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Speaker 1: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

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Speaker 2: What is up straight firefam, It's me Jason McIntyre. Straight

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Speaker 2: Fire for Wednesday, July third, a couple days off for

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Speaker 2: good behavior. My old man likes to say herd was dark.

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Speaker 2: So we took a couple of days off the podcast

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Speaker 2: to regroup, recharge the batteries, well, digital therapy, and unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: just a lot of craziness happened in the sports world.

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Speaker 2: NBA chaotic soccer. Oh my gosh, I'm just crestfalling over USA.

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Speaker 2: I don't know we could start anywhere. Obviously, we'll do

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Speaker 2: a lot of NBA on this, but I feel like

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Speaker 2: I should just get the soccer out of the way.

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Speaker 2: Because the US was unceremoniously ejected from the Copa America tournament,

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Speaker 2: did not get out of group play one nothing lost

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Speaker 2: to Uruguay. On Monday night. It was weird. We were

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Speaker 2: at a restaurant, a little business dinner, and I had

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Speaker 2: to ask them can I get on your Wi Fi

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Speaker 2: because then I could access my cable so that I

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Speaker 2: could access USA Uruguay. And I'll just say that the

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Speaker 2: technology now is incredible. You got like a dinner planned

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Speaker 2: and you're like well, I can't miss this game. Okay, good,

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Speaker 2: I got my phone and I could watch the game.

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Speaker 2: It was just devastation after devastation. The referen Let's just

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Speaker 2: get this out of the way. I'm not blaming the

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Speaker 2: referee guy. The refs were horrible against the US for

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Speaker 2: two straight matches. Obviously, this all goes back to the

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Speaker 2: Tim Way a red card against Panama that really that

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Speaker 2: knew the US chances, you know, the red card killed him.

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Speaker 2: You go down to man a couple questionable moves by

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Speaker 2: Greg Burhalter, and next thing, you know, give up a

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Speaker 2: goal in the final like seven eight minutes and boom,

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Speaker 2: you're fighting for your life against Uruguay, who's really good.

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Speaker 2: And we knew that going in. We knew they were good,

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Speaker 2: they were better than us. But again it's Uruguay. This

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Speaker 2: is not like you know, this is not Brazil or

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Speaker 2: Argentina's Orguay. And we fought them hard, We played real tough,

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Speaker 2: gave up an unfortunate goal, didn't really quite have the

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Speaker 2: offense we needed, which was disappointing. At a couple good chances,

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Speaker 2: but ultimately we're done and all the attention turns to

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Speaker 2: Greg Burrhalter should he come back should they fire him.

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Speaker 2: Let me just first read the statement from US Soccer Federation.

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Speaker 2: Our tournament performance fell short of expectations. We must do better.

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Speaker 2: We will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance

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Speaker 2: in COOPA and how best to improve the team and

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Speaker 2: results as we look towards the twenty twenty six World Cup.

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Speaker 2: So in short, I'll just help my read. We will

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Speaker 2: be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance. Yeah, I

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Speaker 2: think it's more of We will be conducting extensive research

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Speaker 2: into potential coaches who could maybe come our way. We're

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Speaker 2: gonna be reviewing the co performance for the USA. We'll

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Speaker 2: get back to you on how that was. Give us

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Speaker 2: a week or two. That week or two, everybody watched

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Speaker 2: the games. We know what went on. What the real

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Speaker 2: story is is what's happening behind the scenes. Who are

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Speaker 2: they reaching out to to come in And again, I

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Speaker 2: know some people are like Jay, this is not a

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Speaker 2: coach issue. We just don't have talent. I don't know, guys.

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Speaker 2: We have as much challeng as we've ever had. We

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Speaker 2: got guys playing all over the world, a lot of

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Speaker 2: impressive players. It hasn't quite come together. I'm not gonna

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Speaker 2: draw the parallel to the Golden State Warriors with Mark

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Speaker 2: Jackson as coach, and they were good and butting up

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Speaker 2: against it, and then Steve Kerr comes in, makes a

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Speaker 2: tweak with Draymond and they make the jump to light

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Speaker 2: speed and next thing you know, they're what I think

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Speaker 2: is the greatest dynasty in NBA history. I'm not going

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Speaker 2: back to the sixties. Sorry, when there's eleven and twelve

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Speaker 2: teams in the league and off duty firefighters were starting

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Speaker 2: at shooting guard. I'm not doing that. You know, guys

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Speaker 2: who are in the Hall of Fame now and it's

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Speaker 2: pretty clear from the videos they couldn't dribble with their

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Speaker 2: left hand. We're not doing that. These Warriors where they

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Speaker 2: won before Durant, with Durant, after Durant, the number of

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Speaker 2: finals they went to, I mean, it's just it's extraordinary.

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Speaker 2: They top Jordan's bulls and we're not going to do

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Speaker 2: that now. But bottom line is the coach mattered in

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Speaker 2: the NBA. Coach matters immensely in soccer. I thought our

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Speaker 2: players were playing hard for bur Halter. I'm not saying

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Speaker 2: they quit, obviously, that would never go there. But my

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Speaker 2: issue is I would I think you need to replace Burhlter.

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Speaker 2: You've got about a twenty month window right now. You're

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Speaker 2: automatically qualified for the World Cup, so you don't got

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Speaker 2: to worry about that. You just got to worry about

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Speaker 2: getting the right pieces in place. Maybe it's a starter here,

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Speaker 2: a starter there, a formation, tweak, whatever it is. But

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Speaker 2: I asked it. Ask my buddy, who is plugged in.

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Speaker 2: He was the one who gave me the Geo Rena

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Speaker 2: versus Burholter stuff at the World Cup, which proved to

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Speaker 2: be true. I know a lot of people were upset,

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Speaker 2: but this person is not convinced they're going to make

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Speaker 2: a change, and you know that troubles me. This guy's

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Speaker 2: as plugged in as anybody I know on soccer, and

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Speaker 2: the idea of not making a change is like, are

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Speaker 2: we better than we were at the last World Cup

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Speaker 2: with largely the same players? I know Baligan's in there now,

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Speaker 2: but largely the same players. Are we better now than

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Speaker 2: we were? And I don't see that improvement. If this

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Speaker 2: is an alleged golden generation, which I do believe we

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Speaker 2: are in that and you can look up other golden

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Speaker 2: generations around that. I mean, Spain had an incredible one.

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Speaker 2: Every country has their golden generation of talent, four or

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Speaker 2: five six guys who are together and win a lot.

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Speaker 2: And I feel like we've got those guys, we just

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Speaker 2: haven't harnessed them all together. So overall, extremely disappointing. I

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Speaker 2: would move on for Burhalter. I'm not gonna sit here

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Speaker 2: and try to float names for you guys. I don't

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Speaker 2: know if a guy like Klop is attainable. I mean,

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of dudes out there who you can

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Speaker 2: make a run at. We're just gonna say I don't

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Speaker 2: need this. What do I need this? Now? You could

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Speaker 2: look at it the opposite way and say, oh, man, dude,

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Speaker 2: you get to come to America from your country, a

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Speaker 2: two year not vacation, but a break, you know, a

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Speaker 2: nice little reset in life and come a new experience,

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Speaker 2: and you know, guess what, if you're able to make

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Speaker 2: a run too, I don't know, the final four of

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Speaker 2: the World Cup here on American soil, you become a

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Speaker 2: legend forever.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 2: I know a lot of guys don't think that way,

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Speaker 2: but in reality, you look at Bruce Arena, supposedly by many,

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Speaker 2: and when I grew up, he was a dominant force

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Speaker 2: at the University of Virginia, but Bruce Arena is largely

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Speaker 2: considered the best US coach we've had. I'm sure some

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Speaker 2: people would argue that don't lose your mind. Arena is

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Speaker 2: certainly up there. If not number one, whoever comes in.

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Speaker 2: If in two years you can transform this awesome group

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Speaker 2: to a bit of a juggernaut. They can make the

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Speaker 2: knockouts and then a quarter finals and then semifinals, like,

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Speaker 2: oh my gosh, we found our guy, and you know

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Speaker 2: that's I think where we are. The problem is can

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Speaker 2: you identify that guy and then can you land him.

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Speaker 2: I'm not gonna dig too much into it because we

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Speaker 2: don't have a resolution as we record this here right

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Speaker 2: before July fourth, but us something has to be done,

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Speaker 2: like just trotting it out there. What is that The

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Speaker 2: definition of insanity is doing the same thing over over

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Speaker 2: and expected different results. I feel like we're approaching that

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Speaker 2: with US men soccer all right now to the NBA,

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Speaker 2: where there's just so much that has gone down in

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Speaker 2: the last week. It's been a dizzying pace trying to

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Speaker 2: keep up. I tried my best to stay offline, but

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Speaker 2: it's very difficult when the news is hot and heavy.

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Speaker 2: I'll back up to this. So obviously I am doing

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Speaker 2: Herd again Wednesday, Thursday, Friday this week. As I then

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Speaker 2: headed a vacation next week, the podcast takes a break

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Speaker 2: as I actually powered out. I will not be on

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Speaker 2: social media Twitter, I will not be doing podcasts. Heard, nothing,

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Speaker 2: no radio hits. Regardless of what happens with the Jets,

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Speaker 2: I'm not doing it. But I went on Heard last

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Speaker 2: week and I thought I had a really good take.

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Speaker 2: I said, what if Lebron actually takes less? Hey, you

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Speaker 2: guys gave me the head coach I wanted in Reddick,

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Speaker 2: and you guys gave me my son drafted fifty fifth overall. Boy,

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Speaker 2: thanks so much. You know what, I'll take a little less.

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Speaker 2: We only got a couple of years. Let me take

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Speaker 2: a little less. Let's go get let's go big game hunting.

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Speaker 2: And that happened, and I felt like a I got

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Speaker 2: so many texts and responses. It was awesome. It felt great.

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Speaker 2: And then you wait and you're like, oh uh, Clay

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Speaker 2: goes to the Mavericks and Lebron allegedly had a few

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Speaker 2: guys on the list, and I believe, as of right now,

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Speaker 2: all of them are off the list except for Demart Rosen. Now,

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Speaker 2: depending on who you believe, what you want to read

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Speaker 2: about the list that Lebron said, Hey, I'll take less

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Speaker 2: than for these guys. Otherwise, give me the max. We'll

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Speaker 2: see what happens. And I felt great about it. And

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Speaker 2: then Clay picked the Maths. Now, I think the biggest

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Speaker 2: story here is the demise of the warriors and how

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Speaker 2: badly they butchered this, And we'll get to that shortly,

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Speaker 2: but quickly. On Clay and the mass. First of all,

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Speaker 2: major shout out to the Dallas Mavericks coming in enemy

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Speaker 2: territory and securing Clay Thompson. Pretty damn impressive. It all

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Speaker 2: went to, I told you guys, Clay has been here

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Speaker 2: in the South Bay, Los Angeles all summer. He lives

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Speaker 2: close to my buddy, and they've ever people seen him everywhere. Right,

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Speaker 2: Dallas Mavericks came in, had took Clay to a restaurant

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Speaker 2: in Hermosa Beach that I've been to with the family.

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Speaker 2: It's not that far from me, and they basically locked

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Speaker 2: him down in Laker terror. I mean, the Lakers facility

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Speaker 2: is like seven miles maybe maybe less from where this

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Speaker 2: restaurant is so shout out to the Maps, and the

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Speaker 2: Maps have done some work. I think they're the clear

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Speaker 2: favorites in the West. I don't want to hear Okay

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Speaker 2: see yet, Okay se he's up there. Minnesota's in great hip.

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Speaker 2: I think the mass Clay Thompson certainly makes them the

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Speaker 2: favorites in the West. They just went to the finals.

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Speaker 2: They upgrade with Clay. They got another guy, Naji Marshall,

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Speaker 2: who's a solid pick up, kind of like a Derek

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Speaker 2: Jones Tide player. But why would Clay pick the MAVs

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Speaker 2: over the Lakers? And I've been trying to wrap my

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Speaker 2: head around this. I know the money. A lot of

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Speaker 2: people are and again the reports. You got to be

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Speaker 2: careful who you read here. A lot of people are saying, oh,

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Speaker 2: Clay Clay took less to play for the MAVs. Not

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Speaker 2: technically true as I understand it, Clay could could have

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Speaker 2: gotten more from the Lakers. They came to him and

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Speaker 2: said we can do four for eighty and then Clay

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Speaker 2: and I don't know that he said this, but could

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Speaker 2: have easily countered. Oh is that is that available right now?

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Speaker 2: Well know, we've got to make some moves to get there.

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Speaker 2: But if you tell us yes on four for eighty,

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Speaker 2: we'll do it. We'll move d' angela, Russell, Ruijji, Mora, whoever, whatever,

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Speaker 2: We'll get to four eighty. They thought they could do that.

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Speaker 2: Clay was like, m I don't know. I think I'm

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Speaker 2: gonna go ahead and take bird in hand. The MAVs

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Speaker 2: had their ish together, and I've got my deal from Dallas,

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Speaker 2: three year deal, and it's not quite for eighty four

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Speaker 2: for eighty, but it's you know, I know it's not

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Speaker 2: tax free because basketball players have this dumb thing where

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Speaker 2: you got to pay tax in every everywhere you play

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Speaker 2: a game, because you're in Indiana and you're in Los

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Speaker 2: Angeles and everywhere. Blah blah blah blah. Bottom line is

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Speaker 2: he saved some money obviously staying in Texas, and he

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Speaker 2: gets to play for a team that's on the cusp

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Speaker 2: of a championship. The Lakers. Sadly, they're not a player away.

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Speaker 2: Lakers probably thought they were, were Clay Away probably not.

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Speaker 2: Were they closer with Clay certainly, remember two years ago

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Speaker 2: they're in the conference finals. Okay, I know they got

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Speaker 2: bounced in the first round. Denver basically, Jamal Murray beat

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Speaker 2: him in two super close games and the Lakers one

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Speaker 2: another one like that. I don't want to say it

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Speaker 2: was a coin flip series. You can't say that on

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Speaker 2: four to one. But the Lakers put up a fight,

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Speaker 2: and the year before they were in the conference finals.

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Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

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Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio

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Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to

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Speaker 1: listen live.

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Speaker 2: I maintain as good as OKC is. There's a lot

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Speaker 2: of good teams out there in the West. We've seen

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Speaker 2: now the Warriors drop back. We're losing Clay and Chris Paul.

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Speaker 2: I'll get to the Warriors. Don't worry. We've now seen

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Speaker 2: the Clippers losing Paul George. They dropped back, and so

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Speaker 2: now you're looking at a lot of Oh, Okay, so

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Speaker 2: he's good, Minnesota's good. I don't know, are we really

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Speaker 2: terrified of Denver now losing KCP and that's a big loss.

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Speaker 2: The best starting lineup in the league loses their shooting guard,

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Speaker 2: Like that's a significant loss, not easily replaceable. So I

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Speaker 2: can't say for certain the Lakers aren't a player away

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Speaker 2: I will say the West is kind of jumbled. I

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Speaker 2: think it's clear though Dallas is the cream of the

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Speaker 2: crop there. But it leads me to the Clay Thompson

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Speaker 2: leaving the Warriors, and I tried to map out a

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Speaker 2: little outline of how bad this has gone for Golden

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Speaker 2: State since winning the title, you know, like you could say,

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Speaker 2: like meeting this person was the best thing to happen

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Speaker 2: to me and the worst thing to happen to me.

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Speaker 2: Winning the title in twenty twenty two was incredible for

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Speaker 2: the Warriors. Obviously, Curry gets his Finals MVP, they win

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Speaker 2: it without Durant beating the Celtics. Awesome, impressive, just unbelievable stuff.

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Speaker 2: It was also the beginning of the end because after that,

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Speaker 2: I don't know if you guys are ready for this,

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Speaker 2: but after that thing snowballed so quickly and so ugly

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Speaker 2: that they've never recovered. Because June of twenty two they

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Speaker 2: win the title. Right October of twenty two is when

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Speaker 2: Draymond Green punches out Jordan Poole, and that moment they

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Speaker 2: just it was just so bad and people wanted to

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Speaker 2: dust it under the rug, like Jordan Poole was the problem.

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Speaker 2: When so what he was making fun of dre He

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Speaker 2: was making fun of Draymond for allegedly not getting the bag.

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Speaker 2: Remember that was one of the Again this is I

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Speaker 2: think it was a rapper who is from the Bay

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Speaker 2: Area who heard about what Jordan Poole was saying, and

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Speaker 2: Jordan Pool runs his mouth. We know he was a talker,

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Speaker 2: and he was running his mouth with Draymond about not

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Speaker 2: getting paid. You ain't getting any bag. Sorry, it's not happening.

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Speaker 2: And everybody knows they're paying Wiggans. You didn't get your money.

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Speaker 2: And then Draymond punches him out and everything goes sideways.

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Speaker 2: But right after the punch, the Warriors extended Wiggins because

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Speaker 2: he was remembered incredible in the finals against Boston. He

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Speaker 2: was probably their second best player. So they give Wiggins

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Speaker 2: a four year extension. After the season, which was a disaster,

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Speaker 2: they trade Jordan Poole for Chris Paul and you think, oh,

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Speaker 2: we got the veteran Chris Paul I did not like

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Speaker 2: that move at all. Within a week, right, they move

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Speaker 2: off Pool in his contract because Pool had gotten paid.

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Speaker 2: They extend Draymond another four year deal. So just remember,

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Speaker 2: you win the title and then you extend Wiggins for

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Speaker 2: four years? Do you extend Raymond for four And now

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Speaker 2: here we are a year later, and Clay's like, Yo,

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Speaker 2: where's my four year deal that you gave the other guys.

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Speaker 2: I'm as integral as Draymond, and I'm certainly more integral

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Speaker 2: than Wiggins, even though he's younger and had a better

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Speaker 2: Finals than me, and the Warriors just refused to do it.

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Speaker 2: And so Clay, in my opinion, took that as a

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Speaker 2: slap in the face. And this all goes back to

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Speaker 2: if you remember, Bob Myers was facing one of those

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Speaker 2: tricky moments where he's like, what do we do after

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Speaker 2: they won the championship? Do I tear it down? What

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Speaker 2: do we do trade Raymond after he punched about as

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Speaker 2: values load? Do we trape Clay? I don't? What do

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Speaker 2: we do? And nobody wants to be the guy who

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Speaker 2: ends up tearing down the dynasty? So they decide, Well,

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Speaker 2: Bob Myers decides, I'm out, I'm stepping down. I had

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Speaker 2: a good run. I'm gonna go do TV. I don't

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Speaker 2: want to be the guy like Kraus in Chicago who

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Speaker 2: tore down the Bulls and they just they bow the

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Speaker 2: guy his corpse. He's dead. Of course, they booed him

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Speaker 2: when they were honoring him the season in Chicago. He's

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Speaker 2: still a hated figure because he's the one who allegedly

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Speaker 2: didn't want to keep Jordan, Pippen, Phil of the gang

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Speaker 2: back together. And you guys, remember what happened to the

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Speaker 2: Bulls by the way, quick fallout. A decade after Jordan,

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Speaker 2: Pip and everybody left. They were a disaster, couldn't get anywhere.

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Speaker 2: Eddie Curry failure as a number one pick actually shades

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Speaker 2: of James Wiseman, right, Eddie Curry. Tyson Chandler did not.

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Speaker 2: Tyson Chandler was good but not incredible. Ended up better

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Speaker 2: with the man later in his career. But the Bulls

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Speaker 2: basically won a decade after drafting or after losing Jordan

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Speaker 2: and Pippin and Phil, and they won nothing. Then they

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Speaker 2: get Derrick Rose, they think they're back. They make the

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Speaker 2: conference finals against the Heat. Rose obviously keeps getting injured.

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Speaker 2: So now we're on twenty five years of largely irrelevant

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Speaker 2: Chicago Bulls basketball post Jordan tearing it down and then

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Speaker 2: no game plan. And I feel like we're getting close

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Speaker 2: to that territory with the Golden State Warriors. I'm not kidding.

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Speaker 2: They are approaching post Bulls. Jordan Wasteland. Folks, I don't

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Speaker 2: know how you quickly solve this. You're telling me they

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Speaker 2: were in the play in last year. They lose Chris Paul,

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Speaker 2: they lose Klay Thompson, two Hall of famers, obviously not

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Speaker 2: playing at a Hall of Fame level, the most expensive

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Speaker 2: lottery team in the history of the NBA last season,

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Speaker 2: and your moves are to add Kyle Anderson and the

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Speaker 2: Anthony Melton. What what? It's pretty cool. I saw a

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Speaker 2: brutal article just dismembering Joe Lacum for all the bad moves.

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Speaker 2: And the Jordan Poole trade for Chris Paul looks so

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Speaker 2: bad because they tried to peddle Chris Paul this week.

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Speaker 2: They couldn't get anything from him, so they just got

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Speaker 2: to let him go for nothing, which in hindsight makes

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Speaker 2: that Pool for Chris Paul deal looked like Jordan Poole

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Speaker 2: was just a salary dump. And remember, as much as

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Speaker 2: you guys hated Jordan Poole, he had his moments. Remember

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Speaker 2: Klay Thompson didn't start that season or maybe twenty one

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Speaker 2: or twenty two, whichever season it was, Clay was injured

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Speaker 2: and Jordan Poole and company they start out eighteen and

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Speaker 2: two and Jordan Poole's like looking like a player and

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Speaker 2: he gets his big money. Folks like, the Warriors have

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Speaker 2: botched this so badly. The pr hit they take obviously

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Speaker 2: for losing Clay's brutal but also are they a better

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Speaker 2: team than they were now? I know they're chasing Lowry

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Speaker 2: market in good luck with that. They allegedly chase Paul Pierce.

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Speaker 2: But it's also if depending on who you read, it

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Speaker 2: sounds like the Clippers did not even entertain trading Paul

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Speaker 2: George to the Warriors. They don't want to give up

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Speaker 2: Paul George in the West where he's going to play

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Speaker 2: against him and maybe in the playoffs. They don't want

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Speaker 2: to do that, so they ship him east or will

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Speaker 2: not ship him. But they're fine with Paul George going

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Speaker 2: east and the Sixers now get Paul George and we'll

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Speaker 2: get to that in a moment. I just I cannot

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Speaker 2: believe how poorly the Warriors have botched all this. Now,

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Speaker 2: you could also argue hate Jay Warriors dodged a bullet

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Speaker 2: with this Clay deal Man. He's kind of washed. And

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Speaker 2: I get that. He owed for ten in his final

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Speaker 2: game with the Warriors in that play in game against

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Speaker 2: the Kings. I get that, but look where he's landing now.

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Speaker 2: Clay Lands alongside what was dubbed by Stan Van Guddy

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Speaker 2: is the best backcourt in NBA history last month. Clearly

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Speaker 2: not true. But you're telling me Kyrie Luca and Klay

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Speaker 2: Thompson isn't going to be a major problem when Luca's

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Speaker 2: driving and kicking out. It's not Derek can I hit

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Speaker 2: this three. It's not PJ. Washington. I'm only a corner

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Speaker 2: three guy. It's not Josh Green, who had a really

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Speaker 2: nice game in his final game for the mass It's

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Speaker 2: Clay Frickin Thompson, who was one of the I think

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Speaker 2: he was fourth in the league and made threes last

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Speaker 2: year when we would call him washed all we want.

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Speaker 2: He's not the defender we once was. I get it.

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Speaker 2: You know they lose something defensively that they had in

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Speaker 2: Derreck Jones. But you're telling me the Slovenian Stallion doesn't

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Speaker 2: love this move. Luka Doncic adding one of the great

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Speaker 2: shooters the sport has ever seen, and folks. There was

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Speaker 2: pressure on Clay to be the number two guy in

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Speaker 2: Golden State when there was no number two for Wiggins

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Speaker 2: or for Curry, because Wiggins didn't really show up as

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Speaker 2: the number two after the finals. He had some off

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Speaker 2: court stuff that still has not really come out. Clay

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Speaker 2: now goes, oh, okay, we've got let's see here. Luca

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Speaker 2: is the one, Kyrie the two. Okay, sure, I'll slot

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Speaker 2: in as the three. Like does Clay start? Probably, but

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Speaker 2: maybe not all the time. I think this is just

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Speaker 2: an amazing fit for him, and I really can't him

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Speaker 2: for picking the MAVs over the Lakers. I know when

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Speaker 2: we get Rob g in here tomorrow, he's probably gonna

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Speaker 2: be a little upset, But overall, I can't fault Clay

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Speaker 2: at all for taking this deal. Now, let me just

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Speaker 2: quickly finish up the maps before we get to Paul

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Speaker 2: George and the Sixers. So let's just look at the maths.

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Speaker 2: They lose Derrick Jones, Josh Green rerouted to Charlotte, and

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Speaker 2: they dumped Tim Hardaway, so the Lakers. Remember I said

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Speaker 2: the Lakers needed to do some dumping so that they

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Speaker 2: could afford the four for eighty for Clay. The MAVs

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Speaker 2: went ahead and did it. They just dumped hard away

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Speaker 2: and they were able to add Clay Marshall and then

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Speaker 2: Quentin Grimes, who is a prospect but he's been hurt.

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Speaker 2: I think the Maths are the clear leaders. I would

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Speaker 2: I would put OKC two in the West, maybe two

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Speaker 2: or three Minnesota, minnesot actually probably Minnesota two, and then

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Speaker 2: OKAC three. Okay, see Ads Hartenstein, they add Alex Caruso,

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Speaker 2: they they extend Wiggins and Joe. I mean, they got

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Speaker 2: a good team. I just I don't know. I just

402
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Speaker 2: don't know how they're gonna look in the in the

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Speaker 2: conference finals if they have enough top end talent to

404
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Speaker 2: hang with the likes of say A Celtics, and Minnesota's

405
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,919
Speaker 2: got more top end talent. mAbs we saw MAVs do.

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Speaker 2: It was a close series, but Okase, he's very very good.

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Speaker 2: Stealing Hartenstein from the Nicks hurts. I think Nick's clearly

408
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Speaker 2: second best in the East, Yes, ahead of the Sixers,

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Speaker 2: behind Boston, which I'll wrap up now with the Sixers.

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Speaker 2: So this Paul George situation, I don't know if you

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Speaker 2: guys read the story. I think it was Ramona Shelbourne

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00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:38,080
Speaker 2: did a long story. So when Darryl Morian Companies showed

413
00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:42,080
Speaker 2: up for their meeting with Paul George, Paul George was

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Speaker 2: ringing an Allen iverson Jersey. They're like, oh, we got

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Speaker 2: this in the bag, but let me just quickly back up,

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Speaker 2: like and I got to ask this, this is a

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Speaker 2: legitimate question. Did Paul George pick the seventy six ers

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Speaker 2: or did he just have no other options? Because the

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00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,360
Speaker 2: Clippers essentially said, like you, but don't love you. Thank

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Speaker 2: you for your service. That's it. That's really what happened.

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Speaker 2: The Clippers essentially said, no, thanks, Paul George, We're not

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Speaker 2: doing it, so you take the Clippers off the table.

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Speaker 2: There were allegedly Warriors making moves, but the Clippers didn't

424
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:14,800
Speaker 2: want to do that deal. So the Warriors forget that.

425
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,119
Speaker 2: So then it comes down to Orlando or Philly the

426
00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:20,520
Speaker 2: only two teams with cap space. And you guys saw

427
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,360
Speaker 2: the news. One of the first big signings was KCP

428
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,160
Speaker 2: to Orlando three years, something like sixty seven mil something

429
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,320
Speaker 2: like that, and it's like, well, wait a minute, wait

430
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:35,639
Speaker 2: a minute, could they still afford Paul George after giving

431
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:39,520
Speaker 2: sixty six mil to KCP, and the answer from some

432
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,920
Speaker 2: of these capologists on social media is maybe not. Maybe

433
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,640
Speaker 2: they didn't want to get used by Clay and they thought,

434
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,280
Speaker 2: you know what, we're closer than that. We think, let's

435
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,440
Speaker 2: just give the money to KCP. And remember the last

436
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:51,720
Speaker 2: team to give KCP money after he won a title.

437
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,000
Speaker 2: Drum roll, please, Denver Nuggets worked out pretty well for them.

438
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,480
Speaker 2: Orlando's not quite there, but it's still a savvy good

439
00:22:57,520 --> 00:22:58,120
Speaker 2: move by them.

440
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,480
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

441
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,879
Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio

442
00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,119
Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to

443
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:09,920
Speaker 1: listen live.

444
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,720
Speaker 2: Which brings me back to Paul George. Is like, he

445
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,440
Speaker 2: didn't really have any other options. Where was Paul George

446
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,760
Speaker 2: gonna go? So it essentially came down to the Sixers.

447
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:21,480
Speaker 2: Then I know, Daryl Morey is getting lauded. Oh he

448
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,280
Speaker 2: cleared up the Caps face and now he gets Paul

449
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,080
Speaker 2: George and they've got the best big three in the league.

450
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,800
Speaker 2: And I'm just like, can we just slow the roll. Yes,

451
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,280
Speaker 2: it's a great fit. You got Maxi, you got Paul George,

452
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:38,200
Speaker 2: and you got Embiid. But let's just remember the big

453
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,840
Speaker 2: three means you're kind of thin with the rest of

454
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,960
Speaker 2: your roster. And we just saw the Phoenix Suns with

455
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,399
Speaker 2: Booker Beale and Durant completely flame out. Now I know

456
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:54,199
Speaker 2: this is a slightly different allocation of resources because they

457
00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 2: don't Phoenix doesn't have a big They went with two

458
00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:00,640
Speaker 2: guards and the wing and KD this tree is guard

459
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 2: forward center, which is really nice. And I agree, but

460
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,680
Speaker 2: I don't think. I'm not gonna say I don't think.

461
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 2: I know they're not better than the New York Knicks.

462
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,320
Speaker 2: I think the mckel bridges No Time All Star is

463
00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:14,560
Speaker 2: a much better pickup for them. Remember the Knicks could

464
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,320
Speaker 2: have gone after Paul George. Why didn't they? They said, no, no, no,

465
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:21,840
Speaker 2: no no, We're gonna bet on chemistry. We're betting that

466
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,840
Speaker 2: mckl bridges with other, with three other Villanova guys is

467
00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:27,960
Speaker 2: gonna work like magic, and we are gonna be looking

468
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:34,240
Speaker 2: at you know, basically the Villanova Knicks plus ogn and

469
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,399
Speaker 2: Ob and a couple other guys and all of a

470
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,239
Speaker 2: sudden boom, we are right in the mix. Now they

471
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,480
Speaker 2: are missing a center, which is a problem, especially if

472
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,479
Speaker 2: you're going against Joel Embiid. But the Knicks they should be.

473
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,119
Speaker 2: Finding a backup center shouldn't be hard. Obviously, you need

474
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 2: Mitchell Robbinson's stay healthy. That's been a problem for him.

475
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,640
Speaker 2: I'm of the belief that this Knicks team very well

476
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:57,800
Speaker 2: equipped to handle Maxie, who did cook them in the

477
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 2: In the series, Maxie was great at times, but he's

478
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,080
Speaker 2: a young guy. He also had a no show I

479
00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 2: think in Game five, or maybe it was Game six,

480
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,280
Speaker 2: one of those two Embiid. I mean, you go look

481
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,400
Speaker 2: at the last five years, who have been the most

482
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:17,160
Speaker 2: injured players in the postseason. It's Kawhi, it's Embiid, it's

483
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,240
Speaker 2: Paul George, and now the Sixers have two of them. Now,

484
00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:24,639
Speaker 2: obviously you're rolling the dice saying, hey, we're gonna take

485
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 2: our best chance. We should be okay, hopefully they'll be healthy.

486
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,359
Speaker 2: We'll manage the minutes all season. But I don't know.

487
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,000
Speaker 2: It's just tough for me to believe that I should

488
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 2: have faith in this Sixers team with two perpetually injured stars,

489
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 2: and they are stars. Paul George is the top twenty

490
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,800
Speaker 2: player in the league. Embiid, former MVP MAXI big time

491
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 2: ascending talent. It's just tough for me to believe that

492
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,679
Speaker 2: this team is suddenly better than Nicks and Celtics. And

493
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,520
Speaker 2: this is my other aspect to this that is troubling. Historically,

494
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 2: if you look at teams that had a Big three,

495
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,240
Speaker 2: someone has to be the fall guy. Someone's got to

496
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:06,639
Speaker 2: sacrifice their game for their stats and their game for

497
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,080
Speaker 2: the better of the team. You can go through them,

498
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:15,240
Speaker 2: Chris Bosh in Miami, you had Kevin Love. In Cleveland,

499
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,720
Speaker 2: you had was it James I guess it would have

500
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,440
Speaker 2: been James Harden in in Uh with the Clippers last year.

501
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:29,680
Speaker 2: Last year you had Bradley Beale essentially become a sacrificial

502
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,800
Speaker 2: lamb for the Suns after they got destroyed by Minnesota.

503
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:34,479
Speaker 2: And now it didn't help. The Bill played like ass.

504
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,359
Speaker 2: But somebody's always got to be the guy who is

505
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,679
Speaker 2: like the odd man out and viewed as the problem,

506
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,600
Speaker 2: and why is he sacrificing more? Blah blah blah. Well,

507
00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,040
Speaker 2: who do you think that is? In Philly? I'm gonna

508
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:47,879
Speaker 2: go ahead and guess it's not gonna be Tyrese Maxey,

509
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,520
Speaker 2: who's a homegrown talent. I'm gonna go ahead and guess

510
00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:52,840
Speaker 2: it's not gonna be Joel Embiid who's the leader of

511
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:57,760
Speaker 2: the franchise, the most probably probably the biggest athlete in Philadelphia.

512
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:03,080
Speaker 2: But he's right there with her. He's right there with Kelsey, like, oh,

513
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,960
Speaker 2: Kelsey's retired now, but you get it and beat his beloved,

514
00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,480
Speaker 2: it's gonna be Paul George. And that's why I don't

515
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 2: know that he fully thought this through, because let's be real,

516
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:16,320
Speaker 2: when things go sideways, and they will, is Paul George

517
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,560
Speaker 2: built to take the complaints? Is he built to take

518
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,479
Speaker 2: the heat? You know, Paul didn't get it done. Paul's

519
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,560
Speaker 2: defense was not what it should have been, Like he's

520
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:27,400
Speaker 2: gonna be the guy they're coming after. They're not the

521
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,320
Speaker 2: Philly is not gonna go after embeat. He's protected. We

522
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,879
Speaker 2: covered this with Ben Simmons. There were games where Simmons

523
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,480
Speaker 2: was better than Embiid and the media always blamed Simmons.

524
00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:37,919
Speaker 2: I mean, where was embid again? And beat did not

525
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,399
Speaker 2: have the greatest series against the Knicks did not. He

526
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:42,040
Speaker 2: was great in a couple games, but it's a seven

527
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,119
Speaker 2: game series. He was not great the year prior against

528
00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:48,040
Speaker 2: the Celtics. He just has these empty playoff performances. But

529
00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 2: he's bulletproof because the media loves him. He's a good SoundBite,

530
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,040
Speaker 2: he's good on social media. You know, he's a seven

531
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 2: footer who puts up dominant stats in the regular season.

532
00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,920
Speaker 2: I'm just telling you, I hope Paul George is ready

533
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,359
Speaker 2: when the heat comes and the Sixers underperform, because, folks,

534
00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:08,720
Speaker 2: the Clippers woefully underperformed, but they're sheltered out here in

535
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,080
Speaker 2: the West because it's the friggin Clippers. Nobody really cares

536
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,520
Speaker 2: that much. The Lakers are the NBA team in town.

537
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 2: When the Clippers failed, it was, oh, we got to

538
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 2: get rid of we got to get rid of the coach.

539
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,400
Speaker 2: When the Clippers so well, everybody's hurt. There was really

540
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,520
Speaker 2: nobody to outwardly blame the way. Paul George is going

541
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,240
Speaker 2: to get the heat. And I'm just telling you he's

542
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 2: gonna get the heat when things go sideways for the Sixers.

543
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,199
Speaker 2: So currently, and again not everything's completely done in the

544
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,040
Speaker 2: West or East. I would go top four in the East.

545
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,440
Speaker 2: I'm still extremely bullish on Indiana. We'll talk about that

546
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 2: more probably after vacation. I just I like the roster

547
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,080
Speaker 2: won through nine. Go look at the who played the

548
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 2: Celtics the toughest in the playoffs. Wasn't Dallas, it was

549
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,280
Speaker 2: the Pacers. They had Game one one one until the

550
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,120
Speaker 2: Jaylen Brown three goes over time. Two other games Pacers

551
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 2: let in the fourth quarter just choked them away. They played.

552
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,640
Speaker 2: I think they play the Celtics tougher than anybody. You're

553
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,320
Speaker 2: telling me the Pacers aren't a top fourteen in the East.

554
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:09,480
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, we got problems. I know Donovan Mitchell staying

555
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,560
Speaker 2: in Cleveland, but I would go Pacers four six or three,

556
00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:18,480
Speaker 2: Knicks two and Boston one. I'm sorry, Milwaukee Bucks fans,

557
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 2: I I don't know what I mean. Did you guys

558
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,680
Speaker 2: do anything? You have your big three stars in Middleton,

559
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 2: Damon Giannis, and now you're capped out. They got they can't.

560
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:30,520
Speaker 2: They have no moves. I don't know if they made

561
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 2: any moves just the draft. So I would I guess

562
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,640
Speaker 2: I would have the Bucks five. I'm bullish on the Pacers,

563
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:42,440
Speaker 2: I know, and then we could wrap up with the West.

564
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,680
Speaker 2: West is tougher because there's about thirteen teams. I'll say this.

565
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,520
Speaker 2: Let me reserve judgment on the West big picture, because

566
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,480
Speaker 2: Lowry Marketing sounds like he could be on the move.

567
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 2: It appears as I'm recording this that the Spurs are

568
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,960
Speaker 2: in play and a lowry market and Chris Paul Wemby

569
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,080
Speaker 2: trio and that's probably thirty five plus wins. Guys, Chris Paul,

570
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,160
Speaker 2: anywhere he goes, you know that he's gonna win games.

571
00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,640
Speaker 2: I think the Sons have fallen. What's weird is this

572
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 2: is crazy. The Lakers, despite this extremely exciting offseason, have

573
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:21,720
Speaker 2: signed one guy, Max Christy. That's it. So Warriors have

574
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 2: taken a step back, Clippers have taken a step back,

575
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,040
Speaker 2: and I don't know that the Lakers have made a

576
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 2: step forward quite yet. So I'll still stick at the

577
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 2: top of the West. Dallas, Minnesota, ok see, okay see

578
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,840
Speaker 2: probably ends up with the number one seed because man,

579
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:36,600
Speaker 2: they try hard in the regular season and they're young

580
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 2: and deep. But geez, that West is an absolute I mean,

581
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:43,000
Speaker 2: the Suns are not a top five team in the West.

582
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,280
Speaker 2: I think Lakers are in I think Memphis is coming hard.

583
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:50,720
Speaker 2: This is just an absolutely loaded Western conference. I mean,

584
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 2: with the etcetera, are like Portland, Utah. I mean, if

585
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,240
Speaker 2: the Pelicans are really good, adding to John Ta Murray,

586
00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:58,160
Speaker 2: we did get to that Pelicans are really good. West

587
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,520
Speaker 2: is stacked. NBA free agency's been popped and we are back. Well,

588
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,640
Speaker 2: I don't know we're gonna do one more pod. I

589
00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 2: think we will probably have it on. We'll take probably

590
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,320
Speaker 2: take July fourth off, enjoy the fireworks, and then we'll

591
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,240
Speaker 2: come out Friday with a pod to take us into

592
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 2: a little vacation time. Glad to be back, I love

593
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,200
Speaker 2: the NBA. Disappointed for US soccer, and we'll talk to

594
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:18,800
Speaker 2: you tomorrow