1
00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:04,120
What's up, y'all is Drewski and
I've teamed up with Mountain Dew to produce

2
00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:08,640
a hilarious new basketball podcast called The
Duo Zone with Drewski. Learn the backstories

3
00:00:08,679 --> 00:00:11,880
of your favorite balls and celebrities like
Jamal Murray. Did you have like a

4
00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:14,640
favorite team? Was it the Raptors
at the time? Or no, was

5
00:00:14,679 --> 00:00:17,039
the Raptors even started on the topic? Come on, bro, I had

6
00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,079
that old He's telling like I'm Vifty, Taylor Rogues, Asia Wilson, and

7
00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,879
many more. You won't want to
miss this. Listen to The Duo Zone

8
00:00:23,879 --> 00:00:27,039
with Drewski on Apple, Podcast,
Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

9
00:00:31,519 --> 00:00:35,759
Abner Maras is a world champion boxer, Olympian sports commentator, and most

10
00:00:35,799 --> 00:00:39,960
importantly, dad the two little girls
he loved by Abwella's and hardcore fans alike.

11
00:00:40,079 --> 00:00:42,640
Abner is a pro at entertaining the
world both in and out of the

12
00:00:42,719 --> 00:00:46,920
ring. Blue Wire's new podcast On
the Hook with Abner Maraz we'll hear from

13
00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,799
Abner, his family, fellow athletes, and other people who made him the

14
00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,159
boxer and the man he is today. They chat about topics like the state

15
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,479
of boxing, Abner's journey from a
kid on the streets to boxing champion,

16
00:00:56,799 --> 00:01:00,280
sports, music, culture, family
life, and so much more. Listen

17
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,439
to On the Hook with Abner Marris
wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes in

18
00:01:03,479 --> 00:01:06,400
English are out on Tuesdays, and
episodes in Spanish are out on Wednesdays.

19
00:01:14,799 --> 00:01:19,000
Hello everyone, and welcome to another
episode of Hardwood Knocks. This is Adam

20
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,120
from Will here with my co host
Dan Favali, and we are going to

21
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,680
be doing a mail back today where
we're answering a bunch of Twitter user questions

22
00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:30,239
that we've received on the NBA Math
account over the last few days, as

23
00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:34,840
well as just kind of like briefly
recapping some of the big takeaways from the

24
00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,680
twenty twenty NBA Finals. It's hard
to believe that we've actually reached the point

25
00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,560
where we can refer to the twenty
nineteen twenty season as this past season rather

26
00:01:42,599 --> 00:01:47,480
than the current one because it lasted
approximately three and a half years, but

27
00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,040
that's where we are now. Also
a shout out to bet Online, Dot

28
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,319
AG and indeed our sponsors for this
podcast, without whom it would not be

29
00:01:53,359 --> 00:01:57,840
possible. You'll be hearing from them
a little bit later on and before we

30
00:01:57,879 --> 00:02:01,359
move into the actual content, Dan
going today, I am doing, well,

31
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,680
how are you doing? I'm I'm
on adrenaline, I'm operating on no

32
00:02:05,799 --> 00:02:08,520
sleep. So this is going to
be my takes on this mailbag might get

33
00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,840
like too spicy because like my inhibitions
are clearly lowered. I think it's better

34
00:02:13,879 --> 00:02:16,759
that way. I'm I'm shockingly refreshed
for once. I don't know why because

35
00:02:16,759 --> 00:02:20,240
I haven't gotten a lot of sleep, but I'm like I'm feeling alert,

36
00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,479
which is a rarity these days with
a almost two year old child and a

37
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:29,479
full time job and all that jazz. Yeah, we'll call this team exhausted,

38
00:02:29,479 --> 00:02:34,120
except your team refreshed today, so
you'll have to carry the podcast I

39
00:02:34,159 --> 00:02:37,400
mean doing. I usually though,
come on, fair enough, fair enough.

40
00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,759
So look, let's start with the
finals. Well, we kind of

41
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,759
already, like we talked about the
series as if it was over on the

42
00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:47,520
last podcast we did together, so
we don't really have to go into the

43
00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,120
nitty gritty of that. But like, I'm just curious because there's been a

44
00:02:51,159 --> 00:02:53,360
lot of talk of it and this
doesn't really get it, can't get into

45
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:54,960
the Jordan debate, I guess a
little bit, but Where do you think

46
00:02:54,960 --> 00:03:01,439
this ranks among like Lebron's finals three
of the four. Yeah, I think

47
00:03:01,439 --> 00:03:06,599
it's a good question. It's one
that Lebron himself doesn't particularly care for because

48
00:03:06,759 --> 00:03:08,879
he has said that he values all
the rings. But I do think it's

49
00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:14,199
a it's a good discussion point,
but I would have it. You know,

50
00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,039
granted, every every title is special, regardless of when it comes and

51
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,439
for which team it comes. But
I think it's fourth of them just because

52
00:03:22,599 --> 00:03:27,879
the first one with Miami is special
because he finally proved that he could win

53
00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:31,879
that title, especially coming off the
twenty eleven let down against the Dallas Mavericks.

54
00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:37,639
The second one he kind of cemented
himself in that all time pantheon,

55
00:03:37,759 --> 00:03:39,400
which you know, we all assumed
he was going to get to, but

56
00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,400
it was just that validation that hey, like, this guy deserves to be

57
00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,000
in that goat conversation, or at
least the top five conversation at that time.

58
00:03:49,039 --> 00:03:52,719
The Cleveland title is probably the most
special of all because of the three

59
00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,680
one come back against the greatest regular
season team of all time in those seventy

60
00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,120
three win Golden State Warriors, as
well as bringing that fort franchise title to

61
00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,360
his hometown team. I think that
was probably the most emotionally important one,

62
00:04:04,599 --> 00:04:08,960
and this one. While it's fantastic
that he was able to win with the

63
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,159
Los Angeles Lakers, that he proved
that he could continue to win more titles

64
00:04:13,159 --> 00:04:16,959
and potentially make a push for that
Jordan tying sixth ring down the road,

65
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:24,199
it feels like it it doesn't quite
have that same level of importance and cachet

66
00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,879
as the previous three, though that
is not in any way a denigration of

67
00:04:27,879 --> 00:04:30,319
the most recent achievement. Yeah,
I think I'm pretty much with you.

68
00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,759
I don't know how you beat the
Cleveland title, whether you're looking at it,

69
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,560
how does it help the goat debate? And then just like how much

70
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,319
it meant it feels like it covers
both grounds there, I mean, coming

71
00:04:40,319 --> 00:04:42,519
back from three to one, first
time that's ever happened in the finals,

72
00:04:42,519 --> 00:04:45,480
like you said against the Warriors and
all that, This one, for me,

73
00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,360
I think is the least significant as
it pertains to the Michael Jordan debate,

74
00:04:48,639 --> 00:04:53,360
which I've mentioned to you before,
because I don't if you didn't have

75
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,519
lebron as your number one all time
before, I don't know why this would

76
00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:01,959
change that unless you're ascribing a ton
of value to him winning this title amid

77
00:05:02,199 --> 00:05:06,000
there was the Hong Kong stuff at
the beginning of the season. And while

78
00:05:06,079 --> 00:05:11,279
Lebron definitely came off hypocritical points,
we are one all hypocritical, as I

79
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,319
record this from a MacBook pro that
I'm on. But two, it was

80
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,160
just like they were I don't know
if they were there yet or they were

81
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,560
on their way to China. It's
just all that was unfolding, and so

82
00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:28,519
you were thrown into that, just
that gauntlet of like this political issue it

83
00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,360
was. It was a humanity issue
as well that you probably weren't expecting obviously,

84
00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:36,160
and then Kobe Bryant's death, Like
I do think that that's probably been

85
00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,079
there's a point I think it needs
to be mentioned because it matters, like

86
00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,839
Lebron was close with him, what
Kobe and Gianna meant to that franchise,

87
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,759
just the suddenness of it all,
knowing that how many other people died in

88
00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,079
that helicopter crash. That's something the
entire league had to overcome, and so

89
00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,480
it definitely matters. You just don't
want to make it exploitive, which I

90
00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,079
do feel like it. It got
there for sure, yeah, Like when

91
00:05:58,079 --> 00:06:00,120
we were talking about his MVP case, it was like, you know,

92
00:06:00,959 --> 00:06:04,600
like we can't do that, Like
that almost is insulting to like the I

93
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,519
don't want to say the memory of
Kobe, right, but like that just

94
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,639
you know, don't dilute the meaning
of it in any way it would be

95
00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,399
I guess, but it was an
obstacle, Like I think that's one hundred

96
00:06:13,439 --> 00:06:15,079
percent fair as one of my puppy's
wines. In the background of this,

97
00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,759
they're not happy with the exploit of
Kobe takes either, and then booked the

98
00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,759
social justice stuff, the coronavirus pandemic, Like these were unprecedented circumstances, whether

99
00:06:24,759 --> 00:06:27,399
you think they had an easier path
to the title or not. Like being

100
00:06:27,399 --> 00:06:30,600
sequestered away from your family for that
long, it matters, Like it's I

101
00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,199
know it was collectively bargain that he
chose to do it, but that stuff

102
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,079
still matters. So you can argue
that there's a certain difficulty levels of that,

103
00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,759
But I don't know that it could
have a case. It's not gonna

104
00:06:39,759 --> 00:06:42,560
beat out Cleveland for me, But
when you look at the goat debate,

105
00:06:42,639 --> 00:06:46,000
it's like the only thing it really
does for me is is say, well,

106
00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,839
damn him and Anthony Davis wanted in
their first year together, and Lebron

107
00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:54,079
is still Lebron, like we talk
about yeah, and look, he's almost

108
00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,439
thirty six now, Like I don't
know how much the break ends up help

109
00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,480
again because he missed the playoffs last
year, then had a break leading into

110
00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,160
the bubble this year, but like
he's basically gonna turn because the season ended

111
00:07:02,319 --> 00:07:05,360
so late, he's gonna turn thirty
six, Like soon he's closer to thirty

112
00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,480
six, Like it's two months away, his birthday essentially less than two months

113
00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,639
away. So he's still playing at
this level and while the West isn't gonna

114
00:07:13,639 --> 00:07:15,879
get any easier, like he has
time to get a fifth one, I

115
00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,680
think, more so than we ever
thought he was gonna get, and especially

116
00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,600
I thought he was gonna get because
we had this discussion way back when he

117
00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:26,720
first signed with the Lakers where I
agreed he might be done making finals appearances.

118
00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,079
How wrong I was about that.
But now if it's all of a

119
00:07:29,079 --> 00:07:30,759
sudden, like if you get to
five, like that's the game changer for

120
00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:33,800
me. It's not six, But
at that point it's like the ring count

121
00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:39,560
is disingenuous. Now I believe like
once you get to five, it's just

122
00:07:39,639 --> 00:07:43,680
like it's one away and like,
like, what is the It just feels

123
00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,360
like a negative five feels so much
more than four to me for some reason,

124
00:07:46,439 --> 00:07:48,360
I don't know why. And the
last thing I'll say, since I'm

125
00:07:48,399 --> 00:07:53,279
rambling here, is that I think
you could make an argument that maybe this

126
00:07:53,319 --> 00:07:57,519
title means more than number one or
two if he wanted to, because you

127
00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,439
could look at the first one people
said he wasn't gonna win, but looking

128
00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,360
at the team he was on,
you could deem it inevitable and they beat

129
00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,040
Okay, see in five games that
year I think was it five? I

130
00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,759
think it was so. And then
the second one is like you know,

131
00:08:09,959 --> 00:08:13,680
yes, they came back against the
Spurs. You have that real and shot.

132
00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,439
There's the what if actors of what
if he never hits that you were

133
00:08:16,519 --> 00:08:18,480
on the verge of a three p
which would have put you in in the

134
00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,959
dynastic talk, but like it was
just you know, most spates would have

135
00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,800
given him credit then, fucking most
spaces. That was like, oh god,

136
00:08:26,079 --> 00:08:31,439
I love that. There was the
bronze sucks like tag like at in

137
00:08:31,519 --> 00:08:35,679
there and it wasn't even a watermark. It was just bold outlined meme font

138
00:08:35,759 --> 00:08:39,759
I gotta kick out of that.
But he was sipping some bad opinion juice,

139
00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:41,919
And so I think you could make
the case that this is better or

140
00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,559
more important if you want to say
the numbers one or two. But I

141
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:50,480
would definitely have the Cleveland title and
his first title ahead of this, and

142
00:08:50,519 --> 00:08:54,279
I might even lean towards number two
at least is it if you're looking at

143
00:08:54,279 --> 00:08:56,320
the Michael Jordan debate, I think
all three of his previous titles mean more

144
00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,960
to it. But if you're looking
at just overall meaning, I think they're

145
00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,960
a case or this one to be
number number two or number three. I

146
00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:09,559
think with regard to the Michael Jordan
debate, the reason that this doesn't really

147
00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,759
hold much sway there or is going
to change any opinions is because the parameters

148
00:09:13,759 --> 00:09:18,799
of that debate feel so established at
this point and they aren't changing. We

149
00:09:18,879 --> 00:09:24,840
know that Jordan's individual peak was a
little bit higher than Lebron's, and his

150
00:09:26,039 --> 00:09:31,240
case rests on that perfection in the
NBA Finals, the six for six,

151
00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:35,759
which is never going to change,
the ring count, the mythology, the

152
00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:41,159
legend that is Michael Jordan Lebron's case
is about longevity, like that's the primary

153
00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:48,360
selling point, and him continuing to
demonstrate that that longevity is ongoing. It's

154
00:09:48,399 --> 00:09:52,840
not going to change any minds at
this point. Like I don't think like

155
00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,480
even if he wins the next two
titles, I don't know that it's going

156
00:09:56,519 --> 00:10:01,840
to change anybody's minds if he to
six, I don't know how it doesn't.

157
00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,440
I would say even five might get
him the consensus. Maybe it's like

158
00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,559
the barely of the consensus, but
like, I don't know how you deny

159
00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,000
it at that point. I just
think it's too entrenched. And like if

160
00:10:11,039 --> 00:10:16,200
we don't even consider currym Abdul Jabbar
in the Goat conversation, which really we

161
00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,440
should, but his case is also
based more on longevity than anything else.

162
00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,120
The fact that he entered the league
in the early seventies and dominated with the

163
00:10:24,159 --> 00:10:28,879
Milwaukee Bucks and continued to win titles
with the Los Angeles Lakers in the eighties,

164
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:33,919
Like he was so good for so
long, but that has like lost

165
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,679
a little bit of resonance as we've
moved further from his playing days, And

166
00:10:39,039 --> 00:10:45,200
I feel like that's what would happen
with Lebron if he makes the biggest point

167
00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,840
in his favor at the tail end
of his career, because it's all about

168
00:10:48,919 --> 00:10:54,799
that longevity. Yeah, and I
think what sore for Jordan that level of

169
00:10:54,799 --> 00:11:01,399
mythology, Even though you could say
Lebron's game is maybe more myth than actual

170
00:11:01,519 --> 00:11:03,919
human the level of mythology of Michael
Jordan is just never gonna be matched by

171
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,000
Lebron because the way the league is
covered, like everything is just collated and

172
00:11:07,039 --> 00:11:11,039
calibrated, it's just it's exhaustive.
At the same time, his might be

173
00:11:11,039 --> 00:11:15,159
a case that age is better after
he leaves the league because people are gonna

174
00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,039
look back at his resume and be
like, holy shit, look at what

175
00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:20,240
this guy did for twenty years or
twenty something years. And maybe it's not

176
00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:24,440
something that he'll ever have in the
moment, but like if we fast forward

177
00:11:24,919 --> 00:11:28,120
five to seven years after he retires, I think there's a chance he would

178
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,399
have the consensus there. And I'm
on record of saying I think Lebron would

179
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,600
be my greatest of all time.
Like, there's definitely a debate for Jordan,

180
00:11:35,759 --> 00:11:39,080
but like now I'm if he's not
there yet, I'm sort of resigned

181
00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,720
to just assuming that Lebron is going
to get there. But I do think

182
00:11:45,399 --> 00:11:48,799
to your point, it's gonna be
tough for him to grab the consensus because

183
00:11:48,879 --> 00:11:52,000
there's there's one aspect and it's not
just rings, even if he doesn't get

184
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,679
six rings, but like that's at
least like catchable. It's it's something tangible

185
00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,639
he can catch the inevitability of Michael
Jordan, the mythology of Michael Jordan.

186
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,200
It's something that he's never going to
match. And I think that has more

187
00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:07,720
to do with the timing and the
difference in eras than it actually does of

188
00:12:07,759 --> 00:12:11,639
the two players. Right, it's
there the points that are made in Jordan's

189
00:12:11,639 --> 00:12:15,159
favorite Like if we go back to
the Marie Spates meme that he posted,

190
00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,799
it's like, oh, it took
him ten together fourth. Oh that's how

191
00:12:18,799 --> 00:12:22,159
confident he felt about that. I
heard he made his account private or something

192
00:12:22,159 --> 00:12:26,759
too, But anyway, you know
the fact that he was confident enough to

193
00:12:26,799 --> 00:12:28,399
post that, oh it took ten
dries for him to win his fourth ring,

194
00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,879
Like, that's not going to go
away. Those six losses in the

195
00:12:31,879 --> 00:12:35,200
finals, even if they were against
largely juggernaut teams, it's not going to

196
00:12:35,279 --> 00:12:39,840
go away. And it's amazing,
Like because We're so far removed from Jordan's

197
00:12:39,879 --> 00:12:45,200
prime already. It's like when he
when when Lebron passed the ball to Danny

198
00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,840
Green who missed that game winning attempt, and the criticism was, oh,

199
00:12:48,879 --> 00:12:52,600
like Jordan wouldn't have passed, And
you see how many people are already forgetting

200
00:12:52,639 --> 00:12:56,399
like wait, he did, and
it's like her and John Paxson hit those

201
00:12:56,399 --> 00:13:01,159
big shots like that that is so
washed away already because of the mythology.

202
00:13:01,279 --> 00:13:05,799
Like that's why I just I don't
know that anything he's gonna do is is

203
00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:11,080
going to change minds because there's so
much entrenchment already on that side. That's

204
00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:16,080
fair. I almost want him to
get to six to see what But like

205
00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,480
I don't really, I don't have
money gets a seven if he's if he

206
00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:22,360
was at seven and did, like, first of all, he gets a

207
00:13:22,399 --> 00:13:24,440
set. I don't even know.
Anybody has to win like three in the

208
00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:26,639
next five years or something. That's
just I mean, look, Kareem Won

209
00:13:26,759 --> 00:13:30,360
is going to carry him in his
final year in the league. And look,

210
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,120
Kareem won a title when he was
forty, I believe, so there's

211
00:13:33,159 --> 00:13:35,320
that to consider as well. But
if he did get to six, I'm

212
00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,559
not like rooting for him necessarily to
get to six. I just I want

213
00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,039
good basketball and then I'll enjoy whatever
happens after the fact. But if he

214
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,399
gets to six, I would be
interested to see where that debate ends up,

215
00:13:45,399 --> 00:13:48,320
because I feel like that's the only
one. Now you're on even ground

216
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,320
with the rings, what do you
focus on for Jordan? Aside from what

217
00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:54,159
you just said. There's gonna be
that perception of oh, we wouldn't have

218
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,840
passed, and then there's the perfect
finals record, and both those things are

219
00:13:56,879 --> 00:14:00,480
just like so flimsy, and the
ring count itself is so flimsy. But

220
00:14:00,519 --> 00:14:03,519
like, if you tied the ring
count, the argument to make for Jordan,

221
00:14:03,519 --> 00:14:05,799
I feel like gets exponentially harder to
me. Yeah, to be honest,

222
00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,440
I'm just like kind of exhausted by
the conversation in general. Like,

223
00:14:09,519 --> 00:14:13,320
ultimately, they're both incredible basketball players
and it's not really like that relevant the

224
00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,480
fact that the fact of the matter
is like they're in the top tier together,

225
00:14:16,919 --> 00:14:18,799
and if you want to throw Kareem
in there, if you want to

226
00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,720
throw like Will Chamberlain in there,
like, go ahead. But they're in

227
00:14:22,759 --> 00:14:24,600
there, and that's the most important
part. And I say that, and

228
00:14:24,639 --> 00:14:28,720
I know full well this will not
be the last podcast episode that we discussed

229
00:14:28,799 --> 00:14:33,360
Lebron and Jordan in the same conversation. I want to go to scause I

230
00:14:33,399 --> 00:14:35,720
love this debate, like I get
the fatigue from it, but like I

231
00:14:35,759 --> 00:14:39,039
do feel like we have a tendency
to shy away from like topics that are

232
00:14:39,039 --> 00:14:43,039
probably overcovered or exploited like by the
you know, if it's if it's on

233
00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,240
Turner or Bleacher Reporter, ESPN too
much like people. And I totally get

234
00:14:46,279 --> 00:14:48,720
the fatigue, but like you know
what, I'm not gonna I love talking

235
00:14:48,759 --> 00:14:52,879
about Jannie's free agency and future.
I should I should clarify I am not

236
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,159
exhausted by like this conversation because it's
it's approached the right way and as long

237
00:14:58,159 --> 00:15:01,600
as Nuance is a allowed to enter
into the conversation, then I'm good with

238
00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:05,919
it. But just like the overall
overriding focus and the fact that any post

239
00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:11,879
about Lebron James on Twitter or Facebook
is inundated with comments about Jordan, like

240
00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:13,600
that just gets so tired. I
can see that. But you also did

241
00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,639
tell me that you were exhausted of
me before we started recording, so I

242
00:15:16,639 --> 00:15:20,840
don't know how I'm supposed to interpret
this at that point however you want.

243
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,679
Even though sports had a break,
your business didn't. You have to keep

244
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,559
moving, and that makes hiring more
important than ever. Indeed is here to

245
00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,799
help. Indeed dot Com is the
number one job site in the world because

246
00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:37,039
Indeed gets you the best people fast. Unlike other sites, Indeed gives you

247
00:15:37,159 --> 00:15:41,480
full control and payment flexibility over your
hiring. You only pay for what you

248
00:15:41,519 --> 00:15:43,720
need, You can pause your account
at any time, and there are no

249
00:15:43,759 --> 00:15:48,879
long term contracts. Plus, Indeed
provides powerful tools to make your search that

250
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,480
much easier, like sponsored jobs,
which are shown to be three and a

251
00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,000
half times more likely to result in
a higher With seventy three percent of online

252
00:15:56,039 --> 00:16:00,360
job seekers visiting Indeed each month,
Indeed is going to get you the important

253
00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,799
higher unique just like they have for
over three million businesses. Right now,

254
00:16:03,799 --> 00:16:07,639
Indeed is offering our listeners a free
seventy five dollars credit to boost your job

255
00:16:07,679 --> 00:16:12,159
post, which means more quality candidates
will see it fast. Try Indeed out

256
00:16:12,159 --> 00:16:15,840
with a free seventy five dollars credit
at indeed dot com slash blue wire.

257
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,840
This is their best offer available anywhere. Go right now to indeed dot Com

258
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,399
slash Blue Wire terms and conditions apply, offer valid through December thirty. First,

259
00:16:27,759 --> 00:16:30,639
before we get into the melbag,
this is all gut feeling stuff.

260
00:16:30,679 --> 00:16:36,399
But so the twenty nineteen twenty season
is over. The twenty twenty twenty twenty

261
00:16:36,399 --> 00:16:41,279
one season is probably not going to
begin until twenty twenty one. At this

262
00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:42,840
point, I think MLK Day is
the one that everyone zeroed in on,

263
00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:45,519
and that does feel like the right
one. But there's been there is a

264
00:16:45,519 --> 00:16:48,200
report from ESPN that like, people
around the league don't want to give up

265
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,519
the Christmas Day extravaganza, and then
there's also been talk of like, well

266
00:16:52,519 --> 00:16:56,120
they might push it to March because
they want fans. If you just had

267
00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:57,440
to guess, and I'll want you, you don't have to get into any

268
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:02,519
of like the coronavirus stuff. Would
be more likely that the NBA starts on

269
00:17:02,639 --> 00:17:07,160
Christmas or starts in March. To
you easily March. You know, we're

270
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:12,440
already we have It's it's impossible to
have this conversation without getting into the coronavirus

271
00:17:12,519 --> 00:17:18,519
stuff. And we're already seeing case
rates elevate once again. It's probably only

272
00:17:18,559 --> 00:17:22,799
going to get worse in the winter. The death rates though it's fine,

273
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,160
it's just to be honest, the
death rate is the only thing that matters.

274
00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:30,000
I'm sorry to exhausting conversations, but
yeah, I mean, like,

275
00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,440
I think the NBA is quickly going
to realize the reality of the situation that

276
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:41,240
fans are not likely to be involved, at least in large volume or in

277
00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:47,359
safe manners, and that's just going
to push the timetable back. I still

278
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:48,880
think that we're gonna get to a
point because I think you have to,

279
00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,480
like maybe it'll be like in December
sometime where they realize, like, well,

280
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,519
we're not waiting the two or three
months is not going to get us

281
00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,720
fans in the stands. And that's
why I feel like it might actually be

282
00:18:00,759 --> 00:18:03,079
more likely, Like maybe it's late
November, early December. I would say

283
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,079
Christmas is more likely than March to
me, just because I think they're there's

284
00:18:06,079 --> 00:18:07,200
gonna come a point where I think
they're gonna be more concerned about, well,

285
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,880
we have to get in as many
games or all the games, and

286
00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:17,480
because we're not going to have that
gate revenue which accounts forty of their revenue.

287
00:18:17,519 --> 00:18:19,240
So I would think Christmas is more
likely. But I think MLKDA feels

288
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,440
like the right one to guess.
I don't. We obviously don't know about

289
00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,160
fans in the stands. I am
curious to see though, how they would

290
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,799
handle the differing markets where like because
in Florida where there's as of now we're

291
00:18:30,839 --> 00:18:33,079
recording this just no restrictions on anything, So like could the Magic and the

292
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:37,359
heat like they're allowed to have fans
in the stands, but let's say the

293
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,200
Lakers and Clippers wouldn't be Are they
going to come up with a blanket rules?

294
00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,880
We're seeing in the NFL where different
stadiums are having different policies. There

295
00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,200
are some teams that are continuing to
not have fans in the stadiums. There

296
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,680
are others that are pushing for fuller
capacities. So I do think that there

297
00:18:53,759 --> 00:18:59,400
is precedent for allowing some periods there. Yeah, there's precedent. I just

298
00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,200
wonder if that's like the is it
the route to go? Because are you

299
00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,400
putting I do having your general if
the NFL does something, you should do

300
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,240
the opposite. I do hope what
they at least do because I think you're

301
00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:11,519
I don't feel like I was about
to talk over that. That's I would

302
00:19:11,519 --> 00:19:15,400
agree with you. I would think
like if not every market can have it's

303
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,519
like cleared for some capacity. I
know that I don't think the NBA will

304
00:19:18,559 --> 00:19:22,200
view it this way, but I
would prefer the blanket rule. But they're

305
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:23,480
gonna want the revenue, so I'm
sure they'll go more the way of the

306
00:19:23,559 --> 00:19:27,400
NFL. I'm not saying having fans
contributes to how it would impact the players,

307
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,599
but like you're already putting them at
more risk once you start traveling and

308
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,759
they're not in the bubble anymore.
I don't think we could expect them to

309
00:19:33,799 --> 00:19:36,440
go back in the bubble. I'm
wondering if one way to mitigate it would

310
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:41,039
be like can they have longer like
series with one team where the traveling team

311
00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:45,079
is like more easily it's a questioned
where it's like get in all three of

312
00:19:45,079 --> 00:19:48,759
your matchups or four of your matchups
with the Rockets at the same time if

313
00:19:48,759 --> 00:19:52,599
you're the Lakers or whatever, And
that'd be interesting because then it's like,

314
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,960
do we get a playoff feel and
see like for the adjustments beforehand. Just

315
00:19:56,039 --> 00:19:59,240
might be something to try. That's
just I think MLK Day though, that

316
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:00,960
would be my you feel like that's
the date that it feels like it's going

317
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,400
to happen. This is a totally
hairbrained idea that I literally just thought of

318
00:20:06,759 --> 00:20:10,079
while you were talking. But I
wonder if it would be possible to have

319
00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:15,680
like a number of different bubble locations
and have you know, eight teams go

320
00:20:15,759 --> 00:20:18,119
to them. They essentially play like
round robin style, so they're getting in

321
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,319
their games against each of them all
locally. Then you have like a week

322
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,720
or two off so players can go
see their families and then you go enter

323
00:20:26,759 --> 00:20:30,440
a different bubble, and like just
if if they can come up with a

324
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,920
schedule that allows that, then that
might be like the safest way to get

325
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:40,400
in a lot of games. Yeah, that's I don't think that's two hairbrains.

326
00:20:41,279 --> 00:20:44,759
I just I'd be curious to see, like how like you're stopping and

327
00:20:44,799 --> 00:20:48,160
starting bubbles, Like does there need
to be like a quarantining process like after

328
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,119
the bubble? Think so, yeah, so that like that's where that gets

329
00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:52,799
tough. But that's why I do
think that earlier is going to end up

330
00:20:52,799 --> 00:20:57,640
being the standard, just because in
absence of having stadium's full or arena's full,

331
00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,480
like not even talking about partical path
see you get to the point where

332
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,519
it's like, well, then we
need we need to play all eighty two

333
00:21:03,519 --> 00:21:06,960
games. And that's why I would
just lean and if if we've learned anything

334
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,559
from what's happening in the NFL right
now with like the Tennessee Titans outbreak,

335
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:15,920
then in all likelihood you need to
plan time in your schedule for makeup games,

336
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,359
right, And that's why the earlier
start would be. That's what the

337
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,200
whole thing is, just uncomfortable with
sports. Like I get it from a

338
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,880
like hardened like business perspective, like
if life is going to go on,

339
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,599
but it's like if you're doing this
outside the bubble, which I don't think

340
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,119
you can ask the players to do
this all the time. I want to

341
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,680
make that clear. But like you're
almost admitting like there's going to be more

342
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,920
positive cases in the league now,
and like that's what's absolutely terrifying. But

343
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:41,559
on a lighter note, we have
a mailbag to go through. I'm not

344
00:21:41,559 --> 00:21:44,599
sure if you have a handied I'm
putting on the spot here, but there

345
00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,799
was we did. I did a
solo mailbag that you actually prepped for and

346
00:21:48,839 --> 00:21:51,920
you had a question. I believe
that you did research for that you wanted

347
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,720
to answer. I don't know if
you wrote down the question or if you

348
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,839
have the research in front of you, but now would be the time for

349
00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,480
you to tackle that one since we
are in a mailbag. Yeah, I

350
00:22:00,519 --> 00:22:06,680
do. I can't remember which one
was covered. Was it the assist to

351
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:12,319
turnover correlation or was it the clutch
shooting? I covered neither. I did

352
00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:17,480
shooting overall in the bubble versus the
regular seasons. I thought that was just

353
00:22:17,519 --> 00:22:21,640
like a larger sample, but I
didn't cover either of them. Yeah,

354
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,519
I think the one that was really
interesting to me was whether there is a

355
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:33,359
strong correlation between assist to turnover rate
and winning percentage, just like whether the

356
00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:37,240
teams that are better passing teams.
And we saw this in particular with like

357
00:22:37,279 --> 00:22:42,640
the Warriors at their peak, where
they were just so good at generating assists

358
00:22:42,799 --> 00:22:47,480
on every single bucket that they made, but they also had a lot of

359
00:22:47,519 --> 00:22:55,160
turnovers. Okay, yeah, but
you know what I found from looking at

360
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:56,640
this. I looked at every team
since the start of the two thousand and

361
00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,680
two thousand and one season, and
they're like, real, isn't that strong

362
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,240
of a correlation? There is a
positive one, but the R squared coefficient

363
00:23:04,319 --> 00:23:08,400
is only zero point two O seven
Overall, there just aren't like there is

364
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:15,000
not really demonstrable evidence that having an
elite assisted turnover ratio pushes you into that

365
00:23:15,039 --> 00:23:21,000
elite territory. So there are examples
where like the twenty eleven twelve Oklahoma City

366
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,640
Thunder they went forty seven and nineteen
with a one point one three as sister

367
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,880
turnover ratio, so that was the
ninety third point one percentile for wins and

368
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:33,599
the zero point seven percentile for a
sister turnover ratio, so like they managed

369
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,599
to win through a lot of isolation
heavy basketball. Alternatively, like the twenty

370
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,880
seventeen eighteen Dallas Mavericks, they only
won twenty four games, so they were

371
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,880
in the ninety fourth percentile for a
sister turnover ratio. And even recently we've

372
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:52,079
actually seen that correlation continue to decline, which is likely because we're moving away

373
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,079
from old school hero ball, but
we're moving towards like the off the bounce,

374
00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:02,440
step back threes, a lot of
riskier possession because you're you're trying to

375
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:06,160
go for those three pointers that are
so prominent in today's game. So the

376
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:10,119
correlation coefficient over the last five years
dropped to point one ninety seven, but

377
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,720
during this season it was actually point
zero nine one, which is basically like

378
00:24:12,799 --> 00:24:18,240
no correlation whatsoever? Did this?
Did those findings surprise you at all?

379
00:24:18,519 --> 00:24:22,200
They did. I would have expected
there to be at least more of a

380
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,200
relationship between the two, and it's
always tough to infer causation from correlation,

381
00:24:26,279 --> 00:24:32,599
but it at least seems likely that
teams that are better at passing and better

382
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:37,079
at avoiding turnovers would be better at
winning games. But as we move increasingly

383
00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:41,720
into this modern style, that's just
like not really what we're seeing. I

384
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,440
feel like that surprises me as well
too, but I guess that makes sense

385
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:49,240
when you're looking at how the game
has been trending. Yeah, so did

386
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,039
you want to go? Do you
want me to take us through the mail

387
00:24:52,039 --> 00:24:53,519
bagger? You said you went like
this if you could would be awesome,

388
00:24:53,519 --> 00:24:56,039
just since I think you have the
questions in front of you. Awesome.

389
00:24:56,079 --> 00:24:59,759
All right, So let's start with
a fun one first, since we covered

390
00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:03,240
some be handed stuff to begin.
This is from Jacob Borne, friend of

391
00:25:03,279 --> 00:25:07,240
the Pod and friend in real life
and former co worker. Best and Worst

392
00:25:07,599 --> 00:25:10,359
tattoos in the NBA? Is this
one? Of the questions that you did

393
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,839
research on, I prepared for all
of them. So yes, I do

394
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:17,400
want to do my best or my
worst first, which wherever you want to

395
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:21,200
start, Let's start with the worst. And I want to preface this by

396
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,319
saying that you know, tattoos are
an individual decision, and I'm sure that

397
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,960
each one that an NBA player has
has meaning and that they're ultimately a fan

398
00:25:29,039 --> 00:25:32,519
of So it's hard to like talk
down on them, because even if they're

399
00:25:32,519 --> 00:25:36,319
not appealing to us, I'm sure
that they're appealing to the players. Now

400
00:25:36,319 --> 00:25:40,119
that's said, that important caveat out
of the way. I hate Mike Scott's

401
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:45,079
emoji tattoos, but I don't I
don't care for them. So those and

402
00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,279
if I can go like a little
bit into the retired player spectrum, Richard

403
00:25:48,319 --> 00:25:53,559
Jefferson has like the cartoonish r J
initials. I don't know where they are,

404
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,160
I can't remember that, but they
look like they were drawn by a

405
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,599
middle schooler and I was just never
a fan of those. So those are

406
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,440
my are my two at the bottom. But again, like you, you

407
00:26:02,519 --> 00:26:04,880
just said that you like the emoji
tattoos, and it's all when we talk

408
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,960
about arc which is what tattoos are, like it's a matter of personal preference.

409
00:26:10,079 --> 00:26:11,880
Yeah, so, and look,
I don't want to criticize that there's

410
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,359
actual meeting behind any of these,
Like, I don't want to be criticizing

411
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,119
that. And the two of the
worst, two of the worst ones that

412
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,200
stood out to me so is abdel
Nader has a no Love tattoo with like

413
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:26,880
this weird like just like it's like
an emoji heart but not really biting on

414
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:33,000
a rose, chewing through a like
coming through a star. I don't know

415
00:26:33,039 --> 00:26:36,920
what it means, but it just
doesn't is not viscerally appealing to me.

416
00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,240
The other one that stands out,
I don't know, and it's probably because

417
00:26:40,279 --> 00:26:44,960
of what it is, but Kai
Bowman has like one of the least attractive

418
00:26:45,079 --> 00:26:48,400
like tattoos I've ever seen. It's
like a it looks like there's a Jason

419
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:53,839
mask on there with some dice.
Maybe there's stars there. There's definitely hearts.

420
00:26:55,279 --> 00:26:56,640
I'm trying to look at it now. There's some sort of creature.

421
00:26:56,799 --> 00:27:00,640
It looks like maybe it's it's Freddie
and Jason. That must be what it

422
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,799
was. It looked like groot,
but like zombie groot is what I thought

423
00:27:03,799 --> 00:27:07,559
it was at first, Like I
couldn't tell it was Jason, and like

424
00:27:07,559 --> 00:27:10,599
I'm just not, I don't know, I'm just not about it, and

425
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,599
like there's not I'm a big fan
of shading. It looks like there's cards

426
00:27:12,599 --> 00:27:15,480
in there as well. So if
you're gonna get anything resembling like a it's

427
00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:18,640
basically up his whole calf, Like, get some shading in there too to

428
00:27:18,799 --> 00:27:23,000
connect to them. The other the
other one, like it's not an active

429
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:29,160
player, but Darren Williams's old shoulder
tattoo. The panther was awful because it

430
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,799
didn't look like a panther on broadcasts. It kind of looked like like this

431
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,519
melting puddle of something, and it
was just it was not great. That's

432
00:27:36,519 --> 00:27:40,960
another one that stands out to me
historically. I can't one. I'm looking

433
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:42,759
up right now because I can't remember
whether I loved or hated it, but

434
00:27:42,559 --> 00:27:47,960
I knew it was considered iconic in
one fashion or another. Is like Andre

435
00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,599
Carolinko had that it was like a
world of warcraft tattoo. Yep, yep,

436
00:27:52,839 --> 00:27:55,599
I'm looking at it right now.
I don't think if falls under the

437
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,079
worst or the best. For me, it was like his entire back though

438
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:03,079
you just can't really like tell like
I guess if you're a Wow fan you

439
00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:03,880
can. But the detail on it
is like, I don't know, it

440
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,359
seems a little fuzy. Maybe that's
just the picture. What were your best

441
00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:11,400
tattoos? Though? They were both
so My top two are actually both on

442
00:28:11,519 --> 00:28:15,720
the New Orleans Pelicans. I love
how JJ reddick sleeve looks with the angel

443
00:28:15,759 --> 00:28:19,799
and the lion. I just it
really works. I've always liked looking at

444
00:28:19,799 --> 00:28:22,319
that one since he got it,
what was it like two or three years

445
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,720
ago now? And I think the
best one is Lonzo Ball's sleeve though,

446
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,200
the one that has Rosa Parks,
Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubb,

447
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,119
and Barack Obama and Martin Luther King
Junior on it is it is so

448
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:38,319
like exquisitely detailed. There's obviously a
lot of meaning to having those prominent black

449
00:28:38,359 --> 00:28:45,000
figures throughout American history. It looks
great, the meaning is there. It

450
00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,640
checks all the boxes for me.
Yeah, that was so his was on

451
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,799
His is my absolute favorite too.
And look the detail on the portraits one

452
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,319
as someone who been so good,
yeah, as someone who's a tattoo enthusiast,

453
00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,559
Like the portraits are hit or miss, like they can come out terribly.

454
00:29:02,039 --> 00:29:04,640
That was just fantastic artwork, and
like it's so detailed and so huge

455
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:11,039
that you almost forget that they're on
the same arm. So like that's just

456
00:29:11,079 --> 00:29:15,480
incredible. So he was my pick
for absolute favorite, and so you know,

457
00:29:15,759 --> 00:29:19,119
regardless of I like JJ Reddicks too. Austin Rivers, though, has

458
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,079
a really nice sleeve where it's there's
like some religion at the top of it.

459
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,640
Near his shoulder blade, there's like
a huge rose I think with prayer

460
00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:30,759
hands as he gets lowered to the
arm. But it can be really hard

461
00:29:30,799 --> 00:29:33,599
with just black and white tattoos,
but there's not a lot of color for

462
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:34,960
the detail to shine through when there's
a lot going on, Like even on

463
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,720
Lonzo balls, there's like there's not
like a ton of shading and the actual

464
00:29:40,759 --> 00:29:44,799
faces, so like it's easier to
distinguish. But his Austin Rivers tattoo is

465
00:29:44,839 --> 00:29:48,160
busy, but it's gorgeous, So
I would recommend that people look at his.

466
00:29:48,559 --> 00:29:52,440
So that's a tattoo that that I
enjoyed. Probably my second favorite in

467
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:56,079
the league right now. I believe
I've always really liked Damian Lillard's two on

468
00:29:56,119 --> 00:29:59,680
his shoulder, Like I'm not always
a huge fan of just like the written

469
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,640
word tattoos, but the way that
he has it all lined up like it

470
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,440
looks out of a book. It
just looks good. The two things I

471
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,000
didn't realize like how many NBA players
have like Lion's tattooed on them to some

472
00:30:10,079 --> 00:30:12,640
degree, which is something. And
then I like, it's not like a

473
00:30:14,079 --> 00:30:17,799
super like incredible tattoo, but I
like that Damian Lillard has like the just

474
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,440
microphone tattooed on him, and he
has like the heartbeat slash rhythm beat two

475
00:30:22,519 --> 00:30:25,400
on the back of his neck.
I love the heartbeat. The rhythm beat

476
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,519
is awesome. I love that concept. Next question comes from Tortuga. Should

477
00:30:29,599 --> 00:30:33,079
Phoenix be looking for a point guard
of the future or looking at Booker as

478
00:30:33,119 --> 00:30:37,000
a possible solution by letting him run
point as more of a combo guard.

479
00:30:37,119 --> 00:30:42,960
We've talked about Phoenix as a potential
like dark horse candidate to trade for Chris

480
00:30:44,039 --> 00:30:47,960
Paul in the past, and if
you can make that kind of upgrade,

481
00:30:48,279 --> 00:30:52,039
sure, I'm all for it.
But honestly, like I'm not too sold

482
00:30:52,079 --> 00:30:56,160
on them needing to make any major
changes to be a legitimate second round postseason

483
00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:02,599
contender moving forward. Devin Booker is
that he has experienced working at both on

484
00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:07,359
ball and off ball guard positions and
is able to blend those positions together.

485
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,240
Now, Ricky Rubio is still only
twenty nine years old, at least for

486
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,519
a few more days as we're recording
this. He's under contract through the twenty

487
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,799
twenty twenty two season, and he
finished this past year at a really high

488
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,480
level. I don't know that point
guard really needs to be a priority for

489
00:31:21,519 --> 00:31:25,279
this Phoenix team. If you can
make an upgrade without sacrificing your future,

490
00:31:25,559 --> 00:31:30,039
sure go for it. But Rubio
and Booker works. As we've learned more

491
00:31:30,079 --> 00:31:32,759
and more in this past year.
Yeah, look like Booker is just the

492
00:31:32,839 --> 00:31:36,599
day facto point guard for so many
possessions either he only learned logged fifty official

493
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,880
possessions as the point guard this year, would I would be all four seeing

494
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,519
more of those types of lineups.
But I fall with you there. They

495
00:31:44,559 --> 00:31:47,279
do need like another shot creator because
I don't know if he can trust Campaign

496
00:31:47,319 --> 00:31:49,359
to play at the level he did. And then obviously Rubio, while he's

497
00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,920
a wizard like, he's just not
a threat to score off the dribble like

498
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,599
someone else is. And so if
that upgrade comes in the form of a

499
00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,640
point guard, but if it comes
in the form of a wing or four

500
00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:01,920
and I'm probably not with you.
I think they indeed, they're like one

501
00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:07,880
piece away from being that maybe first
round playoff team even for me, and

502
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,000
I think that they could focus on
again that other shot create or like,

503
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:15,839
can you upgrade the four position measurably? I think Aaron Gordon just because of

504
00:32:15,839 --> 00:32:19,319
the type of shots that Booker can
create, might be an interesting fit.

505
00:32:19,319 --> 00:32:21,640
But with Ruby on eight and maybe
the space and gets kind of tight.

506
00:32:22,079 --> 00:32:24,720
Jeremy Grant's been a popular mention among
like for a free agent among all of

507
00:32:24,759 --> 00:32:32,079
their fans, Paul millsapp would be
super interesting there. So if they can

508
00:32:32,119 --> 00:32:35,960
make an upgrade there, but they
do feel one substantial piece away. I

509
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,559
don't think that you need to make
that substantial piece a point guard though,

510
00:32:39,519 --> 00:32:43,839
So let's let's say it's not Chris
Paul. Would you do it for Fred

511
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,119
van Fleet? Like if they're going
to clear some cap too, and they

512
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:49,519
don't have to do too much,
but it would there would be an opportunity

513
00:32:49,559 --> 00:32:52,759
cost. I think at least two
of Comitsky, Sarich and Baines would have

514
00:32:52,799 --> 00:32:55,640
to go for them to I don't
think I would. I don't think I

515
00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,960
would. I don't I don't know
that that Van Vleet is a table upgrade

516
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:05,880
over Ricky Rubio right now, especially
given what the Suns need. You have

517
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,079
Booker to shoot, van Fleet,
as pesky as he is on defense and

518
00:33:09,279 --> 00:33:14,200
as as comfortable as he is playing
off the ball because of his time alongside

519
00:33:14,279 --> 00:33:17,319
Kyle Lowry. I think Rubio does
more of what you need on this Phoenix

520
00:33:17,359 --> 00:33:22,759
team. So that's that's probably like
on the Cusp, where I wouldn't hate

521
00:33:22,759 --> 00:33:24,079
it if that's a play that they
made. But I don't know that I

522
00:33:24,119 --> 00:33:29,599
would prioritize that over and I agree
with you here the front court acquisitions.

523
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,279
I like Fred van Fleet better for
this team than Ricky Rubio. I would

524
00:33:32,279 --> 00:33:35,759
not go after Fred van Fleet if
Ricky Rubio is still on the team,

525
00:33:35,759 --> 00:33:37,920
though, just like now, you're
allocating so many resources to the backcourt when

526
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:42,519
you look at Rubio, Booker and
then Fred van Fleet. And so that's

527
00:33:42,559 --> 00:33:45,960
why I wouldn't do it. The
more the bigger play for me would be

528
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:50,240
like can you dangle Kelly oubre Junior's
deal and then they have the number ten

529
00:33:50,279 --> 00:33:51,960
pick. Right, I don't have
the draft order in front of me,

530
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,920
So can you dangle like that expiring
contract plus a pick or something else and

531
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:58,200
what can you get in return?
It is the number two pick. So

532
00:33:58,359 --> 00:34:00,279
that's that's the route. If if
I re them that that I would go.

533
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:06,359
The weight is finally over. Football
is back. You might not be

534
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:08,559
at a game this year, but
you can still be in on the action

535
00:34:08,599 --> 00:34:13,039
at bet online. Bet online is
going the extra mile to make sure you

536
00:34:13,079 --> 00:34:15,880
can get it on every possible chance
to win this season. From game spreads

537
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:20,960
and totals to team player and coaching
props. Bet online gives you more options

538
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,599
to wager on than anywhere else.
You can get in on their season opening

539
00:34:23,599 --> 00:34:30,000
bonuses today and start off wagering on
wins, division odds, championship futures all

540
00:34:30,079 --> 00:34:32,760
day, every day. Head to
bet online today and take advantage of all

541
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:37,400
the great sign up bonuses. Don't
forget to use promo code blue wire all

542
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,760
one word at bet online dot ag. That's blue wire all one word bet

543
00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:49,320
online. You're online sports book experts. Next question comes from Chloe. Chloe,

544
00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:53,199
what former NBA player playing overseas now
deserves a spot on a current NBA

545
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:59,440
roster. All right, I have
three and a half names, had a

546
00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:02,039
soapbox to stand on. Okay,
how do you have three and a half

547
00:35:02,119 --> 00:35:05,880
names? I'm very interested to hear
this name because one of them has played

548
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,239
in NBA preseason games but has not
actually played in the NBA. Okay,

549
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:13,039
so I'm like only partially counting him. So the first name is Jan Bezzily,

550
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:15,760
who flamed out with the Washington Wizards
as a high draft pick, who

551
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:20,519
was supposed to be like the European
Blake Griffin and was not. But he

552
00:35:20,559 --> 00:35:23,599
has developed so much more touch on
his in between game. He has improved

553
00:35:23,599 --> 00:35:27,840
his free throw shooting and his three
point shooting overseas, and he's really become

554
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,800
a EuroLeague superstar. If he wanted
to come back and play, he one

555
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:35,599
hundred percent could and would be a
contributor. Second name is Nick Koalathies,

556
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,199
who last played with the Memphis Grizzlies
in twenty fifteen. He's become a much

557
00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:43,000
better shooter and a absolute top of
the line passer. I would love to

558
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,559
see him get another chance. Third
name is Nikola Mirotich, who really doesn't

559
00:35:46,559 --> 00:35:51,719
need much of an explanation because he
left the NBA voluntarily to go make a

560
00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,119
lot more money playing in Spain.
And the fourth answer, which is the

561
00:35:54,159 --> 00:36:00,719
half one, is Facundo Compazzo,
who is just an absolutely magical passer from

562
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,480
Argentina, a really really good defender. He's twenty nine years old. If

563
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,280
he came to the NBA right now, I think he would be a top

564
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:12,119
half starting point guard. The soapbox
is that. The soapbox is that I

565
00:36:12,199 --> 00:36:16,559
think that the NBA as a whole
needs to get a lot better at giving

566
00:36:16,559 --> 00:36:21,679
these kind of players more opportunities.
We see it a lot with coaches,

567
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:25,760
but we also see it with players, where there's such a tendency to advocate

568
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:30,719
for the retreads and the known veteran
options, even if there isn't upside there.

569
00:36:30,119 --> 00:36:36,679
And I would so much rather see
teams give roster spots to these European

570
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,840
stars who weren't stars in the NBA
in the past, because there's so much

571
00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:44,599
more upside there. And we saw
it this season with like brad Wanamaker,

572
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,880
who played all over Europe and then
debuted in the NBA during his age twenty

573
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,480
nine rookie season last year and this
year he was a legitimate rotation player for

574
00:36:53,519 --> 00:36:59,320
the Boston Celtics during the playoffs.
That isn't something you're just going to unearth

575
00:36:59,519 --> 00:37:01,639
from a vet who's been around the
block in the NBA, because the upside

576
00:37:01,639 --> 00:37:06,119
isn't there, and I would love
to see more teams take shots on someone

577
00:37:06,159 --> 00:37:09,679
like Kallithe's who was nothing special with
the Grizzlies half a decade ago, but

578
00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:14,840
has developed his games so much and
could offer a lot more than just that

579
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:19,559
thirty five year old who's just hanging
on for one more contract. That's a

580
00:37:19,559 --> 00:37:22,280
fair point. Those are all interesting
names. Mirtiches, I feel like an

581
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:23,840
obvious one. The two for me
would be former Memedy players. I still

582
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:28,159
feel like Jeremy Lynn could help out
a team if he's healthy. And then

583
00:37:28,159 --> 00:37:30,519
Shane Larkin I feel like kind of
just belongs in the NBA. And he

584
00:37:30,519 --> 00:37:35,320
shot over fifty percent from three in
the Turkish League this year, so and

585
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,760
his teammates actually said that he was
becoming like the Turkish Michael Jordan. At

586
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,440
some point I did not see that. So yeah, they were like they

587
00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:44,199
were saying, like we're making him
into the Michael Jordan over here just by

588
00:37:44,199 --> 00:37:47,280
giving him all the shots and making
him a star up Remember in the NBA,

589
00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:51,320
it's time he could be Michael Jordan
for a team here too. He

590
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:55,639
obviously cannot. This next question comes
from Kyle Kay. Who is the best

591
00:37:55,679 --> 00:37:59,559
player you think the Lakers could get
for their ten million dollars mid level?

592
00:37:59,599 --> 00:38:04,400
Except in what range do you expect
Malachi Flynn to go to be drafted in?

593
00:38:05,519 --> 00:38:07,639
This is much more The first part
is much more Dan territory than Adam

594
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:12,480
territory. So my brief answer is
that I wouldn't be surprised if, like

595
00:38:12,519 --> 00:38:15,480
the market gets especially weird for them
to try to go after someone some like

596
00:38:15,679 --> 00:38:20,000
really good veteran like a Groan Droject
or a Joe Harris or even a Danilo

597
00:38:20,039 --> 00:38:23,679
Gallinari. But that's kind of unlikely, so I'm viewing like Sergebaka and Jordan

598
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:28,679
Clarkson as the more realistic targets.
As for Alaki, Flynn fantastic pick and

599
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:30,599
roll player both as a scorer and
a passer, but teams don't really like

600
00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:36,719
undersized guards. He's six one,
without elite athleticism and below average wingspans,

601
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,239
and his wingspan is only six three. I'd be surprised if he's off the

602
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:44,159
board before the second half of the
second round. But I could see a

603
00:38:44,199 --> 00:38:46,280
team falling in love with his shooting
and taking him in like the late thirties

604
00:38:50,119 --> 00:38:52,000
on the ladder. The bare minimum
that I know about him, I would

605
00:38:52,039 --> 00:38:55,519
agree with you on Flynn for the
Lakers. I think you were kind of

606
00:38:55,559 --> 00:39:00,880
spot on. Gallinari thanked them after
they won the title, so maybe he

607
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,039
would be. And he's like,
flat out just said that he wants to

608
00:39:04,079 --> 00:39:06,119
win. Now, every player says
that, but it's like he's kind of

609
00:39:06,119 --> 00:39:08,400
the player where it's like, because
he said it, I feel like he's

610
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:12,079
not a star, so like,
does it actually mean more because he's not

611
00:39:12,159 --> 00:39:15,599
a superstar saying this, And maybe
if the markets so squeezed, he just

612
00:39:15,599 --> 00:39:19,400
figures that if he signs a one
year deal there and then decides that or

613
00:39:19,519 --> 00:39:21,559
one and one whatever you want to
call it, or even two and then

614
00:39:21,559 --> 00:39:23,119
decides that, you know, he'll
make up money with early bird rights wink

615
00:39:23,199 --> 00:39:27,920
wink, in two years. That's
something he could do. I am interesting

616
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:30,519
where the midlevel falls. It's gonna
be between somewhere between nine and nine point

617
00:39:30,599 --> 00:39:35,519
seven million would be my guess Draggas
might get into their range now following his

618
00:39:35,599 --> 00:39:39,159
injury, but I still think that
the heat might maybe tilt towards paying overpaying

619
00:39:39,239 --> 00:39:43,119
him for one year. I don't
know that any of the teams with cap

620
00:39:43,119 --> 00:39:45,639
space would really want him though.
There's only four that are guaranteed to have

621
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:49,039
it, five if you include Miami
among them. But if they carry holes

622
00:39:49,039 --> 00:39:52,159
for Crowder and Druggets, you remove
them from the equation. Another name I'll

623
00:39:52,199 --> 00:39:55,199
just throw out there so to be
a little bit different would be Evan Fournier

624
00:39:55,519 --> 00:39:59,719
might be an interesting name for them. Maybe he's two back Corty and they

625
00:39:59,719 --> 00:40:01,639
want someone who's going to be more
can play more of the three. But

626
00:40:01,679 --> 00:40:06,679
like when Lebron and a d are
basically positionless, it really and how big

627
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:10,519
they play, Perhaps it doesn't matter. He has a seventeen million dollar player

628
00:40:10,559 --> 00:40:15,119
option. Maybe he looks at it
where it's if I can get a four

629
00:40:15,199 --> 00:40:17,679
year mid level deal, and it's
that's for almost forty million dollars or around

630
00:40:17,679 --> 00:40:22,159
forty million dollars, whatever that next
sum is, that's worth it because it

631
00:40:22,199 --> 00:40:24,960
will take two seasons for him to
recoup all of that money on a mid

632
00:40:25,039 --> 00:40:30,679
level deal but if you're getting into
the three year range, then it's kind

633
00:40:30,679 --> 00:40:34,400
of like, well, like let's
just like three years and like thirty three

634
00:40:34,639 --> 00:40:37,960
or whatever, thirty like whatever it
ends up being, Like is that worth

635
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,039
it to him? I honestly don't
know, But if you're willing to go

636
00:40:40,119 --> 00:40:44,400
for that fourth year, perhaps it
really does make a difference. And the

637
00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:46,599
last thing I'll mention with them,
and this is maybe with specific regards to

638
00:40:46,599 --> 00:40:51,039
Gallinari, sign and trade possibilities are
going to be on the table for them

639
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:52,840
depending on who picks up their player
options. When you look at they're not

640
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:58,400
getting rid of KCP, but Javal
McGee, Rondo, they have Quinn Cook's

641
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:02,360
non guaranteed salary on the books,
like they can get like build some it

642
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:06,960
would have to be like three for
ones and four for ones. Avery Bradley

643
00:41:07,039 --> 00:41:10,039
is the five million dollar player option. They can step ladder their way to

644
00:41:10,239 --> 00:41:14,360
like a pretty more expensive player.
And so if Okase's willing to maybe they

645
00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:17,559
just want the number twenty seven pick
and you can pay Gallanari market value.

646
00:41:17,559 --> 00:41:21,559
That's something that they could look at. Maybe even Orlando with Fournier would look

647
00:41:21,559 --> 00:41:22,239
at doing something like that. I
don't know how much you pay him,

648
00:41:22,239 --> 00:41:24,880
and I think Gallo helps your team
a lot more than he would. But

649
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:28,960
I think those are scenarios that will
be open to them because then I think

650
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:32,079
they would still have enough room below
the hardcap where you're still going to be

651
00:41:32,079 --> 00:41:35,800
able to use your mid level exception
then too. And so if you're completing

652
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:38,039
assigning and trade and then still being
able to use your mL that ends up

653
00:41:38,079 --> 00:41:40,599
being a huge deal for them,
which is what you know. I think

654
00:41:40,599 --> 00:41:44,679
we spoke about this briefly when we
were talking about the Lakers, not this

655
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:49,480
podcast, but another one. They
just have an avenue for improvement that Lebron's

656
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,920
teams normally don't have. Maybe when
he first comes like that off season,

657
00:41:52,199 --> 00:41:54,960
because you have cap space to get
him, they have more flexibility. But

658
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:59,480
as you move on, normally you're
dealing with aging role players on these longer

659
00:41:59,519 --> 00:42:01,760
contracts, and perhaps that's where they
end up at, but they're not there

660
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,840
yet. You stole my thunder here
because I was going to follow all that

661
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,920
up by saying, and this in
a nutshell is why we've We've both said

662
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:12,559
that even as the Lakers are coming
off a title, it feels like the

663
00:42:12,599 --> 00:42:15,199
worst team they're going to have for
a few years, which is just absolutely

664
00:42:15,199 --> 00:42:17,639
my melting. And so they're a
team that will spend too through we don't

665
00:42:17,639 --> 00:42:21,400
know really anything about this market,
but like they're not going to shy away

666
00:42:21,639 --> 00:42:24,639
from spending. Next question from Karagan, how do the Jazz get a power

667
00:42:24,679 --> 00:42:30,159
forward this offseason? Well, so
they can either they can either sign one,

668
00:42:30,199 --> 00:42:32,679
they can trade for one, or
they can draft one. Do they've

669
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:38,360
have any picks in this year's draft
though they do not? Yeah, I

670
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:42,320
mean the three obvious names here are
Paul mill Stop, Derek Favors, and

671
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:47,800
Aaron Banes. Aaron Vaine's the power
forward he can be, I suppose now,

672
00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:52,239
I mean they've played big in the
past. They could deviate more towards

673
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:57,039
that going forward. He can play
the four a little bit now that he

674
00:42:57,039 --> 00:43:01,199
can shoot. But I don't consider
I mean, Dereck Favors of four anymore.

675
00:43:01,519 --> 00:43:05,000
I would know I wouldn't. Of
the names that you listed, only

676
00:43:05,039 --> 00:43:07,760
Paul Millsap is the one that I
would aggue in with him. So the

677
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:13,679
challenge for them to me is one
if we assume that the cap is going

678
00:43:13,719 --> 00:43:19,440
to stay lateral at this point,
which it feels like the popular assumption they're

679
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:22,039
in this weird spot where like they
come, they're not in the tax if

680
00:43:22,039 --> 00:43:27,320
they gave Dan Clarkson the same money
he was making right now thirteen point four

681
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,639
million dollars. But I have them
with their first round pick and guaranteeing all

682
00:43:30,679 --> 00:43:36,599
of their non guarantees, which I
think unless they're out on Morgan or Tucker,

683
00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:39,280
I think they're gonna end up doing. They're inside four million then of

684
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:43,679
the tax, and so yes,
that's far enough below the apron that you

685
00:43:43,719 --> 00:43:46,280
could use your non taxpayers mid level. However, are they going to be

686
00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:49,400
willing to go into the tax at
all? My guests would be no.

687
00:43:50,079 --> 00:43:53,840
And so the obstacle to them getting
a power forward is are they going to

688
00:43:53,880 --> 00:43:58,199
keep Jordan Clarkson? And if they
do, I think that ends up unless

689
00:43:58,199 --> 00:44:00,760
it's via trade or you're cutting salary
elsewhere, like maybe you could dump at

690
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:05,840
Davis's deal off of someone to give
yourself more breathing room. What are you

691
00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,639
going to be able to get without
going into the tax. And that's like

692
00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:14,159
the names, they're just not going
to be like as an impressive for them.

693
00:44:14,199 --> 00:44:17,239
And look, the I don't want
to get like too far into positions,

694
00:44:17,239 --> 00:44:22,599
but like the wing forward like Combo
Bower market is not great and they're

695
00:44:22,639 --> 00:44:25,079
not going to get the Marcus Morris. They're not going to get the Jay

696
00:44:25,119 --> 00:44:29,599
Crowder I'd be I wonder if Paul
millsapp would wouldn't consider them, Like that's

697
00:44:29,639 --> 00:44:32,920
fairly interesting. Moe Harkless is someone
they could afford. Would he want to

698
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:36,880
go there? And does he give
you enough three point shooting? But he

699
00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:42,239
gives you more defensive optionality than anyone
else really that you have on those spots

700
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:45,519
right now, So like then you
know he's going to defend bigger and smaller,

701
00:44:45,559 --> 00:44:46,760
has more rains than angles, I
would say, and certainly more than

702
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:52,360
Boyon Bodanovich. But like it's that
type of name, and like even as

703
00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:54,880
I'm just kind of looking at the
list, like does Ronde Hollis Jefferson,

704
00:44:55,039 --> 00:44:59,840
Yeah, like r h J the
offensive limitations you can't play him with go

705
00:45:00,079 --> 00:45:02,719
bear. Then if Tony Snell opts
out and you can consider him a four,

706
00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:07,159
like maybe that would be interesting,
But I don't think he's going to

707
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,320
opt out. So you can sign
one, but it might be more realistic

708
00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:14,960
for them to trade for one,
just because if you're willing to dangle number

709
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:22,159
twenty three after you, like,
after you draft him alongside Ed Davis's salary,

710
00:45:22,159 --> 00:45:24,400
which is five million. Like,
what type of a player does that

711
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:28,000
get you? I don't necessarily know
off the top of my head. Is

712
00:45:28,159 --> 00:45:31,400
assuming the Knicks decline, Bobby Portis's
team option, is that someone you would

713
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:35,920
consider? Are you comfortable enough with
your defense to have him on the floor?

714
00:45:36,039 --> 00:45:39,119
I don't know if you necessarily can
be there. I would say the

715
00:45:39,119 --> 00:45:42,880
most likely route for them is to
sign one. I just don't know what

716
00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:45,400
kind of equity they're going to be
working with. It could end up being

717
00:45:45,519 --> 00:45:49,679
less than the full mid level,
and that's where it becomes a problem to

718
00:45:49,679 --> 00:45:55,360
get anyone who's actually impactful. Nothing
to add there. I think you covered

719
00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:59,440
it all there. But ultimately the
answer to that question is they can sign,

720
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:01,000
trade, or draft. Yeah,
there you go. This one is

721
00:46:01,039 --> 00:46:06,079
from Luno mass. We know this
free agent class is not as hot,

722
00:46:06,159 --> 00:46:10,079
but what could be the most interesting
moves contending teams in the East can make.

723
00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,280
I mean, I don't know if
if people listening to a podcast can

724
00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:20,760
see me shrugging here, but like
that's a really hard question because we don't

725
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,159
know opt out decisions. We don't
know what the cap is going to be

726
00:46:23,239 --> 00:46:30,360
like, and there are such limited
options that nothing like really feels that interesting

727
00:46:30,519 --> 00:46:34,800
for the contending teams. Like we
could see like Davis Bertans or Joe Harris

728
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:37,599
going to join a different contender.
We could see the Heat give a one

729
00:46:37,679 --> 00:46:43,000
year balloon deal to basically anyone.
The Raptors are interesting just because with Sergeibaka,

730
00:46:43,039 --> 00:46:45,360
who just scrubbed all mentions of the
Raptors from his social media this morning,

731
00:46:45,639 --> 00:46:52,079
Fred van Vliet and who am I
forgetting? And I'm blanking on their

732
00:46:52,079 --> 00:46:55,760
other free agents, But the Raptors
have a number of notable free agents.

733
00:46:58,039 --> 00:47:01,559
Did you name him? I did
not, that's I was forgetting, just

734
00:47:01,639 --> 00:47:05,719
kind of like they forgot about him
in the playoffs. But anyway, you

735
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:07,840
know, the Raptors can go in
so many different directions that I think whatever

736
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:12,840
they do is interesting. But again, like this is just a tricky question

737
00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:19,119
because there are so many unknowns while
we're already working with a very lackluster free

738
00:47:19,119 --> 00:47:21,719
agent class. Yeah, and look
for a lot of these teams, I

739
00:47:21,719 --> 00:47:23,639
would say the most damage that they
could do if they're looking to be aggresive,

740
00:47:23,639 --> 00:47:27,920
would be via trade for the Bucks, specifically, knowing what it might

741
00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:30,119
cost to retain Wesley Matthews, so
I feel like his must keep for them.

742
00:47:30,199 --> 00:47:35,360
Like the impact move that you could
make is go after Chris Paul,

743
00:47:35,519 --> 00:47:37,119
like just do it. I know
you're gonna have to pay the tax.

744
00:47:37,119 --> 00:47:40,199
Then I don't know how realistic that
is for them. Toronto is weird.

745
00:47:40,280 --> 00:47:43,559
I'd be reticent to say anything,
but what they could do is run it

746
00:47:43,599 --> 00:47:46,360
back and then look and then use
their mid level exception. That's just where

747
00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:50,239
I'm at because they have so many
free agents, as you mentioned that if

748
00:47:50,239 --> 00:47:52,639
they lose two of them, like
are they still a contender or how aggressive

749
00:47:52,679 --> 00:47:54,840
are they going to be? How
much do they want to preserve cap space

750
00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:58,519
for twenty twenty one? So I
don't really know what they could do,

751
00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:01,960
like looking at specifics, but I
would need to see like keep two of

752
00:48:02,039 --> 00:48:06,920
van Fleet, Kasol and Abakan for
there's rumors that Kasol might already be gone,

753
00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:08,599
and like you said, with Abaca, so I think if you keep

754
00:48:08,679 --> 00:48:12,559
van Fleet, it positions you to
still sort of run it back, so

755
00:48:12,599 --> 00:48:15,760
then you use your mid level exception
on like can we sign maybe a combo

756
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:20,239
big? I think Chris Bouche,
particularly if you know, both Kasol and

757
00:48:20,239 --> 00:48:23,880
Abaca are gone. He becomes really
important to them. But there are there

758
00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:27,519
are centers to spare in this market. I guess it would be the best

759
00:48:27,559 --> 00:48:30,360
way to put it, bigs to
spare, and so with your mid level

760
00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:32,320
I wouldn't use I wouldn't want to
use all of it on a center,

761
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:36,920
but like maybe you can get some
interesting names there that's for them. But

762
00:48:36,960 --> 00:48:38,400
again it's just they have so many
different scenarios. I don't want to tie

763
00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:45,960
them to specific names these other teams. So let's say Boston, Miami,

764
00:48:45,039 --> 00:48:47,840
Philly and Brooklyn on loop into there
for Brooklyn, like they need to address

765
00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:52,760
the four spot and because Caris Lavert
is so good, I don't know if

766
00:48:52,800 --> 00:48:55,920
they want to do that via trade, but can you like what will Paul

767
00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:59,960
millsapp play for them for the taxpayers
mid level exception, which is what they'll

768
00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:02,280
be working with, Like that would
be a huge get for them such limited

769
00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:06,000
options outside the trade market, that
it's a it's a tough one, right

770
00:49:06,199 --> 00:49:07,920
If Ja Michael Green opts out,
he'd be a nam circle for them too.

771
00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:12,599
And that's like that also kind of
proves my point here that like we're

772
00:49:12,599 --> 00:49:15,760
talking about ja Michael Green as a
most interesting move that a contender in the

773
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:20,039
East can make right now. Yeah, for Philadelphia, I think it has

774
00:49:20,039 --> 00:49:22,880
to happen via trade. I don't
know what you're gonna get with your miniml

775
00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:25,679
e because you need a shot,
like a ball handling shooter, and like

776
00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:30,480
that's just not something you're normally gonna
get even in this market for the minimale.

777
00:49:30,599 --> 00:49:34,119
And like resigning Alec Burks would be
like a huge deal for them,

778
00:49:34,159 --> 00:49:37,880
and then looking at outside players maybe
a Lankson Galloway or a Bryn Forbes,

779
00:49:37,239 --> 00:49:42,920
I feel I could really help them. Who might lead Oh Boston, so

780
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,079
Miami. Look, they could have
a ton of cap space, Like they

781
00:49:45,079 --> 00:49:47,519
can get to thirty plus million in
room essentially if they if they were nounced

782
00:49:47,519 --> 00:49:52,079
Crowder and drags I just don't know
that the market warnants them doing that.

783
00:49:52,199 --> 00:49:54,079
The priorities should be. I think
signing both of them to one year deals.

784
00:49:54,519 --> 00:49:58,480
Maybe you're a little bit more hesitant
to do that with Dragas following his

785
00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:02,639
injury. At the at the same
time, I just don't like the who

786
00:50:02,719 --> 00:50:05,719
else are you're getting, Like,
unless you want to throw all your eggs

787
00:50:05,719 --> 00:50:07,400
in the van fleet basket. I
actually think he'd be an interesting fit there,

788
00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:09,719
but then you have to worry about
what has that done, dude,

789
00:50:09,800 --> 00:50:13,199
or a twenty twenty one room.
It'd be the same if you decide to

790
00:50:13,199 --> 00:50:15,960
go after Gallo, but those are
names that they could techinically look at or

791
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:19,960
they could trade as well. It's
just like in any deal. Their most

792
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,400
appealing aspect, aside from maybe having
cap space to complete a lopside a deal,

793
00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:25,639
they have Tyler Hero and Duncan Robinson, who just feel like they shouldn't

794
00:50:25,639 --> 00:50:30,159
be moved at this point unless you're
getting honest, which you're not, and

795
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,559
maybe even Beal, which doesn't seem
like he'll be moved. You're not giving

796
00:50:32,599 --> 00:50:37,559
up one of those guys for a
Victor Oladipo, I don't think, And

797
00:50:37,599 --> 00:50:39,119
so with the heat, I would
say it's probably run it back or again

798
00:50:39,239 --> 00:50:42,800
you could go with the Gallinari Fred
van Fleet route to look at it,

799
00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:46,280
and then Boston's the team. I
didn't mention they have the Mini MLI and

800
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:50,639
assuming they're willing to spend it like
I think, I think you can talk

801
00:50:50,639 --> 00:50:52,960
to yourself with a saying they don't
need anything, but they could use a

802
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:57,559
little bit of everything, like do
you need another backup playmaker? Is brad

803
00:50:57,559 --> 00:51:00,159
Wanamaker gonna leave in restricted free agency? Do you think that they need another

804
00:51:00,159 --> 00:51:04,039
big? Tys was good? Maybe
you like Robert Williams. You have Grant

805
00:51:04,039 --> 00:51:07,000
Williams, But you know, can
you move Ennis Canner because someone who could

806
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:09,760
play more than like eight or nine
minutes in a playoff game for you?

807
00:51:10,079 --> 00:51:13,599
So would you use your mini Emily
on a big and that It's like,

808
00:51:13,719 --> 00:51:16,880
yeah, you have wings when you're
looking at Jaylen Brown, Tatum and Heyward,

809
00:51:16,920 --> 00:51:20,639
but the drop off there is just
so steep afterwards. Even if you

810
00:51:20,679 --> 00:51:23,480
want to consider Marcus Moore as a
wing, what type of players available for

811
00:51:23,519 --> 00:51:27,199
that number? I think you're going
to get the most given how few point

812
00:51:27,199 --> 00:51:30,639
guards there are at the center position
is where it would kind of go the

813
00:51:30,679 --> 00:51:34,119
longest way, Like could you get
even a restricted free agent like Chris Bouche

814
00:51:34,119 --> 00:51:37,079
with the mini Emilie who spaces the
floor a little bit, is a shop

815
00:51:37,119 --> 00:51:40,239
blocking fiend because Toronto just doesn't want
to pay him since they're conserving cast Race

816
00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:45,440
or twenty twenty one, which Boston
is not doing. Other names on the

817
00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:47,480
center market, Like I don't like
I don't know how appealing they are to

818
00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:52,599
Boston, which tends to like picking
pop bigs, but like maybe a Kyle

819
00:51:52,599 --> 00:51:54,440
O'Quinn there like, and that's sort
of a lower to your name. The

820
00:51:54,480 --> 00:51:58,599
final thing I'll mention, though,
if someone wants to get weird here,

821
00:51:59,199 --> 00:52:02,400
is that some of these teams could
theoretically try to pursue a brand in Ingram

822
00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:06,679
Side in trade. I've warmed up
to this as a possibility the more and

823
00:52:06,719 --> 00:52:09,159
more I've considered how wild free agency's
going to be. I don't know that

824
00:52:09,199 --> 00:52:12,960
New Orleans is going to want to
commit a MAX to him, knowing that

825
00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:16,199
you have Lonzo Ball being extension knowledgeable
through holidays a free agent in twenty twenty

826
00:52:16,199 --> 00:52:20,239
one. Look at how poorly they
kind of fared in the bubble. The

827
00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:22,639
center position is kind of influx.
Long term, you still need to get

828
00:52:22,679 --> 00:52:25,920
a better feel for what Zion Williamson
is going to be, at least on

829
00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:29,880
defense and even with offense, and
so as talented as they are, they

830
00:52:29,960 --> 00:52:31,599
might be further away than we're actually
thinking, or they're at least not going

831
00:52:31,679 --> 00:52:36,360
to want to make the financial commitment
to a team that isn't a sure thing,

832
00:52:36,679 --> 00:52:39,199
and that might open the door for
some brandon Ingram sign and trade scenarios.

833
00:52:39,239 --> 00:52:43,199
And so if you're you know,
he'd be fantastic in Milwaukee, but

834
00:52:43,239 --> 00:52:45,400
I don't know how you get him
just because they don't have the assets.

835
00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:46,960
Would you consider that if you're Toronto, I don't know. If you're in

836
00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:51,320
Miami, I absolutely consider that.
If even if you have to end up

837
00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:54,239
punting on twenty twenty one cap space. Now you're getting to the point,

838
00:52:54,239 --> 00:52:57,639
well, what are you giving up
for him? You have cap space already,

839
00:52:57,679 --> 00:53:01,280
so maybe it wouldn't have to be
as much. You have Igodalla's contract

840
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:05,000
to use as a matching tool if
you're going with actual money there. But

841
00:53:05,039 --> 00:53:08,880
are you giving up Hero or Duncan
Robinson for Ingram? I would probably say

842
00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:14,760
yes, I'm not gonna lie Duncan
Robinson. Definitely Hero looking at his higher

843
00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:16,920
upside might be a breaking point for
me, but I would consider it.

844
00:53:17,400 --> 00:53:21,719
But those teams could look at doing
something like that if they want to get

845
00:53:21,719 --> 00:53:23,440
bold. You can look at trades, if Victor Ladipo will be out there,

846
00:53:23,639 --> 00:53:27,239
or try and go to the sign
and trade route like Gallinari. I

847
00:53:27,239 --> 00:53:29,719
think that'll be an option for him. But brand Ingram is one that I

848
00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:31,679
would just keep an eye on.
I feel like that situation could materialize in

849
00:53:31,679 --> 00:53:36,199
a different way than we initially expected. How was that for a long answer?

850
00:53:36,519 --> 00:53:38,800
That was a fantastic answer. I
think that we're going to see a

851
00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:44,199
lot more big trades than big free
agent signings this summer. But I think

852
00:53:44,280 --> 00:53:51,719
that if Jannis unexpectedly signs a supermac's
extension this summer, then all sorts of

853
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:55,760
possibilities become available because all of a
sudden, Miami and other teams are no

854
00:53:55,840 --> 00:54:00,679
longer going to be quite as inclined
to be prioritizing that long term cap space.

855
00:54:00,039 --> 00:54:05,039
And then you get some interesting scenarios
like the Brandon Ingram one. And

856
00:54:05,159 --> 00:54:08,119
look, if I'm honest, I'm
waiting to sign. So after free agency

857
00:54:08,199 --> 00:54:12,239
is like let the dust. It'll
let the teams have to be in flux

858
00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:14,920
who are planning for you, and
then make that decision. But you're right,

859
00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:16,639
if he does make an early decision
to do that, all hell could

860
00:54:16,639 --> 00:54:20,360
break loose, like in free agency, on the trade market, sign and

861
00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:22,400
trades. All that we are coming
to. We're wrapping up here. This

862
00:54:22,480 --> 00:54:28,199
next question is definitely a question for
you comes from our X mart Jamal Murray

863
00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:32,280
is a Top X player going into
next season. So we're in the middle

864
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:37,559
of unveiling all the Crystal Basketball rankings, which are sort of a snapshot of

865
00:54:37,599 --> 00:54:40,199
this moment in time following the twenty
nineteen twenty season, and Jamal Murray,

866
00:54:40,239 --> 00:54:45,000
even though he was nearly a consensus
grade, was one of the tougher players

867
00:54:45,079 --> 00:54:50,000
to evaluate, just because what we
saw in the regular season was so much

868
00:54:50,119 --> 00:54:52,840
different from what we saw in the
playoffs, and we're still not entirely sure

869
00:54:53,079 --> 00:54:58,760
how sustainable that performance in the bubble
and during the postseason actually was. We

870
00:54:58,880 --> 00:55:00,760
know that he's not going to con
tinue to hit roughly ninety percent of his

871
00:55:00,800 --> 00:55:05,800
pull up threes. We know he's
probably not going to have a fifty point

872
00:55:05,840 --> 00:55:09,360
game every other outing, but it
really did feel like this was a legitimate

873
00:55:09,639 --> 00:55:16,519
superstar fringe superstar emergence. So right
now I would be comfortable calling him a

874
00:55:16,679 --> 00:55:21,960
top thirty lock going into next season. I don't know how much higher than

875
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:27,119
that I'm willing to go. I
don't want to reveal his Crystal Basketball placement

876
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:30,320
quite yet, since we're still going
team by team and haven't gotten to the

877
00:55:30,360 --> 00:55:34,400
Nuggets. I will say he is
in that range. I don't think that

878
00:55:34,440 --> 00:55:38,719
you can feel confident saying that he's
in the top twenty discussion right now until

879
00:55:38,760 --> 00:55:43,480
we've seen this level of play over
a larger sample. But it is important

880
00:55:43,519 --> 00:55:46,800
that we saw the best basketball of
his career in those high stakes moments in

881
00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:52,599
a way that felt like more than
just a hot streak. I'm with you,

882
00:55:52,719 --> 00:55:54,000
I'm wondering if he's also just one
of those players that is going to

883
00:55:54,079 --> 00:55:59,760
be better and more important in the
playoffs than the regular season. He could

884
00:55:59,760 --> 00:56:05,719
be just because they can run the
offense entirely through Yokich during the regular season

885
00:56:05,800 --> 00:56:09,000
and then when you do need to
have more from scratch creation in the half

886
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:13,719
court setting, like that's what he
can do. So I could see him

887
00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:16,840
like kind of seeming to regress a
little bit during the regular season as he's

888
00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:22,119
not full pedal to the metal on
the offensive end and working on individual parts

889
00:56:22,119 --> 00:56:23,280
of his game. And that was
the biggest thing. It wasn't just that

890
00:56:23,599 --> 00:56:28,480
he was a confident and accurate shooter. It was that his handle felt tighter,

891
00:56:28,719 --> 00:56:30,800
he felt more in control running pick
and roll sets. It was,

892
00:56:31,039 --> 00:56:37,199
you know, we see really good
teams sacrifice some wins during the regular season

893
00:56:37,639 --> 00:56:42,480
so that they can experiment with things
and improve their ceiling for the all important

894
00:56:42,519 --> 00:56:45,840
playoff series. And it does feel
like he could be one of those players

895
00:56:45,880 --> 00:56:49,920
given the construction of this Nuggets roster. So you have like a ballpark range

896
00:56:49,920 --> 00:56:52,400
for him, would you say,
yeah, I think top thirty. Yeah,

897
00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:55,320
top thirty would be where I'm comfortable
putting him now, but I think

898
00:56:55,360 --> 00:57:00,039
there's potential for that number to become
smaller. I think top twenty five for

899
00:57:00,079 --> 00:57:02,639
me might be his ceiling. I'd
probably top thirty between. This is a

900
00:57:02,639 --> 00:57:06,679
wide range for him, but I
think he's that type of player like in

901
00:57:06,719 --> 00:57:08,800
the Donovan Mitchell Vain where I think
you would top thirty five to top twenty

902
00:57:08,880 --> 00:57:13,719
five and if things if he plays
like he did, if that's the version

903
00:57:13,719 --> 00:57:15,280
of Jamal Murray, I'm not even
saying the efficiency and the actual numbers,

904
00:57:15,280 --> 00:57:21,400
but if bubble Jamal Murray playoff Jamal
Murray just translates the regular season Jamal Murray,

905
00:57:21,639 --> 00:57:22,800
like you can bump that up to
top twenty maybe, like there'd be

906
00:57:22,840 --> 00:57:25,599
a chance, like you could you
could enter that Bradley Beal territory. I

907
00:57:25,639 --> 00:57:30,079
mean, he was a top ten
player in the playoffs. Just absolutely fantastic.

908
00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:35,360
Two more questions left DCP. How
many teams will be shooting forty to

909
00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:38,480
fifty three pointers next season? They
were two this year, Houston and Dallas,

910
00:57:39,119 --> 00:57:42,280
right, So those are the obvious
two to start with. Dallas I

911
00:57:42,280 --> 00:57:45,320
think is a lock to continue to
be there, just given the way that

912
00:57:45,360 --> 00:57:47,559
they play in the personnel they have
at their disposals. So there's one I

913
00:57:47,599 --> 00:57:52,199
don't know about Houston, just because
they don't really have an escape from this

914
00:57:52,360 --> 00:57:58,079
roster without completely ripping it to shreds
and making like a James Harden or Russell

915
00:57:58,119 --> 00:58:00,320
westbrook trade. But I still and
we don't know who their coach is going

916
00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:04,519
to be either. You know,
whoever it is isn't going to have those

917
00:58:04,519 --> 00:58:07,599
three pointers propagate throughout the system quite
like Mike D'Antoni did. But just because

918
00:58:07,679 --> 00:58:13,679
James Harden is there and the roster
should be similarly constructed, I feel comfortable

919
00:58:13,679 --> 00:58:16,199
including those. I think there are
three teams that could join them in that

920
00:58:16,280 --> 00:58:21,159
category. The Timberwolves, I want
to basically call a lock to do that

921
00:58:21,239 --> 00:58:24,320
with Karl Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell
leading the offense. The Brooklyn Nets I

922
00:58:24,360 --> 00:58:27,280
was gonna say not even that they
would be a paid for me too,

923
00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:30,320
but like Gerson Rosas being there too, coming from Houston, like that,

924
00:58:30,400 --> 00:58:32,840
I feel like that's an actual lock. They'll be there. The Brooklyn Nets,

925
00:58:32,920 --> 00:58:36,599
I think, could be right on
the cusp, just because you have

926
00:58:36,679 --> 00:58:38,880
Kevin Durant, you have Kyrie Irving, you have Carslovert, Like there's gonna

927
00:58:38,920 --> 00:58:43,840
be a ton of three point shooting
on that roster, and the Golden State

928
00:58:43,880 --> 00:58:47,639
Warriors could get there just knowing that
they're gonna have Steph Curry and Clay Thompson

929
00:58:47,719 --> 00:58:51,920
back, that they're still going to
be running so much of the offense through

930
00:58:51,960 --> 00:58:54,480
them that Andrew Wiggins, if he's
still on the roster, is at least

931
00:58:54,559 --> 00:59:00,079
somewhat improving as a three point shooter. They weren't at that forty to fifty

932
00:59:00,119 --> 00:59:04,360
threshold at their peak, but the
offense, the offense throughout the NBA has

933
00:59:04,400 --> 00:59:07,400
continued to trend more and more towards
higher three point volume. That I could

934
00:59:07,440 --> 00:59:12,159
see them getting there. Like,
for all we know, Steph Curry could

935
00:59:12,239 --> 00:59:15,679
very well take fifteen threes a game
because he has a perpetual green light.

936
00:59:15,239 --> 00:59:19,719
So those are the ones that I'm
comfortable at least putting in the conversation.

937
00:59:19,960 --> 00:59:22,119
But forty to fifty three s per
game, even in twenty twenty is a

938
00:59:22,159 --> 00:59:25,400
ton. Yeah. I mean,
look, there are only two teams.

939
00:59:25,400 --> 00:59:30,039
It was still Dallas and Houston that
averaged above forty per one hundred possessions,

940
00:59:30,079 --> 00:59:34,320
and so I have Dallas and Houston
being there again Minnesota as well. You

941
00:59:34,400 --> 00:59:37,000
mentioned all the reasons why I wouldn't
put the nets there, just because Kyrie

942
00:59:37,039 --> 00:59:40,599
Irving and Kevin Durant and even Lavert
liked to operate inside the arc so much

943
00:59:42,280 --> 00:59:44,599
that they could be lower. A
lot of this has to do with pace

944
00:59:44,639 --> 00:59:46,039
of play. I could maybe see
the Warriors getting there, but it also

945
00:59:46,119 --> 00:59:49,679
kind of feels like they're a buddy
heel trade away from getting there, like

946
00:59:49,719 --> 00:59:52,519
they would need like someone else with
that type of volume, because outside of

947
00:59:52,559 --> 00:59:55,960
Clay and Curry, they don't have
a volume three point shooter right now.

948
00:59:58,559 --> 01:00:01,800
This is like not an actual pick, but if Kenny Atkinson gets a job

949
01:00:02,079 --> 01:00:06,639
before next season, whatever team that
he's on, I feel like will enter

950
01:00:06,679 --> 01:00:07,920
that convoy. You could say the
same for Mike D'Antoni, but I do

951
01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:12,199
feel like he's his style is a
little bit more adaptable. Now where if

952
01:00:12,239 --> 01:00:15,239
he like wound up an indie like
a lot of people think that he might

953
01:00:15,760 --> 01:00:20,719
or he might be an assistant with
Brooklyn. I don't know that his team

954
01:00:20,719 --> 01:00:22,239
will necessarily do that, So I'm
just gonna say four. I'm gonna say

955
01:00:22,239 --> 01:00:28,199
Minnesota, Dallas, Houston, and
then wherever Kenny Atkinson lands up if if

956
01:00:28,199 --> 01:00:30,280
you mean the ends up up there, or they'll be like a dark horse

957
01:00:30,280 --> 01:00:31,079
where it's like, yeah, you
know what, Golden State will get there,

958
01:00:31,079 --> 01:00:35,079
like maybe they make a trade or
they lean into three point volume.

959
01:00:36,079 --> 01:00:38,119
I could even see maybe being Toronto
get there at some point, especially if

960
01:00:38,119 --> 01:00:40,760
they have a talent deficit, if
they lose like a van Fleet, or

961
01:00:40,760 --> 01:00:45,760
if they lose Abaka and Gassol.
I'm just gonna say four. That's the

962
01:00:45,840 --> 01:00:47,960
number that I'll settle on. I
think my answer is three, but there

963
01:00:49,000 --> 01:00:52,800
are possibilities for more. I'm going
to bank on there getting to a fourth,

964
01:00:52,840 --> 01:00:55,079
but they'll definitely be three. I
feel like, right, yeah,

965
01:00:55,119 --> 01:00:58,679
it seems like there are those three
locks. Well, we have a fifty

966
01:00:58,760 --> 01:01:01,239
three point attempt per games team.
No, it would have to be as

967
01:01:01,239 --> 01:01:05,480
soon was the only possibility, and
they're not going to do that, I

968
01:01:05,519 --> 01:01:07,800
would say definitely that they won't,
Like Daryl Morey is still there, but

969
01:01:08,320 --> 01:01:12,360
I would I would say at least
not this season. Like if if they're

970
01:01:12,360 --> 01:01:15,800
going to go up incrementally, you'd
think that that's like two seasons away if

971
01:01:15,800 --> 01:01:17,840
they still have Westbrook on the roster, especially because they were at their best

972
01:01:17,840 --> 01:01:22,320
when he was avoiding threes. And
if you don't have both backcourt members shooting

973
01:01:22,320 --> 01:01:23,880
a lot, like you're not going
to get there. Last question comes from

974
01:01:23,920 --> 01:01:28,280
a long time listener who has told
me how to pronounce his name in the

975
01:01:28,320 --> 01:01:31,639
past. I hope I do not
butcher it now. But this comes from

976
01:01:32,800 --> 01:01:37,639
Miroslav Shook, and I hope that
I did not butcher that terribly. He

977
01:01:37,679 --> 01:01:43,599
asked how many current players are on
the NBA's top one hundred all time lists.

978
01:01:44,760 --> 01:01:47,960
Yeah, so this is a tough
one just because everyone has different definitions

979
01:01:49,079 --> 01:01:52,000
of what we're ranking. Are we
looking at peak level reached over one season,

980
01:01:52,039 --> 01:01:57,039
over five seasons longer? Are we
looking at the sum of your contributions

981
01:01:57,039 --> 01:02:00,360
throughout a career, So just kind
of taking everything into a count, Like

982
01:02:00,360 --> 01:02:04,639
when we're talking about the top hundred, we're kind of in like Tim Hardaway,

983
01:02:04,679 --> 01:02:07,840
Mitch Richmond, Walt Bellamy, Chris
Webber, Territory, which is pretty

984
01:02:07,880 --> 01:02:13,519
lofty already. Now that's said,
I have thirteen names that I consider pretty

985
01:02:13,559 --> 01:02:15,960
much locks for the top hundred,
and I'm curious if you disagree with any

986
01:02:15,960 --> 01:02:19,920
of these or if there are any
that you should we should add to it.

987
01:02:19,960 --> 01:02:22,559
I also have a list of ten
that I think you can argue belong.

988
01:02:23,039 --> 01:02:28,239
So are you arguing it as they're
currently they're already or they're okay,

989
01:02:28,480 --> 01:02:30,440
they're they're current. Like I don't
want to talk about Luca don chich in

990
01:02:30,519 --> 01:02:37,639
his conversation because he is in no
way exactly exactly. We can't talk about

991
01:02:37,639 --> 01:02:42,800
Monte Morris here, right, So
the thirteen locks Lebron, James, Stephen

992
01:02:42,880 --> 01:02:46,559
Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi,
Leonard, Jannisanda Dacumbo, James Harden,

993
01:02:46,960 --> 01:02:52,960
Chris Paul Russell, Westbrook, Anthony
Davis, Damian Lillard, Carmelo, Anthony

994
01:02:52,119 --> 01:02:57,800
Dwight Howard, and Powcasol. Yeah, I don't. I don't disagree with

995
01:02:57,840 --> 01:03:00,239
any of those names. I'm trying
to think of if he's left anyone off

996
01:03:00,239 --> 01:03:04,679
and I can't so my ten like
you, you didn't have this, Okay,

997
01:03:04,719 --> 01:03:07,400
go ahead as the name. I'm
curious if you're gonna say it's gonna

998
01:03:07,400 --> 01:03:09,320
be on this so my ten,
you can make the cases Klay Thompson,

999
01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:15,679
Kyrie Irving, Paul George Blake,
Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolai Yokich,

1000
01:03:16,119 --> 01:03:22,719
Kevin Love, Jimmy Butler, Kyle
Lowry, and Al Horford. I feel

1001
01:03:22,719 --> 01:03:25,039
like you can make a case for
either one of those, but Al Horford

1002
01:03:25,119 --> 01:03:29,480
might get the boot for me.
I feel like his peak was it was

1003
01:03:29,519 --> 01:03:32,360
like sustained, but it just wasn't
like flashy enough. I think he and

1004
01:03:32,440 --> 01:03:37,159
Klay Thompson are the weakest of those
ten. Yeah, I'm like, I'm

1005
01:03:37,239 --> 01:03:40,159
I want to say we should remove
Kyle Lowry because I'm so pro Kyle Lowry,

1006
01:03:40,199 --> 01:03:43,280
but like that just doesn't seem like
a hot dache that he could make

1007
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:45,199
it there for me. I don't
have any major disagreements with you. I

1008
01:03:45,239 --> 01:03:47,920
was curiously whether you're gonna mention Yokic? Did you mention him bead in that

1009
01:03:47,960 --> 01:03:52,480
group? No, he has not
done enough for me yet, like the

1010
01:03:52,480 --> 01:03:54,920
top I mean again, like we're
talking about like Chris Webber is sh range.

1011
01:03:55,239 --> 01:03:59,840
Yeah, and you're right, you're
saying currently, Yeah, if we

1012
01:03:59,840 --> 01:04:03,519
were gonna say currently, like I'm
probably I don't even know if I could

1013
01:04:03,519 --> 01:04:09,440
put Clay on there. Definitely not
Horford Yokich. Just so you can put

1014
01:04:09,519 --> 01:04:12,679
Kyrie in there, I'm not sure
you can in there. I'm just saying

1015
01:04:12,679 --> 01:04:15,400
if you can't put Kyrie, Who's
hit one of the most important shots in

1016
01:04:15,480 --> 01:04:16,840
NBA history, Like, I don't
think you could put Yokics yet. So

1017
01:04:16,840 --> 01:04:20,000
I always Kevin Love and Aldridge I
think are the two where I'm like,

1018
01:04:20,039 --> 01:04:26,960
yeah, they're probably in there.
Definitely Kevin Love, Aldridge. Yeah,

1019
01:04:27,000 --> 01:04:30,639
adds peak was so good. That's
a tough La Griffin. It's really interesting.

1020
01:04:30,760 --> 01:04:34,639
Yeah, I mean I haven't so
the last time I did a top

1021
01:04:34,679 --> 01:04:39,440
one hundred rankings was I'm looking at
the article date now, it was April

1022
01:04:39,480 --> 01:04:45,119
twenty fifteen, so like a lot
has happened since then, and I it's

1023
01:04:45,239 --> 01:04:49,719
it's a really difficult one to answer
without sitting down and like actually coming up

1024
01:04:49,760 --> 01:04:54,800
with the top hundred, which I
don't think is a project that should be

1025
01:04:54,840 --> 01:04:58,719
taken lightly. It's one of those
where like when I did my Top hundred

1026
01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:04,519
and twenty fifteen, I've put hundreds
of hours into this thing. It's it's

1027
01:05:04,639 --> 01:05:08,239
tough just to answer it out of
a mail bag, which is why I

1028
01:05:08,280 --> 01:05:10,519
wanted to say, like, here
are the locks, Here are the guys

1029
01:05:10,519 --> 01:05:14,119
who I think? Are you know
in that ninety two one hundred and fifty

1030
01:05:14,280 --> 01:05:19,880
range. Just do a bot net
rating swinging call today. That is the

1031
01:05:19,920 --> 01:05:25,800
final question we have, though.
I hope everyone enjoyed the mailbag. If

1032
01:05:25,800 --> 01:05:29,719
you have not already, please please
pretty please with sugar on top, subscribe

1033
01:05:29,719 --> 01:05:33,480
to this podcast. Download every episode
wherever you are consuming your podcasts, whether

1034
01:05:33,559 --> 01:05:36,400
or not you're using Apple though,
that's still the best way to help us,

1035
01:05:38,199 --> 01:05:42,119
So please head over to Apple iTunes
search Hardwood Knox. Throw us a

1036
01:05:42,159 --> 01:05:44,880
five star rating. Right review.
It can include criticism. We're here for

1037
01:05:45,079 --> 01:05:46,880
we will read it, but that
that is one of the best ways to

1038
01:05:46,920 --> 01:05:50,159
help us. Also follow us on
social media at Hardwood Knox on Twitter.

1039
01:05:50,360 --> 01:05:54,280
We have a YouTube channel. We'll
eventually maybe do more with it, but

1040
01:05:54,360 --> 01:05:58,599
right now we're posting our episodes there. Subscribers help YouTube dot com search Hardwoo

1041
01:05:58,639 --> 01:06:01,920
Knox we will come up subscribe Vibe
until next time, though we gave you

1042
01:06:01,920 --> 01:06:08,039
with the shout out to the one
the only the top one hundred player of

1043
01:06:08,119 --> 01:06:18,000
all time, guarantee he's going to
get in there. Molik Beasley, Sugar

1044
01:06:18,079 --> 01:06:23,960
Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns.

1045
01:06:24,400 --> 01:06:28,960
Legends whose four way rivalry define one
of the greatest errors in boxing history,

1046
01:06:29,719 --> 01:06:33,559
relive their decade of dominance in the
new Showtime Sports documentary The Kings, a

1047
01:06:33,599 --> 01:06:38,199
four parts series premiering Sunday, June
sixth, only on Showtime