Speaker 1: You're tuned into Heat Check with Triste Quick.
Speaker 2: On this episode of the Heat Check, with Draymond Green
Speaker 2: set to return to the team today, we will have
Speaker 2: the final word on this incident to what I call scufflegates,
Speaker 2: and we will have a little news as well from
Speaker 2: around the league. We are also going to break down
Speaker 2: ten players you're probably not talking about. I made sure
Speaker 2: that this was under the radar. I made sure if
Speaker 2: there are players that are above board, maybe there's a couple,
Speaker 2: but these are all under the radar that are set
Speaker 2: to surprise this year. I can't tell you how happy
Speaker 2: I am that basketball is back. I'm betting the preseason
Speaker 2: and I am winning money. Tell you what, let's drop
Speaker 2: that motherfucking beat. Okay, it's happening. Draymond Green was on Walkabouts.
Speaker 2: Was he low key suspended? Was it all his choice?
Speaker 2: Steve Kerr said that it was mutual. Anytime someone says
Speaker 2: something's mutual, it's really they decided, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: or the one party really decided. Draymond Green makes his
Speaker 2: debut tonight in the preseason for Golden State after being
Speaker 2: away from the team for seven days receiving a fine
Speaker 2: of an unspecified amount. People in Jordan Poole's camp are
Speaker 2: saying that it could be roughly a fine worth around
Speaker 2: checks notes sixty million dollars. Cause a guy who's already
Speaker 2: stressed out about how much money he's making and the
Speaker 2: contract and is worried about money probably not a fun scenario.
Speaker 2: So he's back with the team after what probably is
Speaker 2: gotta be his worst week of his NBA career and
Speaker 2: definitely the worst week of the Golden State Warriors tenure
Speaker 2: as a dynasty, probably Steve Kerr's coaching career as well.
Speaker 2: He even hinted at this being just one of the
Speaker 2: most tumultuous moments of the entire Warriors dynasty run. Very
Speaker 2: sad presser, very bad week for Dre. From the second
Speaker 2: that the video dropped pretty much changed the narrative on everything.
Speaker 2: Drey immediately held a press conference where he said that
Speaker 2: he was stepping away from the team on his own volition,
Speaker 2: which we now know, according to Steve Kerr, not exactly true,
Speaker 2: not exactly accurate. As they say in the presser, Draymond's
Speaker 2: been about eleven minutes talking about why he was stepping
Speaker 2: away from a team, why he punched Jordan Poole kind
Speaker 2: of some context about things that were going on in
Speaker 2: his personal life that he was very sorry. He also
Speaker 2: made it very clear that his reason for coming at
Speaker 2: Pool had nothing to do with the fact and people
Speaker 2: were speculating this that Draymond Green was mad that Jordan
Speaker 2: Poole was about to get paid a lot of money.
Speaker 2: Here's what he had to say.
Speaker 1: On a night where it should be celebration and love
Speaker 1: and it still will be. But there is like this,
Speaker 1: this this dark cloud in the room, and I caused that,
Speaker 1: you know. So I apologize to his family, uh, and
Speaker 1: just what they've had to deal with over the course
Speaker 1: of the last twenty four to forty eight hours. And
Speaker 1: I will do what I have to do to make
Speaker 1: that right to my family, you know, the things that
Speaker 1: they had they've had to deal with. I know, you
Speaker 1: know my wife is you know, she's getting comments like
Speaker 1: he'll beat you at home and stuff like that, you know,
Speaker 1: as if you know that's the case. And so I
Speaker 1: apologize to my family as well for what they had
Speaker 1: to go through. And then most importantly, my brother's on
Speaker 1: his team who I've had apologize, who I've apologized to already.
Speaker 1: But for me, that is the task at hand to
Speaker 1: rebuild trust in our locker room, pull everything back together
Speaker 1: as it needs to be poured together in order to
Speaker 1: compete and defend a championship. And although that is the
Speaker 1: least of my worries right now, it has to stay
Speaker 1: at the forefront.
Speaker 2: He basically said he wasn't going to count the other
Speaker 2: people's money in their pockets. But I think that's fair.
Speaker 2: I think Draymond Green deciding to say, hey, I'm going
Speaker 2: through things right now. I'm going through things, and that's
Speaker 2: changing how I react to every circumstance. And from what
Speaker 2: I understand, what Draymond is going through is rough and
Speaker 2: something that as contracts loom over both of Jordan Poole
Speaker 2: and Draymond Green and all the things that are going
Speaker 2: on in his own personal life. Just a bad situation
Speaker 2: in a bad set of circumstances where now you've got
Speaker 2: to rebuild trust with your team, and now you've got
Speaker 2: to try to get back to a place where this
Speaker 2: team wants to pay you. And that's tough because if
Speaker 2: you're having any issues personally that make it harder for
Speaker 2: a team to pay you, you got to get that
Speaker 2: sorted out. Steve Kerr then followed with his own presser
Speaker 2: and man for a guy who's seemingly very open, very jovial,
Speaker 2: very honest, Steve Kerr wanted none of that. Steve Kerr
Speaker 2: wanted to answer no questions. He wanted to say absolutely nothing.
Speaker 2: He was not interested in the least in discussing what happened,
Speaker 2: what they're going to do. He was extremely cagey about
Speaker 2: giving support to Draymond or even admonishing Draymond. He was
Speaker 2: pretty much trying to close it all down.
Speaker 3: Everything is internal. So my answer to that is we've
Speaker 3: had those discussions with individuals with the team, and those
Speaker 3: discussions will stay private as long as nobody leaks those conversations.
Speaker 2: He's already talking about leaks.
Speaker 4: Draymond indicated that he is not going to be with
Speaker 4: the team for a while.
Speaker 2: Is that his choice or is that a team choice?
Speaker 3: Mutual mutual decision based on everything that's happened and discussions,
Speaker 3: you know behind the scenes.
Speaker 4: You guys have been through with stuff with Raymond.
Speaker 3: Before you get to a point where you is trust
Speaker 3: in any way compromised already, are you nearing that or
Speaker 3: where you get with that?
Speaker 2: No comment, Ah, that's the part for me, the no comment.
Speaker 2: If we had to add up all of of times
Speaker 2: in Steve Kurr's career as a head coach where he
Speaker 2: has said no comment, I think the number the tally
Speaker 2: is uh check. I think one. I think that one
Speaker 2: right there. I don't think he's ever said no comment
Speaker 2: in the history of being a head coach, to my memory,
Speaker 2: very rarely. Let's keep going really quick.
Speaker 4: You talked last time about how good the practice was.
Speaker 4: Is that you are you getting the same energy that
Speaker 4: did that continue today? Yeah?
Speaker 3: A good practice today, you know, nothing live got a
Speaker 3: game tomorrow, so we got some some good work and
Speaker 3: skill work and you know, conceptual stuff and ready to
Speaker 3: go for tomorrow.
Speaker 4: I don't know if this is this is an internal
Speaker 4: question or not, but just is the team and all
Speaker 4: and he's sort of like having to get through stuff
Speaker 4: in any phase and he, you know, stayed a shock.
Speaker 4: I'm sure it's different for each player, but are you
Speaker 4: sensing that this is something the team is still going through?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean, this is this is why it's so
Speaker 3: crucial to keep things in house. I've been in this
Speaker 3: league for thirty plus years. I've seen all kinds of
Speaker 3: crazy stuff as soon as things are leaked, you know,
Speaker 3: now all hell breaks loose.
Speaker 2: No shit, Steve, all hell did break loose. We all
Speaker 2: want to know what's gonna happen next. Draymond, though, now
Speaker 2: is back with the team. He's got some bridges to build.
Speaker 2: Kevon Looney said this, but ultimately to me, and this
Speaker 2: is where I fall on it. Steph is going to
Speaker 2: be Draymond's biggest advocate, Stephan Clay. They've got big time
Speaker 2: trust in Draymond Green, and it's very hard to imagine,
Speaker 2: very hard to imagine that this team is better without him.
Speaker 2: But I think that this is the biggest adversity of
Speaker 2: the team has ever faced in its dynastic run. Very
Speaker 2: very bad. Was the Kevin Durant Draymond thing, because Kevin
Speaker 2: Durant ultimately left, and we can say probably that had
Speaker 2: a big factor to it. But this is even worse.
Speaker 2: And I hate to break it to people who say,
Speaker 2: just get rid of Draymond and this team is better
Speaker 2: without Draymond. They are not. They are not better without Draymond.
Speaker 2: They are not okay without Draymond. They are not a
Speaker 2: championship caliber team without Draymond Green. Steph would face an
Speaker 2: immense amount of double teams. Without Draymond Green, You've got
Speaker 2: Klay Thompson, who would face an immense amount of double teams.
Speaker 2: Without Draymond Green, they would not be able to get
Speaker 2: loose or get busy the same way they do without
Speaker 2: him being able to see the floor, read the defenses,
Speaker 2: and be an elite passer that he is. And also defensively,
Speaker 2: who do you have on this team that can guard
Speaker 2: one through five on the perimeter inside, be a small
Speaker 2: ball five who can play against legit centers who outside
Speaker 2: of last playoffs, Draymond Green has been elite. So stop
Speaker 2: the noise with Draymond Green being washed. Stop the noise
Speaker 2: with Draymond Green not being about piece of this championship team.
Speaker 2: I would say, if you look at the statistics and
Speaker 2: you look at the wins and losses without Clay, without Draymond,
Speaker 2: Draymond is more important to this team than Clay, hands down.
Speaker 2: If you want to pay one, and this is outside
Speaker 2: of this nonsense, outside of the scuffle, if you were
Speaker 2: going to pay one, Clay coming up on his new contract,
Speaker 2: where he's at offensively, defensively, and what you have in
Speaker 2: Jordan Poole and Draymond Green you pay Draymond Green over
Speaker 2: Clay Clay, I'm sorry. You already got your bag. You
Speaker 2: sat out two years and never played a game, and
Speaker 2: so now you make the vet minimum and I think
Speaker 2: he would say yes to that. So ultimately, I think
Speaker 2: Draymond is more important than Clay Thompson. And that is
Speaker 2: probably seen as a very hot take. And I mean
Speaker 2: where Clay is right now, not the Clay that we
Speaker 2: had prior to those injuries. That's a totally different story.
Speaker 2: Nobody knows where he's supposed to be at on the
Speaker 2: court more than Draymond. He's elite at spacing. He drags
Speaker 2: the other team's bigs out. He screws up their spacing
Speaker 2: big time. His passing, like I said earlier, is on
Speaker 2: another level. People gush over Ben Simmons in his ability
Speaker 2: to pass, but Draymond Green I think he's better in
Speaker 2: terms of IQ passing the ball knowing where defenses are
Speaker 2: supposed to be over a ten game stretch, I look
Speaker 2: this up. Draymond Green had over one hundred assists and
Speaker 2: twenty two turnovers over one hundred assists in ten games.
Speaker 2: That is ridiculous for a big man. That this is
Speaker 2: not a point guard, he has more. He has more
Speaker 2: assists than Steph Curry. Night tonight, people joke about Draymond
Speaker 2: being a triple single. That, my friends, is what makes
Speaker 2: him a Hall of Famer, nine to nine to nine.
Speaker 2: I don't care how many points he scores. Steph Curry
Speaker 2: goes insane, Clay Thomson can go insane. Points wise, Troydon
Speaker 2: Poole can go insane. Hell, You've got other people who
Speaker 2: can pick it up on a night to night basis.
Speaker 2: I don't need Draymond Green to score. What I need
Speaker 2: is his rebounds, his assists, and his ability to defend.
Speaker 2: And he changed the NBA because of him, the way
Speaker 2: that we play the forward position, the way that we
Speaker 2: see small ball five. There is a reason that guys
Speaker 2: like Zion and Ben Simmons think that they can be
Speaker 2: a point forward. Right, And then on top of that
Speaker 2: two points to make about all of it one, the
Speaker 2: Warriors need Draymond because the offense doesn't function without him. Right.
Speaker 2: They were twenty one and seventeen fifty five fifty two
Speaker 2: winning percentage without Draymond Green last year and with him
Speaker 2: thirty two to twelve, that's a seven seventy three percent
Speaker 2: winning percentage with him fifty five percent winning percentage without him.
Speaker 2: I'd say that's pretty damn impactful. And on top of that,
Speaker 2: when Draymond was off the court with their injuries, Klay
Speaker 2: Thompson was playing. When Draymond was on the court prior
Speaker 2: to his injury, Klay Thompson was knocked. So that'll tell
Speaker 2: you who's more impactful to winning on this team right now.
Speaker 3: Two.
Speaker 2: Yes, the punch was awful. I think it was totally
Speaker 2: incomprehensible that we can't defend it in any way. But
Speaker 2: we can say is this We have to keep in
Speaker 2: mind where Draymond Green comes from, Sagan On, Michigan, very
Speaker 2: tough neighborhood, very tough upbringing. Someone puts their hands on you,
Speaker 2: which Jordan Poole did. If you're in a bad spot
Speaker 2: and you're going through something and your patience is shortened,
Speaker 2: no excuse, but you push me. I hit you in
Speaker 2: the face. Sorry, that's the way it goes. And in
Speaker 2: extreme stress, you revert back to where you came from.
Speaker 2: You revert back to the tendencies that you've worked so
Speaker 2: hard through fit therapy or you know, just personal development
Speaker 2: to work out at you. So the Warriors are internal
Speaker 2: right now. Do I think they're gonna be fine? I do,
Speaker 2: but they need to figure out how to put this
Speaker 2: all behind them. No matter what. There are gonna be
Speaker 2: questions moving forward. There's gonna be a lot of media
Speaker 2: buzz about Draymond Green. Every photo, every video of Draymond
Speaker 2: next to Jordan Poole is going to be scrutinized. That
Speaker 2: is going to be a thing. Are they gonna yell
Speaker 2: at each other on the bench? How is that going
Speaker 2: to be perceived? And I don't see the Draymond Green
Speaker 2: and the Warriors as the biggest story of moving forward
Speaker 2: in the NBA season. I did not see that. But
Speaker 2: here we are a couple of the stories though from
Speaker 2: around the league, before we get into our top ten.
Speaker 2: This one's interesting to me. Did you know that the
Speaker 2: Denver Nuggets mascot makes six hundred and twenty five thousand
Speaker 2: dollars per year? How? What has he done? Who does
Speaker 2: he know? Is that shocking? Is anyone else shocked by that?
Speaker 2: His name is Rocky, Rocky the Mountain Lion. If you
Speaker 2: didn't know that, Joy the club, Joy the Club? Because
Speaker 2: I didn't know that. I didn't know that that mascots
Speaker 2: had full out names. I didn't know that they made
Speaker 2: that kind of money. Harry the Hawk from Atlanta make
Speaker 2: six hundred thousand dollars, Benny the Bull gets four hundred
Speaker 2: thousand dollars, and shockingly, Phoenix the Phoenix Gorilla. He's getting
Speaker 2: absolutely short changed. Two hundred thousand dollars for Phoenix the Gorilla.
Speaker 2: I tell you what, those stucco homes, the cost of living,
Speaker 2: parking spots everywhere, grocery bills down to the floor because
Speaker 2: Mexico is just a quick jaunt away. Avocados are like
Speaker 2: twenty five cents per avocado, and Phoenix they are still
Speaker 2: short changing my man. Phoenix the Phoenix Gorilla. He doesn't
Speaker 2: even have a name, Phoenix Gorilla. We got Harry, we
Speaker 2: got Benny, we got Rocky, and then what we got
Speaker 2: just Phoenix Phoenix Gorilla. Hugo the Hornets, these are fake names.
Speaker 2: Make one hundred thousand dollars, which is what you would
Speaker 2: expect when Michael Jordan owns that team. Just cheap shit.
Speaker 2: But I digress. Considering that the NBA league minimum is
Speaker 2: one point one million dollars, Rocky actually makes more than
Speaker 2: an NBA player will make on a two way contract,
Speaker 2: which is insane. That's absolutely insane. Here is a list
Speaker 2: of players that made less than Rocky last year. Moses Brown,
Speaker 2: Quindarry Witherspoon, Dwayne Washington, Junior Man, my bad, Chris Chiosa.
Speaker 2: I know Dwayne's dad. He's if he's listening, shout out
Speaker 2: to him, Chris Chiosa, AJ Lawson. Imagine being Isaiah Thomas
Speaker 2: goes five for nine for fifteen points in thirteen minutes
Speaker 2: and knowing that the costume guy with the T shirt,
Speaker 2: cannon and the sick moves where he's you know, doing
Speaker 2: Shaken and Harlem Shaken. He makes twenty percent more than you.
Speaker 2: You're looking at him and like that guy makes more
Speaker 2: than me. She It's rough out here on these streets.
Speaker 2: It for Rocky must be related to one of the owners,
Speaker 2: have to be to pull down a contract of almost
Speaker 2: a million dollars a year. That is a shitload of money.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying you can dance, you can entertain entertainments
Speaker 2: with this whole thing. Is not saying he doesn't deserve it,
Speaker 2: but I want everyone to get a paid check. Isaiah
Speaker 2: Thomas should get paid. If Rocky's getting paid, that's facts.
Speaker 2: Let's move forward. Let's take a quick look at what's
Speaker 2: been going on in Chicago. Of course, we've been talking
Speaker 2: about Lonzo Ball. He's nowhere, you're near his return to
Speaker 2: the Bulls. The Balls are going to be in shambles.
Speaker 2: They are going to be a dumpster fire this year.
Speaker 2: They're not even going to be that fun. But the
Speaker 2: lost in the Loonzo news is that this preseason, Patrick Williams,
Speaker 2: the Bulls number four pick in twenty twenty, and the
Speaker 2: guy that they've been saying for two years is untouchable,
Speaker 2: the guy that they want to build around, to the
Speaker 2: point where multiple trades were shut down because they didn't
Speaker 2: they wanted to include Patrick Williams. And the deal has
Speaker 2: now been benched for Javonte Green, a twenty nine year
Speaker 2: old journeyman who has spent more time playing in Europe
Speaker 2: than he has in the NBA, and he has never
Speaker 2: averaged more than seven point two points per game. And
Speaker 2: guess what, As one Bulls blog point out, this isn't nothing.
Speaker 2: This is something. Indeed, this is something to keep our
Speaker 2: eyes on, especially considering how far the franchise has gone
Speaker 2: out of its way to pitch them to us as
Speaker 2: a cornerstone piece of their franchise moving forward, where he
Speaker 2: should be the guy. What happened, Well, Billy Donovan was
Speaker 2: pretty blunted. This team's better with Javonte than they are
Speaker 2: with Patrick Williams. Yikes, yikes. And Patrick Williams, keep in mind,
Speaker 2: benched himself in college. He did. He said, hey, coach,
Speaker 2: I'll come off the bench. I'll be the sixth man.
Speaker 2: I don't need to be a starter. Let's just win games.
Speaker 2: And that's very cute in college basket. That's not cute
Speaker 2: when we're talking about millions of dollars. We're talking about
Speaker 2: franchise altering pieces. We're talking about trades getting shot down
Speaker 2: because of you. We're not shooting down trades for a
Speaker 2: sixth man. I'm sorry. You need to be our second man.
Speaker 2: One of the nicest guys. I think he will help
Speaker 2: someone a lot. I do think this means he could
Speaker 2: be on his way out and when he was such
Speaker 2: a high value trade piece, what is he now? We
Speaker 2: will have to see our big one question in this
Speaker 2: episode though we move forward, is this hypothetical who would
Speaker 2: be off limits in a trade for Victor Wombanyama. I
Speaker 2: was thinking about this because there's not that many names, folks.
Speaker 2: He is a generational talent. So my question to you
Speaker 2: is who is on your no trade list for him?
Speaker 2: My list is shockingly short. I went through it. I
Speaker 2: looked at all the all stars for the last three
Speaker 2: years and just decided yes, no, yes, no. So here
Speaker 2: are my nose because the list of the list of yes,
Speaker 2: this is too long for me to give it to you.
Speaker 2: That's where we're at. The list of nos. Luca no
Speaker 2: Lebron James, no, Jahn Morant, no Embiide.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 2: But it's all it's a pause. I have to pause. Jannis,
Speaker 2: no Steph no Kawhi, it's a pause. No, he's been
Speaker 2: injured a lot guys, Kevin Durant, No, Jason Tatum, it's
Speaker 2: a pause. But it's a no. It's a pause, Aunt
Speaker 2: Edwards and maybe no one else, and maybe no one
Speaker 2: else that includes Dave Lillard. You're gone, sir. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: Oh Jokic. Jokicic is a no. I wouldn't trade Jokic either.
Speaker 2: Devin Booker, see you later, enjoy wherever you're going. And
Speaker 2: I love Devin Booker. He's one of my Paul George absolutely,
Speaker 2: see you later. Pack your bags. I mean, the list
Speaker 2: is like ten guys and it's really not close. Rudy Gobert,
Speaker 2: Deuces Diamond Mitchell, get your bags and go. I mean
Speaker 2: that's just absolutely bonkers, bonkers, bonkers bonkers. Would love for
Speaker 2: you guys to sound off in the comments, get into TikTok,
Speaker 2: getting into my Twitter and let me know. All right,
Speaker 2: let's move forward to the big segment. Because I was
Speaker 2: thinking about this, sitting around thinking about my favorite topic, basketball,
Speaker 2: when it occurred to me I wanted to make a
Speaker 2: couple of lists, because everybody likes lists, and I like
Speaker 2: to be right. We like to make predictions, and I
Speaker 2: wanted to think about players that were not being discussed
Speaker 2: enough as maybe guys that will be highlight machines or
Speaker 2: people you should watch could make a big jump, definitely
Speaker 2: could make an impact on their team. And after some work,
Speaker 2: I narrowed the list down to ten players, all whom
Speaker 2: mostly not rookies, who I will be keeping an eye
Speaker 2: out for this year. Let's start ten players, ten players,
Speaker 2: Let's start in San Antonio. I could do an entire
Speaker 2: segment on San Antonio alone, which is just crazy. This
Speaker 2: is the most non competitive San Antonio has been in
Speaker 2: over a decade and the most compelling that they've been.
Speaker 2: What does that say like? Is that saying like I
Speaker 2: am the most interested in san Antonio I've ever been
Speaker 2: in my entire life. And they're not even close to
Speaker 2: competing for a play in spot, but that's where they're at.
Speaker 2: I don't know what that says about them or what
Speaker 2: that says about this team, but I'm fully in. I
Speaker 2: am fully intrigued. They're literally on my top eight teams
Speaker 2: to watch san Antonio. I made a list today, top
Speaker 2: eight teams. They're all teams that no one cares about,
Speaker 2: but I do. Number one on the San Antonio list,
Speaker 2: Josh Primo. People came after the San Antonio Spurs, including me,
Speaker 2: including myself. It was a head stratch scratcher. There were
Speaker 2: so many guys on the list they could have taken
Speaker 2: with a twelfth pick, but they take Josh Primo, the
Speaker 2: youngest player in the draft at Alabama, and a lot
Speaker 2: of draft experts claim that it was a stretch. Where
Speaker 2: are they doing? Some saying you after twenty splot slots
Speaker 2: too early for him? And guess what, Greg Popovich, he
Speaker 2: may be checked out during all the Olympic cycles but
Speaker 2: damn does him and rcb Ford no talent and they
Speaker 2: are building something fun down in San Antonio. And I've
Speaker 2: got my eye on the Spurs. Like I said, they're
Speaker 2: gonna be bricking for vican That doesn't make sense. But
Speaker 2: along the way, I think they're gonna win games against older, dustier,
Speaker 2: more tired teams on back to backs because these kids
Speaker 2: are all like eighteen through twenty one years old and
Speaker 2: they don't care. They're just trying to get buckets, trying
Speaker 2: to get reps. And Josh Primo, when he gets healthy
Speaker 2: because he just had an MCLs brain kept him out
Speaker 2: for the part preseason, he's gonna be a center of
Speaker 2: this offense. He had like thirty three minutes a game
Speaker 2: last year, so in his second year, I think he's
Speaker 2: gonna be very fun. Jerry West loves him, and that's
Speaker 2: just a key piece for me to keep my eye on.
Speaker 2: Anybody who unsolicited Jerry West says to keep my eye on,
Speaker 2: I listen. I just just like a life lesson for me.
Speaker 2: I think he's gonna be very definitely top of my
Speaker 2: list in terms of players that could break out this year.
Speaker 2: Number two Jaden Hardy out of the G League Knight
Speaker 2: playing for the Dallas Mavericks. People are mad. Sacramento Kings
Speaker 2: fans feel like they have been cheated, that he should
Speaker 2: be a King. But nobody had more of a disappointing
Speaker 2: draft ramp up than Jayden Hardy. It's more about the
Speaker 2: dumb draft process because he was supposed to be a
Speaker 2: lottery pick and then he goes to the G League
Speaker 2: Knight and then he slips, and then no one likes
Speaker 2: him anymore. And now we take Shaden Sharp, which no
Speaker 2: one knows anything about, and he hasn't played in two years,
Speaker 2: but because we haven't seen any film on him, he's
Speaker 2: better than Jaden Hardy by a full round. And then
Speaker 2: some people are dumb. People are very dumb. Who would
Speaker 2: have seen that coming. I don't know. People think though
Speaker 2: that the G League is all eighteen and nineteen years
Speaker 2: old players, But there's guys in their late twenties with
Speaker 2: a decade of pro ball underneath them. Eat them. Some
Speaker 2: of them they've played in the NBA, some of them
Speaker 2: have played overseas in Europe, and they're trying to find
Speaker 2: a way back into the real association. But there is
Speaker 2: no gimmes down there, and folks are hitting you hard
Speaker 2: and they're grown ass men. And yes, Jaden Hardy struggled.
Speaker 2: Of course he did. He's a baby. He's a baby
Speaker 2: plan amongst men. Of course. Guess what. In the final
Speaker 2: third of the G League he bawled out, ended up
Speaker 2: averaging nearly eighteen points a game. But all anyone could
Speaker 2: do was talk about, Oh, Jaden Hardy can't shoot. Oh,
Speaker 2: he can't shoot twenty seven percent from three. Oh he's gross.
Speaker 2: That's bad. Yeah, that's bad. But there's room for improvement.
Speaker 2: And anyone who shoots eighty eight percent from the free
Speaker 2: throw line probably can shoot a three pointer. Just at
Speaker 2: some point, I think that that should translate. I think
Speaker 2: the MAVs absolutely got to steal him on him at
Speaker 2: thirty seven wow, so do they This team very high
Speaker 2: on him in the preseason. No one did less in
Speaker 2: the offseason to address their clearing holes in the MAVs.
Speaker 2: We talked about that. We said that the MAVs are
Speaker 2: one piece away. Maybe that piece is Jaden Hardy. If
Speaker 2: Hardy can be the game the guy here, this team
Speaker 2: is going to prosper. By the way, for his dismal
Speaker 2: twenty seven percent from three, uh in the preseason he
Speaker 2: shot four for ten. What's that math? Do that quick
Speaker 2: math for me? Oh yeah, forty percent eight for sixteen
Speaker 2: from the field and the MAVs preseason opener. I think
Speaker 2: he could be a sleeper in the All Rookie team. Whooh,
Speaker 2: he's gonna be fun. He is a bucket Alpera and Shngoon.
Speaker 2: Another player people don't know. Another player people aren't asking
Speaker 2: about Rockets number fifteen pick last year. They liked him
Speaker 2: so much they traded two future firsts just to move
Speaker 2: up and grab them. He was the Turkish League MVP.
Speaker 2: We knew he could play. He did not disappoint. He
Speaker 2: showed great flashes. But let's be honest, this team was
Speaker 2: going to lose games on purpose. It did not matter.
Speaker 2: They were trying to hide him. They were not trying
Speaker 2: to develop him. They wanted to get I don't know Powell,
Speaker 2: Ben Carroll, which they thought they were gonna get, and
Speaker 2: they did not get. Of course, like most big big men,
Speaker 2: he struggled with fouls most like most Euros, he had
Speaker 2: trouble defensively down on the blocks. But if he can pass,
Speaker 2: which he can, he has a nice shot. I think
Speaker 2: by the end of the year he played much better
Speaker 2: thirteen eight and four, pretty much the kind of improvement
Speaker 2: that you want to see in a rookie, especially a
Speaker 2: big man, and he looked like he was able to
Speaker 2: compete with grown men down low, which is exactly what
Speaker 2: you want to see in the last quarter of the season.
Speaker 2: Despite this, as like this dream shake, a cool Rockets
Speaker 2: blog recently pointed out Rockets fans are split on him.
Speaker 2: Some want to build around him, and some people think
Speaker 2: he's a liability who can't shoot threes and thus he
Speaker 2: is expendable. But I actually like Shangun. I think he
Speaker 2: could be a good piece. He can pass like Jokic.
Speaker 2: Of course, he needs to improve his perimeter shooting, but
Speaker 2: I think he can distribute as well as almost anyone else.
Speaker 2: That's his size and his age. And I think if
Speaker 2: he can improve on defense, which is all about want to,
Speaker 2: I think he can be a very valuable piece. I mean,
Speaker 2: they're a very long way away from competing, so let's
Speaker 2: be honest. He's got a long ramp up period, but
Speaker 2: I think he will show flashes and I want to
Speaker 2: see him improve. Alongside Jalen Green and alongside Kevin Porter,
Speaker 2: Junior James Wiseman. I know this is a chalky one,
Speaker 2: but let's be honest. He has not been playing NBA
Speaker 2: basketball for almost two years now. Number one question for
Speaker 2: this team has always been at center. That's why they
Speaker 2: went and drafted him. It's been a revolving door. I
Speaker 2: don't even know if you remember these names. David Lee,
Speaker 2: Andrew Bogitt, DeMarcus Cousins was there, JaVale McGee was there.
Speaker 2: Zaza Petulia shout out to Zaza Petulia, of course, Draymond
Speaker 2: Ran small five. Hey, let's be honest. Steve Kerr treats
Speaker 2: centers like Kyle Shanahan treats his running backs like they
Speaker 2: are expendable, completely interchangeable. He treats his center's kind of
Speaker 2: like NBA player's treat girlfriends, completely interchangeable. Warriors dynasty has
Speaker 2: never had their franchise center right, and this is what
Speaker 2: they hope to have in Wiseman. So this is what
Speaker 2: I saw. I saw him at Summer League. He looks huge,
Speaker 2: he looks really ripped buff. You look at me, You're like,
Speaker 2: this kid had no muscles last year, and all of
Speaker 2: a sudden, he is ripping out of his jersey. They're
Speaker 2: saying I talked to someone within the Warriors organization. They're like,
Speaker 2: he's just been spending all day, all night in the gym,
Speaker 2: just lifting weights, lifting weights, and for a long time
Speaker 2: he couldn't do anything with his lower body, so he's
Speaker 2: just been left and upper just his upper body. He's
Speaker 2: just swollen right now. And listen, there's articles that he's
Speaker 2: been in therapy and has gotten a lot more centered. Fortunately,
Speaker 2: he's apparently at peace with himself. Steve Kerr mentioned that
Speaker 2: he's been spending all of his time outside of the
Speaker 2: weight room. He's been in the film room looking at
Speaker 2: not only centers in the league, his old film at
Speaker 2: Memphis and some of his film from Golden State, old
Speaker 2: film on old centers current centers in the league that
Speaker 2: he can emulate. And I think that's been the main
Speaker 2: piece that he could get better at. He was like
Speaker 2: a little baby deer in headlights, skinny gangly, couldn't find
Speaker 2: his own limbs and feet, couldn't catch couldn't see what
Speaker 2: was going on. So like now he's filled out his body,
Speaker 2: he sort of has a real feeling for the game
Speaker 2: just because he's been in the film room. So I
Speaker 2: think if Golden State can use him in a way
Speaker 2: and he's comfortable developing at his own pace. I think
Speaker 2: they could even be even more dangerous, Like just imagine
Speaker 2: Steph Curry with a real center he's never had one before.
Speaker 2: Like imagine a legit lob threat for Steph Curry just
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, or Draymond Green throwing globs to
Speaker 2: James Wiseman with no one there to defend him because
Speaker 2: I don't know they're on Draymond Green. If Wiseman can
Speaker 2: actually stay healthy and he has actually improved in terms
Speaker 2: of his IQ, this team could be insane. And he's
Speaker 2: fun even when he's played poorly, because like I said,
Speaker 2: when you watch Deer in Headlights, it's that big. It's
Speaker 2: very fun as well, like you're seeing things you've never
Speaker 2: seen on an NBA flour, So very entertaining. Definitely a
Speaker 2: player to keep our eyes on. My favorite one, So
Speaker 2: this list is not in any particular order. Is shade
Speaker 2: and sharp, Oh my god, basketball porn is shade and sharp. Film.
Speaker 2: Portland could have gone and got Jeremy Sohan, which we'll
Speaker 2: talk about a little bit later. A defender who can
Speaker 2: play all five positions and defend all positions. They could
Speaker 2: have gotten someone like Dyson Daniels, who's like a little
Speaker 2: baby Scottie Barnes, but no, they decided to get a
Speaker 2: guy who had the biggest upside in Shade and Sharp,
Speaker 2: And you know what, I was very skeptical. I hadn't
Speaker 2: seen a look of basketball from him ever. I've never
Speaker 2: seen it, just never existed. Didn't even play any minutes
Speaker 2: at Kentucky. He just went there, sat there, and left.
Speaker 2: So I was very suss on this draft, partly because
Speaker 2: I'm a Portland Trailblazer fan and I think all bad
Speaker 2: things are going to happen to us because they've always
Speaker 2: happened to us. But holy shit, I've seen a few
Speaker 2: games and I am all the way in. I am
Speaker 2: so damn invested, so I don't want to mushit. So shit,
Speaker 2: don't tell anyone Shaded Sharp is gonna be our Koe Bryant.
Speaker 2: He's six', six he's so, Smooth he's absolutely balled out
Speaker 2: in the. Preseason and it's not really the stat line
Speaker 2: That i'm. Into it's like he's. Eighteen he's six' six
Speaker 2: with a seven. Feet wingspan he's got, elite footwork he can,
Speaker 2: block shots he has a feel for, the ball knows
Speaker 2: where it's going to be at. All times, of course
Speaker 2: he's a, freak athlete but also effortless at, his size
Speaker 2: at getting to, the rim touch around, the rim, that's
Speaker 2: soft pull up off, the, dribble, jumpers easy shooting deep
Speaker 2: easy like catch and. Shoot easy Everything For shaded sharp
Speaker 2: seems to come just. Absolutely effortless and there were People
Speaker 2: from portland haters said that his head was spinning in
Speaker 2: HIS first nba. Preseason game what do you think we've
Speaker 2: Seen No. Shadon sharp he's. Been injured he got injured
Speaker 2: in the first eight Minutes Of, summer league his first,
Speaker 2: preseason game his first Competitive basketball his head is spinning
Speaker 2: games a, little, Faster room shut the. Fuck up how
Speaker 2: about that now. Change fast he's, Absolutely balling and part of,
Speaker 2: me hopes part of me secretly Hopes that portland is
Speaker 2: a terrible TEAM because I want Victor wan. Minyama two,
Speaker 2: and Secondly Because shadon sharp's gonna get. Huge Minutes if
Speaker 2: portland shuts, everybody down, worst case first man off the
Speaker 2: bench and a closer down, the stretch he is going
Speaker 2: to be electric. TO watch i want To see chauncey
Speaker 2: use him as much as. Humanly possible number Six Is.
Speaker 2: Obi toppin ain't No Stoppin'. Obi toppin, THEY say i
Speaker 2: Don't think tis is even gonna be able To Stop.
Speaker 2: OBI toppin i think this is a breakout year. For
Speaker 2: him he looks, so good like, insanely good. Very intriguing,
Speaker 2: He's huge his feel for the game has gotten so.
Speaker 2: Much better he's added to. HIS bag i think he's
Speaker 2: gonna be a major Beneficiary Of jalen brunson getting there.
Speaker 2: As well he can shoot, threes now this man is
Speaker 2: like a legit three point shooter from. His size he
Speaker 2: is a better Version Of. Julius randall Like By, julius
Speaker 2: randall you, Can go we'll move you. Somewhere else he
Speaker 2: has a better Attitude Than. Julius randall he has better
Speaker 2: Ups Than. Julius randall and the fan base loses their
Speaker 2: Mind For obie topman and They. Bow julius so let's just.
Speaker 2: Be serious timms needs to integrate him into, the lineup
Speaker 2: and he needs to use him not off, the bench
Speaker 2: but as, a starter and fans need to. Be invested
Speaker 2: so when you see these tomahawk Dunks, from obi like
Speaker 2: that's gonna change the electric nature of. The gym moods,
Speaker 2: are bad vibes, Are bad tomahawk dunk moods back. Up
Speaker 2: again now you can compete down. The stretch, And Also,
Speaker 2: julius randall watch. Your back you could be Traded because
Speaker 2: obi is here and He is prestay another intriguing player
Speaker 2: that people are not talking about Og. An anobi why
Speaker 2: aren't they talking, About, him well because they don't run
Speaker 2: the offense through him at All. In toronto they run
Speaker 2: It through Fred van Fleet And. Pascal siakam and let's,
Speaker 2: Be honest Passcal and Fred van fleet have a little.
Speaker 2: Love affair they played IN The g. League together they
Speaker 2: have a real connection and they kind of hog. The
Speaker 2: ball they don't give the ball to Og And nick
Speaker 2: nurse isn't running any places For og but let's, be
Speaker 2: honest if he can, get better and we know that,
Speaker 2: he can and We know toronto wants him because everyone
Speaker 2: in the off season Wanted. Og ananobe they were willing
Speaker 2: to give. Up anything we were willing to Give up
Speaker 2: portland the number seven overall draft pick for him and
Speaker 2: some other pieces and some, other picks and they, were,
Speaker 2: like no, we're good and that shows you what they think. About,
Speaker 2: him right we know that Things that og. Has done
Speaker 2: i've got a little. Inside info he's working with some
Speaker 2: people to get his body, more fluid his body. More
Speaker 2: strong like this is a man who hasn't really lifted
Speaker 2: a lot of weights in his. Entire, career like what
Speaker 2: does that say that he's able to be a REAL deal,
Speaker 2: nba player A Fringe all star without doing the type
Speaker 2: of work that normal elite. Athletes do that shows you
Speaker 2: that he's genetically. A freak if the game comes Easier
Speaker 2: to ogi because he's, very stiff, very upright if he
Speaker 2: gets into a proper place in terms of, his conditioning
Speaker 2: in terms of, his rest just all of the protocols
Speaker 2: that make you an. ELITE athlete i think that he
Speaker 2: can Be An. All star he's already an elite defender
Speaker 2: if he can put it together on the. Offensive side
Speaker 2: and then That Leads nick nurse to actually calling Plays.
Speaker 2: For og, oh boy, Oh boy watch Out. In toronto
Speaker 2: here's what no one's. Talking. About, POKU yeah i bet
Speaker 2: you NEVER thought i Would, say poku? Did You alexi pokazhevski,
Speaker 2: all season, All Season Oklahoma city fans ALL season, Nba
Speaker 2: fans you've been waiting to, see, him right white string
Speaker 2: being kid seven feet TALL for Okc Chet holmgrun And
Speaker 2: now chet's gone for. The season but don't. Be Sad
Speaker 2: oklahoma city still has another very, very skinny very very
Speaker 2: tall white boy who, can dribble who, can pass and who.
Speaker 2: Can shoot and his Name. Is poku say it, For
Speaker 2: me Poku. Chet light he's Basically, chet light pretty damn
Speaker 2: good in the, preseason game, fifteen points. Five rebounds and
Speaker 2: this is the. Best part. Tenn asists tenn assists for a.
Speaker 2: Seven footer that is. Absolutely bananas there are not many
Speaker 2: men who are throwing no, look passes especially ones that
Speaker 2: are seven. Feet tall not many men getting tenn asists.
Speaker 2: These days the dude is seven, feet, tall legit maybe,
Speaker 2: the skinniest lightest player IN. The nba they list him
Speaker 2: as seven feet tall one hundred and. Ninety pounds one
Speaker 2: hundred and ninety pounds is like a fit six foot.
Speaker 2: Tall person and in an effort to, bulk up he
Speaker 2: said he's eating Maltz And burger burgers just all off,
Speaker 2: season long Just Eating, Maltz. Burger's maltzburger's it's, too bad
Speaker 2: Like because jokich Is a serbian, as well and he
Speaker 2: obviously does not struggle to. Gain weight he is a Very.
Speaker 2: Fluffy serbian so watch Out. FOR poku i think HE'S
Speaker 2: gonna i think he's gonna have a. Breakout, year okay
Speaker 2: so he's not gonna win a lot of games because
Speaker 2: they don't. Want TO but I think poku really makes.
Speaker 2: A jump i think he's the one player Outside Of
Speaker 2: josh getty because you're already sort of looking. For Him
Speaker 2: josh gitty's like he's. Right there poku is on no
Speaker 2: one's radar except for Hardcore Ok homa. City fans and
Speaker 2: If okay see really decides, to tank think about this.
Speaker 2: Next year you could Possibly, Have poku Chet And wamba
Speaker 2: yama all on the. Same team three seven footers who,
Speaker 2: can dribble who, can shoot and who? Can pass who?
Speaker 2: Stops them who? Stops Them With, Dort Giddy, Shay. GILGRIS
Speaker 2: alexander i don't know this team could win a title
Speaker 2: in two years, from Now, my lord jerem me so hand. Number,
Speaker 2: NINE god i Love The san. ANTONIO team, I Do
Speaker 2: jeremy sohan he Missed The. Summer league DO, it covid
Speaker 2: but he did do a lot. OF shopping i saw
Speaker 2: him shopping. A lot i saw him in Like Maybe
Speaker 2: louis vuitton. Or something he had. Big BAGS so covid
Speaker 2: wasn't keeping. Him down they just didn't want to play him.
Speaker 2: ANY games i saw him actually AT the uh At.
Speaker 2: The vedara he had, shake shack, he liked he liked my,
Speaker 2: my blazer, gave me gave me, the eyes said. What's
Speaker 2: up he had his friend. WITH him i think He
Speaker 2: Had malachi brandon. With, him anyway He skipped EuroBasket this
Speaker 2: year to concentrate on preparing FOR the, nba season and
Speaker 2: the early reports are, pretty good like. Very good how
Speaker 2: good reports are that this dude who is six' nine
Speaker 2: is able currently to defend as a rookie. All five positions.
Speaker 2: He is Everywhere His, model draymond green and he looks
Speaker 2: like he might be A, clone of draymond but he
Speaker 2: could actually shot the Ball. Better than draymond he has
Speaker 2: a seven, feet plus wingspan and everyone knows he can Defend.
Speaker 2: Because of baylor baylor was like one of the best
Speaker 2: defensive teams in all of college, basketball Last Year and
Speaker 2: jeremy sohan was a big. Part of that, there's A
Speaker 2: blog a Spurs blog Called. Pounding the rock they did
Speaker 2: a nice little overview of. His preseason, activities they said
Speaker 2: in his five and four, in seventeen minutes he had
Speaker 2: so he had five and four. In seventeen minutes that
Speaker 2: does not tell. The whole story because he has, a
Speaker 2: tireless motor, switching onto guards battling, in the post chasing.
Speaker 2: Down FAST breaks and i think That is why. POPOVICH
Speaker 2: wanted him i think that is why they took him
Speaker 2: in the. Ninth overall pick Add That, to Malachi Branham,
Speaker 2: to Devin Vassal, to Blake Wesley. To JOSH primo, like
Speaker 2: I said this spurs, team is. Very very, Intriguing Number
Speaker 2: ten Jose, grand theft Alvarado my Man. Grand theft alvarado
Speaker 2: he burst on the scene like a video game halfway
Speaker 2: through last season as, an undrafted player exploded, to the
Speaker 2: playoffs made life Absolutely Hell for chris Paul And. On
Speaker 2: Devin booker the sun's absolutely lucky To Beat The. NEW
Speaker 2: orleans pelicans I Think The. New orleans pelicans here's. A
Speaker 2: little Prediction If The new orleans pelicans would Have, beaten
Speaker 2: the suns they would have also. Beaten, the Mass no
Speaker 2: the pelicans could have easily Been In The western conference,
Speaker 2: finals last, Year and honestly i'm not gonna say, they
Speaker 2: would have but they would have made life Hell for.
Speaker 2: The warriors too it would have not been. A fun
Speaker 2: experience he's not gonna be sneaking. Up on anyone he's
Speaker 2: like under the. Radar one level he's not Two levels
Speaker 2: like poku. Or three levels, BUT then again i don't
Speaker 2: think he's gonna have to sneak up on people because
Speaker 2: he's gonna still be. Off the bench he, showcased his defense,
Speaker 2: AND this year i think he's gonna show that. He
Speaker 2: can score, in this preseason that might be the best
Speaker 2: scoring guard. In this preseason he might have been the
Speaker 2: best scoring guard. In the league he put up twenty
Speaker 2: eight and five on twelve, for eighteen shooting and that
Speaker 2: is as a. Backup point guard he. Didn't, even start
Speaker 2: wow This is what zion said. About My man alvarado
Speaker 2: jose is, hard to describe but you just know he's
Speaker 2: gonna bring that passion and energy to the game that
Speaker 2: you would want to see. Any from anybody he knows
Speaker 2: how to make. Himself a threat don't let. Him fool
Speaker 2: y'all he just had twenty eight points and? How? Many rebounds,
Speaker 2: five and yeah he's doing this, off the bench the.
Speaker 2: Most insane thing he was nine for twelve on shots.
Speaker 2: In the lane, he's, my height well he's, six FEET
Speaker 2: tall but i don't think he's. Six feet tall i've seen.
Speaker 2: Him in person he's like five ten, five or, eleven
Speaker 2: soaking wet probably one hundred and, thirty five pounds like.
Speaker 2: He is tiny he is getting in there. And getting
Speaker 2: BUCKETS here's where i remind you. HE was undrafted i think,
Speaker 2: he's a quicker better Defensive Version, of jalen brunson and
Speaker 2: that spells trouble for any Opponents, of the pelicans who
Speaker 2: will get absolutely zero rest when he comes. Off the
Speaker 2: bench that's all the time that we Have For. The
Speaker 2: heat check we did it. In good time we. Will
Speaker 2: be back we. Will Be, BACK what monday i Don't.
Speaker 2: EVEN know monday i think we Have a live do
Speaker 2: we Have? A live monday we're. Working on it check
Speaker 2: out the feed for past episodes from. The off season
Speaker 2: follow Us On the heat check as we get you
Speaker 2: ready for the twenty two twenty twenty three season. That
Speaker 2: is approaching we are less than a week away and
Speaker 2: Check out THE locked. ON nba podcasts i haven't checked
Speaker 2: him out yet to see, what IT'S like but i
Speaker 2: know that they are filled WITH insight because i saw
Speaker 2: THE rundown as i will be appearing on them as.
Speaker 2: Well all week do not, forget to download do not,
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Speaker 2: Crick on TikTok and if you troll me in, MY
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Speaker 2: on video. Thanks for listening we'll see. You next time
Speaker 1: He