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What is up, fellow thermonuclear a
fforts. I am daf Valley coming at

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you with yet another NBA team look
ahead. Super excited as always to talk

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to Kannada Edwards about the Charlotte Hornets. He is a CBS Sports podcast producer.

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He's been on the show many times, so you know that he is

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prone to making bad life decisions.
Follow him on Twitter at not a the

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Scribe that's at na t A th
h E s c r I b E

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not a the Scribe fun follow on
Twitter. Talks about not just the Hornets,

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put the entire NBA and then just
sports media at large. I appreciate

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his commentary all the time. I
do not appreciate his jokes about Obi topping.

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Sir, Sir, sir, you
were Race Dance with with Ghostbusters on

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that one. You've brought that on
yourself and you want me to combat karmically.

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I deserve the Obi top one.
I will not be tempting fates this

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year because the past two years I
don't remember what it would last. There

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s something else to end up blowing
my face, So I am not going

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to provoke Kannada. The most important
question I will ask you though, during

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this podcast how the heck are you
doing? Man? Man, everything's good.

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Like we just got through our little
portion of Hurricane Ian down here,

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a lot of rain. My garden
really really needed it. So I'm not

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going to complain. Outside of that
though, Everything is good, man.

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Just getting ready for this college basketball
season, getting ready for the NBA season.

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We may be doing a few I
maybe doing a few things on the

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NBA side too, so we'll see
where. Again that's not necessarily breaking news,

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but just we're gonna be doing a
lot of stuff this year, and

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I'm looking forward to it. But
I'm enjoying the summer right now. Uh,

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that's dope if you're gonna be working
on some of the NBA side of

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stuff. So yes, we'll see, we will see. CBS lucky to

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have you there. We are talking
about the Charlotte Hornets around these parts,

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and I wanted to start here because
I think this is the big, the

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most important thing that happened in the
Charlotte's course that didn't happen to Charlotte Hornets,

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but Miles bridges felony domestic violence charges
three of them. His latest routine

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hearing, as it's been described,
was delayed yet again for a fourth time.

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It's now scheduled for October seventh.
There has not been any new news,

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like since the initial news break where
we saw the photos that were posted

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on Instagram. We've heard the story
about how some of this stuff happened in

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front of his son. I don't
want to necessarily focus on the basketball impact

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of it. I would recommend your
former stomping ground at Locked on Hornets with

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Walker Mell did what I thought was
a really valuable podcast with Katie Hein on

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how domestic violence is covered in sports, and so I'd urge everyone, and

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I've said it before in this podcast
to check that out. But what are

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there any just coming out of media
Day. Are there any updates on expectations

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on how we expect this to pan
out or is this just a situation where

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again it's absolutely horrible. From the
Hornet's perspective, you just have to operate

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as we don't have Miles Bridges this
season. Let's move on. That's that's

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I think if you've noticed for Media
Day, that was one of the big

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things. They hope they that he
gets them back, they get them back,

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but at the same time they kind
of know he's not going to be

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back for a while now. Granted
you had some folks like LaMelo Ball give

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a twenty one year old answer for
a very bad question in which probably the

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PR people should have stepped in and
been like, yeah, yeah, we're

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not answering these questions, or there
should have been a base understanding that hey,

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we're not answering any Moss Bridges question
because quite frankly, he's not on

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the roster right now. They're at
twenty and that they would have to cut

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somebody. So technically, again,
the offer's out there, he's not on

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the roster. At some point he
may or may not be back. My

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advice to anyone that thinks that he's
going to be back in twenty twenty two,

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don't expect it. If he's back, and I want to say,

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I want to bring it if because
I don't think he plays this season due

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to the fact that he's going he's
trying to avoid a not guilty play.

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Those pictures are out there, the
hospital report is out there. He is

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probably going to have to come to
it, like he's going to have to

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settle at some point, He's going
to have to come to a plea deal.

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He's going to miss a significant amount
of time. Whenever that happens as

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well, I wouldn't be surprised if
we see something that ends up closer to

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the Jeffrey Taylor situation, which was
I believe twenty four games. So I

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would not expect to see Miles Bridges
here, and when he comes back,

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there's going to be a lot of
apologizing, a lot of hopefully on his

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part, therapy. Because the other
thing is, if you've met Miles Bridges

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and I have a few times,
he's one of those guys that this him

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having this streak to him fooled a
lot of people, me included. I

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am legitimately surprised that he acted in
the way he did and I hate to

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be like the he fooled me,
but yeah, he fooled me, and

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he fooled a whole lot of other
people in this And that part is also

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going to be hard for him to
because he's gonna have to fix all of

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this and that's going to take a
lot of effort, and I hope he

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does, quite honestly, And I
think, as you also mentioned, like

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this isn't something that's going to go
away, and as I mentioned, we

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shouldn't need the pictures, but the
pictures are out there, and that ensures

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that it's not going to go away. And so this is something the team

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and Miles Bridges Apps we need to
reconcile with as they should. And I

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just hope the thing that's been gutting
through all this is you hope his girlfriend

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is okay, and then just knowing
the stuff that his son has seen,

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you really hope that his son is
okay as well. And it's not much

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bigger than basketball here, and it's
it's tough too. The sports media,

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I'll call it myself included. I
don't consider myself media, but the sports

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media landscape is just woefully ill equipped
to cover this stuff about add the proper

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training, absolutely, and it's one
of those things like it we are an

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incredibly shallow business that is quite honestly, we are Hollywood. We are Hollywood

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media, but we cover athletic people. That's what we are at the end

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of the day. And there's a
lot of this that and granted, shout

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out to podcasts like Burn It,
Burn It All Down that do this and

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that help you, that can help
educate you on why this stuff matters.

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And I mean, Jessica Luther has
been one of those people that and again

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I will absolutely name drop Jessica Luther, but she's absolutely one of those that

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that o me a lot through her
articles of covering Baylor on this and everything

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else like that. But so when
it comes to like it, the impact

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goes very very deep into this And
the other thing that we have to remember

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about everything that was said, was
especially in that now deleted Instagram post,

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that there were people that were aiding
Miles in covering this up. My one

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concern becomes, and this is something
that like, I just pray that it

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wasn't anyone in the Charlote Hornet's organization. It was aiding Miles and covering this

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up. That's the only thing that
like that I keep coming back to.

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It was just hopefully that was on
his side and not the Hornet side,

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because if not, then this gets
even like dice ere, there's no natural

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segue to do this. No there
their actual off season. Are there any

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themes, thoughts, impressions that are
sticking with you and during the regular season,

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were you surprised that they weren't a
little bit more active when I know

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they weren't super flexible, but just
on a personnel front, are you a

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little bit surprised that they just weren't, again more active relative to what a

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bunch of other teams did. Yes
and no, no, because the Miles

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Bridges thing, they were going to
do something that then Miles went crazy and

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did a very horrible thing, and
then went from that too. I guess

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they turtled. And the other reason
why I'm not necessarily surprised is they have

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a significant belief and a lot of
that young talent that they've garnered over the

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last couple of years, and to
be honest, they should they get.

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I like Kai Jones. I think
Kai Jones is a five. I think

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we've learned that in the last little
Summer League with him shooting and attempting a

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whole bunch of threes that he had
no business doing, especially off the bounce

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ones in Summer League. That I
love his role level, Yeah exactly.

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Yeah, off the bounce threes were
definitely something he should have tried. But

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between that, I like what JT. Thor has done. There's a little

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bit again, I thought he regressed
a little bit this summer, But I

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also think that they were operating this
summer without a coach for a long time,

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and they brought in and we'll get
to that at some point, But

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they brought in one of the best
nuanced teaching coaches, and I think that's

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going to help. And I think
book night. I think what they're going

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to do a book night. The
only issue that you might have with them

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is they don't have a point guard. And outside of that, and I

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thought and I thought there was going
to be a reunion bringing Kemba Walker back,

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but the fact that Kemba Walker is
still like on the Detroit Pistons Detroit

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Pistons roster doesn't necessarily bode well for
his opportunities around the league. So I

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wish they would have gotten a point
guard. But I'm not necessarily surprised at

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the Miles Bridges thing through everything like
literally just destroyed everything, because once the

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league saw those pictures, you can't
do anything, like you're paralyzed and you've

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got to probably sit this out and
wait a year. Fortunately, they have

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a lot of young talent on that
bench. What were your impressions of now,

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especially how the coaching search went down. You have Kenny Atkinson than you

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don't, and you I think there
are worse emergency contingencies than Steve Clifford for

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sure, But what are what are
just your thoughts on that whole situation.

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Okay, So I love talking about
this situation because I can start finally tell

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stuff now that we can now that
work for the for enough way. So

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I need to ask you a question. In a stop gap situation, would

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you have preferred Steve Clifford just coaching
and just doing nothing and just coaching,

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or would you have preferred Mike D'Antoni
coaching but having some sort of personnel decision

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power. I would absolutely prefer Steve
Clifford, because you know what, Steve

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Clifford is gonna give a fuck about
defense, and that's someone that they need.

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Yeah. And that was the other
thing, like there was not enough

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between. There was a couple of
things where it was just like, Okay,

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I can I can understand Kenny Atkins
into a degree because you're it's somewhat

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similar in the James Brigo role of
we'll develop this guy, but he'll care

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more about defense. I just I'm
not sure if you're old enough to remember

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the Larry Brown years here in Charlotte
where he was the coach and the GM

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and he had enough power to say, how would I remember because this is

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this is the key move for me. With the Larry Brown tenure as a

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Charlotte Bobcats head coach slash GM,
he drafted Dj Augustine over brook Lopez.

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I remember that they were the Bobcats
then were going to draft brook Lopez.

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Larry Brown needed a point guard who
already had one in Raymond Felton. Didn't

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like Raymond Felton. Shows to go
get Dj Augustine, said brook Lopez.

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And yeah, brook Lopez would have
helped, what helped a lot No.

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Seven to fifty nine, but brook
Lopez, we'd have had twenty thirty wins.

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Yeah, Like there's a lot of
this. So that's why I'm against

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ever giving a coach GM power.
I am never for it. I am

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always going to be here to go
get again. The coach just coaches.

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He does his thing. Between that
and then the other thing that never made

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sense was, and I know you
heard a little bit of this too,

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that the Hornets were actually too cheap
to get. Kenny Atkins and his assistant

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coaches start looking at the assistant coaching
staff for the Charlotte Hornets. This year,

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you have Bob Bayer that came back, Tyrone again, Ty Corbin came

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back, plus he kept about five
of the folks on the staff for from

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Bregos routine. If it was going
to be about money and paying for assistance,

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I'm not so sure that's the case. So Kenny just left back and

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went back on his own, and
I think the Hornets were the ones ending

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up looking bad and left holding the
bag. And ironically the coaching search ends

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up being a better thing because I
think with this team where they are right

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now, I love what James Brego
did. I didn't think he should have

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been fired, but after hearing a
couple of things again and questions about leadership

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and questions about defense, I understood
Steve Clifford is the right guy to teach

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this team right now how to play
defense, how to pay attention to the

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nuances of the game, how to
be better, because if we're honest,

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the last little bit of the Charlotte
Hornets was a lot of oh my god,

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they're really really good. They'll beat
the they will beat the Philadelphia seventy

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six ers, and they'll beat the
Milwaukee Bucks on back to back nights,

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but then they will drop again to
the Rockets for no reason. They were

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wildly inconsistent, and I think smoothing
out those inconsists and sees with cliff we'll

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make them a better team even if
they're minus Miles Bridges this year. Do

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you knowing Steve Clifford's defensive principles,
what they're predicated on, how I don't

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want to say concerned, because it's
not a bad thing, but like how

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focused he is on getting the defense
set. Can that mesh with the way

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that the Hornets played on offense,
which this is a team that was very

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high in transition fourth and average offensive
possession time. Are we gonna see sort

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of a stylistic collision here between Clifford's
defensive principles and their offense. That's the

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thing that's going to trip them up. That's the thing if because I think

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they're going to be better than people
think. I think they're gonna be better

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than Vegas things. I think they're
going to be closer to forty wins than

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they are thirty. But I do
that's the concern. Like, and I

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think it was Matt Moore that puts
this out, but Cliff's never had a

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team faster than eighteenth and pace Holy
shit? Yeah, yeah, if you

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want to be concerned about this team. It's there now. That being said,

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I think they're going to get better
in the half court. I do

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believe they're going to be better.
I have to believe they've got to be

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better, because if anything was better
than what they were in the half court

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last couple of years. I think
Cliff will get him better in the half

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court. I think LaMelo is going
to be good enough, and I think

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we're going to start seeing some roles
minimized in terms of uptempo style. The

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one guy that you kind of have
to sort out with that I'm not I'm

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not expecting much from Gordon Hayward outside
of forty five games and maybe he'll play,

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maybe he'll play fifteen, twenty more. I don't expect much, and

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they've already said he's going to be
load managed to going into this year.

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I do have concerns about what Terry
Roschier is going to be in this offense,

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especially if we're talking about a guy
that is probably not going to get

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as many transition threes as he got
last year and probably going to see more

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of the offense the defenses loading up
for him. I do worry about him

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and what he's going to do and
what he's going to be. So if

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you're worried about this, if you're
worried about the transition in the clash of

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styles, pretty much I would.
I would worry about those two things when

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it comes to the Charlotte Hornets because
Terry Rosier was a big piece of what

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they did the last couple of years. He was going to be a little

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bit neutralized and the pace is going
to be I'm not gonna say it's not

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gonna be what it used to be, but it's going to be significantly slowed

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down. You don't think Terry that
if they can get to a point,

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especially when you have LaMelo and even
having Gordon Hayward, if he's you know,

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when he's healthy, like him being
able to knock down threes off of

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dribble penetration in the half court,
it's still something that he should be able

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to do. He should, But
I think we're going to see his should

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you should come down a lot.
It's gonna come down. I think it's

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gonna come down a significant amount.
I think his usage was significantly high.

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I think that's coming down. I
think the Paul's gonna be a lot more

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in LaMelo's hands is this year.
I think it's also going to be a

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lot more in Hayward's hands and surprisingly
and we'll talk about I know we're gonna

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talk about him Cody Martin's hands a
lot too. Is you mentioned Gordon Hayward's

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gonna be load manage but after they
don't sign a backup point guard or they

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mean Dennis Smith Junior is technical on
the roster right now, And be careful

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with that because that's because again you've
seen Cliff teams where they get that one

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guy that we're like, oh,
what do we expect to that? And

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be careful because that feels like the
Cliff I'm going to mold him into an

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NBA player and he's going to Again
we have Ramon Sessions, we have I

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forgot who else it was, but
we've had like Michael Carter Williams. We've

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seen Cliff mold these top seven,
top eight guys in the draft before and

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then they end up having a significant
career after he's done. Be careful with

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dismissing Dennis Smith Jr. Be very
careful. Is Gordon Hayward though, like,

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especially given how you expect them now
to play on offense? As a

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result of folks on defense. Does
he become availability, It's a different thing.

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I still think he's a very useful
player, and that the contract is

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it doesn't look great, but that
we sometimes associate, you know, contract

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with how good a player actually is
sometimes and we can play like availability with

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pay grade and elements along those lines. It's principle. Yeah, think about

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Alan Houston. He's very much new
age Alan Houston when he's on the floor.

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He's great. When he's not on
the floor, and you just notice

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the absence, and you notice how
different they play, and you notice how

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different they just seem as a team. It's it's very much Alan Houston principle

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in that. And I want him
to again. I I want him to

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be there. But it's one of
those things like if you're the Charlotte Hornets,

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you can't expect more than forty five
games out of him. You can't.

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You just can't at this point,
and if you do, that's kind

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of your fault. At this point. You have to have those kinond of

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rails in there. And granted they
have a lot of guys at the wing.

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Can one of them step up if
he's hurt? That's the key to

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the season. If you can get
a step up from a book Night,

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if you can get a step up
from a Bryce McGowans, which I don't

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think who I don't think we'll see
all year. But if you can get

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a step up from Cody Martin,
if Kelly Oubre focuses on defense just a

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little bit, I think you can
mitigate a bunch of this stuff. It's

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just how do you manage a guy
like Gordon Hayward and figure out like how

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to score otherwise and how to be
because a lot of this and granted,

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the thing that I worried the most
about with Gordon Hayward out most of the

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time is if you're talking about a
team that doesn't have the basketball IQ outside

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of Lamello, sometimes some nights you're
gonna need that other guy, that grown

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up that will be there to guide
offense, do every and be the de

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fact point guard at times. Gordon
Hayward did that a decent amount last year.

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I wonder exactly what happens if they
miss him and they miss mouth Bridges.

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Is that too much? Is that
too much of a talent rain to

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really do anything and get to that
ten spot, Because I think when we

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start talking about the expectations for this
team. The floor should be the ten

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spot, the floor, the absolute
floor. Now the ceiling probably is probably

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like eight or nine. But still
they are a playing They're a solid playing

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team as long as the injuries aren't
crippling, you know what I mean?

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Right, And I'm gonna want to
get into that sort of secondary gard rotation

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in a second, but we've probably
gone long enough without talking specifically about LaMelo

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Ball. Yes, you look at
his game, and I think it's fair

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to say that, like he's my
most improved player pick because of right now

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and during the season. I think
Anthony Edwards's ascension is kind of overshadowed how

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good he actually is. But you
look at Lamlo's game, and whether you

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call them can terms or weaknesses,
I look at he gets to the rim

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a good amount, doesn't finish well, doesn't get to the foul line of

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ton. Those two things are probably
directly related. Him getting stronger might help,

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And there's also just he can be
a defensive disruptor, a defensive playmaker,

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but there's the there's always the on
ball defense, which I feel like

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we say about all guards anyway,
How confident are you in him? Improving

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in either any one of those or
all three of those areas entering year three.

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It's funny because the media day,
LaMelo did mention one big thing is

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that he started he hired a ref
to help draw, to help try to

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basically game the system so that where
he can get three, four or five

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00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,079
more free throws. If that works, we're talking about, like you said,

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MP, we're talking about probably all
NBA. We're talking about third again.

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I'm not saying he's going to be
first or secondy, but if he

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gets to a solid to ten,
I think with the with the way he's

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gonna go, he if he gets
a solid twenty two, twenty three and

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has decent assistant, decent assist numbers, decent like rebounding numbers, I think

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he's got a shot at all NBA. I do think he can improve in

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that. And then the defensive stuff, I'm really not worried about that because

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it's a cliff. Cliff is going
to find a way to minimize his weaknesses

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and that's going to be key.
I'm not sure how it's going to work,

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but I'm not worried about as much
about the defense because Cliff will have

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you playing at a certain level on
defense to where it works. And we

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know again we just see that everywhere. And I'm not worried worried about that.

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I'm more worried about drawing him drawn
the fouls and the strength, and

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then on top of that, probably
getting better with the jump shot. If

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he gets better with the three,
then we're talking like what are we doing

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here? He's going to be very
very good next year, does he?

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And you mentioned the jump and he's
done most of his damage just on spot

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up looks, which is, by
the way, that's a luxury because a

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lot of cards who operate with the
ball in their hands like they can't do

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that. There has been talk,
like over the past two years about his

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off the dribble jumper. He did
shoot thirty four point one percent off the

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00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:19,799
dribble threes last year. Does he
need to have that shot in his game?

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00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,920
Though? No, Like, that's
that's also luxury to me, Like

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if we're talking about luxuries, his
biggest thing, his biggest weapon to me

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00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,880
is the fake and then that floater
of his that he does, like fake

318
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,079
the three float into the like that's
his that's his probably his best weapon.

319
00:23:37,599 --> 00:23:41,200
And if he can get that,
if he hits enough threes to where people

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have to respect the three. He's
big enough and he's probably strong enough to

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get to the fifteen foot area and
take that mid mid range and I think

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that's the next elevation in this game. Him being a three level score is

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00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,640
probably the most important thing for them
because if he becomes that mid range guy

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00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:03,519
that can hit forty forty five from
from mid I think that opens up everything.

325
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,960
That gives Terry Rogier an extra three, that gives Cody Martin an easier

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00:24:07,079 --> 00:24:11,680
lane to slash off of, that
gives Mark Williams a chance to get a

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00:24:11,799 --> 00:24:15,680
lob. That's the next level.
And I think the off the dribble three

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00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:21,079
isn't isn't key, But I think
it's one of those things where we just

329
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,400
have to just I think we got
to hold off on that one. I

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00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,039
think that's coming. It's just one
of those you get that with experience,

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and I'm not sure he's experienced enough
to get that one just yet. I

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00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,200
think this might make me a hypocrite
or a poser or an idiot, but

333
00:24:34,559 --> 00:24:40,559
I simultaneous view in off the dribble
three in general as perhaps the most valuable

334
00:24:41,039 --> 00:24:45,400
like skill in basketball. But also
not something that's essential if that makes anything.

335
00:24:45,559 --> 00:24:48,200
No, you're right, You're like, you're absolutely right about that.

336
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,720
Like that's to me, that's the
thing. Like I think, Off,

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00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:57,240
I'm not worried about off the dribble
three because him doing those pull up threes,

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00:24:57,839 --> 00:25:02,920
those are really great for crowd.
But from like you see where he

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00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:07,079
pulls up, we're talking a solid
twenty seven twenty eight feet when he does

340
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,200
it. And granted we've seen Pray
Young, we've seen Dame do it,

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We've seen a whole lot of other
people do it. I'm not sure it's

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that valuable for him in the long
run. And I think when it comes

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00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,799
to that, I see why again
you're not a hypocritic post or anything like

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00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,079
else like that. But more importantly, I think for his game, I

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00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,839
don't think it's not necessary. I
think much more of the becoming the three

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00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,000
level score, because the elite three
level scores are the ones that you end

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00:25:33,079 --> 00:25:37,519
up having to worry about the playoff
games. And I think they're trying.

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Their entire focus is we want this
to be a perennial playoff team, and

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therefore we're gonna have you focus on
the stuff that's gonna help you get there

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00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:51,400
and sustain success when it comes to
comes to being in there. Mark Williams,

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00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:56,160
any thoughts on his game and fit
and will he play it all this

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00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,200
season? I know that. I
think it was Clifford had said. I

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don't know if it was media day
or if it was just the other said

354
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,960
that Nick Richards is the backup five
as of right now, which I think

355
00:26:04,319 --> 00:26:07,599
early on. I get it.
I'm just curious if you think that Mark

356
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:12,720
Williams will be in the regular rotation
by year's end. If Mark Williams is

357
00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:17,960
not a part of the regular rotation
but not necessarily opening day, but if

358
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,200
he's not there by Christmas, then
there's a problem. There's a problem.

359
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:26,319
Quite honestly, I like Nick Richards. My best description of him is that

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he seems like a second or second
and a half too slow on every NBA

361
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,799
basketball play, which is something you
can't have for an NBA center. That's

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I think Mark will I had concerns
about Mark Williams footspeed, lateral footspeed on

363
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,839
the pick and roll. I thought
he was going to be food summer league,

364
00:26:45,039 --> 00:26:51,359
Summer league kind of summerly, kind
of like nullified a few of those

365
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:56,519
concerns. I think what he brings
to this team is a verticality that on

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00:26:56,759 --> 00:27:02,839
both ends that they don't necessarily have
right now. And because of that,

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I think he's going to play,
and I think he's going to play a

368
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:11,119
lot, and that would not be
surprised if he's the starter Calm I want

369
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,400
to say New Year's Day. I
think he's going to be a part of

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the rotation. I think it's a
lot more about Hey, I've seen Nick

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Richards in the building. I haven't. I think when CLIPS said that,

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I think it was much more about
Hey, I've seen Nick Richards in the

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building. I haven't seen Mark Williams
as much. I think that's going to

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change, because I don't think Nick
Richards as you're starting as your backup center,

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00:27:32,799 --> 00:27:37,240
works very very well right now.
The optics of drafting another big in

376
00:27:37,319 --> 00:27:40,759
the first round and then not using
him during his rookie season also wouldn't be

377
00:27:41,319 --> 00:27:42,799
Whether it's fair or not to frame
it that way, the optics would not

378
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:47,079
be great. Oh no, oh
no, the optics are horrible, and

379
00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:51,279
it is why I'm glad they didn't
go and grab draft Durham. But which

380
00:27:51,759 --> 00:27:56,839
like I think that they are and
This is the thing that I believe Mitch

381
00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,839
said, like they are maxed out
with young talent. They only have so

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00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:06,720
many ability hours to max everybody out. So there's that, and then yeah,

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00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,599
Ky Jones already isn't playing, and
then you have JT. Thor who's

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00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:15,160
trying to fit a role. And
you have a very tight seven eight guys

385
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,359
right now that you know we're gonna
play. You need those young guys to

386
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,400
play at some point. If not, then you should have traded the picks.

387
00:28:22,519 --> 00:28:25,880
I have two questions on PJ.
Washington, which is one, where

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00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:27,119
do you sort of just land on
his value to this team now? And

389
00:28:27,279 --> 00:28:33,240
two, because you have Ky Jones
and Mark Williams and Plumbly and even JT.

390
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,279
Thor, are we going to see
less of PJ. Washington at the

391
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:41,319
five than we have over the past
two years. I think that the funny

392
00:28:41,359 --> 00:28:44,839
thing is the mantras Harold. Let
me answer that last part of the question.

393
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,599
First, the mantras Harold trade kind
of cemented that PJ is a four.

394
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,839
Like we saw his numbers jump up, he was a better player,

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00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:56,079
he was fresher. He's a spot
five at at best. He's one of

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00:28:56,119 --> 00:29:02,920
those guys maybe you close the game
with at the five maybe and between that

397
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,559
and as far as his value,
I think his value is incredibly high.

398
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,400
He may be the best defensive player
on this team. Cody Martin's the only

399
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,519
other guy that comes within any kind
of sniffing distance of him. I think

400
00:29:15,599 --> 00:29:19,599
he's incredibly value. I think he's
one of those guys that, like you

401
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,240
talk about LaMelo for a most improved
player. All right, let me sell

402
00:29:23,279 --> 00:29:29,279
you on PJ Washington Possible. Let
me tell you on that podcast to travel

403
00:29:29,359 --> 00:29:33,160
down this rabbit hole. Let's go. What if I told you that one

404
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:40,599
of Steve Clifford's favorite players just joined
the basketball operations and coaching staff all of

405
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:45,519
the Charlotte Hornets. That would be
one Marvin Williams. Marvin Williams was a

406
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,880
guy that called out the defense that
got his that again, when you talk

407
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:55,079
about Charlotte Hornets, Marvin Williams and
the best of what he was before his

408
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,839
legs went out, that was a
guy that was going to get you anywhere

409
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:03,200
from seventeen to again seventeen to twenty, on like fifteen to twenty, almost

410
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,720
every night he got you at least
couple of threes he hit almost he hit

411
00:30:07,799 --> 00:30:12,519
a high thirties with at least three
three threes a game. There's a lot

412
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:18,599
of this to where I can see, like on a contract year, PJ

413
00:30:18,839 --> 00:30:25,839
putting up eighteen eighteen nine, maybe
a couple assists here or there, but

414
00:30:26,119 --> 00:30:33,119
almost hitting probably fifty from the floor, thirty six, thirty seven from thirty

415
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:37,680
six to thirty seven from three and
then around eighty from the line. There's

416
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,559
there's a scenario where that absolutely happens. I think he's going to be really,

417
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,799
really good this year because Cliff is
going to know how to use him

418
00:30:45,799 --> 00:30:48,680
a little bit better than James Frego
did. I think that part's going to

419
00:30:48,799 --> 00:30:53,039
matter a lot. His offense has
always fascinated me because it does feel very

420
00:30:53,079 --> 00:30:56,720
plucking play. But he also has
to borrow phrasing from a friend of the

421
00:30:56,759 --> 00:31:02,839
podcast, Adam Spinella, like there's
a little bit of motherfucker to him when

422
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:04,599
yes, there wants to be.
And I'm just when you slide him to

423
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,920
more of the four, I think
the Horners probably have the personnel to make

424
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,079
it work with the spacing can be
kind of important for him to play that

425
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:12,319
way, And I'm just curious if
you're gonna be in the half court more

426
00:31:12,799 --> 00:31:17,640
if the guard rotation outside the starting
lineup his body. Do you need PJ.

427
00:31:17,799 --> 00:31:22,119
Washington to do a little bit more
on offense this season aside from again

428
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:27,279
be the I think I think like
I think that. I think I think

429
00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:32,640
everyone should go into the year expecting
that, quite honestly, like that's the

430
00:31:32,759 --> 00:31:36,960
dude that's gonna have to step off
to make this all work without Miles being

431
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,920
out, and I think we've seen
it in flashes. The issue with with

432
00:31:41,079 --> 00:31:42,759
PJ quad honestly is when he puts
the ball on the deck from the three

433
00:31:42,799 --> 00:31:45,519
point line, because he has a
tendency to get ripped and turn the ball

434
00:31:45,599 --> 00:31:49,559
over. That's the issue with him. As long as he goes and does

435
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:55,400
that, then he should be fine. Cody Martin, you mentioned a couple

436
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,039
of times already I was maybe it's
the I was gonna say it could be

437
00:31:59,039 --> 00:32:04,000
the initial sticker shock reporting of the
deal. But even if you just assumed

438
00:32:04,039 --> 00:32:07,519
the deal was entirely guaranteed, which
it's not, there are two guaranteed years

439
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:12,799
on that four year deal. Nationally. What was missed on Cody Martin that

440
00:32:12,839 --> 00:32:17,119
people would think this was somehow in
overpay. He's the only guy on this

441
00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,559
team, on the wing that can
stay within which you can stay with our

442
00:32:21,599 --> 00:32:27,359
man like they had to pay him. And the one thing about the Miles

443
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:32,440
Bridges incident that made this kind of
interesting for me is I think if Miles

444
00:32:32,519 --> 00:32:37,759
Bridges keeps his nose clean, we
don't see Kelly Ubre. I think Kelly

445
00:32:37,839 --> 00:32:42,160
Ubre became a necessity to keep him
because I think the and I think you've

446
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,319
seen me tweet this before where I
was like, the decision to keep Cody

447
00:32:45,359 --> 00:32:50,640
Martin isn't one of Miles or Cody, Miles Bridges or Cody Martin. No,

448
00:32:51,119 --> 00:32:54,680
it was whether we keep this partially
guaranteed deal that we have with Kelly

449
00:32:54,799 --> 00:33:00,680
Ubre, or do we move on
Cody Martin to another team. I think

450
00:33:00,799 --> 00:33:04,839
the way he improved his three now
granted most of us damage from three was

451
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,200
in the first half of the year, and I want to say it was

452
00:33:07,279 --> 00:33:14,799
like right like right after New Year's
Day, his character became a pumpkin again

453
00:33:15,119 --> 00:33:17,559
in terms of his three point shot. But at the same time, he's

454
00:33:17,559 --> 00:33:22,920
still one of their He was their
best defensive player. And I think if

455
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:29,200
you saw what his brother Caleb did, think about that and then think about

456
00:33:29,279 --> 00:33:31,920
what he did, especially again,
like Cody's the better player, Cody's a

457
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:37,799
lot more first top, where whereas
Caleb played like primarily the four for the

458
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:42,079
heat you had him, you had
Cody Martin essentially guarding one through three,

459
00:33:42,359 --> 00:33:46,440
maybe even some fours. I think
the versatility, defensive versatility, his willingness

460
00:33:46,519 --> 00:33:50,799
to be a path again, he's
a half decent backup point guard, and

461
00:33:50,839 --> 00:33:57,119
we may see that even more with
these new lineups. I think we're I

462
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,240
think a lot of people are just
missing how much a glue guy it matters.

463
00:34:00,319 --> 00:34:04,680
And also, and I guess this
is the biggest issue I have with

464
00:34:04,799 --> 00:34:07,440
everyone getting mad about this deal.
You can't say, oh my god,

465
00:34:07,519 --> 00:34:13,239
Alex Caruso, you're getting paid this
and then be like Cody Martin get sticker

466
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,920
shock with Cody Martin. I'm sorry, that just doesn't work for me.

467
00:34:16,079 --> 00:34:20,239
Yeah, even independently of the cap
going up, that was justin I don't

468
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,840
expect people to be like sickos like
you or even me, like a low

469
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,199
level sick cood to have watched a
ton of Cody Martin all the time.

470
00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:30,760
But like that number was just like
when you thought it was four and thirty

471
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:32,000
two and it was just four and
thirty two, Like that number was fine,

472
00:34:32,199 --> 00:34:36,360
Like that number was perfectly fine.
I will say I think my favorite

473
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:40,559
part about his game is that,
Yeah, I was. I actually had

474
00:34:40,599 --> 00:34:44,320
the question about do you think he's
gonna run more like second units because the

475
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,119
way the secondary guard rotation shakes out, and he can do that stuff.

476
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,599
But there's like, even when the
balls in his hands, he just doesn't

477
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:54,440
stop the flow of anything. Like
it's always like these quick decisions of whether

478
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,760
he's gonna drive, or if he's
gonna go into a pick and roll or

479
00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,559
he's gonna shoot, or even the
passes he's making when he's he's gotten better

480
00:35:00,639 --> 00:35:04,519
at that. When he is driving, like making those passes, he is

481
00:35:04,559 --> 00:35:06,880
just glueg I was probably the best
way to describe it. But there's just

482
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,360
a constant motion to his game even
when he's not in motion, because the

483
00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,960
game never he never slows it down, even when it doesn't have court and

484
00:35:15,079 --> 00:35:16,679
you need that guy, and you
know who really loves that kind of guy,

485
00:35:17,199 --> 00:35:22,679
Steve Clifford, Like he's going to
play a factor in this. Like

486
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,639
I'm not saying I wouldn't be.
I wouldn't I'm not saying Terry Rogier is

487
00:35:25,679 --> 00:35:30,079
coming off the bench. But would
it surprise me to see a Cody Martin

488
00:35:30,159 --> 00:35:35,679
start? No, because he because
Cliff is always about you start your five

489
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:39,559
defensive your best five defensive guys.
And if that's going to be the case,

490
00:35:40,079 --> 00:35:45,400
Cody Martin is going to start.
That's how good he is and defensively,

491
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:47,159
and I think that's going to matter
as well. Now, granted,

492
00:35:47,199 --> 00:35:50,679
is that going to cause a lot
of problems? Probably, but we'll see

493
00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,199
again, We'll get to that bridge
when we cross it. But in terms

494
00:35:53,199 --> 00:35:55,920
of the Cody Martin love, I
am a Cody Martin dull. I think

495
00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:00,360
he's better than people seem to think
he is. And that contract is justin

496
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:04,480
line, especially when you start thinking
about the Alex Caruso contracts and contracts of

497
00:36:04,519 --> 00:36:07,920
that ILK as well. Do you
expect Kelly Bridge Junior to finish the season

498
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:15,599
in Charlotte? Tell me how many
wins they have by the by this trade

499
00:36:15,639 --> 00:36:19,960
deadline, because that's like, that's
why it's an unfair question, especially because

500
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,199
you needed to keep him more.
I guess you could argue you need to

501
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,880
keep him, said you have to
operate like Miles Bridges will not be playing

502
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:29,199
this season, but if you're bad, you're probably not going to pay him

503
00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:31,480
this offseason. I will say,
I'm very fascinated. If you actually think

504
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:37,679
the offense is going to slow down
with Steve Clifford, I am very maybe

505
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,679
morbidly so. I'm curious to see
how Kelly Bridge Junior winds up fitting into

506
00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:44,800
that. Well. He said he's
gonna work on defense, but again,

507
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:47,639
that'd be the first time we've seen
that. Is there a player, There

508
00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:51,199
has to be a player, But
he's one of those guys where his defensive

509
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:55,760
reputation just because of his archetype,
it just exceeds anything you've ever watched with

510
00:36:55,960 --> 00:37:00,559
exactly Exactly. Concept is better than
the theory. Yeah, exactly. Again,

511
00:37:00,599 --> 00:37:04,440
he's one of those great guys in
concept. You're right, He's absolutely

512
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:08,679
one of those guys that's better at
concept. But I worry about like he's

513
00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:13,920
the guy I worry about that gets
that gets moved for book Knight, because

514
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:19,360
I think there is a legitimate bromance
with Steve Clifford and James book Knight that's

515
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:28,599
going on, and I think them
learning and I like Kelly oubre but would

516
00:37:28,639 --> 00:37:31,400
it surprised me to find that he's
on He's on the outs, and they're

517
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:36,000
going to focus on the youth movement, especially if they can help win.

518
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:39,760
I wouldn't be surprised. I honestly
wouldn't be surprised, because I know the

519
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:44,719
mandate is, Hey, we understand
that we're trying to win. You also

520
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,639
have to play the kids, and
that's something that Ubre has the benefit of

521
00:37:47,679 --> 00:37:52,840
the doubt of being a vet for
now. Would it surprise me if he's

522
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:58,000
out? No, not really,
kind of honestly, because it just the

523
00:37:58,119 --> 00:38:04,280
defense, like defensive defensive focus are
big things, and we've seen Kelly Ubrey's

524
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:07,639
movies before. That may be the
thing that trips them up and gets him

525
00:38:07,639 --> 00:38:10,199
out of the rotation. I don't
want to date this podcast by mentioning it,

526
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:15,760
but I was sort of curious if
whether, because this team has lost

527
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:19,000
a ton of leverage since the player
is currently not in training camp with them,

528
00:38:19,519 --> 00:38:24,239
if the framework of a Crowder for
Ubre swap would interest the Hornets in

529
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:29,719
large part because if you're trying to
slow things down defensively and offensively, I'd

530
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:31,880
probably argue that Jay Crowder makes more
sense for your team, even if you

531
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:37,559
trust Kelly Bridgingr to do different things
on defense. Against you know, Crowder

532
00:38:37,639 --> 00:38:39,400
is like very much just a big
wing guy, and I think Ubray stills

533
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:44,760
the valuability on defense to go against
smaller, quicker players maybe not well,

534
00:38:45,119 --> 00:38:49,239
but you know, not get beat. I would be for it because I'm

535
00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:52,679
also for having more adults in the
room at this point, Like, I

536
00:38:52,840 --> 00:39:00,599
think anything that adds a veteran,
an adult in the room for any sort

537
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:05,679
of time that can import any sort
of knowledge that can help PJ be a

538
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,480
better again three, four or five
guy, Like anything that can help these

539
00:39:09,559 --> 00:39:14,280
guys be a better team and be
more focused. I think you've got to

540
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:17,280
be four. So I wouldn't hate
that idea. In fact, I would

541
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:23,760
actually go for it because I think
I think this team, especially being like

542
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:28,719
competitive, and we've heard them mentioned
playoffs or the goal the playoffs or the

543
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:30,440
goal we're trying to get to the
playoffs. We've heard that up and down

544
00:39:30,519 --> 00:39:34,800
this year. If that's the goal, then there's no reason not to do

545
00:39:35,039 --> 00:39:39,440
a Jay Crowder for Kelly Bracewap.
You sort of answered this question for me

546
00:39:39,519 --> 00:39:43,400
already, but like, who has
the is going to play the bigger role

547
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,360
for the team this season Between book
Night, Kai Jones and as through JT.

548
00:39:45,519 --> 00:39:47,559
Thor in there. It felt like
I mentioned in the ally I sent

549
00:39:47,639 --> 00:39:52,679
you that when you sort of look
at their depth chart, book Night has

550
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:54,480
the clearer path to playing time right
now. And it seems like you just

551
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:58,079
or at least based off what you've
said, it seems to me that the

552
00:39:58,199 --> 00:40:02,119
organization just seems to believe in him
more as well. The organization is going

553
00:40:02,199 --> 00:40:07,679
to give James book Knight, after
a bad rookie year, a chance to

554
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:13,920
make good. And we again you
have the incident in December with confronting the

555
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:19,880
head coach, James Brago on the
sideline. It became a thing where again

556
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:23,280
even Zapruder film was broke out for
it. So that's how like crazy that

557
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:30,519
situation got. I think James book
Knight has a chance to be that guy.

558
00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:35,519
But I'm also going to throw a
twist in here on this. I'm

559
00:40:35,559 --> 00:40:38,119
not sure it's James book Knight.
I think it might be JT. Thor.

560
00:40:39,079 --> 00:40:44,480
I think Discord members will love you
for saying that the Hardwood knocks.

561
00:40:44,519 --> 00:40:50,239
Discord members love some JT. Thor. I think JT. Thor is the

562
00:40:50,679 --> 00:40:55,199
just his skill set, the ability
to hit the three, the ability to

563
00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:59,840
defend at least two through four not
to be food on pick and roll.

564
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:04,559
I think all of that matters.
I think all of that is going to

565
00:41:04,679 --> 00:41:08,480
be a defensive Swiss army knife for
a guy in Steve Clifford who loves crafting

566
00:41:08,719 --> 00:41:14,320
a whole bunch of traps in his
defense and to basically have a strong defense

567
00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:19,239
off the bench. I think it's
JT. Thor because I'm not and this

568
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,159
is going to be into another one
of those questions. I like Jayleen McDaniels.

569
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:29,280
I do think if we talk about
people that may or may not be

570
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:34,639
on this roster come trade deadline time, he feels like another one of them,

571
00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:38,000
doesn't he like? He like if
they're bad, he feels like another

572
00:41:38,079 --> 00:41:42,559
one that might get you something more
than you think. Because I think he's

573
00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:46,679
he's a type of rotation guy that
actually can help you. And I'm not

574
00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:52,800
sure that for what this team brings
right now, if they don't have a

575
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:58,400
better, younger version under more cab
control, that that he may find his

576
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:01,000
way out of this rotation. And
that was a question here too. Is

577
00:42:01,199 --> 00:42:05,679
he didn't play towards the tail end
of last year all that much. Joyn

578
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:09,400
McDaniels. I mean and he's hit
threes on very low volume. But so

579
00:42:09,599 --> 00:42:12,760
you're I was gonna ask you,
like, can he get a bigger role

580
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,400
when you look at the Fower rotation? But I guess your answer to that

581
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:17,519
would be very much. Now,
it's not no, it's I want to

582
00:42:17,559 --> 00:42:21,519
see it, Like a lot of
this bench. I want to see what

583
00:42:21,719 --> 00:42:25,480
happens with when they start playing like
preseason games, what the rotations are going

584
00:42:25,559 --> 00:42:30,320
to be, because I think with
Cliff one, I don't think there's going

585
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:32,159
to be a ten man rotation.
I think we need to eliminate that idea

586
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:38,360
right now. Two, I think
Cliff is going to very much be in

587
00:42:38,559 --> 00:42:43,480
an experimental mode of Okay, let's
see what works with this, Let's see

588
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:45,440
what works that. Especially with the
bench, I think we know what you

589
00:42:45,559 --> 00:42:50,559
have out of the top seven.
I think there are a lot of spots

590
00:42:50,679 --> 00:42:53,400
up for grabs. I think I
would not be surprised if JT. Thor,

591
00:42:53,599 --> 00:42:59,519
because of his length, because of
his quickness, ends up taking a

592
00:42:59,639 --> 00:43:08,039
spot from somebody and specifically McDaniels,
And then it becomes in a again,

593
00:43:08,159 --> 00:43:14,159
then it becomes a Kai Jones versus
his Jalen McDaniels for minutes like, I

594
00:43:14,239 --> 00:43:16,079
would not be surprised j T.
Thoris the guy that comes out of this

595
00:43:16,119 --> 00:43:21,639
bench because he's done so so,
so so well, and he's still one

596
00:43:21,679 --> 00:43:23,119
of the youngest players in the league. He's got a lot upside to him.

597
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:28,599
I will say, I'm normally in
favor of players testing out things,

598
00:43:28,719 --> 00:43:31,000
but Jane McDaniels is one of those
guys we're on offense. I don't need

599
00:43:31,079 --> 00:43:36,840
to see him like try to dribble
out of I'd rather not watch it anymore.

600
00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:38,599
To be honest with you, Dan, you've seen my nickname for him,

601
00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:42,960
right, I don't know that I
have. Jalen ten Day plays like

602
00:43:43,039 --> 00:43:45,880
he's on a ten day contract.
I don't know that I've seen that.

603
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:50,639
Or yeah, no, yeah,
ten day Jalen like that again. There

604
00:43:50,679 --> 00:43:53,559
are times where you he plays like
he's on a ten day He takes shots

605
00:43:53,639 --> 00:43:58,039
he shouldn't. When he plays within
the flow of the offense, he's great.

606
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:00,440
But when he decides that he to
go rogue or he wants to try

607
00:44:00,519 --> 00:44:05,719
something else out new, it usually
doesn't end well for him. And this

608
00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,719
is a guy I like, I'm
just wondering because of his contract status,

609
00:44:09,159 --> 00:44:13,079
Like if things go bad, you
see one of those first guys to go.

610
00:44:15,159 --> 00:44:17,880
So when you step back and look
at this roster leading into the season,

611
00:44:19,039 --> 00:44:23,800
what's your single biggest concern or what's
their single biggest weakness if you'd like

612
00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:29,239
to frame it that way, rebounding
and backup point guard. I wonder if

613
00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:35,159
they have enough physicality has already been
brought up once in media day. If

614
00:44:35,239 --> 00:44:37,800
they lack the physicality to rebound,
it'll be the same OL Charlotte Hornets.

615
00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:40,559
They're going to score well, actually
done, It's not gonna be same OL

616
00:44:40,679 --> 00:44:45,679
Charlott Hornets because usually with that physicality
they could at least outrun you and win

617
00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:51,960
you games that way. If they
can't be physical and they can't rebound well,

618
00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:55,760
and Mark Williams doesn't come in here
and fix the fix the defensive defensive

619
00:44:55,840 --> 00:45:01,079
side of the ball, this team
is going to be not necessarily significantly worse,

620
00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:04,840
because I do believe this is a
thirty win team no matter what.

621
00:45:06,159 --> 00:45:10,760
But the problem becomes at this point
that if they can't they're just going to

622
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:14,639
be unlatchable. They're going to be
a half court team that may not be

623
00:45:14,679 --> 00:45:17,079
able to play in a half court, plus a defensive team that really can't

624
00:45:17,159 --> 00:45:21,920
defend and can't rebound, and can't
seal off their man and give up tons

625
00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:24,599
of offensive rebounds, which we've seen
them do year after year after year.

626
00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:30,679
At some point one of that something
like that's got to change. The other

627
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,039
issue is backup point guard, which
has clearly been a bugaboo because I think

628
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:37,360
in the last couple of these we've
had this conversation and backup point guard has

629
00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:45,960
been one of the weaknesses that I'm
worried about. I thought again now,

630
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:50,199
Grant, I am a Dennis Smith
junior believer in this aspect of I trust

631
00:45:50,239 --> 00:45:54,320
the player development staff. I trust
Cliff to get this right with him and

632
00:45:54,599 --> 00:46:00,760
figure it out. I just wonder
how long that may take. And granted,

633
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:02,199
he's on a non guaranteed deal,
so he could be gone at any

634
00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:08,079
time. I do wonder if not
going after Kemba Walker and bringing him back,

635
00:46:08,159 --> 00:46:13,920
even for thirty forty games is going
is not is going to hurt them

636
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,639
because I think they need a point
guard and I just the Lakers have one.

637
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:22,360
I hear that's available. You're trying
to get me to hang up,

638
00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:25,760
aren't you? Good job? And
again this is you saying, oh,

639
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:31,039
I'm not going to control watch Russell
sat. The idea that the Hornet should

640
00:46:31,039 --> 00:46:35,480
have been a Westbrook destination was ridiculous
unless they were trying to blow it up

641
00:46:35,559 --> 00:46:37,280
and wanted to get off long term
money. No, that's only way it

642
00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:40,360
made sense. The Westbrook thing made
sense if you were going to eat the

643
00:46:40,519 --> 00:46:44,800
like you said, eat the forty
four million, tell him to go home,

644
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:46,719
stay home, buy him out and
let him join the playoff team,

645
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:50,480
or something along the lines of that. That's the only way, and it

646
00:46:50,679 --> 00:46:54,719
only specifically works if you wanted to
specifically get off the Gordon Hayward contract.

647
00:46:55,119 --> 00:46:59,800
That's the only way that that that
it was trade ever made sense to me.

648
00:47:00,079 --> 00:47:02,960
Is they're tired of They're tired of
Gordon Hayward. That's it. That's

649
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:07,159
the only way it works. But
even then, no one wants that contract.

650
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:09,320
And you know what, just because
you mentioned that as a small joke,

651
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:15,480
when Russell Westbrook becomes a Nick,
remember this chat, I favorite because

652
00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:17,239
it means that hopefully that there I
guess no the Knicks might be was an

653
00:47:17,239 --> 00:47:21,840
actual player. Ye. Speaking of
the Knicks, though just a quick tangent,

654
00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,920
I was very proud to see like
Hornet's Twitter really pushed back against the

655
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:30,440
idea that seemed to be was being
pushed by Nick's Twitter about maybe a Randall

656
00:47:30,519 --> 00:47:35,280
for Hayward spop and that never made
sense for the Hornets and Hornets fans and

657
00:47:36,559 --> 00:47:38,880
bloggers, analysts, media members,
podcasts. They shot that down real quick.

658
00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:40,760
So I was very proud. I
was very proud of him for new

659
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:45,920
during that. The thing is like, I didn't understand the jit I didn't

660
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:52,119
like. I understand that Julius Randall
had one of the Gray's greatest bubble seasons

661
00:47:52,159 --> 00:47:55,519
ever. And mind you, the
Try State area now has two great bubble

662
00:47:55,599 --> 00:48:01,119
players in t. J. Warren
and Julie Randall. I understand that people

663
00:48:01,239 --> 00:48:06,400
do well with no crowds. Julius
Randall was clearly one of them, and

664
00:48:06,599 --> 00:48:09,079
when the people started started showing up, he started not showing up. And

665
00:48:09,119 --> 00:48:14,440
I understand that. I like Gordon
Hayward, he shows up in front of

666
00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:20,880
people. That's the big difference between
Julius Randall. Hey, I gotta keep

667
00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:24,519
a rill on that one. The
tone with that you used was just not

668
00:48:24,639 --> 00:48:31,679
indicative of how biting that coming.
The name that I thought for them as

669
00:48:31,719 --> 00:48:35,000
a backup playmaker, and I think
it would have to be a three team

670
00:48:35,039 --> 00:48:37,880
trade because I think this team and
maybe in the market for a big But

671
00:48:37,920 --> 00:48:42,239
I've wondered if Derek White is now
gettable in Boston, someone who could come

672
00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:45,440
off the bench and give you some
secondary ball handling Defensively, he feels very

673
00:48:45,519 --> 00:48:49,079
much like a player Steve Clifford could
fall in love with. But that's not

674
00:48:50,079 --> 00:48:52,559
Is that the type of move you
make when you're talking about your third guard.

675
00:48:52,679 --> 00:48:53,800
I don't think the Hornets are there
yet to view themself. Were not.

676
00:48:54,239 --> 00:48:58,320
We're not there yet, and I
want, like I honestly want to

677
00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:00,519
see what they do with Smith Jr. I really do want to see that,

678
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:04,880
see what that happened. Now,
granted he was a last minute move,

679
00:49:05,079 --> 00:49:08,639
so I'm not expecting much, but
I want to see what they do

680
00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:14,239
with them. I think between that, I think between Cody Martin getting a

681
00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:19,480
backup point guard role possibly and that
opening up a slot for James buck Night,

682
00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:23,320
I want to see what they do
first, because cliffs already talked about

683
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:30,159
Hayward possibly doing some point guard duties, Cody Martin doing point guard duties.

684
00:49:30,199 --> 00:49:32,199
There's a lot of this that at
some point is going to end up having

685
00:49:32,239 --> 00:49:36,519
to make sense for a lot of
people. I want to see how these

686
00:49:36,559 --> 00:49:40,039
pieces work for right now, and
thankfully we have preseason games coming up shortly

687
00:49:40,119 --> 00:49:43,800
for them to figure it out.
Because I want to see what this is

688
00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:45,840
about. Because I'm there's a lot
of this that works in theory. I

689
00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:50,679
want to see if it actually works
in an actual practice and games and seeing

690
00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:53,960
what works on what doesn't. God, I hate preseason basketball and I can't

691
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:58,559
bring myself to watch it that much. But you mentioned that the Hornets aren't

692
00:49:58,559 --> 00:50:00,800
going to go with the ten man
rotation. One of my favorite things to

693
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:04,360
do though, leading into the season
is looking at who the top ten most

694
00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:07,679
used players will be. This team
feels like it has seven locks. Yeah,

695
00:50:07,679 --> 00:50:12,280
I'll be in there, and then
you it could be anarchy for the

696
00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:15,079
other three. So how do you
view short of sort of that pecking order

697
00:50:15,159 --> 00:50:19,960
shaking out at this point? Again, Ball, Rosier, Heyward, PJ.

698
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:29,679
Plumbly, Martin Ubre. Those are
the seven. The next three I

699
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:36,480
would put Mark Williams there, I
would put tentatively Jaylen McDaniels there, and

700
00:50:36,599 --> 00:50:44,239
then I would put book Night And
I think that's probably what I would do,

701
00:50:45,039 --> 00:50:47,039
but I don't feel confident about it
right now. I think there's a

702
00:50:47,119 --> 00:50:52,519
JT. Something's gonna happen and we're
gonna either see a JT thor I'm not

703
00:50:52,599 --> 00:50:57,559
expecting anything out of Kai Jones this
year. Again, I thought I thought

704
00:50:57,599 --> 00:51:01,079
it was at least a two year
project, and granted that that first round

705
00:51:01,079 --> 00:51:06,400
pick that you traded off, that
that Hornets that the Knicks traded off is

706
00:51:06,480 --> 00:51:08,639
in the wind, and at some
point we'll come do. I don't expect

707
00:51:08,679 --> 00:51:15,079
it to come do anytime soon,
but there's that, so I don't I

708
00:51:15,119 --> 00:51:17,719
don't know. I think that's the
I think that's the list though. I

709
00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:23,119
think that's the list, though card
is very much subject to change. What

710
00:51:23,400 --> 00:51:30,400
will be this team's go to crunch
time lineup? I gotta do two for

711
00:51:30,519 --> 00:51:37,840
you because the first one is Gordon
specific and we don't know if that's going

712
00:51:37,920 --> 00:51:39,920
to be the first forty five games
or that's gonna be something else, but

713
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:54,119
probably Ball Hayward Martin PJ. Plumbly
to start the season post New Year's Day,

714
00:51:55,559 --> 00:52:02,639
Ball Rogier, Mark PJ. Mark
Williams. Oh, I like that

715
00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:07,360
last one. I think that last
one. I think Mark Williams comes along

716
00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:09,679
very well, but it's just gonna
it might take him a little bit.

717
00:52:10,719 --> 00:52:15,760
So the wait, the last one
was Ball, Rosier, Martin Washington,

718
00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:21,440
Williams. Williams. Is there a
weirdo bonkers quirky lineup? You want to

719
00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:25,920
see Steve Clifford dry this season?
He doesn't do weird of bonkers. That's

720
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:31,079
the problem. JB would at least
again acknowledge us as sickos. He would

721
00:52:31,079 --> 00:52:37,239
at least acknowledge us with like a
five minute lineup with with like Ish Smith,

722
00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:40,360
Terry Rosier and LaMelo Ball at the
three like there would be those those

723
00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:45,039
moments out of necessity where he would
at least indulge us. I can't even

724
00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:47,559
I can't even think of it because
I know cliff would basically look at us

725
00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:52,079
nuts if we ever suggested suggested it
nas how would we? How would they

726
00:52:52,159 --> 00:52:57,000
defend? Which is the which is
ninety percent of this, But just for

727
00:52:57,119 --> 00:53:08,400
the sake of doing this PJ McDaniels
four book Night Ball, Okay, I

728
00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:13,039
would want to see what that would
look like. That's not like two unhinged,

729
00:53:13,559 --> 00:53:16,280
It's not two unhinged. But I
could already hear the how we how

730
00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:19,920
are how are we defending? How
are we? I can? I can

731
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,599
hear it? I can hear.
Mine would be I'd like to see thor

732
00:53:23,239 --> 00:53:29,719
and then I want to see Lamello, Cody and probably Terry Rosier in that

733
00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:32,400
lineup, and then if I'm trying
to be realistic, I should put PJ.

734
00:53:32,559 --> 00:53:36,639
Washington, But I really want to
see Kelly Ribridge Junior with that group

735
00:53:36,679 --> 00:53:40,000
because it feels like, yeah,
it might kill Steve Clifford to watch that

736
00:53:40,199 --> 00:53:44,639
unit, but it would be like's
not He's not the only one to kill

737
00:53:45,719 --> 00:53:49,000
that man's got a hard condition.
You're trying to do that, so him,

738
00:53:49,039 --> 00:53:52,079
Dan, that's that's that's a terrible
that's a terrible take for me.

739
00:53:52,199 --> 00:53:54,639
But I would love to see that
lineup would be so like frazzled and frenetic

740
00:53:54,840 --> 00:54:00,559
on offense that I would just be
I would be enthralled by watching it,

741
00:54:00,159 --> 00:54:07,239
Like enthralled as a word. Enthralled
again, Horrified is another? Captivated?

742
00:54:07,320 --> 00:54:09,880
Is another captivated? Is it?
Yeah? Like like you can't look away,

743
00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:15,960
like like in the train Wreck sense
of you can't look away? Yeah?

744
00:54:15,079 --> 00:54:19,079
No, that that that's a lineup. That that that's a lineup cans

745
00:54:19,159 --> 00:54:24,679
why in fact five players off?
As we record this the over under for

746
00:54:24,719 --> 00:54:29,400
the Sharp Hornets, This season's thirty
six point five. Would you smash that

747
00:54:29,719 --> 00:54:32,119
over under? And where do you
see them landing in the larger context of

748
00:54:32,159 --> 00:54:38,800
the Eastern Conference. I told Matt
Moore this a couple of days ago.

749
00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:44,960
It was they're stay away from me. I don't I can't get read on

750
00:54:45,039 --> 00:54:51,679
this team because they're gonna be They're
gonna beat teams off hustle in detail alone.

751
00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:54,199
They're going to lose team two teams
because they're not gonna be able to

752
00:54:54,239 --> 00:54:58,800
over they may not overcome like they're
gonna lose so elite teams because they're not

753
00:54:58,800 --> 00:55:05,840
gonna be able to overcome a talent
gap without possibly a Miles Bridges and maybe

754
00:55:07,079 --> 00:55:13,679
a Gordon Hayward and or any other
injury that hits the problem. I worry

755
00:55:14,719 --> 00:55:19,039
like I feel like I guess I've
said this multiple times. This team feels

756
00:55:19,079 --> 00:55:22,599
like a team that's gonna win more
than like closer to forty than thirty.

757
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:25,880
But they don't feel like solid enough
to where I would actually play some money

758
00:55:25,960 --> 00:55:30,599
on it. But I think they're
I think they're the tenth best anywhere from

759
00:55:30,599 --> 00:55:34,119
the ninth to tenth best team in
the East at this point, and that's

760
00:55:34,440 --> 00:55:37,519
without Miles Bridges. I do think
that there's some potential for growth here,

761
00:55:38,079 --> 00:55:42,199
but I think there's a chasm,
and I think you'll agree with me.

762
00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:47,079
There's a chasm between one in six
in the East and everybody else. I

763
00:55:47,239 --> 00:55:53,159
think there's a significant talent gap.
And until the Hornets either developed another star

764
00:55:54,000 --> 00:56:00,639
and or find another star, they're
going to be on the other side of

765
00:56:00,679 --> 00:56:06,239
that chasm right now. Yeah,
what's interesting about the East too, is

766
00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:10,000
I don't even know if there's like
this huge chasm might be like like eight

767
00:56:10,039 --> 00:56:15,880
teams being looped together when you have
Miami, Boston, Milwaukee, Philly.

768
00:56:15,039 --> 00:56:19,880
Wait, you think Miami is still
don Miami might be closer to the other

769
00:56:19,960 --> 00:56:22,519
side of that chasm than you think. Well, so I guess I'm doing

770
00:56:22,559 --> 00:56:25,960
it in terms of teams that I
would be prepared to bet are better than

771
00:56:25,960 --> 00:56:30,719
the Hornets this year. And so
you have Miami, Boston, Philly,

772
00:56:30,199 --> 00:56:36,440
Milwaukee. I don't know what Brooklyn
is doomed, so I don't like,

773
00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:38,239
I don't I don't know what's gonna
go. Like I'll put Brooklyn there for

774
00:56:38,360 --> 00:56:43,960
right now because I think this I
think it's the bad marriage, but I

775
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:46,599
think it'll be functional, like I
don't think we'll see. I think we'll

776
00:56:46,599 --> 00:56:51,320
see. In terms of Brooklyn,
I think they'll be functional in the regular

777
00:56:51,360 --> 00:56:53,599
season, they'll be dysfunctional when it
comes to the other sixteam. I think

778
00:56:53,760 --> 00:56:58,760
that part matters. And then on
top of those five or six that I

779
00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:04,280
just listed, like you have Atlanta, Cleveland, Toronto, I would bet

780
00:57:04,400 --> 00:57:08,960
probably on all of those teams.
Now if you want to be in the

781
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:13,239
play in like you need to ensure
Yeah, Detroit should be worse than you,

782
00:57:13,800 --> 00:57:15,719
Orlando will be worse than you.
You need to be better than the

783
00:57:15,760 --> 00:57:19,719
Knicks and the Wizards at this point, I think they clearly are. Though

784
00:57:20,719 --> 00:57:22,760
I don't trust Washington. I do
not trust what I think. Washington is

785
00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:30,360
very much a sneaky team that could
they could they compete with the Hornets maybe,

786
00:57:30,880 --> 00:57:32,639
but I don't trust a lot of
what they do. Do we trust

787
00:57:32,719 --> 00:57:37,760
Christaps Porzingis to stay healthy enough to
be their center? Probably not? No.

788
00:57:37,920 --> 00:57:38,840
I mean he did play well for
that MA after the trade, but

789
00:57:39,079 --> 00:57:43,119
that was a very that was a
snapshot of a season, and he's typically

790
00:57:43,199 --> 00:57:46,039
not available for the entire season.
Like and the Knicks, I like them,

791
00:57:46,199 --> 00:57:51,000
But you're telling me you're taking are
you taking a RJ. Barrett,

792
00:57:52,079 --> 00:57:54,800
Like, let's just go with the
backcourt alone. You're telling me you're gonna

793
00:57:54,800 --> 00:58:00,079
take Brunson and Barrett over LaMelo voluntary
Rosier at this point, Well, I

794
00:58:00,199 --> 00:58:05,480
like that you think that Tips wouldn't
put Evan Fourney in the backcourt four versus

795
00:58:05,559 --> 00:58:08,000
LaMelo and Terry Rosier, And even
then that's even that's even a clearer.

796
00:58:08,559 --> 00:58:14,320
I I don't trust the Knicks or
the Wizards at all. I might like

797
00:58:14,519 --> 00:58:19,239
the makeup of their rosters better than
Charlotte's overall right now, but I don't

798
00:58:19,320 --> 00:58:24,000
trust Thibadeau to use it correctly.
In New York. There's just a weird

799
00:58:24,079 --> 00:58:29,159
dichotomy between how the Knicks and who
should be playing in New York versus how

800
00:58:29,320 --> 00:58:34,440
and who actually does play in New
York. Washington's just like they have Beal.

801
00:58:34,880 --> 00:58:37,920
I like some of their perimeter depth. But I'm just saying, like

802
00:58:37,000 --> 00:58:40,679
I would have those teams in the
same like what are we doing here?

803
00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:45,840
Tire with Charlotte, And that's what
makes it so tough to project, which

804
00:58:45,920 --> 00:58:47,800
is fair. But I would also
this, and I guess this is where

805
00:58:47,800 --> 00:58:52,079
I would like, This is where
I would argue with anyone that thinks like

806
00:58:52,239 --> 00:58:57,000
I would honestly put like it's a
small little step stool, but the Hornets

807
00:58:57,039 --> 00:59:00,199
would honestly be abolved, the Wizards
and the Knicks for me for right now

808
00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:05,519
until otherwise, until otherwise proven,
because at this point we're talking again.

809
00:59:05,599 --> 00:59:08,960
The Knicks path to to eight,
nine, ten is what you get another

810
00:59:09,039 --> 00:59:15,119
leap out of You get another leap
out of Barrett, you get a eight

811
00:59:15,239 --> 00:59:22,440
again, you get Bronson being himself, and then you're relying on resurrecting Julius

812
00:59:22,519 --> 00:59:25,679
Randall. I mean, my this
isn't a hot take, but I think

813
00:59:25,679 --> 00:59:30,480
the Knicks quickest path to getting better
is to not play Julius Randall or to

814
00:59:30,880 --> 00:59:34,280
trade him by grace. But I
agree with that, but I don't think

815
00:59:34,320 --> 00:59:37,400
you can. I think the leaks
the league seem what he is now with

816
00:59:37,519 --> 00:59:42,400
people around like like, let's be
real here, the league seem what he

817
00:59:42,599 --> 00:59:46,239
is. I don't think you're getting
that. I don't think you're getting that

818
00:59:46,320 --> 00:59:50,519
player anymore. No you're not.
I mean, he there was like flashes

819
00:59:50,559 --> 00:59:52,360
of it to finish the season,
But I mean what you said is going

820
00:59:52,400 --> 00:59:55,320
to be tattooed to my memory forever. Is Gordon Hayward shows up from people

821
00:59:55,320 --> 00:59:59,800
who there. I'm sure his Randall
does not look the swing team here for

822
01:00:00,360 --> 01:00:04,480
this play in race two? What
is Chicago without Lonzo Ball? They're very

823
01:00:04,559 --> 01:00:06,960
much operating. I know they said
he might come back this year, but

824
01:00:07,280 --> 01:00:09,400
Billy Donovan came right out and answered
a question of I have to plan like

825
01:00:09,480 --> 01:00:16,199
he won't be I don't. That's
gonna be the interesting thing because when we

826
01:00:16,320 --> 01:00:20,280
talk about team like, NAT's going
to be that where it comes down to

827
01:00:20,320 --> 01:00:23,880
the head to head for me,
because the Chicago Bulls own Charlotte Hornets like

828
01:00:24,159 --> 01:00:29,239
they're a bad matchup for that team
and they've beaten them. I want to

829
01:00:29,280 --> 01:00:32,440
say, like the last two years
running, like the Hornets haven't won a

830
01:00:32,519 --> 01:00:37,199
game. That's the team that I
find interesting. But I wouldn't be surprised,

831
01:00:37,239 --> 01:00:40,880
Like would you be surprised if they
come back falling back to Earth and

832
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:45,679
they're eleven, because I wouldn't,
honestly no, And I think that's but

833
01:00:45,760 --> 01:00:49,800
that's sort of what you're hitting on. Is to me, there's unless something

834
01:00:49,840 --> 01:00:52,360
could something ken and will probably go
wrong in Brooklyn, but with a town

835
01:00:52,400 --> 01:00:55,760
on the roster, there are very
much eight locks to me for the top

836
01:00:55,880 --> 01:01:00,119
ten, and those final two spots
come down to Charlotte, Washington, New

837
01:01:00,199 --> 01:01:02,679
York, and Chicago right now,
so you need to be better if you're

838
01:01:02,800 --> 01:01:07,199
Charlotte then two of those teams.
I'm not ruling it out. I'm also

839
01:01:07,320 --> 01:01:09,639
just not confident enough to say that, oh, they're definitely gonna be better

840
01:01:09,719 --> 01:01:14,199
than than two of those. I'm
confident that they'll be better than the Knicks

841
01:01:14,679 --> 01:01:20,719
and the Wizards. Come see me
in around New Year's Day about Chicago.

842
01:01:21,440 --> 01:01:25,280
If Lonzo Ball's back by then,
they're going to be dangerous and they're going

843
01:01:25,400 --> 01:01:30,280
to be a top eight team.
Also, my one hot take, Cleveland's

844
01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:35,039
the top six team this year.
They're going to get a solid not hot

845
01:01:35,159 --> 01:01:42,159
enough so that like they're here's the
other one and Land is back in playing,

846
01:01:43,920 --> 01:01:45,400
Orlando is back in the plane.
You know, you know Atlanta is

847
01:01:45,440 --> 01:01:50,400
back in the plan. Oh that's
like that might be that probably is pretty

848
01:01:50,440 --> 01:01:53,960
hot. But the plan is seven
to eight and you look at the East,

849
01:01:54,760 --> 01:01:58,280
I know I have the Calves in
the top six with the Bucks,

850
01:01:58,639 --> 01:02:01,159
Boston, I'd throw my ant me
there. I'd probably have Toronto Philly.

851
01:02:01,199 --> 01:02:07,480
There there's your six. So it's
not I'm not Oh, I don't know,

852
01:02:08,280 --> 01:02:12,119
don't do it. I don't know. I feel like I feel like

853
01:02:12,159 --> 01:02:17,119
we're gonna get seven eight Atlanta Toronto, and I feel like nine ten is

854
01:02:17,400 --> 01:02:23,440
a combo Chicago, like Hornets are
gonna be probably ten yet again and it'll

855
01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:28,239
be either Chicago. It most likely
be. They should see they get the

856
01:02:28,280 --> 01:02:31,119
ten seed like trademarked or something for
that. They should we should like we

857
01:02:31,239 --> 01:02:37,800
absolutely, But I just I don't
like, I know, I'm like discounting

858
01:02:37,880 --> 01:02:43,039
a whole bunch of our friends in
the North. I understand that. I

859
01:02:43,320 --> 01:02:46,400
just want, like, what is
Scottie Barnes going to be a year two

860
01:02:46,760 --> 01:02:49,880
and what is it? What is
he gonna be with a year full of

861
01:02:49,920 --> 01:02:53,960
film on him? Like is he
gonna be closer to that Kawhi Leonard level

862
01:02:54,239 --> 01:03:00,199
or is he going to is he
going to have some of those she was

863
01:03:00,199 --> 01:03:02,400
a LaMelo ball had where he kind
of took a step back a little bit.

864
01:03:04,599 --> 01:03:08,199
I do wonder like that is a
concern for me. So I can

865
01:03:08,280 --> 01:03:15,039
easily see Toronto back in the play
in and that's okay. They are going

866
01:03:15,079 --> 01:03:17,199
to be regular season games that matter
this year in ball conferences, and that

867
01:03:17,239 --> 01:03:22,360
makes me excited. Is there anything
I didn't ask you about that you think

868
01:03:22,400 --> 01:03:29,880
needs to be discussed with the Hornets? Honestly, this team is better.

869
01:03:30,320 --> 01:03:32,960
I think this, and it's something
that we've talked about overall with this team

870
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:37,000
though, But this team is going
to be a lot better than I think

871
01:03:37,239 --> 01:03:40,840
people understand that they will be.
And I want people to understand that,

872
01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:45,320
hey, they lost Miles Bridges.
Yes, completely understand. This team has

873
01:03:45,320 --> 01:03:50,079
a lot of young talent and they're
really really good at developing my young talent.

874
01:03:50,840 --> 01:03:54,320
I would not be surprised if this
is a team by committee that ends

875
01:03:54,400 --> 01:04:00,360
up winning messing around and winning thirty
nine forty games, maybe more if miss

876
01:04:00,400 --> 01:04:05,079
Bridges comes back. But that I
think this team is going to surprise a

877
01:04:05,119 --> 01:04:09,840
lot of people and surprise people in
a good way. Hopefully. If not,

878
01:04:10,199 --> 01:04:15,039
this is like literally burn this tape. Is that a sentiment that is

879
01:04:15,119 --> 01:04:19,000
accepted throughout Charlotte though? That better
than expected is because I've seen you on

880
01:04:19,079 --> 01:04:26,159
Twitter arguing with people who believe that
it needs to be playoffs or bust and

881
01:04:26,239 --> 01:04:29,039
that it's a team that's going to
be in like the mid forties or whatever.

882
01:04:29,800 --> 01:04:32,400
Do you this is the I hate
to put it this way. But

883
01:04:32,480 --> 01:04:36,159
the Charlotte Hornet adverage at Charlotte Hornet
Fan has seen a lot of trauma.

884
01:04:38,039 --> 01:04:42,440
They have not They've seen this team
move, They've seen this team be the

885
01:04:42,760 --> 01:04:48,039
worst historical team in the league ever. They've seen a lot of disappointment.

886
01:04:48,280 --> 01:04:55,559
They've seen this team rebuild multiple times. They've seen ownership send off kemball Walker

887
01:04:55,639 --> 01:04:59,920
and the most just kind of disrespectful
way possible. Granted, they were right,

888
01:05:00,199 --> 01:05:02,199
they were right about it, but
the way it was handled. The

889
01:05:02,280 --> 01:05:09,079
way it was handled was horrible.
I would tell you that they have every

890
01:05:09,199 --> 01:05:13,360
right to be jaded, they have
every right to be kind of bitter about

891
01:05:13,400 --> 01:05:17,480
this team. But they're also they
carry a lot of baggage. And if

892
01:05:17,519 --> 01:05:19,920
you're a Hornet's fan listening to this, you know what I'm talking about.

893
01:05:19,920 --> 01:05:24,079
When I say they're carrying a lot
of baggage, you need to let the

894
01:05:24,119 --> 01:05:29,119
baggage go. And I think a
lot of the baggage that they carry will

895
01:05:29,599 --> 01:05:32,360
taint how they look at this team. And it's happened multiple times, happens

896
01:05:32,360 --> 01:05:36,880
to me sometimes. But at the
same time, a lot of this off

897
01:05:38,000 --> 01:05:41,880
season was put on at the feet
of the Charlotte Hornets when it really wasn't

898
01:05:41,920 --> 01:05:45,880
their fault, and I think we
kind of forget that point, like a

899
01:05:45,960 --> 01:05:48,039
lot of this is out of their
control, and once the entire league it

900
01:05:48,159 --> 01:05:54,480
sees the whole Miles Bridge situation like
you can't do anything. You're basically done

901
01:05:56,119 --> 01:05:59,639
for anyone who skipped the intro.
Are you able to tell them where they

902
01:05:59,719 --> 01:06:03,119
can on you? And while you'll
be working on this season again, they

903
01:06:03,159 --> 01:06:06,320
can find me at and out of
the scribe. I will be working a

904
01:06:06,480 --> 01:06:11,400
lot with the Ion college basketball team. We are coming again. We have

905
01:06:11,440 --> 01:06:16,360
a beautiful YouTube channel that I built, like I've helped build, and a

906
01:06:16,480 --> 01:06:19,159
lot of our content is going to
be really, really good, and especially

907
01:06:19,280 --> 01:06:23,880
if you are into draft, if
you're into the NBA draft, we are

908
01:06:23,960 --> 01:06:28,519
doing a lot more on focusing on
a lot of the young freshman Derek Lively,

909
01:06:28,639 --> 01:06:31,039
Kyle Philipowski. We are going to
be a lot focused on that.

910
01:06:31,159 --> 01:06:35,360
So even if you aren't really a
college college basketball fan, we will have

911
01:06:35,519 --> 01:06:40,960
you covered. On the NBA side, it's just the non Victor Wembiyama stuff,

912
01:06:41,360 --> 01:06:44,239
Like if you're looking for Victor,
we're not going to have them,

913
01:06:44,599 --> 01:06:47,320
not yet. But if we're talking
about college players, that you were looking

914
01:06:47,440 --> 01:06:51,280
for again, and we're talking about
Nick Smith, the Derek Lively Is,

915
01:06:51,320 --> 01:06:55,639
the Kyle Philipowskis. Those guys.
We're gonna be talking about them early and

916
01:06:55,679 --> 01:06:59,159
off in a lot. No,
this was great. As always, you

917
01:06:59,199 --> 01:07:01,119
were way together with your time.
I really appreciate it. As you know

918
01:07:01,280 --> 01:07:04,519
by now, I will be pestering
you again in the future. Maybe now

919
01:07:04,599 --> 01:07:08,480
that I'm podcasting more, I can
try and steal you for a mid season

920
01:07:08,559 --> 01:07:11,639
podcast, not just these annual book
aheads. But thank you so much for

921
01:07:11,719 --> 01:07:14,239
doing this. It's always a blast
talking with you. Absolutely, man,

922
01:07:14,320 --> 01:07:14,880
talk to your own