WEBVTT - Gottlieb - All Ball - w/guest Ethan Strauss 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:09.959 Welcome into All Ball, the All Basketball Podcast Here on 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:14.400 the Heard Podcast Net. I'm Doug Gottlieb real quick, uh 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:16.680 distant reminders to listen to Doug Gotlik Show daily on 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.279 Fox Sports Tradeo from three to six Eastern Time and 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:24.639 twelve to three Pacific. What a story we have in 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:29.120 the NBA. Our long national nightmare is over. It's definitely 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:32.600 over because Kawhi Leonards no longer playing in this nation. 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:38.400 He's playing in Toronto. Um. Look, my initial blush is 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:42.000 deadlines bring deals. And though there was no hard, hard deadline, 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.240 there was the meeting that took place in San Diego 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.520 to which I've been told and most people believe. Greg 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:54.240 pop Fitch after hearing Kawhi Letard out said I'll trade you. 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:56.920 I can't tell you. We're been trade you. We're gonna 0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:02.120 get the best deal possible. I'll trade you. Now. He 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:05.680 wants Kauai to play with USA Basketball. USA Basketball is 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.520 getting together in Vegas, so it had to be. He'd 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.800 like it to been done because otherwise, is Kawai gonna 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:16.200 put himself out there and play and be healthy If 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:18.160 he's on the trade block and he said to be 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:20.280 trade the answer is probably not in addition to the 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:24.680 idea of if he was traded somewhere that was not respectable, 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:27.119 would he even suit up, would he play or would 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:30.400 he pretend to still be hurt. I don't think Kawhi 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:33.479 Leonard ever pretended to be hurt. I don't I don't 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:35.479 ever thought. I don't think he thought he was right. 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.920 I'm guessing if he plays now he does think he's right. 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:46.440 He absolutely does. But I think that actually san Antonio 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:49.800 did right by him and did right by themselves san Antonio. 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:53.360 What what they can only be accused of doing is 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:59.559 uh is overvaluing themselves on the market and potentially chasing 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:03.040 the market. You know, their list price initially was ridiculous, 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:08.440 you know, Kuzma Ingram Heart picks, picks picks, and then 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:12.320 they wanted even more. They wanted um They wanted a 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:17.680 similar sort of bounty from teams like Philadelphia. But the 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:19.560 other reports that we had heard was, hey, if you 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:21.519 can get us the top twenty player in the NBA, 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:24.360 wim of Kawa is lit for you. And that's what 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.480 they got into. Martin Rosen. I don't love de Rosen's 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:29.880 ability to shoot the three. I don't love the fact 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.119 that he disappeared against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But I've seen 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.959 Martin Rosen take over an NBA game, absolutely take over. 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.600 And while Toronto looks like bad guys because they said 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:43.919 initially they weren't going to trade him, if you had to, 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.560 Martin rose and you can trade him for Kawhi Leonards 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:48.560 and oh yeah, by the way, get Danny Green as 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.200 an ancillary piece. You make that deal. To me, it 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:54.880 comes down to timelines. Toronto's timeline is we gotta win. 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.040 We gotta win now. If it doesn't happen this year 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.680 with no Lebron in the East, it's never gonna happen 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:02.000 with this group, and we got to rethink things. So 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:05.800 you go all in. You go all in, just like 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:07.680 when you're in poker. When you go all in in poker, 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:09.880 it doesn't mean you've got a great hand. It just 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:12.520 means that at some point in time, we gotta go 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.760 all in now because everybody else's hand might not be great, 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.400 and it might be just good enough hand to win 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.040 this thing or to get to an NBA finals, and 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.600 then maybe you get quite a come back, or maybe 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:28.679 you don't. You move all your pieces. As for the Spurs, 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:33.560 does de Rosan fit their their championship mold. Probably not, 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.600 But now that is the Marcus Aldridge Aldrich scores in 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.520 the post that's not really needed anymore and mard Rozen 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:42.240 scores in the mid range that's not really desired anymore either. 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:46.119 But San Antonio Spurs will once again find a way 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.160 to remain competitive for a longer period of time than 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:54.240 anybody's remained competitive in recent NBA history. As for the Lakers, 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.440 I think they're fine. Look at Josh Hart and his 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.240 value and how much that skyrocketed winning the Summer agam 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:02.120 v P. And it wasn't like he was the Summer 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.160 League MVP because his team won. He was the best 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.960 player in Summer league. A. Lonzo will be better, Ingram 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.760 should be better, Kuzma should be better, and oh yeah, 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:14.320 by the way, Lebron will help them be even better. 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:16.600 I like that the Lakers are gonna take this year 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:18.240 to figure out what they got and what they want 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.400 to add. It's just not quite letter right now. Let 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:24.960 me give you one kind of recruiting college basketball thought. 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:27.440 I've been you go back a year ago, and if 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:29.600 you follow me on Twitter, I've been a huge proponent 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:31.279 of coal Anthony being the number one player in the 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.560 class of two, doesn't where he's gonna go to high 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:37.960 school next year. It's Greg Anthony's son um. And and 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.600 here's what's what's fascinating about Cole Anthony. I've talked to a 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:42.159 a lot of NBA players about this is how do 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:48.560 I how do I give my kid a better life 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:51.160 than I've lived, Teach him all that I know about 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:53.840 the sport that I love, and on the other hand, 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:58.440 create kind of the hunger and toughness that I had 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.120 in order to get to this point. And the guy 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:05.960 that somehow has been able to achieve that is Cole Anthony. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:09.839 Cole Anthony has an astoness to him to which nastiness 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:13.279 and competitive streak to him, which I love and is 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:16.480 needed and is missing. Asking these former NBA players, and 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:19.279 I'll tell you, like my kids too nice. My kid 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:20.880 went to a private school. My kid grew up in 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.800 a great neighborhood. My kid is and Cole Anthony has 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:26.960 um you know, growing up in New York City, kind 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:30.440 of has that chip on his shoulder and will just 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.039 attack you and try and tear your heart out and 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:37.000 feed it to you for lunch. He's incredible, incredible, he's 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:39.719 bigger than his dad. UM needs to improve his shooting, 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.280 but a better shooter than than his dad was. UM. 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:44.360 I don't know if he's as good a defender as 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.039 his dad was a great defender, but he can pass, 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:49.160 he can dunk on, you can score, he can lead, 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:51.600 he can win, and he is tougher than a two 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.120 dollar steak. I know there are other guys in two 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:58.039 thousand nineteen competing with him for best in class, but 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:01.560 being a point guard, having that sort of pedigree and 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:05.600 having the toughness that so many with that pedigree, lack boy. 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:10.120 Whoever gets him is absolutely gonna love him alright. Last 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:11.880 thing before we get to some of the interviews here 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:15.000 on the All Ball Podcast is the potential for a 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:20.280 rules change in college basketball high school basketball in terms 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.000 of recruiting, and whether or not the n c A 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.560 will have the NBA and NBA G League runs some 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:29.520 of these camps for them. PEGM took place last week. 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:32.520 Team Takeover one it they'd beat Team why Not and 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:36.359 it was a great celebration of basketball. Victor Oladipo with 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.480 Team why Not, and of course Russell Westbrook, excuse me, 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.159 Russell Westbrook with Team why Not? And Victor Oladipo with 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.080 team takeover. The idea that so many of these and 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.640 I know they're Nike guys and Nike legends, but Nike 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:50.720 guys will show up and we'll give some of their 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.680 money and some of their time to these kids who 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:55.560 you know, want to look and believe that one day 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:57.599 and somebody that Jim will be the next Kevin Garnett, 0:06:57.640 --> 0:06:59.839 will be that Kevin Durant was there, will be the 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:01.919 next to Russell Westbrook will be the next victory of 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:06.160 the depot. I think speaks well for where basketball is, uh, 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:10.000 the part I would be really cautious of if I 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:13.120 was the n c A and I'm not as sensitive 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:15.760 to peach Jam because look, when when I played, we 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.080 didn't have Peach Jam. We had AU tournaments or there 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:22.000 was the AU National Championship, which nobody went to on 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.360 the West Coast. The West Coast, we always did Vegas 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.040 and Phoenix, and there would be Riverside Church would come 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:29.920 out from New York, the Gauchos would come out from 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:33.320 from New York. You get teams from Utah, Nebraska and 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:38.360 all over the country. And then that was after ABC 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.440 D Camp and there was a B c D, which 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:43.920 was Princeton abc D which became Converse abc D, and 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:45.760 Nike had their own camp and then it was Adidas 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.440 abc D. We've done the camp thing, We've done the 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:52.040 tournament thing. I do think the one thing that the 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.400 E y b L has is they have a competitive 0:07:55.440 --> 0:08:00.160 spring structure. They have pretty darn good coaching and the 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.280 end of the day, you have to win something in 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.480 order to achieve the right amount of acclaim, whereas some 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:09.360 of these other events now are no longer true tournament forms. 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.520 They have to guarantee you games or your teams won't 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:14.880 play in their event, and they're just kind of made 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.679 for TV. You lose, you don't care as much as 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.800 we cared. I remember losing in Vegas. Every time we 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:22.640 lost in Vegas, I remember I we never never won 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.840 the championship. We lost to be ABC. I think in 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.280 the finals my senior year, Um, we lost to a 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:35.080 Nebraska team. My junior year, you know, I think we 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.880 lost to a team from Pennsylvania with Pete Less City 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:43.199 my sophomore freshman or sophomore year. Like, I remember those 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:48.440 losses more than any of the wins. And I do 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:50.080 think that the one thing you've got to be cautious 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.440 of with true camps. And I think, what what old 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:55.840 school people whatever that came that commission came up with, 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.080 is this kind of idealistic Hey, we'll have the old 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:03.319 five star, will have stations and this is needed. Truly 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.920 teaching is needed. But some of that exists with the 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:08.520 Nike Skills Academy, some of that exists with some of 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:13.560 these other events and other camps. It's it's not it's 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:18.640 not perfect in any way, UM, but in completely tearing 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:22.520 apart the system that's taking place, especially the good, like 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.440 take some of the good out of it. True shoe 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:31.440 companies UH can push guys in the direction of their 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:36.119 representative schools, and that's not supposed to be what Showcase 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:39.200 basketball is about. AU basketball is about teaching kids the 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:42.240 game while getting them opportunities to play in college. There 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.440 are some events which are really good. There are some 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:46.359 events that are bad, and you have to be judicious 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:50.319 with striking things down with one rule. Now, the caution 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.480 to people who believe pech GM is the end all 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.960 be all and if it goes away, all is good 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:57.160 that goes away in the summer. My point is only 0:09:57.200 --> 0:09:59.760 that PHM has not been forever there will be some 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:01.480 of their event, there will be some other way to 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:07.040 do it. And while uh basketball coaches wouldn't be able 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:10.680 to a college basketball coaches wouldn't be able to attend 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:16.280 events during a live period. And can't you just be 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:18.960 virtually there? I mean, wouldn't it just be about things 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:22.160 being televised or is there is there a loophole to 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.600 which college basketball coaches could be like in a viewing 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.920 room next door. They've always found a way to go 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:31.520 around the rules. They've always found a way to see 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:33.360 the kids. The kids for the most part, the good 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.560 ones have been seen. One or two follow through the cracks. 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:38.120 And so I don't think it's an arm Again, if 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:41.640 these rules which were suggested are enacted again, that doesn't 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.160 mean I think it's a good idea. Um. I just 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:47.319 think there has to be things within reason. There should 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:51.080 be more coaching, more teaching. It should be more about 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:54.240 winning games than it is about showcasing players. On the 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.520 other hand, you want to showcase guys. You want to 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:58.959 give guys as many opportunities to be seen as humanly 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.800 possible so that fewer and fewer slipped through the cracks. 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.360 And you want to see the East versus the West, 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.080 and the North versus the South. You want to see 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:09.440 competitive basketball, So did you get a sense, you know, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:12.679 instead of watching film, we're watching kids compete against his 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:14.760 high school team or is AU team? What it looks 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:19.200 like against the other kids are let's buck come in 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:22.480 from the athletic Ethan Strouss. He joins us here in 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:26.719 the All Ball podcast, and Ethan, let me ask you 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:31.640 your reaction to the quiet Leonard to mar de Rosen trade. Yeah. Well, 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:34.560 the first action, like much of the basketball intelligentia, is 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:37.760 that it seems like a good deal for the Raptors 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:40.480 and uh less of a great deal for the Spurs. 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:42.440 And then that gives me a pause, because sometimes we're 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:45.360 just wrong about saying, you know, especially when we when 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.600 we all agree, that can tend to have. And remember 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.720 when the Paul George trade was one of the Pacers 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:53.440 got flattered in if if memory serves, I mean, that 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:56.000 was the contentsist and now now look at it, look 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:59.200 at Oladipo. So um, I don't love it for the 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.480 Spurs in a vacuum, I don't, But I also didn't 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.640 think that LaMarcus Aldred was really good for them, and 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:06.440 he had quite a good season last season, so I 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.079 just wonder if they look at the Martyr Rose and 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.720 they see that he does something that has fallen out 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.000 of fever in the mid rate jumper as LaMarcus didn't 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.480 feel as though they can leverage that in the better 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.480 shots and that they know what they're doing. So I 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:21.160 had to guess a great deal for the Wraps. But 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:25.319 I I'm still a little little little suspicious that maybe 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.880 the Spurs pulled off something there. I um, look, I 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:32.440 let's start with the Spurs side. I do think they 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:34.960 were asking for too much and they chased the market 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.680 away a little bit, right they You just you just 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:41.120 start asking for like listen, we'll we'll think about Ingram 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:45.080 or Kuzma, but Ingram and Kuzma and uh, you know, 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.040 and then you start going through and you're like, well, 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.760 we want Josh Hard of course, and obviously the Lakers 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:51.679 had to know something about I don't know if they 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:53.679 knew he would perform as well at some releg as 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.640 he performed, but they really really like Josh Hart for 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:58.600 as much of their culture as much as anything else. 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:00.640 And then you start talking about because I just I 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:02.360 feel like they were asking for the Moon, the stars 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.040 in the sun, and most of the league sitting there going, hey, 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:08.280 you kind of got a depreciating asset there. Whereas the 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:10.920 Raptors did want to get out of that deal. There 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:14.200 are some limitations to derosan. I actually think San Antonio 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.720 did well with all things considered. It's just are you 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:20.280 closer that much closer to winning a championship when you 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:24.120 have two players who are kind of players from a 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:27.160 foregone era, right, like a post up a post up 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:29.880 big in Aldrich and a mid range pull up guy 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.839 in DeMar de Rosen. If this was you'd be great, 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.360 but it's not. It's two thousand nineteen, and you know, 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.880 you save face, but it's not like we're gonna pencil 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:45.040 the Spurs in as a championship contender. Is that fair? Yeah? 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:46.840 And as the side, doesn't it feel as though they 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.800 never really respected Danny Green for all he did for them. 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:52.560 Just I don't know what's up with that. It seems 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.199 that that was always the guy that popped with yell 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:58.600 at and scream at. And I know that last season 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:02.199 wasn't a great season him and maybe maybe he's fallen off, 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.480 and but he seems like somebody who could provide good 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.520 value for a team, and so that's that's not a 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:10.600 bad that's not a bad piece at all for for 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:13.600 the Rappers. I will say this if I'm I'm trying 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.960 to Devil's advocate, the position of maybe the Raptors aren't 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:18.640 going to be as impressed, aren't going to be as 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.040 happy as how this all goes. They've invited a lot 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:24.480 of drama into their team and it's all based on 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:26.520 this this this kind of that, you know, in a 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:28.880 funny way, this isn't even basketball analysis. This is more 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:32.520 of a look at how the culture of a city 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.480 and how it changes in its self assessment. Canada has 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.400 always had a little bit of that little Brother syndrome, 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:40.080 and they've got that insecurity that Vince Carter is so 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:43.360 so pressed on when he when he actually it out 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:44.720 of there in the way that he did it. But 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.600 now they're riding high. Now Toronto is cool. Now Drake 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:50.600 has given it a little bit of verve, and now 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:52.720 they think they're the city that if you come here 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.040 you might not know it's great, but my you know, 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:57.000 my god, you're going to be so impressed and you're 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.080 not going to leave. I don't know if that's going 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.400 to happen as somebody from and you can also have 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:03.880 this perspective as well as somebody who also grew up 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.360 in southern California. You can show me the law city 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:08.560 of Atlantic and you told me that it gets the 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.440 thirty below. I'm not going back under my own polition. 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.880 I do NBA book. NBA players love Toronto though, right, 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:17.840 I mean, like I'm not speaking out of turn. They 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:23.560 love Toronto. And guy might be a different kind of guy. Correct. Anyway, 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:25.880 That's that's the part that people are missing there, Like 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:29.040 NBA guys love Toronto. They do, but he's not sure 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:32.360 normal NBA guy. And I would also say that there 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.400 is well, everyone's hitching their wagon to the Hey, you 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:39.320 know Paul George. Paul George said he was coming. Um. 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:41.720 The one thing that's interesting about the Paul George thing is, 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.080 you know, Russell Westbrook was his best friend. They were 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:47.480 so close man leading up. Then he signs a new 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:51.680 deal and I fall Russell Westbrook on Instagram and I've 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:53.920 noticed that he continues to travel the world. I've also 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.560 noticed Paul is not traveling with him. But they're like, 0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:00.560 you are best friends to a point, so uh, you know, look, 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.080 I think Kauai ends up likely in Los Angeles, and 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.600 I think Toronto knows this, and they're willing to roll 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:11.160 the dice because on their kind of timeline, they gotta 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:13.200 win and win now, otherwise they canna blow that thing 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:16.200 up and start over. Anyway. Yeah, that's I don't want 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:19.080 to burst anybody's bubbles listening, but most NBA players are 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.120 not actually friends with one another. It's very similar to 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.560 when you go into the office and you see Gary 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:27.720 and the cubicle, and you you know, Gary's the Packers fans. 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:29.920 So maybe you go, oh, the Packers one, and then 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.680 you you know, that's that's about it, and that's the arrangement. 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:35.000 It's not you know, most of these guys aren't friends 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.040 and most of them aren't enemies. It's somewhere in between, 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.680 just looking any working en firement. But with Paul George, 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:42.760 I mean, I wonder if that was just taked by 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.640 his agent not having a great relationship with the Lakers 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.600 after what happened to Angela Russell. That was the stubble 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:50.880 bud coming out of the summer League, So that might 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:54.880 have been a special situation that isn't necessarily applicable to 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:57.320 the Kauai Leonard situation where it looks like you would 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.440 saw off his left left arm in order the good 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:03.000 Los angel Ethan Strouss joining us House of Strauss is 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.159 his podcast. It's a really really good when a smart 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.679 way at looking at the game. Uh, that that we 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:10.720 all love. I encourage you to download it. He's kind 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.679 of to join us here on the All Ball podcast. Um, 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:18.240 I'm Doug gottlieb Okay, so ah, what about Summer League? 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:20.280 I know you spend time there. I don't want to 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.080 go too crazy about it. Most people know Miles Simon 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.000 is my best friend in basketball. He did a great job. 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:29.760 He's done an incredible job helping these young players develop. 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.479 And I really think that people are starting to see 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.640 what the Lakers are building around Lebron James slowly kind 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:41.240 of morphin come together. Am I overvaluing what I saw 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:44.359 from Josh Hart and the assumption that others in the 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.879 Purple and Gold are going to improve, maybe not at 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:50.320 the exact same level, but at a similar level around him. 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:54.000 I don't know if you're overrated because they loved Josh 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:58.040 Harten Turtley and have loved Josh Harden. Maybe the thing 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:01.320 to um, maybe the negative be the downside is more 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.560 the organizational chaos is chaos is too strong word. I'm 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.520 not sure that this odd situation where Lebron effectively is 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.040 an agent as well as a superstar basketball player, where 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:15.320 the Lakers love Josh Hart. Okay, so they love Josh Hart, 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.560 then why would you give contagious call twelve million dollars 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:20.840 considering everything going to happen last year? I think we 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:22.840 all know why. I think we know it doesn't have 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.359 a lot to do with how well because he's play 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:28.600 of last year, right, because he's wrapped by Chris Paul, Right, 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:30.720 And you want to say that I didn't like it either, 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.720 and I know he was. They didn't love him, But 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:38.000 I think that's what that's about, right, Yeah, That's what 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:41.320 that's about it. And so I guess the question is 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.960 is that can you can you have things happen like 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:46.879 that on the margins and still be successful. You certainly 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.560 could in the past with Lebron and his full prime, 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:51.760 and it's why it's very difficult. I think it's le 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.600 brought anything because you can tell him that a lot 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:56.480 of the things you do with his teammates aren't the 0:18:56.480 --> 0:18:58.760 best A lot of things you knew might be a 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:02.560 little destabilizing too, anganization, and he can point to absolutely 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:05.880 just a ruinous situation in Cleveland that he turned into 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:09.240 a championship. So I think it's difficult to tell him anything. 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:12.359 But I do wonder if, at this phase in his career, 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.000 um if it's if you can have things like that 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.600 continue to happen on the margin and have the level 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:21.000 of success that you want to have in a conference that, 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.720 let's face it is almost like an entirely different lead 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:26.280 than the East. It's almost like the East is triple 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:28.480 A and this is the Major's I don't know if 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:31.359 you can do that, and maybe you can, but I 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:35.040 have my suspicions. I have my reservation. I do I 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:37.000 do as well. What do you make of the Jimmy 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:41.560 Butler situation? I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't know. 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:43.240 I mean, is it is it fair just to not 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:45.280 have a good take on that one? Let's hear what? Okay? 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:47.120 This is now, this is not what you want from 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:48.520 a guest at all, But I'm going to ask you 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:50.080 for your take and maybe I'll riff on it. What 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.359 is your take on the Jimmy Butler situation. If I'm honest, 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:54.920 If I'm honest, all I really wanted to talk about 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:57.560 when I came on here was the war that you're 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:01.879 having on Twitter over this whole soccer US soccer player situation. 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:04.959 That was the conversation. Well, we'll get to that one. 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:06.720 We'll get to that in one second. I know it's all, 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:10.720 but but real, real quickly. And Jimmy Butler, I think 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:14.240 he knows those dudes, those aren't his kind of dudes. Um, 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:17.280 it's just not he's not buying into it. I think 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:20.400 he wants to be frankly in l a uh. If not, 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:22.600 he would find some other big market. But I think 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.160 he's tired of messing around with it. I think like 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:27.600 that guy's we talked about guys being wired differently. I 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.159 think Jimmy Butler is wired to where he wants a 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:32.040