Speaker 1: Welcome to No Dunks. I'm tas Melie here with the Fellows, Skeets,
Speaker 1: Trey Lee and j D. And we were very excited
Speaker 1: to have in studio Washington Wizards, beat writer for The
Speaker 1: Athletic and host of Wizards After Dark, a Wizard's postgame podcast.
Speaker 1: He used to cover the Thunder. He loves a good pun.
Speaker 1: Fred Katz is in the building. Fred, thanks so much
Speaker 1: for joining us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's amazing to be with the guys to do
Speaker 2: the pun gun. That's just an incredible experience for me.
Speaker 1: We will get to that later. First, we got to
Speaker 1: start with the sad news, the most important news that
Speaker 1: rock the NBA on Sunday, and you were down at
Speaker 1: the Hawks and the Wizards, touching stuff happening all over
Speaker 1: the place with the violation, the twenty four second violation,
Speaker 1: eight second violation to start the game, Tray Young wearing
Speaker 1: the number eight for those two violations and then sharing
Speaker 1: a stories postgame. Just give us the feeling of what
Speaker 1: it was like to be in that building.
Speaker 2: It it was so weird because like and I was,
Speaker 2: I was talking about this with people last night. You
Speaker 2: when you go through tragedy, you kind of want to
Speaker 2: turn to things as distractions, whatever those distractions might be
Speaker 2: in your life, and for a lot of us, it's
Speaker 2: just sports. And it was weird going to the sporting event,
Speaker 2: but having that be the opposite of the distraction, having
Speaker 2: that be the memorial, you kind of didn't know where
Speaker 2: to turn. And it's weird because everybody you talked to
Speaker 2: either knew Kobe or knew someone who knew him, knew
Speaker 2: his family.
Speaker 3: It was.
Speaker 2: It was such a just just dark and horrible experience.
Speaker 2: I think for just everybody involved, it felt like nobody
Speaker 2: really wanted to be there and how how could you?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 1: After going through it, though, do you think looking back
Speaker 1: that they should have played the games? Was it therapeutic
Speaker 1: for people? Was it good for players to just get
Speaker 1: thrown into the fire to be able to instead of
Speaker 1: be sitting at home and grieving, to be able to
Speaker 1: be with their colleagues who were sharing the same experience
Speaker 1: as them.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I've thought about it a lot. I kind of understand
Speaker 2: both perspectives. Like for Isaiah Thomas, No, like Isaiah Thomas,
Speaker 2: he was super close with Kobe, and he said after
Speaker 2: the game that he thought the games should have been canceled,
Speaker 2: and that's a perfectly legit way to feel. I think
Speaker 2: everybody kind of grieves in their own way. I'm sure
Speaker 2: there were players like I think it was Kawhi right
Speaker 2: who said last night that Kobe would have wanted them
Speaker 2: to play. So I think everybody just kind of grieves
Speaker 2: in their own way. Kyrie Irving, you know, missed last
Speaker 2: night's game for personal reasons, reasons, like everybody just kind
Speaker 2: of needs to handle it in their own way. I
Speaker 2: don't know what the league could have done, because it
Speaker 2: must have been I imagine, just so difficult that Rockets
Speaker 2: game was about to tip off when when the news
Speaker 2: came out, and it must have just been so difficult
Speaker 2: from a logistical perspective to to figure out what to
Speaker 2: do in such a short time frame. So I don't
Speaker 2: think it's worth like making any sort of criticism of
Speaker 2: the league because I don't I can't imagine a way
Speaker 2: that you could handle that well, you know, so I
Speaker 2: don't know. I imagine it's different for everybody.
Speaker 1: Well, you've you've already written about the game, your experience there.
Speaker 1: Do you mind sharing with us here the Player's Tribune
Speaker 1: story about Kobe that you shared in your article today.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I love that story.
Speaker 2: So I was I was chatting with with with someone
Speaker 2: who worked at the Players Tribune like years ago, and
Speaker 2: I had this conversation with this person like must have
Speaker 2: been it was. It was years ago for sure, not
Speaker 2: too long after Kobe wrote to your Basketball. This person
Speaker 2: told me that, you know, during Players Tribune, it's like
Speaker 2: the players aren't aren't writing a lot of That's what unbelievable,
Speaker 2: just hacking away at the computers. It's it's unbelievable that
Speaker 2: like Kevin Duran is not Walt Whitman.
Speaker 1: I believed Chris Humphrey's swimming stories though I believe I
Speaker 1: believe he.
Speaker 3: Probably did.
Speaker 2: He probably did Chris Humphreys being a being a legitimate,
Speaker 2: amazing swimmer and beating Michael Phelps. It is one of
Speaker 2: the most incredible niche NBA things. But yeah, so the
Speaker 2: players don't really read that. So they'll do an interview
Speaker 2: and and a ghost writer will will pennant first, you know,
Speaker 2: first person, or or maybe they'll write something and they'll
Speaker 2: get heavily edited and they'll go in and that makes
Speaker 2: perfect sense because it's all the stuff on there is
Speaker 2: really well written. So so it makes perfect sense. And uh,
Speaker 2: this person told me that the the only piece that
Speaker 2: they ever received, and the person was like, you have
Speaker 2: to run this. This is perfect, don't edit it. It's beautiful.
Speaker 2: Was when Kobe sent in to your basketball Wow, and
Speaker 2: they were like, this is really good. It's Kobe, Like
Speaker 2: what are we going to do? I guess we just
Speaker 2: we run it. They ran it and then he turns
Speaker 2: it into an aimute short and it wins an oscar
Speaker 2: and it's like this this, and I just think it's
Speaker 2: so you know, I didn't know Kobe, but I just
Speaker 2: think it's so from everything that you hear about him,
Speaker 2: read about him, the way he talked about the mom
Speaker 2: of mentality is a lifestyle and not a basketball persona.
Speaker 2: I just I always thought that story was incredible, and
Speaker 2: so I hit up this person yesterday and I was like,
Speaker 2: you have to let me tell this story. It is
Speaker 2: it is such a great way to kind of remember
Speaker 2: his character, I thought, And so I wrote that yesterday.
Speaker 1: That was phenomenal. It was great in clue that there
Speaker 1: are stories coming out of that Hawk's Wizard's game as well,
Speaker 1: just showing how as you said, the mom mentality dedicated
Speaker 1: to what he did dedicated also now to his in
Speaker 1: the past few years since his retirement, to his children,
Speaker 1: and Trey Jung talked about postgame how Gigi Giana, his
Speaker 1: late daughter now was loving the way Trey Young was
Speaker 1: playing basketball. So Kobe reached out to Trey Young's trainer
Speaker 1: and made that connection for Gigi to be able to
Speaker 1: train with that trainer because he wanted to see that connection.
Speaker 1: He wanted that for his child. And I thought that
Speaker 1: was a great story, and that's how their sort of relationship,
Speaker 1: Kobe and Trey Young's relationship sort of blossomed, and it
Speaker 1: was great. I don't know how a lot of these
Speaker 1: guys stood on the podium post game and verbally eloquently
Speaker 1: were able to tell their stories, but Trey was, and
Speaker 1: you know, I think it was all in all. I
Speaker 1: think it was therapeutic and it was very very difficult
Speaker 1: for people, but I think it was sort of it
Speaker 1: was a good thing in the end. But we can
Speaker 1: move on now to a little wizard's talk. What we
Speaker 1: what we booked you in here for everyone's favorite thing
Speaker 1: a while ago.
Speaker 3: Wizard stop, Well, I.
Speaker 4: Love, honestly in all honesty that we had because we
Speaker 4: came in late last night to do the podcast talking
Speaker 4: about Kobe and trying to wrap our heads around our fields.
Speaker 4: And like I think, like most people I'm sure listening
Speaker 4: to this today or whenever they're listening to it, are
Speaker 4: still like in a funk, sad, obviously grieving. I know
Speaker 4: I am, But I will say I love seeing Fred
Speaker 4: Katz's face in this studio. He's got a great He's
Speaker 4: just a lovable looking guy, smiley guy. So I'm happy
Speaker 4: that you know, by no means what we're moving on
Speaker 4: already or stuff like that, but it is a little
Speaker 4: bit back to business, that MoMA mentality. And I'm happy
Speaker 4: that you are here today, even around these weird, unfortunate circumstances.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm very excited to be here.
Speaker 2: I think you guys, you guys provide a wonderful experience,
Speaker 2: which is that you make people laugh when they need
Speaker 2: to try.
Speaker 4: So we tried to. We got a great Kobe story
Speaker 4: from le last night asking about the World Cup.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm trying. I'm trying to dig it up if
Speaker 5: I can. If I can, You've got the clip. I've
Speaker 5: got the clip. I just it's on a drive. I'm
Speaker 5: trying to see if I can access the drives.
Speaker 3: Oh JD.
Speaker 4: Sorry, you're gonna be.
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk. Let's talk some Wizards like Yeah,
Speaker 1: because it's not as depressing as it seemed to be
Speaker 1: coming into the season, I think, yeah, fred Zog, Yeah.
Speaker 3: That's true. That's that's that's that's.
Speaker 1: True because I think there are some likable characters. It has.
Speaker 1: It has been a positive viewing experience for the casual
Speaker 1: NBA fan too. They look, they watch some of these
Speaker 1: games and they say, WHOA, I like these guys. You know,
Speaker 1: Mura very likable guy. You mentioned the new Isaiah Thomas.
Speaker 1: There's stories like Davis Burton's, Garrison Matthews. Garrison Matthews. In general,
Speaker 1: has covering the Wizard's been fun this year?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it actually has. It has. The defenses is wild.
Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred and fifty two On Sunday they gave
Speaker 1: up to the Atlanta Hawks.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm pretty sure that the Hawks and Wizards have
Speaker 2: been involved in every one hundred and fifty point games
Speaker 2: so far this year, so that one of them would
Speaker 2: score one fifty two against the other is pretty perfect.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, it's it's wild.
Speaker 2: I mean John Collins had about seven hundred sixty eight
Speaker 2: dunks in the first three minutes of that game, and
Speaker 2: I had no reaction to them.
Speaker 3: It's just like, this is what it's supposed to look like.
Speaker 2: But they what's weird about it, and it kind of
Speaker 2: tells like a tale of expectations and how they affect
Speaker 2: the way we watch things is that this year's team
Speaker 2: is pacing to win fewer games than last year's team,
Speaker 2: which won thirty two. This year they're fifteen and thirty.
Speaker 2: And yet the vibe could not be more different this
Speaker 2: year than it was last year. I mean, last year
Speaker 2: was a really depressing locker room. They kind of had
Speaker 2: strife at the beginning of the year, and then I
Speaker 2: thought it just kind of turned very apathetic and going
Speaker 2: through the motions. By the end of the year, everyone
Speaker 2: you could tell, was very excited for the season to end.
Speaker 2: Like everybody, not just the players, just everybody. I think
Speaker 2: the coaching staff, Scott Brooks, everybody was just like, let's
Speaker 2: move on to next year and make this happen.
Speaker 3: They tore it down, brought in all new people.
Speaker 2: They have a good locker room now, they get along
Speaker 2: really well. Look, they don't play defense, but like this
Speaker 2: is the classic case of just not having defensive ability.
Speaker 2: They play hard, they try really hard. It's not like
Speaker 2: last year they didn't play defense because they just wouldn't rotate.
Speaker 2: Jeff Green had like an eleven game stretch where he
Speaker 2: didn't have an offensive rebound. He was playing the four
Speaker 2: for the entire time.
Speaker 4: It was fun.
Speaker 2: It was demagio, like it was amazing, and like that
Speaker 2: was the vibe last year, but this year, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: they're giving up one forty, but they're they're scoring, you know,
Speaker 2: one twenty five and Jordan McCrae is randomly going for
Speaker 2: twenty four off the bench, And it's likable personalities and
Speaker 2: it's just a different sort of feeling, you know.
Speaker 4: Do they talk about their defensive struggles like is just
Speaker 4: a known thing within the locker room even.
Speaker 2: Like yeah, we're just yeah, yeah, Like I think one
Speaker 2: of them could be listening to this podcast and hearing
Speaker 2: everything I just said. Instead of coming up to me
Speaker 2: tomorrow and being like, what are you doing talking about
Speaker 2: us like that, they would just be non long be
Speaker 2: like yeah, right. They're very they're very self aware. I
Speaker 2: think they've given up enough points that I haven't checked
Speaker 2: where their defensive efficiency is after last night, But they
Speaker 2: had the second worst since the NBA started tracking per
Speaker 2: possession data in nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 3: Going to last night, and.
Speaker 2: I guess after giving up one fifty two, it might
Speaker 2: have gone out well.
Speaker 1: When David Aldridge, the Great Hall of Famer David Aldridge
Speaker 1: on the Athletic is using the acronym DFL dead fucking
Speaker 1: last to explain the wizard's efficiency on defense. That is something.
Speaker 1: I mean that he used that in a story and
Speaker 1: I was like that. I said that out loud yesterday
Speaker 1: while I was reading it. I was like, what, there's
Speaker 1: something going on, but you said that STREI free and
Speaker 1: that's what they've been making headlines for the last few years.
Speaker 1: That's those are the headlines. There's something going on, marching
Speaker 1: Gortets get into it, John Walllet, et cetera, et cetera,
Speaker 1: et cetera. That must be nice that that's what happened.
Speaker 2: I see people like to read about the drama. I
Speaker 2: hate covering the drama like I would. It's so much
Speaker 2: more fun to just be around people who like each other.
Speaker 2: You know, from a personal perspective, it's more fun to
Speaker 2: cover positive things, you know, even though they lose, Like
Speaker 2: Garrison Matthews that was a fun story.
Speaker 3: Yan maheeme hit threes.
Speaker 2: Hitting threes is outraged no one in the world. Okay,
Speaker 2: So Kevin Arnovitz sat on a podcast not long ago
Speaker 2: that the most exciting second in basketball is when John
Speaker 2: Morant's in the air and you don't know what he's
Speaker 2: gonna do. And I think it's when Yan Mahimi is raising.
Speaker 3: And you know who agrees with me.
Speaker 6: So he's loving it. He's just loving He's like, I
Speaker 6: got the green light. I'm yan MAHEMI I can shoot
Speaker 6: any three I want. Is that actually the philosophy? They're like,
Speaker 6: anybody can shoot, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, well he he legit worked really hard on
Speaker 2: shooting threes for like years and just finally implemented it.
Speaker 3: But he is so proud. He's so proud because he
Speaker 3: worked so hard.
Speaker 2: At it, and he's so proud, and he gets so
Speaker 2: giddy whenever he makes a three, and Yan is like
Speaker 2: beloved as a teammate, and so everyone else is really
Speaker 2: everyone else gets so excited because they have the same
Speaker 2: reaction that we do whenever Yon rises for a three,
Speaker 2: and like he hits you watch him in practice and
Speaker 2: open gym, and he's just draining him over and over again.
Speaker 2: This is like a dude who would never step out
Speaker 2: four years ago, and it's uh, it's it's hilarious, it's great.
Speaker 2: When he hit his first career three last year, I
Speaker 2: vividly remember him walking out of the locker room.
Speaker 3: He's got three daughters.
Speaker 2: Him walking out of the locker room with like his
Speaker 2: young daughter, maybe three years old or so, and he's
Speaker 2: holding her and I see them from afar and I
Speaker 2: just see him go, hold up his fingers and go No.
Speaker 3: One, two three. It was one of the most adorable
Speaker 3: moments I've ever seen.
Speaker 4: How long have you been covering the Wizards now year
Speaker 4: and a half, year and a half and before that
Speaker 4: you're covering the Thunder?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 4: For how long in total for them?
Speaker 3: A little over two years?
Speaker 1: Okay, So you had a little break there where you
Speaker 1: covered the Celtics.
Speaker 3: Yes, oh, clf taste just to day. I covered the
Speaker 3: Celtics for.
Speaker 2: As long as one possibly can without covering a Celtics game.
Speaker 2: I went in the week after they lost in the
Speaker 2: conference finals and left the day before media day.
Speaker 4: Okay, it was tremendous, But how I guess, like, especially
Speaker 4: with the Thunder and Westbrook being on that team. Yeah,
Speaker 4: it is. It completely different, the vibe of the of
Speaker 4: the locker room, the organization, Yeah it is.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, I mean Westbrook locker room is just
Speaker 2: totally different from any other kind of locker room, you
Speaker 2: know where, especially when the media is in there. I'm
Speaker 2: sure it's different when when the media lea is but
Speaker 2: when the media is in there, you you almost feel
Speaker 2: like you have to whisper, you know, you can't distract anything.
Speaker 2: You have to be as unseen as you possibly can.
Speaker 5: You.
Speaker 2: I would very rarely pregame even go you know, I
Speaker 2: had a good relationship with Steven Adams, and I would
Speaker 2: very rarely even go to Steven Adams's locker pregame, just
Speaker 2: to ask him how he was doing, to have a
Speaker 2: conversation with him, because his locker was on the side
Speaker 2: of the locker room that Russ's was on, and we like,
Speaker 2: just you don't broach that territory unless you absolutely had to.
Speaker 3: Almost so I would end up pregame.
Speaker 2: If I ever had to talk to anybody, I would
Speaker 2: go talk to Jeremy Grant or Alexabrinez just because because
Speaker 2: of the just because of geography. Wow, yeah, it was
Speaker 2: just a very It was a very different vibe, and
Speaker 2: that's from a media perspective obviously, but it was, you know,
Speaker 2: this locker room.
Speaker 3: Is like like loud.
Speaker 2: The Wizard's one is loud and boisterous and much younger, right,
Speaker 2: and you know they're like.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're not walking on eggshells.
Speaker 3: No, not in the least.
Speaker 2: Like you can you know, you can, you can have
Speaker 2: you know, conversations with guys, and just because to me,
Speaker 2: the the best part of the game is of the
Speaker 2: job is not like walking up to.
Speaker 3: People and interviewing them.
Speaker 2: It's it's being able to go up to John Wall
Speaker 2: and being like, you see Zion's debut, how how crazy
Speaker 2: was that seventeen point stretch? And then John's like it
Speaker 2: was amazing? And then you're just talking basketball with people
Speaker 2: who have this unbelievable basketball knowledge, Like how cool is that?
Speaker 3: You know? And so being able to do that is
Speaker 3: so much fun for me.
Speaker 5: That must have been crazy though, with Westbrook and Steven Adams,
Speaker 5: because Steven Adams seems the opposite that he'll talk about anything,
Speaker 5: and he's loose and he's care free. So when you
Speaker 5: got him there and you got Russell Westbrook there, you
Speaker 5: still wanted to stay away from from Steven Andrew didn't
Speaker 5: sort of want to go in and.
Speaker 3: See what pregame.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, pregame for sure because it just wasn't it
Speaker 2: wasn't worth making my life more difficult. Usually I could
Speaker 2: talk to him at another time and that would kind
Speaker 2: of be it.
Speaker 3: So yeah, yeah, it was just it's difficult to.
Speaker 2: Cover a Westbrook team. You kind of have to figure
Speaker 2: out ways to like, yeah, like you can, you can
Speaker 2: try to win the battle, but like probably gonna lose
Speaker 2: the war.
Speaker 5: Do you feel though that Westbrook respected you?
Speaker 3: No, not at all. No, No, very few people respect me,
Speaker 3: even my mother.
Speaker 2: Wizards.
Speaker 3: I don't blame him for that.
Speaker 5: What was it that Steven just to say at the
Speaker 5: end of.
Speaker 2: A scrum fairy well, golden horses.
Speaker 3: I asked him once, what say it all the time?
Speaker 3: I asked him once?
Speaker 4: So good?
Speaker 3: I asked him once what that meant?
Speaker 2: And he said, I don't know, May just trying English.
Speaker 1: Uh, it must be a little bit different, a little different.
Speaker 2: Stephen's a gem now. He is genuinely one of the
Speaker 2: funniest people I've ever met.
Speaker 5: Yeah, have you crossed path with him since you've been.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I did a story on him like a month
Speaker 2: and a half ago or so about how he walks
Speaker 2: around bear for.
Speaker 3: Ye Yeah, yeah, he's he's a character.
Speaker 4: I love that. That could be a story.
Speaker 3: Yeah, with Stephen Adams.
Speaker 2: That can be because because my story, well, the the
Speaker 2: story was like it started two and a half years
Speaker 2: ago because I saw him wearing sandals and shorts in
Speaker 2: Utah and I was like, what are you doing it?
Speaker 2: It was in like December or January, and I was like,
Speaker 2: what are you doing wearing sandals in shorts in Utah?
Speaker 2: And I was like, I wear sandals and shorts ever everywhere.
Speaker 2: Sometimes I don't wear sandals at all. I just walk
Speaker 2: around barefoot. And He's just like sometimes just he just
Speaker 2: shows up to work sometimes just literally not wearing shoes.
Speaker 3: It's it's it's unbelievable.
Speaker 2: And so it started there and then I just hit
Speaker 2: up the Thunder and I was like, I really want.
Speaker 3: To do this story.
Speaker 2: All it is is just a showcase of Steven's personality.
Speaker 2: Like I'm just let's just put a microphone in his face.
Speaker 2: If I started asking him about feet, he's gonna say
Speaker 2: some weird stuff. Yeah, So let's just let's just showcase
Speaker 2: Stephen's personality, and we'll use the barefoot thing as a
Speaker 2: vehicle to let Stephen be really funny. And the appeal
Speaker 2: of the story is just going to be look at
Speaker 2: all of these hilarious quotes from Steven Adams and then
Speaker 2: nailed it.
Speaker 1: And that's why it was a story. When Chris Paul
Speaker 1: bought all of his ok See teammates suits and Steven
Speaker 1: Adams actually wore he actually wore pants. Yes, that was
Speaker 1: the story because he wore pants. Incredible. All right, let's
Speaker 1: get back to the Wizards. Just for a brief moment here.
Speaker 1: He said, everybody is joevial. There is one guy who
Speaker 1: is frustrated. Bradley Beal, the best player. He's frustrated with
Speaker 1: the play in general. He did sign a quote unquote
Speaker 1: contract extension this season. I say quote unquote because it's
Speaker 1: a year plus a player option. I saw that and
Speaker 1: I said, okay, he's giving the team sometime to turn
Speaker 1: things around. But really it's just a one year extension.
Speaker 1: In all actual he's gonna be there for a while
Speaker 1: through twenty twenty two, player option for twenty two to
Speaker 1: twenty three, but he can be traded next year. I
Speaker 1: just bring that up because he's frustrated. How long can
Speaker 1: he stay frustrated for? Can this go on forever? Like
Speaker 1: he's obviously dedicating himself. He talked to Chris Handes this week.
Speaker 1: He compared himself to Damian Lillard. Does a one team
Speaker 1: type of guy ideally, but will it boil over it?
Speaker 1: At some point? Do you think it.
Speaker 2: Will boil over if they start to win? When John
Speaker 2: Wall comes back next year, that's that's when he's fine.
Speaker 2: I think he's frustrated because they lost fifty last year
Speaker 2: and they're gonna lose fifty plus again this year, and
Speaker 2: he doesn't like to lose. And I don't agree. You know,
Speaker 2: when Brad said that stuff about being frustrated with the culture,
Speaker 2: and you know, then he was asked about the culture,
Speaker 2: you know, hows the culture have to change? And he said,
Speaker 2: start winning games. I don't agree with the people who
Speaker 2: compare that to Kevin Love in Cleveland. I think it's
Speaker 2: okay to sign an extension knowing that the team is
Speaker 2: not going to be good and then still be frustrated
Speaker 2: when the team's not good. I don't think that's the
Speaker 2: same thing as putting on public displays of being pissed
Speaker 2: off and showing it on the court and letting it
Speaker 2: affect your play and your leadership. It's different when you
Speaker 2: just like kind of have a moment when you say
Speaker 2: it in a postgame interview and doing that on the court.
Speaker 2: You know, I think you're allowed to be upset when
Speaker 2: you lose, no matter whether you extended or whether you
Speaker 2: desperately won out. I think for Brad, his number one
Speaker 2: choice is like he wants to win in Washington, and
Speaker 2: he's said it many times. Like I think he's he's
Speaker 2: big on the on the Dirk thing. Like I think
Speaker 2: that Dirk title really really affected him in that he's
Speaker 2: a big believer, Like that one title that Dirk got
Speaker 2: after being there for what was it thirteen years at
Speaker 2: the time, Right after being there for thirteen years and
Speaker 2: they had all those playoff failures and all those struggles,
Speaker 2: and they go through it and Dirk carries him to
Speaker 2: a title, like he wants that.
Speaker 4: It's that idea that one title can oddly mean more
Speaker 4: than win in five or something like that. Yeah, one special.
Speaker 1: Way this week, Yeah, yeah, exactly that.
Speaker 2: So they opened up in Dallas this year and I
Speaker 2: was talking to him, and I was talking to him
Speaker 2: just about like the concept of loyalty, and we're there
Speaker 2: in Dallas, and I was what is what is loyalty
Speaker 2: to you? And I think he got a little frustrated.
Speaker 2: He I know, he got a little frustrated with me
Speaker 2: because I think he thought that I was like questioning
Speaker 2: whether or not he was being honest and and he
Speaker 2: said to me, like, no, loyalty is that And he
Speaker 2: pointed to the Dirk silhouette on the court in Dallas.
Speaker 3: He's like, that's what I want. I want that.
Speaker 2: And I think he's being genuine in that. So I
Speaker 2: think I think he would like to win the most
Speaker 2: in Washington. That being said, if they don't get their
Speaker 2: stuff together and they don't start to win at some point,
Speaker 2: I don't think and you know this is just me
Speaker 2: just talking. I don't know if like it's a thing
Speaker 2: where it's like I'll stay here for twenty years even
Speaker 2: if we lose fifty games for sixteen of them. I
Speaker 2: don't think that's gonna be the case. So the Wizards
Speaker 2: say they want to try to win next year. John
Speaker 2: Wallace coming back and they're gonna have another high pick
Speaker 2: and their young guys is you know, the rehatch meurs
Speaker 2: of the world to get a little bit older, and
Speaker 2: I think they will be better. We'll see what they
Speaker 2: do this summer. But but you know, the I would
Speaker 2: not say the clock is ticking at all with brad
Speaker 2: Like it's three years. It's it's too early for this.
Speaker 2: But his his heart is for sure in DC.
Speaker 4: I don't know if it's the way he carries himself too.
Speaker 4: I always forget Bradley Beal's only twenty six. He seems
Speaker 4: like a more he's a vest right, But in my head,
Speaker 4: I'm like, oh, yeah, you gotta start thinking about like
Speaker 4: trying to get that ring. Like he's not in any rush,
Speaker 4: but he's still very very young.
Speaker 2: He's at the very beginning of his prime. Yeah, he's
Speaker 2: just a very polished person.
Speaker 3: So he comes off as as older, you know, Lizer.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like I'm four years older than him, and I
Speaker 2: don't I don't feel like like I'm way yet. No.
Speaker 3: I spend like way too much time in my underpants.
Speaker 4: Steven Adams about.
Speaker 1: It, Well, I think the point about just the way
Speaker 1: he carries himself is important because he also it's important
Speaker 1: as far as basketball goes, too, because he also doesn't
Speaker 1: go out there on social media. He's not a talker
Speaker 1: out there, and so he feels I've heard him talk
Speaker 1: about his lack of exposure sort of hurts his rep
Speaker 1: around the league and potentially his All Star appearance. He
Speaker 1: talked about him not being, you know, pretty low in
Speaker 1: the fan vote. I think he was ninth overall in
Speaker 1: guards even though he's a two time All Star and
Speaker 1: balling out this year again because he's a great player.
Speaker 1: Do you think that lack of exposure sort of hurts
Speaker 1: his rep around the league or is it just sort
Speaker 1: of with fans And I guess you can go into
Speaker 1: whether or not you think he'll be named a reserve
Speaker 1: on Thursday when TNT announces the All Star reserves.
Speaker 3: I do think he'll be named a reserve.
Speaker 2: I think the coaches tend to reward the guys who
Speaker 2: have been.
Speaker 1: There, so I ranked they you know, the players ranked
Speaker 1: him extremely high. The fans obviously did not.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think I don't know. It's
Speaker 2: hard to say if it hurts his rep around the
Speaker 2: league because he did finish second the player vote, But
Speaker 2: at the same time last year, he was the last
Speaker 2: pick in the All.
Speaker 3: Star Draft, and so it's a weird.
Speaker 1: DC.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it mean, I mean, look, DC, it's weird because
Speaker 2: DC is a great high school basketball market, and yet
Speaker 2: the Wizards fan base is not too large and is
Speaker 2: not that passionate, and so you know, the Wizards have
Speaker 2: to be really good to get a lot of national
Speaker 2: TV games and that kind of stuff. I don't know
Speaker 2: how much that affects players. I feel like players tend
Speaker 2: to a big difference between players and fans. As players,
Speaker 2: I think more so tend to prioritize the guy who
Speaker 2: can just square.
Speaker 3: You up and get a bucket against you.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 2: And Bradley Beal can definitely hex averaging twenty eight a game,
Speaker 2: and he's running an offense that we all thought didn't
Speaker 2: have very much talent coming into the year and is
Speaker 2: in the top half of the league in efficiency now yeah,
Speaker 2: and can doubled every single game. And yeah, so I
Speaker 2: think the players, I would say, the players do respect
Speaker 2: him because of the way the coaches game plan against him,
Speaker 2: because the way the players guard him. Because he was
Speaker 2: second in the player vote, I mean that's probably the
Speaker 2: best example.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but but not being famous has to hurt him
Speaker 2: in the fan vote. Yeah, I mean, just I mean,
Speaker 2: you know, not being famous comparatively obviously, but he also,
Speaker 2: like I I think I don't think it bothers him
Speaker 2: that much because he doesn't go out of his way
Speaker 2: to do this stuff. Like he he doesn't really care
Speaker 2: that much about going and doing national commercials and and
Speaker 2: being really famous and trying for He.
Speaker 3: Really likes memes. He does. He does enjoy being memes.
Speaker 3: He enjoys.
Speaker 4: So he must have loved the whole interaction you have
Speaker 4: with the fan right shot and gave classic look.
Speaker 2: He he recreated it with the Wizard's Twitter account right
Speaker 2: and yeah, yeah, he he enjoys being memed. I don't
Speaker 2: think he'll ever say it out loud. No one becomes
Speaker 2: memes that often and doesn't doesn't, you know, isn't in
Speaker 2: on the joke. So he definitely enjoys that. But other
Speaker 2: than that, like he's he's not trying for for massive
Speaker 2: national deals like he just he's not very attention seeking,
Speaker 2: which makes him that's I think that contributes that you know,
Speaker 2: polished personality and stuff and makes him kind of a
Speaker 2: not very celebrity type personality and certainly makes him more relatable.
Speaker 2: But you know, also it's not going to make him
Speaker 2: as famous.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I did see him. He was pissed about the
Speaker 1: fan vote. But yeah, you're right. I mean, I guess
Speaker 1: he's not into but he's just not into the whole. Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm on Instagram.
Speaker 2: No, he's just like a He just wants to hang
Speaker 2: out with his family, hang out with his kids, hang
Speaker 2: out with his fiance.
Speaker 3: A good wholesome fun.
Speaker 1: Speaking of his fiance, he had a baby a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago. I think he's got two under two now,
Speaker 1: and he said he gained a lot of sympathy weight.
Speaker 1: You gained You actually joined the Wizards right when he
Speaker 1: had that child, so did you. He said he gained
Speaker 1: twenty pounds of pizza and ice cream. That's what he said.
Speaker 1: It was just late night pizza and ice cream. Did
Speaker 1: you see that in in the Panda? In the Big Panda.
Speaker 2: You're gonna ask me if I gained sympathy for a second.
Speaker 2: I've been I've been gaining unintentional sympathy weight.
Speaker 3: For years, sympathy for everyone.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you're ready.
Speaker 3: So much bad stuff in the world, guys, I need
Speaker 3: ice cream? Did did I know?
Speaker 2: I did not notice the the sympathy waight?
Speaker 3: I wish I wish I had what a question would
Speaker 3: that be? In a scrum postgam follow up?
Speaker 1: The defense.
Speaker 3: Is that Ben and Jerry's Brad. We've we've seen recently.
Speaker 4: You know John Wall pre game he's working out. You
Speaker 4: know you see the clip. Well John Wall still looks amazing.
Speaker 4: What what is the latest on on him coming back
Speaker 4: from the jury. Where what do we know or what
Speaker 4: do you know? As the Wizard's Peede.
Speaker 2: Reporter, I I still don't expect him to come back
Speaker 2: this year. I think when he comes back, he wants
Speaker 2: to be like back and there's no rush. It's not
Speaker 2: like they're pushing for the playoffs. And I think one
Speaker 2: thing that we have to remember, and it's really important,
Speaker 2: is that when people watch him and he's going against
Speaker 2: player development staff or whatever it is, and it's it's fun.
Speaker 2: It's really cool to watch that kind of stuff and
Speaker 2: be able to sit there and like watch John Wall
Speaker 2: when we have our you know, our camera phones up,
Speaker 2: watch John Wall dunk and then stare us down because
Speaker 2: he just kind of misses performing as a basketball player.
Speaker 2: You know, like that's always a fun experience. But when
Speaker 2: you watch that stuff, you have to remember it's it's
Speaker 2: not just about the achilles healing, they have to work
Speaker 2: on everything else. Like DeMarcus Cousins is the saddest example
Speaker 2: of this, right where he comes back from an achilles
Speaker 2: and then has a compensatory injury. And so it's not
Speaker 2: just about like healing the achilles. You're subconsciously doing so
Speaker 2: much other stuff with your body. You need to get
Speaker 2: into you know, premiere shape, and on top of that,
Speaker 2: you need to it's not just like having a six packs.
Speaker 2: It's it's realizing that you're actually subconsciously putting fifty three
Speaker 2: percent of your body weight on one side when you
Speaker 2: used to put fifty and that makes you more likely
Speaker 2: to an injury on the other side. You know, there
Speaker 2: are all these things that you have to sort out.
Speaker 2: And I don't think anybody, John Wall included, really wants
Speaker 2: to have him rush back and then have another bad
Speaker 2: thing happened to him. So I don't think. I don't
Speaker 2: think John is. I don't get the impression that John
Speaker 2: is pushing them. I have to come back. I have
Speaker 2: to come back, and I don't get the impression that
Speaker 2: they're they're pushing him. I think everybody involved, you know,
Speaker 2: from the doctors to the team to John himself wants
Speaker 2: to be as as cautious as possible. That's why, even
Speaker 2: though I think it's possible, we get to a point
Speaker 2: at the end of the year where like in March,
Speaker 2: it's like John Wall can technically play basketball. I don't
Speaker 2: predict that he's gonna play.
Speaker 4: So you think at the start of next season is.
Speaker 3: What I think?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, his rehab from everything I hear and
Speaker 2: everything I see is right on track. There don't seem
Speaker 2: to be any It seems the timeline seems to be
Speaker 2: pretty pretty much what they expected. So yeah, I would
Speaker 2: everything I hear it seems like he'll be back for
Speaker 2: next year.
Speaker 6: They're planning on winning. You said next year. They hope
Speaker 6: to win at least next year. They got y Meheemei
Speaker 6: shooting threes this year, No big deal. What's the team
Speaker 6: gonna be like then when Wall comes back, because he'll
Speaker 6: be somewhat diminished as a player missing a season and
Speaker 6: a half. In that same time, Beal has become an
Speaker 6: All Star. He'll probably make the All Star Game twice.
Speaker 6: Since John Wall has been out. There were rumors of
Speaker 6: those guys not getting along in the past. You know,
Speaker 6: there was the big blow up at practice with Beal
Speaker 6: when he was upset. Then Beal seems like he should
Speaker 6: be the number one guy when John Wall gets back.
Speaker 6: But Wall also doesn't seem like a guy that's just
Speaker 6: gonna be chilling in the corner waiting for somebody to
Speaker 6: kick him the ball.
Speaker 3: Yeah, how's that gonna work.
Speaker 2: I also think people always talk about it from personality perspective.
Speaker 2: There's just the style, like just the stylistic one.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean John Wall and Bradley Beal had stylistic contrasts
Speaker 2: the last time that John Wall was healthy, right, And
Speaker 2: we talked about just from a basketball fit, not a
Speaker 2: personality fit. And I actually do think I've only been
Speaker 2: on the beat for a year and a half and
Speaker 2: it's plausible their relationship ship has has progressed and improved
Speaker 2: during this time.
Speaker 3: But from I.
Speaker 2: See them together a lot, and they seem to get
Speaker 2: along really well. And I personally have not witnessed the
Speaker 2: relationship stuff that was put out about them before, but
Speaker 2: it's always possible, like when when guys stopped playing together,
Speaker 2: they just treat each other as people and not basketball players,
Speaker 2: And that's still just getting older for sure, and that
Speaker 2: that stylistic contrasts in the court just doesn't come into
Speaker 2: play in the relationship one bit, you know, And and
Speaker 2: I think they both like each other as people a
Speaker 2: lot on the court, though stylistically, the last time Brad,
Speaker 2: John and Brad played together when John was healthy, and
Speaker 2: like I don't consider last year John being healthy because
Speaker 2: he played through the bone, spurs and everything. Brad was
Speaker 2: a different player, Like he wasn't he wasn't running as
Speaker 2: much pick and roll. He wasn't the guy who was
Speaker 2: getting doubled off the dribble, He wasn't getting to the
Speaker 2: rim all the time. He was much more of the
Speaker 2: catch and shoot guy that he was when he came
Speaker 2: into the league. And so it's not even that John
Speaker 2: Wall and Bradley Beal have to kind of get back
Speaker 2: to playing together how they did before. John almost has
Speaker 2: to relearn who Brad is because he's a different player
Speaker 2: than he was two or three years ago. He just
Speaker 2: has a different skill set and plays a different style
Speaker 2: and is best when you use him a different way.
Speaker 2: So I think it's possible, especially in twenty twenty, like
Speaker 2: we've seen, the more ball handlers, the better, Like that
Speaker 2: is the way you optimize your offense. You won as
Speaker 2: many ball handlers and creators on the floor. So I believe,
Speaker 2: like as a basketball person, that the more ball handlers
Speaker 2: you can add, the better. But you need you need
Speaker 2: a coach who's going to be able to sort that out. Well,
Speaker 2: you need players who are willing to figure out how
Speaker 2: to contribute in other ways. And that means you know,
Speaker 2: John Wall figuring out how to be effective off the ball.
Speaker 2: You know, cut better and maybe improve his jump shop,
Speaker 2: but specifically cut better. People don't realize and I didn't
Speaker 2: realize this started covering John. John is a basketball It
Speaker 2: is crazy talking about basketball with him.
Speaker 3: So I think he has for.
Speaker 4: Sure in a sense one of just like he knows
Speaker 4: every playing.
Speaker 3: It's the Lebron stuff and how Lebron like tracks back.
Speaker 4: Plays eight games ago or yeah, eight years ago, and
Speaker 4: in the fifth game of the season, we did this,
Speaker 4: and then they counter.
Speaker 2: With that, yeah, yeah, I can tell you what all
Speaker 2: ten players did on the floor, can tell you why
Speaker 2: they did it. It's it's almost like it's almost like,
Speaker 2: you know, when like a great lawyer can argue either
Speaker 2: side of any case. That's kind of John. You watch
Speaker 2: him make this kind of like reckless turnover and he
Speaker 2: will give you an extraordinarily in depth ex's nose answer
Speaker 2: why he made that turnover, and you're like, yeah, but
Speaker 2: it's still your turnover. But he had such an intelligent
Speaker 2: reason for doing it, and he knows so much more
Speaker 2: than I do.
Speaker 3: So I don't really know what to think of this.
Speaker 2: It's it's kind of an amazing experience covering him in
Speaker 2: that way, and so I think John for sure has
Speaker 2: the intellectual capacity to figure out how to be better
Speaker 2: at moving off the ball and that stuff. I mean,
Speaker 2: we'll see how it meshes when they're back. I don't know,
Speaker 2: but I do think there's a world in which they
Speaker 2: figure out how.
Speaker 3: To make it work.
Speaker 1: It is one of the more fascinating relationships in the
Speaker 1: NBA because the casual fans will say, oh, they don't
Speaker 1: like each other, but Bradley Beiald signs on and he
Speaker 1: must believe that it can work to some degree. And
Speaker 1: he did mention it, as Skeet's mentioned there, that the
Speaker 1: maturity will help them point blank, and maybe maybe he
Speaker 1: mentioned that this week to Chris Hanes because they have
Speaker 1: been off the court and been buddy buddy, but they've
Speaker 1: won playoff rounds together but they haven't gone to a
Speaker 1: conference finals, and it seems like watching it, you know,
Speaker 1: us watching it. These two guys, they're just so good
Speaker 1: and as you said, every team is running multiple ball
Speaker 1: handlers right now, like they should be great and it's
Speaker 1: going to be I guess on coach Scott Brooks to
Speaker 1: make it happen. And let's talk about Scott Brooks. Is
Speaker 1: his job secure for how long?
Speaker 3: Is it secure for it?
Speaker 1: Do you think because of this year? It's gotta be.
Speaker 2: Yes, It's fine now. I have no worries about him
Speaker 2: right now. Whenever there's a GM change in the GM
Speaker 2: and the coach stays, there's always the question of, like
Speaker 2: does he want to hire his own coach. I do
Speaker 2: know Tommy Shepherd, who they hired last summer, and Scott
Speaker 2: Brooks have a very good relationship, and Tommy Shepherd was
Speaker 2: the assistant GM when Scott Brooks was hired. The two
Speaker 2: of them have known each other for a really long time.
Speaker 2: So I don't anticipate anything happening soon. I don't know,
Speaker 2: Like I just I couldn't tell you. People ask me,
Speaker 2: like people ask me that question all the time, what
Speaker 2: about this summer? It's like I don't know that would
Speaker 2: entail predicting the future, and I just have no idea.
Speaker 2: I can tell you for now, Scott Brooks is fine
Speaker 2: and that he's got another year on his contract after
Speaker 2: this one, and I don't anticipate anything happening this season,
Speaker 2: and then this summer will well, you know, just like
Speaker 2: any coach entering the last year on his contract. We'll
Speaker 2: see what happens. But you know, you talk to people
Speaker 2: around the league and people inside the Wizards, and I
Speaker 2: think people are pretty happy with the job that Scott's
Speaker 2: stune with this team. They play, they play really hard,
Speaker 2: and they've somehow him and assistant coach Robert pak who
Speaker 2: runs the offense, they've they've crafted this this offense with
Speaker 2: yan Maheeme bombing, bombing threes, yan Mehimi bombs yeah ma
Speaker 2: three and me he has he has four times.
Speaker 3: As many threes in his career as Ben Simmons right now.
Speaker 5: Well, but it's been more than just jan it's playing
Speaker 5: that the.
Speaker 2: I mean, but that's like props to their coaching staff,
Speaker 2: right for real life. They they use Berton's totally. The
Speaker 2: Spurs would park him in the corner if he took
Speaker 2: some of the shots he's taking on the Spurs, Pop
Speaker 2: would have him parked at the end of the bench.
Speaker 2: He'd never see daylight ever again. Right, So, Like, I
Speaker 2: think it's those sorts of things they've got to They
Speaker 2: had an offense that was top five in the league
Speaker 2: until they had all those injuries. So I think I
Speaker 2: think people have been really impressed with the way they're
Speaker 2: running offense and that kind of stuff, and Scott Scott
Speaker 2: Brooks gets some of the credit for that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's also had to just because of the injuries,
Speaker 4: had to have some of the craziest lineups. Like I mean,
Speaker 4: I like caught myself seeing it the other day, Like,
Speaker 4: all right, is Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton the second then
Speaker 4: Beale Bonga. He Like, what a weird lineup that is,
Speaker 4: just to say here in twenty twenty. Yes, but he's
Speaker 4: been forced to do it. Gotta get a little creative. Obviously,
Speaker 4: he's got the long leash because of this sort of
Speaker 4: year is a bit of a quote unquote, you know,
Speaker 4: sort of a wasted year with the John wall injury.
Speaker 4: But you know, we were talking about some of these guys,
Speaker 4: your Burton's and you know, Hachamura and stuff like that.
Speaker 4: For the injury. Has there been one in particular to
Speaker 4: impress you the most? It is it Jordan McCrae is
Speaker 4: as somebody else that's like maybe just shocked you, and
Speaker 4: you're like, wow, I didn't know this guy could play this.
Speaker 3: Well, it's a good one.
Speaker 2: I mean, does Burton's count Yeah, yeah, I mean if
Speaker 2: if Berton's counts, then it's then it's Burton's.
Speaker 3: Because I didn't.
Speaker 2: Realize he was Everyone knew he was a great shooter, yeah,
Speaker 2: and there was that like niche movement in San Antonio
Speaker 2: that he should have been part of the three point
Speaker 2: Contest last year, But I don't think anybody knew that
Speaker 2: he was just gonna be like bombing from the logo
Speaker 2: all the time.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I also didn't know that he's the most confident man
Speaker 2: in the world.
Speaker 3: Really, Oh my god, Yeah, it is wild.
Speaker 2: I asked him he hit one from the logo one night,
Speaker 2: and I asked him after the game, how far out
Speaker 2: for you?
Speaker 3: Is too far out? And he said, I haven't found
Speaker 3: out ye.
Speaker 5: Perspective.
Speaker 1: So is he going to be there in Chicago at
Speaker 1: the three point Contest?
Speaker 3: Do you think I'd be surprised? I can't imagine they
Speaker 3: wouldn't have him like he.
Speaker 4: He and he would do it in a in a second.
Speaker 2: It sounds like I feel comfortable speaking on behalf of him.
Speaker 2: He will accept that so quickly and answer that thing
Speaker 2: so confidently.
Speaker 5: And quicker than anyone else has ever done it before.
Speaker 5: He'll get get through his recks and.
Speaker 3: You think his release is so quick.
Speaker 2: I'll have some story on his shooting at his confidence
Speaker 2: at some point soon.
Speaker 3: It's it's it's it's really.
Speaker 2: Funny because he's a super nice guy and it comes
Speaker 2: off as very It's never like some people are are
Speaker 2: confident in the great others and he just is so
Speaker 2: confident in the shooting. But it makes sense, like how
Speaker 2: unreasonably confident? How unreasonable is it to start practicing shots
Speaker 2: from the logo right as if as if they're game shots?
Speaker 3: Who would say, who would spot up.
Speaker 2: From forty feet and be like, you know what, I
Speaker 2: feel like there's a reasonable chance I'll be able to
Speaker 2: do this in a game one day.
Speaker 3: Let's get it's not like, yeah, it's not like one
Speaker 3: day he just received the ball in a game at
Speaker 3: the logo. I It's like I'm gonna shoot it. Oh,
Speaker 3: I made it.
Speaker 2: I guess I'll shoot these now he practiced those forever.
Speaker 2: Like who the the unreasonable amount of confidence that you
Speaker 2: have to have in order to just start practicing those
Speaker 2: is beyond me.
Speaker 6: Did the team know that Burton's was going to be
Speaker 6: like this or did he come into training camp and
Speaker 6: they're like, this guy's crazy, because I'm like, you're saying,
Speaker 6: people knew in the Spurs he could shoot, but he's
Speaker 6: not like coming around screens thirty feet out and pulling
Speaker 6: from there, pulling on the brake, that sort of thing.
Speaker 6: Was it like in training camp They're like, well, we
Speaker 6: gotta we gotta find here on our hands.
Speaker 2: I think it was a little bit of a mix
Speaker 2: because he kind of played this way in Europe and
Speaker 2: they have a major, major European scouting staff now. Tommy Shepherd,
Speaker 2: who's their new GM, has a lot of experienced scouting
Speaker 2: in Europe and really loves European players, And they just
Speaker 2: hired a new head of pro personnel, Johnny Rodgers, who
Speaker 2: is one of the most respected international scouts in the league.
Speaker 2: Used to live in Barcelona and.
Speaker 3: Actually played college basketball with Scott Brooks.
Speaker 2: And I think part of their reason for liking him,
Speaker 2: I mean they got him basically for free. So you
Speaker 2: can get a good player for free, you get him
Speaker 2: for free. But I think part of the reason for
Speaker 2: liking him was because of how he played when he
Speaker 2: was in Europe. He'd run off screens more and kind
Speaker 2: of play this style a little bit more. But I
Speaker 2: don't know if anybody realized, like, oh man, this guy
Speaker 2: is gonna have one of the two or three best
Speaker 2: shooting seasons in the NBA and like one of the
Speaker 2: ten best shooting seasons in the history of the league
Speaker 2: as soon as we get them. I don't know if
Speaker 2: that was.
Speaker 4: But you think and they're like, because of the way
Speaker 4: he played in Europe, they're probably in their minds like
Speaker 4: he's just in the Spur system. You know, they got
Speaker 4: boxed up a little bit. We can unleash him. Maybe, Yeah,
Speaker 4: I think they're probably hoping for that.
Speaker 2: I think there was some of that because he did
Speaker 2: play that way in Europe, So I think they and
Speaker 2: they knew that they saw that, But I don't know
Speaker 2: if they were like, yeah, let's let's have him take
Speaker 2: nine threes. Yeah, and and he's gonna make four of them,
Speaker 2: and and he's just gonna be pulling up from thirty five.
Speaker 2: I watch him in practice and he just does catch
Speaker 2: and shoot drills from thirty five feet and he hits
Speaker 2: all of them, and it's crazy, like you can see
Speaker 2: the range in a open gym, but.
Speaker 3: It's just wild.
Speaker 5: Against the Hornets, he hit like I he was eight
Speaker 5: for right, wasn't he? And he was just like the
Speaker 5: ball was just cut crossing halfway and he was just
Speaker 5: letting go of it, you know, I mean, like to
Speaker 5: get that hot. You know, not a lot of guys
Speaker 5: can get quite that hot where they're just like as
Speaker 5: soon as I get the ball, I'm letting it fly.
Speaker 5: But I guess in the system with Washington as well,
Speaker 5: he's got that opportunity this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, in that in that Hornets game, Yeah, hit eight threes.
Speaker 2: And then that Hornets gam they started after his fifth
Speaker 2: one or so because he get he gets when he
Speaker 2: hits them, he hits him in bunches and and so
Speaker 2: they started picking him up like behind half court. And
Speaker 2: there was a play where he's I think it was
Speaker 2: his A three of the game, where he just crosses
Speaker 2: half court and the Wizard just passed it to him
Speaker 2: and there's a guy right in his face and he's
Speaker 2: a few feet in front of the half court line
Speaker 2: on I guess it's technically the wing if I had
Speaker 2: to choose an area of the court, but it's like
Speaker 2: off the wing, and and he just puts it up
Speaker 2: in the hand of his face with nineteen seconds left
Speaker 2: on the shop clock. No, no, no reasonably minded human
Speaker 2: being would ever try this.
Speaker 1: Ever, he's shooting almost nine threes. Game is as he said,
Speaker 1: it's always good to remind yourself. The guy is on
Speaker 1: fire out there.
Speaker 3: And he's a big dude, huge yeah, like sixteen. Yeah,
Speaker 3: he's like six ten.
Speaker 4: Because in your head, like a shooter, you're like, oh, okay,
Speaker 4: he's like six six six seven. It's that tip, you know.
Speaker 4: I don't know, that's where my mind goes.
Speaker 6: You're like, no, this guy's or if you're a six' ten,
Speaker 6: shooter you're Like Steve novak and you're just. Waiting you're
Speaker 6: just waiting for somebody to take you the. Ball you're
Speaker 6: not moving all around the court and. CHUCKING i, mean
Speaker 6: he's on a tiny deal seven million this year and it.
Speaker 6: Expires he's been in trade rumors enough that it's like
Speaker 6: you're just looking at a team that's not doing very
Speaker 6: well in The, wizards and he's playing, well maybe we
Speaker 6: can try to get. Him but it also seems Like
Speaker 6: burton's is the exact kind of player that you would
Speaker 6: want to keep Around John wall And Bradley. Beal so
Speaker 6: what's their thinking coming into the trade deadline? Here are
Speaker 6: they going to look to Move burton's because that seems
Speaker 6: a little silly to.
Speaker 2: Me, NAH i they they insist that they do not
Speaker 2: want to move, him And i'm inclined to believe them
Speaker 2: BECAUSE i THINK i think when a team doesn't want
Speaker 2: to move, somebody even when it's, genuine you, know they
Speaker 2: start to leak out like we don't want to we
Speaker 2: don't want to move this. Guy you, know sources say
Speaker 2: The wizards really want to Keep Davis, burton's Except Tommy
Speaker 2: shepard just came out in an interview and put his
Speaker 2: name on. It it was, like, no we don't want
Speaker 2: to trade. Him we intend to keep. Him it's all
Speaker 2: just working out the numbers from. Here so when YOUR
Speaker 2: gm just comes out and says that in an, interview
Speaker 2: that just kind of puts an end to it all
Speaker 2: of a. Sudden now he has to like not just
Speaker 2: go back on his. Word it's not like he told
Speaker 2: him that, personally he has to go back on his word.
Speaker 2: PUBLICLY I i'm going to put it within the realm
Speaker 2: of possibilities they trade him because there are only so
Speaker 2: many players that you just can't, get you just you,
Speaker 2: know that are totally, untradable that there is not a
Speaker 2: fair offer out there for you to. Get if somebody
Speaker 2: calls them up and offers Them Karl Anthony towns For Davis,
Speaker 2: berton's they might consider breaking their. Word but BUT i
Speaker 2: don't think, REALISTICALLY i think there's a very small chance
Speaker 2: they want to pay. Him like they want to pay
Speaker 2: him so.
Speaker 4: They see him probably a part of the.
Speaker 2: Future, yes they they like What trey, Said like they
Speaker 2: are gushing over the possibility of him playing With john,
Speaker 2: right they are. EVERYONE i, Mean Scott brooks is, dying
Speaker 2: Sciating Bradley. Beal Bradley beal said he's the best shooter
Speaker 2: he's ever. Seen Bradley beal is dying to see him
Speaker 2: play next to you, know play with him And john
Speaker 2: at the same. Time he, Is he's a he's a
Speaker 2: perfect think all the Shooters John wall's gotten Paid, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: Right Jared dudley And Martell webster And Trevor reza and
Speaker 2: all these, Guys and think about how much better of
Speaker 2: a shooter and an off ball Mover Davias burton's is
Speaker 2: than than all those.
Speaker 3: Guys Jarreed.
Speaker 4: Temple, yeah so he's gonna get.
Speaker 3: Paid he is gonna get. Paid he's gonna get paid
Speaker 3: Before John.
Speaker 2: Wall BUT i, COULD i could see them being really good,
Speaker 2: together even If John wall is you, know eighty five
Speaker 2: percent of what he. WAS i.
Speaker 3: COULD i could just See John.
Speaker 2: Wall Like Kirk goldsberry tweeted out something the other day
Speaker 2: That John wall since like twenty fourteen or twenty, fifteen
Speaker 2: is still fifth in THE nba over that time of
Speaker 2: creating corner threes and he's missed like one hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty games during that.
Speaker 1: Span so people would want to play With John wall the.
Speaker 1: Player people would want to play With Bradley beal the.
Speaker 1: Player it would seem like an attractive. Situation you've been
Speaker 1: on the beat for a year and a. Half, there
Speaker 1: you've been to okayc you had a couple coffee with The.
Speaker 1: Celtics would you do you think.
Speaker 3: Is it's like a Mellow atlanta.
Speaker 1: Situation it's it's a huge, city but it's not looked
Speaker 1: at as a desirable. Destination do you think it is
Speaker 1: for free?
Speaker 3: Agents probably, not because nobody's. GONE i love. IT i
Speaker 3: really like D c a lot to, do good food.
Speaker 3: SCENE i don't.
Speaker 2: Know i've never heard AN nba player say, like, yeah you,
Speaker 2: KNOW i signed here BECAUSE i went to The air
Speaker 2: And Space museum and it was just. Beautiful Amelia earhart
Speaker 2: exhibit was unbelievable AND i just had to.
Speaker 3: Go i've never heard.
Speaker 1: That SO.
Speaker 3: I i love D.
Speaker 4: C But Steven adams ever signs In Washington hills something like.
Speaker 6: That they got to get a history buff or something like.
Speaker 3: Museums, yeah that's.
Speaker 2: True Bradley beal likes it a lot. There, yeah obviously wouldn't.
Speaker 2: Stay And i've heard guys who were there Like burton's loves,
Speaker 2: It burton's family loves. It Like i've heard guys who
Speaker 2: are there talk about how once they get, there they're,
Speaker 2: like this is such a great. CITY i don't really
Speaker 2: want to. Go but you know how MANY nba cities
Speaker 2: are really ones that guys sign.
Speaker 3: With for the. City it's very. Few it's Like New, York, La.
Speaker 2: MIAMI i, mean we talked About boston in this way,
Speaker 2: forever and then they Signed Gordon. Hayward Now, horford now
Speaker 2: we don't talk about it this. Way it's, LIKE I
Speaker 2: i feel Like boston AND dc are kind of aligned
Speaker 2: as similar types of, cities but they're really only like
Speaker 2: three cities that we consider destinations Unless i'm, forgetting Like
Speaker 2: chicago doesn't get, anybody and That's, chicago you.
Speaker 1: Know, YEAH i Guess i'm including sort of the, backcourt
Speaker 1: like those dudes as a bit of a magnet for free. Agents,
Speaker 1: YEAH i, WOULD i would think they.
Speaker 2: Are maybe this comes back to the to The Bradley
Speaker 2: beal attracting players type of, thing, Right like maybe this
Speaker 2: is all part of the, same the same. Conversation LIKE
Speaker 2: i don't know if If brad is, UH i don't
Speaker 2: know If brad. Recruits he's made jokes about wanting to
Speaker 2: recruit guys to D c. Before they also just haven't
Speaker 2: had the cap. Situation yeah, Yeah like when was the
Speaker 2: last time they they had legitimate cap? Space and if
Speaker 2: they want to Resign, Bertons i'm not going to have
Speaker 2: it this year. Either they've just kind of been capped
Speaker 2: out for a. While they've had big, contracts say they
Speaker 2: haven't really had the situation to make those big signings.
Speaker 2: Either they tried to get Al horford h he ended
Speaker 2: up opting to go To, boston tried to Get, durant
Speaker 2: tried tried To durant ended up getting Those mahimi threes.
Speaker 3: Instead get one way or.
Speaker 2: Another but, yeah like twenty, sixteen that was the last
Speaker 2: time that they really had any, space you, Know, yeah
Speaker 2: and it did not work.
Speaker 1: Out. YEAH i wonder if that changes With Bradley beal
Speaker 1: signing an, extension whether or not he's going to. Recruit
Speaker 1: but it also depends on the cap. Room that's a good.
Speaker 1: Point you're we're talking geography a little. Bit let's get
Speaker 1: to uh Some japanese geography Because Scott brooks is very
Speaker 1: popular In. Japan, WHY i don't, KNOW i guess Because
Speaker 1: ruymura is on the. Team have you have you talked
Speaker 1: To Scotty brooks about his his, fame His japanese.
Speaker 3: Fame, yes YES i. Have it's it's a really weird, thing.
Speaker 7: Right, yeah it's BECAUSE i, asked, uh the guy who
Speaker 7: who runs like The japanese social team for The, wizards
Speaker 7: who the second most like Behind, ruey who's the guy
Speaker 7: everybody really likes In.
Speaker 2: JAPAN i was certain he was gonna Say Bradley, bealeah,
Speaker 2: certain and it was Like Scott, brooks they love. Him
Speaker 2: and he said they think of him as a great father. Figure,
Speaker 2: wow fans think of him as a great father.
Speaker 3: Figure AND i was, like all, right, sure seems like
Speaker 3: a kind.
Speaker 2: GUY i think he's a he's a very kind. Guy
Speaker 2: like he thinks they think it's a great mentor To.
Speaker 4: Ruy, YEAH i guess that's what they're Gonna, Yeah.
Speaker 3: And AND i was.
Speaker 2: Certain it's like it's Like Ruy hachmar at the top
Speaker 2: and Then Scott brooks and it's like nobody.
Speaker 5: Else matters in the line there, though BECAUSE I Nick,
Speaker 5: fredell who used to cover The, bulls he went To
Speaker 5: australia one time Where, chicago The Chicago, bulls because of
Speaker 5: The jordan, era are the most popular, team and he
Speaker 5: said when he got To, australia people were fascinated With Nick,
Speaker 5: Fridel SO i.
Speaker 4: Mean fascinated with his.
Speaker 5: Voice, yeah well that's. True but there's a whole lot
Speaker 5: of untapped market for Fred katz In.
Speaker 3: Japan there might.
Speaker 2: Be there might be you have to find, out but
Speaker 2: there might.
Speaker 3: Be it's.
Speaker 4: Plausible what's what's really been like covering him in his
Speaker 4: first year.
Speaker 2: Here, uh he already comports himself like a.
Speaker 3: Veteran, yeah he.
Speaker 2: Is he's very, quiet very, quiet really keeps to himself a.
Speaker 2: Lot he's very, bright but he's kind of hard to
Speaker 2: get to, know to be, honest because, like there's some
Speaker 2: guys you cover who are just like these big Personalities jordan,
Speaker 2: McCrae who will come up to anybody and start making
Speaker 2: jokes at anybody in the. World and then there's the
Speaker 2: opposite end of the spectrum Where rui's just this very
Speaker 2: quiet kid who kind of just keeps to himself and
Speaker 2: wants to come in and play basketball and work hard
Speaker 2: and treats everybody. Well he's just kind of, quiet and
Speaker 2: you can walk up to him say, really how you do,
Speaker 2: it and he'll, Say i'm, good how are? You and
Speaker 2: and he kind of just moves on with his day from.
Speaker 3: There.
Speaker 2: Uh and it's it's funny to be around him because
Speaker 2: BEFORE i had met, HIM i hit up a bunch
Speaker 2: of PEOPLE i knew who knew, him you, know with
Speaker 2: The wizards or a couple People, gonzaga and so many
Speaker 2: people compare him To. Kauhi like there were People chauncey
Speaker 2: compared him To kauhi the, player BUT i mean like
Speaker 2: compared his personality and work ethic and that kind of.
Speaker 2: Stuff AND i don't Know, kuhi but From kauhi's, reputation
Speaker 2: LIKE i, SEE i see that he's he's very, quiet
Speaker 2: and he's very reserved and he just kind of wants
Speaker 2: to work hard and play basketball and do a good
Speaker 2: job and be a pro and and just kind of leave,
Speaker 2: it leave all the other stuff out of. It and
Speaker 2: SO i very very much see that from a personality, standpoint.
Speaker 4: And off to a great, START i mean before the. Injury,
Speaker 4: unfortunately he's, Talented, YEAH i mean it was putting up
Speaker 4: decent numbers For he's.
Speaker 2: Really interesting in twenty twenty because he. Is he might
Speaker 2: just be one of those dudes who breaks the numbers
Speaker 2: from mid, range where like he takes a lot of
Speaker 2: mid range, shots but maybe they're just good shots for.
Speaker 2: Him he's shooting a ridiculous percentage on mid range pull,
Speaker 2: ups which like rookies just don't. Do, yeah and he's
Speaker 2: got to get better at a lot of, things passing
Speaker 2: and scoring around the rim and shooting threes and, defense
Speaker 2: all that kind of. Stuff but he's he's very fluid
Speaker 2: and for sure really. TALENTED i think it's going to
Speaker 2: be a really interesting.
Speaker 1: Player there's a couple of small guards on this. Team
Speaker 1: you Mentioned Isaiah thomas And Ish smith as. Well is
Speaker 1: it neat being sort of eye level with a couple
Speaker 1: of basketball. Players i'd imagine it is just to have
Speaker 1: a couple guys around that or you, know sort of your.
Speaker 2: Height it's, uh it's it's it's good for my, neck
Speaker 2: good for the good old. Neck looking up all the,
Speaker 2: time like there's a great story to be written ABOUT
Speaker 2: nba writers and.
Speaker 3: Their struggles with.
Speaker 2: Whiplash were just constantly looking up and scrums all the.
Speaker 4: Time and then they only respect taller guys Like Trey
Speaker 4: kirby more the players. Do i'm convinced they got no
Speaker 4: time for us, five, ten eleven of the. World they
Speaker 4: want to see the six four to six, Fives, like, yeah,
Speaker 4: okay this guy's. TALL i respect this, guy gets.
Speaker 2: It but it's, funny is like the big guys consider
Speaker 2: themselves almost like normal height and then in a figurative,
Speaker 2: sense look down on everybody like like they would Consider trey,
Speaker 2: short Like Steven, adams would Call trey short and genuinely
Speaker 2: think of him as, short not not comprehend that he
Speaker 2: is the large one in the. World you, Know, hey
Speaker 2: WHEN i was WHEN i was in college At, SYRACUSE
Speaker 2: i was ABOUT i was a manager on the basketball,
Speaker 2: team AND i was about half an inch or an
Speaker 2: inch taller Than Johnny. Flynn, wow great, Dude Johnny, flynton
Speaker 2: very upset that he he had the career that he.
Speaker 2: Had qu awesome, dude amazing. Leader AND i was rebounding
Speaker 2: pregame And johnny was walking by and a ball like
Speaker 2: ricocheted to, us AND i kind of grabbed it with
Speaker 2: not realizing he was, there and just kind of handed
Speaker 2: it over to, him and he kind of gave, me
Speaker 2: gave me like a like a joking intense look from
Speaker 2: me still in the rebound from, him AND i made
Speaker 2: a joke about being taller than. Him johnny such a nice,
Speaker 2: GUY i, mean like unbelievably nice, Guy like would go
Speaker 2: out of his way to lead that entire, Program like
Speaker 2: the way people talk about Like Damian lillard was kind
Speaker 2: of HOW i viewed him as like a leader in
Speaker 2: that locker.
Speaker 3: Room it was.
Speaker 2: Incredible he was like an incredible guy to. Watch it
Speaker 2: was a year old in me and it was. Amazing
Speaker 2: but he had this wild competitive. Streak SO i made
Speaker 2: a joke about his height and he looks at me and,
Speaker 2: SAYS i will give you a trampoline and still dunk on.
Speaker 4: You are you still playing it?
Speaker 3: On oh my, God i'm, terrible but. Terrible, yeah, yeah, terrible.
Speaker 4: But you're.
Speaker 3: PLAYING i.
Speaker 4: Try, okay good for.
Speaker 3: YOU i attempt.
Speaker 5: To just before the other guy's turned up this, morning
Speaker 5: we're talking off off the mic BECAUSE i assumed you
Speaker 5: were AN la guy because you started there at The Clipper.
Speaker 5: Blog but you told me From New york AND i was,
Speaker 5: like how does A New york kid become a work
Speaker 5: for The clipper? Blog BECAUSE i thought it was a funny.
Speaker 5: Story SO i tell you guys how that all, Started.
Speaker 3: How it became A clipper.
Speaker 2: Friend, Yeah Eric, Paikowski, Yes Eric paikowski In Kobe BRYANT
Speaker 2: nba Court side ninety, Eight killer shooting for, him just
Speaker 2: dran and.
Speaker 3: Stuff.
Speaker 4: Form it was.
Speaker 3: Great great digital.
Speaker 4: Form it.
Speaker 3: Was it was. Awesome it was.
Speaker 2: Killer and SO i was eight years. Old it's, LIKE
Speaker 2: i Guess i'm a fan of this Awesome clippers team
Speaker 2: nine and forty one in the, lockout yere got to
Speaker 2: got to root for a team run by an old racist. Owner,
Speaker 2: yeah it was one of my best life.
Speaker 4: Decisions yeah so you STILL i mean.
Speaker 3: NO i, agree, no not.
Speaker 2: Anymore you lose it when you cover the. League BUT
Speaker 2: i grew up A clippers. Fan it stopped being A
Speaker 2: clippers fan just, in just in time to make it
Speaker 2: all not worth.
Speaker 1: It we hear. You we came here just as The
Speaker 1: raptors got, good and you dropped a Yan ma three
Speaker 1: mece pun a little. Earlier we know you love a good.
Speaker 1: Pun Jesse smith sent this in On. Twitter what's more
Speaker 1: satisfying writing a good story or coming up with just
Speaker 1: the right? PUN i and if you, can if you
Speaker 1: want to recall one of your great punts from this,
Speaker 1: season because you've been dropping some some hot, ones.
Speaker 4: Very pun friendly.
Speaker 3: Here what a what a ridiculous.
Speaker 2: Question it's it's so funny, that, LIKE i work for
Speaker 2: A hall Of Famer David, aldridge and yet that's the,
Speaker 2: question the level the respect levels between my boss and.
Speaker 2: Me it's just unbelievably. Disparity uh, yeah probably the. Pun, sadly,
Speaker 2: sadly when you know you got a good one on
Speaker 2: top of the. World, yeah you let it fire, off
Speaker 2: likely with a banana. Peel you just that's what he's.
Speaker 4: Doing did you ever hold on to a great pun
Speaker 4: to make it into the article or you're fired it On?
Speaker 3: Twitter, NO i don't really put puns in my. Articles.
Speaker 2: YEAH i FIND i find them grading and, writing AND
Speaker 2: i don't enjoy them and makes it seem like you're
Speaker 2: trying too. Hard they're good in, headlines, yeah same with the.
Speaker 2: Headlines click every once in a, while you can have
Speaker 2: a play on words in, Writing BUT i don't really
Speaker 2: like them in, writing SO i very very rarely use
Speaker 2: them in writing unless the situation really really calls for.
Speaker 2: It So twitter is like my perfect doubt to get
Speaker 2: out of my. System SO i can have like everybody hate,
Speaker 2: me and THEN i can send out my story and
Speaker 2: people be, Like I'M i want to read this is
Speaker 2: just gonna be, puns and then only to find there
Speaker 2: aren't even any.
Speaker 3: Puns, yeah it's really a horrible marketing. Strategy it's the
Speaker 3: only WAY i know how to do it.
Speaker 1: Well one of the THINGS i enjoy about your writing
Speaker 1: is that you insert the accents on the a's And Davis.
Speaker 1: Burton's was there important accents on those? A's do you
Speaker 1: do that or does the editor do? That and do you,
Speaker 1: like do you enjoy?
Speaker 2: That you have no idea how good this question, is
Speaker 2: BECAUSE i hit up my editor the other day and was,
Speaker 2: like who's been putting all the accents on all the
Speaker 2: a's And Davis Burton's BECAUSE i have literally never done, That,
Speaker 2: like we need to make a stylistic choice on whether
Speaker 2: we're gonna go WITH i guess like it would be
Speaker 2: read As Davis burton's without the, accents or if we're
Speaker 2: going to actually Say Davis. Burton's and we had the
Speaker 2: very nerdy accent or no accent conversation and decided on.
Speaker 2: Accents But i'm so.
Speaker 3: Lazy THAT i. HAVE I i don't even know how
Speaker 3: to use that.
Speaker 2: ACCENT i only know how to use the like command
Speaker 2: e accent. Exactly it's the only one THAT i know
Speaker 2: how to, use and and it would take far too
Speaker 2: long for me to google. It so you let let
Speaker 2: you let them do, It SO I i let my my.
Speaker 2: Editors quite, HONESTLY i have forgotten while writing it every single.
Speaker 2: Time but props to my amazing editors for literally never
Speaker 2: letting one.
Speaker 3: Slip i'm sure he has no. Idea, no he doesn't
Speaker 3: even know who you.
Speaker 6: Are he's better off speaking of people not knowing who you,
Speaker 6: are you, Said Russell. Westbrook that's how you knew he
Speaker 6: knew who you were was by him acting like he
Speaker 6: didn't know who you. Are that's gotta be a weird
Speaker 6: thing to when you get, dissed you're, Like i've made,
Speaker 6: It you've done it.
Speaker 3: Well he he had, SAID i wrote in that STORY
Speaker 3: i can curse on, here. Right. Yeah Uh, NO i had.
Speaker 2: KNOWN i really knew because because he said don't be a, Dickhead, fred.
Speaker 3: That Was that was HOW i really.
Speaker 2: Knew and and and as As Brett, dawson who covers
Speaker 2: The lakers FOR, us uh and was we were covering
Speaker 2: the thunder at the same. Time it always points out
Speaker 2: he didn't.
Speaker 3: Call you a, dickhead, Right he just advised you not
Speaker 3: to be.
Speaker 4: One.
Speaker 3: Yeah it was just general life.
Speaker 2: Advice and he also, said don't be an, Asshole fred Or,
Speaker 2: fred don't be an. Asshole it was on different, occasions
Speaker 2: it was it was, great it's good, advice don't be
Speaker 2: don't be a.
Speaker 5: Dickhead was that after you asked yourself a question of
Speaker 5: the press.
Speaker 2: Company, no he actually seemed to enjoy that. One he
Speaker 2: actually seemed to enjoy that. ONE i think that might be.
Speaker 2: Proof then he knows my name, too because because that
Speaker 2: was the.
Speaker 3: Playoffs, yeah that was in the. Playoffs that was like
Speaker 3: my first week on the.
Speaker 4: Beat describe that for for someone in the listener doesn't
Speaker 4: know what we're talking.
Speaker 2: About THAT i prefaced a question Into Kevin durant And
Speaker 2: Russell westbrook by addressing them As. Fred, then after an awkward,
Speaker 2: silence corrected myself and, SAID i don't know Why i'm asking.
Speaker 3: Myself and it was on LIVE. Tv my phone blue.
Speaker 2: UP i picked up like two Thousand twitter followers that
Speaker 2: night BECAUSE i HAD i had like three thousand at the,
Speaker 2: time AND i picked Up it was my first week
Speaker 2: ON NBA b AND i picked up like two. THOUSAND
Speaker 2: i had like a hundred because it was live ON
Speaker 2: tnt after a spurse THUNDER playff. GAME i had texts
Speaker 2: from my friends just being, like oh my, GOD.
Speaker 5: I haven't done it. Again then if it was so,
Speaker 5: profitable Question, Fred Fred, fred.
Speaker 2: Every question that would go over. Great that Was burdownso
Speaker 2: know WHY i was that.
Speaker 1: Well speaking Of. FRED i don't know if this This
Speaker 1: twitter user has inside, information But Caleb slinkerd wrote in and,
Speaker 1: asked what's your real?
Speaker 2: Name oh well that's uh it's my former.
Speaker 3: Editor so he, does he. Does, uh my real name Is.
Speaker 3: Matthew What, yeah middle Named?
Speaker 1: Fred oh my.
Speaker 4: Goodness oh, yeah you're blowing my. Mind.
Speaker 2: Uh fred is a nickname that everybody has called me
Speaker 2: since about third.
Speaker 3: Grade. Wow, yeah, yeah this is.
Speaker 4: Wild.
Speaker 3: Yeah people normally have this. Reaction why the?
Speaker 4: Nickname Why?
Speaker 2: Fred my third grade teacher nicknamed Me, fred AND i
Speaker 2: don't quite remember why.
Speaker 3: It WASN'T i don't think it was that Like Fred, flint,
Speaker 3: Seminole Freddy. Krueger BUT i don't think he would do
Speaker 3: that with a nine year. OLD i don't think you
Speaker 3: do that with a nine year.
Speaker 2: Old i'd be a little messed. Up Uh, no IT'S
Speaker 2: i don't think it was that seminal of a moment for.
Speaker 2: ME i definitely pushed it BECAUSE i was just a
Speaker 2: weird nine year old, kid and then it was just
Speaker 2: like everyone was calling Me, fred AND i was, LIKE
Speaker 2: i guess this is my?
Speaker 1: Name.
Speaker 2: Wow AND i definitely contributed to. It tall it and
Speaker 2: my my parents were thrilled as you can. Imagine and uh,
Speaker 2: yeah and just FOR i guess twenty some odd years,
Speaker 2: now everyone is just amazing called Me. Fred, yeah no
Speaker 2: one calls Me, matthew.
Speaker 3: Nobody like your. Parents my mom calls Me.
Speaker 2: Matthew my dad calls me Matt my brother AND i
Speaker 2: refer to each other exclusively as brother or brother for. Short,
Speaker 2: okay and uh that those the only two people that's
Speaker 2: pretty much.
Speaker 4: Yet, wow, Wow i'm sure right?
Speaker 1: Now and, uh is it is your last? Name dogs or?
Speaker 3: Dogs?
Speaker 1: Well thanks To caleb for sending me, amazing amazing stuff.
Speaker 7: That's.
Speaker 1: Wild THEN i guess our final question is do you like? CATS?
Speaker 3: I i? HATE i do? IT i hate? Cats?
Speaker 5: Awful Is Russell westbrook a catt or a? Dog?
Speaker 1: Oh we asked him.
Speaker 2: That I've i've listened this debate many times And i've
Speaker 2: thought about, it and to, me the difficult, PART i
Speaker 2: Think russell's personality is a, cat but his basketball style
Speaker 2: is a.
Speaker 4: Dog that is exactly Because it's why it's such a difficult.
Speaker 3: QUESTION i, know.
Speaker 2: Because Because Russell russell reacts to a loose ball the
Speaker 2: same way like a golden retriever does when you.
Speaker 3: Throw a tennis.
Speaker 2: Ball he's, LIKE i am going to get that before,
Speaker 2: anybody and then he, does and then he will run
Speaker 2: back in the other direction when he gets in so
Speaker 2: excited that.
Speaker 5: He got the.
Speaker 2: Ball but the, personality but the personality is very cat.
Speaker 2: Like BUT i think the personality contributes to more of his,
Speaker 2: life like he, is he is being a.
Speaker 3: Person for longer than he is playing.
Speaker 4: Basketball so if you had to pick one or the, other.
Speaker 2: You're, saying SO i have to say cat because that
Speaker 2: is the more predominant thing because like he's a person
Speaker 2: all the, time but.
Speaker 3: He's a basketball.
Speaker 1: Player Some, Yeah and we asked him. That we asked
Speaker 1: all The All stars that there as many as we
Speaker 1: could at An All star, weekend IF i do, recall
Speaker 1: we asked that directly To Russell Westbrook and AS i
Speaker 1: asked the, question he had his back turned to. Me
Speaker 1: he just he was sitting on a, chair but for some,
Speaker 1: reason his mood was telling him to turn his back to.
Speaker 1: Me and it was very, catlike there's no way around.
Speaker 1: It and he was being a person that he wasn't
Speaker 1: being a basketball. Player so you're right, On Matthew doggs
Speaker 1: now freight. CATS i thank, You fred for coming and
Speaker 1: this was a lot of. Fun it's. Great you can
Speaker 1: Catch fred's work On The athletic and as a host
Speaker 1: Of wizards After, dark a postgame, podcast and we will
Speaker 1: be back with our daily show On. Tuesday thanks, everybody
Speaker 1: be every.
Speaker 3: Minute it's been so long that you're the Fun i've waiting.
Speaker 7: For it's happened.
Speaker 1: Already it's gonna be.
Speaker 4: Grivy