crisis mode. Now of 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:40.920 course they're like, what do we do? Like these guys 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:44.720 can't even field full rosters, Like it's just the YMCA 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.120 after a Saturday night, Like and you get there on 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:52.440 Sunday morning, and like it's just you and three people. 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.560 That's currently where we're at. Like as of the recording 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:59.880 of this show, they've now canceled seven games or postpone 0:01:59.920 --> 0:02:03.600 that I guess. And although Adam Silver has made it 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:08.280 clear that I paused to the season is not going 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:14.239 to happen, even though he's keeping his eye on the NHL, 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:18.240 which has paused the season, I don't know what that means. 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:20.880 It means he is not sure what to do, like 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:24.000 I said, and and that's a lie, Like I think 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:28.240 he might have to put it on pause. Not sure 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:32.680 because maybe, just maybe he should have thought of that 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:37.160 before he created an entire eighty two game season and 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.760 not said, Okay, for first half, he's gonna be schedule 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.920 and then we'll evaluate after that's Nope, Nope, that's what 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.799 they did last year. Seven two games. Half the season 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:49.960 was planned out in advance, and they said, we'll see 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:53.080 where we're at. We'll make adjustments. Given that the entire 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:56.120 Wizard's roster has had COVID for two straight weeks, like 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.760 we're gonna need to backload some of these games, give 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:01.400 him some and then we'll figure out when the playoffs 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:05.120 really start. We've got buffers in in place. Concerts are 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:12.560 gonna have to wait. No, they said, unless something extraordinary happens, 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:16.919 things are good. And now they have had some extraordinary 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:21.640 circumstances happen and extraordinary rules implemented. Just to keep playing. 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.440 The nets played and won with only eight players on 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:29.160 the roster. The other night, teams are struggling. Teams are 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.960 struggling just to put out players we know, struggling to 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.480 put out players that can actually be in shape to 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:38.360 play full minutes and to make sure they have enough 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:41.800 warm bodies on the floor. The NBA has passed a 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:46.680 new extraordinary rule allowing expanded rosters. This is what shams 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.280 or shams tweeted out. Whatever shams or shamps unless sure 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:56.000 scham so that's rude, that's rude. I like shams. He's great. 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.840 The NBA will allow teams to sign one replacement player 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.480 for each player who's under contract and test positive for 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:06.560 COVID nineteen. Remember one hundred of them are in cell 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:08.560 health and safety portal calls right now. That's a lot 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:14.840 of dudes that they can replace, effective immediately through January nineteenth. 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.840 What happens after januinely, what happens on January twentieth, I 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.960 guarantee it's like they extend that. The nice part though 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:24.039 for teams is that in every new signed player under 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:28.000 the COVID nineteen hardship rule, it's not even a hardship though, 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:32.360 get boosted fam and then maybe you can play some hoops. 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:36.239 Does not count towards the salary cap or the luxury 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:39.560 tax threshold. So cheap ass teams can sign these ten 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.240 day guys and they don't get taxed for it, and 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.920 they don't need to like doesn't add to their situation 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:49.240 with the cap. Also, they revolt the ten day contract 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.440 rules that stated that a player could only play so 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:53.919 many games before you have to convert him to a 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.760 full contract, So guys can literally just be ten days 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.240 through the end of the season. Probably you're gonna find 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:05.960 some former G League player who's on like seven or 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:09.279 eight different ten day contracts like between now and the 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:11.920 end of the season, which is tremendous. What does all 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:15.080 of that mean, First and foremost, I think it means 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:19.279 that the league goes on even in the face of 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:24.320 mounting pressure to cancel games during and do to the pandemic, 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.839 and those games that have been postponed have been really 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:32.679 not because they care about health or safety, but because 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.680 they couldn't find enough plumbers in enough time to field 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:40.839 eight guys. Like if Toronto had the ability to pull 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:42.400 up their g leigue guys and bring them to the 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.920 roster by tonight, they wouldn't have postponed the games. If 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:52.440 it was like just Kembirch and Scottie Barnes and Greg 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.719 Monroe and some guys from the Washington go Gos and 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:57.840 they could get up to Toronto in time and pass 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.400 all tests and blah blah blah blah blah, they'd be playing. 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:04.800 They do not. They're not postponing them because there's just 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:09.240 covid is in the air. It's Mady holadays, covid is 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:11.719 all up in the No, it's not because of that. 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.839 It's because they literally don't have enough physical human beings 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:18.440 that they can play the game with care. The quality 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:23.440 of humans. It literally can be mister Plumber from Quebec 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:27.160 on the Toronto Raptors. They do not care ten day 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:32.120 contract for mister plumber. First and foremost, and second secondly, 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:34.560 teams are gonna have to be flexible. We're gonna have 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:37.800 to be flexible, moving forward. Even the NBA Christmas slate 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:41.760 is now up in the air. We'll say it's two 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:46.239 days way. The Knicks game apparently may be upended by COVID. 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.120 They're saying that, Okay, we're gonna give you twenty four 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:52.839 hours notice at the very latest. You might hear whether 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:57.120 you're playing or not by Christmas Eve in the evenings 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:00.000 in the eves. This is like now when Jason Kidd 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:03.720 had his team running practice on Christmas Eve and they 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:07.880 didn't get to go home, like you were the random 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.720 Memphis Grizzly team. You guys are, have the most complete 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.680 roster of full NBA caliber guys. I know that you're 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:18.120 not slated to play on the Christmas slate. Guess what 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:21.320 you are now. I know you had some thoughts and 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:25.200 prayers out to you and your family. Happy Holidays, like 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:28.360 you're playing on Christmas Day. Like we don't care. They 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:32.120 do not give a fuck back to backs. Now they're saying, 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:34.160 are going to make up for the growing number of 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.400 makeup dates that will fill the back end of the schedule. 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:40.160 And we all hate this, especially gamblers. We don't even 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:44.040 know who's gonna play until game time. NBA is not 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.720 even giving the right designations for the injuries, which we've 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:49.640 talked about, and now the NBA is going to have 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:53.480 to find teams that are not giving designations until all 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:58.160 the way up until because listen, also, television rights contracts 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.920 depend on mark he stars. So if it's like Steph 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.480 Curry's got COVID or Steph Curry's got a sprain ankle, 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:08.680 and you don't even say until no, Steph Curry at tip, 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:13.000 it's like, all right, fifty thousand dollars five for you. Third, 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.560 Although the NBA has figured out how to continue playing, 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:20.480 I think the main issue, which is the million dollar question. 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:27.320 The billion dollar question is fans. Will fans be an arenas, 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:32.640 Will they be playing in front of fans or not. 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.280 There's growing concern that having fans in the midst of 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:40.640 the omarian surge will have catastrophic effects. We talked about 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:45.640 this last week, Right, Okay, nobody's really doing the whole 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:48.720 like this is a highly contagious virus thing. They're not 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.040 really taking that into account. So you don't test a 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:54.719 fully vaccinated player. He's walking around with COVID, he's a symptomatic, 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:58.640 he's in a stadium with a fan, The fans wearing 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:01.040 a mask. The fan also, so it was maybe vaccinate, 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:05.160 maybe not. They go home to grandmama, Grandmama gets sick, 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:09.160 Grandmama dies. Now you've got COVID tracing. And now you 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.400 find out you've got a player who had COVID who 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:15.520 you didn't tell anyone had COVID because they don't announce that, 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.480 like you're not testing them. Finds out he's got COVID. 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.720 You got death. Now you've got disorder. Now you've got 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:26.720 big time legal issues. Right, you can't have a roster 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.040 full of guys who may have COVID and are asymptomatic 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:31.640 playing in games with fans like you just that they 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:35.400 could be the most spreadable variant to date, and this 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:38.160 could end up being in a crowd of two twenty 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:42.440 thousand people, fifteen thousand people in there like a super 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:46.360 spreader event. Remember where was it? Someplace in the South 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:51.280 where they had an election like a campaign event, and 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:52.880 they had like a big rally and it was like 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:56.719 a super spreader event for COVID. Then, like what imagine 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:58.680 one of those fans, like I said, going home and 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:02.320 getting someone sick like this is a fuel for a nightmare. 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:05.800 One writer noted at the nation. I don't even know 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.079 this place, but this is the that's the that's it. 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:11.440 That's the place. The NBA has decided that someone will 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.000 be taking the court, even if a team has to 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:17.000 play a fifth string guard pulled off the streets. It's 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:20.240 not discussing limiting seating in arenas or retreating back to 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.640 the bubble. It has decided that the television money and 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:26.720 the gate receipts are worth not only a probable increase 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.920 spread of the contagion across our population, but also the 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:33.560 possible devaluing of the product. All of that to say, 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:38.600 fuck you fans, fuck your grandmother, and fuck this product 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.079 that you think is keeping you distracted in the middle 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.400 of a two and a half year long virus that's 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:47.800 making you go out of your fucking mind. In fact, 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.080 one of the few things that Adam Silver said, and 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:53.320 he is absolutely unwavering in, is that there is not 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:56.800 going to be a bubble. Nope. Because they talked with 0:10:56.920 --> 0:11:01.040 the MVPA Player Association. No nobody wants to go back 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.760 to the bubble. Even though nobody got COVID inside the 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.760 bubble and nobody died as a result, no fans got 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:10.600 sick and Fourthly, you know, we're not sure, and we 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:14.800 will have no idea who's good and who's bad as 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:17.360 a team until like late in the season because we've 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:23.199 got plumbers and like electricians coming in and playing basketball, 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:25.560 and like we don't even know who these full rosters 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.480 are or what they look like. And at no team 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.120 and no time in history has roster construction been so 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.520 incredibly fluid. Like teams that can stay healthiest to me 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.600 are the teams that are going to be rolling the season. 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.600 Teams like Phoenix. Phoenix is seventy five degrees all the time, 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.520 like except for the summer, Like it's beautiful there right now. 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:47.080 You wonder why nobody's had COVID on Phoenix. Like you 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:49.960 never hear about anybody in health and safety protocols. It's 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:54.160 like everything's at outdoor event all things like you've got 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.920 you know, Chicago and Cleveland where it's tiny little spaces 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:00.440 and it's cold as fuck, and you're like, the whole 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:02.960 team has COVID except for Lonzo Ball. Like Lonzo Ball 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:05.520 is massed up, double triple massed up, and he goes 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:07.480 home and he plays video games and he's like, yeah, 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:11.640 I'm not I'm not gonna do anything, and like that's 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:15.160 that's it. Like it's gonna become a point where your 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.720 scouting report is, like what does this guy do on weekends? 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.280 Does he do anything? Is he a partier? Like I 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:24.600 like Paolo Bancaro, but like does he have a penchant 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:26.040 to go to the clubs? Like because I don't want 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:27.280 a guy like that on my team because he could 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.000 end up having COVID. Like that's where we are right now, 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.480 Like we don't have a bubble because guys like Lou 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.800 Williams will go to fucking Magic City, come back, get 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:39.760 some wings, and then spread COVID everywhere get fined. So 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:44.320 to recap, you've got a league, the NHL, which uses 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:47.200 helmets and masks and is barely like in close contact 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.480 because they're on skates, has like very little close contacts 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:53.760 and like they're pausing the season. And then you've got 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:57.880 another league that is like basically people who are naked, 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:01.280 just shorts and a tank top and they're breathing and 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:05.040 sweating and spitting and bleeding all over one another. And 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:09.720 they're like, yeah, Isaiah Stewart was bleeding all over his 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:14.160 face and body, and I'm just that's just what they're doing. 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:16.480 I'm not going to say which league is right in 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:20.120 which league is wrong because I have an NBA podcast, 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:25.400 so I don't have an NHL podcast, or maybe I've 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:27.640 had have some different things to say about what the 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.080 NBA is doing, truthfully, but goddamn it, it does not 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.280 seem like this. Like you know when you see something 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.280 and you're watching it and you can't exactly put your 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:39.960 finger on why, but you're like, this doesn't seem like 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:44.240 a great idea. You know, I'm not gonna speculate how 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.600 this is gonna turn out poorly, but it just doesn't 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.320 feel like this is gonna be a smooth exit. And 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:53.880 that's what I think is happening. Right, You've got like, yeah, 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:55.760 I mean, it's just that it doesn't seem like a 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:59.680 recipe for success here. And Adam Silver said on ESPN 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:03.080 just the other day, NBA players are ninety seven percent 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.200 vaccinated and only sixty five percent boosted. To me, that 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:10.080 seems like the most likely first step. Maybe get that 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:13.920 number up to ninety seven percent if you're testing players 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:18.760 outside of the parking lot of the When NBA players 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:20.920 come in, they're getting tested, which they are right as 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:22.680 soon as they get out of the cars. It's maybe 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.760 time to say in addition to this test, we got 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.240 them on Durna Booster, what do you think hey, just 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:30.440 like offer it to them. Hey, I know you're uh, 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:32.200 you're going in practice, but what do you think about 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:33.640 I'm Jerner Booster, what do you think about a Jane 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:35.680 j Like? Can I offer you this? And maybe you'll 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.320 get some guys saying yes, that's the bare minimum. They 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:41.400 have it everywhere, so why not do it? And then 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:45.200 who's playing on Christmas? I have no idea. I don't know. 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.440 It might be a team. We don't even know the 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.240 names yet. You had Austin Rivers on a live stream 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:53.080 being like, I don't know how to scout for guys. 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.240 I've never seen these human beings before. These guys that 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.320 I'm playing against, I don't know what they do. I 0:14:58.360 --> 0:14:59.960 don't even know if these left handed are right handed? 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:03.520 Who is he? I don't know. I don't even know 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:07.040 if he came from the G League overseas? Who else? 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:10.360 We might have games, and we do have games like 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.720 we might not recognize half these players and why The 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:17.800 question is why is the NBA doing it this way? 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:21.280 Because fuck them? That's why like that's basically what they're 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:24.160 saying to us. We want our money. We want it now. 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:28.400 We're ABC, We're ESPN, We're Disney, and Mickey Mouse is 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:30.920 having a hard time making money these days, and Mickey 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.080 Mouse needs something to go. Oh boy, you know, and 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.720 the machine must continue to go. There's too many millions 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:40.400 at steak and in order to get those ESPN ads 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.800 in front of you on Christmas Day, the show wants 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:44.120 a hold. 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:46.360 Up, wait a minute, All good, Just the week ago 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.200 crew at my house and we party every weekend. So 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.200 on the radio. That's my favorite song. Make me bounce 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.120 around like I don't know, like I won't be here 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.960 long now. The thriller's gone, got no patience, I mean. 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:01.240 Is covid stuff. It's not all bad, not all just 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:05.880 dark clouds and game because at least Marque's Chris gets 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:12.480 another shot at the NBA. I was lost wondering what 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.600 he was doing. I've been thinking staying up nights being 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:19.400 like I wonder where Marquise Chris is right now. He 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.760 is just one of my favorite irrelevant players and now 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.200 he's back, he is here. I needed my Marque's Chris fix. 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.080 Like take the words of Celtics coach Ema Udoka. This 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:35.240 is the best time in history to be a G 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:37.920 League guy, or a free agent player, or a forty 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:40.760 year old trying dying to get back in the league. 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:45.600 Lance Stevenson is on a roster, folks. Yes, if you've 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:47.880 been struggling overseas to get on a roster, you've been 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:53.280 in Israel like, or you're toiling for the Iowa Energy 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.400 for a few years, or fuck it like, say you're old, 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.400 you don't want to play around in the G League 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:00.200 to try to get back in. Maybe been on the 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:04.480 Big Three hanging out? Now is your time. The Winter 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:08.040 Showcase just took place in Vegas and there were guys 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.639 who have never been on a G League roster ever 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.760 in history. They showed up, played one G League game 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:17.400 in front of real NBA executives who are evaluating them, 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:21.199 were signed as soon as the game was over. This 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.000 is not an exaggeration. As soon as the game, sweat 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.159 on your face, towel over your neck, Hey, do you 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.119 want to come play for the Houston Rockets? Well, actually 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.240 not the Houston Rockets because they're actually getting rid of guys. 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:34.720 But you know what I'm saying, point stands So with 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.000 those new rules that we just talked about, there's an 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:40.679 absolute bonanza of signings. Players who haven't played in years 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:43.720 now getting run because of this expanded roster rule. Guys 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:47.400 like Isaiah Thomas are in the starting lineup, got signed 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.240 one day next day in the starting lineup for the 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.800 Los Angeles Lakers. What are we talking about right now? 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:59.879 This is a reality that is not a joke. It 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.080 sounds like a joke, but it's not a joke. Slow 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.600 grind turned into a fast fucking cry for Isiah Thomas. 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:12.400 Boom kidding me? Mike Marquise Chris has not played since 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:15.439 the twenty nineteen season. Back up and down, guys like 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:22.080 Admiral Schofield back, Langston Galloway back, Alphonso McKinney, Emmanuel Moodier, 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:27.520 Wnyon Gabriel, Portland legend, Theo Pinson, Justin Jackson, North Carolina 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:31.159 legend back in the league, Lance blow him a kiss. 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:35.080 Stevenson back in the league. CJ. Miles, fifteen year veteran, 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:38.159 has not played since twenty nineteen, three years ago. Back. 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:40.920 There are a ton of players also now that you've 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.840 never heard of on NBA rosters. Second, never in your 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:48.080 life heard these words edtered out of my mouth. We're 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:56.640 gonna go there, Quindary Weatherspoon, Joe, Mario Jones, Trevlyn, Queen Hasani, 0:18:56.960 --> 0:19:00.800 Gravit names I don't even know if I'm pronouncing them correctly. 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:05.600 Even get this. It's Christmas time. Charlie Brown is on 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:10.160 our roster. Charlie Brown. These guys are in the NBA, 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.520 and they're gonna get minutes. These guys you've never heard 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:17.000 of their names, getting minutes no matter what happens, no 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.359 matter how long this lasts for, they can say for 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:23.119 the end of time they were in an NBA player, I 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.520 played in the NBA. I did I played this game. 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:28.320 They probably gonna queue it up on their Infinity app. 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.760 Is gonna be saved, save this thing extended out another 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:34.280 hour in case we go to overtime. Every minute of 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.920 this action is now going to be recorded in history. 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:40.480 They're gonna even get baseball cards, basketball cards, excuse me, NFTs. 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:43.520 Probably they're gonna be on top shot. You imagine like 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:48.280 G League Scrubs top shot that's gotta get sold. Who knows, 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:50.479 Maybe there'll be a game where Charlie Brown gets seventeen 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:53.320 to eight and eight and he gets sign of a 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:56.000 big contract like these are. This is the American dream 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.440 happening right here. This is the unintended consequence of COVID. 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:03.720 COVID just making dreams come true. Truthfully, when would Charlie 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:06.880 Brown have ever gotten a look by any real NBA executive? 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:12.120 He there are real scouts putting their eyeballs on film 0:20:12.680 --> 0:20:18.720 and evaluating Charlie Brown. Think about that, like they've watched 0:20:19.000 --> 0:20:21.840 tape of him and like, oh yeah, he's like got 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:26.119 a decent crosser. They would never even look at him. Never. 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:31.560 The NBA is impossible to break into unless you've gotten 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.640 a huge break and it's kind of a racket because 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:38.919 they'd rather recycle these like dudes like Jared Dudley or 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:43.879 you know, you've got like DeAndre Jordan, who's trash. They 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:46.480 got one of the worst plus minuses in NBA history, 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:48.639 just keeps ending up on rosters just because of what 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:51.600 he did in twenty twelve, And like guys like Charlie Brown, 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:56.400 you never know, never know. My favorite signing though, by far, 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:01.320 Iso Joe is back. Yes, he is forty year old 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:05.160 Joe Johnson who has been just killing in the Big 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:10.560 Three since leaving the league in twenty seventeen was just 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:14.320 signed by the Celtics. Dude is still bucket, I guess. 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.600 But come on, you're gonna play on Christmas Day. You 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:25.680 got Joe Iso Joe playing on Christmas Day, folks. And 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:29.040 let me just say this. His nickname I went through 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:33.480 because you know, the insane person just he has a nickname, 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:42.600 maybe the greatest NBA nickname I've ever heard. The Armadillo Cowboy. Yeah, yeah, 0:21:42.920 --> 0:21:46.440 Armadillo Cowboy coming in. That's the lead we're gonna get into. 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.119 Why what a tremendous story about how you got that nickname. 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:52.199 But and all that reminds me of this is like, 0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:59.640 you got the Armadillo Iso Joe Cowboy playing on Christmas Day, 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:03.720 and you have a seven footer who can shoot three 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:06.840 and handle the rock out of Illinois by the name 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:12.480 of Meyers Leonard and he is not even sniffing a job. 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:16.000 Think about that, folks. You've got a guy who was 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:19.280 paid ten million a year just a year ago playing 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:23.240 on the Miami Heat who now no one will even 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:26.879 look he is a leper in the NBA. What that 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:30.199 says to me is that there are owners with a 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:34.200 certain line they allow things to slide. Probably like domestic 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:37.600 violence and other things they do not and the red 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:41.280 line for them for a seven footer with a three 0:22:41.320 --> 0:22:45.080 pointer getting run with the Toronto Raptors. Instead of him 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:49.480 getting run, he's selling his million dollar mansion and pushing 0:22:49.720 --> 0:22:52.920 his energy company that he co founded with his wife. 0:22:52.920 --> 0:22:56.040 And the question is why, because the hard line is 0:22:56.080 --> 0:22:58.879 a word. I'm not even gonna say it. You can't 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:02.959 say the name. The slur, the racial slur is where 0:23:03.280 --> 0:23:06.960 you end up crossing the line, folks, That's what it is. 0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:10.480 So instead of playing hoops, he's selling all of his 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.240 assets and he started a new nutritional company and he's 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:17.640 out the league. So get used to seeing a lot 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:20.879 of familiar names as well as unfamiliar names the rest 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:22.919 of the season. And I tell you what this is 0:23:23.080 --> 0:23:25.760 just Oh, we are just on O Marion right now. 0:23:25.960 --> 0:23:28.359 Think about P Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, 0:23:28.480 --> 0:23:31.640 Y and Z like, think about how many more variants 0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:33.879 and then we could circle back around to the beginning 0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:36.960 of the alphabet all over again, folks. Maybe there'll be 0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:41.560 an Alfonso variant. Maybe we'll start getting into new global 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:45.200 variant names. Who knows. This is just the glipse into 0:23:45.240 --> 0:23:51.359 the NBA's future. And who knows, maybe we'll see Charlie 0:23:51.400 --> 0:23:53.920 Brown on the front cover of a wheeze box. 0:23:55.560 --> 0:23:57.920 And you know why you've been fucking with me since 0:23:57.920 --> 0:23:58.920 I was a small five. 0:23:59.280 --> 0:24:01.320 Yeah, text, that's my little guy. 0:24:01.520 --> 0:24:04.399 I know something consider co sign I'm on the West 0:24:04.440 --> 0:24:05.520 side and sign. 0:24:05.640 --> 0:24:07.679