What is up, fellow thermonuclear a fforts. I am daf Valley coming at
you with yet another NBA team look ahead. Super excited as always to talk
to Kannada Edwards about the Charlotte Hornets. He is a CBS Sports podcast producer.
He's been on the show many times, so you know that he is
prone to making bad life decisions. Follow him on Twitter at not a the
Scribe that's at na t A th h E s c r I b E
not a the Scribe fun follow on Twitter. Talks about not just the Hornets,
put the entire NBA and then just sports media at large. I appreciate
his commentary all the time. I do not appreciate his jokes about Obi topping.
Sir, Sir, sir, you were Race Dance with with Ghostbusters on
that one. You've brought that on yourself and you want me to combat karmically.
I deserve the Obi top one. I will not be tempting fates this
year because the past two years I don't remember what it would last. There
s something else to end up blowing my face, So I am not going
to provoke Kannada. The most important question I will ask you though, during
this podcast how the heck are you doing? Man? Man, everything's good.
Like we just got through our little portion of Hurricane Ian down here,
a lot of rain. My garden really really needed it. So I'm not
going to complain. Outside of that though, Everything is good, man.
Just getting ready for this college basketball season, getting ready for the NBA season.
We may be doing a few I maybe doing a few things on the
NBA side too, so we'll see where. Again that's not necessarily breaking news,
but just we're gonna be doing a lot of stuff this year, and
I'm looking forward to it. But I'm enjoying the summer right now. Uh,
that's dope if you're gonna be working on some of the NBA side of
stuff. So yes, we'll see, we will see. CBS lucky to
have you there. We are talking about the Charlotte Hornets around these parts,
and I wanted to start here because I think this is the big, the
most important thing that happened in the Charlotte's course that didn't happen to Charlotte Hornets,
but Miles bridges felony domestic violence charges three of them. His latest routine
hearing, as it's been described, was delayed yet again for a fourth time.
It's now scheduled for October seventh. There has not been any new news,
like since the initial news break where we saw the photos that were posted
on Instagram. We've heard the story about how some of this stuff happened in
front of his son. I don't want to necessarily focus on the basketball impact
of it. I would recommend your former stomping ground at Locked on Hornets with
Walker Mell did what I thought was a really valuable podcast with Katie Hein on
how domestic violence is covered in sports, and so I'd urge everyone, and
I've said it before in this podcast to check that out. But what are
there any just coming out of media Day. Are there any updates on expectations
on how we expect this to pan out or is this just a situation where
again it's absolutely horrible. From the Hornet's perspective, you just have to operate
as we don't have Miles Bridges this season. Let's move on. That's that's
I think if you've noticed for Media Day, that was one of the big
things. They hope they that he gets them back, they get them back,
but at the same time they kind of know he's not going to be
back for a while now. Granted you had some folks like LaMelo Ball give
a twenty one year old answer for a very bad question in which probably the
PR people should have stepped in and been like, yeah, yeah, we're
not answering these questions, or there should have been a base understanding that hey,
we're not answering any Moss Bridges question because quite frankly, he's not on
the roster right now. They're at twenty and that they would have to cut
somebody. So technically, again, the offer's out there, he's not on
the roster. At some point he may or may not be back. My
advice to anyone that thinks that he's going to be back in twenty twenty two,
don't expect it. If he's back, and I want to say,
I want to bring it if because I don't think he plays this season due
to the fact that he's going he's trying to avoid a not guilty play.
Those pictures are out there, the hospital report is out there. He is
probably going to have to come to it, like he's going to have to
settle at some point, He's going to have to come to a plea deal.
He's going to miss a significant amount of time. Whenever that happens as
well, I wouldn't be surprised if we see something that ends up closer to
the Jeffrey Taylor situation, which was I believe twenty four games. So I
would not expect to see Miles Bridges here, and when he comes back,
there's going to be a lot of apologizing, a lot of hopefully on his
part, therapy. Because the other thing is, if you've met Miles Bridges
and I have a few times, he's one of those guys that this him
having this streak to him fooled a lot of people, me included. I
am legitimately surprised that he acted in the way he did and I hate to
be like the he fooled me, but yeah, he fooled me, and
he fooled a whole lot of other people in this And that part is also
going to be hard for him to because he's gonna have to fix all of
this and that's going to take a lot of effort, and I hope he
does, quite honestly, And I think, as you also mentioned, like
this isn't something that's going to go away, and as I mentioned, we
shouldn't need the pictures, but the pictures are out there, and that ensures
that it's not going to go away. And so this is something the team
and Miles Bridges Apps we need to reconcile with as they should. And I
just hope the thing that's been gutting through all this is you hope his girlfriend
is okay, and then just knowing the stuff that his son has seen,
you really hope that his son is okay as well. And it's not much
bigger than basketball here, and it's it's tough too. The sports media,
I'll call it myself included. I don't consider myself media, but the sports
media landscape is just woefully ill equipped to cover this stuff about add the proper
training, absolutely, and it's one of those things like it we are an
incredibly shallow business that is quite honestly, we are Hollywood. We are Hollywood
media, but we cover athletic people. That's what we are at the end
of the day. And there's a lot of this that and granted, shout
out to podcasts like Burn It, Burn It All Down that do this and
that help you, that can help educate you on why this stuff matters.
And I mean, Jessica Luther has been one of those people that and again
I will absolutely name drop Jessica Luther, but she's absolutely one of those that
that o me a lot through her articles of covering Baylor on this and everything
else like that. But so when it comes to like it, the impact
goes very very deep into this And the other thing that we have to remember
about everything that was said, was especially in that now deleted Instagram post,
that there were people that were aiding Miles in covering this up. My one
concern becomes, and this is something that like, I just pray that it
wasn't anyone in the Charlote Hornet's organization. It was aiding Miles and covering this
up. That's the only thing that like that I keep coming back to.
It was just hopefully that was on his side and not the Hornet side,
because if not, then this gets even like dice ere, there's no natural
segue to do this. No there their actual off season. Are there any
themes, thoughts, impressions that are sticking with you and during the regular season,
were you surprised that they weren't a little bit more active when I know
they weren't super flexible, but just on a personnel front, are you a
little bit surprised that they just weren't, again more active relative to what a
bunch of other teams did. Yes and no, no, because the Miles
Bridges thing, they were going to do something that then Miles went crazy and
did a very horrible thing, and then went from that too. I guess
they turtled. And the other reason why I'm not necessarily surprised is they have
a significant belief and a lot of that young talent that they've garnered over the
last couple of years, and to be honest, they should they get.
I like Kai Jones. I think Kai Jones is a five. I think
we've learned that in the last little Summer League with him shooting and attempting a
whole bunch of threes that he had no business doing, especially off the bounce
ones in Summer League. That I love his role level, Yeah exactly.
Yeah, off the bounce threes were definitely something he should have tried. But
between that, I like what JT. Thor has done. There's a little
bit again, I thought he regressed a little bit this summer, But I
also think that they were operating this summer without a coach for a long time,
and they brought in and we'll get to that at some point, But
they brought in one of the best nuanced teaching coaches, and I think that's
going to help. And I think book night. I think what they're going
to do a book night. The only issue that you might have with them
is they don't have a point guard. And outside of that, and I
thought and I thought there was going to be a reunion bringing Kemba Walker back,
but the fact that Kemba Walker is still like on the Detroit Pistons Detroit
Pistons roster doesn't necessarily bode well for his opportunities around the league. So I
wish they would have gotten a point guard. But I'm not necessarily surprised at
the Miles Bridges thing through everything like literally just destroyed everything, because once the
league saw those pictures, you can't do anything, like you're paralyzed and you've
got to probably sit this out and wait a year. Fortunately, they have
a lot of young talent on that bench. What were your impressions of now,
especially how the coaching search went down. You have Kenny Atkinson than you
don't, and you I think there are worse emergency contingencies than Steve Clifford for
sure, But what are what are just your thoughts on that whole situation.
Okay, So I love talking about this situation because I can start finally tell
stuff now that we can now that work for the for enough way. So
I need to ask you a question. In a stop gap situation, would
you have preferred Steve Clifford just coaching and just doing nothing and just coaching,
or would you have preferred Mike D'Antoni coaching but having some sort of personnel decision
power. I would absolutely prefer Steve Clifford, because you know what, Steve
Clifford is gonna give a fuck about defense, and that's someone that they need.
Yeah. And that was the other thing, like there was not enough
between. There was a couple of things where it was just like, Okay,
I can I can understand Kenny Atkins into a degree because you're it's somewhat
similar in the James Brigo role of we'll develop this guy, but he'll care
more about defense. I just I'm not sure if you're old enough to remember
the Larry Brown years here in Charlotte where he was the coach and the GM
and he had enough power to say, how would I remember because this is
this is the key move for me. With the Larry Brown tenure as a
Charlotte Bobcats head coach slash GM, he drafted Dj Augustine over brook Lopez.
I remember that they were the Bobcats then were going to draft brook Lopez.
Larry Brown needed a point guard who already had one in Raymond Felton. Didn't
like Raymond Felton. Shows to go get Dj Augustine, said brook Lopez.
And yeah, brook Lopez would have helped, what helped a lot No.
Seven to fifty nine, but brook Lopez, we'd have had twenty thirty wins.
Yeah, Like there's a lot of this. So that's why I'm against
ever giving a coach GM power. I am never for it. I am
always going to be here to go get again. The coach just coaches.
He does his thing. Between that and then the other thing that never made
sense was, and I know you heard a little bit of this too,
that the Hornets were actually too cheap to get. Kenny Atkins and his assistant
coaches start looking at the assistant coaching staff for the Charlotte Hornets. This year,
you have Bob Bayer that came back, Tyrone again, Ty Corbin came
back, plus he kept about five of the folks on the staff for from
Bregos routine. If it was going to be about money and paying for assistance,
I'm not so sure that's the case. So Kenny just left back and
went back on his own, and I think the Hornets were the ones ending
up looking bad and left holding the bag. And ironically the coaching search ends
up being a better thing because I think with this team where they are right
now, I love what James Brego did. I didn't think he should have
been fired, but after hearing a couple of things again and questions about leadership
and questions about defense, I understood Steve Clifford is the right guy to teach
this team right now how to play defense, how to pay attention to the
nuances of the game, how to be better, because if we're honest,
the last little bit of the Charlotte Hornets was a lot of oh my god,
they're really really good. They'll beat the they will beat the Philadelphia seventy
six ers, and they'll beat the Milwaukee Bucks on back to back nights,
but then they will drop again to the Rockets for no reason. They were
wildly inconsistent, and I think smoothing out those inconsists and sees with cliff we'll
make them a better team even if they're minus Miles Bridges this year. Do
you knowing Steve Clifford's defensive principles, what they're predicated on, how I don't
want to say concerned, because it's not a bad thing, but like how
focused he is on getting the defense set. Can that mesh with the way
that the Hornets played on offense, which this is a team that was very
high in transition fourth and average offensive possession time. Are we gonna see sort
of a stylistic collision here between Clifford's defensive principles and their offense. That's the
thing that's going to trip them up. That's the thing if because I think
they're going to be better than people think. I think they're gonna be better
than Vegas things. I think they're going to be closer to forty wins than
they are thirty. But I do that's the concern. Like, and I
think it was Matt Moore that puts this out, but Cliff's never had a
team faster than eighteenth and pace Holy shit? Yeah, yeah, if you
want to be concerned about this team. It's there now. That being said,
I think they're going to get better in the half court. I do
believe they're going to be better. I have to believe they've got to be
better, because if anything was better than what they were in the half court
last couple of years. I think Cliff will get him better in the half
court. I think LaMelo is going to be good enough, and I think
we're going to start seeing some roles minimized in terms of uptempo style. The
one guy that you kind of have to sort out with that I'm not I'm
not expecting much from Gordon Hayward outside of forty five games and maybe he'll play,
maybe he'll play fifteen, twenty more. I don't expect much, and
they've already said he's going to be load managed to going into this year.
I do have concerns about what Terry Roschier is going to be in this offense,
especially if we're talking about a guy that is probably not going to get
as many transition threes as he got last year and probably going to see more
of the offense the defenses loading up for him. I do worry about him
and what he's going to do and what he's going to be. So if
you're worried about this, if you're worried about the transition in the clash of
styles, pretty much I would. I would worry about those two things when
it comes to the Charlotte Hornets because Terry Rosier was a big piece of what
they did the last couple of years. He was going to be a little
bit neutralized and the pace is going to be I'm not gonna say it's not
gonna be what it used to be, but it's going to be significantly slowed
down. You don't think Terry that if they can get to a point,
especially when you have LaMelo and even having Gordon Hayward, if he's you know,
when he's healthy, like him being able to knock down threes off of
dribble penetration in the half court, it's still something that he should be able
to do. He should, But I think we're going to see his should
you should come down a lot. It's gonna come down. I think it's
gonna come down a significant amount. I think his usage was significantly high.
I think that's coming down. I think the Paul's gonna be a lot more
in LaMelo's hands is this year. I think it's also going to be a
lot more in Hayward's hands and surprisingly and we'll talk about I know we're gonna
talk about him Cody Martin's hands a lot too. Is you mentioned Gordon Hayward's
gonna be load manage but after they don't sign a backup point guard or they
mean Dennis Smith Junior is technical on the roster right now, And be careful
with that because that's because again you've seen Cliff teams where they get that one
guy that we're like, oh, what do we expect to that? And
be careful because that feels like the Cliff I'm going to mold him into an
NBA player and he's going to Again we have Ramon Sessions, we have I
forgot who else it was, but we've had like Michael Carter Williams. We've
seen Cliff mold these top seven, top eight guys in the draft before and
then they end up having a significant career after he's done. Be careful with
dismissing Dennis Smith Jr. Be very careful. Is Gordon Hayward though, like,
especially given how you expect them now to play on offense? As a
result of folks on defense. Does he become availability, It's a different thing.
I still think he's a very useful player, and that the contract is
it doesn't look great, but that we sometimes associate, you know, contract
with how good a player actually is sometimes and we can play like availability with
pay grade and elements along those lines. It's principle. Yeah, think about
Alan Houston. He's very much new age Alan Houston when he's on the floor.
He's great. When he's not on the floor, and you just notice
the absence, and you notice how different they play, and you notice how
different they just seem as a team. It's it's very much Alan Houston principle
in that. And I want him to again. I I want him to
be there. But it's one of those things like if you're the Charlotte Hornets,
you can't expect more than forty five games out of him. You can't.
You just can't at this point, and if you do, that's kind
of your fault. At this point. You have to have those kinond of
rails in there. And granted they have a lot of guys at the wing.
Can one of them step up if he's hurt? That's the key to
the season. If you can get a step up from a book Night,
if you can get a step up from a Bryce McGowans, which I don't
think who I don't think we'll see all year. But if you can get
a step up from Cody Martin, if Kelly Oubre focuses on defense just a
little bit, I think you can mitigate a bunch of this stuff. It's
just how do you manage a guy like Gordon Hayward and figure out like how
to score otherwise and how to be because a lot of this and granted,
the thing that I worried the most about with Gordon Hayward out most of the
time is if you're talking about a team that doesn't have the basketball IQ outside
of Lamello, sometimes some nights you're gonna need that other guy, that grown
up that will be there to guide offense, do every and be the de
fact point guard at times. Gordon Hayward did that a decent amount last year.
I wonder exactly what happens if they miss him and they miss mouth Bridges.
Is that too much? Is that too much of a talent rain to
really do anything and get to that ten spot, Because I think when we
start talking about the expectations for this team. The floor should be the ten
spot, the floor, the absolute floor. Now the ceiling probably is probably
like eight or nine. But still they are a playing They're a solid playing
team as long as the injuries aren't crippling, you know what I mean?
Right, And I'm gonna want to get into that sort of secondary gard rotation
in a second, but we've probably gone long enough without talking specifically about LaMelo
Ball. Yes, you look at his game, and I think it's fair
to say that, like he's my most improved player pick because of right now
and during the season. I think Anthony Edwards's ascension is kind of overshadowed how
good he actually is. But you look at Lamlo's game, and whether you
call them can terms or weaknesses, I look at he gets to the rim
a good amount, doesn't finish well, doesn't get to the foul line of
ton. Those two things are probably directly related. Him getting stronger might help,
And there's also just he can be a defensive disruptor, a defensive playmaker,
but there's the there's always the on ball defense, which I feel like
we say about all guards anyway, How confident are you in him? Improving
in either any one of those or all three of those areas entering year three.
It's funny because the media day, LaMelo did mention one big thing is
that he started he hired a ref to help draw, to help try to
basically game the system so that where he can get three, four or five
more free throws. If that works, we're talking about, like you said,
MP, we're talking about probably all NBA. We're talking about third again.
I'm not saying he's going to be first or secondy, but if he
gets to a solid to ten, I think with the with the way he's
gonna go, he if he gets a solid twenty two, twenty three and
has decent assistant, decent assist numbers, decent like rebounding numbers, I think
he's got a shot at all NBA. I do think he can improve in
that. And then the defensive stuff, I'm really not worried about that because
it's a cliff. Cliff is going to find a way to minimize his weaknesses
and that's going to be key. I'm not sure how it's going to work,
but I'm not worried about as much about the defense because Cliff will have
you playing at a certain level on defense to where it works. And we
know again we just see that everywhere. And I'm not worried worried about that.
I'm more worried about drawing him drawn the fouls and the strength, and
then on top of that, probably getting better with the jump shot. If
he gets better with the three, then we're talking like what are we doing
here? He's going to be very very good next year, does he?
And you mentioned the jump and he's done most of his damage just on spot
up looks, which is, by the way, that's a luxury because a
lot of cards who operate with the ball in their hands like they can't do
that. There has been talk, like over the past two years about his
off the dribble jumper. He did shoot thirty four point one percent off the
dribble threes last year. Does he need to have that shot in his game?
Though? No, Like, that's that's also luxury to me, Like
if we're talking about luxuries, his biggest thing, his biggest weapon to me
is the fake and then that floater of his that he does, like fake
the three float into the like that's his that's his probably his best weapon.
And if he can get that, if he hits enough threes to where people
have to respect the three. He's big enough and he's probably strong enough to
get to the fifteen foot area and take that mid mid range and I think
that's the next elevation in this game. Him being a three level score is
probably the most important thing for them because if he becomes that mid range guy
that can hit forty forty five from from mid I think that opens up everything.
That gives Terry Rogier an extra three, that gives Cody Martin an easier
lane to slash off of, that gives Mark Williams a chance to get a
lob. That's the next level. And I think the off the dribble three
isn't isn't key, But I think it's one of those things where we just
have to just I think we got to hold off on that one. I
think that's coming. It's just one of those you get that with experience,
and I'm not sure he's experienced enough to get that one just yet. I
think this might make me a hypocrite or a poser or an idiot, but
I simultaneous view in off the dribble three in general as perhaps the most valuable
like skill in basketball. But also not something that's essential if that makes anything.
No, you're right, You're like, you're absolutely right about that.
Like that's to me, that's the thing. Like I think, Off,
I'm not worried about off the dribble three because him doing those pull up threes,
those are really great for crowd. But from like you see where he
pulls up, we're talking a solid twenty seven twenty eight feet when he does
it. And granted we've seen Pray Young, we've seen Dame do it,
We've seen a whole lot of other people do it. I'm not sure it's
that valuable for him in the long run. And I think when it comes
to that, I see why again you're not a hypocritic post or anything like
else like that. But more importantly, I think for his game, I
don't think it's not necessary. I think much more of the becoming the three
level score, because the elite three level scores are the ones that you end
up having to worry about the playoff games. And I think they're trying.
Their entire focus is we want this to be a perennial playoff team, and
therefore we're gonna have you focus on the stuff that's gonna help you get there
and sustain success when it comes to comes to being in there. Mark Williams,
any thoughts on his game and fit and will he play it all this
season? I know that. I think it was Clifford had said. I
don't know if it was media day or if it was just the other said
that Nick Richards is the backup five as of right now, which I think
early on. I get it. I'm just curious if you think that Mark
Williams will be in the regular rotation by year's end. If Mark Williams is
not a part of the regular rotation but not necessarily opening day, but if
he's not there by Christmas, then there's a problem. There's a problem.
Quite honestly, I like Nick Richards. My best description of him is that
he seems like a second or second and a half too slow on every NBA
basketball play, which is something you can't have for an NBA center. That's
I think Mark will I had concerns about Mark Williams footspeed, lateral footspeed on
the pick and roll. I thought he was going to be food summer league,
Summer league kind of summerly, kind of like nullified a few of those
concerns. I think what he brings to this team is a verticality that on
both ends that they don't necessarily have right now. And because of that,
I think he's going to play, and I think he's going to play a
lot, and that would not be surprised if he's the starter Calm I want
to say New Year's Day. I think he's going to be a part of
the rotation. I think it's a lot more about Hey, I've seen Nick
Richards in the building. I haven't. I think when CLIPS said that,
I think it was much more about Hey, I've seen Nick Richards in the
building. I haven't seen Mark Williams as much. I think that's going to
change, because I don't think Nick Richards as you're starting as your backup center,
works very very well right now. The optics of drafting another big in
the first round and then not using him during his rookie season also wouldn't be
Whether it's fair or not to frame it that way, the optics would not
be great. Oh no, oh no, the optics are horrible, and
it is why I'm glad they didn't go and grab draft Durham. But which
like I think that they are and This is the thing that I believe Mitch
said, like they are maxed out with young talent. They only have so
many ability hours to max everybody out. So there's that, and then yeah,
Ky Jones already isn't playing, and then you have JT. Thor who's
trying to fit a role. And you have a very tight seven eight guys
right now that you know we're gonna play. You need those young guys to
play at some point. If not, then you should have traded the picks.
I have two questions on PJ. Washington, which is one, where
do you sort of just land on his value to this team now? And
two, because you have Ky Jones and Mark Williams and Plumbly and even JT.
Thor, are we going to see less of PJ. Washington at the
five than we have over the past two years. I think that the funny
thing is the mantras Harold. Let me answer that last part of the question.
First, the mantras Harold trade kind of cemented that PJ is a four.
Like we saw his numbers jump up, he was a better player,
he was fresher. He's a spot five at at best. He's one of
those guys maybe you close the game with at the five maybe and between that
and as far as his value, I think his value is incredibly high.
He may be the best defensive player on this team. Cody Martin's the only
other guy that comes within any kind of sniffing distance of him. I think
he's incredibly value. I think he's one of those guys that, like you
talk about LaMelo for a most improved player. All right, let me sell
you on PJ Washington Possible. Let me tell you on that podcast to travel
down this rabbit hole. Let's go. What if I told you that one
of Steve Clifford's favorite players just joined the basketball operations and coaching staff all of
the Charlotte Hornets. That would be one Marvin Williams. Marvin Williams was a
guy that called out the defense that got his that again, when you talk
about Charlotte Hornets, Marvin Williams and the best of what he was before his
legs went out, that was a guy that was going to get you anywhere
from seventeen to again seventeen to twenty, on like fifteen to twenty, almost
every night he got you at least couple of threes he hit almost he hit
a high thirties with at least three three threes a game. There's a lot
of this to where I can see, like on a contract year, PJ
putting up eighteen eighteen nine, maybe a couple assists here or there, but
almost hitting probably fifty from the floor, thirty six, thirty seven from thirty
six to thirty seven from three and then around eighty from the line. There's
there's a scenario where that absolutely happens. I think he's going to be really,
really good this year because Cliff is going to know how to use him
a little bit better than James Frego did. I think that part's going to
matter a lot. His offense has always fascinated me because it does feel very
plucking play. But he also has to borrow phrasing from a friend of the
podcast, Adam Spinella, like there's a little bit of motherfucker to him when
yes, there wants to be. And I'm just when you slide him to
more of the four, I think the Horners probably have the personnel to make
it work with the spacing can be kind of important for him to play that
way, And I'm just curious if you're gonna be in the half court more
if the guard rotation outside the starting lineup his body. Do you need PJ.
Washington to do a little bit more on offense this season aside from again
be the I think I think like I think that. I think I think
everyone should go into the year expecting that, quite honestly, like that's the
dude that's gonna have to step off to make this all work without Miles being
out, and I think we've seen it in flashes. The issue with with
PJ quad honestly is when he puts the ball on the deck from the three
point line, because he has a tendency to get ripped and turn the ball
over. That's the issue with him. As long as he goes and does
that, then he should be fine. Cody Martin, you mentioned a couple
of times already I was maybe it's the I was gonna say it could be
the initial sticker shock reporting of the deal. But even if you just assumed
the deal was entirely guaranteed, which it's not, there are two guaranteed years
on that four year deal. Nationally. What was missed on Cody Martin that
people would think this was somehow in overpay. He's the only guy on this
team, on the wing that can stay within which you can stay with our
man like they had to pay him. And the one thing about the Miles
Bridges incident that made this kind of interesting for me is I think if Miles
Bridges keeps his nose clean, we don't see Kelly Ubre. I think Kelly
Ubre became a necessity to keep him because I think the and I think you've
seen me tweet this before where I was like, the decision to keep Cody
Martin isn't one of Miles or Cody, Miles Bridges or Cody Martin. No,
it was whether we keep this partially guaranteed deal that we have with Kelly
Ubre, or do we move on Cody Martin to another team. I think
the way he improved his three now granted most of us damage from three was
in the first half of the year, and I want to say it was
like right like right after New Year's Day, his character became a pumpkin again
in terms of his three point shot. But at the same time, he's
still one of their He was their best defensive player. And I think if
you saw what his brother Caleb did, think about that and then think about
what he did, especially again, like Cody's the better player, Cody's a
lot more first top, where whereas Caleb played like primarily the four for the
heat you had him, you had Cody Martin essentially guarding one through three,
maybe even some fours. I think the versatility, defensive versatility, his willingness
to be a path again, he's a half decent backup point guard, and
we may see that even more with these new lineups. I think we're I
think a lot of people are just missing how much a glue guy it matters.
And also, and I guess this is the biggest issue I have with
everyone getting mad about this deal. You can't say, oh my god,
Alex Caruso, you're getting paid this and then be like Cody Martin get sticker
shock with Cody Martin. I'm sorry, that just doesn't work for me.
Yeah, even independently of the cap going up, that was justin I don't
expect people to be like sickos like you or even me, like a low
level sick cood to have watched a ton of Cody Martin all the time.
But like that number was just like when you thought it was four and thirty
two and it was just four and thirty two, Like that number was fine,
Like that number was perfectly fine. I will say I think my favorite
part about his game is that, Yeah, I was. I actually had
the question about do you think he's gonna run more like second units because the
way the secondary guard rotation shakes out, and he can do that stuff.
But there's like, even when the balls in his hands, he just doesn't
stop the flow of anything. Like it's always like these quick decisions of whether
he's gonna drive, or if he's gonna go into a pick and roll or
he's gonna shoot, or even the passes he's making when he's he's gotten better
at that. When he is driving, like making those passes, he is
just glueg I was probably the best way to describe it. But there's just
a constant motion to his game even when he's not in motion, because the
game never he never slows it down, even when it doesn't have court and
you need that guy, and you know who really loves that kind of guy,
Steve Clifford, Like he's going to play a factor in this. Like
I'm not saying I wouldn't be. I wouldn't I'm not saying Terry Rogier is
coming off the bench. But would it surprise me to see a Cody Martin
start? No, because he because Cliff is always about you start your five
defensive your best five defensive guys. And if that's going to be the case,
Cody Martin is going to start. That's how good he is and defensively,
and I think that's going to matter as well. Now, granted,
is that going to cause a lot of problems? Probably, but we'll see
again, We'll get to that bridge when we cross it. But in terms
of the Cody Martin love, I am a Cody Martin dull. I think
he's better than people seem to think he is. And that contract is justin
line, especially when you start thinking about the Alex Caruso contracts and contracts of
that ILK as well. Do you expect Kelly Bridge Junior to finish the season
in Charlotte? Tell me how many wins they have by the by this trade
deadline, because that's like, that's why it's an unfair question, especially because
you needed to keep him more. I guess you could argue you need to
keep him, said you have to operate like Miles Bridges will not be playing
this season, but if you're bad, you're probably not going to pay him
this offseason. I will say, I'm very fascinated. If you actually think
the offense is going to slow down with Steve Clifford, I am very maybe
morbidly so. I'm curious to see how Kelly Bridge Junior winds up fitting into
that. Well. He said he's gonna work on defense, but again,
that'd be the first time we've seen that. Is there a player, There
has to be a player, But he's one of those guys where his defensive
reputation just because of his archetype, it just exceeds anything you've ever watched with
exactly Exactly. Concept is better than the theory. Yeah, exactly. Again,
he's one of those great guys in concept. You're right, He's absolutely
one of those guys that's better at concept. But I worry about like he's
the guy I worry about that gets that gets moved for book Knight, because
I think there is a legitimate bromance with Steve Clifford and James book Knight that's
going on, and I think them learning and I like Kelly oubre but would
it surprised me to find that he's on He's on the outs, and they're
going to focus on the youth movement, especially if they can help win.
I wouldn't be surprised. I honestly wouldn't be surprised, because I know the
mandate is, Hey, we understand that we're trying to win. You also
have to play the kids, and that's something that Ubre has the benefit of
the doubt of being a vet for now. Would it surprise me if he's
out? No, not really, kind of honestly, because it just the
defense, like defensive defensive focus are big things, and we've seen Kelly Ubrey's
movies before. That may be the thing that trips them up and gets him
out of the rotation. I don't want to date this podcast by mentioning it,
but I was sort of curious if whether, because this team has lost
a ton of leverage since the player is currently not in training camp with them,
if the framework of a Crowder for Ubre swap would interest the Hornets in
large part because if you're trying to slow things down defensively and offensively, I'd
probably argue that Jay Crowder makes more sense for your team, even if you
trust Kelly Bridgingr to do different things on defense. Against you know, Crowder
is like very much just a big wing guy, and I think Ubray stills
the valuability on defense to go against smaller, quicker players maybe not well,
but you know, not get beat. I would be for it because I'm
also for having more adults in the room at this point, Like, I
think anything that adds a veteran, an adult in the room for any sort
of time that can import any sort of knowledge that can help PJ be a
better again three, four or five guy, Like anything that can help these
guys be a better team and be more focused. I think you've got to
be four. So I wouldn't hate that idea. In fact, I would
actually go for it because I think I think this team, especially being like
competitive, and we've heard them mentioned playoffs or the goal the playoffs or the
goal we're trying to get to the playoffs. We've heard that up and down
this year. If that's the goal, then there's no reason not to do
a Jay Crowder for Kelly Bracewap. You sort of answered this question for me
already, but like, who has the is going to play the bigger role
for the team this season Between book Night, Kai Jones and as through JT.
Thor in there. It felt like I mentioned in the ally I sent
you that when you sort of look at their depth chart, book Night has
the clearer path to playing time right now. And it seems like you just
or at least based off what you've said, it seems to me that the
organization just seems to believe in him more as well. The organization is going
to give James book Knight, after a bad rookie year, a chance to
make good. And we again you have the incident in December with confronting the
head coach, James Brago on the sideline. It became a thing where again
even Zapruder film was broke out for it. So that's how like crazy that
situation got. I think James book Knight has a chance to be that guy.
But I'm also going to throw a twist in here on this. I'm
not sure it's James book Knight. I think it might be JT. Thor.
I think Discord members will love you for saying that the Hardwood knocks.
Discord members love some JT. Thor. I think JT. Thor is the
just his skill set, the ability to hit the three, the ability to
defend at least two through four not to be food on pick and roll.
I think all of that matters. I think all of that is going to
be a defensive Swiss army knife for a guy in Steve Clifford who loves crafting
a whole bunch of traps in his defense and to basically have a strong defense
off the bench. I think it's JT. Thor because I'm not and this
is going to be into another one of those questions. I like Jayleen McDaniels.
I do think if we talk about people that may or may not be
on this roster come trade deadline time, he feels like another one of them,
doesn't he like? He like if they're bad, he feels like another
one that might get you something more than you think. Because I think he's
he's a type of rotation guy that actually can help you. And I'm not
sure that for what this team brings right now, if they don't have a
better, younger version under more cab control, that that he may find his
way out of this rotation. And that was a question here too. Is
he didn't play towards the tail end of last year all that much. Joyn
McDaniels. I mean and he's hit threes on very low volume. But so
you're I was gonna ask you, like, can he get a bigger role
when you look at the Fower rotation? But I guess your answer to that
would be very much. Now, it's not no, it's I want to
see it, Like a lot of this bench. I want to see what
happens with when they start playing like preseason games, what the rotations are going
to be, because I think with Cliff one, I don't think there's going
to be a ten man rotation. I think we need to eliminate that idea
right now. Two, I think Cliff is going to very much be in
an experimental mode of Okay, let's see what works with this, Let's see
what works that. Especially with the bench, I think we know what you
have out of the top seven. I think there are a lot of spots
up for grabs. I think I would not be surprised if JT. Thor,
because of his length, because of his quickness, ends up taking a
spot from somebody and specifically McDaniels, And then it becomes in a again,
then it becomes a Kai Jones versus his Jalen McDaniels for minutes like, I
would not be surprised j T. Thoris the guy that comes out of this
bench because he's done so so, so so well, and he's still one
of the youngest players in the league. He's got a lot upside to him.
I will say, I'm normally in favor of players testing out things,
but Jane McDaniels is one of those guys we're on offense. I don't need
to see him like try to dribble out of I'd rather not watch it anymore.
To be honest with you, Dan, you've seen my nickname for him,
right, I don't know that I have. Jalen ten Day plays like
he's on a ten day contract. I don't know that I've seen that.
Or yeah, no, yeah, ten day Jalen like that again. There
are times where you he plays like he's on a ten day He takes shots
he shouldn't. When he plays within the flow of the offense, he's great.
But when he decides that he to go rogue or he wants to try
something else out new, it usually doesn't end well for him. And this
is a guy I like, I'm just wondering because of his contract status,
Like if things go bad, you see one of those first guys to go.
So when you step back and look at this roster leading into the season,
what's your single biggest concern or what's their single biggest weakness if you'd like
to frame it that way, rebounding and backup point guard. I wonder if
they have enough physicality has already been brought up once in media day. If
they lack the physicality to rebound, it'll be the same OL Charlotte Hornets.
They're going to score well, actually done, It's not gonna be same OL
Charlott Hornets because usually with that physicality they could at least outrun you and win
you games that way. If they can't be physical and they can't rebound well,
and Mark Williams doesn't come in here and fix the fix the defensive defensive
side of the ball, this team is going to be not necessarily significantly worse,
because I do believe this is a thirty win team no matter what.
But the problem becomes at this point that if they can't they're just going to
be unlatchable. They're going to be a half court team that may not be
able to play in a half court, plus a defensive team that really can't
defend and can't rebound, and can't seal off their man and give up tons
of offensive rebounds, which we've seen them do year after year after year.
At some point one of that something like that's got to change. The other
issue is backup point guard, which has clearly been a bugaboo because I think
in the last couple of these we've had this conversation and backup point guard has
been one of the weaknesses that I'm worried about. I thought again now,
Grant, I am a Dennis Smith junior believer in this aspect of I trust
the player development staff. I trust Cliff to get this right with him and
figure it out. I just wonder how long that may take. And granted,
he's on a non guaranteed deal, so he could be gone at any
time. I do wonder if not going after Kemba Walker and bringing him back,
even for thirty forty games is going is not is going to hurt them
because I think they need a point guard and I just the Lakers have one.
I hear that's available. You're trying to get me to hang up,
aren't you? Good job? And again this is you saying, oh,
I'm not going to control watch Russell sat. The idea that the Hornet should
have been a Westbrook destination was ridiculous unless they were trying to blow it up
and wanted to get off long term money. No, that's only way it
made sense. The Westbrook thing made sense if you were going to eat the
like you said, eat the forty four million, tell him to go home,
stay home, buy him out and let him join the playoff team,
or something along the lines of that. That's the only way, and it
only specifically works if you wanted to specifically get off the Gordon Hayward contract.
That's the only way that that that it was trade ever made sense to me.
Is they're tired of They're tired of Gordon Hayward. That's it. That's
the only way it works. But even then, no one wants that contract.
And you know what, just because you mentioned that as a small joke,
when Russell Westbrook becomes a Nick, remember this chat, I favorite because
it means that hopefully that there I guess no the Knicks might be was an
actual player. Ye. Speaking of the Knicks, though just a quick tangent,
I was very proud to see like Hornet's Twitter really pushed back against the
idea that seemed to be was being pushed by Nick's Twitter about maybe a Randall
for Hayward spop and that never made sense for the Hornets and Hornets fans and
bloggers, analysts, media members, podcasts. They shot that down real quick.
So I was very proud. I was very proud of him for new
during that. The thing is like, I didn't understand the jit I didn't
like. I understand that Julius Randall had one of the Gray's greatest bubble seasons
ever. And mind you, the Try State area now has two great bubble
players in t. J. Warren and Julie Randall. I understand that people
do well with no crowds. Julius Randall was clearly one of them, and
when the people started started showing up, he started not showing up. And
I understand that. I like Gordon Hayward, he shows up in front of
people. That's the big difference between Julius Randall. Hey, I gotta keep
a rill on that one. The tone with that you used was just not
indicative of how biting that coming. The name that I thought for them as
a backup playmaker, and I think it would have to be a three team
trade because I think this team and maybe in the market for a big But
I've wondered if Derek White is now gettable in Boston, someone who could come
off the bench and give you some secondary ball handling Defensively, he feels very
much like a player Steve Clifford could fall in love with. But that's not
Is that the type of move you make when you're talking about your third guard.
I don't think the Hornets are there yet to view themself. Were not.
We're not there yet, and I want, like I honestly want to
see what they do with Smith Jr. I really do want to see that,
see what that happened. Now, granted he was a last minute move,
so I'm not expecting much, but I want to see what they do
with them. I think between that, I think between Cody Martin getting a
backup point guard role possibly and that opening up a slot for James buck Night,
I want to see what they do first, because cliffs already talked about
Hayward possibly doing some point guard duties, Cody Martin doing point guard duties.
There's a lot of this that at some point is going to end up having
to make sense for a lot of people. I want to see how these
pieces work for right now, and thankfully we have preseason games coming up shortly
for them to figure it out. Because I want to see what this is
about. Because I'm there's a lot of this that works in theory. I
want to see if it actually works in an actual practice and games and seeing
what works on what doesn't. God, I hate preseason basketball and I can't
bring myself to watch it that much. But you mentioned that the Hornets aren't
going to go with the ten man rotation. One of my favorite things to
do though, leading into the season is looking at who the top ten most
used players will be. This team feels like it has seven locks. Yeah,
I'll be in there, and then you it could be anarchy for the
other three. So how do you view short of sort of that pecking order
shaking out at this point? Again, Ball, Rosier, Heyward, PJ.
Plumbly, Martin Ubre. Those are the seven. The next three I
would put Mark Williams there, I would put tentatively Jaylen McDaniels there, and
then I would put book Night And I think that's probably what I would do,
but I don't feel confident about it right now. I think there's a
JT. Something's gonna happen and we're gonna either see a JT thor I'm not
expecting anything out of Kai Jones this year. Again, I thought I thought
it was at least a two year project, and granted that that first round
pick that you traded off, that that Hornets that the Knicks traded off is
in the wind, and at some point we'll come do. I don't expect
it to come do anytime soon, but there's that, so I don't I
don't know. I think that's the I think that's the list though. I
think that's the list, though card is very much subject to change. What
will be this team's go to crunch time lineup? I gotta do two for
you because the first one is Gordon specific and we don't know if that's going
to be the first forty five games or that's gonna be something else, but
probably Ball Hayward Martin PJ. Plumbly to start the season post New Year's Day,
Ball Rogier, Mark PJ. Mark Williams. Oh, I like that
last one. I think that last one. I think Mark Williams comes along
very well, but it's just gonna it might take him a little bit.
So the wait, the last one was Ball, Rosier, Martin Washington,
Williams. Williams. Is there a weirdo bonkers quirky lineup? You want to
see Steve Clifford dry this season? He doesn't do weird of bonkers. That's
the problem. JB would at least again acknowledge us as sickos. He would
at least acknowledge us with like a five minute lineup with with like Ish Smith,
Terry Rosier and LaMelo Ball at the three like there would be those those
moments out of necessity where he would at least indulge us. I can't even
I can't even think of it because I know cliff would basically look at us
nuts if we ever suggested suggested it nas how would we? How would they
defend? Which is the which is ninety percent of this, But just for
the sake of doing this PJ McDaniels four book Night Ball, Okay, I
would want to see what that would look like. That's not like two unhinged,
It's not two unhinged. But I could already hear the how we how
are how are we defending? How are we? I can? I can
hear it? I can hear. Mine would be I'd like to see thor
and then I want to see Lamello, Cody and probably Terry Rosier in that
lineup, and then if I'm trying to be realistic, I should put PJ.
Washington, But I really want to see Kelly Ribridge Junior with that group
because it feels like, yeah, it might kill Steve Clifford to watch that
unit, but it would be like's not He's not the only one to kill
that man's got a hard condition. You're trying to do that, so him,
Dan, that's that's that's a terrible that's a terrible take for me.
But I would love to see that lineup would be so like frazzled and frenetic
on offense that I would just be I would be enthralled by watching it,
Like enthralled as a word. Enthralled again, Horrified is another? Captivated?
Is another captivated? Is it? Yeah? Like like you can't look away,
like like in the train Wreck sense of you can't look away? Yeah?
No, that that that's a lineup. That that that's a lineup cans
why in fact five players off? As we record this the over under for
the Sharp Hornets, This season's thirty six point five. Would you smash that
over under? And where do you see them landing in the larger context of
the Eastern Conference. I told Matt Moore this a couple of days ago.
It was they're stay away from me. I don't I can't get read on
this team because they're gonna be They're gonna beat teams off hustle in detail alone.
They're going to lose team two teams because they're not gonna be able to
over they may not overcome like they're gonna lose so elite teams because they're not
gonna be able to overcome a talent gap without possibly a Miles Bridges and maybe
a Gordon Hayward and or any other injury that hits the problem. I worry
like I feel like I guess I've said this multiple times. This team feels
like a team that's gonna win more than like closer to forty than thirty.
But they don't feel like solid enough to where I would actually play some money
on it. But I think they're I think they're the tenth best anywhere from
the ninth to tenth best team in the East at this point, and that's
without Miles Bridges. I do think that there's some potential for growth here,
but I think there's a chasm, and I think you'll agree with me.
There's a chasm between one in six in the East and everybody else. I
think there's a significant talent gap. And until the Hornets either developed another star
and or find another star, they're going to be on the other side of
that chasm right now. Yeah, what's interesting about the East too, is
I don't even know if there's like this huge chasm might be like like eight
teams being looped together when you have Miami, Boston, Milwaukee, Philly.
Wait, you think Miami is still don Miami might be closer to the other
side of that chasm than you think. Well, so I guess I'm doing
it in terms of teams that I would be prepared to bet are better than
the Hornets this year. And so you have Miami, Boston, Philly,
Milwaukee. I don't know what Brooklyn is doomed, so I don't like,
I don't I don't know what's gonna go. Like I'll put Brooklyn there for
right now because I think this I think it's the bad marriage, but I
think it'll be functional, like I don't think we'll see. I think we'll
see. In terms of Brooklyn, I think they'll be functional in the regular
season, they'll be dysfunctional when it comes to the other sixteam. I think
that part matters. And then on top of those five or six that I
just listed, like you have Atlanta, Cleveland, Toronto, I would bet
probably on all of those teams. Now if you want to be in the
play in like you need to ensure Yeah, Detroit should be worse than you,
Orlando will be worse than you. You need to be better than the
Knicks and the Wizards at this point, I think they clearly are. Though
I don't trust Washington. I do not trust what I think. Washington is
very much a sneaky team that could they could they compete with the Hornets maybe,
but I don't trust a lot of what they do. Do we trust
Christaps Porzingis to stay healthy enough to be their center? Probably not? No.
I mean he did play well for that MA after the trade, but
that was a very that was a snapshot of a season, and he's typically
not available for the entire season. Like and the Knicks, I like them,
But you're telling me you're taking are you taking a RJ. Barrett,
Like, let's just go with the backcourt alone. You're telling me you're gonna
take Brunson and Barrett over LaMelo voluntary Rosier at this point, Well, I
like that you think that Tips wouldn't put Evan Fourney in the backcourt four versus
LaMelo and Terry Rosier, And even then that's even that's even a clearer.
I I don't trust the Knicks or the Wizards at all. I might like
the makeup of their rosters better than Charlotte's overall right now, but I don't
trust Thibadeau to use it correctly. In New York. There's just a weird
dichotomy between how the Knicks and who should be playing in New York versus how
and who actually does play in New York. Washington's just like they have Beal.
I like some of their perimeter depth. But I'm just saying, like
I would have those teams in the same like what are we doing here?
Tire with Charlotte, And that's what makes it so tough to project, which
is fair. But I would also this, and I guess this is where
I would like, This is where I would argue with anyone that thinks like
I would honestly put like it's a small little step stool, but the Hornets
would honestly be abolved, the Wizards and the Knicks for me for right now
until otherwise, until otherwise proven, because at this point we're talking again.
The Knicks path to to eight, nine, ten is what you get another
leap out of You get another leap out of Barrett, you get a eight
again, you get Bronson being himself, and then you're relying on resurrecting Julius
Randall. I mean, my this isn't a hot take, but I think
the Knicks quickest path to getting better is to not play Julius Randall or to
trade him by grace. But I agree with that, but I don't think
you can. I think the leaks the league seem what he is now with
people around like like, let's be real here, the league seem what he
is. I don't think you're getting that. I don't think you're getting that
player anymore. No you're not. I mean, he there was like flashes
of it to finish the season, But I mean what you said is going
to be tattooed to my memory forever. Is Gordon Hayward shows up from people
who there. I'm sure his Randall does not look the swing team here for
this play in race two? What is Chicago without Lonzo Ball? They're very
much operating. I know they said he might come back this year, but
Billy Donovan came right out and answered a question of I have to plan like
he won't be I don't. That's gonna be the interesting thing because when we
talk about team like, NAT's going to be that where it comes down to
the head to head for me, because the Chicago Bulls own Charlotte Hornets like
they're a bad matchup for that team and they've beaten them. I want to
say, like the last two years running, like the Hornets haven't won a
game. That's the team that I find interesting. But I wouldn't be surprised,
Like would you be surprised if they come back falling back to Earth and
they're eleven, because I wouldn't, honestly no, And I think that's but
that's sort of what you're hitting on. Is to me, there's unless something
could something ken and will probably go wrong in Brooklyn, but with a town
on the roster, there are very much eight locks to me for the top
ten, and those final two spots come down to Charlotte, Washington, New
York, and Chicago right now, so you need to be better if you're
Charlotte then two of those teams. I'm not ruling it out. I'm also
just not confident enough to say that, oh, they're definitely gonna be better
than than two of those. I'm confident that they'll be better than the Knicks
and the Wizards. Come see me in around New Year's Day about Chicago.
If Lonzo Ball's back by then, they're going to be dangerous and they're going
to be a top eight team. Also, my one hot take, Cleveland's
the top six team this year. They're going to get a solid not hot
enough so that like they're here's the other one and Land is back in playing,
Orlando is back in the plane. You know, you know Atlanta is
back in the plan. Oh that's like that might be that probably is pretty
hot. But the plan is seven to eight and you look at the East,
I know I have the Calves in the top six with the Bucks,
Boston, I'd throw my ant me there. I'd probably have Toronto Philly.
There there's your six. So it's not I'm not Oh, I don't know,
don't do it. I don't know. I feel like I feel like
we're gonna get seven eight Atlanta Toronto, and I feel like nine ten is
a combo Chicago, like Hornets are gonna be probably ten yet again and it'll
be either Chicago. It most likely be. They should see they get the
ten seed like trademarked or something for that. They should we should like we
absolutely, But I just I don't like, I know, I'm like discounting
a whole bunch of our friends in the North. I understand that. I
just want, like, what is Scottie Barnes going to be a year two
and what is it? What is he gonna be with a year full of
film on him? Like is he gonna be closer to that Kawhi Leonard level
or is he going to is he going to have some of those she was
a LaMelo ball had where he kind of took a step back a little bit.
I do wonder like that is a concern for me. So I can
easily see Toronto back in the play in and that's okay. They are going
to be regular season games that matter this year in ball conferences, and that
makes me excited. Is there anything I didn't ask you about that you think
needs to be discussed with the Hornets? Honestly, this team is better.
I think this, and it's something that we've talked about overall with this team
though, But this team is going to be a lot better than I think
people understand that they will be. And I want people to understand that,
hey, they lost Miles Bridges. Yes, completely understand. This team has
a lot of young talent and they're really really good at developing my young talent.
I would not be surprised if this is a team by committee that ends
up winning messing around and winning thirty nine forty games, maybe more if miss
Bridges comes back. But that I think this team is going to surprise a
lot of people and surprise people in a good way. Hopefully. If not,
this is like literally burn this tape. Is that a sentiment that is
accepted throughout Charlotte though? That better than expected is because I've seen you on
Twitter arguing with people who believe that it needs to be playoffs or bust and
that it's a team that's going to be in like the mid forties or whatever.
Do you this is the I hate to put it this way. But
the Charlotte Hornet adverage at Charlotte Hornet Fan has seen a lot of trauma.
They have not They've seen this team move, They've seen this team be the
worst historical team in the league ever. They've seen a lot of disappointment.
They've seen this team rebuild multiple times. They've seen ownership send off kemball Walker
and the most just kind of disrespectful way possible. Granted, they were right,
they were right about it, but the way it was handled. The
way it was handled was horrible. I would tell you that they have every
right to be jaded, they have every right to be kind of bitter about
this team. But they're also they carry a lot of baggage. And if
you're a Hornet's fan listening to this, you know what I'm talking about.
When I say they're carrying a lot of baggage, you need to let the
baggage go. And I think a lot of the baggage that they carry will
taint how they look at this team. And it's happened multiple times, happens
to me sometimes. But at the same time, a lot of this off
season was put on at the feet of the Charlotte Hornets when it really wasn't
their fault, and I think we kind of forget that point, like a
lot of this is out of their control, and once the entire league it
sees the whole Miles Bridge situation like you can't do anything. You're basically done
for anyone who skipped the intro. Are you able to tell them where they
can on you? And while you'll be working on this season again, they
can find me at and out of the scribe. I will be working a
lot with the Ion college basketball team. We are coming again. We have
a beautiful YouTube channel that I built, like I've helped build, and a
lot of our content is going to be really, really good, and especially
if you are into draft, if you're into the NBA draft, we are
doing a lot more on focusing on a lot of the young freshman Derek Lively,
Kyle Philipowski. We are going to be a lot focused on that.
So even if you aren't really a college college basketball fan, we will have
you covered. On the NBA side, it's just the non Victor Wembiyama stuff,
Like if you're looking for Victor, we're not going to have them,
not yet. But if we're talking about college players, that you were looking
for again, and we're talking about Nick Smith, the Derek Lively Is,
the Kyle Philipowskis. Those guys. We're gonna be talking about them early and
off in a lot. No, this was great. As always, you
were way together with your time. I really appreciate it. As you know
by now, I will be pestering you again in the future. Maybe now
that I'm podcasting more, I can try and steal you for a mid season
podcast, not just these annual book aheads. But thank you so much for
doing this. It's always a blast talking with you. Absolutely, man,
talk to your own