Speaker 1: We're gonna get started with the NBA Finals that concluded
Speaker 1: last night with Game seven in Oklahoma City, with the
Speaker 1: Thunder crowned as champions for the twenty twenty four to
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five season. The game featured a devastating injury
Speaker 1: to pay the star Tyreez Halliburton. I'll get to that
Speaker 1: in a moment, but I first want to give props
Speaker 1: to the Thunder who completed the season having the best
Speaker 1: record and the best player in the entire NBA Shay
Speaker 1: Gilgess Alexander or as my colleague Malika Andrews from ESPN
Speaker 1: so affectionately calls him, Shay Butter, capped his historic season
Speaker 1: with twenty nine points and twelve assists in Game seven.
Speaker 1: By the way, forty minutes just one turnover. He's just
Speaker 1: a fourth player in NBA history to win the regular
Speaker 1: season MVP and scoring title while becoming an NBA champion.
Speaker 1: The Thunder victory is also the culmination of longtime general
Speaker 1: manager Sam Presty.
Speaker 2: Presty, who has been in charge since.
Speaker 1: The two thousand and seven two thousand and eight season,
Speaker 1: has led Oklahoma City to the second most regular season
Speaker 1: victories in that span or in the league during that span.
Speaker 1: I like to start there first and foremost. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: start off giving some love to Sam Presty, because here's
Speaker 1: the reason why nobody was calling him out more than me.
Speaker 1: I respect the hell out of him. I think that
Speaker 1: over the years he's accumulated Hall of Fame talent, and
Speaker 1: he's been in charge since two thousand and seven. My
Speaker 1: issue with him is that they didn't close.
Speaker 2: One of my.
Speaker 1: Favorite movies is really the opening monologue by Alec Baldwin.
Speaker 1: Always be closing, Always be closing, and that was something
Speaker 1: that we could never say about the Oklahoma City Thunder,
Speaker 1: and it got on my last damn nerves because throughout
Speaker 1: the years, I remember when Sam Presty had a team
Speaker 1: and I looked at players, the players that he's had
Speaker 1: on the squad, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James hard And,
Speaker 1: Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Victor Oladipo, Paul George, still having
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook, Okay, Carmelo Anthony. The list just goes on
Speaker 1: and on and on, but no championship show for it.
Speaker 1: Anybody else, somebody would be asking when we're gonna get
Speaker 1: the chip? When are we gonna get the championship. Well,
Speaker 1: finally Oklahoma City answered the call, courtesy of Shay Gilgess,
Speaker 1: Alexander and Sam Presty.
Speaker 2: Deserves a boatload of credit.
Speaker 1: They've got about anywhere from thirteen to fifteen first round
Speaker 1: picks in the very near future, and they got a
Speaker 1: championship squad. Now, that's the second youngest squad in NBA
Speaker 1: history to have captured such a feat. Only the Portland
Speaker 1: Trailblazers from the nineteen seventy six seventy seven season, led
Speaker 1: by Bill Waltson, was considered younger, averaging a little over
Speaker 1: twenty five years of age, whereas Oklahoma City averaged twenty.
Speaker 2: Five and a half years of age. This is who
Speaker 2: they are. This is what Oklahoma City brings to the table.
Speaker 1: Shay Gilgers is a superstar in this league, all right,
Speaker 1: averaging thirty four in game sevens. I'm looking at what
Speaker 1: this brother has done, and you guess you just gotta
Speaker 1: stand down. He's one of the best players in the world.
Speaker 1: And there's no way around it. It's just that simple.
Speaker 1: Right now, if you're telling me a top five in
Speaker 1: the NBA, you could make a legitimate argument that he's
Speaker 1: top two easily him and Nicola Jokich in the Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 1: That's what you could do. I give you my top
Speaker 1: five a little bit later if you want me to.
Speaker 1: But that's where I'm at with it right now. Got
Speaker 1: to give love to Jay Dubb, Jaylen Williams showing himself
Speaker 1: to be that sidekick that any championship squad needs that
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City has with Jay gilges Alexander needing that sidekick.
Speaker 1: The only thing missing from Jay Dubb's game is consistency
Speaker 1: everything else. He's a legit six six sixty seven. He's
Speaker 1: got a j He's got ball handling skills. He could
Speaker 1: finish at the basket, he can finish in the open court.
Speaker 1: He can hit free throws, He's got a mid range game. Plus,
Speaker 1: he defends. One of only two players in the entire NBA.
Speaker 1: Him and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers made an
Speaker 1: All NBA Team and an All NBA Defensive Team. Can't
Speaker 1: deny what Alex Caruso, you know, the elder statesman of
Speaker 1: this crew, meant to this team this year. Can't deny
Speaker 1: what Isaiah Hartenstein, who came over from the New York
Speaker 1: Knicks last year meant to this team this year. Ched
Speaker 1: Holmgren is just in the third year. Look at what
Speaker 1: he's been able to do this year. You got cats
Speaker 1: coming off the bench like Wiggins and Wallace and these cats.
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City is loaded and they're not going away, and
Speaker 1: they deserve a boatload of credit for it. They really
Speaker 1: really do. My hat's off to them. My hat's off
Speaker 1: to coach Dagnault, who I thought. Listen, had they lost
Speaker 1: Game seven last night.
Speaker 2: We all know what we would have been talking about.
Speaker 1: We've been talking about what happened in Game one, how
Speaker 1: he changed the starting lineup before tip off for the
Speaker 1: NBA Finals even arrived, and.
Speaker 2: We would have said, Yo, what the hell are you thinking?
Speaker 1: But turns out they ended up getting it done, and
Speaker 1: props to them for doing so. It didn't come easy.
Speaker 1: It came hard because the Indiana Pacers were valiant and
Speaker 1: defeat they pushed this series to seven games, and if
Speaker 1: certain things had gone their way, who knows, we might
Speaker 1: be sitting here talking about them as NBA champions. But
Speaker 1: it was not to be. And that's where we go
Speaker 1: with the second subject.
Speaker 2: We get to.
Speaker 1: Tyrese Halliburn, the Pacers point guard got off to a
Speaker 1: hot start, scoring nine points on three or five shooting,
Speaker 1: but it all came to and with just under five
Speaker 1: minutes left in the first quarter, that's what Haliburton tried
Speaker 1: to drive left and his right leg gave out and
Speaker 1: he crashed to the floor in pain. He was carried
Speaker 1: off the court, and his father, John Halliburton, later revealed
Speaker 1: what many suspected an appearent Achilles' injury. When it was over,
Speaker 1: Tyrese Halliburton stood on crutches outside the pace's locker room,
Speaker 1: welcoming teammates with an embrace as each one came off
Speaker 1: the floor following Indiana's one O three ninety one loss
Speaker 1: to the thunder. I know y'all have seen me on
Speaker 1: many occasions talking about Tyrese Haliburton and how he's no superstar.
Speaker 1: But it doesn't mean that he didn't have the impact
Speaker 1: of a superstar. It doesn't mean that he's not a
Speaker 1: damn good player. As I reminded his father when he
Speaker 1: and I were talking followed in their Game six winning
Speaker 1: Indianapolis the other night, I said, I was clamoring for
Speaker 1: the Knicks to draft your son, and the fairness his
Speaker 1: father was a class act, very pleasant to talk to
Speaker 1: in the whole bit, and to see him crying last
Speaker 1: night was not a good sight to see, because boy
Speaker 1: does he love his son and he believes in his son.
Speaker 1: And it's a damn shame that Tyre's Halliburton had to
Speaker 1: go out like that, because I'm here to tell y'all.
Speaker 1: If Tyree's Halliburton the way that he was rolling, we
Speaker 1: all know when he starts off strong, he usually has
Speaker 1: a very very good game. And last night he shot.
Speaker 1: He had three of his first four shots, all three
Speaker 1: with three point shots. And when you look at what
Speaker 1: he brought to the table, I mean, the Pacers looked
Speaker 1: like they were gonna have Okac in some trouble because
Speaker 1: we all know that Okac's weakness is the half court offense,
Speaker 1: and sometimes it goes a bit stale, and they engage
Speaker 1: in iso ball by getting the ball to Shay gilges
Speaker 1: Alexander to come and rescue today and we know, listen,
Speaker 1: that might not have been enough. So I look at
Speaker 1: it from that standpoint and give love and respont where
Speaker 1: is due. The Pacers them hard, Nie Smith, they got
Speaker 1: a future Benedict Mathren. I know he had some bad games,
Speaker 1: but he had some good moments. I believe in that kid.
Speaker 1: Miles Turner and Nie Smith seemed a bit like they
Speaker 1: the moment was too big for them in a game seven,
Speaker 1: But they weren't horrible.
Speaker 2: They got some skills.
Speaker 1: You could keep this Indiana team attack and they could
Speaker 1: still make some noise within the Eastern Conference. The problem
Speaker 1: is is that you're not playing next season with Halliburton.
Speaker 1: And don't get me started on TJ McConnell. Obie Topping
Speaker 1: had an awful game, no points, four shots, clearly rattled
Speaker 1: at the departure of Tyre's Halliburton, which he openly confessed
Speaker 1: after the game. But when you look at TJ McConnell,
Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, let me put it in perspective, if
Speaker 1: the Indiana Pacers had won the game last night, I
Speaker 1: might have named TJ McConnell on MVP Game five the
Speaker 1: way he exploded in the third quarter Game seven. Twelve
Speaker 1: points in the third quarter, Yeah, both fourth quarters the
Speaker 1: only scored and scored zero points, had one shot but
Speaker 1: partially being taken out and having this rhythm disrupted by
Speaker 1: Rick Carlile, who is gonna rely on others because the
Speaker 1: size and et cetera. You might take him out, but
Speaker 1: TJ McConnell was big time for the Pacers in this
Speaker 1: NBA Final Series, big time for them.
Speaker 2: I got nothing belove for this kid.
Speaker 1: I've known him since his days in Philly, that little either,
Speaker 1: little engine, that could, little rough rider.
Speaker 2: He could be on my team any day.
Speaker 1: Got nothing belove for TJ McConnell, and he warranted MVP
Speaker 1: consideration if the Pacers had won.
Speaker 2: That's the truth.
Speaker 1: But it wasn't to be because Doklahoma City Thunder was
Speaker 1: the best team in basketball all year long, and they
Speaker 1: showed it. And so it is what it is. They
Speaker 1: are the champions. Here's the thing to be concerned about
Speaker 1: next season. Look at this right here, y'all. Tyre's Halliburt
Speaker 1: and Achilles, Jason Tatum, Achilles, Damian Lilla, Kyrie, Irvin acl
Speaker 1: That's where I mean. These guys are gonna those three,
Speaker 1: those first three, Haliburton, Tatum, and lill Adre gonna be
Speaker 1: out probably for the whole season. Kyrie gonna be out
Speaker 1: for most of the season. We're starting next NBA season
Speaker 1: twenty five to twenty sixth season.
Speaker 2: Without those four guys. That is not good.
Speaker 1: And the NBA a global iconic brand. Don't doubt it
Speaker 1: for one second. The NBA, you need them players. People
Speaker 1: love the NBA the world over, but we need those players.
Speaker 2: It's a damn shame.
Speaker 1: And I'm just telling you right now when you look
Speaker 1: at them, gotta tell you it's paying for to watch
Speaker 1: those injuries. I mean, Kyrie is a spectacular talent. This
Speaker 1: is a superstar player and the champion. We want to
Speaker 1: see him. Damian Lillard, we know what a closer he is.
Speaker 1: We want to see him. Jason Tatum is a champion
Speaker 1: of the twenty seven point per game scorer who's made
Speaker 1: all the NBA t the last four years.
Speaker 2: We want to see him. And all three of them
Speaker 2: are out. Them and Halliburton are out for most, if
Speaker 2: not all, of.
Speaker 1: Next season, which brings into question what Lakers coach former
Speaker 1: ESPN and ABC analyst JJ Reddick said when he was
Speaker 1: comparing old school to today's game and how pace of
Speaker 1: play wears and tears on the body just as much,
Speaker 1: if not more than the physicality from the seventies to eighties,
Speaker 1: the nineties, and right now it's looking like he's having
Speaker 1: a point because look at the injuries that we're witnessing.
Speaker 2: Look at that.
Speaker 1: Damn it was sad when I saw Haliburton go down.
Speaker 1: Broke my heart because I wanted to see a healthy
Speaker 1: Haliburton on the court making noise, and I originally he
Speaker 1: was playing so well, he played so well in Game six,
Speaker 1: I said to myself, I don't want to hear anything
Speaker 1: about injuries.
Speaker 2: I ain't seen.
Speaker 1: Somebody with a CAF injury move like that. And then
Speaker 1: sure enough he goes down in Game seven, and the
Speaker 1: injury was very, very earily reminiscent of how Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: went down against Toronto in that Game five where cav
Speaker 1: just rolled up the way that it did and Achilles
Speaker 1: tour painful, no doubt.
Speaker 2: Wishing nothing but the best.
Speaker 1: The tyres Haliburton, props to him, Congrats to him for
Speaker 1: the season and particularly the playoffs that he had, wishing
Speaker 1: him a speedy recovery.
Speaker 2: God bless him, his dad and his family.
Speaker 1: Hope they get I hope he gets healthy much much
Speaker 1: sooner than later, because he's a bright spot for this league.
Speaker 1: I ain't call him a superstar, but he can have
Speaker 1: superstar impact from Tom to tom. He's a damn good
Speaker 1: player and I wish him nothing but the best.
Speaker 2: Now, let's get to.
Speaker 1: The trade news earlier in the day that may shake
Speaker 1: up the Western Conference. The Phoenix Suns agreed on a
Speaker 1: deal to send Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets in
Speaker 1: exchange for Jalen Green Dylan Brooks. The number ten picking
Speaker 1: this year is draft along with five second round picks.
Speaker 1: The fifteen time NBA All Star now elevates the Rockets
Speaker 1: positioning for championship contention within the Western Conference. Durant joins
Speaker 1: the lineup that includes Alperin Chagoon, i'm In Thompson, and
Speaker 1: veteran Guardfred Van Vliet. Houston won fifty two games under
Speaker 1: coach email Udoka this past season. The trade can be
Speaker 1: formally completed when the new league year begins July sixth.
Speaker 1: You see those odds right there, OKAC is still a
Speaker 1: plus two to twenty, still about four nearly four times
Speaker 1: better than the Houston Rockets. But that doesn't mean that
Speaker 1: the Houston Rockets are unentitled contender. As you see then
Speaker 1: the top four in terms of Vegas odds right there
Speaker 1: or ESPN bet odds, because they should be. When you
Speaker 1: look at the Phoenix Suns. First things first, for those
Speaker 1: looking at them as saying five second round picks, the
Speaker 1: tenth overall pick, Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green.
Speaker 2: You know, couldn't they have gotten more?
Speaker 1: Well, Kevin Durant, there's like thirty six turns thirty seven
Speaker 1: at the end of September if I remember correctly, and
Speaker 1: he's in a position to sign a two year deal,
Speaker 1: which means he'd be playing and making over sixty plus
Speaker 1: million dollars, you know, approaching his thirty ninth birthday. My
Speaker 1: attitude is so what he's Kevin Durant. He's that dude
Speaker 1: you couldn't get, but so much for him because of
Speaker 1: his age and the fact that he gave you those
Speaker 1: choices that he wanted to go to. You wanted to
Speaker 1: go to Miami, San Antonio or Houston. I'm still trying
Speaker 1: to figure out how the hell of Miami heat then
Speaker 1: prioritize getting him.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: I know you don't want to give up Tyler Hero
Speaker 1: because you want Kevin Durant to play with somebody. So
Speaker 1: you want him to play with a Tyler Hero and
Speaker 1: a band out of Bio. I get that. But as
Speaker 1: long as you got those two, I don't give a
Speaker 1: damn what you got to give up to get Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1: You do it if you're the Miami Heat, because you
Speaker 1: got to be able to get something.
Speaker 2: You got to be able to get something. You can't
Speaker 2: be in South to be squeezing.
Speaker 1: And playing for the play and then you're going home
Speaker 1: the second game of a plan or the.
Speaker 2: First round of the playoffs.
Speaker 1: It's pat Riley, it's Mickey Arrison, it's Eric Spostra, it's
Speaker 1: the Miami Heat. We expect better, and you got to
Speaker 1: go out there and get those stars. And the fact
Speaker 1: that you can't or you haven't been able to close
Speaker 1: deals in it. It's just a reminder of what I've
Speaker 1: said to all of y'all when it comes to pat Riley.
Speaker 2: I love him.
Speaker 1: I revere him. He is the winner within. He's a
Speaker 1: champion as a players the champions a coach, he's a
Speaker 1: champion as an executive.
Speaker 2: I get it. He's pat Riley.
Speaker 1: But that doesn't mean you don't need to step upstairs.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I just say step down. I said step up,
Speaker 1: meaning having ameritis status, mingling with the owner, vibing, talking, conjoling, etc.
Speaker 1: And talking to the coach of the president of basketball operations,
Speaker 1: but leaving the actual responsibility to somebody else.
Speaker 2: I think it's time to give that to Eric Spostra,
Speaker 2: I really really do.
Speaker 1: But back to the KD deal, Phoenix one could argue
Speaker 1: they could have gotten better.
Speaker 2: I'm not so sure that.
Speaker 1: So they had to take the trade that they could
Speaker 1: get five second round picks, a first round of number
Speaker 1: ten overall and Dylan Brooks, who's a starter, and Jalen Green,
Speaker 1: who's a starter and twenty two years of age, if
Speaker 1: very athletic, if very capable.
Speaker 2: He just needs his.
Speaker 1: Skills honed in a bit better, no doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 1: And if you're the Phoenix Sons, this has to make
Speaker 1: you happy. Because Jalen Green could play, Dylan Brooks can play,
Speaker 1: the tenth overall pick is going to be a good player.
Speaker 1: You can matriculate, you can materialize something out of those
Speaker 1: second round picks into something worthwhile, okay, and in a way,
Speaker 1: and now you've got to prioritize getting rid of Bradley Beal.
Speaker 1: Him and Lebron James are only two people in the
Speaker 1: entire league that have a no trade clause, and Phoenix
Speaker 1: wants him going in the worst way. To the point
Speaker 1: where I'm being told that if they can't get rid
Speaker 1: of him. They might sit his ass down or pay
Speaker 1: him to stay home, but they don't want Bradley Beal
Speaker 1: on the Phoenix Suns any longer. And if you're Bradley Beal,
Speaker 1: you got to think about how good that looks for
Speaker 1: you or how bad that looks for you. They paying
Speaker 1: you over fifty million, they don't want you, and they
Speaker 1: can't give you away for a box of cookies. What
Speaker 1: the hell is going on? What are you doing that
Speaker 1: they got them questioning that about you? How this is
Speaker 1: not Stephen A talking. I'm just saying to you. This
Speaker 1: is what they're saying in Phoenix about Bradley Beal. There's
Speaker 1: no way around us.
Speaker 2: So if you know.
Speaker 1: That's your circumstances in your situation, you're not in much
Speaker 1: of a position to play hardball with anybody about Kevin Durant.
Speaker 2: Now to Houston and Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1: With Chagoon and Van Vliet and I'm and Thompson, who
Speaker 1: I think is an absolute stud. This brother's gonna be it.
Speaker 1: He's got star written all over him. To Barbie Smith,
Speaker 1: I think the Houston Rockets are in position to compete
Speaker 1: for the championship. I really, really do when ladies and
Speaker 1: gentlemen their issues was perimeter shooting, half court set, three
Speaker 1: point shooting, et cetera. These are problems Kevin Durant single
Speaker 1: handedly resolves. He's KD. He's KD. I know he's gotten
Speaker 1: on me, he's criticized me. Man, Please, I ain't gotten
Speaker 1: up of love for that brother. Kevin Durant's a good brother.
Speaker 1: Heart's in the right place. He just gets sensitive some time,
Speaker 1: that's all. But this brother's all world player. Don't wish
Speaker 1: harm or nobody, and will bust your living ass anytime
Speaker 1: he on the basketball court and the balls in. He
Speaker 1: can do what he wants offensively. Nobody can stop him.
Speaker 1: He's unguardable. Ladies, gentlemen, let me throw.
Speaker 2: You these stats up here because I want you to
Speaker 2: see what.
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant did in the earlier part of his career
Speaker 1: and what he's doing now.
Speaker 2: Throughout his career.
Speaker 1: Twenty seven points, fifty percent shooting, thirty nine percent from
Speaker 1: three point range, eighty eight percent shooting for the free
Speaker 1: throw line, seven rebounds for sister. Look at his number
Speaker 1: was last season at age thirty six, twenty six shooting
Speaker 1: better from the field, shooting better from three point range
Speaker 1: might have done a little less for the free throw line, But.
Speaker 2: This is Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1: Remember the years ago when Patrick Beverly was knowing at
Speaker 1: him and stuff like that, and people were getting on
Speaker 1: him for not being aggressive, and he says, I could
Speaker 1: do this and I could do that, but I don't
Speaker 1: want to because that's not playing within the Florida game.
Speaker 2: But I'm Kevin Durant. You know who I am. You
Speaker 2: know who I am? Yes, the hell we do.
Speaker 1: He's Kevin Durant, and aged Town has got him. It's
Speaker 1: one of the places he wanted to go. He earned
Speaker 1: the right to pick his destiny. He's pulled it off,
Speaker 1: and now Kevin Durant is going to Houston. To me,
Speaker 1: that solidifies him as one of the top two seeds
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference.
Speaker 2: And one of the top three seeds in the entire NBA.
Speaker 1: I applaud the fact that man Anthony Edwards in Minnesota or,
Speaker 1: upon hearing that Kevin Durant didn't want to go there,
Speaker 1: refuse to give him a call to try to coax
Speaker 1: him in the coming I applaud that because guess what
Speaker 1: if the brother don't want to be there, it ain't
Speaker 1: gonna be nothing but problems if he ends up coming there.
Speaker 2: So you got to make sure he wants to be there.
Speaker 1: And if he didn't want to be in Minnesota, he
Speaker 1: didn't want to be in Minnesota.
Speaker 2: He want to be in h Town. Cool. It's Kevin Durant.
Speaker 2: You know who he is. You know who he is.
Speaker 1: But despite what we've known, we haven't seen him coached
Speaker 1: by an email Eudoka.
Speaker 2: It's got roots with him back in Brooklyn. They know
Speaker 2: each other.
Speaker 1: Email Udoka wanted this to happen, no matter what reservations
Speaker 1: everybody else had. Email Udoka wanted this to happen, and
Speaker 1: that is why it happened. Kevin Durant knows this. I
Speaker 1: anticipate he'll responding con to be the electrifying basketball superstar
Speaker 1: we all know him to be, and for Houston to
Speaker 1: threaten to take.
Speaker 2: The west O case. Ain't got nothing to worry about
Speaker 2: right now.
Speaker 1: They're champions, but that don't mean they ain't got something
Speaker 1: to look out for come October.
Speaker 2: You feel me, You feel me