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Speaker 1: The volume. All right, Well, good to Hoop's tonight.

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Speaker 2: You're at the volume heavy Friday, everybody, Oh ball, if

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Speaker 2: you guys had an incredible week. Well, it is mail

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Speaker 2: bag day, but we got a bunch of NBA news yesterday,

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Speaker 2: So we're gonna be hitting on three stories at first,

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Speaker 2: and then we're gonna do a mini mail bag at

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Speaker 2: the tail end of the show. The Lakers began the

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Speaker 2: revamping of their front office yesterday with the firing of

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Speaker 2: Joey and Jesse Buss. At first, it looked like Mark

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Speaker 2: Walter coming into clean house, and now it's judging by

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Speaker 2: an interview by Dan Wiki of The Athletic with Jesse Buss,

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Speaker 2: seems like it might be a little bit more family drama.

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Speaker 2: So I want to dig into that a little bit.

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Speaker 2: After that, LaMelo Ball Kelly Ico from Yahoo Sports, who

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Speaker 2: covers the NBA. He ended up reporting that LaMelo Ball

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Speaker 2: is looking to potentially be traded away from Charlotte. We've

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Speaker 2: in his writing he also said that the Hornets themselves

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Speaker 2: have become somewhat disillusioned with LaMelo, So kind of want

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Speaker 2: to dig into that concept a little bit. And then

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Speaker 2: I have three potential LaMelo trades just for fun to

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Speaker 2: get us started today. There's a bunch of different options there,

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Speaker 2: but I wanted to dig into three potential options after that.

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Speaker 2: Anthony Slater from ESPN reported that Jonathan Kaminga feels like

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Speaker 2: he's being scapegoaded by the Warriors, and so it took

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Speaker 2: all of about a month for us to end up

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Speaker 2: back in the same boat that we were in over

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Speaker 2: the summer. I want to talk about that briefly, and

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Speaker 2: then again we have, you know, about a half dozen

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Speaker 2: questions that we'll get through quickly at the tail end

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Speaker 2: of the show. You guys are the joke before we started.

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Speaker 2: Subscribe to the Hoops and Not YouTube channels. You don't

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Speaker 2: miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter,

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Speaker 2: underscore Jason Lts you guys, don't miss show announcements. Don't

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Speaker 2: rating in a review on that front. Jackson's doing incredible

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Speaker 2: and TikTok. Make sure you guys follow us there for

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Speaker 2: more content throughout this In the last but not least,

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Speaker 2: keep dropping mailback questions in the YouTube comments so we

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Speaker 2: can get to him on our Fridays throughout the rest

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Speaker 2: of the season. A couple extra announcements too. One of

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Speaker 2: the things you guys could do that would be really

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Speaker 2: helpful for us is if you guys could like this video.

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Speaker 2: It'd be awesome if we could get as many likes

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Speaker 2: as possible on this video. I'm gonna be announcing that

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Speaker 2: as we start each show. It's just something that helps

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Speaker 2: us on the YouTube front. And then lastly, we have

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Speaker 2: our next playback stream tonight Tonight at six thirty pm

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Speaker 2: Pacific time, the Denver Nuggets versus the Houston Rockets, a

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Speaker 2: matchup of two teams that I have in my top

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Speaker 2: tier contenders. We talked a little bit about this yesterday.

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Speaker 2: We're gonna do contender rankings next week, but Houston will

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Speaker 2: be joining that tier. So a fun show down between

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Speaker 2: Denver and Houston tonight. All right, let's talk some basketball.

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Speaker 2: So the Lakers fire Joey and Jesse Buss. This news

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Speaker 2: broke yesterday while we were on the Lakers Collective podcast,

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Speaker 2: and while me and Trevor and Jovam were breaking it down.

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Speaker 2: We initially recovering it more or less as like kind

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Speaker 2: of Mark Walter's cleaning house kind of thing. This is

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Speaker 2: the beginning of the new era. Like both Bus brothers

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Speaker 2: were fired and most of the scouting staff, so it

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Speaker 2: seemed like, Okay, they're just gonna kind of revamp things.

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Speaker 2: But then last night Dan Woikia The Athletic published in an

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Speaker 2: interview with Jesse Buss that painted a very different picture,

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Speaker 2: something more along the lines of a multi year rift

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Speaker 2: building between the Bus brothers and their sister, as well

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Speaker 2: as the rest of the front office, which effectively ended

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Speaker 2: in them being pushed out. Jesse essentially said that they

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Speaker 2: had been far less involved with personnel decisions over the

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Speaker 2: last few years. He specifically cited the twenty twenty three

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Speaker 2: draft as the beginning of the era where they were

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Speaker 2: not involved, but rather at that point they just started

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Speaker 2: being informed of what the team was doing. That's obviously

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Speaker 2: hilarious and it's very pointed in specific because in twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty three that was when Jalen Chaffino was drafted, So

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Speaker 2: it was basically his way of saying, like, yeah, we

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Speaker 2: had nothing to do with any of that shit. After

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Speaker 2: the Jalen Chaffino draft. He also went on to say

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Speaker 2: that he felt like him and Joey had become viewed

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Speaker 2: as enemies within the organization. He said that he hadn't

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Speaker 2: spoken to Genie Bus or Rob Polinka in five months,

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Speaker 2: so instead of looking like Mark Walter was cleaning house,

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Speaker 2: it's looking more like a family civil war. And then

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Speaker 2: there was this bar that Jesse dropped at the tail

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Speaker 2: end of the interview. And I hope that going forward

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Speaker 2: that Mark can kind of bring a lot of what

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Speaker 2: he brought to the Dodgers, because I think if the

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Speaker 2: vision more or less is the same from what I've

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Speaker 2: seen over the last ten years, then it necessarily isn't

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Speaker 2: always going to lead to the success that Lakers fans

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Speaker 2: have become accustomed to when my dad ran the operations

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Speaker 2: and owned the team. Basically a very passive, aggressive way

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Speaker 2: of saying, y'all better. Hope Mark comes in and runs

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Speaker 2: things again soon, because if it stays with Genie, you

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Speaker 2: guys are going to underachieve. A very very very pointed

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Speaker 2: comments there from Jesse Buss. I think there are two

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Speaker 2: ways to look at this situation. There's the oh my god,

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Speaker 2: Genie Buss is a shit show way of looking at it,

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Speaker 2: which we'll get into and then there's the this will

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Speaker 2: all be fine because Mark Walter is going to clean

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Speaker 2: this up, And I think both of those perspectives are

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Speaker 2: valuable to look at. I ultimately think the Lakers' front

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Speaker 2: office will be in much better shape five years from now.

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Speaker 2: Joey and Jesse were a rare bright spot in that

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Speaker 2: front office. They had an extensive track record of finding

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Speaker 2: high level NBA talent, especially at the tail end of

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Speaker 2: the draft. They brought in Alex Cruso, they brought in

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Speaker 2: Austin Reeves, they brought in Kyle Kuzma, they brought in

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Speaker 2: Max Christi, many of the young player hits that have

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Speaker 2: come through LA in the last decade. According to the interview,

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Speaker 2: Jesse takes some credit for the idea of the Ruy

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Speaker 2: Haatcha Mura trade. He kind of positioned it in a

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Speaker 2: way that the team came to him and basically asked

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Speaker 2: for his opinion on that deal, and he essentially co

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Speaker 2: signed it. But beyond those successes, there aren't many successes

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Speaker 2: to be found in that Laker front office, aside from

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Speaker 2: the star acquisitions, which appear to have much more to

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Speaker 2: do with factors that are outside of the Lakers control,

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Speaker 2: like Lebron picked the Lakers because they were the Lakers.

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Speaker 2: Clutch strong armed ad to the Lakers because they were

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Speaker 2: the Lakers, and because Lebron was there, and Nico Harrison

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Speaker 2: gift wrapped Luca to the Lakers in what was the

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Speaker 2: most stunning trade in the history of sports. Now, I

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Speaker 2: want to be clear and fair here. It hasn't been

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Speaker 2: all bad. I thought Rob Polinka did a nice job

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Speaker 2: pivoting off of the Kawhi saga to build a championship

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Speaker 2: roster around the eventual champion twenty twenty Los Angeles Lakers.

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Speaker 2: I thought he did some nice work this last summer,

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Speaker 2: finding discounted depth and guys like Marcus smart Deandrayton and Jakelravia.

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Speaker 2: But even in that discussion, there's some context, like, you

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Speaker 2: probably don't get Ayton if you don't have Luca in

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Speaker 2: the belief that he gives Aytan that he can help

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Speaker 2: rehab his trade vale or not his value, but as

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Speaker 2: eventual free agent value.

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Speaker 1: Right, you probably don't get Jake.

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Speaker 2: Laravio without the connections you have to Austin Reeves and

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Speaker 2: his agent, right, And in general, over the course of

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Speaker 2: the Rob Polinka era, there has been a complete lack

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Speaker 2: of basketball identity in that front office. There isn't a

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Speaker 2: clear basketball philosophy that shapes their decision making. There isn't

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Speaker 2: a type of player that they clearly like and consistently

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Speaker 2: target the way that you see with teams like Golden

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Speaker 2: State and Oklahoma City and Miami or Indiana. There hasn't

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Speaker 2: been any sort of consistency and approach from offseason to

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Speaker 2: off season. They seem to go in a different direction

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Speaker 2: every year, and as you go upwards in the organization,

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Speaker 2: it gets even more sloppy. All I've heard is that

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Speaker 2: the Lakers have multiple hands trying to fly the plane,

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Speaker 2: so to speak, many competing ideas, not much in the

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Speaker 2: way of alignment throughout the upper management. You have Kurt

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Speaker 2: Rambis trying to shoehorn himself into coaches meeting or in

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Speaker 2: some cases even trying to force his way onto coaching stabs.

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Speaker 2: Like it's just been a mess. But overall, I'm optimistic,

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Speaker 2: and this is why I want to kind of bring

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Speaker 2: it back to a positive perspective. Even with the loss

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Speaker 2: of the broth of the Bus Brothers, which again they

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Speaker 2: were a rare bright spot, I think Mark Walter will

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Speaker 2: be very competitive in this marketplace. I think he's gonna

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Speaker 2: throw a lot of cash around. I think he's going

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Speaker 2: to bring in very competent professionals into those roles. I

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Speaker 2: expect the Lakers to have a very good scouting department

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Speaker 2: in the near future, with excellent college scouting, with excellent

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Speaker 2: overseas scouting, with excellent NBA scouting, and then I think

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Speaker 2: the front office will eventually build out a basketball identity,

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Speaker 2: a consistent approach from offseason offseason. I think JJ Reddick

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Speaker 2: really helps with this. I think JJ will really help

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Speaker 2: Rob come up with a consistent approach from offseason to

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Speaker 2: offseason in the types of players he wants in his system.

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Speaker 2: And then I think, slowly but surely, over the course

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Speaker 2: for the next half decade, that kind of small, parochial,

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Speaker 2: family business like approach of the Lakers to basketball decisions

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Speaker 2: will be replaced by dead serious and more professional approach

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Speaker 2: to decision making in a more competitive NBA like You

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Speaker 2: can't afford to be weak in those areas with how

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Speaker 2: good the rest of the NBA is, and I think

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Speaker 2: the Lakers will eventually be more competitive behind the scenes.

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Speaker 2: This will all eventually end with the Lakers being a

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Speaker 2: dead serious basketball organization with a financial and leadership backing

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Speaker 2: that actually meets the level of the Lakers brand itself,

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Speaker 2: which again remains the biggest basketball brand in the world. So,

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Speaker 2: in other words, it's kind of a sad day because

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Speaker 2: Jesse and Joey don't deserve what happened to them both

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Speaker 2: over the last few years.

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Speaker 1: And what happened yesterday.

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Speaker 2: But ultimately, I do think the Lakers will be better

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Speaker 2: off in the long run as Mark Walter just continues

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Speaker 2: to assert himself and to take more and more control

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Speaker 2: of the team. All right, let's get into this LaMelo saga.

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Speaker 2: So LaMelo Ball has grown increasingly frustrated with the organization

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Speaker 2: and is opened to a trade away from the franchise,

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Speaker 2: multiple league sources told Yahoo's Sports. That's from Kellyicos, a

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Speaker 2: national NBA writer for Yahoo Sports. Now, the numbers have

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Speaker 2: been tricky with LaMelo to start the year. He's got

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Speaker 2: hurt again to start the year. He hasn't been good

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Speaker 2: since he came back. He's just five for twenty four

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Speaker 2: from three over the last eight games. Got benched at

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Speaker 2: the tail hunder regulation in the last one. He's down

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Speaker 2: to just a bit over twenty seven minutes per game

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Speaker 2: over the last three games, but the team has been

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Speaker 2: flatly better when he's on the floor. Even just in

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Speaker 2: that three game span where the Hornets went oh to three,

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Speaker 2: they won LaMelo's minutes by twelve. They have a plus

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Speaker 2: seven net rating, meaning they're outscoring opponents by seven points

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Speaker 2: per one hundred possessions. When LaMelo Ball's on the floor,

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Speaker 2: they have a one twenty four offensive rating according to

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Speaker 2: Cleaning the Glass. When LaMelo Ball's on the floor, they're

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Speaker 2: bad on defense, but the offense is so good that

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Speaker 2: they've been winning of those minutes. And again, I think

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Speaker 2: the bad defense goes far beyond just LaMelo and his

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Speaker 2: kind of inconsistent effort and focus on that end. The

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Speaker 2: offense absolutely craters when he's off the floor. They go

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Speaker 2: from a one to twenty four offensive rating to a

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Speaker 2: one zho nine offensive rating, in other words, from transcendently

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Speaker 2: great to what would be the bottom of the league.

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Speaker 2: And the defense gets worse too, because again, those two

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Speaker 2: ends of the floor are connected. When you're constantly missing

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Speaker 2: shots and turning the basketball over, it puts your defense

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Speaker 2: in a compromise position. Now, I will freely admit I'm

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Speaker 2: personally not the biggest Lamela ballfan in the world. But

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Speaker 2: I do think he's an undeniable offensive talent. He's kind

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Speaker 2: of the definition of a modern offensive engine, a guard

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Speaker 2: that can push pace consistently, that generates tons of advantages

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Speaker 2: basically by just running action and relentlessly making the reads,

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Speaker 2: the reads that set your teammates up with closeouts and

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Speaker 2: four on threes. Any sort of advantage that a basketball

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Speaker 2: player can capitalize on it a much higher rate than

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Speaker 2: he would if he doesn't have an advantage. That's what

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Speaker 2: causes the offensive rating numbers you see to be so

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Speaker 2: much better when he's on the floor versus off. Now,

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Speaker 2: he's a flawed young player. His shot selection on the

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Speaker 2: ball can be downright silly sometimes. I think that prevents

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Speaker 2: him from being as efficient as he's capable of being.

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Speaker 2: His defensive effort is inconsistent, not super uncommon for a

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Speaker 2: young guard. I think he can make some plays there.

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Speaker 2: He's got good size in length, and he's fast and

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Speaker 2: when he like he can make plays when he's engaged

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Speaker 2: on that end, But there's not much in the way

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Speaker 2: of possession to possession discipline, and he needs to get

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Speaker 2: his body right if he wants to stay on the floor. Now,

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Speaker 2: let's zoom in on Charlotte real quick. They were getting

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Speaker 2: a lot of hype from NBA hipsters coming into the season,

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Speaker 2: and for good reasons, like Conkiniple's a really good player.

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Speaker 2: I like Conkiniple, and he's hooping his ass off right now,

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Speaker 2: by the way, in his last nine games, twenty two points,

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Speaker 2: seven rebounds, and four assists per game on basically fifty

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Speaker 2: forty ninety forty nine percent from the field, thirty nine

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Speaker 2: percent from three, and ninety three percent from the line.

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Speaker 2: I like Sion James, I like Brandon Miller, But I

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Speaker 2: was personally very low on the Hornets coming into the season,

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Speaker 2: and I thought they'd be back at the bottom of

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Speaker 2: the league because they're pretty much devoid of two way

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Speaker 2: talent relative to the rest of the league, and because

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Speaker 2: LaMelo just hasn't shown an ability to stay on the floor.

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Speaker 2: So I do think that if you took LaMelo and

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Speaker 2: took him out of what is essentially not a good

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Speaker 2: roster and put him onto a situation with more talent,

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Speaker 2: I do think he could be a ceiling raizer. Now

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Speaker 2: before we get into some of these trades. For me personally,

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Speaker 2: if I was running an NBA team, I would not

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Speaker 2: trade for LaMelo. The upside is tantalizing, but he's been

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Speaker 2: around for a while now. This is his sixth NBA season.

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Speaker 2: He's played more than fifty one games in a season

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Speaker 2: just once, and while the offensive upside is still as

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Speaker 2: tantalizing as ever, he's shown basically no progress towards becoming

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Speaker 2: that more refined version of him. Like he's never really

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Speaker 2: made an attempt to trim the fat in his shot selection.

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Speaker 2: He's never become a more diligent possession to possession defender,

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Speaker 2: and we're not seeing like progress in those directions. It's

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Speaker 2: not like, oh, he's way ahead of where he was

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Speaker 2: back in twenty twenty three. That shows that he's progressing

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Speaker 2: towards becoming this all NBA level type of dude, like

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Speaker 2: we've seen that with other guys like Tyrese Haliburton, very

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Speaker 2: similar type of like kind of offensive engine guard, albeit

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Speaker 2: less of a scorer. With Tyre's Haliburton, we've seen in

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Speaker 2: the last few years him become a little better each

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Speaker 2: season at competing in the defense, competing in the scheme,

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Speaker 2: throwing hard hedges and recovering with his hands up and

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Speaker 2: sprinting back out to the shooter slipping out of the screen,

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Speaker 2: like we've seen progress there that we haven't really seen

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Speaker 2: with LaMelo. So I personally don't think he's worth the

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Speaker 2: risk if I was running an NBA team. But ultimately

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Speaker 2: LaMelo Ball will end up being traded again. Kelly and

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Speaker 2: his report also said that the Hornets themselves are disillusioned

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Speaker 2: with LaMelo. So if the Hornets don't want him, and

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Speaker 2: he doesn't want the Hornets, he's gonna be somewhere else

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Speaker 2: soon enough. So just for fun, and again, there's a

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Speaker 2: lot of different options. You can go a lot of

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Speaker 2: different directions, you can go here, but I came up

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Speaker 2: with just three fun LaMelo Ball trades just to kind

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Speaker 2: of brainstorm this initial phase. And if I have others,

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Speaker 2: I'll pitch him when we get further down the line.

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Speaker 2: But first one here, LaMelo Ball to the MAVs for

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis. This one was floating around yesterday a little bit,

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Speaker 2: and it's interesting to me. So the rough structure of

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Speaker 2: this deal would be something like Anthony Davis and D'Angelo

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Speaker 2: Russell or one of the other small contracts for the MAVs.

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Speaker 2: I know MAS fans are already being driven crazy by

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Speaker 2: d Lo because he's just been in such a massive

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Speaker 2: role as the injuries have piled up. But it'd be

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis and Dilo or one of the other smaller

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Speaker 2: contracts for LaMelo Ball and Colin Sexton. I don't think

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Speaker 2: there would need to be any draft compensation on either

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Speaker 2: side of this deal. Like Anthony Davis is just a

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Speaker 2: much better basketball player than LaMelo, and that would counter

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Speaker 2: any of the additional value get from LaMelo's youth. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis has has had health issues, but nothing close

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Speaker 2: to what LaMelo has had. In this situation, the Hornets

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Speaker 2: would get this incredible center to essentially be a bridge

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Speaker 2: between this era and the future. Gives you an opportunity

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Speaker 2: to see if guys like Musa Diabat or Ryan Kalchbrander

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Speaker 2: could become that foundational center for them. But in the

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Speaker 2: short term, you give kon k Nippull and Brandon Miller

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Speaker 2: a chance to compete with like a legit foundational center

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Speaker 2: in the long term, and then one of the other

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Speaker 2: things too, is like Anthony Davis will eventually, over the

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Speaker 2: next few seasons, have a stretch where he stays healthy

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Speaker 2: for like thirty games or so, and when that happens,

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Speaker 2: he's gonna look awesome, because that's how Anthony Davis's career

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Speaker 2: has been. As long as he's healthy and on the

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Speaker 2: floor consistently, he eventually gets in shape and builds rhythm.

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Speaker 2: And when that happens, the Hornets would essentially have an

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Speaker 2: opportunity at that point to trade a rehabbed version of

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis's value. They could flip him at that point

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Speaker 2: in the future, should they so choose. And then on

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Speaker 2: the MAVs front, you get two things. You get a

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Speaker 2: potential young star to pair with Cooper Flag. It would

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00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,399
Speaker 2: fit really well with him. I think it more appropriately

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Speaker 2: slots Cooper in an off ball role playing with an

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Speaker 2: advantage channeling his efforts on defense. I think they compliment

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Speaker 2: each other really well. And then you also add a

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Speaker 2: secondary ball handler and Colin Sexton for a team that

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Speaker 2: is still, even with LaMelo, really short on ball handling.

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Speaker 2: And you get kind of excited when you look at

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Speaker 2: a lineup that has like LaMelo Ball, Max, Christie, Cooper, Flag, PJ. Washington,

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Speaker 2: and Derek Lively, Like it's pretty damn exciting, right, And

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Speaker 2: those are all guys like Max Christy can knock down

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Speaker 2: the three and drive it close out. Cooper Flag, as

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Speaker 2: we've talked about, is one of the best read makers

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Speaker 2: out of a young prospect that I've ever seen.

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Speaker 1: PJ.

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Speaker 2: Washington when we watched him alongside Luka Doncic when he

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Speaker 2: was getting spoon fed advantages is a really high level

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Speaker 2: week side score. And Derek Lively is that screen and

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Speaker 2: roll threat that's also such a great defensive anchor. On

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Speaker 2: the other end of the floor. You also have four

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Speaker 2: really good defensive players there next to LaMelo. I really

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Speaker 2: like that deal for Dallas, and I think you could

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Speaker 2: talk yourself into it if Charlotte is getting out of

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Speaker 2: the LaMelo business, getting a guy that kind of makes

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Speaker 2: you a more serious basketball team in the short term.

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Speaker 2: And if you look at both of those guys as

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Speaker 2: guys with flawed trade value, right Anthony Davis older had

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Speaker 2: some injury issues, LaMelo, you know, somewhat of a kind

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Speaker 2: of like a mercurial type of player who also has

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Speaker 2: injury issues. They both kind of have low value right now.

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Speaker 2: But if you get Anthony Davis and you rehab his value,

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Speaker 2: you could potentially trade him for more down the line.

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00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:35,159
Speaker 2: Next LaMelo ball trade the Warriors make up for the

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Speaker 2: James Wiseman mistake. This one would be a little bit

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00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,359
Speaker 2: more complicated to pull off, Like the foundation of the

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Speaker 2: trade would essentially be LaMelo ball for Jonathan Minga, but

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Speaker 2: it would get tricky from there. The Warriors would have

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Speaker 2: to aggregate some salaries, and they don't have a lot

365
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Speaker 2: of salaries to aggregate because of their three massive contracts,

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Speaker 2: so it'd probably be like Buddy Healed and Moses Moody

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Speaker 2: added to the deal, And you hate to lose a

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Speaker 2: guy like Moses Moody and a deal like that, but

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Speaker 2: you basically have to if you wanted to get a

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Speaker 2: guy like Lamello, and the Hornets would have to clear

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Speaker 2: some roster spots in order to make this all happen.

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Speaker 2: But once again, similar to the Dallas trade, I don't

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Speaker 2: think there'd have to be too much in the way

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Speaker 2: of draft compensation going either way. Like, if you're Charlotte,

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Speaker 2: Moody and Kminga's a really nice return for LaMelo, And essentially,

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Speaker 2: if you look at it from both perspectives, Charlotte would

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Speaker 2: get a really nice power forward prospect to pair with

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Speaker 2: Brandon Miller. I think they'd eventually get off of Miles

379
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Speaker 2: Bridges in a separate deal. I think kaminga just because

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Speaker 2: of his first step quickness, and he just has like

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00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:29,440
Speaker 2: a little bit more of that. I'll actually say he

382
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Speaker 2: has considerably more like one on one potential. In the

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Speaker 2: big picture, I think he's a prospect that I like

384
00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,119
Speaker 2: better than a guy like Miles Bridges and Moses Moody

385
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,000
Speaker 2: is like an awesome two way wing to help bolster

386
00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,760
Speaker 2: them on both ends of the floor. Golden State would

387
00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,440
Speaker 2: get a legitimate, legitimate secondary shot creator off of Steph.

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Speaker 2: I think it'd be kind of clunky at first, but

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Speaker 2: you know, you could argue the short term returns would

390
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Speaker 2: not be very good, but at the very least they'd

391
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Speaker 2: have a foundational piece to look at for the era

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Speaker 2: after Steph, the guy you build the offense around when

393
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Speaker 2: Steph re tied. Now, once again, to be very clear,

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Speaker 2: if I ran the Warriors, I would not do this deal.

395
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Speaker 2: But I could totally see Joe lakeup stepping in and

396
00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,520
Speaker 2: making something like this happen, just with some of the

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Speaker 2: control that he has on the team. The last trade

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Speaker 2: that I'll pitch to you guys today, the Spurs partner

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00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,879
Speaker 2: LaMelo with Wemby. So this deal would essentially just be

400
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Speaker 2: deeron Fox for LaMelo Ball. It might involve a three

401
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,679
Speaker 2: team construct where deeron Fox gets rerouted. That kind of

402
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,160
Speaker 2: just depends on what values Charlotte would see in dearon Fox.

403
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,800
Speaker 2: Fox is only twenty seven, so maybe Charlotte would give

404
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 2: it a shot with him, but I could see.

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Speaker 1: Him getting re routed.

406
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,760
Speaker 2: But I like the idea in theory for San Antonio,

407
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,720
Speaker 2: they get a legit offensive engine to pair with Victor

408
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,080
Speaker 2: women Yama, they could get the deal done without having

409
00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:46,879
Speaker 2: to give up any of the other young guards. You

410
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,080
Speaker 2: can keep a Dylan Harper and Steph Castle's essentially insurance.

411
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,399
Speaker 2: It kind of like solves your timeline issue in the

412
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:55,800
Speaker 2: sense that, like, I think Steph Castle and Dylan Harper

413
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,040
Speaker 2: are both guys that have potential to become All Stars

414
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Speaker 2: in this league, but it might be three four years

415
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,920
Speaker 2: before they get to that level. And Victor Wemenyama is

416
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,360
Speaker 2: ready to be first team All NBA this season. He's

417
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,520
Speaker 2: ready to be competing for a championship this season, and

418
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,280
Speaker 2: so you have this like kind of upside in the

419
00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:15,080
Speaker 2: sense that you get this big offensive engine type of

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Speaker 2: weapon in LaMelo that can grease the wheels for you

421
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Speaker 2: on offense. You can completely support him on the defensive

422
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,560
Speaker 2: end of the four because you have such big athletic

423
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Speaker 2: guards and because you have Victor Wemenyama underneath the basket,

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00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:30,439
Speaker 2: you can with with Stan LaMelo's injuries. Like you have

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Speaker 2: strong infrastructure, like that team just won a game without

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Speaker 2: Wemby or LaMelo theory, you know, in this theoretical situation

427
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,640
Speaker 2: right now, I think they have that type of infrastructure

428
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,800
Speaker 2: to where they could with Stan LaMelo playing fifty five

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Speaker 2: sixty five games in a season. And again, the big

430
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,000
Speaker 2: thing there is he could be the guy that could

431
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,840
Speaker 2: finally be the type of player that sets Wemby up

432
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,520
Speaker 2: with easy opportunities, something we've talked about forever, getting Wenby

433
00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,000
Speaker 2: more advantages from a really high level pick and roll

434
00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:01,639
Speaker 2: ball handler. There's potential there with Deer and Fox, to

435
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,120
Speaker 2: be clear, but LaMelo would certainly be better in that role. Now,

436
00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:07,560
Speaker 2: this is where it gets tricky because, like I said,

437
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,960
Speaker 2: in the other two deals, like I wouldn't do these deals.

438
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:11,920
Speaker 2: I mean, Dallas, you could talk yourself into it because

439
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,800
Speaker 2: of Anthony Davis, But if I was Golden State or

440
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:15,640
Speaker 2: another one of these more serious teams that I would

441
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,280
Speaker 2: have to give up, like a substantial asset wouldn't do

442
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,040
Speaker 2: it right. But you know, Anthony Davis is kind of

443
00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,879
Speaker 2: a distressed asset in and of himself, and in the

444
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,160
Speaker 2: San Antonio situation, like if you keep all your draft

445
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:32,120
Speaker 2: compensation and you keep Dylan Harper and you keep Steph Castle,

446
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 2: it's kind of relatively low risk. Like if I was

447
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,840
Speaker 2: San Antonio, I think long and hard about that one.

448
00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:41,439
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Speaker 2: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. All right, before we

480
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 2: get to our mailbag, Anthony Slater from ESPN reports that

481
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,399
Speaker 2: Jonathan Kaminga is feeling like the scapegoat again. He feels

482
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,720
Speaker 2: like the scapegoat again, one team source said, Cominga, team

483
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,879
Speaker 2: sources said had voice to cur a desire to be

484
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,919
Speaker 2: coach harder. There was even a meeting about it in

485
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,560
Speaker 2: the Sacramento Hotel prior to their ninth game of the season,

486
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 2: and Kerr appeared to make it a point during the

487
00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,000
Speaker 2: King's game to call Cominga over and get on him

488
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,920
Speaker 2: constructively several times. But four and one became six and six.

489
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,320
Speaker 2: Cominga's knees began bothering him his defensive juice and burst

490
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,760
Speaker 2: to the rim lessened. He won one for nine shooting

491
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,000
Speaker 2: at home against the Pacers, missing all five of his threes.

492
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 2: Coaches dingdam for his perimeter shot selection as a reason

493
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,119
Speaker 2: for his minutes production to a season low twenty and

494
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 2: for the Warriors to reach their ceiling the season. There's

495
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 2: an internal belief that Jonathan Kaminga, even in a condensed

496
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,480
Speaker 2: role must shake off some of his built up resentment

497
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,800
Speaker 2: and get back to the impact wing from the first

498
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,639
Speaker 2: couple of weeks, even if the long term benefit for

499
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,080
Speaker 2: both sides is more about a bump and trade value

500
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:22,480
Speaker 2: than a partnership. Again, all that from Anthony Slater from ESPN.

501
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,719
Speaker 2: I said right after the Oklahoma City game when those

502
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 2: comments were made, that it felt like they were scapegoating

503
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,080
Speaker 2: cominga again. The Golden State Stars themselves all came out

504
00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,679
Speaker 2: like shit against the thunder, got their butts kicked, and

505
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,360
Speaker 2: then they went into the pressers and blamed the young guys.

506
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,000
Speaker 2: Now here's the truth. The Warriors are nine to eight

507
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,520
Speaker 2: because of their schedule. That's it. After I'm recording this,

508
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:47,760
Speaker 2: I'm recording with Adamars from DNVR. We're doing that all

509
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,919
Speaker 2: MBA show. And one of the topics we're doing today

510
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,280
Speaker 2: is recovering teams that are better than their record and

511
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:54,800
Speaker 2: teams that are worse than their record. And you know

512
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,399
Speaker 2: what team I picked for the team that's better than

513
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,240
Speaker 2: their record, The Golden State Warriors. They're nine to eight

514
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 2: because they have a team built around four guys in

515
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 2: their late thirties, and they had seventeen games in twenty

516
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,639
Speaker 2: eight days to start the season, so there's no reason

517
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,440
Speaker 2: to blame anyone. Steph has been bad in some games

518
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,360
Speaker 2: we talked about the Oklahoma City game. Steph was bad

519
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 2: in the Oklahoma City game. Steph was really bad in

520
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,600
Speaker 2: the Indiana Pacers game. Is big part of why they

521
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,000
Speaker 2: lost that game, the one on the road. Jimmy's been

522
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,240
Speaker 2: bad at points. Draymond's been bad at points. Jonathan Kaminga's

523
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 2: been bad at points. So has Moses Moody and Brandon Pajemski.

524
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,640
Speaker 2: They've all been beaten into the ground by the schedule.

525
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,560
Speaker 2: And that's what makes this pump fake from Golden State

526
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,719
Speaker 2: so bizarre. Like early in the season, when things are

527
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:40,960
Speaker 2: going good and Jonathan Kaminga is in the starting lineup,

528
00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 2: everyone's singing Jonathan Kamingu's praises, and for good reason he's

529
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:50,640
Speaker 2: he was playing well and again, did he tail off

530
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,920
Speaker 2: as things got harder? Yeah, but so did everyone else.

531
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:56,840
Speaker 2: And this is where it comes back to the same

532
00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,640
Speaker 2: damn thing we've been arguing about all damn summer, in

533
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,920
Speaker 2: all the last year and a half or so. Is

534
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,920
Speaker 2: Jonathan Kaminga a great fit with the Golden State Warriors.

535
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,520
Speaker 2: Obviously not. Even with him playing better to start the season,

536
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,680
Speaker 2: the on off numbers continue to show that the team

537
00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,480
Speaker 2: is better without him because he's not a great fit.

538
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 2: But I don't think he's to blame for the nine

539
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:26,280
Speaker 2: and eight start. And again, the Warriors had every opportunity

540
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,680
Speaker 2: to move on from the Kaminga era this summer. The

541
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,800
Speaker 2: only reason they didn't is because they didn't want to

542
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,160
Speaker 2: lose him as an asset for nothing, and because when

543
00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,040
Speaker 2: they shopped him, they weren't happy with the return they

544
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,639
Speaker 2: were being offered in those signing trades. So it's like

545
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 2: this complete disillusionment, so to speak, surrounding his value. So

546
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,080
Speaker 2: they decided to bring him back.

547
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:52,640
Speaker 1: And here we are.

548
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 2: And when things are good, it's coming is finally buying in.

549
00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,359
Speaker 2: And when things are bad, it's the young guys aren't

550
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,879
Speaker 2: all pulling in the same direction as us. And again, like,

551
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,439
Speaker 2: I know that both sides have blame in this, but

552
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,400
Speaker 2: one of the sides is a bunch of grown ass

553
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,359
Speaker 2: middle aged men who know better, and the other side

554
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:19,080
Speaker 2: is a twenty three year old talented basketball player who's

555
00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:23,439
Speaker 2: been jerked around for four and a half years, So

556
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 2: of course he's kicking and screaming a bit. I lack

557
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 2: any form of sympathy for the Warriors in the situation,

558
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:32,520
Speaker 2: and I cannot wait for the saga to be over.

559
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,360
Speaker 2: All right, let's get into our mail bag. I'll get

560
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,560
Speaker 2: to a Warriors question first here. Since we're on the Warriors,

561
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 2: who between Trey Murphy or Herb Jones fits the Warriors fits?

562
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 2: What the Warriors need? Is it the third scoring option

563
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,560
Speaker 2: in Trey Murphy or the lockdown point of attack defender

564
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:55,280
Speaker 2: in Herb Jones that will elevate the Warriors into contender status.

565
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,000
Speaker 2: So I've had this debate with Warriors fans at various

566
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,080
Speaker 2: points over the last few months. I had it with

567
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,720
Speaker 2: with Tommy and Sam from the Light Years podcast like

568
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,400
Speaker 2: about a month a month or two ago, and you know,

569
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,640
Speaker 2: they kind of both leaned more towards the Herb Jones type. Essentially,

570
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,760
Speaker 2: they want a big athletic forward essentially, like we talked

571
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,720
Speaker 2: about it in the context of like an Andrew Wiggins

572
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,600
Speaker 2: versus Jordan Poole, which version do the Warriors need. Do

573
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 2: the Warriors need what Jordan pool was to the twenty

574
00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 2: twenty two Warriors, or do they need what Andrew Wiggins

575
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:24,960
Speaker 2: was to the twenty twenty two Warriors. Those are that's

576
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,400
Speaker 2: kind of where the path bifer Kate so to speak, right,

577
00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:32,560
Speaker 2: And Trey is essentially that scoring forward type that would

578
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,360
Speaker 2: add offensive pop to the team. And Herb Jones is

579
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,640
Speaker 2: your stereotypical three in D kind of athlete, right, So

580
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,320
Speaker 2: they kind of in this mailback question that you're pitching,

581
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:46,280
Speaker 2: they represent both ends of that discussion. For me, I

582
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,840
Speaker 2: maintain that I think they need scoring. I think ultimately

583
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:54,040
Speaker 2: the biggest problem the Warriors have is that when the

584
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,800
Speaker 2: young guys and everybody down the roster, whether it's Jimmy

585
00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,680
Speaker 2: being able to score and carry bench units, or it's

586
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:03,479
Speaker 2: Drama knocking down catch and shoot threes, or it's Moody

587
00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:07,160
Speaker 2: and Pods going for thirty points on any given night

588
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:12,520
Speaker 2: rather than fifteen. I think it's the inconsistent offense off

589
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,920
Speaker 2: of Steph that continues to be a problem for this team.

590
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,480
Speaker 2: I always believe in their ability to scale up defensively

591
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 2: when they need to, So for me, I would be

592
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,120
Speaker 2: targeting someone more along the lines of a Trey Murphy

593
00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:29,680
Speaker 2: that said either player would help the team. I'm not

594
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,480
Speaker 2: gonna sit here and pretend like Herb Jones wouldn't help

595
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 2: the Warriors. But to me, you have a guy in

596
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,920
Speaker 2: Moses Moody. You provides a rough approximation of that. No,

597
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,000
Speaker 2: he's not as good as her, but he provides a

598
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:43,640
Speaker 2: rough approximation of that. A guy who can guard the

599
00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,480
Speaker 2: opposing team's best player, the guy who's better at it

600
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,840
Speaker 2: than Johnathan Kaminga because he's better and more disruptive with

601
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,000
Speaker 2: his hands. A guy that can bring some catch and

602
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,160
Speaker 2: shoot play attacking closeouts, even bring some movement shooting too,

603
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:56,520
Speaker 2: although Herb Jones has built out some of his more

604
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:58,920
Speaker 2: refined offensive game as well. But to me, you already

605
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 2: have a guy that kind of roughly approximates that. Trey

606
00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,320
Speaker 2: Murphy represents something you don't have, like a legit heat check,

607
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,920
Speaker 2: wing score, a guy that can come in and like

608
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:13,160
Speaker 2: consistently give you in that twenty to twenty five points range.

609
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 2: A guy that's not gonna have as many nights where

610
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,920
Speaker 2: he just is a non factor on the offensive end

611
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 2: of the floor. So for me, whether it's Trey Murphy

612
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,560
Speaker 2: or it's someone else, I lean towards the Warriors need

613
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:27,520
Speaker 2: scoring pop. They need someone that can come in for

614
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 2: a five minute stretch when Steph checks out of the

615
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:35,520
Speaker 2: game and legit like provide the offensive explosion to carry

616
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,400
Speaker 2: those units. That's the kind of guy that I would

617
00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:41,040
Speaker 2: be targeting if I was the Warriors. Hey, Jason loved

618
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,240
Speaker 2: the show. I had a simple idea of actually increasing

619
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:46,280
Speaker 2: the length of the season while keeping the same amount

620
00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,880
Speaker 2: of games. Get rid of back to backs, guarantee there's

621
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,720
Speaker 2: at least one day between games and two days between

622
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,480
Speaker 2: games for long flights. Also make the two playoff series

623
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,000
Speaker 2: best of five. But I doubt the league would do

624
00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,720
Speaker 2: that otherwise, like your idea. So here's the thing. I

625
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,160
Speaker 2: think the problem with lengthening the season is it's already

626
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 2: so fucking long. Like I mean, it's legitimately a nine

627
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,280
Speaker 2: month journey when you include some of the other details

628
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,200
Speaker 2: like summer league and free agency, like it goes from

629
00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,920
Speaker 2: the beginning of October all the way to the middle

630
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 2: of July. Now, if you zoom in on just the games,

631
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,640
Speaker 2: we're going from, like guys are showing up for training

632
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 2: camp in early October, and they're playing basketball at a

633
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:33,000
Speaker 2: minimum to mid April, and in many cases to late April,

634
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 2: early May, sometimes even as far as early June. That's

635
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,160
Speaker 2: an extremely long season and when you factor in that

636
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,080
Speaker 2: the guy's got to spend a month ramping up for

637
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:43,719
Speaker 2: training camp too, it's already too long. I don't think

638
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,960
Speaker 2: you're gonna be able to convince NBA players to be like, hey,

639
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,640
Speaker 2: you guys, know how you show up on October first

640
00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,440
Speaker 2: in shape? How about we show up on September first

641
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:53,400
Speaker 2: in shape? Like, I just don't think you're gonna be

642
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:57,080
Speaker 2: able to get NBA players to buy in to that idea.

643
00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,239
Speaker 2: That said, I do think like the idea of like

644
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,280
Speaker 2: trying to get rid of back to backs and making

645
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:06,600
Speaker 2: the schedule more more tenable for the the for all

646
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:08,440
Speaker 2: of the players is a good idea. I just think

647
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 2: you do it by reducing the number of games. Love

648
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:15,240
Speaker 2: your point about like having long flights cross across country

649
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 2: travel be surrounded around two days off and things like that.

650
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 2: Just find ways to make it much more manageable for

651
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,320
Speaker 2: the players. As far as the playoff series go, I

652
00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:26,760
Speaker 2: think the NBA playoffs are like especially the first round,

653
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 2: Like I mean we see it in our numbers with

654
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:31,080
Speaker 2: the way we cover the league, Like the first and

655
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,840
Speaker 2: second round of the playoffs are literally literally the highlight

656
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:35,840
Speaker 2: of the NBA season in many cases, so I don't

657
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,120
Speaker 2: think there's any point in reducing the volume there. I

658
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:42,120
Speaker 2: would keep seven seven seven seven for the four rounds

659
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:43,880
Speaker 2: and just find a way to shorten the number of

660
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,600
Speaker 2: regular season games to accomplish the goals you're talking about

661
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,360
Speaker 2: with removing back to backs and making cross country travel

662
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 2: more easy to manage. You often mention how you feel

663
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,960
Speaker 2: the Lakers need to as athletic starting caliber wing or

664
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,480
Speaker 2: three in order to truly contend in the top Western conference.

665
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:08,279
Speaker 2: While I do agree the Lakers could use good wing,

666
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:10,360
Speaker 2: I find that a far more glaring weakness in the

667
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,280
Speaker 2: starting lineup is the absence of a true defensive one,

668
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:16,160
Speaker 2: a truly elite point of attack guard with excellent screen

669
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:19,560
Speaker 2: navigation to unlock more coverage, versatility and keep the opposing

670
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,279
Speaker 2: quicker guards in check. Replacing Ruey with such a player

671
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,680
Speaker 2: in the starting lineup would also push everybody else towards

672
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 2: a more natural defensive role. Austin becomes your two, Luca

673
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,080
Speaker 2: gets to defend wings where he's shown some success, and

674
00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:32,360
Speaker 2: so on. Why do you feel like replacing Ruey with

675
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,560
Speaker 2: an athletic wing would improve the roster when it doesn't

676
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,080
Speaker 2: seem to address the most glaring hole true perimeter speed.

677
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,439
Speaker 2: Thanks has always loved the show, So to me, I'm

678
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,440
Speaker 2: looking for a three that can guard ones. That's kind

679
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,040
Speaker 2: of the point. Like there's you know, you mentioned a

680
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,000
Speaker 2: very interesting point having to do with, you know, screen navigation.

681
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:50,719
Speaker 2: But there's many ways to defend and drop coverage. So

682
00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 2: what you're talking about with the coverage versatility is so

683
00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:55,839
Speaker 2: right now with the Lakers starters with Ruey in there,

684
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 2: they want to switch. They want to switch because everyone's

685
00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,319
Speaker 2: slow and big. So the idea is if you switch

686
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:01,840
Speaker 2: and contain, keep them all in front, and you have

687
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,440
Speaker 2: good help recover on the back line, you can essentially

688
00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,319
Speaker 2: just kind of tilt the defense towards the shots you

689
00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,400
Speaker 2: want to live with and allow yourself to defend fine

690
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:13,560
Speaker 2: in the large sample, haven't done it well this year yet,

691
00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 2: at least not in the short sample we saw in

692
00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:19,920
Speaker 2: the Utah game. But I think there's an ability for

693
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:21,480
Speaker 2: that coverage to work. We talked about that a little

694
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,319
Speaker 2: bit in the Lakers Collective Pod yesterday, But it gets

695
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,719
Speaker 2: complicated because if you want to run drop coverage, you

696
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:29,360
Speaker 2: need to have someone that can get over screens.

697
00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,160
Speaker 1: There's multiple ways to do that. Though.

698
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,560
Speaker 2: There's the Cason Wallace, like, I'm attached to your hip

699
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 2: the whole damn way, and I'm like getting over the

700
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:42,400
Speaker 2: top and staying attached and making you uncomfortable. But then

701
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,640
Speaker 2: there's the length and rear view contest way of looking

702
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,279
Speaker 2: at it. Right, this is like kind of like the

703
00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:51,560
Speaker 2: Jaden McDaniels Herb Jones type of archetype, where it's like

704
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:56,399
Speaker 2: they're still fast, they don't necessarily stay as attached, but

705
00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:59,120
Speaker 2: they have such good length that when they're back pressuring,

706
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,279
Speaker 2: they still get offensive player's head because they feel like

707
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:04,439
Speaker 2: if they rise up in the mid range, they're gonna

708
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:07,600
Speaker 2: get blocked from behind, which then can trick them into

709
00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,759
Speaker 2: essentially forcing their penetration further into the rim, where now

710
00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:15,080
Speaker 2: you have your drop coverage big waiting. It's essentially a funnel, right,

711
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:19,200
Speaker 2: You're funneling them into that big man. Casin Wallace archetype

712
00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:21,719
Speaker 2: is going to do it by staying attached. Herb Jones

713
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,840
Speaker 2: archetype is going to do it by using his length

714
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,840
Speaker 2: pressuring from behind. Right, So like those are like the

715
00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:31,040
Speaker 2: two different ways to do it. To me, I still

716
00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:34,319
Speaker 2: look at that roster as like needing kind of like

717
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,840
Speaker 2: length and athleticism rather than just speed on the perimeter.

718
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:41,560
Speaker 2: You need both, but if you can find a three

719
00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:45,080
Speaker 2: that accomplishes a version of both, that is where you're

720
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,359
Speaker 2: cooking with grease right or cooking with gas right. So like,

721
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,520
Speaker 2: for instance, I've talked about Andrew Wiggins now. Andrew Wiggins

722
00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:52,960
Speaker 2: to me is in his thirties now, so like, I

723
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,840
Speaker 2: don't think he necessarily makes sense for the big picture

724
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:59,840
Speaker 2: goals of the Lakers, but strictly viewing it through the

725
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:01,959
Speaker 2: sho short term, he's an example of what I'm talking about,

726
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:06,480
Speaker 2: a big, fast athlete who brings speed, who brings athleticism,

727
00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:08,879
Speaker 2: who is an excellent rebounder, but that you can also

728
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,480
Speaker 2: deploy on the other team's best player and has some versatility.

729
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:13,400
Speaker 2: Because again, the other thing that you're forgetting here is like,

730
00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,600
Speaker 2: let's say you have a uh more of an athletic

731
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 2: one that you bring in and you have like this,

732
00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,920
Speaker 2: Let's just use a Davion Mitchell for example, Davion Mitchell

733
00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:27,400
Speaker 2: at the one, Austin, Luca Lebron and DeAndre Ayton. What

734
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,560
Speaker 2: happens when you run into some of the bigger, you know,

735
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:34,000
Speaker 2: bigger ball handlers in the league, like is Shaygos Alexander

736
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,040
Speaker 2: just gonna shoot over the top of Davion Mitchell every

737
00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:38,279
Speaker 2: single time, right, Like, there's a certain amount of like

738
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,360
Speaker 2: size and position that you deal with there too, the

739
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 2: idea of finding more of a three that is a

740
00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:47,000
Speaker 2: like perimeter defender type a la Andrew Wiggins. But the

741
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:48,840
Speaker 2: reason why we keep coming back to Herb Jones is

742
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:50,839
Speaker 2: he's a younger player to where like you can at

743
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,759
Speaker 2: least convince yourself if you're making that trade, Like, if

744
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:55,319
Speaker 2: you trade a first round pick for Andrew Wiggins, you're

745
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:56,880
Speaker 2: trading a first round pick for a guy that doesn't

746
00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:59,560
Speaker 2: necessarily fit Austin in Luca's timeline. To trade a first

747
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:01,960
Speaker 2: round pick for Herb Jones, you could be like, this

748
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,279
Speaker 2: is our starting three for the next five years, Like

749
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:07,680
Speaker 2: this is legitimately a foundational piece next to Austin and Luca.

750
00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:10,440
Speaker 2: That's a guy who can guard an opposing point guard

751
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:15,920
Speaker 2: garden opposing like can he guard a Shake Gildess Alexander,

752
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:21,960
Speaker 2: Devin Booker, a bigger forward like a Kawhi Leonard? Can

753
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,920
Speaker 2: he guard like all of these different types of players?

754
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:28,120
Speaker 2: Can he guard to Jamal Murray? Can he guard like

755
00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:30,839
Speaker 2: like the like? Can he guard to Tyrese MAXI can

756
00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:34,000
Speaker 2: he guard like these various different types of ball handlers.

757
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:38,000
Speaker 2: That's where like a traditional kind of like three makes

758
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 2: sense as a guy that could kind of round things

759
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,959
Speaker 2: out for that unit. Tim Leigler on the All NBA

760
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,120
Speaker 2: Podcast us that the injury spree in the NBA right

761
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,399
Speaker 2: now is caused by a lack of preseason prep from

762
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,600
Speaker 2: teams and athletes. He remarked that the NBA is much

763
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,279
Speaker 2: less physical than when he played, and that players are

764
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:55,120
Speaker 2: just not doing enough to prepare themselves for the eighty

765
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,319
Speaker 2: two Do you agree with this personally? I think that's

766
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,680
Speaker 2: bogus and surprisingly shortsighted take from a guy at Jenner respect,

767
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,640
Speaker 2: I think your take in most of the new school

768
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,000
Speaker 2: analysis are are one hundred percent on the money. The

769
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:07,880
Speaker 2: NBA has grown into a far more physically demanding and

770
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:09,840
Speaker 2: taxing game that it used to be due to the

771
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:12,399
Speaker 2: speed and pace of play. Lateral movement in eighty two

772
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:14,120
Speaker 2: games is just far too many for the intensity of

773
00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:15,960
Speaker 2: the current game. Love the show man, keep up the

774
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:16,359
Speaker 2: good work.

775
00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:16,960
Speaker 1: Yeah.

776
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,640
Speaker 2: I similarly, I have the utmost respect for Tim Legler,

777
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:23,839
Speaker 2: but I just disagree with that point of view. There's

778
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,440
Speaker 2: there's a lot of I think every basketball player has

779
00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:30,000
Speaker 2: a certain affinity for their era, and I think that

780
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:33,520
Speaker 2: that can color everybody's analysis. Like, you bet your ass

781
00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:35,520
Speaker 2: that twenty years from now, I will probably be the

782
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:38,120
Speaker 2: guy that's like, back in the twenty tens, you know,

783
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 2: they played this way and it was better. You know,

784
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:43,759
Speaker 2: Like that's just human nature, right. I think, Like the

785
00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:46,800
Speaker 2: points you made are all pretty obvious.

786
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:48,080
Speaker 1: Right, Like the.

787
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:54,600
Speaker 2: Game is insanely fast, way more possessions in transition, way

788
00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,760
Speaker 2: more sprinting, even within the half court. There's way more speed.

789
00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:00,760
Speaker 2: There's way more attacks on each possession, side to side,

790
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,600
Speaker 2: the drive and kick basketball. The amount of times that

791
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:07,880
Speaker 2: you're sprinting, closing out, planting, changing direction, and then all

792
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:09,480
Speaker 2: of a sudden turning it running the other way up

793
00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,680
Speaker 2: the floor, Like it is just much harder on the body.

794
00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:16,399
Speaker 2: And again, we're not seeing dudes, like according to the

795
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,680
Speaker 2: physicality that Tim Legler is referencing, We're not seeing like

796
00:40:19,719 --> 00:40:23,239
Speaker 2: a bunch of dislocated shoulders and like and like like

797
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:27,080
Speaker 2: broken wrists and like injuries that come from physicality. We're

798
00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:31,160
Speaker 2: seeing soft tissue injuries and ligament injuries. We're seeing achilles

799
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:36,440
Speaker 2: acl calf strains, hamstring strains. That's the kind of stuff

800
00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,080
Speaker 2: that we're seeing, and that is all associated with the

801
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:42,160
Speaker 2: human body of basically just not being able to withstand

802
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,040
Speaker 2: the grind of the NBA regular season now with how

803
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,200
Speaker 2: fast the game is played and how much body movement

804
00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:53,200
Speaker 2: there is in any given game. Next question, help me

805
00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:55,040
Speaker 2: make it. We have two more. Help me make sense

806
00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:57,360
Speaker 2: of this Raptors team and their success this year. No

807
00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,919
Speaker 2: superstars and feels a lot like the Pacers last year.

808
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:01,880
Speaker 2: So we did a Raptor segment last week on Friday,

809
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:03,759
Speaker 2: and then we hit them again at one point earlier

810
00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:05,080
Speaker 2: this week. So I'm not going to go too far

811
00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:07,160
Speaker 2: into it, but the very short version of it is

812
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,120
Speaker 2: they've after a kind of a rough start to the season,

813
00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:12,640
Speaker 2: they've recaptured some of their defensive identity from the tail

814
00:41:12,719 --> 00:41:14,719
Speaker 2: end of last year. They're a very good defensive team.

815
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:18,120
Speaker 2: They're getting out in transition a ton, which is part

816
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,400
Speaker 2: of that defense to transition attack that is super successful

817
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:23,680
Speaker 2: in the modern NBA. You get stops, you run when

818
00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:26,239
Speaker 2: you run out and transition you're roughly twenty percent more

819
00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:28,160
Speaker 2: efficient than you are in the half court. It's just

820
00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:31,520
Speaker 2: an opportunity to build additional margin. The surprise has been

821
00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:33,839
Speaker 2: they you know, one of the things we talked about

822
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:35,520
Speaker 2: coming into the season is they've got a lot of

823
00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:37,920
Speaker 2: playmaking talent. They've got a lot of guys that can

824
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,479
Speaker 2: pass the basketball. So we talked about in the half court,

825
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,719
Speaker 2: like they got shooting issues, but what if they're just

826
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:46,840
Speaker 2: like surgical in their playmaking ability and that's what's manifested.

827
00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:49,800
Speaker 2: They've played really impressive drive and kick basketball. They're a

828
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:53,000
Speaker 2: high assist percentage team. They move the ball well. And

829
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,000
Speaker 2: then to your point about the superstars, Like, I know

830
00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:58,239
Speaker 2: they don't have necessarily bona fide superstars, but Scottie Barnes

831
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:00,359
Speaker 2: and Brandon Ingram can make some plays. Like they had

832
00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:02,560
Speaker 2: a game the other day. I'm trying to remember who

833
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:04,080
Speaker 2: it was they were playing, but we talked about it

834
00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:07,120
Speaker 2: on the show. But Brandon, I think it was Charlotte

835
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:11,560
Speaker 2: and Brandon Ingram or Scottie Barnes like back Miles Bridges

836
00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:13,400
Speaker 2: down in the post and like dunked on his ass

837
00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:15,920
Speaker 2: and then like went down and had a huge block

838
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:18,799
Speaker 2: on I think Brandon Ingram had a huge block on

839
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:20,880
Speaker 2: Mason Plumley at the rim and then or Cale Brenner,

840
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:22,800
Speaker 2: I can't remember one of those the Hornets bigs. I

841
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:24,640
Speaker 2: think it was Cal Brenner. They go down the other

842
00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:26,759
Speaker 2: end and brandon Ingram like makes a beautiful read out

843
00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:28,279
Speaker 2: of a post up to a guy cutting down the

844
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:30,200
Speaker 2: lane to RJ Barrett, I think who gets a little lay

845
00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 2: up and they go down to the other end and

846
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:34,080
Speaker 2: then RJ and then Scotty Barnes gets a huge block

847
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:35,640
Speaker 2: right at the rim that cleans up a play like

848
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:39,560
Speaker 2: Scotty Barnes and Brandon Ingram can kind of leverage themselves

849
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:42,680
Speaker 2: to make superstar esque plays which can help them win

850
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:47,440
Speaker 2: win games on the margins. Lastly, Hey, Jason, great episode

851
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,480
Speaker 2: as always, coming up on a quarter of the season played.

852
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,440
Speaker 2: Who would be your MVP so far? Do you think

853
00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:53,520
Speaker 2: Shay will go back to back because of how transcendent

854
00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:56,120
Speaker 2: okay See has been Personally, I have Luca and first

855
00:42:56,280 --> 00:42:58,360
Speaker 2: he just has has to keep playing that way he

856
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,000
Speaker 2: has all the season. He has the keep playing the

857
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,120
Speaker 2: way he has all season and play enough games. What

858
00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:05,359
Speaker 2: are your thoughts? So it's interesting because I think all

859
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:07,560
Speaker 2: four of the top guys have had good cases for

860
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:11,680
Speaker 2: different reasons, Like Yannis and Luca have done the most

861
00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:16,239
Speaker 2: with the least right like with how often, with who's

862
00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:19,640
Speaker 2: been available for the Lakers, and with just the limitations

863
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,440
Speaker 2: of the Bucks roster in general, those are two pretty

864
00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:26,160
Speaker 2: limited teams that have won at a pretty high rate because

865
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:29,319
Speaker 2: of just how transcendently good Luca and Giannis have been. Now,

866
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:31,640
Speaker 2: Luca has won more. I think he's eight and three

867
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:34,400
Speaker 2: in the eleven games he's played, so I'd probably give

868
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,440
Speaker 2: a slight edge to Luca there. Luca has been insurd.

869
00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:39,480
Speaker 2: He's averaging like what thirty four and a half nine

870
00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:42,239
Speaker 2: and nine to start the year on' like sixty two

871
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:45,719
Speaker 2: percent true shooting, Like Luca's been outrageous. But then the

872
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:49,040
Speaker 2: other two guys are very good cases for different reasons.

873
00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:51,319
Speaker 2: Like Jokics very much has the I'm still the best

874
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,040
Speaker 2: player in the world case, and I think he's shown

875
00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:54,120
Speaker 2: that over the last few weeks.

876
00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:55,640
Speaker 1: He's been absolutely ridiculous.

877
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:58,719
Speaker 2: He's averaging like a like a I can't remember the

878
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:00,719
Speaker 2: exact numbers, but he's like close to like thirty three

879
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,480
Speaker 2: thirty four points per game and like twelve rebounds twelve

880
00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:07,800
Speaker 2: assists per game, absurdly efficient, like Jokic has been absurd.

881
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:08,960
Speaker 1: Over the last few weeks.

882
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,160
Speaker 2: He looks like the best player in the world, and

883
00:44:11,239 --> 00:44:13,400
Speaker 2: Shay's I think like fifteen to one when he plays,

884
00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:15,880
Speaker 2: so Like we talked about it, there's so many different

885
00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:18,239
Speaker 2: ways to build an MVP case, Like who's doing the

886
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:20,319
Speaker 2: most for their particular team and making the most out

887
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,200
Speaker 2: of the least. That's where Luca and yannisland. Who's the

888
00:44:23,239 --> 00:44:25,320
Speaker 2: best player on the best team. That's where Shaye lands,

889
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:28,040
Speaker 2: And who's the best player that's Nicole Jokis right. I

890
00:44:28,080 --> 00:44:31,320
Speaker 2: think all four players a very good cases. I'd probably

891
00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:33,520
Speaker 2: give this slight edge to Luca at this point, but

892
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:35,640
Speaker 2: I think it's roughly a tie between all four of

893
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:38,359
Speaker 2: those guys. And what you mentioned, the big key there

894
00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:42,520
Speaker 2: what's gonna ultimately end up measuring all of this is

895
00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,040
Speaker 2: in the big picture, how many games do these guys

896
00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:47,600
Speaker 2: play and how many games do their teams win. Like,

897
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:52,879
Speaker 2: if Shay wins seventeen more games than the second place

898
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:56,040
Speaker 2: team in the West, he's winning MVP. But if the

899
00:44:56,120 --> 00:45:01,160
Speaker 2: Lakers are only six or seven games back, lucas getting MVP.

900
00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:04,960
Speaker 2: If the Nuggets are only two or three games back,

901
00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:07,040
Speaker 2: Jokic is getting MVP.

902
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:07,759
Speaker 1: Right.

903
00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:10,600
Speaker 2: If Yannis and the Bucks finished with the two seed,

904
00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:14,000
Speaker 2: in the East, Giannis is probably getting MVP, right, So

905
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:16,560
Speaker 2: there's all those different factors that kind of have to

906
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:18,240
Speaker 2: shake out. That's why it's just kind of too early

907
00:45:18,280 --> 00:45:19,520
Speaker 2: for this sort of thing. But if you ask me

908
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:21,239
Speaker 2: to give an edge right now, I'd give the edge

909
00:45:21,239 --> 00:45:23,200
Speaker 2: to Luca because I think he's done the most with

910
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,480
Speaker 2: the least while also combining it with wins to this point.

911
00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:28,920
Speaker 2: All Right, guys, it's all I have for today is

912
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,800
Speaker 2: always sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting

913
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:33,720
Speaker 2: the show. I hope you all have an incredible weekend.

914
00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:36,000
Speaker 2: If you're down to watch some hoops tonight, again, we're

915
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:39,160
Speaker 2: hanging out on playback for Nuggets Rockets. Otherwise, I'll see

916
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:41,160
Speaker 2: you guys on Monday for Power rankings.