WEBVTT - ESPN's P.J. Carlesimo, Marc Kestecher Forecast Team's Future 0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:05.920 Exciting, promising times for the seventy Sixers, indeed, a major 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:09.600 splash at the trade deadline and lately some wins over 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:12.960 a couple quality opponents. We'll talk about the team with 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:15.440 some of the guys from the NBA on ESPN Radio 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:18.280 crew Mark Kestershire. If they keep this up post All 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:21.040 Star Break, I think to make the NBA Finals would 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:23.640 not surprise me. And a former coach and one time 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:27.240 colleague of Brett Brown PJ Carlison to me, Joel has 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.200 gone to another level. You're talking clearly one of the 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:32.440 best players in the league. As we head towards the 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:35.199 All Star Break, Mark and PJ join us on this 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:41.760 episode of the broadcast What's going on out there seventy 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:45.600 Sixers podcast. People, Hope you are doing great. I'm Brian 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:49.280 Seltzer coming back at you with another episode not too 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:52.600 long after our previous episode dropped. If you have not 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:56.480 heard it yet. An interview that Devon Gibbons from ninety 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:59.200 seventy five to Fanatic and I did with seventy six 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.360 Ers general manager Elton brand about all things that went 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.800 down at the trade deadline that came out a couple 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:07.600 days ago, so it's still relatively fresh if you have 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:10.080 not yet listened to it, thought that Elton told some 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.840 very interesting and insightful story, so check it out. And 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:15.840 coming up on this edition, we're going to sit down 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:19.080 with Mark Kestershire and A PJ. Carlissimo. If you are 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:22.200 a hardcore NBA fan, you've probably heard them a bunch 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.120 on the NBA on ESPN Radio. They are the top 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:30.080 national crew from ESPN's radio coverage of the league. They 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:32.520 do the Finals, They're going to be doing the All 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:35.720 Star Game this coming weekend, the top game each week, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.199 and they've been in town for a couple of games 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.319 the Sixers have had lately against the Lakers and the 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:43.120 Boston Celtics, so I had the chance to catch up 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.080 with them, and we'll hear from them in a moment 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.360 before we do. Reminders that to subscribe to the podcast, 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.680 it is very simple. Just type in Sixers Podcast Network 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.720 and then go to any one of your favorite podcasting platforms. 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.880 We're talking about things like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:02.600 tune in, pocketcasts, SoundCloud, all that good stuff, and that 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:06.880 will take you to our feed for the Sixers. They 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.120 have been a relevant story in the NBA for the 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.040 last couple of seasons, but increasingly so as of late. 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:16.639 Not only was there the promise and the hype surrounding 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:19.400 the team going into this year after the fifty two 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.720 win season and second round playoff appearance last year, but 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.919 then the November blockbuster that brought the Sixers Jimmy Butler, 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:29.080 and most recently, the day before the trade deadline, the 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.359 major move made with the La Clippers that netted Tobias Harris, 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:37.240 boban Manyanovitch and Mike Scott, and then Elton Brand landed 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.560 two more veterans and Jonathan Simmons and James and it's 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:42.280 the third before the deadline passed, So a lot has 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.120 been going on in Sixers Land, not to say anything 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.640 of the two most recent wins that the Sixers have 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.760 picked up since the deadline itself, and that was against 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:54.840 Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets last Sunday and Friday, respectively. 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:59.280 So Mark Kestershire PJ. Carlissimo of the NBA on ESPN 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.960 Radio in down covering a couple of those games, and 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.120 when they were passing through the seventy six ers training 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.920 complex in Camden a couple of days earlier, we sat 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.000 down to talk about it before the Sixers host the 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:13.680 Boston Celtics on Tuesday. One of the really neat cool 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.040 things about these seventy Sixers ascent in recent seasons is 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:20.040 that we get dignitaries from around the league passing through 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:22.640 Philadelphia and Camden, and it's awesome to be catching up 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:26.840 with Mark Kessiter and PJ Carlissimo from the NBA on 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.959 ESPN Radio. Crew. Guys, great to see you in these parts. 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.280 Thanks for coming on the pod. Well, one dignitary. I 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.920 think PJ would classify as such. I'm just hanging on 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.040 good time. You're off to a rough start, Brian cred 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:41.560 not good right now. We're only in the business of 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.320 trying to butter people out the lob softballs when they're 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.040 good enough to come on the pods like Well, we're 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.320 just happy to be back to Philadelphia after many years 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.800 of not coming to these parts. So it's nice to 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.240 be back in Philly, and even better when we have 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:57.360 a schedule where we have two games Laker games Sunday, 0:03:57.400 --> 0:03:59.280 Boston game on Tuesday, so we get a chance to 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.840 enjoy the city even more than usually. That was one 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:03.240 thing I was going to ask you, guys, is there 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:05.200 something need about it from your end too, where there's 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.240 a team that re emerges after a couple down seasons 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.320 and they become a little bit more relevant in the league, 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:12.720 and especially the way the seventy sixes have done it, well, 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.280 I'm prejudiced. Brett Brown and I worked together for five 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:17.560 years in San Antonio. I've known Brett since he was 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.640 a young not even a senior, a young high school player. 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:25.000 Of course, his father, Bob was a legendary coach up 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:27.479 in New England and played against Brett when he was 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.800 at Boston University and stayed in touching him all the time. 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:34.479 He coaches in Australia, so it's somebody I know extremely well. 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:39.160 I'm just so happy that the organization did what normally 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.080 doesn't happen in the NBA. They stayed with a guy, 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:42.800 the guy that took with the lumps for a bunch 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.600 of years, and they rewarded him and allowed him to 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:48.560 see here and see the growth that has happened. And 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:52.200 so selfishly I'm thrilled with that. I think he's done 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.080 an exceptional job. And this year, you know, good news 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:58.159 what Elton in the front office has done. It's really 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:01.320 it's great the way they've reach the roster. But for 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:03.840 a coach, I mean, it's funny that you're seeing tomorrow 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:06.800 two teams go at each other or with the Celtic 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:10.760 Sixer game, Celtics are basically untouched. So Brad's been coaching 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:12.560 the same team not just for a year, but almost 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.440 for a couple of years, and it seems like Pilly 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.279 changes every couple of months. That's really hard from a 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:20.640 coaching standpoint. The good news is you're getting some better 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.080 players and I think the pieces fit well together. But 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:25.960 I'm really looking forward to watching these last twenty five 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.120 plus games and seeing the Sixers continue to improve and 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.000 seeing what they're going to be able to do, not 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:32.800 just this year. Everybody wants to know you, hey, I'm 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.120 gonna win a championship this year. I'd love if they 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:36.600 could do that, But I just want to see what 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:38.279 they're going to do in the future, because they seem 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.360 to be set up extremely well going forward. You make 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.040 a great point. There are only a little bit more 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:45.400 than two dozen games left in the regular season, and 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.240 regardless mark of the type of talent that you have 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.839 on a roster, that's still a relatively limited window of 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:54.359 time to try and get everything's right. On the surprise scale, 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:56.400 where did let's go over the two big trades Elton 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.359 Brand of the seventy sixers have made this season. On 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:00.680 the surprise scale, where did Jimmy rank for you from 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.360 a national perspective as someone who falls league and then 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:06.719 the Tobias Harris La Clipper swap. I wasn't as surprised 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:08.760 with the Jimmy trade. I mean, it was so early 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:12.719 in the season and it was inevitable, right something was 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.200 going to happen. He was going to get out of 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:17.640 Minnesota somehow, and it seemed early enough where it was 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.440 almost like an offseason acquisition that you could fill him in, 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.680 and you know, he's an upgrade in many respects to 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:28.400 the roster. I was not as I wasn't surprised with 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:32.560 the three player trade that Tobias Harris was involved with. 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:35.200 Maybe more surprised on the Marquelle Folds trade, you know, 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.280 just looking down the future, maybe not you know, for 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:42.680 this team. But to amplify on Pj's point, it's I'm 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.120 sure he could tell us from a coaching perspective when 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.200 you have and it reminds me of Cleveland last year 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.040 right before the All Star break when they brought in 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:53.240 all these guys and ty Lou had to first of 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:54.960 all figure out how to play them in the one 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:56.760 game before the All Star break, and then try to 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.520 mesh them together in the sprint to the finish. It's 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:01.440 not even the halfway point anymore. It's like the final 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:04.760 third of the season. And even though they know survived 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.240 Indiana in the first round, it was still flawed all 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:08.839 the way to the end. So I think, you know, 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:13.000 for Brett, you know, his job of trying to figure 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.040 out not only how to match these guys to where 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:18.560 they work to their best, it's also a matter of 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.320 when the rotation starts to come down even more from 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:25.440 ten guys now to nine and as coaches told us, 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:26.920 you know, maybe eight and a half when we get 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:30.240 to the playoff spot. Is just figuring out what are 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:33.840 the best combinations to put you in the best frame 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:37.480 of mind. So neither really surprised me totally. But I 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.120 think at this stage, with twenty six games to go 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:42.800 in the regular season and then the postseason sprint, there's 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:44.520 still a lot of work to do. A phrase that 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:46.679 Brett often uses when he's talking to us the media 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:49.280 is it's early days. It's early days, and really with 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.280 this revamped starting five, it could not be earlier days. 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.200 Just two games but against quality opponents. Try not to 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.160 make too much the numbers. But the net rating right 0:07:57.200 --> 0:07:59.600 now is over twenty, which is pretty darn good. And 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:01.120 I wouldn't want to peg you guys down to a 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:05.000 specific number or a rank, but in general initial vibes, 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:07.600 where would you put this starting five, Like what class 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:09.760 are we talking about here when you compare it to 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.320 the rest of the league. I mean, if you're looking 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.200 in the east, I gotta put it right up there 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.360 near the top. I know, on the day that the 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.040 Tobias Harris trade was made, some people are saying best 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:21.280 five in the NBA, and you know, to me, I 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:23.120 don't think you could touch what Golden State is doing 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:24.720 right now. So I don't know if PJ if you 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:27.400 agree with that, it's yeah. I mean, there's no question 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:30.080 the talent is incredible. What jumps out at you, though, 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.120 is you're not talking a ton of experience and you're 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:37.000 not talking a ton of playoff success, And that really 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:39.520 defines when you talk about players in the league. That's 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:41.160 what it comes down to. It comes down to playoff 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:44.280 success and that usually goes hand in hand with experience. 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:47.360 So I just think it's really hard until they you know, 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.120 it's a big deal to make the playoffs, and it's 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.080 a big deal to get in a round or two. 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.959 When you start talking about winning a conference final or 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:56.880 winning an NBA championship, it's a whole other level. And 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.480 I think, to me, that's what separates you know, are like, yeah, hey, 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:02.400 that looks pretty the starting Don't get me wrong, it's 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.520 an excellent starting lineup, but they have a lot of 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:08.480 filling out to do on their resumes before you, in 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:10.080 my opinion, before you can compare them to some of 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:12.200 the other groups. And it's also the egos too, right, 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:13.800 You've got to have guys that are willing to take 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:15.920 a step back. I mean, you have five guys that 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:19.400 are averaging what's seventeen points a game, and you see 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:21.760 a golden state if you know, it's it's rare that 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:23.800 Steph Curry has an off night, but when he does, 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:25.920 you know he's more than willing to Okay, this is 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:28.400 me and that I'm gonna have eleven assists or twelve assists. 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.679 And you need that from guys that are alphas that 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.720 are able to step back. Don't get me wrong, there's 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:36.440 a whole lot of us that would love to be 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.880 sitting where Brett's sitting right now and working with this group. 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.400 But I just think sometimes everybody kind of looked at 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:42.760 it and said, well, now, I think it's going to 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.360 be what a cover on Sports Illustrated, So god knows 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:47.440 what they're gonna say. But I was like, whoa wait 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:50.280 a minute here, guys, Let's let's play some games, let's 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:55.520 win some playoff series. Let's do some real successful things 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.640 in April, May and June, and then you can start 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:00.600 elevating the group. I know a lot people talk about 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.280 the length of an eighty two game season, I think, 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:04.760 especially in a context like this where so much can change. 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.600 I don't know if Brett put it to you guys 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:08.280 like this, but in the media scrum, he was saying 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.240 like he feels like this is the third different team 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:12.280 he's coached this year, and so that's one of the 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:15.200 neat things about an NBA season that long, that you 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:17.800 can have so many different iterations. But it is tough 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.240 not to look ahead to what happens after April the tenth, 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:23.760 and we talked talking about the playoffs for two guys 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.280 in particular, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. What's what's the 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:30.160 pulse that you guys see on those two players in particular, 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.400 And you're gonna see them this weekend too in it 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:35.560 All Star Game on opposite teams. You know, Embiid has 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.080 I mean he stepped right to the four amongst the 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:40.400 best players in the league right now. You know, for Simmons, 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.960 there's still some aspects of his game he has to 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:45.560 work out, notably the shooting aspect. You know, from range. 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.240 He does just about everything else. I know, the playoffs, 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:52.160 the second round series didn't go well against Boston last year, 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.400 so that's going to be his measuring stick to see 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:57.160 where he can get get to the next level. Yeah, Joel, 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.840 I mean to me, Joel has gone to another level, 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:04.120 diminishing what Ben has done. But Joel's at a different level. 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:06.720 You're talking clearly one of the best players in the league. 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:11.000 Just is so versatile, does so many things. Again, the 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:14.959 only missing element is, you know, some championships, some playoff 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:18.480 series wins, things like that. Because he's accumulating everything else. 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:20.520 Ben's got a hole in his game. I mean he 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:22.240 doesn't make free throws and he doesn't shoot the ball. 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:26.280 It was bizarre watching the way Lebron played him on Sunday. 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.680 I mean, he was Lebron. I'm I said early, I 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:31.920 told Kessie Lebron's gonna get like five defensive threes. He 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:33.760 didn't get one until I think the last six minutes 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:35.440 of the game. Right I couldn't believe it. I mean, 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.120 he was not even and that's a little unsettling to 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.800 be played like that. But there are a lot of 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:44.400 players in this league who have not been great perimeter 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:47.280 shooters who have done very well that The free throw 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:49.880 concerns me more because he's a point guard and he's 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:52.240 got the ball in his hand a lot, and he's 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.559 got to do that now. Haven't said that. You know, 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:57.560 I'm bringing pretty hard on Ben. He's had a great 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.760 career right now. But I just think Joels a lot 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:04.040 further along in his development than Ben is right now. 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.320 And that's the player perspective. And I think the other 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.000 part of your question two is how the standings are 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.440 going to shape up this game against Boston. You've got 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:15.000 four and five home court advantage. We don't know where 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:16.840 Indiana is going to end up. I think they've played 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:20.160 way better than anyone anticipated after Victor Oladipo's season ending 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.240 injury and the way Milwaukee and Toronto have played this season. 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:26.400 You've got four, and you could say five, really good 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.959 teams in the Eastern Conference. And as we talked about 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.679 on the Sunday broadcast, you don't want to be the five. No, 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.120 you absolutely though you don't want to be the four 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.080 or the five, to be honest with you, You'd like 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.600 to be in the two three, And there's a better 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:42.200 path to get into the conference final. I think up 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:45.280 there not diminishing those teams at all. But the other thing, 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:47.400 and Brett didn't duck away from the question in the 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:51.720 post practice scrum about playing Boston is not just another game. 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:55.319 There's obviously a long standing rivalry. But the other thing 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:58.920 is simplistic as it is when you're competing with teams 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.800 in the conference and you play them, your win is 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:03.760 their loss. I mean, the other nights you sit there 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:05.640 and hope the team doesn't do well. This is a 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.160 night like you control each other, you know, So this 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.520 is going to be a Boston win and a Philly 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:13.480 loss or vice versa, which is game everybody's looking for. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.520 So it's very significant. It's not just another game. It's 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.080 a big, big game. It was amazing seeing right up 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:20.960 to the end of the three o'clock trade deadline the 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.079 other week, just the teams that were making moves and 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.160 you're starting to think, who does what after this team 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:28.480 does that? The Rafters acquiring Marcus All. I do want 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:30.160 to ask you guys about Elton before we wrap up, 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:32.200 but I also want to circle back to Brett. How 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:33.920 much I mean you were I want to make sure 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:35.560 I have this right. Two thousand and two was when 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.240 you and Brett linked up and san Antonio San Antonio 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.320 two three and that was re season, I think the 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:42.440 start of his second go round with the Spurs because 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:44.640 he was there for the one championship season and then 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:48.240 went back. So what's different about Brett Brown? Now, what's 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.480 the same from from what you can recall from those Well, 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:52.520 the person is the same. That's the best and that's 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:57.040 still his strength. And uh, he's he's not a good person, 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.200 he's a great person. He does an incredible job I 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.400 think relating with the players, which has become more and 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.880 more important in terms of coaching everywhere, but particularly in 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.960 the NBA. I think he's a great representative for the franchise. 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.800 I think he's great for this city. I just think 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:14.800 he handles it very very well. Some people might have 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:16.480 been surprised, but they forget that he had been a 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:20.120 head coach in Australia and he grew up in a 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.920 coaching family. And when you look at his tree, I 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:24.560 mean his father wasn't a good coach. His father was 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.280 a great, great basketball coach. That's what he grew up with. 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.040 There was no question what Brett was going to do 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.680 from day one. He played for Rick Patino would be 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.360 you that's a pretty good guy to play for and 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.800 learn from. When he was down in Australia, he worked 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:39.680 with Lindsay Gays, who's Andrew Gays's father, who's a legendary 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.960 Olympic coach and former player in Australia. Then he goes 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.320 and works for Greg Popovich for a whole bunch of years. 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:47.320 So I mean you talk about you know, you look 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:50.200 at somebody's resume, were they ready for the job. There's 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.960 no question Brett was ready. People might not have realized. 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:54.920 You know, you look at him, he still looks very young. 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:56.520 He say, well, is he ready to be a head 0:14:56.520 --> 0:15:00.760 coach in the NBA. He was, he is, And I 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:04.840 think almost as importantly the way he handled the losses 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:08.840 those tough years when you know, Philly was processed whatever 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:12.040 people want to call it, it showed how well he 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.480 handled that and he still tried to be positive and 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.880 kept the guys going, you know, and being competitive. So 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:20.720 I just think if you if you sit back and 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.280 even me, who's not objective, you would you just look 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:27.200 at you know, Brett, here's his lineage. You've got to be, 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:29.720 you know, not very bright to not have expected him 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:31.920 to be this great a coach. It's always ever talked 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:34.440 about his culture, and that, of course, I'm sure extends 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.040 from what he's been exposed to over the course of 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.480 his career. And when you're losing games, you're like, Okay, 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:40.480 I understand all this positive talk in the culture. But 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:42.520 now when you bring in guys like Jimmy Butler and 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.400 a Tobias Harrison, you absorbed them. I mean it seems 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.000 like so far, you know, there's still high emphasis on 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.600 passing and sharing the ball and selflessness. It has been 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:55.360 an amazing story. Then Elton Brand finds himself about two 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:57.040 and a half years and moved from actually playing some 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.560 games for Brett Brown being the general manager of this team. 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:04.800 How fun do you think relationships and the ability to 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.320 work that aspect of being in a front office can 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:10.200 go to getting deals done? Mark, Hey, it's it's remark. 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:12.440 I take back. PJ and I were in Las Vegas 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.120 right in July and the seventy six ers were one 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.920 of our first games, and I remember being in a 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.680 hot gym and like, Oh, there's Elton Brand and then oh, 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:22.840 isn't he the general manager of this team? And he 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:24.920 just had a command And I think he had that 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.160 as a player too. You know, he was very well 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:31.120 respected in his playing days. But I think he has 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.680 he's way ahead of the curve already for what he's 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:35.760 doing and certainly what he did, uh, you know last 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.040 week at the trade deadline as well. We said it 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.720 on the broadcast on Sunday, not even just make a move. 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.120 He made a series of moves. He made very bold 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.320 moves for a first year general manager. And he doesn't 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:47.720 seem to like confidence as he did not as well 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.760 as No. I mean, the only negative Eb has is 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.960 having gotten to Duke. Other than that, there's there's no 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.560 question you know what an impressive person he is and 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:58.800 how talented he is. And again you're talking a guy. 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.320 Was he ready? Yeah, I think he's I mean, experience 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:03.240 is a great teacher. Will he be a better GM 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:07.160 in five years yeah, probably, But still the moves he's 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.280 made you have to love. You talked about the word 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:11.720 before that I thought was most important relationship. I think 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.880 his relationship with Brett it has been and will be critical. 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:19.640 And again, not everybody always holds up the Spurs as perfection, 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:21.960 but when you do what they've done for as long 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.920 as they've been able to do it, and the heart 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:28.439 of that relationship is RCBU Freed and Greg Popovich. So 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.440 Brett understands very well so does Elton than anybody else 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.200 in the NBA. When you have that, because so many 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:36.879 organizations in this league don't have that. You don't have 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:39.560 the coaching staff in the front office tied together the 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.320 way it appears eb and Brett are. So that's a 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.959 great thing. Last thing seventy six for ceiling for this 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.320 year will be if such and such happens, I'll pull 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.399 it to you, guys. Well, I think the ceiling for 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.600 everybody in the East is conference Championship. I mean, the 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:57.040 Golden State Warriors are just that good. Not that nobody's 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.199 going to beat them, but it's hard enough, you know, 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.720 to get to a seventh game and have a chance 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:05.040 to beat them four times. Like we said earlier, I 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.480 think this is there's a lot of stiff competition in 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.399 the Eastern Conference, so just to make it to the 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.480 finals will be impressive with this lot. And then the 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.040 second part of your question is if these if these guys, Mesh, 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:19.399 I think Tobias Harris already is showing he can. I 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.639 think the bench guys as well, have given Brett Brown 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:24.840 a new look at what he can do and some 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.479 of the different rotations he could put out there. But 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.640 if they keep this up post All Star Break, I think, 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.800 to me, you got to say, to make the NBA 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.840