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Speaker 1: The volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight. You're at

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Speaker 1: the volume heavy Friday, everybody. Oh love, you guys are

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Speaker 1: having a great week. It's mail bag day. Lots of

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Speaker 1: very good questions from you guys. Remember, if you want

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Speaker 1: to get your questions in the mail bag, all you

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Speaker 1: have to do is in the YouTube comments under our

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Speaker 1: full episodes. Put mail bag with the colon and write

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Speaker 1: your question. That helps me sort through the comments and

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Speaker 1: find them quickly. We will be doing mail bags on

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Speaker 1: Fridays throughout the remainder of the season. You guys are

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Speaker 1: the drip before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops

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Speaker 1: Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos.

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Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter at underscore JCNLTS you guys, don't

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Speaker 1: helpfulf you leave a rating and a review on that front.

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Speaker 1: Facebook and TikTok. Make sure you guys follow us over there.

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Speaker 1: And then, last but not least, like I mentioned earlier,

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Speaker 1: dropping those mailbag questions in the YouTube comments. All right,

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Speaker 1: let's talk some basketball. So first question, what is the

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Speaker 1: single most impactful move made this offseason for the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty five to twenty six season outside of the KD trade?

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Speaker 1: And what is your least favorite move made this offseason?

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Speaker 1: So kind of different framework for both most impactful for

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Speaker 1: me not counting KD, And obviously I think KD is

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Speaker 1: the obvious one. He turns a team that is not

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Speaker 1: a championship contender into a championship contender, so much so that,

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Speaker 1: like I think that I would even argue that Houston

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Speaker 1: that Rockets were more of like a third tier contender

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Speaker 1: because of how limited their offense was. They couldn't even

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Speaker 1: get through a first round series against a second round

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Speaker 1: a second tier contender, right, So KD vaults you all

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Speaker 1: the way up. That's obviously the most impactful move. But

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Speaker 1: outside of that, I would go with Cam Johnson to

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Speaker 1: the Nuggets just on face value. He's one of the

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Speaker 1: most talented players to actually change teams this summer, but

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Speaker 1: that is amplified by the fact that he is a

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Speaker 1: movement shooter, an off the dribble shooter that is playing

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Speaker 1: alongside nicolea Jokic. That is a match made in basketball

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Speaker 1: heaven when you have a guy like we always talk

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Speaker 1: about this idea when we talked about it with Desmond

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Speaker 1: Bain and honestly, like, if you were asking me for

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Speaker 1: most impactful moves, I think honorable mention or call it

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Speaker 1: third place behind KD and Cam Johnson, I put Desmond

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Speaker 1: Bain there. I think his specific skill set, in conjunction

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Speaker 1: with the strengths that already exist on that roster, are

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Speaker 1: deeply impactful. It's that idea of having a shooter, a

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Speaker 1: real shooter, a shooter that you have to account for

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Speaker 1: coming off of screening actions, but then being able to

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Speaker 1: pair the second piece of it right one a guy

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Speaker 1: who can set monster screens to free him up into

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Speaker 1: the probably the best ever in the history of the league,

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Speaker 1: in that pick and roll partnership as the screener, in

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Speaker 1: being able to score and playmake out of the advantages

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Speaker 1: that can come out of that. In Nicole Jokic, everything

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Speaker 1: you can do, making loaders on the role, popping above

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Speaker 1: the three point line, playmaking out of those situations, rumbling

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Speaker 1: down the lane into kind of like quick ISOs in

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Speaker 1: those situations. He's just he's just the perfect player. To

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Speaker 1: amplify this archetype of player, a real off the dribble

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Speaker 1: or movement shooter. It's a little different than Jamal Murray.

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Speaker 1: Jamal Murray is obviously a much better tough shot maker,

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Speaker 1: and so that adds another layer of reliability to that

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Speaker 1: two man game. But Cam Johnson, I think is going

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Speaker 1: to provide the best two man game with Jokic other

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Speaker 1: than Jamal Murray in the history of this particular core,

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Speaker 1: and I think that that is particularly exciting. I think

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Speaker 1: the Nuggets are going to come out and kick ass

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Speaker 1: this year. I think they're gonna be a top three

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Speaker 1: seed all season, obviously barring a significant injury. And again,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna make that decision when we get closer. I

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Speaker 1: was talking with Jackson on Monday about our offseason plans,

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Speaker 1: and we're going to do the same kind of like

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Speaker 1: power ranking style season preview pods when we get into

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Speaker 1: late September early October, and we'll make that decision when

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Speaker 1: we get to that point. But right now, I'm very

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Speaker 1: tempted to pick the Nuggets to win the title. I'm

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Speaker 1: just a huge believer in Jokic. It's the best roster

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Speaker 1: he's had. I'm a big believer in not overthinking things.

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Speaker 1: I'm excited to see that Nuggets team this year. My

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Speaker 1: least favorite move and again this is not the most impactful,

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Speaker 1: but or least impactful, but my least favorite. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: go with the Bucks waving and stretching Dame and signing

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Speaker 1: Miles Turner for the record, I get why they wanted

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Speaker 1: to try to give it another go with Giannis. You know,

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Speaker 1: as soon as you let Giannis go, you enter into

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Speaker 1: that purgatory of rebuilding. We have a mailback question later

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Speaker 1: today with respect to the Suns where we'll kind of

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Speaker 1: discuss what that looks like. And that could take years,

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Speaker 1: and it can involve a lot of swings and misses,

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Speaker 1: and it's just you guys, know, everybody who's ever rooted

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Speaker 1: for an NBA team for over a decade knows what

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Speaker 1: a rebuild is like and how you know dismal that

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Speaker 1: can be. And so I understand why they wanted to

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Speaker 1: give it another go. And within the confines of that situation,

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Speaker 1: them wanting to give it another go with a broken

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Speaker 1: down Dame taking up a fifty million dollars salary slot

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Speaker 1: and little in the way of available assets, They've done

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Speaker 1: about as well as you can. I want to be clear,

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Speaker 1: Like bringing in a Miles Turner re signing the guys

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Speaker 1: they did bringing in Cole Anthony, having at least the

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Speaker 1: best possible type of improvement and talent based on an

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Speaker 1: incredibly shitty situation, They've done about as well as they can.

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Speaker 1: But as you guys know, I'm a big fan of

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Speaker 1: self I'm a big believer in self awareness. Ask yourself

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Speaker 1: a simple question. Do the Bucks have a realistic path

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Speaker 1: to true championship contention in the next two years? No,

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Speaker 1: they don't. I was thinking about it this morning. I

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Speaker 1: think Miles Turner is pretty clearly their second best player.

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Speaker 1: He was like firmly the fifth best guy on that

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Speaker 1: Indiana Pacers team that lost in the finals, and periodically

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Speaker 1: throughout that run looked like their weakest link. I like

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Speaker 1: Myles Turner. I think he's an awesome addition. I think

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Speaker 1: he's a great fit with Giannis, but just in sheer talent,

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Speaker 1: if he's your second best player, you're not gonna go

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Speaker 1: very far. Even if they were to package a first

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Speaker 1: round pick with aj Green and one of these other

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Speaker 1: salaries at the forward spot, like Kuzmi or something, and

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Speaker 1: they were able to bring back a high level ball handler. Now,

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Speaker 1: Miles Turner's your third best player, and you've got someone

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Speaker 1: in the type of player you can get with that

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Speaker 1: package isn't going to be a top twenty twenty five

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Speaker 1: player in this league. I just don't think they're close

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Speaker 1: to contending, which means they're destined for a rebuild. And

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Speaker 1: when you're destined for a rebuild, the decision to stretch

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Speaker 1: Damian Lillard, in addition to waiting to trade Giannis until

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Speaker 1: he's older, both of those will make that rebuild far longer,

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Speaker 1: far more complicated. Again, I admire the effort, I just

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Speaker 1: think it's way too little, way too late, and as

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Speaker 1: much as it would suck and it would be a

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Speaker 1: very sad moment in the history of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise,

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Speaker 1: I think you'd be better served acknowledging that reality and

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Speaker 1: for whatever it's worth, you got a trophy. There are

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Speaker 1: many examples, most recently with Luka Doncic, of teams losing

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Speaker 1: superstars and having to look back and go, man, we

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Speaker 1: just didn't get it done. The Calves in twenty ten

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Speaker 1: when they lost Lebron Right like, there are so many

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Speaker 1: examples of teams that don't get it done and they

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Speaker 1: have to move on, or they do move on, or

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Speaker 1: they're forced to move on, something along those lines. And like,

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Speaker 1: this is a situation where at the very least, you

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Speaker 1: have an NBA championship that is immortal, it will last forever,

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Speaker 1: and Giannis could potentially be the vehicle with which to

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Speaker 1: spring the next era of Milwaukee Bucks basketball. So like, again,

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Speaker 1: I'm not here just preaching for movement of stars for

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Speaker 1: the sake of having shit to talk about. It's just

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Speaker 1: to me about self awareness. I don't think Miles Turner

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Speaker 1: as your second best player is going to be contending

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Speaker 1: for much over the course of the next few years.

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Speaker 1: Even when we were talking about our contender tiers in

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Speaker 1: the East last year, it's like, the only upside you're

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Speaker 1: looking at, I shouldn't say last year on Monday. The

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Speaker 1: only upside you're looking at is, well, Giannis is becoming

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Speaker 1: a one hell of a point forward and you've got

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Speaker 1: a lot of shooting around him. Yeah, that's fun, that's great.

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Speaker 1: But there's better teams at the top of the East,

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Speaker 1: and there's a lot of teams that are on the

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Speaker 1: rise in the NBA. Oklahoma City He's getting better. San

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Speaker 1: Antonio is getting better, Houston's getting better, Detroit is getting better.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's just it's just really difficult to draw

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Speaker 1: a line between where the Bucks are now and them

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Speaker 1: hoisting a trophy with Giannis and Tenna Kumbo in the jersey.

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Speaker 1: All right, next question, have you talked about Dame yet?

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Speaker 1: I've been looking out for your thoughts on him coming

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Speaker 1: back to the Blazers. So I love this move on

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Speaker 1: several levels. First of all, the nostalgia. I know it

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Speaker 1: sounds ridiculous to say because he was only gone for

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Speaker 1: two years, but Dame getting to potentially end his career

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Speaker 1: where it all started is just cool. Right as a

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Speaker 1: basketball fan, you want to see Dame playing in the

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Speaker 1: place where he created all those amazing memories. Secondly, the mentorship.

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Speaker 1: I've talked before about the impact that Damian Lillard had

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Speaker 1: on Anthony Simons and how their games kind of are

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Speaker 1: strikingly similar, and how you can see how Anferny just

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Speaker 1: spend a lot of time with Dame, or at least

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Speaker 1: mimicking Dame behind the scenes, working on a lot of

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Speaker 1: that high level shot making and that crisp quick release

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Speaker 1: off the dribble and all that fluidity and how it

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Speaker 1: turned Anferny Simons into a really impactful player in the NBA.

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Speaker 1: I think Dame can have a similar positive impact on

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Speaker 1: Scoot Henderson in his development, specifically in his perimeter skill,

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Speaker 1: the stuff that can weaponize his downhill force, and his playmaking.

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Speaker 1: I saw zach Lo report that Dame will not have

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Speaker 1: an impact on Scoot's minutes or his opportunities much at all. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: that it wouldn't make sense to bring Dame in for

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Speaker 1: some sort of high usage role in the future. Scoot

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Speaker 1: is playing that position, and I think that makes sense.

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Speaker 1: I think it makes sense that Dame would be more

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Speaker 1: of a supporting kind of like behind the scenes mentor

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Speaker 1: guidance type of position than obviously some sort of high

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Speaker 1: usage player for them, and that's fine. I think that's

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Speaker 1: where he can have the most impact. And then, lastly,

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Speaker 1: the flexibility. Dame God has no trade clause, so if

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Speaker 1: he wants to end his career there, he's completely in

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Speaker 1: control of that. But his contract is also super tradable,

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Speaker 1: so if he changed his mind. Let's say that he

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Speaker 1: behind the scenes is feeling great physically a year and

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Speaker 1: a half from now and he's like, shit, man, I

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Speaker 1: got some good serious basketball left in me. Well, he

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Speaker 1: can approach the Portland front office and be like, guys,

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Speaker 1: I think I would like to go somewhere and try

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Speaker 1: to win. And he has a tradable contract, very easily

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Speaker 1: tradable contract. So it just makes a ton of sense

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Speaker 1: for both sides. It's a great spot for Dame to

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Speaker 1: rehab and for him to end his career. But the

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Speaker 1: contract is set up in a way that he has

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Speaker 1: control over whether or not he wants to end up

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Speaker 1: playing somewhere else if he chooses to play serious basketball

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Speaker 1: one more time before he calls it quits. Next question,

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Speaker 1: what improvements can Oklahoma City make individually or as a

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Speaker 1: team to convince you and others that they can be

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Speaker 1: the team to break the curse this post Warriors curse

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Speaker 1: and win back to back championships. It's all about internal improvement.

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Speaker 1: Their margins will shrink over the course of the next

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Speaker 1: few years as it gets more and more expensive to

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Speaker 1: retain everybody. Everyone just got their big deal this last offseason, right,

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Speaker 1: But because of the timeline of when they kick in,

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Speaker 1: they won't actually reap some of the negative effects of that.

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Speaker 1: In their payroll for a couple of years. But that

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Speaker 1: will eventually happen, and when it does and they have

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Speaker 1: less depth and they have less surrounding talent, all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, the work of guys like Chet, Holmgren and

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Speaker 1: Jay Dub and Shake, Gilgess Alexander will become that much

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Speaker 1: more important. Right. It was more of like a young,

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Speaker 1: flawed group showing a lot of ups and downs. Like

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Speaker 1: even with Shee, we saw Shaye play some really bad

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Speaker 1: postseason games this year. We saw Chet face some extremely

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Speaker 1: low lows. JDub early in the Denver series some really

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Speaker 1: low lows. They were able to get away with that

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Speaker 1: because they had such insane supporting talent, which is going

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Speaker 1: to fade over the course of the next couple of years,

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Speaker 1: and those inconsistencies will become a problem. Right, So internal

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Speaker 1: improvement is their pathway. Now, that's more of like a

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Speaker 1: big picture thing. This next season, Oklahoma City is more

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Speaker 1: or less running it back. But even within that context,

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Speaker 1: the rest of the league got better, maybe not in

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Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference, but certainly in the Western right. Houston

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Speaker 1: demonstrably better, Denver demonstrably better, The Clippers and Lakers obviously

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Speaker 1: a lot of variants there regarding injuries and some older

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Speaker 1: players playing up to some of their younger capability. But

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Speaker 1: both the LA teams are potentially better than they were

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Speaker 1: last year. Anthony Edwards if he continues to improve, potentially better. Right,

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Speaker 1: the Warriors with Horford and if they bring back the

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Speaker 1: Anthony Melton and if they make a trade at some point,

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Speaker 1: they could be potentially better. So the West is better. Therefore,

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Speaker 1: Okayc's margin for air shrinks, right, even with bringing back

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Speaker 1: the roster. So what needs to happen in order for

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Speaker 1: Oklahoma City to make that curse that no one can repeat,

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Speaker 1: no one can even make the finals twice in a row.

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Speaker 1: Curse go away? For chet I think it's his offensive polish.

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Speaker 1: I thought he was awesome on defense throughout the majority

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Speaker 1: of the playoff run. Not really a whole lot you

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Speaker 1: can get into on that end of the floor with it,

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Speaker 1: but consistent catch and shoot, jump shooting, some of his

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Speaker 1: decision making, some of the ways he was forcing the

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Speaker 1: issue against guys, particularly like Miles Turner when he would

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Speaker 1: try to go one on one against him and kind

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Speaker 1: of like go away from the flow of the offense.

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Speaker 1: Some of the turnovers and just fumbling of the ball

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Speaker 1: in the middle of the floor like just becoming a

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Speaker 1: slash audio JDub and his consistency. Obviously, he was great

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Speaker 1: for large chunks of the playoff run, but he had

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Speaker 1: his moments. He had his moments, specifically in the Denver series,

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Speaker 1: where he really really struggled, and that inconsistency against a

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Speaker 1: tougher matchup. Like, let's just put it this way. Let's

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Speaker 1: say they faced Denver again and the exact same situation happens,

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Speaker 1: but you have a better Denver team. If Jdubb plays

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Speaker 1: that poorly for chunks of that series, you lose to Denver. Right,

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Speaker 1: So Jdub's consistency on the offensive end is gonna be

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Speaker 1: big Shay's decision making. We saw massive swings in the

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Speaker 1: way Oklahoma City's offense operated in the Finals based on

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Speaker 1: Shay and just his willingness to take what the defense

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Speaker 1: is giving him early in games, and how he can

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Speaker 1: establish rhythm and flow within his offense. Him being in

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Speaker 1: that regard, him learning the lesson him, replicating the successes

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Speaker 1: and cutting the failures. That's going to be how Shay

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Speaker 1: becomes a more consistent force. And those three things happening

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Speaker 1: are going to be the key to them actually being

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Speaker 1: able to repeat in a much better Western Conference. Smaller

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Speaker 1: things too, like spot up shooting, reliable spot up shooting

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Speaker 1: from guys like Kesan Wallace and Loudort. There's a bunch

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Speaker 1: of different things we can get into, but for the

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Speaker 1: most part, it's going to be the improvement of their stars. Hey, Jason,

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Speaker 1: you say that Steph is the second best offensive engine

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Speaker 1: of all time after Jokich. Does this mean you think

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Speaker 1: Jokic is better than Steph as a basketball player, but

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Speaker 1: that Steph's accolades make him higher all time. Yes, that's

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Speaker 1: exactly where I'm at right now. I think that Jokic's

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Speaker 1: peak is higher than any peak of Steph's career, but

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Speaker 1: that his overall accomplishments in the NBA for Steph are

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Speaker 1: so greater at this point that you have to have

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Speaker 1: Steph above Jokic on all time lists. I I thought

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Speaker 1: that Jokic staked his claim as the best player in

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Speaker 1: the world in that twenty twenty three playoff run, right,

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Speaker 1: And here we are going into the twenty twenty six

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Speaker 1: NBA season and he's still definitively the best player in

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Speaker 1: the world, and no one's really truly threatened that over

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Speaker 1: the course of what will now be the fourth consecutive season.

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Speaker 1: Steph just never had a stretch like that. I thought

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Speaker 1: that Steph was the best player in the world, or

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Speaker 1: I think looking back that Steph is the best player.

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Speaker 1: It was the best player in the world from about

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Speaker 1: the end of the regular season in twenty twenty one

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Speaker 1: until he hoisted the trophy in twenty twenty two. That's

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Speaker 1: the one stretch that I can think of where Steph

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Speaker 1: was the best, but it was never definitive. He just

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Speaker 1: had a case like I was in. I am in

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Speaker 1: that camp, but I think most folks I'm in the

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Speaker 1: minority there, like most folks think it was Jannis or

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Speaker 1: that it was Jokic or Luca or someone like that

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Speaker 1: in that group. The biggest difference between those two guys

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Speaker 1: was reliable, variance proof offense, meaning Yokich and Steph. I

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Speaker 1: actually think Steph is every bit as good as like

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Speaker 1: a defense breaking advantage creator as Jokic. I'd argue, if

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Speaker 1: you were just strictly talking about the way that an

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Speaker 1: offensive player can generate openings for teammates, I think Steph

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Speaker 1: is right there at the top with Jokic. The separator

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Speaker 1: for Jokic for me is he's variance proof. His shot

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Speaker 1: making ability close to the rim consistently is over fifty

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Speaker 1: percent and in many cases over sixty percent, and so

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Speaker 1: that gives him a certain amount of like there's literally

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Speaker 1: nothing you can do, whereas with Steph there's a certain

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Speaker 1: amount of like, if we defend him well enough, we

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Speaker 1: can kind of cross our fingers and hope he misses,

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Speaker 1: and even on his best night, he's probably gonna miss

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Speaker 1: six out of ten of these, right, And that kind

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Speaker 1: of just created a certain amount of like a certain

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Speaker 1: amount of like late game issue that Steph would run into.

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Speaker 1: Steph was a better late game player than the vast

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Speaker 1: majority of players in the league, but just compared to

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Speaker 1: the best players in NBA history, he wasn't quite as

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Speaker 1: reliable getting separation and creating shots for himself at the

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Speaker 1: end of games. And I think that that was just

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Speaker 1: kind of a ceiling difference between Steph and Nikola Jokic.

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Speaker 1: But the accomplishments are the accomplishments. Steph has won four championships,

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Speaker 1: and even if we pull out the two where he

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Speaker 1: played with the greatest roster ever assembled, it's still just

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Speaker 1: too much of a gap for Nikolea. Jokics to surmount

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Speaker 1: at this point without winning at least one more championship,

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Speaker 1: if not multiple more So, Yeah, I think Jokic's peak

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Speaker 1: was higher, but with Steph, I just think he just

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Speaker 1: has too much in terms of sheer accomplishments for Jokics

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Speaker 1: to lap him on the all time lists at this point.

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Speaker 1: I have Steph pretty high. Now, you guys know how

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Speaker 1: I feel about centers, But the last time I did

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Speaker 1: these rankings, I had Steph ahead of Larry Bird. I

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Speaker 1: have Steph very high in terms of his all time accomplishments.

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Speaker 1: The big one for me is like he literally played

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Speaker 1: alongside the greatest player to play the game, in my opinion,

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Speaker 1: at worst, the second best player to ever play the game,

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Speaker 1: and he was like just barely below him. And so

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Speaker 1: that's the kind of like claim to fame for Steph

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Speaker 1: Curry in this era. Now that you're in Denver, what

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Speaker 1: do you plan or do you plan on going to

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Speaker 1: some Nuggets games. I'm assuming you moved for the skiing,

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Speaker 1: but I know you always took trips throughout the year.

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Speaker 1: I'm a Loveland Fort Collins resident and I was a

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Speaker 1: certified snowboard instructor back in the day. Chere's to some

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Speaker 1: good pow pow days ahead. Yeah, we're loving it here.

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Speaker 1: We actually just did a trip back into the mountains yesterday.

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Speaker 1: We drove back to Leadville and we saw I've always

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Speaker 1: had a thing for super tall mountains, so we went

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Speaker 1: to go see Mount Elbert and Mount Massive is what

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00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,040
Speaker 1: they're both called. They're the two tallest mountains in Colorado

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Speaker 1: and the second and third tallest mountains in the contiguous

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Speaker 1: United States, and you have to kind of drive way

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Speaker 1: back past all the skiing into sort of the middle

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Speaker 1: of nowhere in the Rockies to see them. But we

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Speaker 1: got to see them. That was really cool. It was

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00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,480
Speaker 1: clear day yesterday too, so it was super pretty. And

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00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,960
Speaker 1: then we swung back through Breckenridge. We go to Breckenridge

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Speaker 1: every year to ski, but we went yesterday just to

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Speaker 1: like have lunch and hang out. First of all, I

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00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,879
Speaker 1: was like stunned by how busy it was. It was

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00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 1: like way busier in Breckenridge yesterday than any of the

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00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,240
Speaker 1: times I've gone skiing, and so it was just kind

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00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,440
Speaker 1: of interesting to see it in the summertime and see

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00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,040
Speaker 1: that it's just popping with all these people and main

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00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 1: streets super busy, and I'm assuming just a ton of

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Speaker 1: biking and hiking and fishing and taking the gondola up

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Speaker 1: for views and all that kind of stuff. But we

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Speaker 1: got to hit one of our favorite lunch spots and

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00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,399
Speaker 1: hang out there yesterday. And then door to door from

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00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,240
Speaker 1: where we parked in Breckenridge, which was right by the gondola,

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00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: to our house was an hour and twenty two minutes,

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Speaker 1: so and that was on a busy day out in

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Speaker 1: the mountains. So Carly and I were like super stoked

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Speaker 1: because we're like, this is gonna be this is gonna

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00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:57,320
Speaker 1: be so cool during ski season, like we're gonna be

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Speaker 1: able to pretty easily hop back and forth si our

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Speaker 1: asses off. And our goal is to get fifty days

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Speaker 1: in this season, and so I want to get like

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00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:06,640
Speaker 1: a work cadence down to where I can like work

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00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 1: in the morning and then like head out there and

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00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,040
Speaker 1: ski all afternoon and then come back. That was the

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00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,760
Speaker 1: whole reason why we came. It wasn't for anything associated

427
00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:18,239
Speaker 1: necessarily with my job. It was just my wife and

428
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,120
Speaker 1: I are looking to take advantage of this weird kind

429
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:23,240
Speaker 1: of window in time where we don't have kids and

430
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,359
Speaker 1: we have some flexibility, and we wanted to ski our

431
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:27,920
Speaker 1: asses off, and so that's the main reason why we're

432
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,800
Speaker 1: up here now. I do plan on going to Nuggets games.

433
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,440
Speaker 1: I think we'll do it in a couple of different ways.

434
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,359
Speaker 1: I'd like to get credentialed and go to actually cover

435
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,800
Speaker 1: a few games over the course of the year, but

436
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,000
Speaker 1: I also like want to enjoy it just as a fan,

437
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,000
Speaker 1: and so I would imagine specific major Western Conference teams

438
00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,560
Speaker 1: that come into town and stuff. My wife and I

439
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,919
Speaker 1: will just look to go and just enjoy the games

440
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 1: as a fan. I've never I've lived in an NBA city,

441
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,080
Speaker 1: but it was when the Charlotte I lived in Charlotte

442
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,280
Speaker 1: with Charlotte Hornets, and it was just not the same

443
00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,760
Speaker 1: quality basketball. So I'm looking forward to getting to see

444
00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,359
Speaker 1: some high quality NBA hoops in person and over the

445
00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,679
Speaker 1: course of the next couple of years here in Denver. Hey, man,

446
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:05,840
Speaker 1: I love the show. What do you think of the

447
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,840
Speaker 1: ceiling for the Mavericks. I'm a huge MAVs fan, and

448
00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:12,119
Speaker 1: I think with Kyrie coming back later in the season,

449
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,240
Speaker 1: I think this team has a real chance to contend.

450
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,200
Speaker 1: I think their ceiling comes down to two things. Kyrie's return,

451
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:21,040
Speaker 1: as you mentioned, I think one of the unique things

452
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:23,160
Speaker 1: with Kyrie. I've talked about this a lot over the years,

453
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:29,359
Speaker 1: but there are certain scoring players like perimeter scores that

454
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:34,040
Speaker 1: are somewhat immune to spacing concerns because of how gifted

455
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,720
Speaker 1: they are at getting to spots in the middle of

456
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,879
Speaker 1: the floor and knocking down mid range jump shots, shots

457
00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,439
Speaker 1: that every defense has to concede to a certain extent.

458
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,320
Speaker 1: At the high end it's guys like Shae Gilders Alexander Right.

459
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,040
Speaker 1: I thought he demonstrated an awesome example of that in

460
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,240
Speaker 1: the Minnesota series, for example, looking at you know, Kevin

461
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,359
Speaker 1: Durant obviously fits that mold. To me, Kyrie Irving to

462
00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:00,840
Speaker 1: a slightly lesser extent, but I think he also kind

463
00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 1: of fits that mold. Is like a spacing proof score

464
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,919
Speaker 1: because of his ability to shoot over the top of

465
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,280
Speaker 1: defenses and work in very tight spaces. And so if

466
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,160
Speaker 1: Kyrie can come back, we already have talked about extensively.

467
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:16,439
Speaker 1: I think this Denver or this Dallas team has the

468
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 1: potential to be outrageously good on defense. The crazy rangey

469
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,000
Speaker 1: athleticism on the front line with guys like Anthony Davis

470
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,439
Speaker 1: and Cooper Flag and Derek Lively and PJ. Washington and

471
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,640
Speaker 1: Daniel Gafford, they're just incredibly rangy on the front. Even

472
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,080
Speaker 1: if they end up consolidating a couple of those guys,

473
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,000
Speaker 1: they just have an insane like I would imagine it'll

474
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,800
Speaker 1: eventually be Lively ad Cooper. That's gonna be an insane

475
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:43,159
Speaker 1: defensive trio. They've got some guards that can defend as well.

476
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:48,399
Speaker 1: If they get reliable surgical scoring in big moments. With

477
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,920
Speaker 1: the defense that can keep games close, they're gonna be

478
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 1: really tough to beat. And so I think Kyrie's return

479
00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:55,879
Speaker 1: is obviously a big swing. The second piece of it

480
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,240
Speaker 1: is that consolidation trade. Like if they could turn some

481
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,520
Speaker 1: of some of their dundancies, so for instance PJ. Washington

482
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:04,920
Speaker 1: and Daniel Gafford, they could turn him into a high

483
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,240
Speaker 1: level offensive player. I think there's a real upside there.

484
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 1: I was trying to think this morning, just like a

485
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,600
Speaker 1: basic example, like what if they could get someone like

486
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,479
Speaker 1: Tyler Harrow, Like what if they could flip Daniel Gafford

487
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,600
Speaker 1: in PJ Washington for Tyler Harrow. I think specifically with

488
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,359
Speaker 1: D'Angelo Russell, who is a very high level like Delo

489
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,879
Speaker 1: is a real gracer on offense. Like I think, you

490
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,440
Speaker 1: guys are you know, for Delo having the reputation that

491
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,640
Speaker 1: he has, like I think Dallas fans are gonna like him.

492
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,640
Speaker 1: I actually liked d Lo as a regular season player.

493
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,000
Speaker 1: He was very frustrating in the postseason because of his

494
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 1: lack of physical intensity and his lack of attention to detail,

495
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,960
Speaker 1: but specifically within the regular season, he just was a

496
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,760
Speaker 1: guy that made life easier because he is a guy

497
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,760
Speaker 1: that can run ball screens and take the types of

498
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,399
Speaker 1: shots that ball screens concede, but also make all the

499
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,600
Speaker 1: reads out of ball screens to set guys up with advantages.

500
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,440
Speaker 1: And then I even think he would compliment a guy

501
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,800
Speaker 1: like Tyler Harrow in the sense that Tyler Harrow is

502
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,160
Speaker 1: that like off ball score that can also score on

503
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 1: the ball in action, but primarily a guy that can

504
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,280
Speaker 1: succeed within action, which I think would would fit really

505
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,080
Speaker 1: well with guys like Anthony Davis and Cooper Flag that

506
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:12,440
Speaker 1: I think could work on both sides of those actions

507
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,600
Speaker 1: inverted or not inverted. And so a guy like Tyler Harrow,

508
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 1: for instance, not as valuable on a Miami Heat team,

509
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,960
Speaker 1: but could be very valuable on a Dallas Mavericks team

510
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,879
Speaker 1: that has an outrageously high defensive ceiling and lots of

511
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,080
Speaker 1: guys that can play in and out of screening action

512
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,439
Speaker 1: from various you know, kind of entry points, if that

513
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,520
Speaker 1: makes sense. So, like I think a consolidation trade is

514
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,720
Speaker 1: the next thing for Dallas that could put them into

515
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:44,080
Speaker 1: a tier of serious contention. All right, A couple more questions, guys,

516
00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,359
Speaker 1: Now that so many Western Conference teams have made moves

517
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:53,120
Speaker 1: which have improved them considerably. Do you think the Warriors

518
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,120
Speaker 1: will even be able to catch up once the dust

519
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,320
Speaker 1: settles after Jonathan Camingo finally gets traded, or have they

520
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,000
Speaker 1: kind of fallen behind and there's little to nothing they'll

521
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:03,520
Speaker 1: be able to do to catch up to the top

522
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,680
Speaker 1: tier contenders, who, in my opinion are now Oklahoma City, Denver,

523
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:10,960
Speaker 1: the Clippers, and the Rockets. I think they still have

524
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 1: a really strong foundation. It's kind of like the conversations

525
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,000
Speaker 1: we've had about the Lakers. I've had my frustrations, and

526
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,879
Speaker 1: I have my frustrations with my frustrations with the Lakers

527
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,199
Speaker 1: more in the big picture, but like Luca and lebron Is,

528
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,920
Speaker 1: it's just such a strong foundation. You're just gonna be

529
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,120
Speaker 1: a really good basketball team just by having those two.

530
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,640
Speaker 1: I feel very similarly about Steph, Jimmy and Draymond. That's

531
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:36,240
Speaker 1: just a really strong foundation. I do think they'll get Horford.

532
00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:40,640
Speaker 1: I do think they'll get Melton. They have a certain

533
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:46,440
Speaker 1: high floor. Most of this has to do with just margins, right.

534
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,719
Speaker 1: An extra three or four wins in the regular season

535
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 1: can be the difference between a playing team and the

536
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 1: four seat, as we know, because of how brutal the

537
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:59,360
Speaker 1: West is, four games, four wins could make all the difference,

538
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,920
Speaker 1: even in just matchups in the Western Conference playoffs, like

539
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,120
Speaker 1: the difference between let's say you face a Denver in

540
00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,440
Speaker 1: the second round or first round. The difference between beating

541
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 1: Denver and losing to Denver can be a move, just

542
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 1: like for Denver bringing in Cam Johnson could be the

543
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,200
Speaker 1: difference between them losing to Oklahoma City and beating Oklahoma City.

544
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 1: It's about the margins with that type of move. But

545
00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,680
Speaker 1: to be clear, you're gonna be good right away because Steph,

546
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:31,600
Speaker 1: Jimmy and Draymond is an awesome foundation for a basketball team.

547
00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:35,200
Speaker 1: So let's talk about it if they don't. Like we've

548
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 1: talked about how over the years, scoring support is the

549
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 1: key for Steph right having. If you look back, it's

550
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,920
Speaker 1: like when when Brandon Pajemski would have a big scoring game,

551
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,280
Speaker 1: they'd win. When Buddy Heal would have a big scoring game,

552
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:50,440
Speaker 1: they'd win. When Jimmy Butler would have a big scoring game,

553
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,680
Speaker 1: they'd win. But then like when all three of those

554
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,120
Speaker 1: dudes would be cold, it would be when they would

555
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,800
Speaker 1: drop some games that they probably shouldn't have dropped, right

556
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:00,239
Speaker 1: and so that's where I look at it as like

557
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 1: a more reliable perimeter score could be the difference in

558
00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,360
Speaker 1: them having that extra three or four wins, or the

559
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,800
Speaker 1: difference in their ability to beat one of the higher

560
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,640
Speaker 1: tier Western Conference teams. And so I want to be clear,

561
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 1: like they're still firmly in that second tier. For me,

562
00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: it's just that additional piece, That additional reliable perimeter scoring,

563
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,440
Speaker 1: to me, is what they're missing in order to get

564
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,360
Speaker 1: into that top tier. But I don't think they they're

565
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,080
Speaker 1: in them not making a move to this point doesn't

566
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,920
Speaker 1: drop them down out of that second tier. There's still

567
00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 1: a very very good basketball team. Hey, Jason, thanks for

568
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,480
Speaker 1: doing everything you do. If you were the Phoenix Suns,

569
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,520
Speaker 1: what would you do with this newfound cap space and

570
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 1: these roster spots. Seems like we can finally come up

571
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,280
Speaker 1: for air and have some skin in the free agency

572
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,720
Speaker 1: and offseason game? Would you go after Kaminga? Kaminga and

573
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:54,760
Speaker 1: Green would be just as fun as a basketball fan,

574
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,240
Speaker 1: although probably not the smartest. Let me know who you'd

575
00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,960
Speaker 1: be targeting to help us this year. So starting with Kaminga,

576
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 1: I think anybody, including the Warriors, who could pull off

577
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 1: a cominga deal at a discount, there's value there because

578
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,920
Speaker 1: all of a sudden he becomes tradable. Right if you

579
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 1: could get Kaminga at a discount but also have the

580
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,160
Speaker 1: ability to let him develop without winning pressure. That's the

581
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,360
Speaker 1: thing with the Warriors. Even if they got Jonathan Kamina

582
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,400
Speaker 1: at a discount, he just doesn't make basketball sense for them.

583
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,800
Speaker 1: But like in another context, if you could bring cominga

584
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:31,960
Speaker 1: in and get him like in that like twenty million

585
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,880
Speaker 1: dollar range, maybe twenty five on the high end, and

586
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,040
Speaker 1: you can give him like hey, for the next two seasons,

587
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 1: you're gonna get these touches. You're gonna get these opportunities.

588
00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,120
Speaker 1: You're not gonna get pulled for making a bad decision,

589
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,640
Speaker 1: You're not gonna get pulled for losing a game. Just

590
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,880
Speaker 1: work on your shit and get your reps for the

591
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 1: next couple seasons. I think if you can bring in

592
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 1: cominga in that sort of situation on that type of discount,

593
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,200
Speaker 1: I think that'd be smart. Camina has his issues. He's

594
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,560
Speaker 1: not worth max money, he's not capable of playing a

595
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,360
Speaker 1: dead serious role for a winning basketball team yet. But

596
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,120
Speaker 1: he's still very talented and he does have potential. So

597
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,320
Speaker 1: if the Sons could get in on that and get

598
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,720
Speaker 1: Kaminga out an affordable deal and give him a long runway.

599
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,520
Speaker 1: I'm on board with it. As for the Sons in

600
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,080
Speaker 1: their big picture plans, it all depends on what their

601
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,600
Speaker 1: timeline looks like. Are you trying to pivot around Devin

602
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:31,800
Speaker 1: Booker and stay in contention or are you going full rebuild.

603
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,720
Speaker 1: For full rebuild, there's a proven path. You take on

604
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:41,280
Speaker 1: bad salary in exchange for draft compensation. You play young

605
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:44,640
Speaker 1: players on rookie contracts extensively so you can see who

606
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:47,760
Speaker 1: fits into your long term vision. And then when you

607
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,200
Speaker 1: have cap space, you sign reliable role players that you

608
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:54,600
Speaker 1: can need then flip to other teams for more draft compensation.

609
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,280
Speaker 1: You use your cap space to obtain the guys that

610
00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 1: everybody wants so that you can then trade them for

611
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:04,880
Speaker 1: more draft compensation, and essentially, your bad money sits, your

612
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,840
Speaker 1: young money plays, your quality role players that you can

613
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:11,800
Speaker 1: sign a free agency, you flip, and then you slowly

614
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,080
Speaker 1: turn it over as you find your guys. You find

615
00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:18,800
Speaker 1: a young player that is a clear foundational piece, like

616
00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,600
Speaker 1: one of the clear three two or three players that

617
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,680
Speaker 1: you're going to build your team around, you extend that guy.

618
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:28,560
Speaker 1: You replace your expensive bad money with the young money

619
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,800
Speaker 1: you want to keep. Then as your team improves, you

620
00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,760
Speaker 1: shift your draft approach towards in the middle of the

621
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:42,040
Speaker 1: first round, like lower ceiling but higher floor, role player prospects,

622
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:46,600
Speaker 1: off ball scorers three and D guys, rotation centers, things

623
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,000
Speaker 1: along those lines. It's kind of like what the Detroit

624
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,000
Speaker 1: Pistons the trajectory that they're on, and the Pistons are

625
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 1: just now entering into that next phase where it's like, well,

626
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,400
Speaker 1: now we need to start looking in the draft for

627
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,640
Speaker 1: players that are more supporting talent, not foundational talent. We

628
00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,240
Speaker 1: know what the foundational talent looks like. It's Kate Cunningham,

629
00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,680
Speaker 1: potentially Jade and Ivy. We'll see how he fits this year,

630
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,239
Speaker 1: you know, we'll see if Jalen Duran ends up being

631
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:13,160
Speaker 1: a big picture center for them. But like Asar Thompson,

632
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:14,959
Speaker 1: it's like it makes sense. It's like this role player

633
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,239
Speaker 1: Ron Holland. They just they've got their defensive athletes. Now

634
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,680
Speaker 1: they need to look for some more refined skill. But

635
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:23,920
Speaker 1: they're kind of in a later portion of that trajectory.

636
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:26,719
Speaker 1: There is a proven path there. Take on bad money

637
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,640
Speaker 1: in exchange for assets be the team that allows the

638
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:32,880
Speaker 1: young players the long runway to work and you figure

639
00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:35,480
Speaker 1: it out over time. Right, But like that is a

640
00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:40,320
Speaker 1: different pathway than pivoting around Devin Booker. If you're pivoting

641
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:45,560
Speaker 1: around Devin Booker, it's very different. Right, Booker's your advantage creator.

642
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,640
Speaker 1: Jalen Green's your second option. You already have depth at

643
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,520
Speaker 1: center from this last offseason. So what do you need

644
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:57,080
Speaker 1: if you've got three centers and you've got two primary

645
00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,399
Speaker 1: shot creators. It's all about what fits in between there?

646
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,320
Speaker 1: What fits in between there everything the Atlanta Hawks have

647
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,399
Speaker 1: been doing for the last few years, drafting guys that

648
00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,320
Speaker 1: run the floor and transition both ways, that can defend

649
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:14,239
Speaker 1: multiple positions, that are athletic and con grave rebounds, that

650
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:17,040
Speaker 1: can knock down open catch and shoot threes, drive close outs,

651
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:18,680
Speaker 1: and make decisions in the middle of the floor. It's

652
00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:22,680
Speaker 1: your classic dribble, shoot, pass, defend role player. And as

653
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:24,760
Speaker 1: long as you have the right guys in your front office,

654
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,000
Speaker 1: that front office that can scout that kind of thing.

655
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,160
Speaker 1: You find the teams that don't value those guys and

656
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:33,160
Speaker 1: you trade for them. You find them in later draft picks,

657
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,600
Speaker 1: you find them in free agency. You just hunt those

658
00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:38,759
Speaker 1: types of players. But as I always say, as we

659
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:43,200
Speaker 1: said earlier, I'm a big believer in self awareness, and

660
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 1: I don't see a pathway for the Suns to contend,

661
00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,880
Speaker 1: not in this beast of a Western conference, not at

662
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:51,759
Speaker 1: any point in the next few years. Devin Booker, I

663
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,040
Speaker 1: think turns twenty nine this year, if I'm not mistaken.

664
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:57,239
Speaker 1: So I would trade Devin Booker and I would start

665
00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:00,799
Speaker 1: the rebuild process. Like what if you what if you

666
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:04,800
Speaker 1: could get in on Detroit and poach a really good

667
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 1: a couple of young players, Like what if you could

668
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,360
Speaker 1: call Detroit and get Jaden Ivy and Ron Holland or

669
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 1: man maybe you can get Poachasar Thompson from them. If

670
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:18,880
Speaker 1: you could go get some young talent for Devin Booker,

671
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,960
Speaker 1: that could be the thing that sparks your rebuild process

672
00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:26,799
Speaker 1: and gets you on the pathway to actually contending. I

673
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:28,440
Speaker 1: think the worst thing you can do is hang out

674
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: in the middle with no viable pathway up, and that's

675
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 1: a dangerous spot to be in working on the margins.

676
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:40,920
Speaker 1: Like that, all right, two more questions, PJ. Washington is

677
00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:42,960
Speaker 1: due for an extension and the Lakers need a two

678
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,640
Speaker 1: way forward. PJ has already has chemistry with Luca and

679
00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:49,319
Speaker 1: could fit that twenty year old starter you mentioned. Would

680
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,680
Speaker 1: you move Gabe Dalton or a pick or gave Dalton

681
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,960
Speaker 1: in a pick for him, No, I would not. I

682
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:59,480
Speaker 1: think PJ. Washington is a power forward. I think the

683
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:03,000
Speaker 1: Lakers need a smaller and more athletic player at the

684
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,200
Speaker 1: two or three. I think like there's a lot of

685
00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:08,400
Speaker 1: like big picture conversations the Lakers need to have in

686
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,200
Speaker 1: terms of like what type of player they want at

687
00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,959
Speaker 1: certain position groups. So like if Lebron is your power

688
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,319
Speaker 1: forward now and he's gonna play two more seasons, you

689
00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,200
Speaker 1: need a big picture power forward plan. But I don't

690
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:22,919
Speaker 1: think PJ. Washington fits like that big picture power forward plan,

691
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,879
Speaker 1: you know, multiple years into the future. You know, maybe

692
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:28,000
Speaker 1: Ruby Hotch Muraz that, but you know, obviously you could

693
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,120
Speaker 1: potentially look to move him in the short term. I

694
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 1: don't see PJ. Washington as a guy that is like

695
00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,799
Speaker 1: a demonstrable upgrade in the short term or in the

696
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:39,319
Speaker 1: long term. So I wouldn't like, Like to me, I'd

697
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,399
Speaker 1: be looking for more of like a like we've been

698
00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:45,120
Speaker 1: talking about Aaron E. Smith, We've been talking about you know,

699
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,640
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins obviously is a little too old,

700
00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:50,080
Speaker 1: but a player that fits more of that two to three,

701
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,520
Speaker 1: a better athlete who can guard on the perimeter better,

702
00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,520
Speaker 1: and that power forward position I think is a little

703
00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:58,239
Speaker 1: bit more easy to replace, if that makes sense. So

704
00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:00,279
Speaker 1: I don't think PJ. Washington makes sense. This is the

705
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,359
Speaker 1: kind of guy the Lakers should be going after. I've

706
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 1: seen you say over and over the Lakers need to

707
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:09,440
Speaker 1: upgrade their athleticism. Does the last three signings help with that? Also?

708
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,319
Speaker 1: Do you think it would help the Lakers defense if

709
00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,239
Speaker 1: Van do played more at the point of attack and

710
00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:15,919
Speaker 1: picked up ball handlers full court instead of being used

711
00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:19,360
Speaker 1: to rebound because we had so much trouble. No, I

712
00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:23,000
Speaker 1: don't think any of these moves markedly improve their athleticism.

713
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,200
Speaker 1: It's a mild upgrade, Like if both DeAndre and Marcus

714
00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:30,319
Speaker 1: smarter healthy, they're certainly more athletic, but they're they're like,

715
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:32,719
Speaker 1: they're still in the bottom tier of NBA teams in

716
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:37,680
Speaker 1: terms of overall athleticism. I will say it's more complicated

717
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:40,960
Speaker 1: than that, because the Lakers are definitely a better version

718
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,800
Speaker 1: of what they were, which is a slow down power

719
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 1: basketball team. But they just don't add. They have not

720
00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:53,480
Speaker 1: added athletic versatility. Athletic versatility is what gives you better

721
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:57,160
Speaker 1: chance of surviving four rounds against four very different types

722
00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,919
Speaker 1: of teams. This doesn't mean they can't win, certainly can win,

723
00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:04,840
Speaker 1: but they're more vulnerable now to certain types of teams

724
00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,000
Speaker 1: and that makes it harder for them to win four rounds. Like,

725
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:09,920
Speaker 1: for instance, one of the teams that I've talked about

726
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:13,200
Speaker 1: ever since they matched up in the regular season at

727
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,319
Speaker 1: the end of last year, I think the Warriors match

728
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:20,440
Speaker 1: up really well with the Lakers, and like advantage Warriors,

729
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:24,040
Speaker 1: they're just so much faster, right, Like, that's a team

730
00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:28,520
Speaker 1: where if the Lakers got markedly more athletic, I think

731
00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:30,760
Speaker 1: the Lakers would match up better with the Golden State,

732
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,040
Speaker 1: But as currently constructed, I think they would have some

733
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:38,200
Speaker 1: issues with Golden State potentially a lot of issues pulling

734
00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,759
Speaker 1: slow perimeter athletes and DeAndre eight and who can really

735
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,839
Speaker 1: struggle in complicated coverages out to the perimeter, and then

736
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:48,239
Speaker 1: having a bunch of iffy defenders on the back line

737
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:51,759
Speaker 1: rotating around, like it could get really scary in that

738
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,719
Speaker 1: particular type of matchup, right, But who knows, Maybe you

739
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,839
Speaker 1: avoid Golden State. Maybe you catch you know, teams that

740
00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:00,840
Speaker 1: you match up better against along the way, and it

741
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,759
Speaker 1: doesn't end up being an issue. But chances are, if

742
00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,279
Speaker 1: you play four rounds, you're gonna end up running into

743
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,319
Speaker 1: a team that can attack your weakness. And right now,

744
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,239
Speaker 1: the Lakers still have a pretty substantial weakness in terms

745
00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:13,680
Speaker 1: of that athleticism. And that, by the way, kind of

746
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:16,239
Speaker 1: going back to the PJ. Washington piece, I don't think PJ.

747
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,120
Speaker 1: Washington's a decent athlete, but I don't view him as

748
00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:22,520
Speaker 1: like a floor changing athlete for this Lakers team the

749
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:24,880
Speaker 1: way that like an Andrew Wiggins would be, for example,

750
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,560
Speaker 1: or an aaron Ne Smith. Right. So, like I that's

751
00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:29,760
Speaker 1: a big part of why I don't think PJ. Washington's

752
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,239
Speaker 1: the type of guy for them to put real asset. Uh,

753
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,640
Speaker 1: put real assets on the table for all right, guys,

754
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 1: It's all I have for today. It's always to sincerely

755
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:40,879
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show.

756
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:43,520
Speaker 1: We will We will be back next week with our

757
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,800
Speaker 1: player rankings getting started on Monday. I will see you

758
00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:47,319
Speaker 1: guys then,