Speaker 1: Welcome to this league, uncut in the world of twenty
Speaker 1: four hour NBA news, Just do you lose Chris Hanes,
Speaker 1: It's time, Mark Stein, It's show time. Shakalaka Chris Hanes
Speaker 1: and Mark Stein. This link, uncutt is underway and then fire.
Speaker 1: This should be a good one. It will be a
Speaker 1: good one, even though we're a day late. And the
Speaker 1: fact that we are at day late is totally completely
Speaker 1: my fault. Chris Haynes is the one with the crazy
Speaker 1: travel schedule. He's the one who has at least one
Speaker 1: midweek game that needs to go to often too. He's
Speaker 1: on planes all week long. I am not, but it
Speaker 1: is me. Mark Stein put this one on me. Sunday
Speaker 1: I covered Sons MAVs in Dallas, which started early lean
Speaker 1: really was one of the best regular season showcases of
Speaker 1: the season, just a great really, as good as a
Speaker 1: regular season game can be. And from there I bolted
Speaker 1: very quickly to the airport to make a west coast trip.
Speaker 1: Sources say I may or may not be in the
Speaker 1: desert right now at the most idyllic tennis setting in
Speaker 1: the world known as Indian wells Sources cannot confirm that,
Speaker 1: but it may be true. So between all that travel Sunday,
Speaker 1: I was not I. It was me. I was not
Speaker 1: able to get pinned down long enough for us to
Speaker 1: record this, so we moved it back one day. But
Speaker 1: of course no shortage of stuff to get into. And
Speaker 1: I think it's safe to say we can only start
Speaker 1: in one place with where things are in this league.
Speaker 1: The John Morant situation in Men this absolutely shocking. It
Speaker 1: was just last week that we had a very explosive
Speaker 1: investigative report from the Washington Post citing various police reports
Speaker 1: about alleged incidents involving Morant and some people close to him,
Speaker 1: and that naturally created quite a stir after the incident
Speaker 1: in late January where members of the Indiana Pacers traveling
Speaker 1: party alleged that they also felt threatened by some of
Speaker 1: the people who were close to Jaw. And after all
Speaker 1: of those things, early Saturday morning hours, the Grizzlies lose
Speaker 1: in Denver. It is Jaw on his own social media channel,
Speaker 1: live streaming on Instagram, Jah live streaming himself with what
Speaker 1: appeared to be a gun. You know, absolute shockwaves all
Speaker 1: around the league. You know, obviously he is on this
Speaker 1: minimum two game leave of absence from the Grizzlies, but
Speaker 1: you know, one suspects he's going to be away from
Speaker 1: the team for a longer period. Man. You know, I've
Speaker 1: seen different people weigh in on this and the commentary
Speaker 1: behind it, and I get it. I understand, am I.
Speaker 1: I'm not surprised by any of it. I'm really not.
Speaker 1: You know that probably sounds bad to say I'm not,
Speaker 1: but um, John, Like, I'm not trying to lecture joh
Speaker 1: at this point because everybody's doing it. But he knows
Speaker 1: he can't behave that, you know, he can't behave this
Speaker 1: way at the face of a franchise with a signature
Speaker 1: shoe that just recently came out. You know, he's arguably
Speaker 1: one of one of the top young stars we have
Speaker 1: this league, you know, just with the fan base. My daughter,
Speaker 1: my daughter Journey, my youngest daughter, she's eleven. John Morant
Speaker 1: is her favorite player. And I was covering the Grizzlies
Speaker 1: Timberwool's playoff series last last year and I was standing
Speaker 1: in the same hotel with the Grizzlies and she really
Speaker 1: wanted a picture with ya, and just so happened we
Speaker 1: were in the lobby at the same time, going in
Speaker 1: the elevator around the same time, I asked ya if
Speaker 1: you can take a picture, and he did. She loves
Speaker 1: that picture she has in her room, and so I've
Speaker 1: been I've had to explain to her the significance of
Speaker 1: this because she's asking me, like, what's going on, And
Speaker 1: so it's a conversation to be half for sure. But
Speaker 1: I'll say this time, I don't know what he's going through,
Speaker 1: but I can somewhat relate. When you come from not
Speaker 1: having a lot of money to having money all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, having succe as having somewhat of notoriety, it
Speaker 1: can be a challenging trajectory if you're not truly prepared
Speaker 1: and much and just on a mature level, if you're
Speaker 1: not much, you know, if you're not mature enough to
Speaker 1: handle what's about to come at you. So I remember,
Speaker 1: you know, Stein, You know, I got married when I
Speaker 1: was twenty one, So it's approaching what twenty years so
Speaker 1: far hasn't been the easiest, for sure, definitely hasn't been
Speaker 1: hasn't been easy at all. But I remember, Stein, when
Speaker 1: my career started to take off, and when my career
Speaker 1: started to take off, you know, when your career started
Speaker 1: to take off. You start. You know, there's there's people
Speaker 1: that's praising you. There, there's there you know. They want pictures,
Speaker 1: they want autographs, they want your attention, they want your advice.
Speaker 1: And so I remember when this started happening, you know,
Speaker 1: out the blue, and I remember I would go home
Speaker 1: sometimes and I'm just gonna be blunt, styt it would
Speaker 1: be it would be some shit. I just wouldn't take
Speaker 1: it anymore at the house, you know what I'm saying, Like,
Speaker 1: you know, some shit that I would tolerate at the
Speaker 1: house before, I just wasn't don't take it anymore because
Speaker 1: that I'm Chris b hangs now you know what I'm
Speaker 1: saying about taking this ship though, both you know, so
Speaker 1: it got to a point where, you know, it was
Speaker 1: a rocky period for for a few years. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna lie, but I'm only saying that to say that
Speaker 1: I understand how it is to all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you know, you're trying to handle this new notoriety or
Speaker 1: this new somewhat power that you have with this influence
Speaker 1: that you have, and you're trying not to let it
Speaker 1: get the best of you to where it won't affect
Speaker 1: your everyday life. And and I think that's where gis
Speaker 1: at right now, where he's trying to I think that's
Speaker 1: where he has to come to terms what he has
Speaker 1: to get a sense and get a feel for, you know,
Speaker 1: what it's like being in the lime, like like this
Speaker 1: twenty four to seven, being a face, one of the
Speaker 1: faces young faces of the league, face of the franchise,
Speaker 1: and potentially a face of a shoe brand, which he
Speaker 1: just got his own signature, Nike Shoe. And so he
Speaker 1: has to he needs the right people in his corner
Speaker 1: that's going to keep him, help him, because ultimately it's
Speaker 1: all up to him. But it will help if there's
Speaker 1: people in this corner that's kind of telling them, hey,
Speaker 1: we need to be moving a different way. But it's
Speaker 1: on him, right He's got to choose those people. He's
Speaker 1: got to make sure that it's the right people at
Speaker 1: this quarter. I don't I'm with you. I don't want
Speaker 1: to sit here and lecture him either, because everyone is
Speaker 1: doing that and frankly, there are people far more qualified
Speaker 1: to do it than me. But you know, I wrote
Speaker 1: this Monday morning, and I'm not trying to be hyperbolic.
Speaker 1: I do believe it when John Morant has such a
Speaker 1: ceiling as a player that when the Grizzlies, remember in
Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen lottery, they were supposed to have the
Speaker 1: eighth pick based on odds, they leapt up to number two.
Speaker 1: And at the time it happened, you know, they had
Speaker 1: just traded Mark Gassol away, they knew they were going
Speaker 1: to trade Mike Conley away. Grit and grind was over.
Speaker 1: And this is one of the league's smallest markets. They're
Speaker 1: never known for getting free agents. Moving up in that
Speaker 1: lottery from eight to two to be able to draft
Speaker 1: John Morant was seen by many people around the league
Speaker 1: as a franchise saving moment because Morant has the ceiling
Speaker 1: to be that good. I mean, you said it. Jerry
Speaker 1: Brewer wrote this in the Washington Post, and a great
Speaker 1: point that I wish I had thought of, because I'm
Speaker 1: constantly talking about how it's all these foreign guys who
Speaker 1: are at the forefront of the MVP chase, Jannie, Yoki,
Speaker 1: Luca and Bead when we're looking for young American stars,
Speaker 1: the next generation, not your Durant, your Curries, your Lebron's.
Speaker 1: When we're looking at the young American set. You know,
Speaker 1: John Morant is one of those guys who has the
Speaker 1: ability to be an MVP. That's how talented and electric
Speaker 1: this guy is. And now though he has to focus
Speaker 1: on saving himself again, I'm not trying to I don't
Speaker 1: want to be preachy. I'm not trying to overstate things
Speaker 1: and be hyperbolic. But I don't think it's an exaggeration.
Speaker 1: You know, he that was that was job on his
Speaker 1: own Instagram. So like he did this, this, this most
Speaker 1: recent incident over the weekend, he took you know, he
Speaker 1: took responsibility for it with a Maya kulpa which was
Speaker 1: strong and wrecked. But you know, he's got to want
Speaker 1: to fix this more than anyone. Now, the Grizzlies, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know that they've been as stern as they
Speaker 1: should be in trying to help him to this point.
Speaker 1: Presumably that will change now because this is all out
Speaker 1: in the open. You know, has the League done it's part?
Speaker 1: You know, I think there are still so many questions
Speaker 1: and so many things we don't know. But Jah has
Speaker 1: to be the number one guy fixing this, and I
Speaker 1: hope he does because it's not just your daughter. This
Speaker 1: guy has a lot of fans around the league. He
Speaker 1: is one of the most enjoyable players to watch, and
Speaker 1: you know, nobody wants to be talking about this kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. Nobody. So there are a couple of elements
Speaker 1: that the NBA and I know law enforcement in Colorado
Speaker 1: what they're trying to investigate or look into. You know,
Speaker 1: this was done on the road. This is at a
Speaker 1: club in Denver, I believe, and so there's question of okay,
Speaker 1: did he personally bring the pistol in himself, and then
Speaker 1: being on the road, there's a question asked to well,
Speaker 1: did he have the pistol on the team plane? And
Speaker 1: I think I have to look at somebody sent me
Speaker 1: the by laws believe of the CBA and the rules
Speaker 1: and of of how you can carry and what you
Speaker 1: what you can and cannot carry on the on the
Speaker 1: team flight, and I think that is in violation if
Speaker 1: he was to have that on a flight. So there's
Speaker 1: a couple of little elements right there that that they're
Speaker 1: trying to get answers to. And and so I don't
Speaker 1: know that. You know, the Grizzlies put out a statement
Speaker 1: saying at least two games he sat out the game
Speaker 1: it's the Clippers in which they lost, the Clippers came
Speaker 1: back in one believes down by sixteen, and so you know,
Speaker 1: we don't know. So it's it's what is it being called.
Speaker 1: It's being officially called, uh, indefinitely, I believe, Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's not I mean, you know, it's a suspension,
Speaker 1: but nobody's using the word suspension. I mean it, you know,
Speaker 1: really yeah, I mean that the Grizzlies have made it
Speaker 1: sound like that this is a personal leave for John Morant.
Speaker 1: You know, they're not using the word suspension. So you know,
Speaker 1: we'll we'll have to see how much longer this lasts.
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody expects this to only be a
Speaker 1: two game app sence. The one, you know, the CBA
Speaker 1: element is something that we do know because that that's
Speaker 1: happened before with the Gilbert Arenas Javaris Crittenen thing in Washington.
Speaker 1: Um that you know if you have it. Basically, the
Speaker 1: CB eight says that if if there is a if
Speaker 1: there is a firearm on team, on team premises or
Speaker 1: on a team plan or anything like that, like, that's
Speaker 1: an automatic fifty game suspension. So that's why I think,
Speaker 1: as you alluded to, the league is trying to ascertain
Speaker 1: you know, where was the gun before the Instagram video
Speaker 1: and all other manner of questions tied to that. It's
Speaker 1: just yeah, I mean, this is just again nothing that
Speaker 1: any of us really wanted to be discussing. And yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm I don't even know how to artfully
Speaker 1: I don't even know how to where to artfully take
Speaker 1: it after that. I mean, look, at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, it's it's all to job. Like we said,
Speaker 1: it's it's all as job. It's not it's not about
Speaker 1: his The people he's around, they're part of it. They're
Speaker 1: a part of it. But even then that's ultimately Jab's
Speaker 1: decision on what he's going to do moving forward, how
Speaker 1: he's going to move the people is going to have
Speaker 1: in this corner. And you know, even with the reports
Speaker 1: that have been coming out over the last few months
Speaker 1: or whenever, it's it's still problematic, Like it's still even
Speaker 1: if he's exonerated from these things, these stories coming out,
Speaker 1: getting into these type of situations, it's still problematic. So look, man,
Speaker 1: I covered, like I believe I had his first sit
Speaker 1: down interview when he when he um declared for the
Speaker 1: NBA draft. I flew this was this was the night
Speaker 1: that Damian Lillard hit that crazy three over Paul George.
Speaker 1: It was that night when they when he eliminated O
Speaker 1: kase I took a red eye. The game ended like
Speaker 1: at ten thirty. My flight was like at twelve fifteen,
Speaker 1: twelve thirty. I took a red eye to Florida. I
Speaker 1: forgot the city in Florida. That job was training that
Speaker 1: but I took a red eye to Florida for a
Speaker 1: morning sit down interview from the pot the former podcast
Speaker 1: I had, and um, he was great. And I remember
Speaker 1: talking to him and I asked him, I said, what's
Speaker 1: he What is your natural position in the NBA? And
Speaker 1: he said point guard And I said, okay, point guard.
Speaker 1: He said no, no, point God. I'm like, oh oh,
Speaker 1: I remember I remember him telling me that his dad
Speaker 1: was they they they were all laughing. I was just
Speaker 1: shocked at somebody who wasn't even drafted yet was I
Speaker 1: was speaking at high of himself. But he's definitely lived
Speaker 1: up to the building. And I hope you know he's
Speaker 1: an amazing talent. Man. I love this pops his uncle. Man,
Speaker 1: they got they got real good people, ma, So I'll
Speaker 1: pull them for him to get this team together. Let's
Speaker 1: try to move this back to basketball, because, as I said,
Speaker 1: my Sunday started with the very very early and mom
Speaker 1: the American Air Life Center. But it was I am
Speaker 1: not a morning person, leaving. Leaving for a game at
Speaker 1: nine am is always going to be a struggle for me.
Speaker 1: But man, was it worth it. Absolute fantastic Mattinee Sons, MAVs,
Speaker 1: Durant and Booker go for seventy three. Of course, everybody
Speaker 1: saw the fireworks at the end when Luca don Chich
Speaker 1: missed the short shot in the lane that could have
Speaker 1: tied things up. He and Booker ended up going nose
Speaker 1: to nose. There was a lot there, but I think
Speaker 1: the main thing you come away with is this Sun's
Speaker 1: team in its infancy, infancy in the Durant era, looking
Speaker 1: awfully dangerous already early in this incarnation, despite concerns about
Speaker 1: their bench and maybe not having enough depth beyond the
Speaker 1: four guys they've stacked up in that starting lineup with
Speaker 1: Katie joining Booker and Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton. This
Speaker 1: was a rare occasion, Chris Haynes, where you were forced
Speaker 1: to watch on television and I was at the big.
Speaker 1: I was at the Big showdown. What did you What
Speaker 1: do you make of the Sun so far with Katie?
Speaker 1: I mean, Katie's fitting He's fitting in exactly how I
Speaker 1: thought he was going to fit in. Man is one
Speaker 1: of the most efficient scores we have. He can do it.
Speaker 1: You know, he just blends in and Kyd says that,
Speaker 1: you know, I can play in any system, any coach.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's showing it. He's not even like he's
Speaker 1: not even going out there shooting a whole bunch of shots.
Speaker 1: He's scoring, getting twenty and thirty really just really efficiently Man,
Speaker 1: And I'm not I can't say I'm impressed. It's just
Speaker 1: what I expected. But you know, they still have to
Speaker 1: get there rid him. Chris Paul is still trying to
Speaker 1: like he offensively, like he's still trying to find where
Speaker 1: he fits in in that but he's still running the show.
Speaker 1: I'm getting a high number of assists. But you know,
Speaker 1: that was a really good game, definitely. You know, I
Speaker 1: think everybody obviously talking about Luca and Devin Booker little
Speaker 1: skirmish there at the end, and you know, hopefully we'll
Speaker 1: see those those two teams messed up in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Again because there was already history before and now you
Speaker 1: add in that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irvan dynamic to that,
Speaker 1: so that's going to be even more compelled. But again,
Speaker 1: I've said it. I said it before Kevin Durant stepped
Speaker 1: foot on the floor for the Phoenix Suns, I said,
Speaker 1: barred injuries, I still think Phoenix is the team to beat.
Speaker 1: And Stine real quick, let me let me talk about
Speaker 1: this team real quick. We'll get back to Phoenix. The Clippers. Stein, So,
Speaker 1: they had lost. You know, that was a team just
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, was looking like a real
Speaker 1: NBA Championship continuing team. They were starting to find find
Speaker 1: they grew and they lost five in a row and
Speaker 1: they just won. So we're recording this. What is this Tuesday?
Speaker 1: This is Monday, Monday night. They went one Sunday and
Speaker 1: beat Memphis. That did a Memphis team that didn't have
Speaker 1: Dealing Brooks or John Morant or god, what's the guy,
Speaker 1: Brandon Clark, Brandon Clark, Stephen app Yeah, so they came
Speaker 1: back and beat them. But so Stein, I was covering
Speaker 1: the last couple of Clipper games. Stein, so here I
Speaker 1: am going to cover this Clipper game, and again all
Speaker 1: the buzz is that the Clippers have found their form.
Speaker 1: They're found, they're finally getting healthy, Kawhi Leonards getting back
Speaker 1: into shape, and they found their fact. They found their form,
Speaker 1: and so I'm looking forward to watching this team. So
Speaker 1: I cover one game they lost that game, cover another
Speaker 1: game they lost that game. So then I'm covering their
Speaker 1: the Clippers Warriors, and so we go to shoot around.
Speaker 1: For those who don't know shoot around, it's like a
Speaker 1: little mini practice session the morning of the game. So
Speaker 1: I go to Clippers shoot around. I talked to Russ
Speaker 1: and I talked to Nicholas Petune. And Petune is my guy.
Speaker 1: You know, I covered him back in the Portland days.
Speaker 1: So Petune tells me, don't talk to me. I'm like,
Speaker 1: what you mean, don't talk to you? Don't talk to me.
Speaker 1: Every game you've been to we've lost. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: you blame it on me, Like, oh okay, yeah, every
Speaker 1: game you've been So we started like telling his teammates, yeah,
Speaker 1: every game we Chris has been too, we've lost. Get
Speaker 1: out of here. I'm like, all right, whatever, I leave
Speaker 1: him alone. So Stein the Warriors, like the Warriors start
Speaker 1: putting the pounding all the Clippers in the third quarter.
Speaker 1: It's just bad stop. And so you know, as a
Speaker 1: sideline reporter, I get to go behind the team's bitch
Speaker 1: and kind of listening in on, you know, what's being
Speaker 1: talked about, what's being said amongst the players and coaches,
Speaker 1: and so Warriors go this crazy rud Clippers call a
Speaker 1: time out. Warriors are up big in the third quarter.
Speaker 1: So I go by the go behind the Clippers locker room.
Speaker 1: I'm excuse me, I go behind the Clippers bench, and
Speaker 1: but Tuna just staring at me, staring at me, mad,
Speaker 1: just staring at me. And remember I'm right behind the bitch,
Speaker 1: and so I just start laughing. And so I'm like,
Speaker 1: I had to like stop myself because you know, all
Speaker 1: these where's a piss right now? You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: what just happened. So I had to kind of like
Speaker 1: turn my back compor Twitis mugging at me, staring at me,
Speaker 1: blaming me for what for what they did on the court. Man,
Speaker 1: But they got they gotta win in Memphis, and I
Speaker 1: wasn't there. I think I got another Clipper game in
Speaker 1: a few weeks. We'll see you not if I truly am,
Speaker 1: I am the Jinks. But that was tough right there.
Speaker 1: I'm almost laughing right there behind their bench, you know,
Speaker 1: while they're just getting blown out. I hope you are
Speaker 1: the Jinks because I don't want the Jinks to be Russ.
Speaker 1: I find myself rooting for him, even though you know,
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't, I don't. I just feel like
Speaker 1: he's this is a guy who's headed to the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame eventually. He's had an incredible career and I
Speaker 1: I just don't like seeing the punching bag that he
Speaker 1: had become during parts of his time with the Lakers,
Speaker 1: and I really wanted to see this Clipper thing work.
Speaker 1: But you know, when they during that oh and five start,
Speaker 1: a very trusted scout actually reached out to me and said, man,
Speaker 1: the Russ curse is real, And I'm like, hold on
Speaker 1: a second, the Clippers, there's always been the so called
Speaker 1: Clipper curse. First of all, there are no such thing
Speaker 1: as curses. Really, there are no we there. You know,
Speaker 1: we love to talk about curses in sports, but come on,
Speaker 1: we don't really believe in them, do we. But like
Speaker 1: this scout, who who one of my most trusted one
Speaker 1: of the most trusted set of eyes that I've I've
Speaker 1: come to, you know, I really respect the way he
Speaker 1: sees the game. And he said, yeah, man, I have
Speaker 1: a bad feeling that this is the Russ curse because
Speaker 1: Russ has not played poorly as a Clipper. I mean
Speaker 1: he's he's given them, he's given them better production in
Speaker 1: some ways than he was given the Lakers. But I
Speaker 1: just don't know if he fits right with the you know,
Speaker 1: they they made these they made re bold move, you know,
Speaker 1: pretty maybe bold's too strong, and they made three strong
Speaker 1: moves at the deadline to bring in Eric Gordon and
Speaker 1: Plumbly and Bones Highland, and then they you know, then
Speaker 1: they went for Russ. And it's just is it one
Speaker 1: move too many? I mean, they've just you're right, they
Speaker 1: were they heading into the trade deadline All Star period,
Speaker 1: they looked like they were on a great trajectory and
Speaker 1: now it has gone completely the other way. And yeah,
Speaker 1: the only win with Russ is against a very depleted
Speaker 1: and chaos ridden memberis team. So it is not looking good.
Speaker 1: And I don't have the answer. I'm just kind of
Speaker 1: watching the bar trying to make sense. And the last
Speaker 1: episode we did Steine. I talked about how we talked
Speaker 1: about how Russ Is still qualifies for the six Man
Speaker 1: a Year award. So it's funny. Start. So I don't
Speaker 1: know if I should say it, but I was saying. So.
Speaker 1: I talked to Russ before that game, that last game
Speaker 1: against the Wards that I covered, and I asked him,
Speaker 1: I said, hey, you know you are technically you still
Speaker 1: do qualify because you're not going You're going to play
Speaker 1: more games this season as a reserve than the starter,
Speaker 1: so you still qualify for that six Men the Year award.
Speaker 1: He was I was like, how do you feel about it?
Speaker 1: And I said this on T and T during the
Speaker 1: During the game, he was like, Chris, what's my model?
Speaker 1: Why not? He said, why not? He said? You know,
Speaker 1: he said, I busted East. I busted my ass to
Speaker 1: fit into a new role I wasn't accustomed to. And
Speaker 1: you know, I think the team has success. He said,
Speaker 1: he has success. And he said, hey, if he gets
Speaker 1: enough votes to win that award, he'll definitely accept that.
Speaker 1: That definitely be something that he would cherish. So it's funny.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna dable, but it's funny. So were you know,
Speaker 1: so I the convert. I was having a conversation one
Speaker 1: of the purse a staff member for the Clippers. I'll
Speaker 1: just say that, and we brought up the sixth Man
Speaker 1: a Year award, like okay, like now you guys have
Speaker 1: two six Men of Year candidates and they were like, no,
Speaker 1: it's just Norm. I don't think. They said, we don't
Speaker 1: think Russ really wants it. And I was like, no,
Speaker 1: that's not true, that that is not true. And they
Speaker 1: were like, oh, man, you know dorn Palace. Is there
Speaker 1: a guy who's been the sixth man all year? And
Speaker 1: I get it. It's a connection. But look, I don't
Speaker 1: think Russ was still a trip. But you know, he's
Speaker 1: definitely uh, he would definitely accept it if if if
Speaker 1: you got enough votes, that's definitely something that he would
Speaker 1: feel honored about. You know what, though, you brought up
Speaker 1: that but Tom interaction, and I'm so glad you did,
Speaker 1: because you actually brought up sideline reporting and huddles on
Speaker 1: last show and I wanted to ask you about this,
Speaker 1: and I somehow we got sidetracked that I didn't get
Speaker 1: the chance. It must have been maybe when you you
Speaker 1: must have launched into your radiator Annie Free story because
Speaker 1: it's great what you I have not done as much
Speaker 1: sideline reporting as you, but what little, what little I
Speaker 1: did do was always for ESPN Radio. It was All
Speaker 1: Star Game, but it was the NBA Finals and one
Speaker 1: of the greatest gigs that I ever had in my life.
Speaker 1: After Rick Buker left ESPN for four finals thirteen fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
Speaker 1: that's seventeen, actually five finals between twenty thirteen and twenty seventeen,
Speaker 1: I was ESPN Radio sideline reporter at the finals. Some
Speaker 1: years there were two of us. Shelley Smith also did it.
Speaker 1: But like you said, part of the job, one of
Speaker 1: the best parts of the job is you have the
Speaker 1: license to go to go to lead into the huddle
Speaker 1: as best you can, see as much as you can
Speaker 1: and report stuff. And I remember when I first started
Speaker 1: doing it, Buker's advice to me was, don't ever make
Speaker 1: eye contact with the coach. Look in the huddle, try
Speaker 1: to look at what's on the board, try to hear
Speaker 1: the instructions. But whatever you do, do not make eye
Speaker 1: contact with the coach. So you just you just told
Speaker 1: a story of you making eye contact with Batoune, which
Speaker 1: is different because he's a player. But what are do
Speaker 1: you do you employ a similar strategy or will you
Speaker 1: just look right into Tyler's eyes if you can when
Speaker 1: you get the chance, Like, how do you how do
Speaker 1: you deal with that? That's a good question. I've never
Speaker 1: thought about not making eye contact, but I guess you
Speaker 1: tend to do that anyways. You know. Look, so as
Speaker 1: a pertains Batun, he made eye contact with me. I
Speaker 1: was trying to avoid them because I figure he'll be
Speaker 1: going there, and so it just made an awkward situation.
Speaker 1: So I'm going over there and he's making me laugh
Speaker 1: while they're just down and so that was awkward. But
Speaker 1: um no, I think, Um, I don't say I make
Speaker 1: eye contact with the coach. I'm just looking around. I'm
Speaker 1: just scoping around the whole the whole bench area. I'm
Speaker 1: going left or right. Um, I think both all the
Speaker 1: coaches know that I'm not going to pick off a
Speaker 1: play and report a play or anything like that. And
Speaker 1: you know, you definitely have to be selective with what
Speaker 1: you want to use on air. You don't want to
Speaker 1: you don't want to report anything that's going to jeopardize
Speaker 1: the trust that these coaches give you. You know, because
Speaker 1: we have coaches meeting with these with the coaches before
Speaker 1: the game, and they'll tell us a lot like they'll
Speaker 1: tell us, you know, start lineups, Um, you know where
Speaker 1: they're going, and that's not out yet. And you know
Speaker 1: you got to keep that to yourself as a broadcast partner,
Speaker 1: so you know, you don't want to do anything to
Speaker 1: jeopardize the trust. But Styn, you know what, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go there, I'm gonna go there. I got a story
Speaker 1: do I got time for this time. I got a
Speaker 1: story about this time. You have all the time in
Speaker 1: the world. You have no time limit ever Stein. So
Speaker 1: let me tell you this. This would have been I
Speaker 1: have to look this up. I think this would have
Speaker 1: been two playoffs ago. A matter of fact, it was
Speaker 1: two playoffs ago, Denver Nuggets, Denver Nuggets, Denver Nugget playoffs.
Speaker 1: Who were they playing, Phoenix Suns. Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets
Speaker 1: plaoffs two playoffs ago. You can look that up. It
Speaker 1: was the last playoff game, right, So coach Malone was
Speaker 1: they were down old three to Phoenix and for the
Speaker 1: first three games he was bringing he was bringing in.
Speaker 1: He was bringing Will Barton and Monte Morris off the
Speaker 1: bench and So the night before Game four, which is
Speaker 1: a potential closeout game, the night before I got word
Speaker 1: from multiple sources that Will Barton and Monte Morris will
Speaker 1: be asserted into the start lineup, right, So I had
Speaker 1: that information and my plan was to use it to
Speaker 1: report that information sometime in the afternoon the day of
Speaker 1: the game. The problem is Stein sometimes in those meetings,
Speaker 1: again we had those coaches meet coach meetings before the game,
Speaker 1: and sometimes the coach would tell us the broadcast team
Speaker 1: who they're starting, who they're bringing off the bench. Sometimes
Speaker 1: they won't. So I'm hoping in this meeting that coach
Speaker 1: Malone doesn't reveal his starting light up. But for some reason,
Speaker 1: Coach Malone did, And now I've stuck. I'm like, damn,
Speaker 1: I just told the broadcast. But I had already told
Speaker 1: my company about the starting line of change, so they
Speaker 1: knew I had it already. And so I'm I'm decided
Speaker 1: trying to debate on what should I do? What should
Speaker 1: I do? Like how do I handle this? Like what
Speaker 1: do I do? Just to clarify, you're reporting for Yahoo
Speaker 1: as well as at the time you were also writing
Speaker 1: for Yahoo, correct, And so I'm like, what am I
Speaker 1: going to do. What am I gonna do? And so,
Speaker 1: long story short, talk to upper management and uh, I
Speaker 1: got to go ahead to hey, you let us know
Speaker 1: before this meeting happened, you had it, you had planned
Speaker 1: to sit until us in time. Go ahead. So I
Speaker 1: went ahead and did that. In the afternoon, I got
Speaker 1: word Mike Malone was pissed. Was pissed. I'm like, damn.
Speaker 1: I kind of knew it, but I was like, damn,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, you know I had. So I'm I'm
Speaker 1: talking to you know, GETS officials. I'm telling them, look,
Speaker 1: I understand why you think this, but I already had
Speaker 1: this information. You know. I'm I'm a report. I already
Speaker 1: had this information. And you can talk to the higher
Speaker 1: ups at at T and T. Yeah, but when coach
Speaker 1: Malone gives you this information in the pre game, you're
Speaker 1: not supposed to use it. And I'm like, I had
Speaker 1: this information. And so I even debated Stein for that
Speaker 1: that call, that pregame meeting. I even debated not doing
Speaker 1: it because I knew what information I had. I didn't
Speaker 1: want to put myself in that situation. And long story short,
Speaker 1: we get to the game and it was the end
Speaker 1: of the third quarter, which coach Malone is, I'm supposed
Speaker 1: to interview coach Malone in the third quarter. He didn't
Speaker 1: do the interview. He didn't do anything. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you ever knew that stein he didn't. He didn't
Speaker 1: do the interview. Yeah, he didn't do the interview. And
Speaker 1: so the only time a coach is not supposed to
Speaker 1: do an interview is if they're up or down by
Speaker 1: twenty or more. But they were, they were within distance.
Speaker 1: It was like it was pretty close game going into
Speaker 1: that fourth quarter. At the same time, I understood because
Speaker 1: he was down, and you know, he was down going
Speaker 1: into the fourth and that's the final quarter to try
Speaker 1: to keep the season alive. So I didn't trip so lightweight.
Speaker 1: I'm kind of thinking, like, damn, did he do this?
Speaker 1: Did he not do this interview because he's I broke
Speaker 1: before or is it because he's really into this fourth quarter?
Speaker 1: And so I really didn't know. Like so I'm like
Speaker 1: kind of like mess messed up, bro like, because I
Speaker 1: felt like I did everything the right way and handed
Speaker 1: the right way. I went to my company, you know,
Speaker 1: UM went to them first, and you know, they got
Speaker 1: eliminated after that game. But I would say that, so
Speaker 1: I kind of felt bad. But Coach Malone caught me
Speaker 1: like a week later, and I think it was at
Speaker 1: point when I got in a bike accident at that time.
Speaker 1: But he called a week later and I didn't pick
Speaker 1: I didn't pick up I I missed the call and
Speaker 1: he left a voice message, Man, Chris, we're all good man.
Speaker 1: I hope you're having a great summer. Man. You know,
Speaker 1: it was just it was just cool, man. So I'm glad.
Speaker 1: I'm glad he did that. But that's one of those again,
Speaker 1: I'm taking people behind the scenes of you know what,
Speaker 1: some of the things elements you gotta do with us
Speaker 1: being a sideline reporter, and that's that's one situation that
Speaker 1: I got myself into where it was kind of it
Speaker 1: was kind of rough. Yeah, I didn't remember the I
Speaker 1: don't remember the bike accident either, but I'm I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm glad he did call you and it was over.
Speaker 1: But I mean, that's the thing, because I think the
Speaker 1: distinction here probably that we need to clarify. Most sideline
Speaker 1: reporters are not also journalists writing, you know, I guess
Speaker 1: written correspondence is probably the better word. Most sideline reporters
Speaker 1: are generally strictly only on TV, whereas like when I
Speaker 1: did it for radio, or Buker did it before me,
Speaker 1: or you're doing it for TNT. You are also, you know,
Speaker 1: someone who writes about the league as well as covers
Speaker 1: it electronically. So I think there's always that little little
Speaker 1: uh because I remember, again, I'm only doing it sparingly,
Speaker 1: but during the finals, you know, I would go to
Speaker 1: those meetings too with you know, Mark Kesters and Huby
Speaker 1: Brown or doctor Jack and Hube and I'm there, and
Speaker 1: you know, there's kind of that that look where like hey, Stein,
Speaker 1: you know you can listen all this, but you better
Speaker 1: not be writing it before the game because those meetings
Speaker 1: are considered off the record information for the broadcast not
Speaker 1: to be you know, they're not telling you to report
Speaker 1: it seven hours before tip off. They're telling it to
Speaker 1: give you background that can be used during the game broadcast.
Speaker 1: So that is that is tricky territory for someone like you,
Speaker 1: someone like me who is doing multiple jobs at once. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that that was tough, and it was again coach Malone,
Speaker 1: you know, and it was cool. I was glad he
Speaker 1: called me left a message. Um you know that would
Speaker 1: that was good to hear because I definitely coming from
Speaker 1: his side, Stein, coming from his side, I would see
Speaker 1: why he would think that I used his information to
Speaker 1: get that story, and so I understood that, and so
Speaker 1: that's that's Those are the kind of things that make
Speaker 1: it tough. All right, Well, this this has gone in
Speaker 1: a couple of different directions that I didn't expect. So listen,
Speaker 1: we are we We are not going to do it
Speaker 1: today because there's one other topic I want to get
Speaker 1: to before we we closed down, but we we will
Speaker 1: be talking more and more about the Knicks, because I
Speaker 1: do think the Knicks right now have have emerged as
Speaker 1: as maybe the best story in basketball. Incredible run, you know,
Speaker 1: two recent wins over Boston, the way Brunson is playing,
Speaker 1: the way Julius Randall is playing, just how amazingly they've
Speaker 1: turned it around from last year. But sticking with the West,
Speaker 1: because I think, you know, so much of what we've
Speaker 1: talked about already kind of feeds into this. A Western
Speaker 1: Conference official asked me recently, Stein, who are you Who
Speaker 1: are the three teams that can win the West? If
Speaker 1: if you had to, if you had to bet right now,
Speaker 1: who are the three teams that can win the West.
Speaker 1: And I can't say what team this executive works for,
Speaker 1: but I can say that his team did not make
Speaker 1: the cut. My three the only three teams I think
Speaker 1: that can really win the West. Denver. I just think
Speaker 1: they've been the most consistent, the Yokis factor. You know,
Speaker 1: Murray and Porter are healthy, They've strengthened their bench. I
Speaker 1: think the Nuggets have to top the list, deserve to
Speaker 1: top the list, despite any doubts you have about what
Speaker 1: they can do in the playoffs and are they for real?
Speaker 1: They're gonna be playing in under immense playoff prove it
Speaker 1: to us pressure. But I think Denver has to be there.
Speaker 1: Golden State, I give it to them based on yes,
Speaker 1: they've got championship. No how it's been a nightmare season
Speaker 1: to this point in terms of, you know, consistency. But
Speaker 1: I think the Warriors have to be there because of
Speaker 1: what they've done. You know, they still have a core
Speaker 1: three with Steph Clay and Draymond who've won four championships.
Speaker 1: They know how it feels what it takes to go
Speaker 1: the playoff distance. So I think the Warriors have to
Speaker 1: be there as well. And then Phoenix, even though they're
Speaker 1: still in the embryonic stages of the Durant era. They've
Speaker 1: just got too much talent. They have to be considered
Speaker 1: a team that can coalesce and come together and get
Speaker 1: to the West. But for me, those really are the
Speaker 1: only three. I am ruling out everyone else, even in
Speaker 1: the crowded jumble in the West standings that is now
Speaker 1: goes from two down to number thirteen because you know
Speaker 1: Memphis has been sliding here. Do you dispute that in
Speaker 1: any way? Is there anybody else I'm leaving out in
Speaker 1: the West who can win the West that's not named
Speaker 1: Nuggets Clip sorry, not Clippers, Nuggets, Sons or Warriors. It's
Speaker 1: tough that you you only give me three options. It's
Speaker 1: really hard to dispute. Tell me I'm wrong if I'm wrong,
Speaker 1: coming well, no, it's just not that, Just like damn,
Speaker 1: I want to I still feel like I still think
Speaker 1: there's a slight chance that the Lakers can make some
Speaker 1: brown if Lebron comes back with enough time and he's healthy. Um,
Speaker 1: who else Clippers it would be? That would be an
Speaker 1: incredible story because I just I struggle to see Lebron
Speaker 1: being you know, if we see him as he what
Speaker 1: is he going to be seventy eighty percent at best
Speaker 1: if he can come. If the Lakers make the make
Speaker 1: you know, make the play in make the playoffs, I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess you give them a puncher's chance if Lebron
Speaker 1: and a d are there. But it's like, I don't
Speaker 1: know for me. Clippers are going in the wrong direction.
Speaker 1: The Grizzlies are in a crisis. The Kings, yes, they've
Speaker 1: been absolutely impressive and storybook to be the number three
Speaker 1: seed all this time, and Mike Brown's gonna win Coach
Speaker 1: of the Year and Fox and Si Bonus, we're all stars.
Speaker 1: But I mean, we're we can't talk about the Kings
Speaker 1: making a playoff run until that we actually see them
Speaker 1: in the playoffs again. The MAVs, there's just not enough
Speaker 1: defense there around Luca and Kyrie, you know, Minnisto, I mean,
Speaker 1: who who, I just I don't see it. I'll give
Speaker 1: you that. I'll give it that. It's hard. It's hard
Speaker 1: as a right now. We're just talking strictly as a
Speaker 1: right now. It's hard to go against Denver Phoenix and
Speaker 1: going to State for the reasons you mentioned prior. It's
Speaker 1: hard writing Memphis off too soon? Am I writing Memphis
Speaker 1: off too soon. Not we You're not. I don't. I
Speaker 1: don't think so, I don't think. I think this is
Speaker 1: absolute chaos for them. I mean the job situation is
Speaker 1: that serious that I mean it's And Brendan Clark is
Speaker 1: a huge piece to that team. He's as so much
Speaker 1: too now. I just I don't think this is going
Speaker 1: to be the Grizzlies year. UM and the Clippers. No,
Speaker 1: we have every year we say what a what if
Speaker 1: Kawuhi and PG are are there for the playoffs? But
Speaker 1: I just the signals, the signals coming out of clipper
Speaker 1: Land ain't great right now? It do but Sty, we
Speaker 1: we've done so. I think we're at the forty minute
Speaker 1: mark Man, and we gave we just had a pretty
Speaker 1: good podcast. But Sty, I know you know I'm gone
Speaker 1: through something and I'm not ready to to share that personally.
Speaker 1: But I know you're you're dealing with something as well, Man,
Speaker 1: so I want to. I want to give you the
Speaker 1: floor for that. No, I appreciate that. UM. I do
Speaker 1: not like to bring my personal stuff into the into
Speaker 1: the work sphere, but I really I want to dedicate
Speaker 1: this show to someone I went to high school with.
Speaker 1: Um Eltoro High class of nineteen eighty seven. Uh, we
Speaker 1: we got the news. Just I only found out today. Um,
Speaker 1: and we're recording this on Monday for for Tuesday just distribution.
Speaker 1: Someone I went to high school with, someone very dear
Speaker 1: to me, passed suddenly over the weekend. His name was
Speaker 1: Mac Powell, and he was traveling with his family on
Speaker 1: a family vacation in Hawaii. And I just want to
Speaker 1: dedicate this show to him because I was incredibly fortunate
Speaker 1: to go to a high school. We in our senior
Speaker 1: year we had one of the best teams in the
Speaker 1: history of southern California. And that's not just hyperbole from
Speaker 1: someone who obviously roots for his own school. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can look it up. The Eltoro High School football
Speaker 1: team in nineteen eighty six was an absolute powerhouse. First
Speaker 1: of three quarterbacks who went to the Pros and Brett Johnson,
Speaker 1: just a slew of Division one guys. And Mac was
Speaker 1: Mac Powell was the Bo Jackson of my high school.
Speaker 1: He didn't play on the football team. They tried to
Speaker 1: get him to play on the football team so he
Speaker 1: would have He would have played football for one of
Speaker 1: the best high school teams in Southern California history, except
Speaker 1: he was saving his body for his basketball and baseball prowess.
Speaker 1: Just an absolutely incredible athlete, the athlete of all my
Speaker 1: high school years. When I think of great athletes that
Speaker 1: I grew up with in my childhood, I mean, he
Speaker 1: is number one on the list. And just an absolutely
Speaker 1: tragic loss in our in the community, of all the
Speaker 1: people that I went to high school with. And I
Speaker 1: just want to send the warmest wishes and best wishes
Speaker 1: and deepest condolences and just all the strength and love
Speaker 1: I can muster to his wife Kim and his son
Speaker 1: Boog who Boogs so talented in his own right that
Speaker 1: he made it to the major leagues as an outfielder.
Speaker 1: So incredibly athletic. Family and Maxter love you and you
Speaker 1: will be so missed. And the Chris, thanks for letting
Speaker 1: me do the I really appreciate my condolecence to you
Speaker 1: and to him and his family. Man, I understand how
Speaker 1: tough it is. Yeah, I appreciate the sentiments because yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie this one. This one definitely has
Speaker 1: me shaken. But everyone, thank you so much for joining
Speaker 1: us on another episode of This League Uncut. Chris and
Speaker 1: I will be back with one more episode this week.
Speaker 1: I will try not to mess up the recording schedule anymore,
Speaker 1: because again, mister Haynes is the one who's flying all
Speaker 1: over the place and I shouldn't be messing us up.
Speaker 1: So I will do better. Guys, thanks to MIL for
Speaker 1: being with us, and we will be back with you
Speaker 1: soon into court. Please rate, review, subscribe, thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and that'll do it for us. See you next time.
Speaker 1: This league uncut is and I heard radio production