WEBVTT - What's Wright - NBA Draft Recap: Cooper Flagg & Mavs CONTENDERS? Pelicans HORRENDOUS trade & more! 0:00:01.320 --> 0:00:04.440 Welcome in. We'll Drive with Nick Wright episode three five 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:07.440 and this episode as always of What's Right with Nick Right, 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:12.720 as presented by our friends at boost Mobile. This is 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:16.599 our last show until after the fourth of July. I 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:19.040 will leave from here to go do the TV show 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:23.400 and then head out west for family reunion and then 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:28.440 head further west for a vacation with my wife and kids. 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:31.760 So we did a long draft show last night. We 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:35.080 will do a full draft recap show here today, hit 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:38.400 on some other things, potentially get to that Rogers story 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.160 that broke after our show on Tuesday, and then I'm 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.159 gone after first things first today. So but this is 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.280 kind of the right time of year to be gone. 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:50.840 Maybe miss the very beginning of NBA free agency, maybe 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:54.000 miss a potential Lakers trade. But aside from that, we 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:58.000 should be good. Demandsay, good to see you, Howard. All 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.320 six eggs for the Snakes still doing okay. 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:03.640 One hundred percent, still going strong. No mold now that 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:04.600 stuff you mean? He's great? 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:06.759 Okay, I didn't even know mold was a thing. This 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:10.440 is a new anxiety for Demon's Egg's gonna get mold 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:14.920 on them, and also a minor existential crisis of he 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:17.800 is leaving town as well, and he is leaving those 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:21.400 snake eggs alone in his apartment. I I you know, 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.840 I I would imagine there were some Google searches of 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:29.640 what happens if like power goes out in an apartment? 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:30.800 Can someone get in? 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:33.839 I understand big bucket of water in there. 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:38.240 But there you go. And luckily we've got just bring 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:41.240 your apartment keys with you and our friends at Blue 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.759 Duck who are in LA if we need to overnight 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.039 them to them. If something happens, I'm sure one of 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.000 our LA based people will take care of you. I'm 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:53.240 very confident in that. Right now, before we get to 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.560 the act, well this is the actual show, but before 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.520 we get to the NBA draft, straight to voicemail, brought 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:03.600 to you by our friends at boost Mobile. These guys 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:06.440 want me so every once in a while of the producers, 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:08.959 in a very kind way, set me up to fail. 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.000 They expect me to ron Burgundy some of this stuff 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:14.640 and just read what's written, and they want me to 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:19.560 say Wimby stunned and China photo dump. So I guess 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:23.120 that happened. The Pelicans in Washington trade CJ. McCollum for 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.040 Jordan Poole that actually kind of actually is in the show, 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:32.360 and Caitlyn Clark slumping maybe however, ruled out with a 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.200 left with a groin strain. I think I shouldn't say 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:38.520 strain ruled out with a groin injury. I believe it's 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:43.160 a left groin, which might have saved Wilds from the 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:46.560 reverse take of the year with Wild's kind of soft 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:50.240 launching the Caitlyn Clark maybe she's not good anymore take. 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.079 He didn't hard launch it, but soft launched it. Remind 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.840 her to everybody out there, like rate, subscribe review one 0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:01.080 of the reasons to and again, these are things I 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:04.160 don't totally understand, but it seems like, particularly when we 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:07.840 do these live shows, the more people that click the 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.080 like button, it like populates and more up and more 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:16.040 YouTube hit feeds for other people. That's I guess why 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.239 the like is important, not because it serves my ego, 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.080 but because it could expand our audience. So I don't 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.640 really ever ask people to like the podcast, but I 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.600 guess that's helpful, So please do that if you could. 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.920 And the other reason subscribe is because sometimes we do 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:33.960 out of nowhere two hour live draft shows that if 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.160 you're not subscribed. You don't know we're doing all right, Demanse, 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.200 Let's get to the draft itself. 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:40.920 Go ahead. 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:43.440 Yeah, So the draft was last night and you were 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:44.520 obviously live for that. 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:44.960 Uh. 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:47.400 There were some crazy moments in there, and one of 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.280 the notable ones was the Pelican trade. 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:51.280 And here's your reaction to it. 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:57.960 Did New Orleans just ear Muff's kids? Nor Orlean's just 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:03.320 fucking traded away their next year's first round pick unprotected 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:11.000 to move up from twenty three to thirteen. That might 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:14.600 be the most reckless draft day trade I've seen in 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:20.560 five years. Yeah. So that, I mean, we'll get more 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:22.000 into that in a second, but go ahead. 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:22.839 Yeah. 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.960 Another one was Brooklyn using all five picks in Portland, 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:29.400 taking Yang twenty five picks early. What was your single 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:31.280 biggest takeaway from the draft last night? 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:35.839 My single biggest takeaway was what New Orleans did. And listen, 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:39.760 we will talk Cooper Flag, and we will talk Dylan Harper, 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:44.839 and we will talk Ace Bailey. But I I have 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:48.440 had a night to sleep on it, and I am 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:55.719 more entrenched that Joe Dumar's first draft since taking back 0:04:56.120 --> 0:05:00.000 taking the Pelicans, Joe Dumars was not great in Detroit. 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.200 He's a great player, but was not a great executive. 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:06.599 And he was there for a long time, and then 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:09.560 he went to the league office for a long time. 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:14.160 And this is gonna be this is where Man TV 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:18.280 Show Today is gonna be a little tricky because we 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.880 net Obviously, we all on the show say whatever we 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:27.839 you know, think. However, there is I at times I 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:31.760 feel not because of Brew, but I personally feel a 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:35.839 little awkward because Brew has real relationships with a lot 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:41.960 of people long term, and sometimes I realize, like halfway 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.600 through a take, I'm like, am I talking about one 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:49.560 of Bruce's friends like it? And and so I don't 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.440 know whether or not Brew has a real relationship with 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:56.359 Joe Dumars, but I would imagine he does. And so 0:05:56.720 --> 0:06:01.080 it is that could be, you know, a weird spot 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:05.000 on First Things First Today. But listen, as I always say, 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.839 my only obligation is to the truth, and the truth 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.680 is it's one of the craziest damn things I've ever 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:15.359 seen the team do. And it's New Orleans. If you 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:19.760 weren't watching New Orleans really like Derek Queen, I, if 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:23.920 you were watching our live draft show, I said, I 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:27.599 wouldn't hate it if New Orleans took Queen at seven 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:31.719 when they had the opportunity, that would have been a 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:36.400 slight overdraft. Instead they go Jeremiah Fears, and so there's 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:40.680 just so much. There's so much here that I find fascinating. 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:48.479 One is Jeremiah Fears of high offensive upside, very questionable defender, 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:56.279 didn't really show efficiency in college. His direct comp is 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:00.599 kind of Jordan Poole, who New Orleans just tray for 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.120 a day before the draft. So you trade it for 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:08.640 Jordan Poole, you then draft Jeremiah Fears. The other guy 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.720 that they were clearly very interested in is Derek Queen, 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.800 a guy I like a lot, but a guy that 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:20.560 I said during the draft show not in athleticism, but 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:24.800 in strengths and weaknesses as a player. Reminds you a 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:28.960 lot of Zion. Where can kind of play a little 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:34.360 point forward is you know, has real questions defensively, Zion 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:38.800 wasn't supposed to but ended up having those. Is not 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:42.280 going to be a great shooter, but and it is 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.560 not going to be a real rim protector because he's 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.160 not seven feet tall or even really like you know, 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.120 a pro Zion is not even approaching seven feet tall, 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:55.760 and there are some work ethic concerns, there are some 0:07:56.240 --> 0:07:59.960 why aren't you in better shape concerns, but the talent 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:04.840 is really right there it New Orleans has that guy 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:10.520 in Zion. They take Derek Queen, which again I don't hate, 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:14.360 in a vacuum, and some might say, well, that then 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:19.760 allows you potentially more easily to trade Zion if you 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.040 want to replace him with Derek Queen. All that would 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:27.560 make sense if they had simply taken Derreck Queen at seven, 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:31.080 or if they had simply traded made any other type 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:38.800 of trade other than trading away what is potentially, potentially 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:46.320 all things considered, the most valuable pick going into next 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:48.960 year's draft. And the reason I say that is not 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.640 because I think New Orleans is the team most likely 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.560 to have the worst record in basketball. The reason I 0:08:55.600 --> 0:09:00.600 say that is that's not what they traded. So they 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:05.160 went from twenty three to thirteen. So to the cost 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:10.199 to move up those ten spots, they traded away unprotected 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:15.000 twenty twenty six draft pick that will be either New 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:25.080 Orleans or Milwaukee, the better of the two. So New 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:33.960 Orleans has I don't know, a fifteen percent chance to 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.800 be the worst team in the league next year, and 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:43.000 Milwaukee has like, here's the question, what is the chance 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:48.640 Yannis gets hurt slash? What is the chance or added 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:53.880 to the chance that Milwaukee trades Giannis? Because whatever is 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:59.560 that five percent? If that happens, Milwaukee's the worst team 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.880 in the league. Milwaukee with Dame out potentially the whole year. 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:06.520 If Giannis gets dinged or if they just trade him, 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:10.400 they become the worst team in the league. And the 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.040 other teams that are in contention for the worst team 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:21.679 in the league, most notably Charlotte and Brooklyn and maybe Washington, 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.079 those teams are in the East Utah as well as 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:31.600 in there. So to give away that draft pick that 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:36.320 might be aj Debanza or you know, or again it 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:45.600 will almost assuredly be a top ten pick and has 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:50.000 a real chance of being a top five pick for 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:58.040 not not for a superstar, not as a package to 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.800 get a player like Giannis, but to just move up 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:04.959 and get a guy who, if you had not moved 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:07.960 up and taken him, was likely going to fall out 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:13.840 of the lottery. It's just incomprehensibly bad. And I was 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:19.000 thinking yesterday like what version of this trade would I 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:23.440 have made if I were New Orleans. Would I have 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:31.560 offered this unprotected twenty twenty six better of New Orleans 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:35.640 or Milwaukee straight up for the thirteenth pick, not even 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:38.400 including the twenty third pick. No, I would not have. 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.800 Would I have done this trade demonse if it were 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:50.400 the opposite, meaning twenty three thirteen to four twenty three 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:56.720 and the worse of the two New Orleans Milwaukee picks, 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.600 I wouldn't have done that either, because it's on the board. 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:02.600 They're both both bad. Like again, I don't I think 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:06.120 Milwaukee should be fine, but they, more than any team 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:10.320 in the league, are a one man show, other than 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.480 maybe Denver, but even Denver, if Joker were to go down, 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:18.320 you have other pieces you like it. Would I have 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:26.840 traded twenty three and next year's unprotected number one to 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:33.439 move up to seven, which again wouldn't have made sense 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.559 because New Orleans already had seven, But you understand what 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:39.480 I mean. I wouldn't have done that. So I think 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:47.880 this will go down. We have to see, you know, 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.640 where these picks land, and we will see it. But 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:58.360 I think this will be like the Hawks trading Luca 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.520 for Trey, the tie of move that we reference for 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:05.920 on Draft night that we reference for years and years 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:06.720 and years. 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.040 Maybe the Pelicans front office is in love with that 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.440 archetype and they're just backup planes. You know, if those 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:14.520 the other two don't pan out, we're shipping them out 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:14.800 of here. 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.360 I don't know, right, So you trade for Pool, your draft, 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:20.480 a guy who maybe one day can be Pool, and 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:22.479 Fears you have Zion. 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:25.200 And you've already seen what Pool and Zion are kind 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:26.280 of like being in the NBA. 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:31.439 I don't yes, I mean, it's clearly something like that, Demante, 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:38.800 but it if we right now, let me check on DraftKings, 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:47.440 the the odds for team futures. Can we I just 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:52.559 see finals? Okay, here we go conference winner in the West, 0:13:54.120 --> 0:14:00.439 New Orleans. There are I mean, that's the West is 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:04.880 so funny. There are nine teams that are twenty five 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:12.719 to one or better, so OKC, Houston, Minnesota, Lakers, Nuggets, Warriors, Spurs, Clippers, Mavericks. 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.560 Those nine teams won through nine or twenty five to one. 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:19.880 There are then six teams that are one hundred and 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:26.120 ten to one or worse. The Grizzlies, the Pels, the Kings, 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:34.600 the Suns, the Blazers, the Jazz. The Jazz should be 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:38.560 the worst team in the West next year. After that, 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:46.200 the Kings and Grizzlies want to win. The Suns obviously 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.520 want to win, and the Blazers just traded for a 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:53.200 thirty six year old Drew Holiday. Now it doesn't mean 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.520 those and New Orleans obviously wants to win. My point 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.800 is only one team in the West doesn't want to win. 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:04.560 In Utah, You're not gonna, you know, fall into easy 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:13.320 conference victories. I I just I am gobsmacked at this, 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:21.680 and I maybe it's a nerdy look at uh the 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:25.400 draft to be focused on this trade. I just think 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:28.800 it's one of the most reckless moves I've seen a 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:33.160 teammate in a very, very long time. And it also 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:37.040 does show you this is one of the cool things 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:44.360 about the draft, the ticking clock factor. Like if this 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:49.920 would have been done in right during the course of 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:54.560 regular business, would cooler heads in New Orleans have prevailed 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.360 and been like, hey, Joe, what if we offer them 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:02.400 this exact trade, but just say the pick has to 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:07.240 be top ten protected and they say no, and we say, okay, 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.920 top five protected, then certainly you could have done top 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.960 one protected like they you would have been able to 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:19.600 better massage or get a swap back or something. But 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:26.280 because five minutes, Yeah, you want to miss out on 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:30.360 your player, you gotta go. And the new I mean 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:35.200 a triple plus to the new Hawks front office. What 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:38.600 an opening few days got off some bad salary, added 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:47.120 Chris STAPs came away with an absolute it is I 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:58.360 don't know, a ten percent chance, No, probably higher fifteen 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:02.800 percent chance these had a top three pick. It's unbelievable. 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:05.480 It's really unbelievable. All right, we'll get to the big 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:08.520 the first and the second pick in just a second. Book. First, 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:11.800 hotels in Vegas may be book solid this weekend, but 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.320 there's one vacancy left to be filled. At UFC three seventeen, 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:20.200 a new lightweight champ will be crowned. 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Eligibility 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.280 varies by jurisdiction, Voyd and Ontario. Bet must win to 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.840 receive reward minimum minus five hundred odds required. Bonus bets 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.000 expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issue in 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:42.840 four additional terms and responsible gaming resources see DKNG dot 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:43.919 co slash audio. 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:46.399 All right, demonte, let's get to the top pick of 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:46.919 the draft. 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:51.199 So, as expected, the MAVs took Cooper Flag with the 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:55.560 first pick, so they extended Kyrie and Gafford. The question is, 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:58.160 if Kyrie ends up healthy, do you think that Dallas's 0:18:58.200 --> 0:18:59.960 contenders for Dallas ARC. 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:02.200 Do you think they are? 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:03.600 Yes? I do. 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.000 I knew I could tell just from the look in 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:08.200 your face, So go ahead. 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:11.399 Yeah, I mean, I was just telling the guys this morning. 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:14.639 The balance of defense and offense on that team also 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:16.880 paired in with the way I know that's your guy, 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.360 but the way that Luca was looking in the playoffs 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:22.840 last year, it just kind of seems like Beakle might 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:24.920 have had a grasp on the situation and what was 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:25.880 going on over there. 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:27.200 And I like that team. 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:29.919 Like if Cooper Flag pans out nicely, I hate that 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:31.439 it worked out for him, and you know he got 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:33.359 that they ended up with the number one pick. But 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:35.840 with that number one pick, that's a that's a squad 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:36.280 right there. 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:41.199 So so that let's talk about the Nico piece of 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:45.720 this and then we'll get to the team. Because Nico 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:50.479 had a quote Nico said, Fortune favors the bold and 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:53.760 on behalf of MAVs fans everywhere. I wanted to break 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:58.000 a TV. Yeah, it's you do not. You do not 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:05.480 get to Trey Luca hold a press conference saying we 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:09.240 did this for this year because we think we are 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:13.280 better right now to win a championship this year or 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:17.160 next year, and then end up bad enough that you're 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:21.800 in the lottery and fall last backwards into the number 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:25.720 one pick and then be like all part of the plan. 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:30.000 If at that listen, honest to god, if at that 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:36.880 press conference he had said, listen, we are all about championships. 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:40.879 I even though we thought last year's finals appearance was 0:20:40.920 --> 0:20:45.600 fool's gold, and we traded for Anthony Davis knowing he's 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:48.160 injured and by the way, he's gonna take some time 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:50.679 to come back this year. This is not about this season, 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:54.240 and we may or may not even be back in 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.680 the playoffs this year. We're okay with this because this 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.399 is a long term play. And then you end up 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:03.200 with Cooper, then you can say, told you a part 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.600 of the plan. Didn't expect number one pick, but we 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:08.000 were going to add an im back player. Fine, they 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:11.520 don't get to be like, we are doing this to 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:15.560 contend right now, you fall into the and and then 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:18.160 be in the play in and be trying to win 0:21:18.240 --> 0:21:20.919 the play in, lose, fall into the lottery, get the 0:21:20.960 --> 0:21:23.159 number one pick, and be like Bang told you. So 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:25.800 that's first of all. But they are where they are. 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:28.080 Go ahead, well, yeah, Just to be clear, I don't 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:29.800 want to give Nico. I don't want to give him 0:21:29.840 --> 0:21:33.800 any credit for this, Like no, the Luca piece of it, 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.199 Like I kind of can see he's a little bit 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:38.520 onto something. It was a crazy trade, but with it 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:40.560 work painting out the way it did and then getting 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:43.479 that first pick, I think they have quite the squad 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:44.240 on them right now. 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:49.120 Okay, so that's the real question is do they And 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:52.959 my answer to that question is I think right now 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:58.600 they are more than a touch over rated. And here's 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:02.600 why I listen. I heard uh and again this is 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:07.040 not picking on him. I think other people thought this, 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:10.080 but I heard this from I heard Steven A yesterday 0:22:10.119 --> 0:22:13.000 say that they think that he thinks they could be 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:19.240 Oklahoma City's biggest competitor. I disagree. And the reason I 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:26.000 disagree is this, I do not care how good you are, 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:36.920 how what your profile is in the modern NBA. In particular, 0:22:38.960 --> 0:22:41.560 rookies that have to be the focal point of a 0:22:41.600 --> 0:22:47.840 team's offense do not contribute to winning flatly. They just don't. 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:51.800 Like I understand Magic was great as a rookie, he 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:54.080 was not the focal point of the team's offense. Kareem 0:22:54.240 --> 0:23:01.680 was lebron as unbelievable as he was. That Cavs team 0:23:02.080 --> 0:23:06.040 missed the playoffs. Michael Jordan as a rookie, I think, 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:10.720 averaged twenty eight points a game. That Bulls team won 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:20.760 thirty eight games. Okay, like asking rookies. Hell, take the 0:23:20.800 --> 0:23:26.000 MAVs with Luca Luca's first year he was Cooper. Flag's 0:23:26.040 --> 0:23:28.520 not going to be better than Luca year one Luca. 0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:32.480 When year two Luki was first Team All NBA, they 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:37.760 won thirty three games. Now, obviously those guys didn't have 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:41.240 an Anthony Davis on that on their team and eventually 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:46.200 Kyrie Irving, but so they they should be better than 0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:50.400 those records. But the point that I am making is 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:54.440 as long as Kyrie is out, and I do not 0:23:54.640 --> 0:23:59.440 think Kyrie. I think expecting Kyrie to be back before 0:23:59.480 --> 0:24:03.960 the alls our break is foolish. I think Kyrie Irving, 0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:08.919 given his you know, knee history and injury history and 0:24:09.000 --> 0:24:12.119 his size in his age, and you just signed him 0:24:12.160 --> 0:24:16.399 to an extension, Rushing him back would be foolish. And 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:21.160 until Kyrie comes back, you are going to be asking 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:27.199 your primary ball handler and your primary creator to be 0:24:27.240 --> 0:24:31.840 an eighteen year old. Like I love Flags Upside because 0:24:31.840 --> 0:24:37.679 of his age, but he's eighteen. He turns nineteen in December, 0:24:38.760 --> 0:24:42.240 and you know, maybe Clay as a bounce back year. 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:47.119 He is not creating. Anthony Davis is awesome. He is 0:24:47.160 --> 0:24:52.800 not creating Gafford and PJ. Washington and Derek Lively are 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:57.399 all useful players, they are not creating. You traded away 0:24:57.440 --> 0:24:59.920 a guy who could create a bit in Quentin Grimes 0:25:00.320 --> 0:25:04.399 for reasons I don't totally understand to bring in Caleb Martin. 0:25:04.840 --> 0:25:12.760 So like your secondary main creator is gonna be Max Christie, 0:25:13.600 --> 0:25:16.639 the other part of the A D trade until Kyrie 0:25:16.800 --> 0:25:17.280 gets back. 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:20.639 He is. He's just not good at creating shots. 0:25:21.280 --> 0:25:24.720 No, I don't Dinwitt, Am I wrong? I thought Dinwitty 0:25:24.840 --> 0:25:27.720 was a free agent. Maybe I'm the I don't so 0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:33.560 I think Dinwitty right now is the Uh. Maybe they 0:25:33.600 --> 0:25:35.879 bring him back, but he's so he's not on the 0:25:35.960 --> 0:25:39.359 roster right now. So they I mean so and Dinwitty is. 0:25:41.080 --> 0:25:46.480 I mean, there's a reason that Dinwitti's last few last 0:25:46.520 --> 0:25:49.080 contract was for the league minimum, you know what I mean, 0:25:49.119 --> 0:25:53.080 Like he he can be a microwave offense, but he is. 0:25:53.119 --> 0:25:54.679 He was about to say, if it's if it's for 0:25:54.760 --> 0:25:57.560 the purpose of making it to where Cooper Flag isn't 0:25:57.600 --> 0:26:02.520 your main guy, then you know, well, din Winnie's the alternative. 0:26:02.640 --> 0:26:06.000 Sure something, And maybe that's something. And free agency hasn't 0:26:06.040 --> 0:26:08.920 happened yet, and they obviously will you know, add some 0:26:08.920 --> 0:26:11.400 some pieces. They will add some things. I understand that, 0:26:11.880 --> 0:26:20.399 but I I do not think it is rational to 0:26:20.600 --> 0:26:26.280 expect the MAVs this next year with Kyrie playing. I 0:26:26.280 --> 0:26:29.399 don't know. I would say thirty games at best, And 0:26:29.440 --> 0:26:33.600 I would take the strong under on that with Anthony Davis. 0:26:33.760 --> 0:26:37.280 And you know, if you if you right now as 0:26:37.320 --> 0:26:40.199 a MAVs fan, if you were like, hey, eighty is 0:26:40.240 --> 0:26:43.120 gonna play sixty five games on the nose, you would 0:26:43.160 --> 0:26:45.919 be like take it, like, you know, I'll sign up 0:26:45.920 --> 0:26:50.360 for that immediately. And with Cooper Flag being the youngest 0:26:50.440 --> 0:26:54.600 kid in this draft class, and you know, having a 0:26:54.640 --> 0:26:59.000 lot on his plate. I don't think in twenty twenty 0:26:59.320 --> 0:27:04.879 this coming season, the MAVs are contenders. I do think 0:27:05.640 --> 0:27:13.040 that if Kyrie comes back from that knee injury and 0:27:13.160 --> 0:27:16.560 looks like he did before the knee injury, and Cooper 0:27:16.680 --> 0:27:21.119 Flag is the guy that a lot of people think 0:27:21.160 --> 0:27:27.320 he can be that in the season after this one, 0:27:27.600 --> 0:27:32.080 they can be really good. So I don't. If I 0:27:32.119 --> 0:27:38.440 am power ranking the West going into this coming season, 0:27:39.359 --> 0:27:49.000 I personally would power rank it thunder Rockets, Lakers with 0:27:49.320 --> 0:27:54.000 an asterisk, the asterisk being I'm assuming they are going 0:27:54.040 --> 0:28:01.919 to add a major piece in the next ten days. Nuggets, 0:28:01.960 --> 0:28:14.360 Minnesota four five, Golden State six, and then Dallas alongside 0:28:14.480 --> 0:28:18.679 the Clipper Clippers seven eight. That's where that's where I 0:28:18.680 --> 0:28:22.560 think they will be for next year. Now, in two years, 0:28:22.680 --> 0:28:27.879 I think that could be different. And that does not, 0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:36.239 by the way, take into account much of what the 0:28:36.320 --> 0:28:41.120 Spurs can potentially be. And so let's get to the 0:28:41.200 --> 0:28:42.400 Spurs here. Demonse. 0:28:42.680 --> 0:28:44.680 Yeah, so everybody figured he was going to go number 0:28:44.680 --> 0:28:48.480 two to the Spurs, but nobody else but oh Dylan Harper, 0:28:48.480 --> 0:28:51.240 Sorry I specific, but they still have. 0:28:51.240 --> 0:28:54.040 Harper, Castle and Fox. What is do you think they're 0:28:54.080 --> 0:28:54.840 going to trade something. 0:28:55.880 --> 0:29:01.560 Yeah, so here listen. It's an interesting triumvirn of guards 0:29:02.680 --> 0:29:06.720 because I like them all, but they all not only 0:29:06.880 --> 0:29:11.520 have kind of, at least at the moment, a weakness, 0:29:12.480 --> 0:29:17.840 but it's all the same weakness, which is, they all 0:29:18.120 --> 0:29:21.920 like to do most of their damage inside the three 0:29:22.000 --> 0:29:27.520 point arc. And none of them are great perimeter shooters. 0:29:28.280 --> 0:29:31.840 Castle and again Castle, these guys are young. Fox isn't 0:29:32.200 --> 0:29:35.760 Fox is thirty three percent for his career, Castle last 0:29:35.840 --> 0:29:40.239 year twenty eight percent. Dylan Harper at Rutgers was not 0:29:40.320 --> 0:29:44.200 a was not great from three himself, and so and 0:29:44.240 --> 0:29:46.000 I'm pulling it up right now, or at least I'm 0:29:46.040 --> 0:29:48.719 much okay. They switched it to his pro stats. At 0:29:48.800 --> 0:29:52.760 Rutgers he was thirty three percent. So those three guys 0:29:53.400 --> 0:29:57.520 having you can play a three guard lineup at times 0:29:57.800 --> 0:30:03.680 you cannot play a three guard non shooting lineup. I 0:30:03.760 --> 0:30:07.840 also think the Spur so Dylan Harper was a no 0:30:07.960 --> 0:30:14.800 doubt gotta pick him guy at number two. I also 0:30:14.880 --> 0:30:22.600 think the Spurs are really going to ease in to 0:30:22.720 --> 0:30:27.680 the Wimby era. They're gonna let Harper, Fox and Castle 0:30:27.840 --> 0:30:34.800 compete try different things. And one of those guys is 0:30:34.880 --> 0:30:38.320 going to be a key piece in a major trade 0:30:39.520 --> 0:30:43.240 like that? Is that I am very confident in now. 0:30:43.280 --> 0:30:47.520 I think they would love to pair Harper alongside Wimby 0:30:48.520 --> 0:30:52.560 for the next ten years. But if Yiannis were to 0:30:52.640 --> 0:30:57.360 come available and the Bucks want Harper, then you trade 0:30:57.400 --> 0:31:02.080 the Bucks Harper like if a and if Joannis doesn't 0:31:02.120 --> 0:31:08.160 come available, but a different tier type of guy does, 0:31:08.280 --> 0:31:14.320 and who would that be? Katie just got traded. There's 0:31:14.400 --> 0:31:18.760 the top tier guys who are just not coming available. 0:31:18.960 --> 0:31:22.240 Let me pull up my latest King of the Hill 0:31:22.840 --> 0:31:25.800 just as a quick, uh kind of a shorthand for 0:31:25.880 --> 0:31:30.120 me of the best players in the league. So Yo 0:31:30.240 --> 0:31:32.840 Kic's not coming well, I mean, yo, we don't think 0:31:32.920 --> 0:31:35.800 yoj coming available. Josh Cronky's like, we don't want to 0:31:35.840 --> 0:31:40.960 trade him, but you know, shit happens. So who's a 0:31:41.000 --> 0:31:47.720 good example. Okay, here's a great one. Let's say Devin 0:31:47.760 --> 0:31:52.040 Booker has a change of heart after another shit year 0:31:52.360 --> 0:31:56.840 in Phoenix. It's like, you know what, I can get 0:31:56.880 --> 0:32:00.400 my cars shipped to Texas and I I want to 0:32:00.440 --> 0:32:02.640 play in big games. I played in the finals as 0:32:02.680 --> 0:32:07.920 a kid, and that you know, next level star player, 0:32:08.000 --> 0:32:13.960 but not yoh, honest, then you maybe you don't have 0:32:14.040 --> 0:32:18.000 to trade Harper in that, but you trade Castle and 0:32:18.200 --> 0:32:24.200 Fox like there's different You have now I think three 0:32:24.560 --> 0:32:32.840 legitimate assets that other teams would want to varying degrees like. 0:32:33.040 --> 0:32:37.480 And now the tricky thing is on the Fox point. 0:32:38.560 --> 0:32:42.719 This is am I right about this? Yeah, this is 0:32:42.760 --> 0:32:45.440 the last year of his deal. So the other thing 0:32:45.480 --> 0:32:49.320 that could happen is that Fox walks after this year. 0:32:49.840 --> 0:32:53.400 I would imagine that's not how this plays. I would 0:32:53.440 --> 0:33:00.920 imagine that they would try to, you know, pally move 0:33:01.040 --> 0:33:03.520 Fox at the deadline if need be, so they get 0:33:03.560 --> 0:33:06.880 something back from him. But they have Castle and Harper 0:33:06.920 --> 0:33:09.600 on rookie deals. They will see how all of them 0:33:09.640 --> 0:33:13.360 play next to Wimby. But the Spurs right now are 0:33:14.640 --> 0:33:18.120 in a I think a very good position, but a 0:33:18.240 --> 0:33:26.120 unique position because their four most valuable assets or players 0:33:26.720 --> 0:33:31.160 are all guys who like to shoot, except for Castle 0:33:31.280 --> 0:33:34.160 is not a big shooter, like to shoot threes, and 0:33:34.200 --> 0:33:36.960 I'm including Wimby in this, and none of them are 0:33:36.960 --> 0:33:39.560 guys who are that good at shooting threes. 0:33:40.640 --> 0:33:44.280 So the say it again, He says, you got to 0:33:44.280 --> 0:33:46.160 take Wimby out. Then you said, not good? What do 0:33:46.240 --> 0:33:49.720 you mean he's not terrible? I like Winby shooting threes. 0:33:51.040 --> 0:33:54.800 Wimby doesn't need to shoot nine threes a game. Shooting 0:33:54.920 --> 0:34:01.120 nine a game. I mean, I like Wimby's a Wimby's 0:34:01.160 --> 0:34:04.000 shot diet and I don't like that term, but it's 0:34:04.040 --> 0:34:08.560 become like a new term. Shot Diet needs to get 0:34:09.200 --> 0:34:12.880 needs to reflect a little bit more that he's the 0:34:12.920 --> 0:34:15.319 tallest guy on the court by six inches most of 0:34:15.360 --> 0:34:22.240 the time. And so I the the spurs you take, Harper, 0:34:22.320 --> 0:34:30.160 you figure it out later, but you don't. Those three 0:34:30.239 --> 0:34:33.560 guys are not going to be there, you know, forever 0:34:33.880 --> 0:34:36.880 what I know? Oh, by the way, like, rate, subscribe, review. 0:34:36.920 --> 0:34:39.280 If you're watching on YouTube, click the like button. Please. 0:34:39.280 --> 0:34:41.799 If you're watching on YouTube, not subscribe, please subscribe and 0:34:41.840 --> 0:34:44.440 subscribe to us on iTunes and Spotify. We have a 0:34:44.480 --> 0:34:47.920 live question from someone watching on YouTube. 0:34:48.160 --> 0:34:50.279 Yeah, RULESAI, what about Devin vessel. 0:34:51.280 --> 0:34:55.719 Vecell, So listen, I the no all good? I yeah, 0:34:55.760 --> 0:34:59.359 I mean he's right now. I think their fifth most 0:34:59.480 --> 0:35:04.279 valuable piece, if you will, like he is, Wimby is 0:35:04.360 --> 0:35:10.920 their most valuable piece with a bullet huge gap, and 0:35:10.920 --> 0:35:13.960 then Dylan Harper is now their second most valuable piece 0:35:14.600 --> 0:35:20.400 with a bullet huge gap. And then Castle Fox is 0:35:20.480 --> 0:35:23.520 kind of eye of the beholder. I don't think Castle 0:35:23.600 --> 0:35:28.160 will ever be as good as Dearn Fox. But dude, 0:35:28.280 --> 0:35:30.759 is the fact that Castle is so much younger and 0:35:30.800 --> 0:35:32.880 for at least the next three years on such a 0:35:32.920 --> 0:35:37.279 great contract, and Fox is a guy you're probably gonna 0:35:37.320 --> 0:35:40.600 have to max out, you know, or come close to 0:35:40.640 --> 0:35:44.319 it a year from now. Does that make him more 0:35:44.440 --> 0:35:48.160 valuable than to that team than to others or you know, 0:35:48.760 --> 0:35:56.520 two different teams. And so I think that I think 0:35:56.640 --> 0:36:05.200 the Spurs have very interesting choices ahead of them, but 0:36:06.440 --> 0:36:11.080 I'm very confident that their long term plan is not 0:36:12.719 --> 0:36:18.120 Castle Fox Harper. I also think it's totally fair, and 0:36:18.239 --> 0:36:21.759 it's not totally fair. I know I'm right. When they 0:36:21.880 --> 0:36:25.239 traded for Fox, they didn't think they were gonna get 0:36:25.280 --> 0:36:28.280 the second pick of the draft. When they traded for Fox, 0:36:28.320 --> 0:36:30.239 Wmby was still healthy. They were fighting to get to 0:36:30.320 --> 0:36:34.680 play in They didn't think, you know, we're our point 0:36:34.680 --> 0:36:38.239 guard of the next decade is gonna be taken care 0:36:38.320 --> 0:36:41.520 of in this draft. In Dylan Harper, it's just how 0:36:41.520 --> 0:36:43.239 it turned out, all right, Let's get to the rest 0:36:43.239 --> 0:36:44.839 of the West, demase, So. 0:36:44.880 --> 0:36:47.799 The West is as dangerous as ever. Obviously, Katie just 0:36:47.840 --> 0:36:50.280 went to the Rockets. It's gonna be the Lakers first 0:36:50.280 --> 0:36:52.960 full season with Luca, and teams like Spurs and the 0:36:52.960 --> 0:36:54.080 MAVs could take the leap. 0:36:54.840 --> 0:36:56.719 Yeah. Who are the best players? Who are the real 0:36:56.760 --> 0:36:57.520 players in the West? 0:36:58.280 --> 0:37:03.520 Yeah, So listen. I did this a bit on I 0:37:03.560 --> 0:37:07.440 think there is a it's clearly Oklahoma City at the top, 0:37:08.560 --> 0:37:11.040 but I think the next best two teams are the 0:37:11.120 --> 0:37:18.320 Rockets and the Lakers. And I the LUCA over correction. 0:37:18.600 --> 0:37:22.239 Negativity has gone too far. And I did this on 0:37:22.320 --> 0:37:25.440 the TV show yesterday. I just want to reiterate it. 0:37:26.280 --> 0:37:33.040 Luca five best players in the league. Okay, Joker is thirty, 0:37:33.440 --> 0:37:37.000 he won his title at twenty eight. Giannis is thirty, 0:37:37.360 --> 0:37:41.200 he won his title at twenty six. Tatum is twenty seven. 0:37:41.600 --> 0:37:45.560 He won his title at twenty six. Shay is twenty six, 0:37:45.960 --> 0:37:49.080 turns twenty seven in two weeks. He just won the title. 0:37:49.400 --> 0:37:52.960 Luca the youngest of all of them, twenty six, will 0:37:53.000 --> 0:37:56.200 be twenty six during the first couple months of next season. 0:37:56.719 --> 0:37:59.719 The idea that he is behind schedule or off schedule 0:38:00.800 --> 0:38:06.680 is incorrect right now, Shae understandably, his star could not 0:38:06.760 --> 0:38:10.760 be shining brighter. I get that, and he deserves it. However, 0:38:13.719 --> 0:38:18.440 and we also can't compare Luca and Shae career numbers 0:38:18.760 --> 0:38:21.799 because Luca was good instantly and Shae grew into it. 0:38:22.160 --> 0:38:25.800 So if we simply just take the last two years 0:38:26.760 --> 0:38:29.279 for Shay, which are far and away the best two 0:38:29.360 --> 0:38:32.520 years of his career, and compare them to the last 0:38:32.560 --> 0:38:35.719 two years for Luca, which includes far and away the 0:38:35.760 --> 0:38:38.360 worst year of his career. This past year, the numbers 0:38:38.400 --> 0:38:43.520 are identical. Playoffs and regular season identical, except for Luca 0:38:44.880 --> 0:38:48.359 beats him in assists considerably and rebounds by a bit, 0:38:48.680 --> 0:38:52.520 but the scoring and efficiencies are nearly identical. One guy 0:38:52.719 --> 0:38:57.359 made the finals demanse and lost to a team some 0:38:57.400 --> 0:39:01.320 people thought was going to turn into a dynasty in Boston. 0:39:01.640 --> 0:39:05.040 The other guy made the finals and went seven with 0:39:05.160 --> 0:39:08.759 a team people thought was the most unlikely finalist in 0:39:09.520 --> 0:39:12.560 modern NBA history. So to add like, I don't think 0:39:12.560 --> 0:39:14.160 it's fair to be like, well, you can win with 0:39:14.200 --> 0:39:17.480 one guy, you can't win with the other. Now, Shay 0:39:17.600 --> 0:39:20.080 is coming off as best year, Lucas coming off his worst. 0:39:20.440 --> 0:39:25.799 That's undeniable, but it is there's too big of a 0:39:26.200 --> 0:39:30.880 discussion gap amongst the two. So that's one of the 0:39:30.920 --> 0:39:33.799 reasons that I am a believer in the Lakers, and 0:39:33.800 --> 0:39:36.279 I'm gonna do this in reverse order three two. One 0:39:36.960 --> 0:39:41.480 second reason I'm a believer in the Lakers is I 0:39:41.640 --> 0:39:45.279 do think they are going to make a substantial move 0:39:46.320 --> 0:39:48.960 in the next week. I think they are going to 0:39:49.160 --> 0:39:53.400 address some of their roster holes, and I think they 0:39:53.440 --> 0:39:56.640 have the assets to do it. And the last reason 0:39:57.320 --> 0:40:04.560 I'm a believer in the Lakers is, let me call 0:40:04.600 --> 0:40:17.520 it a informed opinion that people that think Lebron is 0:40:17.680 --> 0:40:23.920 resigned to the idea that he's not like that making 0:40:24.560 --> 0:40:28.040 finals and competing for championships, that that phase of his 0:40:28.120 --> 0:40:38.960 career is over, are unabashedly, unequivocally wrong. Now, maybe if 0:40:39.000 --> 0:40:42.120 your opinion is whatever he thinks is going on, you 0:40:42.120 --> 0:40:45.040 know doesn't matter, you know that phase is over. That's 0:40:45.040 --> 0:40:47.960 an opinion and you're allowed to have. But if you 0:40:48.080 --> 0:40:51.279 think Lebron is like, Okay, at this point, it's just 0:40:51.320 --> 0:40:54.760 about playing with my son, you know, at some point 0:40:54.800 --> 0:41:00.359 having a farewell tour. I love the game. You can 0:41:00.400 --> 0:41:07.600 debt that right now. And I think these finals and 0:41:07.760 --> 0:41:18.600 watching Oklahoma City struggle with Indiana and watching what these 0:41:18.680 --> 0:41:27.520 finals looked like. Only Surge emboldened Lebron to feel like 0:41:28.600 --> 0:41:31.840 I can get back there. And so if you have 0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:38.080 Chip on his shoulder, Luca wants one last dance at 0:41:38.080 --> 0:41:42.040 some point deep in the postseason. Lebron and some slight 0:41:42.160 --> 0:41:47.120 roster tweaking, that to me makes the Lakers a contender. 0:41:47.440 --> 0:41:49.000 You think Austin Reeves is there next year? 0:41:52.480 --> 0:41:56.600 Probably not, maybe at the beginning, probably not through the year. 0:41:56.719 --> 0:42:03.000 I just think Austin Reeves he's your most valuable, tradable asset, 0:42:03.480 --> 0:42:08.200 and because of Luca, he's a little redundant. When you 0:42:08.239 --> 0:42:12.759 have Anthony Davis there, Austin Reeves is critical because without 0:42:12.800 --> 0:42:16.160 Austin Reeves, your only creators the oldest guy in the 0:42:16.239 --> 0:42:20.879 league and Lebron. But with Luca there, he becomes. And 0:42:20.920 --> 0:42:24.080 I really like Austin. I you know what I mean. 0:42:24.120 --> 0:42:26.799 The I was the first person tell you Austin Rives 0:42:26.920 --> 0:42:32.200 better than Bradley Beal. Everybody called me crazy, but I 0:42:32.280 --> 0:42:38.000 just think sometimes he is right now a luxury and 0:42:38.040 --> 0:42:41.440 the Lakers have some necessities. So I would put if 0:42:41.440 --> 0:42:44.359 I were stacking it, I should have started. I think 0:42:44.400 --> 0:42:47.200 the Nuggets, I should have said included them. I think 0:42:47.200 --> 0:42:50.520 they are a real player based off the strength of 0:42:50.600 --> 0:42:56.000 Yokich alone, and I think they will, you know, manicure 0:42:56.040 --> 0:43:01.080 around the edges, and maybe they were over Michael Malone 0:43:01.480 --> 0:43:03.680 and maybe what we saw them do in the playoffs 0:43:03.719 --> 0:43:06.720 under Adlman is something sustainable. And then we see Michael 0:43:06.760 --> 0:43:10.280 Porter Junior come back healthy and Aaron Gordon come back healthy. 0:43:10.480 --> 0:43:13.560 So I'd have them for Lakers three. The Rockets, to 0:43:13.640 --> 0:43:18.720 me are they can win the championship. And I say 0:43:18.719 --> 0:43:23.200 this with no disrespect du to Oklahoma City at all, 0:43:23.960 --> 0:43:33.400 but man a Lakers Rockets Western Conference Finals, which I 0:43:33.680 --> 0:43:39.160 think check me on this, producers. I think we got 0:43:39.200 --> 0:43:43.600 that once in league history, and it was nineteen eighty six, 0:43:44.719 --> 0:43:48.480 a team's second year, when everyone thought we were gonna 0:43:48.480 --> 0:43:53.719 get Lakers Celtics in the finals. Again, I know the Lakers. 0:43:54.120 --> 0:43:58.400 The Rockets beat the Lakers in the playoffs in nineteen 0:43:58.440 --> 0:44:04.400 eighty six. I think it was the conference finals and 0:44:05.360 --> 0:44:09.560 the the Lakers. 0:44:10.400 --> 0:44:14.840 Okay, the hold on the Lakers won the series. 0:44:14.880 --> 0:44:21.040 Though, hold on a second that that's wrong. I'm just 0:44:21.080 --> 0:44:21.960 telling you right now. 0:44:22.040 --> 0:44:25.200 The the you asked the producer, I'm. 0:44:25.040 --> 0:44:28.160 Telling you right now. I'm telling you right now that 0:44:28.239 --> 0:44:30.239 reads to me. I'm about to be This is a 0:44:30.239 --> 0:44:33.640 good lesson for everybody. PA pause the show, but stay 0:44:33.640 --> 0:44:36.080 on the air. What they just put in the doc 0:44:36.239 --> 0:44:40.839 reads like it was some AI bot wrote it one 0:44:40.880 --> 0:44:43.680 thousand percent. It's what it reads like. And I'm here 0:44:43.719 --> 0:44:47.000 telling you that AI bot doesn't know what the hell 0:44:47.000 --> 0:44:48.239 it's talking about. 0:44:49.760 --> 0:44:49.800 That. 0:44:51.719 --> 0:44:56.080 I'm telling you right now you cannot trust the AI 0:44:56.360 --> 0:45:03.640 chat bots when it comes to uh sports history. So 0:45:03.719 --> 0:45:06.560 I'm just the I'm gonna do my thing here. 0:45:07.360 --> 0:45:08.520 Am I gonna get good here? 0:45:09.640 --> 0:45:10.040 Oh? Wait? 0:45:10.120 --> 0:45:13.840 No, it says uh nineteen City versus Houston. 0:45:14.719 --> 0:45:18.040 Okay, everybody stopped? Does everybody stop for a second? 0:45:18.080 --> 0:45:18.440 Okay? 0:45:20.719 --> 0:45:29.720 The the in nineteen eighty six the NBA Finals, without 0:45:29.760 --> 0:45:33.120 a shadow of a doubt, guys, were the eighty six 0:45:33.200 --> 0:45:38.080 Celtics maybe the greatest team ever against the chem Olajuan 0:45:38.560 --> 0:45:44.799 Ralph Sampson Rockets. That is not up for debate. So 0:45:46.120 --> 0:45:51.960 the I my question was was the conference finals Lakers Rockets? 0:45:52.280 --> 0:45:52.520 All? 0:45:52.560 --> 0:45:56.480 Look that up? The Rockets beat the Lakers in the 0:45:56.480 --> 0:46:05.440 Conference finals. For one, guys, audience, AI chatbots don't fucking 0:46:05.520 --> 0:46:10.279 know sports. I'm telling you right now, ask like when 0:46:10.280 --> 0:46:14.839 you're done with the done with the show, ask an 0:46:14.880 --> 0:46:20.200 AI chatbot, like very basic things like tell me the 0:46:20.239 --> 0:46:24.560 top ten running backs in the NFL right now, and 0:46:24.600 --> 0:46:31.200 they're gonna spit at you, Adrian Peterson like. So it's 0:46:31.320 --> 0:46:35.200 just maybe they're good for some term papers, but they're 0:46:35.239 --> 0:46:39.920 not good with sports. So the the Rockets have played 0:46:39.960 --> 0:46:46.280 the Lakers in I the conference finals, I believe that's 0:46:46.320 --> 0:46:50.799 the only time. I believe it's nineteen eighty six. I 0:46:50.920 --> 0:46:52.920 know they I am looking at it now. I know they 0:46:52.920 --> 0:46:56.120 played in nineteen eighty six, but I think that's the 0:46:56.120 --> 0:46:59.600 only time. Sorry for the sidebar point, I was trying 0:46:59.600 --> 0:47:02.880 to make it with no respect to Oklahoma City. A 0:47:03.000 --> 0:47:08.879 Durant Lebron conference finals, which we've never gotten by the way, 0:47:10.160 --> 0:47:18.920 we got it, and a Durant Lebron playoff series that 0:47:19.040 --> 0:47:22.759 felt like a fair fight, which we've only gotten once ever, 0:47:23.560 --> 0:47:26.920 in the twenty twelve NBA Finals, which I know listen 0:47:27.600 --> 0:47:30.760 Bron won in five. But that was a great series 0:47:30.840 --> 0:47:35.279 until Game five. Like those first four games all were 0:47:35.360 --> 0:47:39.239 in the balance in the fourth quarter, and you can 0:47:39.280 --> 0:47:43.479 say that wasn't a fair fight because the heat were 0:47:45.360 --> 0:47:49.160 veterans and the Thunder were young. A fun fact that 0:47:49.320 --> 0:47:58.680 no one believes, but it is true. Twenty the Heat 0:47:59.000 --> 0:48:02.479 over the MAVs they lost in twenty eleven. The Heat 0:48:02.520 --> 0:48:07.320 were the same size favorite over the MAVs in twenty eleven, 0:48:07.840 --> 0:48:13.240 minus won seventy five as the Thunder were over the Heat. 0:48:14.520 --> 0:48:17.640 When the Heat won their first title with Lebron and 0:48:17.680 --> 0:48:22.040 Wade in twenty twelve, the Thunder were minus won seventy 0:48:22.080 --> 0:48:25.440 five favorites going into those finals because the Heat, remember 0:48:25.480 --> 0:48:28.480 they had lost the year before, and they had damn 0:48:28.520 --> 0:48:31.360 near lost to Boston, and the Thunder had just like 0:48:31.800 --> 0:48:37.680 exploded onto the scene and become this seemingly unstoppable force 0:48:37.719 --> 0:48:40.440 of nature. Again, this is off top of my head, 0:48:40.800 --> 0:48:45.920 but the that Thunder team in the conference finals played 0:48:45.960 --> 0:48:51.000 the Spurs, who the Spurs had won demons the final 0:48:51.200 --> 0:48:55.120 ten games of the regular season and then were ten 0:48:55.160 --> 0:48:58.080 to zero in the playoffs, up two to zero in 0:48:58.120 --> 0:49:01.240 the conference finals on a twin any game winning streak 0:49:01.960 --> 0:49:04.319 and then the Thunder one four straight and made the 0:49:04.360 --> 0:49:11.000 finals like that Thunder team. It was like, holy shitty, yeah, 0:49:11.680 --> 0:49:17.200 and so it was really a remarkable thing. But okay, sorry, 0:49:17.520 --> 0:49:20.439 we're way off topic. The point I'm trying to make 0:49:20.560 --> 0:49:22.680 is I think the Rockets have all the pieces you 0:49:22.760 --> 0:49:24.000 need if Durant stays healthy. 0:49:24.480 --> 0:49:24.719 Yeah. 0:49:25.000 --> 0:49:30.000 I like Shingoon as the fulcrum of the offense. I 0:49:30.160 --> 0:49:35.319 like that Durant ads scoring. I think they're gonna get 0:49:35.320 --> 0:49:39.040 more from Shephard. I think Udoaka is excellent. I like 0:49:39.120 --> 0:49:47.000 all of it. And then there's Oklahoma City that has 0:49:47.960 --> 0:49:54.320 everyone coming back and everyone but Crusoe is super young 0:49:54.920 --> 0:50:00.160 and should only get better. But there's a lot of 0:50:01.200 --> 0:50:04.720 plays to balance there. One hundred and five game season. 0:50:05.440 --> 0:50:10.719 Are you satisfied after a championship? You know, does the 0:50:12.080 --> 0:50:16.920 Oklahoma City got lucky? All putting quotes that the injury 0:50:16.960 --> 0:50:21.880 bug hit them early instead of late, Like, it's not 0:50:22.040 --> 0:50:25.480 right to say Oklahoma City, you know, had great injury 0:50:25.560 --> 0:50:29.680 luck this year. They you know, key players missed real time, 0:50:31.000 --> 0:50:34.040 but they suffered it early in the year instead of 0:50:34.080 --> 0:50:35.319 going into the postseason. 0:50:35.680 --> 0:50:40.440 So type of man for Katie with the Rockets. 0:50:40.440 --> 0:50:42.879 You know, the Rockets already being a nice team, them 0:50:42.920 --> 0:50:44.759 trying to mitigate his injuries. 0:50:45.440 --> 0:50:53.440 Yeah, yes, and no, I would. I think you've got 0:50:53.480 --> 0:50:56.600 to be careful with a guy who's thirty seven. I 0:50:56.719 --> 0:50:59.400 don't think that they're going to put him on like 0:50:59.440 --> 0:51:03.640 a sixty game plan. And I also think for a 0:51:03.640 --> 0:51:08.719 lot of these legends, they want to be eligible for 0:51:08.800 --> 0:51:14.399 the awards, and that sixty five game marker is like 0:51:14.480 --> 0:51:18.040 they they want KD. I'm sure is I bet KD 0:51:18.320 --> 0:51:21.960 is pissed that he was not eligible for All NBA 0:51:22.000 --> 0:51:24.920 this year. It's like I played sixty two games, I 0:51:25.000 --> 0:51:28.320 was All NBA caliber and so yet you know what 0:51:28.400 --> 0:51:30.200 I mean. So that's what I think they'll do, all right, 0:51:30.239 --> 0:51:33.280 real quickly, remind you, guys that this is a message 0:51:33.320 --> 0:51:37.239 that applies to ninety nine percent of you listening right now, 0:51:37.280 --> 0:51:40.040 because that's how many of you can be covered by 0:51:40.200 --> 0:51:44.200 fast and reliable service on the Boost Mobile network with 0:51:44.440 --> 0:51:47.440 ninety nine percent nationwide coverage. And if you don't think 0:51:47.480 --> 0:51:50.240 you deserve a deal, well listen up. You've got another 0:51:50.239 --> 0:51:53.400 thing coming right now. When you switch to Boost Mobile, 0:51:53.680 --> 0:51:57.160 you can get iPhone fifteen with dynamic island and a 0:51:57.239 --> 0:52:01.759 forty eight megapixel main camera for night ninety nine. That's 0:52:01.920 --> 0:52:05.760 ninety nine dollars and ninety nine cents for iPhone fifteen 0:52:06.200 --> 0:52:10.400 on a five G nationwide network. This may only apply 0:52:10.600 --> 0:52:13.240 to ninety nine percent of you, But I'm one hundred 0:52:13.239 --> 0:52:16.359 percent positive. Boost Mobile just gave all of us a 0:52:16.400 --> 0:52:20.680 really good freaking deal in store offer thirty five dollars. 0:52:20.719 --> 0:52:24.439 Device set up fee may apply, requires credit qualification, ID 0:52:24.640 --> 0:52:29.560 verification and activation on sixty dollars plan taxes, extra five 0:52:29.600 --> 0:52:34.200 G speed not available in all areas. All right, demonte, 0:52:34.280 --> 0:52:36.520 Let's quickly get through some of this other stuff before 0:52:36.560 --> 0:52:37.000 I got to go. 0:52:37.480 --> 0:52:40.320 So we talked about the Halliburton Achilles injury on Tuesday. 0:52:41.000 --> 0:52:43.480 Dame and Tatum had the same injury in the playoffs, 0:52:43.520 --> 0:52:46.000 and a handful of other guys like Jontae Morey who 0:52:46.040 --> 0:52:48.920 tour his during the regular season. So you're obviously not 0:52:49.000 --> 0:52:51.000 a doctor, but what do you think of the uptick 0:52:51.080 --> 0:52:54.480 of the Achilles injuries in the NBA? 0:52:54.840 --> 0:52:58.960 So this used to be an old guy injury, It 0:52:59.040 --> 0:53:04.360 doesn't seem to be that anymore, Like people suffered Achilles 0:53:04.440 --> 0:53:13.520 tears that were old pro athletes or sorry people in 0:53:13.560 --> 0:53:17.680 your situation, pal, where it's like guys who just didn't 0:53:17.719 --> 0:53:21.280 do yeah time off, didn't do like you know, didn't 0:53:21.320 --> 0:53:27.280 stretch or you do everything. But it wasn't young prime. 0:53:28.000 --> 0:53:31.040 It wasn't people your age, like when you suffered yours 0:53:31.320 --> 0:53:34.600 who also played basketball at he you know what I mean, right, 0:53:35.840 --> 0:53:41.399 and had professional trainers and all of that. And so 0:53:41.560 --> 0:53:47.440 I have heard a bunch of different theories. I don't 0:53:48.080 --> 0:53:51.520 I this is not my theory, and I would credit 0:53:51.560 --> 0:53:54.960 the person whose it is, but I heard it secondhand, 0:53:55.080 --> 0:53:57.200 and I don't know if this person wanted their name 0:53:57.280 --> 0:54:00.080 associated with it. But I think it's a fast and 0:54:00.200 --> 0:54:05.360 eating theory, and that theory is the shoes are too good. 0:54:07.080 --> 0:54:15.759 The theory being that in the past you slid a 0:54:15.800 --> 0:54:20.040 bit when you planted, your shoes gave a little, and 0:54:20.200 --> 0:54:25.200 now the grip on the bottom and the tightness in 0:54:25.360 --> 0:54:29.840 how they work, that the shoes don't give at all, 0:54:30.400 --> 0:54:34.680 and so the pressure puts on your joints and everything else. 0:54:35.040 --> 0:54:39.360 I think that's interesting. I heard Doc Rivers talk about 0:54:39.400 --> 0:54:45.880 how guys used to just play all the year round 0:54:46.000 --> 0:54:50.919 on blacktop and everything, and because of that, their knees went, 0:54:51.680 --> 0:54:58.720 but their achilles and everything was fine. Obviously a huge 0:54:58.760 --> 0:55:02.319 part of it is, while the season's always been eighty 0:55:02.400 --> 0:55:06.640 two games, the amount of movement you have to do, 0:55:06.840 --> 0:55:11.680 particularly on defense, and with how spread out the game is, 0:55:12.360 --> 0:55:16.360 there's just so much more start stop, that puts pressure 0:55:16.400 --> 0:55:19.000 on it. I know some people have questioned if it's 0:55:19.000 --> 0:55:23.000 about guys specializing in things. I saw a pretty interesting 0:55:23.760 --> 0:55:25.240 negative Twitter video. 0:55:25.920 --> 0:55:28.880 Say it again, the negative step or different. 0:55:29.160 --> 0:55:31.520 Yeah, no, that's exactly what I was gonna say. We 0:55:31.600 --> 0:55:35.400 must see the same thing that like this, this, like 0:55:35.560 --> 0:55:39.000 net what they called a negative step, like this backward 0:55:39.040 --> 0:55:43.759 step to get going is not something that used to 0:55:43.800 --> 0:55:46.960 be done. And it's how a bunch of these are happening. 0:55:47.880 --> 0:55:55.080 So I don't know. I do know that I truly 0:55:55.200 --> 0:56:01.280 believe this needs to be at the forefront of Adam 0:56:01.360 --> 0:56:05.759 Silver's agenda for the next eighteen months because you cannot 0:56:05.800 --> 0:56:11.759 have the achilles in the NBA become Tommy john in baseball, 0:56:12.480 --> 0:56:17.399 where it's just oh yeah, this half dozen guys are 0:56:17.480 --> 0:56:23.719 out twelve to eighteen months with an achilles, and particularly 0:56:23.760 --> 0:56:29.600 because baseball you have you know, the numbers are just 0:56:29.719 --> 0:56:32.520 so you have more players, you have more pitchers, the 0:56:32.600 --> 0:56:33.520 numbers are different. 0:56:36.000 --> 0:56:38.839 But god, I don't know if we ever talked about 0:56:38.840 --> 0:56:40.839 it on Tuesday, but do you think, like now, if 0:56:40.840 --> 0:56:43.440 a player feels like calf tightness, it's like an instant 0:56:43.440 --> 0:56:45.600 three months out, Like it's just like. 0:56:45.640 --> 0:56:48.919 Not three months but I I think it's three to four. 0:56:49.480 --> 0:56:56.280 What I was told by a long tenured NBA player 0:56:57.400 --> 0:57:03.400 was a calf strain you have to simply take a 0:57:03.480 --> 0:57:08.760 month off, and even if you feel like you can play, 0:57:09.440 --> 0:57:14.240 the only way it heals is if you simply rest 0:57:14.280 --> 0:57:22.200 it for a month. And I that seems dramatic. Now. 0:57:22.600 --> 0:57:25.560 The other the other piece of this that I would 0:57:25.600 --> 0:57:32.720 say is figuring out what leads to calf strains and 0:57:32.760 --> 0:57:36.919 how to prevent those. And some of that is preventative, 0:57:37.760 --> 0:57:41.720 Like yeah, like I know that, and again I don't know. 0:57:42.040 --> 0:57:45.880 What I do know is that most soft tissue injuries, 0:57:45.960 --> 0:57:53.720 not all, most are preventable, like hamstrings, groins, quads. Usually 0:57:53.760 --> 0:58:01.200 those are. It is guys who regularly have them are 0:58:01.240 --> 0:58:04.760 not doing all the things they need to do. I 0:58:04.880 --> 0:58:07.800 don't know how calves work. I really don't. 0:58:08.200 --> 0:58:13.600 Man in the NBA now mandatory joga, I don't know 0:58:13.920 --> 0:58:14.760 for the guard. 0:58:14.520 --> 0:58:19.560 But it is, but it is. It's stunning that this 0:58:19.640 --> 0:58:24.320 is where we're at. And I thought Jay Caspi and 0:58:24.400 --> 0:58:27.400 Kang had a really interesting tweet where he was like 0:58:28.560 --> 0:58:31.440 the majority of people watching the finals have no idea 0:58:31.560 --> 0:58:34.120 if they're watching zone or man de man defense but 0:58:34.160 --> 0:58:37.360 they all know what an achilles tear looks like. And 0:58:37.400 --> 0:58:41.760 I'm like, damn, that's right, Like we can all diagnose 0:58:41.800 --> 0:58:44.640 from TV. Oh wow, look, yeah there was that thing 0:58:44.680 --> 0:58:47.240 where you saw it snap up, go back. We're like, yep, 0:58:47.280 --> 0:58:53.000 we know what that is. And that is in a Again, 0:58:53.520 --> 0:58:57.080 this is not apples to apples obviously, but the same 0:58:57.120 --> 0:59:02.200 way we know watching football when a guy the fencing posture, 0:59:02.680 --> 0:59:05.080 we're like, oh, that's a concussion, you know what I mean, 0:59:05.120 --> 0:59:11.920 Like we just we know it. And so John in 0:59:11.960 --> 0:59:15.480 the chat says, more players now than ever wear low 0:59:15.520 --> 0:59:19.200 top shoes. Yeah, I don't know, I don't know. I 0:59:19.320 --> 0:59:25.080 do know that this should be a top top priority 0:59:25.160 --> 0:59:32.800 for the league because the only year, the only I'll 0:59:32.840 --> 0:59:35.960 take the NFL, which seemingly is a ratings you know, 0:59:36.000 --> 0:59:40.480 not seemingly is a ratings behemoth, unstoppable for us. The 0:59:40.520 --> 0:59:42.920 only year of the NFL had real ratings you know, 0:59:43.400 --> 0:59:46.240 issues is the wrong word, but dips was the year 0:59:46.280 --> 0:59:50.240 all those quarterbacks got hurt. People. There there is a 0:59:50.480 --> 0:59:54.920 star and there's no league where the star power matters 0:59:54.960 --> 1:00:01.400 more than the NBA. And out you know, the achilles 1:00:01.480 --> 1:00:05.480 not a quick one either, Like what has changed is 1:00:06.280 --> 1:00:09.480 we have seen guys come back and be as good 1:00:09.640 --> 1:00:13.680 as they were. What has not changed is it's twelve 1:00:13.680 --> 1:00:17.720 to eighteen months. You look at me skeptical about as 1:00:17.720 --> 1:00:18.440 good as they were. 1:00:18.560 --> 1:00:20.240 Yeah, I was about to say, I think it's actually 1:00:20.320 --> 1:00:23.160 been pretty rare. But the guys Katie's like the only 1:00:23.200 --> 1:00:26.120 person I think that's torn as Achilles recently that like 1:00:26.200 --> 1:00:28.600 came back and was the same or a little bit 1:00:28.680 --> 1:00:30.600 better than when here Achilles. 1:00:31.440 --> 1:00:35.080 So no, that's fair. But again in the past that 1:00:37.280 --> 1:00:39.680 it was old guys, so you'dn't expect him to be better. 1:00:40.120 --> 1:00:42.800 The only other like Star that I'm thinking of that 1:00:42.800 --> 1:00:45.960 we've seen the full run of other than KD is Clay. 1:00:46.080 --> 1:00:50.360 But Clay suffered multiple catastrophicyuries in the same lay, you 1:00:50.440 --> 1:00:52.960 know what I mean. So that's a different situation. I 1:00:53.000 --> 1:00:55.920 do think Tatum will be like old Tatum. I do. 1:00:56.000 --> 1:01:01.680 Maybe I'm wrong, But but what doesn't What hasn't changed, 1:01:01.720 --> 1:01:05.840 demon'say is oh and now you're back in six months, right, 1:01:06.000 --> 1:01:10.560 Like that's not that's not been the case. All right, 1:01:10.640 --> 1:01:13.520 Let's go to Joker real quick before we. 1:01:13.440 --> 1:01:17.440 Go, uh So, Nuggets president Josh Crockey had some interesting 1:01:17.520 --> 1:01:18.440 things to say. 1:01:19.760 --> 1:01:22.240 So, Yeah, he says, I think that. 1:01:22.200 --> 1:01:24.160 There are rules around it that we need to be 1:01:24.280 --> 1:01:27.680 very careful of with our injury history. The wrong person 1:01:27.720 --> 1:01:29.960 gets injured, and very quickly you're into a scenario that 1:01:30.000 --> 1:01:33.240 I never want to contemplate, and that's trading number fifteen. 1:01:33.800 --> 1:01:35.840 So he tried to clarify that they do plan on 1:01:35.920 --> 1:01:38.320 extending him. But what will be the purpose in saying 1:01:38.320 --> 1:01:38.960 something like this. 1:01:39.640 --> 1:01:41.200 I think it's a big mistake. I think he made 1:01:41.200 --> 1:01:45.880 a big mistake. And I when I say a big mistake, 1:01:45.920 --> 1:01:48.160 I don't mean like you can't recover from it. But 1:01:48.200 --> 1:01:53.280 I think it is a significant mistake that he needs 1:01:53.320 --> 1:01:56.360 to clean up with Joker Joker right, because what he's 1:01:56.440 --> 1:02:00.440 talking about. If I'm Joker and I guess off my 1:02:00.520 --> 1:02:06.480 horse and somebody shows me this clip, I reason, I 1:02:06.480 --> 1:02:08.800 think it's totally reasonable for him to be like, hold 1:02:08.800 --> 1:02:13.920 on a second, what you're saying there is are you 1:02:14.080 --> 1:02:19.480 telling me there is a scenario where I want to 1:02:19.520 --> 1:02:23.720 be a nugget and you guys decide you're trading me? 1:02:24.760 --> 1:02:28.320 Because I didn't think that's the deal we had. I 1:02:28.360 --> 1:02:30.440 thought the deal we had was as long as I 1:02:30.480 --> 1:02:34.800 want to be here, I will be here and and 1:02:34.880 --> 1:02:38.440 so like the and I know Kronky's like it's you know, 1:02:38.480 --> 1:02:43.320 it's only a catastrophe whatever. Like if I'm Joker, I'm like, 1:02:43.360 --> 1:02:45.280 that's not how this works. Just so you know, the 1:02:45.320 --> 1:02:48.760 way this works is the only way you guys trade 1:02:48.800 --> 1:02:50.840 me is if I come to you and say trade me. 1:02:51.240 --> 1:02:53.760 And by the way, I expect if I do that 1:02:54.080 --> 1:02:57.000 for you guys to be like please please, mister Joker 1:02:57.040 --> 1:03:04.120 or no, like no, no, no, and so uh I 1:03:04.240 --> 1:03:06.640 the you can ask the follow up here if you'd like. 1:03:07.000 --> 1:03:09.320 On a scale one to ten, how scared your producer 1:03:09.400 --> 1:03:11.960 Daniel will be about the Nuggets messing this up somehow? 1:03:13.840 --> 1:03:18.280 Well, I I think they've already kind of messed it 1:03:18.400 --> 1:03:20.400 up over the last couple of years and not really 1:03:20.520 --> 1:03:24.040 letting him defend his title in full. I don't think 1:03:24.480 --> 1:03:27.640 they're going to trade Joker, but I do think that 1:03:28.520 --> 1:03:31.920 they need to tighten up, Like I just think they 1:03:31.960 --> 1:03:34.760 need to tighten up. Argent says, should the Bucks trade 1:03:34.800 --> 1:03:37.720 be honest for jokers? Straight up? Denver would not do that? 1:03:38.080 --> 1:03:43.080 The Bucks would do that, like the I think that 1:03:43.920 --> 1:03:45.080 right now. 1:03:45.640 --> 1:03:50.800 There are what would they for jokers? Straight up? The 1:03:50.960 --> 1:03:53.440 Bucks would would take Joker over you honest. 1:03:55.280 --> 1:03:59.480 Uh, yes, because of the contract. I do think Jokers 1:03:59.480 --> 1:04:02.760 are slightly better player at this point, and because they 1:04:02.840 --> 1:04:08.680 might have to trade Giannis anyways either way, and they 1:04:08.680 --> 1:04:10.960 don't have their own pick so they can't tank. I 1:04:11.000 --> 1:04:13.920 think there are right now. I think there are three 1:04:14.040 --> 1:04:20.680 players that teams would not trade straight up for Giannis, Joker, Shay, 1:04:20.760 --> 1:04:23.680 and Luca. And it's not to say, by the way, 1:04:23.880 --> 1:04:26.360 Shay and Luca are better than Yannis. I don't actually 1:04:26.360 --> 1:04:30.080 think they are necessarily. I'm just telling you because of 1:04:30.120 --> 1:04:33.560 the age difference, and Shay obviously just won the title 1:04:33.520 --> 1:04:39.240 of that stuff, they wouldn't trade him them for for Joker. Oh, 1:04:39.360 --> 1:04:43.280 Wimby as well, Thank you, Daniel Wimby as well. Wimby. 1:04:43.800 --> 1:04:46.160 I didn't think about that because you couldn't trade him 1:04:46.160 --> 1:04:50.200 straight up because the salaries. But yeah, Wimby, I don't think. 1:04:53.640 --> 1:04:59.000 I don't think san Antonio would trade Wimby for Joker. 1:05:00.680 --> 1:05:04.560 I think Jokers like that's an interest. I don't think 1:05:04.600 --> 1:05:08.560 they would. Maybe they would, but I don't think they would. 1:05:08.760 --> 1:05:10.640 All right, let's do Aaron Rodgers real quick for it. 1:05:10.680 --> 1:05:12.000 We get to the listener questions. 1:05:12.480 --> 1:05:16.000 He's hinting at retirement against that time of year, he said, 1:05:16.080 --> 1:05:18.840 I'm pretty sure that this is my last season. That's 1:05:18.880 --> 1:05:20.920 why I just did a one year deal. Do you 1:05:20.960 --> 1:05:23.240 believe him? 1:05:23.320 --> 1:05:25.640 So here's the thing. I do think this is Aaron 1:05:25.720 --> 1:05:30.360 rodgers last year. I also do not think Aaron Rodgers 1:05:30.400 --> 1:05:32.800 is a credible narrator, and I think the media needs 1:05:32.800 --> 1:05:35.640 stop treating him like a credible narrator, even of his 1:05:35.680 --> 1:05:42.680 own life, because within five minutes of him saying I'm 1:05:42.680 --> 1:05:47.000 pretty sure this is my last season, he also said, paraphrasing, 1:05:47.120 --> 1:05:49.600 he doesn't like being in the public eye, and when 1:05:49.600 --> 1:05:52.240 he's done playing football, he won't be in the public 1:05:52.280 --> 1:05:54.280 eye anymore. And the only reason he is in the 1:05:54.280 --> 1:05:56.880 public eye is because he's playing football, which is just 1:05:56.920 --> 1:06:00.000 an uproarious comment from a guy who, in the last 1:06:00.000 --> 1:06:04.360 thirty six months has tried to become the full time 1:06:04.400 --> 1:06:07.840 host of Jeopardy when that did not work out, flirted 1:06:07.840 --> 1:06:11.840 with becoming the vice president of the United States. And 1:06:11.960 --> 1:06:14.720 one of the reasons we know about those things is 1:06:14.760 --> 1:06:19.440 because they were discussed in the documentary about Aaron Rodgers 1:06:19.520 --> 1:06:24.800 produced by Aaron Rodgers. Like Nothing screams whoa, whoa, WHOA? 1:06:24.960 --> 1:06:29.480 I hate this intention, like you personally paying a camera 1:06:29.600 --> 1:06:34.160 crew to follow you around to create a movie about you. Like, 1:06:34.720 --> 1:06:39.200 So I just don't. I don't find him to be 1:06:39.960 --> 1:06:49.280 a credible narrator of his own events. And also, and 1:06:49.360 --> 1:06:56.920 I'm just going to wink at this, do you guys, 1:06:57.000 --> 1:07:03.240 remember when Aaron Rodd was asked, of course you do, 1:07:04.560 --> 1:07:07.080 because he thinks this is the end all, be all 1:07:07.160 --> 1:07:10.120 of any issue anyone could possibly have with him. Is 1:07:10.160 --> 1:07:13.480 this one comment? Because God knows, he hasn't done anything else. 1:07:14.120 --> 1:07:21.080 Wildly aggravating when he was asked if he had gotten 1:07:21.120 --> 1:07:25.160 the vaccine and he said, yeah, I've been, I've been well, 1:07:25.160 --> 1:07:28.880 he didn't say hey, he said I've been immunized. And 1:07:28.920 --> 1:07:31.200 then he was like, I didn't lie to you, guys, 1:07:35.240 --> 1:07:44.240 I'm not I'm not saying anything I am saying. There 1:07:44.320 --> 1:07:52.200 was a very similar turn of phrase about at his 1:07:52.440 --> 1:07:59.400 introductory press conference about his wedding ring that I found interesting, 1:08:00.480 --> 1:08:04.200 that's all. I just found it interesting. And so I 1:08:04.360 --> 1:08:08.160 just don't find Aaron to be a reliable narrator of 1:08:08.240 --> 1:08:12.880 events you care to share. Well, he was asked what 1:08:12.920 --> 1:08:16.599 he was wearing and he said, it's a wedding ring 1:08:17.040 --> 1:08:19.000 or somebody said, is that a wedding ring? And he 1:08:19.040 --> 1:08:24.479 said yes, But I I know, I know what for 1:08:24.600 --> 1:08:29.320 everyone else that would mean. I also know that it 1:08:29.360 --> 1:08:32.200 wouldn't necessarily be a lie. 1:08:34.080 --> 1:08:34.679 I'm not married. 1:08:35.320 --> 1:08:38.360 Again, I didn't say I didn't say all that. I'm 1:08:38.400 --> 1:08:42.400 just simply saying that it's that's all. That's all that 1:08:42.439 --> 1:08:47.480 he said. And so I find I find all that fascinating. 1:08:47.680 --> 1:08:50.639 But again, I'm sure Aaron hates this because he hates 1:08:50.680 --> 1:08:53.599 the attention. All right, let's do some listener questions real quick. 1:08:54.120 --> 1:08:57.439 Mary asked, isn't there a snake watcher like for dogs 1:08:57.439 --> 1:08:57.880 and kids? 1:08:59.120 --> 1:09:02.519 I mean, maybe you have to let someone in your apartment. 1:09:02.560 --> 1:09:04.120 We didn't set this up the other time. 1:09:04.600 --> 1:09:08.120 Yeah, no, I don't. I don't. I don't think there's Yeah, 1:09:08.120 --> 1:09:08.439 I don't. 1:09:08.479 --> 1:09:11.280 I really appreciate that, Mary, But yeah, I'm just kind 1:09:11.280 --> 1:09:13.200 of banking on the week being gone. 1:09:13.240 --> 1:09:14.880 You know, it's not gonna spread. I'm gonna check on 1:09:14.920 --> 1:09:15.759 every the day before. 1:09:16.080 --> 1:09:18.400 It's gonna be good. It's gonna be good. And also 1:09:18.439 --> 1:09:20.920 I have homies out here. If it really comes down 1:09:20.920 --> 1:09:24.960 to it, of course, But uh, and Noah asks which 1:09:25.000 --> 1:09:28.120 Western conference big versus Guard is more likely to be 1:09:28.200 --> 1:09:31.479 the new Kobe versus Duncan for this era, Wimby versus 1:09:31.560 --> 1:09:33.400 SGA or Wimby versus Luca. 1:09:34.120 --> 1:09:37.040 I mean I would say Wimby versus Luca, but I'm 1:09:37.080 --> 1:09:41.400 again I'm a Luca guy. The All right, let's go 1:09:41.400 --> 1:09:42.960 to John and then we gotta get out of here. 1:09:43.280 --> 1:09:45.639 John ass who do you see flag behind? 1:09:46.000 --> 1:09:46.120 Uh? 1:09:46.240 --> 1:09:48.559 Or who do you see flag being? Like in the future, 1:09:48.600 --> 1:09:51.640 I feel like he gets better defensively. We got another pivot. 1:09:55.040 --> 1:09:58.320 Listen, Scottie Pippens one of the greatest perimeter defenders of 1:09:58.360 --> 1:10:00.439 all time. That's to me too big of an but 1:10:00.520 --> 1:10:04.960 he also should be a better offensive player than Pippen. 1:10:05.600 --> 1:10:15.680 So like who is who is the the the I 1:10:15.720 --> 1:10:20.040 don't know. I I don't know what the comp We 1:10:20.080 --> 1:10:22.160 don't need to read that last one. I don't know 1:10:22.200 --> 1:10:26.479 what the comp is for Flag. I do. I know 1:10:26.600 --> 1:10:28.240 that they're gonna hope he can be a you know, 1:10:28.280 --> 1:10:31.800 a do it all point forward type. But I think 1:10:31.840 --> 1:10:38.160 people throw around the Pippen defensive uh comps to Willy 1:10:38.280 --> 1:10:42.600 Nilly like the like Jada Jalen Williams for the thunder 1:10:43.880 --> 1:10:46.679 he should he might end up. He already has had 1:10:46.880 --> 1:10:50.519 a better offensive single playoff game than Pippen had his 1:10:50.560 --> 1:10:55.160 whole career. But Jalen Willis will never be Scotty Pippen defensively. Scotty, 1:10:55.200 --> 1:10:58.000 I mean Scotty Pippen had a multi year stretch where 1:10:58.040 --> 1:11:01.040 he was every year either best, second or third best 1:11:01.040 --> 1:11:04.240 perimeter defender in the league. Like that's to me, too 1:11:04.240 --> 1:11:07.040 big of an ask, All right, reminder everybody like great 1:11:07.120 --> 1:11:11.200 subscribe review all of that. We appreciate it. Great job too, 1:11:11.560 --> 1:11:14.400 Blue Duck today, Great job to Demon's, a great job 1:11:14.439 --> 1:11:17.559 to the volume DraftKings and boost Mobile. Terrible job by 1:11:17.560 --> 1:11:21.080 our future AI overlords. Talk to you guys on first 1:11:21.120 --> 1:11:23.439 things first today and then after the fourth of July. 1:11:23.560 --> 1:11:25.040 Right here, see you guys later. What's right,