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What is up, fellow thermonuclear A
Eppers. I am Dan Valley coming at

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you with another twenty three twenty four
NBA look Ahead. We are joined by

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as always when we talk about the
Charlotte Hornets Kannada. Edwards, he is

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an I on College Basketball podcast producer
for CBS Sports, does other things for

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them as well. He's now a
frequent returning guest and friend of the podcast,

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so here by his own volition.
It is his own mistake. We

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are always excited to have him.
Follow him on Twitter at Nada the scribe

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that's at NA TA t H E
S C I R b E Kannada.

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How the heck are you doing?
Man? Everything's cool in the game.

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We're like, we're recording that a
really good time. The sun is shining,

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the birds are chirping. I can't
really complain about much. I got

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no complaints either. This is the
time of year when I know a lot

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of people are missing the NBA,
and I miss it to some extent.

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But like, my schedule is actually
under control exactly. Like I feel like

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I'm on top of everything I need
to be doing, and so I enjoy

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You're sleeping at regular hours, right, I get like six hours a night.

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Now, it's exactly like that's the
thing the seasons here, Like the

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season's gone, we allow it to
be gone. Like we get to August,

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we are all very very happy.
All we're doing is just doing our

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little offseason content. We're actually being
full fledged humans. We talk to people,

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we get outside, we touch grass. We don't have to worry about

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the Twitter machine or the X machine
or whatever it is. Social media could

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be just once and we put our
program, we put our content out there,

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and then we just live our lives
and we beat actual family men.

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It's a lovely, lovely thing.
Yeah, it's a it's a glorious time

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of year. But whenever I go
through this process, it's all it's at

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once, like, oh we're here
already, you're kind of far away.

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So it's a it's a very bizarre
feeling. The Hornets Snow have had one

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of the more eventful off seasons without
really having this massive churn of on court

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personnel, which is kind of like
it's it's hard to have that type of

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off season. So I want to
start with just MJ selling that majority ownership

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stake in the team to Rick Schnal
and Gabe plot in Is this gonna or

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do you foresee any changes and how
the team operates, whether it's staff changes

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or what they're doing from a from
a day to day. What can fans

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expect to or should they brace themselves
for as part of this new ownership regime.

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My one can I would start with
this, They've you've already started to

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see changes in the organization that in
the organization first one that you obviously notice

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will be there. They've been more
open about stuff. There's been a lot

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of back behind the scenes changes.
I think there's going to be a culture,

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There's going to be a player personal
culture change. I think there's going

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to be some changes with a lot
of things. I do not expect Mitch

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cut Check to stay. I don't
expect Steve Clifford to stay. I think

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this is the last ride for a
lot of the Jordan the Jordan hires.

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Quite honestly, I think we're headed
to a new era in a year.

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However, the one thing I do
want to caution fans with is there's gonna

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be a lot of the same money
issues. I still have kind of questions

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about how much this team is going
to spend. Free agency really doesn't exist

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so it's more about retaining your own
talent. I do kind of wonder,

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like there's a lot of this where
I do start to wonder is the money

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situation going to be any different?
Because, as you note, as anyone

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will know with a quick Google search, Gay Plockin is the one that kind

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of lost his shirt in the game
stop stuff, and he was already a

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part He was already a part part
owner. So there's a lot of this

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where I still have questions about if
the money's going to be different. I

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don't think it's going to be different, but I do expect a lot of

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changes behind the scenes. You mentioned
player culture, and you brought up something

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to me before we recorded that I
had and this is how out of the

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online news cycle I am. The
Kai Jones video with the hornets. What

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do we make of that? Like, just what are your thought I don't

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have. I haven't even been able
to form an opinion on other than I'm

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watching it. It just kind of
breaks your heart a little bit. But

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that's that's the thing. And there's
been a lot of online judgment because unfortunately

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I'm two online even in the off
season. But I would say I would

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tell say this one we had.
When we think about the Kajo situation,

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we're talking about a kid that really
didn't understand that he was going to be

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He was athletically gifted to do basketball
until he was sixteen. A lot of

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this is recent, a lot of
this is him not. Is just a

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lot of change, and I think
he was closer on the way out than

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he was on the way in,
but he had done just enough to stay

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on the roster. Again, dunking
on Wemby is going to in summer league,

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is going to garner you some grace, some good grace. At the

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same time, I do hope he's
going to get the help he needs.

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Unfortunately, with this, people want
to say he needs to go get helped.

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This out in the third. To
this point, he has not committed

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a crime, and until that point
he cannot be forced to go. He

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can be persuaded to go, he
cannot be forced to go. So I

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hope he gets all the help he
needs. Unfortunately, this sounds like from

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what I've been told, this has
been an all summer thing. So again,

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it's just one of those things like
I hate to say thoughts and prayers

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to Kai Jones, but I just
kind of hope that someone steps in gets

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them right and then we can talk
about basketball after that. No good segue

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to the actual basketball exactly. That's
all what is For so long, it

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feels like there's been a disconnect between
where people think the Charlotte Hornets should go,

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where the Charlotte Hornets themselves think they're
going. What is this team's direction

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right now as you zoom out and
look at it. As soon as I

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figure it out, i'll tell you. But honestly, I do think they've

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been aiming for the playoffs because I
think Mitch has been kind. I think

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one we have to remember that under
the Jordan regime, they were one of

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the more cash poor ownership groups,
and so playoffs, like the goal was

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always going to be make playoffs to
fill the call forers to fill that margin.

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They might not be like Broke,
but they operate in a way that

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basically says, we don't really have
the money a lot at the time.

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So that's why the goal was the
playoffs. The other thing is I think

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Mitch really did believe in his talent, because I think we talked about this

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two years ago where they had the
center rotation of Nick Richards Vernon Carrey Junior

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and Miles Plumber and yeah and a
Plumber brother. And I said, that's

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a rotation for playoff aspirations as a
wish, not necessarily as an actual plan.

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So I do think this team is
aiming for the playoffs. I sneakily

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liked the talent a lot more than
I did the last couple of years.

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Now, granted there's going there's going
to be the team the guys at disappointed,

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but I think the direction is playoffs. I also think this is an

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evaluation year for everybody because, as
already previously stated, plock In and Chanel

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are going to evaluate everybody see who
to keep who not, and I mean

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who to keep in the entire building
much less like this could this can all

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look very very different when we have
this conversation next year. I think everybody's

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getting evaluated. So I do think
playoff aspirations are necessary to just say,

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Okay, what is this team going
to look like when it's competitive? And

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I think last and lasting on this, I think last year was an attempt

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to be competitive. But I also
think they thought that the talent was going

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to be further ahead than it actually
was in terms of development. Because They've

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done a pretty decent job of player
development. I think they just overestimated how

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much that player development was going to
be without mouths. Just what do you

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make and we got here? I'm
sure that's the first question everyone thought.

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I'd ask you, what do you
make of the Brandon Miller pick, specifically,

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of course, choosing him of Scoot
Henderson. So I'm going to play

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a little game when Brandon, because
Brandon Miller on the Paul George podcast had

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mentioned that Lamello had reached out about
a month before the draft. If you'd

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start taking that kind of tact with
it, LaMelo wanted to do that.

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They kept it close to the vest
to probably try to extract as much as

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they could from Portland to make sure
that they got Scoot Henderson or someone got

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Scoot Henderson. But the plan was
always going to get what was going to

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be get to Brandon Miller, I
had heard Jordan was a big fan of

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his about a week before the draft. I also kind of think that the

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star player who took a five year
deal with no options kind of had his

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hand in this as well. I
do not think believe that Scoot hop and

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Henderson was ever a realistic option.
I do believe that at some point,

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like they just said, we need
a wing, we need a not necessarily

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a Gordon Hayward replacement, but if
we're going to get the closest thing to

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Paul George, that might be the
best way to maximize LaMelo going forward,

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rather than Scoot Henderson, who would
shift LaMelo off the ball rather than necessarily

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and take the ball out of one
of probably the top five creators in the

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NBA take the ball out of his
hands more. I think that was the

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thought process, and I kind of
think LaMelo didn't want Scoot Henderson here anyway.

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I think Brendan Miller is still gonna
be really good, so I want

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to make that clear. I have
some concerns about whether he can generate enough

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separation on ball, but I also
think of the beauty of him is he

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should be able to get a shot
up anyway because he's big enough and he

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doesn't need to be on the ball
to impact the game. So I think

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he's gonna be really good. I
just think that's if they're looking at it.

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From the standpoint of I have a
problem when teams say we don't want

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to take the ball out of Lamello's
hands when we've seen routinely like some of

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the best teams in the NBA have
two or three really high level creators on

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the ball, and talent has a
way of figuring it out. So I

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would have throwing everything else aside.
I would have wanted to have seen Scoot

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and LaMelo played together because I think
that they both absolutely could have been optimized

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while playing together. And I think
it just comes down to whether you believe

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Brandon Miller will be as good or
better than Scoot. I personally do not

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think he's going to be as good
or better, but I also think,

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like this could be I'm not comparing
the two, but like we could be

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looking at oh instead of Luka Danchich. They got a Trey Young type deal

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where it's hey, you still think
I actually think that was where I was

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going to go with that. That
is actually that is exactly where I was

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going to go with it. The
big thing that Brandon Miller, and this

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is coming from someone that I watched
every single Brandon Miller game for the last

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little bit because of work. I
think Brandon Miller is going to come in

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here with a shot better than people
expect. I think when you start looking

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at hornets and start looking at the
guys that can actually shoot perimeter shots that

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can open up the floor more for
LaMelo to drive. Because we know that

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LaMelo's finishing numbers are kind of poor. A lot of that is due to

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poor spacing. I think when you
have a guy that can create it,

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that can't create his own shot yet, but it needs that needs the physical

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strength to do that. But at
the same point comes with an NBA ready

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three point shot, where I kind
of expect him to shoot thirty seven thirty

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eight. I'm not saying forty,
but if he's shot at thirty eight percent

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from three, would that really surprise
you? Because his game is built for

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that. I think a lot of
this is going to be when you come

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to Brandon Miller. I like we
told like before we started the show,

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I told you I expect him to
be all NBA. I think at least

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again, he's got to be all
NBA or else the rookie season disappointment.

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I would not be surprised if he's
all if he's first seamail rookie NBA,

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because I think he's got the skill
set and I think he's got the distribution

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And the funny thing is, I
think he's developed a plan bat. I

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think he's got to plan be already
developed, because we saw it with the

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Golden Warrior Golden State Warriors Summer League
game. They doubled him, they threw

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everything on him. He didn't score, but he had seven assists. He

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moved the ball. I want to
see what he does with NBA talent.

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I think he's going to really flash
with NBA caliber people on his roster and

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an actual point guard. Now,
granted he's going to come off the bench

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to start the season, But at
the same point, would it really shock

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you if he performs well enough late
in the season to where Terry Rogier's the

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two guard, the back, the
six man. It really wouldn't shock me

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at this point, I guess.
And also so to that end, when

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you're talking about a lot of what
goes into all rookie and just our first

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impressions with these rookies. How much
are they playing, what does their role

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look like? The Hornets, And
I don't think this has been a bad

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thing when you look at the way
they handed Lamello, even Mark Williams,

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just the name like two of the
more recent ones, even like you know

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PJ. Washington earlier in his career, they've brought their youngsters or rookies.

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It feels like a long more of
a gradual track. What type of a

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role do you expect Brandon Miller having
year one? How do you expect them

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to use them? Anything along those
lines. Seventh man, I think he's

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going to be the second guy off
the bench to start. I also have

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heard he's doing amazing things in these
workouts. And I'm granted work workouts mean

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nothing, but he's starting to impress. He's starting to do things. I

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think they're going to The plan is
to bring them along slowly. There will

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not be any Greensboro in his future. And I thank you for bringing up

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the whole bringing them along slowly,
because again we saw what happened with Mark

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Williams. When they're ready to go, they're ready to go and take take

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on those major minutes. It's always
going to be a slow titration. The

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big thing for at least Brandon Miller
for me, is going to be I

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think he plays the way Cliff likes. I think he's the exception to the

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rule when it comes to minutes for
rookies. Do I think I mean,

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it's part of the reason I don't
think Kelly you raised in town right now,

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because I think they like the skill
set and what he brings. His

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defense is going to leave a little
bit to be desired, but his playmaking

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skills, his shot making, I
think those are all necessary things for the

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Charlotte Hornets, especially on the bench
right now, because you don't know exactly

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what you're gonna get from Cody Martin
right now. You don't know if Gordon

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Hayward is going to come off the
bench when Miles Bridges come back, and

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we'll talk about that later. But
also a lot of this feels like this

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kid can do a lot of things
really well out the gate, except maybe

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finish at the rim, and even
then that's going to be an NBA strength

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thing that's not going to come till
year three. I think he'll be a

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very very complimentary piece on a team
that's aiming to be in that playing position,

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if not in the top six.
I think people sometimes get too caught

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up with oh, why isn't this
top whatever pick starting as well where it

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says you mentioned him coming off the
bench. I want to see more of

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what he looks like on the ball. Or what he can do as a

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facilitator at the NBA. The best
spot for him to do that would be

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or you're gonna stagger him from Charlotte's
starters more than if he was starting with

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them to begin with. So I
wouldn't it wouldn't shock me if he was

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starting by the end of the year. I might even predict it. But

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I do feel like some people,
and it happens with the Hornets naturally a

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lot, like why wouldn't you just
start LaMelo right out of the gate?

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Like, but it's they've always brought
up there. That's the fun part.

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Like, and that's the funny part
because James Brego explained it really well,

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like he's he's a nineteen year old
kid coming in off the pandemic year,

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not really playing, and then on
top of that is expected to be an

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NBA point guard from jump. There
was always going to be a warm up

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period for this kid. It was
always going to be a slow titration.

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And the fact that and it's funny
because I'm in the mix coaches, because

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the one thing that Steve Clifford said, and he's very very right about as

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an NBA coade, you do not
want to be wrong, because then you

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lose credibility with the guy. So
if you're going to do this slowly,

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if you're going to build confidence,
it allows you a little bit of a

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margin for error just in case you
happen to be wrong and you can tweak.

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But it's better to be conservative and
then then ramp it up then over

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aggressive, blow the kids confidence and
now you have to send him to Greensboro

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to get it figured out. PJ. Washington took roughly an eternity to sign

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his three year, forty six point
five million dollars guarantee deal. Incentives can

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take it to forty eight. What
do we First of all, the press

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conference that clipped with Mitch Cupcheck was
hilarious. That was that's Mitch's best.

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Like, here's the thing that is
the highlight of the Mitch cup Check era

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in terms of press conferences, because
usually they're very, very bad. The

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fact that he put his business out
on front street like that was the most

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amazing thing from Mitch cup Checks.
So the PJ. Washington thing, by

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the way, last spectacular was Mitch
Cupcat's explanation of why it took so long.

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I believe he said something. Yeah, his answers to the effect of

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some things take longer than others,
which just response, which is basically which

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is basically like, we were not
going to pay the eighteen because let's let's

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be real here, PJ. Washington
on a fifteen point five annual. Again,

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it's basically fifteen point five and decreasing
in value. If also we have

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to remember that that is a steal
of a contract because basically you're getting a

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guy that can guard I'm not going
to say one through five because one through

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five is just generally overrating, but
let's say two through four. You got

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a guy that can guard two through
four from fifteen point five million dollars and

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is probably reaching that point where he's
going to be a valuable piece on any

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kind of playoff team. That is
a steal. That is a legitimate steal,

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and it's a bargain that usually does
not happen for the Charlotte Hornets,

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that would they squeeze that man.
They use every advance energy they could with

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restricted free agency, and basically showed
the example of why restricted free agency should

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probably go away because because theoretically that's
a twenty million dollar player on that you

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got basically for four point five million
less. And it's also one of those

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things where I just he's going to
be your starter. He's going to be

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one of your building blocks now that
you have Lamello. He's the second.

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I think he's the third guy of
Mitch's own guys that he's actually retained the

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first two LaMelo the other. The
other one Nick Richards, who you got

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on a five million dollars a year
deal when he exploded on the scene,

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kind of as a backup center.
So there's a lot like I kind of

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like the building pieces. I just
wonder where the fit's going to be if

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Miles Miles Bridges does have his explosive
year like I'm kind of expecting in the

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back half with Miles Bridges signs of
qualifying offer what so, I think that's

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the place to start before looking about
what's going to happen when he gets back

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to the on the court. Is
there Will that be a source of friction

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between he and the team? Is
it? Do they still view him as

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a long term piece moving forward?
He has ten games left to serve on

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his suspension for the no contest plea
to tell any domestic violence chargers of course,

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Like what is I think it was
impossible to come up with Again,

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I hate making this about the basketball
of it, after all everything that happened

280
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last year, but it's impossible to
come up with a number for him,

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almost because he doesn't play last year, So like, what do you just

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make of this quality? And by
the way, the other tricky part of

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this, I saw some people saying, well, he'll just get traded.

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His rights don't transfer, so no
team's gonna give you anything to trade for

285
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him. So that's that's the other
thing. And also remember he's got to

286
00:20:49,319 --> 00:20:53,000
want to He's got to want that
trade too. That's the other part to

287
00:20:53,079 --> 00:20:56,160
this. He's got to want that
trade. He's got to sign off on

288
00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:03,039
it. So it's effectively he's theirs. I think there's a partial friction,

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but I wouldn't I wouldn't say there's
that much friction. I think the Hornets

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do not trust Miles Bridges. I
believe that Miles Bridges semi doesn't trust the

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Hornets. This is gonna we're gonna
work this out. And typically when we

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have that, like because I think
Miles Bridges and Clutch were looking for the

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00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,799
Jeremy Grant deal. The Jeremy Grant
deal was never coming. The Jeremy Grant

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00:21:26,799 --> 00:21:30,240
type deal was never going to come. He plays well, he balls out,

295
00:21:30,279 --> 00:21:36,680
the Jeremy Grant deal will be there. I think they're earmarking that money

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for him already, especially when you
consider that Gordon Hayward is going to be

297
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,200
a free agent at the end of
the year. Now that's a whole different

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00:21:44,279 --> 00:21:48,680
discussion, but I do think that
they are preparing to keep Miles Bridges there.

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I just want to see what happens. I think there's an agreement,

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00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,480
there's a handshake, agreement with new
ownership, and like we'll see again,

301
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,680
do what you do on the floor, stay out of will keep your nose

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00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,599
clean, and there'll there'll be a
deal for you. Now, granted that's

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00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,119
kind of illegal, but again,
basically what they're saying is we'll see.

304
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I do think there's a deal though, coming for him if he happens to

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00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:17,200
hit certain qualifiers. So it's that
we don't need to look at this as

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00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,119
O he sign is qualifying offer,
like he's gone, that's not with you.

307
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I don't think we get there unless
things go sideways, which in Charlote

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00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,920
Hornet's Land is very very possible.
So what do they I don't want to

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00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,160
get too deep into the rotation stuff
just yet, but what did we make

310
00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:38,039
of Okay, now they have PJ. Washington and Miles Bridges and Gordon Hayward

311
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,400
and Mark Williams, Like, how
how are they sort of starting games here?

312
00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:45,240
You know? Are you bringing Miles
off the bench once he serves his

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00:22:45,319 --> 00:22:48,279
suspension? Are you bringing PJ off
the bench? What are you doing here?

314
00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:52,000
I don't expect Miles Bridges to start
a game until Christmas. I think

315
00:22:52,599 --> 00:22:59,400
him being all free, I think
it's also like be malpractice to start him

316
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:04,519
off when you back in after ten
games, To bring him as a starter

317
00:23:04,599 --> 00:23:07,680
straight off, I think it's malpractice. I don't care how much he's been

318
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,519
working out over at the local gyms. I do not care. There's a

319
00:23:11,519 --> 00:23:17,960
difference between NBA's speed and him being
away for a year a year and change.

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00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,559
Granted of his own doing, but
I think you're not going to see

321
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him starting until Christmas. I do
think that there's going to be a ramp

322
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,839
up period. I do think that, And this all no mind you.

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00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:36,599
This also depends on injuries, because
again that's relying on Gordon Hayward's staying healthy.

324
00:23:36,759 --> 00:23:40,759
That's relying on Terry Rogier is staying
healthy. Both of those guys have

325
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:45,319
accumulated a decent amount of injuries.
Like we all know about the Gordon Hayward

326
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,559
stuff, start looking at how many
games Terry Rogier's played in the last year

327
00:23:48,599 --> 00:23:52,359
and a half, like there are
there are certain things that work like this

328
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,920
rotation can be fluid. I don't
know exactly how this is gonna go,

329
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:02,319
but my guess is mal Like I
said, wait till Christmas, He'll probably

330
00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:07,079
be a starter then. And it
brings an interesting question because then it becomes

331
00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:11,640
what do you do with a Terry
Rosier? Because do you keep a Gordon

332
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,640
Hayward on the bench save his body
for a potential playoff run? But you

333
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:22,599
gotta remember, as you said earlier, you need multiple facilitators. That's one

334
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,079
of Gordon Hayward's best strengths. So
it makes it, It really does.

335
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,599
It's a very fascinating puzzle, and
I'm glad I'm not the one that has

336
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:34,119
to solve it and manage the egos
at the same time, Do you think

337
00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,920
that they're committed at least because I
think when you look the other interesting thing

338
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:42,079
about their decisions this offseason, they
kind of just punted on saying like,

339
00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:45,559
we don't need to sign a veteran
backup big. We don't need to sign

340
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,480
I'll call it a conventional backup point
guard. They let that Nis Smith Junior

341
00:24:49,519 --> 00:24:52,960
go to Brooklyn and DSJ was good
defensively for them, and defensively he was

342
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,400
good, he was very, very
good. I think what they're going with

343
00:24:57,079 --> 00:25:03,119
and I think this was a every
very intentional thing. They saw the Denver

344
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:07,519
Nuggets and what the Denver Nuggets were. We're a big team with a bunch

345
00:25:07,519 --> 00:25:12,359
of positional length on defense. That
is something, and I believe that is

346
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:18,000
a Steve Clifford move where he was
like, we want to get better where

347
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,359
we don't need these tiny guys.
It's kind of why. It's kind of

348
00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:26,319
why I see Terry Rozier being on
the move potentially if Cody Martin is healthy

349
00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,880
this they are aiming to be a
big team with a lot of positional length

350
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:36,000
that can defend. That last part
is up for debate, but again,

351
00:25:36,039 --> 00:25:41,400
that's a Mark Williams problem, and
that's a Mark Williams unfortunately. That's what

352
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,759
it is. It's like these guys
have to dig in and learn to defend

353
00:25:45,079 --> 00:25:48,559
Steve Clifford is really really good at
it. But I think the aim is

354
00:25:48,039 --> 00:25:53,640
they're trying to be a big team, lots of length and occasional positional shooting

355
00:25:53,799 --> 00:26:00,359
and decent positional shooting from a PJ. Washington, from maybe a Mark Williams.

356
00:26:00,839 --> 00:26:03,079
Maybe I don't know. The hand
injury might have deterred that, but

357
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:10,039
the but the aim with that is
it's just that big team, positional length

358
00:26:10,319 --> 00:26:14,319
and being better defensively, and they'll
figure it out from there. I'm still

359
00:26:14,319 --> 00:26:17,440
assuming though, I know you've mentioned
a big team and they wouldn't necessarily be

360
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,359
the smallest team. But like the
way that this roster's built, we're going

361
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:25,000
to see and they got away from
it last year, like we're gonna see

362
00:26:25,039 --> 00:26:27,680
PJ at the five line of like
they just don't have like after I don't

363
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,359
think Richards, there's not a ton
of biggs. I don't think we're seeing

364
00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:34,079
PJ at the five anymore. I
don't. I think I think Nick Richards

365
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:40,039
is done enough. Well I'm just
but that's only two Like who you then

366
00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:42,680
trust two bigs on this team,
which is just weird, Like I would

367
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:48,200
I'm I get it, I get
it, I get it. But I

368
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:52,079
think. And it's funny because Cliff. I remember Cliff telling me this,

369
00:26:52,319 --> 00:26:53,839
I want to say, almost a
decade ago, and he was like,

370
00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:59,720
He's like, if you want to
lose, you go small. He's been

371
00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,400
like, he been on that.
This is one thing he's absolutely been on.

372
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,960
So when we start talking about big
teams, he's not necessarily going to

373
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,279
go like I think he has his
two bigs. He likes. He liked

374
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:18,119
Nick Richards literally before anybody else didn't. And when Nick Richards did what he

375
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,920
did last season, they're the only
people that weren't surprised about it was Steve

376
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,240
Clifford and Ty Corbin, the two
guys that have been working with them.

377
00:27:26,279 --> 00:27:30,079
So I think he likes Nick Richards
a lot more. I don't think we're

378
00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:33,240
gonna see PG at the five as
much unless you go super super small and

379
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:37,319
either Mark is in foul trouble or
Nick Richards is in foul trouble. I

380
00:27:37,319 --> 00:27:41,599
really don't think we're getting there just
yet. I will say I'll be a

381
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:45,519
little bit heartbroken if we don't get
the Lamello plus all four wings lineup.

382
00:27:45,559 --> 00:27:51,240
Ever, like the Washington Bridges Miller
Hayward, I would like to see that

383
00:27:51,559 --> 00:27:56,960
to spoil maybe it wouldn't be my
answer to the lineup question, but I

384
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,319
if they don't do that, I'll
almost be impressed if they don't need to

385
00:28:00,319 --> 00:28:03,200
glean on that at all, Like
not that specific lineup, but I'm just

386
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,480
looking at the makeup of this roster
and I'm like, Okay, Mark Williams,

387
00:28:06,559 --> 00:28:08,359
are you just ready for him to
play thirty three minutes a game?

388
00:28:08,759 --> 00:28:12,400
They were ready, they were ready. They were Yeah, they were ready

389
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,799
for it. Last year. You
were going to see it if they were

390
00:28:15,799 --> 00:28:18,039
in a competitive position last year,
they would have. But they weren't,

391
00:28:18,039 --> 00:28:22,000
and they were like, Yo,
we're gonna go after these We're gonna see

392
00:28:22,039 --> 00:28:25,720
what Book Night has. We're gonna
see what Kai Jones has. We're gonna

393
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:30,160
see what a lot of these guys
have. And instead of that, again

394
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,799
they didn't have much, granted,
but at the same point, I think

395
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,079
they know what they have in Mark
Williams. They're not worried about Mark Williams.

396
00:28:38,319 --> 00:28:41,839
They're the only worry about Mark Williams
is the hand injury he suffered.

397
00:28:42,039 --> 00:28:45,079
And as as long as he's ready
to go, I think they're ready to

398
00:28:45,079 --> 00:28:51,000
give him the thirty minutes. So
the Mark. I Mark Williams. I

399
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:55,880
very much enjoyed watching last year sort
of the twofold question with him. And

400
00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,799
first we'll start here. What impressed
you or maybe surprised you the most about

401
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,960
his footspeed? His footspeed, because
I think you me and you had this

402
00:29:03,039 --> 00:29:08,559
conversation last year where I was significantly
concerned about him on the pick and roll

403
00:29:08,759 --> 00:29:14,640
and him being the mark that everybody
was going to target. He went to

404
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:19,400
Greensboro, they worked with him.
It's and the big thing about Mark Williams,

405
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:23,839
and it's one of those things that
I will continually harp on the development

406
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:30,880
staff in Charlotte when it comes to
Nick Friedman and the Greensboro swarm. They

407
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,680
do a great job of translating what
you need to do from getting in the

408
00:29:34,759 --> 00:29:37,559
de league, what's sustainable, what's
not? We need to get you to

409
00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,720
this work because because when Mark Williams
was ready to go, he was ready

410
00:29:41,759 --> 00:29:45,519
to go. He is going to
start and quite honestly, like I said,

411
00:29:45,559 --> 00:29:51,960
the foot speed was there, the
defensive IQ was a lot better than

412
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,359
I thought it would ever be.
And the fact that he was because again

413
00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,240
I was a during guy. I
think we talked about this. I was

414
00:30:00,279 --> 00:30:03,279
a doing I was hardcore Doran guy. I was stoked that we got him,

415
00:30:03,319 --> 00:30:07,559
and then when they traded him,
I was very very upset. Now

416
00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:12,519
granted that that pick turned into Nick
Smith Jr. Which who will talk about

417
00:30:12,599 --> 00:30:21,519
later, but I was really and
I got I understood what Mitch and I

418
00:30:21,559 --> 00:30:26,000
think Cliff we're thinking about with this, which was we need positional length,

419
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,839
We need a big guy that can
move his feet, We need a guy

420
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,039
with defensive IQ. Because if you've
seen the Hornets for longer than maybe forty

421
00:30:33,079 --> 00:30:37,039
eight minutes, you already know the
defensive IQ was lacking on this team and

422
00:30:37,079 --> 00:30:44,839
has been lacking since Marvin Williams left
the building. So therefore you had again

423
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,920
you needed that guy and the only
thing that you were worried about was athleticism.

424
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,000
He covered up those athletic things and
I think if you look at him

425
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,079
in the mold of a Brook Lopez, it works so so so well.

426
00:30:57,799 --> 00:31:03,319
He Yeah, the way that they
got him to turn his body and how

427
00:31:03,359 --> 00:31:07,200
he was moving his feet from there
on defense, just we had talked about

428
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:08,759
it. I thought he was too
slow. I remember when they were talking

429
00:31:08,839 --> 00:31:12,880
last year. So that really impressed
me. What's even though, like the

430
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,079
little floater he would bust out or
having like testing out the mid range.

431
00:31:17,799 --> 00:31:22,279
What are you watching aside from the
he said he had hand surgery I think

432
00:31:22,279 --> 00:31:25,440
it was or figure surgery this offseason. Just aside from that, what are

433
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:27,480
you gonna be watching from him most? In year two? Like would fascinates

434
00:31:27,519 --> 00:31:32,079
you the most. I want to
see if he develops at three, because

435
00:31:32,079 --> 00:31:37,400
there were there there were rumblings that
they were going to try and develop that

436
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:42,200
three. If he develops a three, this unlocks everything because now you can

437
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:47,720
play five out and you saw the
mid range. The mid range was kind

438
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:52,400
of solid. I bought into it. I'm solved. So if he develops

439
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:59,640
at three and granted the rumors with
horned hornet centers developing threes, because lord

440
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,319
no, everyone was telling me Cody
Zeller would hit the three, would be

441
00:32:02,359 --> 00:32:06,279
able to hit the three, this, that and the third. If Mark

442
00:32:06,359 --> 00:32:10,400
Williams hits the three, we're talking
about Brook Lopez two point zero and that

443
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:15,480
kind of building block at fifteen,
at the fifteenth pick in the draft is

444
00:32:15,559 --> 00:32:21,319
something that when you talk about Mitch
cup checking this legacy is a GM here,

445
00:32:21,839 --> 00:32:23,720
You're gonna have to bring up the
fact that he found all these gems

446
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:30,720
in the late lottery and beyond.
I'm actually this might be too nerdy,

447
00:32:30,759 --> 00:32:34,160
But there's two things I'm watching with
him. And we're talking about the foot

448
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,759
speed, the way that they have
him turning his body right now. It

449
00:32:37,799 --> 00:32:39,680
makes it tougher for him to cover
both ends of the pick and roll,

450
00:32:39,839 --> 00:32:43,799
like what he's not paying straight up? So and I do think that hurt

451
00:32:43,839 --> 00:32:46,319
his rim protection numbers a little bit. They like kind of even out towards

452
00:32:46,359 --> 00:32:49,920
the end when he started playing a
bigger role. But I'm watching that,

453
00:32:50,039 --> 00:32:52,480
so i'd be curious your thoughts on
that. And the second thing is I

454
00:32:52,519 --> 00:32:58,799
think when he's making catches on like
after slipping screens or on those short rolls,

455
00:32:59,119 --> 00:33:01,000
I want to see it's say,
now they should have more shooting around

456
00:33:01,079 --> 00:33:05,720
him, like if that shot isn't
immediately available, can he make the decision

457
00:33:05,759 --> 00:33:08,799
of is there a one dribble decision
there? Or when I'm more fascinated by,

458
00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:12,519
hey, can I hit the guy
in the corner? Can I hit

459
00:33:12,559 --> 00:33:15,960
the guy like you know on the
like behind the arc? And that's I

460
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,880
think, I'm I don't know what
the word is. I'm very curious to

461
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:23,200
see if we can see his decision
making. Yeah, yeah, one decision

462
00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:27,279
making, Yeah, I get that
one. The funny thing is, I'm

463
00:33:27,279 --> 00:33:30,839
not worried about that part. That
part. Like him offensively, I am

464
00:33:30,839 --> 00:33:35,920
not worried about defensively, I'm I
would also like to say, I'm not

465
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,480
really that worried about because you know
the one the people that are going to

466
00:33:38,559 --> 00:33:43,640
get him right, Steve Clifford,
Tych Corbyn. They are really good at

467
00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,720
what they do in terms of getting
defenders right. We saw Dennis Smith Junior

468
00:33:46,839 --> 00:33:52,960
turn into a defensive dog under Steve
Clifford, like cliff and defense is the

469
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,519
one thing I do not worry about
with this team. This team was actually

470
00:33:57,839 --> 00:34:01,200
one of the better defensive teams.
Grant how much of that you take seriously

471
00:34:01,559 --> 00:34:05,359
after the All Star Break, because
we know they don't really try after the

472
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,599
All Star folks don't really try.
But the fact that they were top ten

473
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:14,159
in defense post All Star Break,
I think that part kind of matters.

474
00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,840
So I'm I'm not necessarily worried about
the defensive aspects because I think a lot

475
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:22,239
of that coaching defensively was done on
the fly, and I think with a

476
00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,440
full off season, I think they're
gonna be a lot more wrinkles to Mark

477
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:30,400
Williams game, especially on defense.
The I don't I can't believe it took

478
00:34:30,599 --> 00:34:35,519
us this long to get here.
But the response to the La Melo extension

479
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,360
was actually a little bit more divisive
than I understand that one. By the

480
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:42,480
way, yeah, I was gonna
just ask you what your impressions on the

481
00:34:42,519 --> 00:34:45,800
reaction to the LaMelo extension, not
to LaMelo extension, which I look at

482
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:51,719
it as a straight max all NBA
language like normal and no player options.

483
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,320
I viewed that as an organizational win. That is, like, that's the

484
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:59,760
thing, it's a win. There's
no player options. It becomes a question

485
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:05,920
of how long does it become before
Lamello gets tired and he asks out He's

486
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,079
gonna get his money regardless. They're
gonna get there, They're gonna get the

487
00:35:08,079 --> 00:35:12,639
player regardless. It's a two and
a half year deal. I think,

488
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,639
and I think, and also again, like I said, I think part

489
00:35:16,679 --> 00:35:22,079
of this is tied to not drafting
his potential replacement in Scoot Henderson. You

490
00:35:22,159 --> 00:35:25,599
make the guy happy, he doesn't
want to take any options. He's very

491
00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:30,920
very happy here for right now.
You take that and you run. And

492
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:37,199
I do believe that a lot of
this, like I get the slings and

493
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:42,639
arrows at mitche cup check for a
lot of these things. I also would

494
00:35:42,679 --> 00:35:46,199
probably caution that he's working with one
hand tied behind his back because the previous

495
00:35:46,199 --> 00:35:51,840
owner would like to meddle and dip
in and dip out every now and again

496
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:57,039
and get his guys, especially when
you start reading reports of wanting to offer

497
00:35:57,119 --> 00:36:04,239
guys like Mantras Harrold big money for
little prices and then eventually Montras Harrel shows

498
00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:09,039
up and doesn't do much here.
So I would I would just say this,

499
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:15,039
the Lamello thing is a win,
and anyone that tries to basically spin

500
00:36:15,119 --> 00:36:19,400
it as anything else, I'm kind
of laughing at you right now, and

501
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:24,280
I'm laughing very very hard. Ryan
Windhorse calls us the fun Max, and

502
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,519
I think I would just agree with
And it's like what you would say is,

503
00:36:28,559 --> 00:36:31,679
I think what you essentially did is
you bought yourself an extra year here

504
00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:34,920
before you had to make a decision, because you can say two and a

505
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,280
half years, but like everything is
now moved too. If they have two

506
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,639
years left on their deal, like
to guarantee years, they have leverage,

507
00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,519
and so by not having that player
option. You've been shored. Hey,

508
00:36:44,519 --> 00:36:47,559
we have three, well four more
years of Melo technically, because he stills

509
00:36:47,559 --> 00:36:51,480
the one year left on his rookie
scale before. If we're willing for things

510
00:36:51,519 --> 00:36:53,920
to get awkward or not just acquiesce
four years to figure it out. That's

511
00:36:53,920 --> 00:37:00,519
a really that's a critical amount of
time. Exactly like he can't again,

512
00:37:00,599 --> 00:37:02,719
he can bang the table and say
I want out, but the Hornets dun't

513
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:07,360
necessarily have to act. We asked, like you said, ard finding that

514
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:12,239
out right now exactly like literally they're
going to get a decent amount of value

515
00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,039
for whenever he wants out, if
he wants out, unless they build something

516
00:37:15,199 --> 00:37:20,519
significant here, and I believe they
are to a to a point, I

517
00:37:20,599 --> 00:37:27,039
do think that this this organization has
done some dumb things. Mitch Kupcheck is

518
00:37:27,079 --> 00:37:30,880
not a dumb man. He just
on occasion over believes in this talent.

519
00:37:31,559 --> 00:37:35,719
And that's not if that's the worst
thing he does, I can't really be

520
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:40,079
mad at him. What last last
year when we spoke and LaMelo barely plays

521
00:37:40,159 --> 00:37:45,159
dealing with all those injuries, you're
gonna be monitoring sort of his strength and

522
00:37:45,199 --> 00:37:47,039
finishing around the basket. Is that
the you know, the biggest thing you're

523
00:37:47,079 --> 00:37:51,559
watching is the year four Yeah still
yeah, yeah, he But the funny

524
00:37:51,559 --> 00:37:53,679
thing is he became the best scorer
of it. Again. He on a

525
00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:59,800
scoring level in those thirty games that
he played, he was a much much

526
00:38:00,119 --> 00:38:06,119
better score And I'm kind of like, I know, Matt Moore did the

527
00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:09,960
whole thing on the top one hundred
players and he put him at eighty four,

528
00:38:10,159 --> 00:38:15,480
and like, I wasn't going to
fight it because honestly, the Hornets

529
00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:22,079
hadn't done enough to where it was
worth defending. So but if Lamello comes

530
00:38:22,079 --> 00:38:25,239
out with a decent amount of strength
and stays healthy, he's going to remind

531
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:30,519
a lot of people about how exactly
how good he is. I believe in

532
00:38:30,559 --> 00:38:35,360
the kid. I just want to
see him get some better footwear. That

533
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,360
that's just me and I understanding he's
got the Puma thing. I just want

534
00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:45,599
him to have decent sneakers, have
decent footwear, and play sixty seventy games

535
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:50,559
because he's been so snake bit with
these injuries that are not his fault that

536
00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:53,000
like, I just want to see
him play seventy games. Just give me

537
00:38:53,079 --> 00:38:58,599
seventy games and then we'll see where
we're at after that, I think,

538
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,559
and just a straight away, I
think that's the biggest thing for him,

539
00:39:00,559 --> 00:39:05,840
and also the strength thing I really
do believe would allow him to do more

540
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,119
defensively, and I understand how they
use him now. Part of that that

541
00:39:09,159 --> 00:39:13,400
goes into it is the load he
carries on offense. He's not very strong.

542
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,800
You also want him to be in
position to go after defensive rebounds you

543
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:20,400
get your possessions started. But I
look at him and just based off what

544
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,199
we've seen, even though they don't
have him like gambling a ton and shooting

545
00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:27,360
gaps, he can be so disruptive
if he's a little bit stronger. I

546
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,719
feel like this is someone who can
actually like make a meaningful odd ball defensive

547
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:34,840
impact, is what I'm getting at. I do think that's possible. I

548
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:38,159
do think that's possible. I just
think that we are We're a while from

549
00:39:38,199 --> 00:39:44,159
that. It's also like that's one
of those areas that I would not be

550
00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:50,360
surprised if it changes organizationally, where
the strength training whatever the new staff looks

551
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:54,679
like. I would not be surprised
if there is a true NBA caliber strength

552
00:39:54,679 --> 00:39:59,840
training program here, because I think
that's been a critical concern. If you

553
00:40:00,039 --> 00:40:05,920
start thinking about going back to Hell
even MO League monk like guys that have

554
00:40:06,199 --> 00:40:12,360
struggled to put on weight here in
Charlotte and have flourished elsewhere with as they

555
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:16,559
get older with proper strength training programs. I do think that's something that I

556
00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:22,119
expect to change as we go forward
in the plot in chernal Era. I

557
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:29,519
know exceedingly little about Nick Smith Jr. What are the what is the cliff

558
00:40:29,559 --> 00:40:32,280
notes on his game? And can
we expect to see him do anything with

559
00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:42,119
the bigger club in year one?
I will say this there like there were

560
00:40:42,159 --> 00:40:45,400
there were moments in Summer League where
he did some things and he scored,

561
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,280
and granted he was expected to be
the point guard, and I think that's

562
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:53,400
he's woefully out of position. I
will also point out that when it came

563
00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,239
to the Green because I expected him
to be I kind of expected him to

564
00:40:57,239 --> 00:41:00,119
be in Greensboro for a long swath
of this season. The one thing I

565
00:41:00,159 --> 00:41:05,519
will point out is that when it
came to promote the Greensboro Swarm, there

566
00:41:05,519 --> 00:41:09,199
were two players on there, one
leaky Black, who I do think is

567
00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:15,000
going to organizationally matter at some point. It probably won't be this year.

568
00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:20,320
The other was Amri Bailey, but
Nick Smith was nowhere to be seen on

569
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:25,159
that. I think Nick Smith has
a chance to break into this rotation if

570
00:41:25,199 --> 00:41:30,519
he defends. If he defends,
I think he's one of those guys that

571
00:41:30,599 --> 00:41:37,639
can be a Jeremy Lamb type player
where he gives you fifteen seventeen eighteen off

572
00:41:37,639 --> 00:41:42,000
the bench. I think he's gonna
push guys like Cody Martin. I think

573
00:41:42,039 --> 00:41:45,320
he's also going to push guys like
Bryce McGowan's who sneakily had a half decent

574
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:50,400
season. There's a lot of competition
for those backup wings. There's a glove

575
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,960
of those backup wings. And again, you haven't even mentioned James buck Knight,

576
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:57,480
who might be closer to out on
this rotation, out on this roster

577
00:41:57,559 --> 00:42:01,320
than in. There's a I think
there's a chance that he does do something

578
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:06,840
this year, but I do think
that it's gonna take a little bit.

579
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:09,440
I think functionally he's not a one. He's gonna have to be a two,

580
00:42:10,159 --> 00:42:15,199
and he's gonna if he ends up
being Jordan Clarkson two point out,

581
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,960
I wouldn't be surprised. I feel
like that is what they were looking for.

582
00:42:20,039 --> 00:42:23,320
I'd probably prefer Bryce McGowan's I guess
I just like you need those,

583
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:28,280
You need those bucket getters. Charlotte
was one of the worst scoring teams last

584
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:32,960
year and they have historically struggled to
score. You need those bucket getters.

585
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:37,960
And if you trust your bigs to
be defensively sound, and you trust that

586
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:44,519
again a JT. Thor who I
think they believe in a lot, which

587
00:42:44,559 --> 00:42:46,440
is why they were so eager,
not necessarily eager, but they were so

588
00:42:46,519 --> 00:42:52,079
willing to get rid of a guy
like Jayleen McDaniels. I think if you

589
00:42:52,119 --> 00:42:57,079
trust the positional defensive again, defensive
intensity and length of those two guys,

590
00:42:57,599 --> 00:43:01,119
I think you can live with a
Bryce McGowans at the tour again, a

591
00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:09,960
potential Neil Keena again, Frankie Smokes, backup, backup point guard if Brandon

592
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,519
Miller is starting, and if they
make a move, they make a Terry

593
00:43:13,599 --> 00:43:19,039
Rosier move like him, Nicks again, Nick Smith Junior. You find a

594
00:43:19,079 --> 00:43:22,119
spot from the gallants to play and
then if you're backup five. If you're

595
00:43:22,159 --> 00:43:29,920
backup five guys are Neil Keena,
Nick Smith Junior, McGowan's JT. Thor,

596
00:43:30,159 --> 00:43:32,920
Nick Richards, I think they're going
to be willing to take those gambles

597
00:43:34,159 --> 00:43:37,079
with guys like that, It's just
going to take a lot of rotation.

598
00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:39,840
It's gonna take a lot of rotational
turns. I do think that a move

599
00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:44,239
is going to be made by February
at this point. There is and you

600
00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:47,639
sort of mentioned all the players that
we haven't talked about in depth on this

601
00:43:47,719 --> 00:43:53,960
podcast. Is there anyone from that
group that you're either particularly interested in long

602
00:43:54,079 --> 00:43:59,159
term or who you just see someone
on the shauster playing a much bigger role

603
00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:06,159
than expect did next season. I
think Cody Martin. I think a lot

604
00:44:06,199 --> 00:44:10,159
of people that, yeah, I
forgot how good he was, and they

605
00:44:10,199 --> 00:44:15,719
said they kept the wrong Martin's twin, and I vehemently disagree. I think

606
00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:20,440
Cody Martin under Steve Clifford, if
he's healthy, is going to give you

607
00:44:20,519 --> 00:44:24,960
exactly what Caleb Martin gave you and
that kind of rotational piece, especially for

608
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:30,320
the price that we both were like, holy crap, he signed for that.

609
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:35,039
I think that I think Cody Martin
is gonna be a lot better than

610
00:44:35,079 --> 00:44:37,079
people think, especially if that knee
is right. If that knee is right,

611
00:44:37,599 --> 00:44:43,280
then you're talking about a guy that
I'm not saying we will be all

612
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,039
defensive, but I think he might
give votes. I think he could give

613
00:44:46,119 --> 00:44:50,239
votes, a couple of votes here, scanting votes here there. I think

614
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:53,519
he's that good. I also think, and maybe I'm reading too much into

615
00:44:53,519 --> 00:44:57,440
it, but like we had talked
about, Okay, their decision not to

616
00:44:57,440 --> 00:44:59,639
sign a better well, I mean
they signed Frank niel Keina, but an

617
00:44:59,639 --> 00:45:04,320
actual floor general type player Cody Martin
can do that. Like that's something else

618
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:07,440
that he can do. Yeah,
that there's that, And I think a

619
00:45:07,519 --> 00:45:15,239
long term they're looking at Amory Bailey, and I think Amary Bailey, who

620
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:19,440
did have some moments of okay,
he can be a point guard, and

621
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:25,119
there's some other moments where it was
straight yikes. I do believe that Amary

622
00:45:25,199 --> 00:45:29,639
Bailey might be the backup point guard
of the future. They're trying to develop

623
00:45:29,679 --> 00:45:34,920
them in that. Yeah, so
I would I think that's I think that

624
00:45:35,239 --> 00:45:39,360
I think going there is probably I
would probably say that I don't think they

625
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,840
believe in backup point guards that much. That's probably a Jordan thing. I

626
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:46,719
would be surprised. I wouldn't be
surprised if that changed in a year where

627
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:52,519
Richinald and I also think that they
have enough pieces to where if it's really

628
00:45:52,559 --> 00:45:55,719
a problem, you can give up
a James book Night, who's again will

629
00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:59,599
probably be in the last year of
his deal. They have a decent amount

630
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:05,039
of expiring salaries to where they can
make a deal and get rid of folks

631
00:46:05,079 --> 00:46:08,320
if they need to. Who has
a bigger impact for this team? Lamella

632
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:16,880
Ball or Frank Nila Keena If LaMelo
Ball slight slight gap, and then as

633
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:22,679
Frank Neila Kila Kama, that's I'll
accept that answer. So this you would

634
00:46:22,719 --> 00:46:29,760
kind of mentioned it already. Charlotte
finished like a bear on defense last year.

635
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:32,039
They were eighth in points slot per
possession after the trade deadline. When

636
00:46:32,039 --> 00:46:35,679
you look at it, they did
all the things that a Steve Clifford team

637
00:46:36,039 --> 00:46:40,519
typically does. Is there anything stylistically
about their defense that you think flies under

638
00:46:40,559 --> 00:46:45,199
the radar or even when looking at
the makeup of this team that makes you

639
00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:50,920
believe they can sustain that success over
a longer period. Leading into this season,

640
00:46:51,239 --> 00:46:53,960
I think you're gonna get a lot
of I think the one thing that

641
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:59,039
you would I would note is that
they Charlotte was playing with a lot of

642
00:46:59,079 --> 00:47:01,679
replacement level guy to start the season. If you start really looking at it.

643
00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:07,119
Lamello didn't play for a lot Terry
Rosier was their best player for a

644
00:47:07,639 --> 00:47:09,840
for a large swath until Christmas,
until hey we'd got back, Hey we'd

645
00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:15,880
got hurt. Everything else. I
don't think we've seen the proper Charlotte Hornet's

646
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:20,400
team yet. Now, granted a
lot of guys on offense, I would

647
00:47:20,400 --> 00:47:24,679
say too, exactly, I don't
think we've seen it. I think if

648
00:47:24,719 --> 00:47:29,159
so, if you're wondering, Okay, what what are we doing? What

649
00:47:29,559 --> 00:47:31,760
are they going to do on defense? A lot of this is we haven't

650
00:47:31,800 --> 00:47:37,519
seen this team properly put together.
And I would say since the exit in

651
00:47:37,559 --> 00:47:40,199
Atlanta, since the play in tournament
exit in Atlanta, this team has not

652
00:47:40,199 --> 00:47:45,039
properly been put together. I would
want. So that's I guess that's where

653
00:47:45,039 --> 00:47:50,360
it is. Like, that's it, like this team and when this team

654
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:53,000
gets healthy, and that's a really
big question, is if this team is

655
00:47:53,039 --> 00:47:57,039
going to get healthy, because they
haven't been healthy for three years. But

656
00:47:57,119 --> 00:48:02,079
what I'm saying is health wise and
I'm excluding Gordon Hayward from this conversation because

657
00:48:02,079 --> 00:48:07,639
we aloys gonna play about fifty five
games, and that's it. I do

658
00:48:07,760 --> 00:48:14,519
believe that this team, when ninety
percent put together. I think this team

659
00:48:14,519 --> 00:48:17,800
defensively is going to be a lot
a load on defense, And I think

660
00:48:19,239 --> 00:48:23,000
Steve Clifford got a lot of buying
it in that back half of the season.

661
00:48:23,079 --> 00:48:27,679
So I think they're coming coming in
there bought in and there's not going

662
00:48:27,719 --> 00:48:30,800
to be any in fighting. Is
there like any concern though about now all

663
00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:35,559
of a sudden, let's say LaMelo
is gonna play in sixty something games rather

664
00:48:35,599 --> 00:48:37,840
than thirty something. You have a
rookie and Brandon Miller that's gonna be out

665
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:42,639
there. You're welcoming Miles Bridges back
at some point? Is there any concern

666
00:48:42,679 --> 00:48:49,639
about by bringing back the full strength
Hornets that you're potentially a little flimsier defensively.

667
00:48:50,639 --> 00:48:53,679
I I'm not worried. I'm not
as worried about that because one thing

668
00:48:53,719 --> 00:48:59,400
we've done, like Steve Clifford can
hide a week defender Steve Clifford has.

669
00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:04,960
I've seen Steve Clifford used Michael kid
Gil Chris to hide the flaws of Kemball

670
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:09,559
Walker and a whole lot of other
guys on defense. I have I have

671
00:49:09,679 --> 00:49:14,800
all the faith in the world that
he's got two legitimate defenders in PJ.

672
00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:19,840
Washington starting, and he's also got
again PJ. Washington, Cody Martin,

673
00:49:20,239 --> 00:49:24,239
Mark Williams will throw Nick Richards in
there as a rim protecting threat. There

674
00:49:24,239 --> 00:49:28,360
are a few guys Bryce McGowan's is
going to get better at that. On

675
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:31,360
that aspect, I think there's a
lot of guys that are gonna be better

676
00:49:31,559 --> 00:49:35,360
because Steve Clifford is going to be
in their ear. He's going to teach

677
00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:38,119
them how to play defense. I
think Miles Miles Bridges might be the biggest

678
00:49:38,119 --> 00:49:44,800
beneficiary of Steve Clifford coaching. So
there's a lot of this where I think,

679
00:49:45,239 --> 00:49:47,719
let me just see where we are
in camp. I'm kind of I'm

680
00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:53,519
very optimistic about the defense because I've
seen cliff work magic before. I mean,

681
00:49:53,559 --> 00:50:00,559
he hid Al Jefferson as the big
and Al Jefferson had hard time garden

682
00:50:00,679 --> 00:50:05,800
you or me and they ended up
winning forty eight games with it. So

683
00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:10,639
I've seen cliffwork magic. I'm not
worried about it as much. Looking at

684
00:50:10,639 --> 00:50:15,000
the current roster construction, do you
think that there's any under the radar strengths

685
00:50:15,039 --> 00:50:19,320
this team is going to have,
or what's something about them that just is

686
00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:22,719
flying under the national radar right now. I think this is going to be

687
00:50:22,719 --> 00:50:24,480
a better perimeter shooting team than it
was last year. I think we're gonna

688
00:50:24,559 --> 00:50:30,079
get back to forty three and thirty
nine team. I don't think we're ever

689
00:50:30,119 --> 00:50:34,320
going to see the pace again because
Cliff hates playing at that pace. They're

690
00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:37,920
going to find a happy medium.
They're gonna be better in the half court

691
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:43,159
this year. I think with another
shooter. I think with also guys at

692
00:50:43,199 --> 00:50:45,840
ken Score, they're gonna be better
in the half court. They were horrible

693
00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:49,679
in the half court last year.
A lot of that due to injury,

694
00:50:49,719 --> 00:50:52,719
But I do think half court wise, I think they're going to be better

695
00:50:52,760 --> 00:51:00,000
than people think. And outside of
that, I think defensively, like I'm

696
00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:01,960
I think they're going to end up
proving that last last year's All Star Break

697
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:07,800
wasn't a fluke. Yeah, the
defense, I'm just going to be fascinated

698
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:14,159
to see sort of how that progresses
with this too. Is there a concern

699
00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:19,760
or thought from the off season that
we haven't hit yet about the about squad?

700
00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:27,960
What happens if Mark Williams missus time. I think they've solved it already.

701
00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:32,920
I thought, well, what happens
if Mark Williams missus time is might

702
00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:37,119
be my biggest concern. I'm like, there is going to be the whole

703
00:51:37,159 --> 00:51:40,800
what happens if LaMelo's gone? I'm
not worried as much about that, because,

704
00:51:42,039 --> 00:51:45,960
well, you have my I think
Miles Bridges eventually will take that,

705
00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:50,159
being the best half court scorer on
the team that he was when they were

706
00:51:50,199 --> 00:51:54,840
forty three and nine forty three and
thirty nine. I'm sorry, but I

707
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:59,840
do wonder what happens if they don't
have their their center, the defensive stalwart.

708
00:52:00,039 --> 00:52:04,840
Are we going to go back to
a team that gave up a boatload

709
00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:08,559
of points in bunches? I like
Nick Richards. I think Nick Richards is

710
00:52:08,800 --> 00:52:14,800
perfectly suited as a backup center right
now. But what happens if Kyle Jones

711
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:20,119
has to get minutes? What happens
if God forbid something happens and they have

712
00:52:20,199 --> 00:52:23,559
to trade for they have to use
their disposable income, their expiring contracts for

713
00:52:23,679 --> 00:52:28,360
a center for a backup center,
something like that. The center position is

714
00:52:28,800 --> 00:52:31,000
a strength, but it's still a
weakness because if Mark Williams misses any time,

715
00:52:31,519 --> 00:52:35,159
all of this stuff we talked about
on defense is going to probably fall

716
00:52:35,199 --> 00:52:39,760
apart. So are you ready for
the cookie cutter portion of the podcast.

717
00:52:39,880 --> 00:52:45,639
Let's do it. What does this
ten man rotation look like this year one?

718
00:52:45,719 --> 00:52:49,239
I'm not sure it's ten man.
I'm not sure it's ten Well,

719
00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:51,400
if we had to break it down
to if we have to break it down

720
00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:55,079
stars starters right now, probably,
and we gotta remember, we gotta do

721
00:52:55,119 --> 00:53:00,679
this in like three different portions,
the Miles Bridges list portion. We have

722
00:53:00,679 --> 00:53:07,000
to do this with Miles Bridges and
then what will probably be the lineup come

723
00:53:07,079 --> 00:53:14,360
February. So to start this out, it'll probably be LaMelo Terry. My

724
00:53:14,639 --> 00:53:20,039
guess is Gordon Hayward still starts PJ
and Mark Williams, and then on top

725
00:53:20,079 --> 00:53:22,639
of that, first guy off the
bench probably ends up being Cody Martin.

726
00:53:23,239 --> 00:53:30,480
There'll be a Cody Martin. See
Cody Martin, Brandon Miller, JT.

727
00:53:30,880 --> 00:53:37,320
Thor and Nick Richards. They believe
in JT. Thort. That's the one

728
00:53:37,400 --> 00:53:43,719
guy I think we're not talking about
enough is that I think JT. Thor

729
00:53:44,039 --> 00:53:49,400
is probably gonna get more burned than
people think because he can play, he

730
00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:52,679
can defend multiple positions. He's a
six to eleven guy. Now, granted,

731
00:53:53,119 --> 00:53:58,360
defensively he's better that like, defensively, he's going to be better than

732
00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:01,840
he is on offense. But if
he if he hits a couple of threes,

733
00:54:02,239 --> 00:54:06,719
if he does at least a little
bit of damage, if he's if

734
00:54:06,719 --> 00:54:10,079
he's a floor spacer, he's going
to be very very good. And then

735
00:54:10,239 --> 00:54:15,320
the fifth maybe Bryce McGowan's maybe a
nixt Smith Junior. I'm not sure it

736
00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:19,559
matters as much at this point right
now. Uh yeah, I mean,

737
00:54:19,599 --> 00:54:22,280
I second, I love JD.
Thor. Watching him, it's like coordinated

738
00:54:22,360 --> 00:54:28,079
chaos, almost organized chaos. Whatever. So I guess Miles Bridges comes back,

739
00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:30,159
who's going to be like the odd
man out there. There's a theory

740
00:54:30,199 --> 00:54:38,239
that is Gordon Hayward. I don't
necessarily subscribe to that theory. My guess

741
00:54:39,639 --> 00:54:45,599
is that Gordon Hayward, because of
the fact that he's probably at worst your

742
00:54:46,039 --> 00:54:50,719
fourth or fifth best perimeter defender,
and I stress this, at the worst,

743
00:54:51,719 --> 00:54:54,519
is probably going to stay on the
stay on that starting lineup. I

744
00:54:54,519 --> 00:54:59,360
would be I wouldn't be surprised if
it's PJ. Washington that comes off the

745
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:04,679
bench because he's done that before.
I would I think that's the way they

746
00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:07,559
go with that, and then it
becomes a Cody the first three off the

747
00:55:07,599 --> 00:55:13,920
bench, PJ Washington, Cody Martin, and Brandon Miller, and that's a

748
00:55:14,039 --> 00:55:17,800
pretty strong That's a pretty strong eight
right there, provided everybody stays healthy.

749
00:55:19,320 --> 00:55:22,679
And then I do think that at
some point, if Brandon Miller pops,

750
00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:28,039
that's when the conversation about Terry Rogier
has to happen. And that may be

751
00:55:28,119 --> 00:55:31,320
a conversation where he pops in December, or he pops in January, he

752
00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:36,480
pops in February, and then you're
gonna have to have start having those conversations

753
00:55:36,559 --> 00:55:40,760
because I think I think it's coming
faster than we think. I just don't

754
00:55:40,800 --> 00:55:45,800
think it's going to be one of
those I don't think the thing with Brandon

755
00:55:45,840 --> 00:55:47,480
Miller and this is and I know
we already talked about it to death,

756
00:55:47,519 --> 00:55:50,960
but I think it's just a functional
strengthing. But there are things that he

757
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:53,920
can do and if he's a dead
eye perimeter shooter for this team, there's

758
00:55:53,960 --> 00:55:59,880
a role for him where he can
do that and distribute and be just fine.

759
00:56:00,639 --> 00:56:04,679
This is question is always somewhat matchup
dependent. But let's fast forward to

760
00:56:04,719 --> 00:56:07,679
February. What should be What do
you think will be their preferred closing lineup?

761
00:56:07,719 --> 00:56:09,960
Is it just gonna be the starters
or is there gonna be room to

762
00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:16,440
futs and fiddle there? Cody Martin
just wherever I think LaMelo Cody Martin,

763
00:56:17,159 --> 00:56:22,480
Miles Bridges, PJ. Washington,
Mark Williams. I think Terry Rogier.

764
00:56:22,119 --> 00:56:28,239
I think they mess with Terry Rogier
on and all. They do some offensive

765
00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:34,599
defense things with Terry Rosier because I
think defensively Terry Rogier has limitations because of

766
00:56:34,599 --> 00:56:39,519
his size. What is a weirdo, quirky, unconventional line up? You'd

767
00:56:39,519 --> 00:56:45,840
like to see them try again?
You stole the lamello in All Wings one,

768
00:56:45,880 --> 00:56:52,079
but I don't think that's that's coming. Actually, I got it,

769
00:56:52,800 --> 00:57:00,880
Bridges, let's see Ball Bridges,
Washington four, Mark Williams. Okay,

770
00:57:01,440 --> 00:57:06,199
I'd be here for it. Mine
mine was way too similar. I thought

771
00:57:06,239 --> 00:57:07,599
I was gonna have you because I
had until you started talking about JT.

772
00:57:07,719 --> 00:57:10,920
Thor at the end. My allway
it's LaMelo plus All Wings, But like

773
00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:15,199
JT. Thor is in there,
so I've LaMelo. We'll go. I

774
00:57:15,199 --> 00:57:19,000
want to see Brandon Miller, JT. Thor, PJ. Washington and I

775
00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:22,320
think Miles Bridges as the fifth in
there. You could go with Gordon Hayward

776
00:57:22,320 --> 00:57:23,400
if you really wanted to, but
that would be a lineup I'd love to

777
00:57:23,400 --> 00:57:30,960
say, I think because of the
Center. The only thing is, I

778
00:57:30,079 --> 00:57:34,199
know Cliff is not the biggest fan
of Peter Washington Center. I know that

779
00:57:34,239 --> 00:57:37,400
for a fact. But at the
same point, I can easily see that

780
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:39,199
one too. Why don't we call
it? We'll call it JT. Thor

781
00:57:39,239 --> 00:57:42,760
at Center. Then will that make
Cliff feel a little better? Men?

782
00:57:43,400 --> 00:57:46,119
Because have you have you seen him
try to hold Biggs off? Once you

783
00:57:46,119 --> 00:57:52,159
see that, you'll understand why the
Hornet's current wind total over under said at

784
00:57:52,159 --> 00:57:58,159
twenty four and a half, that's
way too low. That is definitely a

785
00:57:58,159 --> 00:58:01,159
typo and that I'm thinking about it
hold about to say there's no way it

786
00:58:01,199 --> 00:58:05,760
was that low. I think I
might have accidentally put the Wizards one in

787
00:58:06,079 --> 00:58:08,599
for that problem. I think it's
twenty nine and a half. I think

788
00:58:08,599 --> 00:58:12,880
it's twenty it's thirty and a half. At alf put they're twenty four and

789
00:58:12,880 --> 00:58:15,719
a half is way too low?
Are you going with the over the under

790
00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:17,960
on that? And where do you
see them kind of stacking up in the

791
00:58:19,039 --> 00:58:24,960
larger context of the East. Last
year, when I said it said I'm

792
00:58:24,960 --> 00:58:30,039
not worried about losing Bridges, I
was a little too arrogant. I think

793
00:58:30,079 --> 00:58:37,079
they hit over but I think it's
because this team again won twenty six games,

794
00:58:37,519 --> 00:58:40,679
and they only got thirty six games
combined from Ball and Bridges. This

795
00:58:40,800 --> 00:58:46,880
team, I think has enough talent
to get over thirty if you get enough,

796
00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:52,679
if you get forty eight. I'll
put it this way. If you

797
00:58:52,840 --> 00:59:00,079
get fifty games from LaMelo Ball,
you get fifty games from at least at

798
00:59:00,119 --> 00:59:05,039
least fifty games from Miles Gracious,
you get maybe forty games from Gordon Hayward.

799
00:59:05,280 --> 00:59:08,400
Like I'm not expecting much, But
if you get a decent amount of

800
00:59:08,480 --> 00:59:14,400
respectable amount of games from that roster, I think they'll win over thirty.

801
00:59:14,480 --> 00:59:19,400
If you give me sixty games,
a Lamello and a boatload of health.

802
00:59:19,639 --> 00:59:24,360
I think. I think it's possible. Keyword. I think it's possible that

803
00:59:24,400 --> 00:59:30,519
they get top six. I think
this team is very similar to a Cleveland

804
00:59:30,559 --> 00:59:35,760
team that just needed that one last
piece, which was Evan Mobley, and

805
00:59:35,840 --> 00:59:42,280
I think they can compete for top
six. It's just I just wonder about

806
00:59:42,280 --> 00:59:45,800
the maturity of this team. But
I'm wonder also thinking that Cliff is a

807
00:59:45,800 --> 00:59:50,719
perfect guide instill this before he moves
on to probably what is a front office

808
00:59:50,719 --> 00:59:54,079
position. This isn't going to be
a tough one when we go through our

809
00:59:54,119 --> 00:59:58,639
over unders here for me, because
like you said, they won twenty seven

810
00:59:58,760 --> 01:00:04,519
last year with less than ideal health
and just like obliterated availability from certain guys.

811
01:00:05,000 --> 01:00:07,920
And there's more talent on this roster, so if they're even a motcom

812
01:00:07,599 --> 01:00:13,760
of better health, they should win
way more. But I'm wondering if there's

813
01:00:13,800 --> 01:00:16,239
like the potential do they trade out
of some of their rotation players. The

814
01:00:16,239 --> 01:00:20,480
East is also kind of there are
other teams where I don't know how to

815
01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:22,880
feel about them, Like what do
the Pistons look like this year? What

816
01:00:22,960 --> 01:00:24,519
are the Magic doing? Where the
Wizard? We know the Wizards will probably

817
01:00:24,519 --> 01:00:29,000
be the worst team in the conference, but it just it's so jumbled towards

818
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:30,239
like the middle of the East.
I don't know where to place them.

819
01:00:30,559 --> 01:00:35,239
Here's the thing about what, Here's
the thing about what? I wear A

820
01:00:35,320 --> 01:00:39,360
wonder like I love last love Lazarus
Jackson. I know he's listening to this

821
01:00:39,440 --> 01:00:46,079
right now. I wonder about where
Detroit is going to be. I'm not

822
01:00:46,159 --> 01:00:52,000
necessarily worried about them. I'm much
more I'm very curious about where Orlando is

823
01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:54,880
going to be in a year.
This year, I'm much more curious about

824
01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:59,480
what Atlanta is going to be because
Atlanta looks like a train wreck someone.

825
01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:04,400
I'm very work like. There's a
lot of this. What does Philly look

826
01:01:04,440 --> 01:01:07,960
like? Does Philly take a step
back? Like Philly's a basketball team at

827
01:01:07,960 --> 01:01:15,599
this point is exactly so we're talking
about a lot like. I think having

828
01:01:15,639 --> 01:01:19,960
the talent that they have right now, they can take advantage if they stay

829
01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:23,719
healthy and it's a year and you're
not introducing a new coach. You're not

830
01:01:24,079 --> 01:01:28,880
You're not having all this chaos of
a trial or anything else like that.

831
01:01:29,599 --> 01:01:32,280
This is just about basketball this year. You can focus on. This team

832
01:01:32,280 --> 01:01:36,239
can focus on basketball. There's no
on the court, off the court stuff,

833
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:39,480
there's no coaching higher This is the
same guy in the same program.

834
01:01:39,519 --> 01:01:43,760
And you know what's again, These
guys know what's expected of them for the

835
01:01:43,760 --> 01:01:47,440
most part, and the rookie is
not expected to contribute that that much to

836
01:01:47,519 --> 01:01:52,960
this This team is going to be
better than people think. I'm going to

837
01:01:52,960 --> 01:01:55,960
say this repeatedly. They're going to
be better do? I think they're an

838
01:01:57,000 --> 01:02:00,679
automatic playoff team if everything pops right. But everything doesn't always pop right,

839
01:02:00,760 --> 01:02:05,840
especially in Charlotte. But I expect
them to be in the playoff playing race

840
01:02:05,840 --> 01:02:09,599
because I have a lot of questions
about everybody, quite honestly, after five

841
01:02:09,719 --> 01:02:15,039
or six, Like I do have
questions about a Indian Indiana team that is

842
01:02:15,039 --> 01:02:19,480
expected to do a lot with Jaris
Walker and everything that they put together.

843
01:02:19,920 --> 01:02:22,880
I do have questions about Chicago.
I have a lot of questions about a

844
01:02:22,880 --> 01:02:28,000
lot of those teams, even Toronto. I have a lot of questions.

845
01:02:28,400 --> 01:02:31,800
And I wonder if the Hornets,
because of the continuity and because of the

846
01:02:31,840 --> 01:02:36,199
bunker mentality that they kind of have
right now, or at least it appears

847
01:02:36,280 --> 01:02:39,239
that they have right now, I
wonder if they come out and surprise everybody,

848
01:02:40,119 --> 01:02:43,639
Yeah, they're in a weird This
will come off as an insult.

849
01:02:43,880 --> 01:02:46,159
But the only team I'm prepared to
say they'll definitely be better than is Washington.

850
01:02:46,679 --> 01:02:50,639
But I could probably go through a
list of five to seven teams that

851
01:02:50,679 --> 01:02:52,519
they feel like could they be better
than the Nets? Absolutely, Bowls,

852
01:02:52,599 --> 01:02:57,000
Raptors, of course, like so
the list's not prepared to do the nets

853
01:02:57,039 --> 01:02:59,599
yet. I'm not prepared to do
the nets because I think the nets are

854
01:03:00,039 --> 01:03:02,719
the nets and job. I believe
in Jock Vaughan's coaching capability. Bulls and

855
01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:07,360
Raptors. Absolutely give me those three
teams Wizards, Raptors, Bulls. I

856
01:03:07,360 --> 01:03:10,800
feel confident about those three. Oh
that's interesting. I mean, for me,

857
01:03:10,880 --> 01:03:14,599
the bulls, at least one of
the bulls are raptors. That has

858
01:03:14,639 --> 01:03:19,000
to bake in a Okay, they
became sellers because one of those teams,

859
01:03:19,039 --> 01:03:21,920
as constructed, should be better than
the hornets right now. And if they're

860
01:03:21,920 --> 01:03:24,960
not, I'm assuming a catastrophic injury
has happened. I think the one thing

861
01:03:25,000 --> 01:03:30,039
that we have to remember is that
there are guys on this roster. There's

862
01:03:30,079 --> 01:03:32,559
always a guy. Last year was
Nick Richards that took the took the next

863
01:03:32,599 --> 01:03:38,960
step after three years? Is it
JT Thor if he takes if he takes

864
01:03:38,960 --> 01:03:44,440
a like, there's at least one
guy, is it. Bryce McGowan's is

865
01:03:44,519 --> 01:03:46,800
brand like I think brand like I
said, I think Brandon mill is going

866
01:03:46,880 --> 01:03:50,960
to be better than people think year
one. I do think the strength is

867
01:03:51,000 --> 01:03:53,039
going to be an issue, but
I think skill wise, skill wise,

868
01:03:53,079 --> 01:03:57,760
in basketball, IQ wise, he
does so many different things so so well

869
01:03:57,960 --> 01:04:00,400
that he can't help but make an
impact on this team. I think this

870
01:04:00,440 --> 01:04:05,719
team is incredibly talented. It's it's
literally the health issue for me. If

871
01:04:05,800 --> 01:04:11,000
they stay healthy, if LaMelo plays
sixty games, I think they're gonna win

872
01:04:11,039 --> 01:04:15,079
closer to forty four forty five,
then they will down the thirty one thirty

873
01:04:15,119 --> 01:04:19,960
two. Is there anything we have
not discussed that you think needs to be

874
01:04:20,039 --> 01:04:23,519
hit about this team? Now?
I think we spanned the gamut on this

875
01:04:23,519 --> 01:04:28,800
one. I think we've spanned the
entire gamut. In that case, are

876
01:04:28,800 --> 01:04:31,679
you able to tell our listeners where
they can find you and you can find

877
01:04:31,719 --> 01:04:38,440
me? Yeah? You you can
find me on Twitter. You can find

878
01:04:38,440 --> 01:04:41,599
me on Blues Guy, not describe. They're all the same thing, Twitter,

879
01:04:41,880 --> 01:04:45,159
Blues Guy, whatever. There is
a social media if not, If

880
01:04:45,159 --> 01:04:47,400
you really want to hear the stuff
I do, I do the onon College

881
01:04:47,400 --> 01:04:51,039
Basketball podcast. I work for CBS. I produce a bunch of podcasts for

882
01:04:51,079 --> 01:04:56,159
CBS Sports, and largely if you
want to hear my thoughts, you would

883
01:04:56,159 --> 01:05:00,000
just follow me on Twitter. That's
about it. The link to his Twitter

884
01:05:00,119 --> 01:05:01,079
and I'll try and find his blue
sky. I don't know if I should

885
01:05:01,079 --> 01:05:04,800
follow you, and hopefully I do. We'll be in our description Kanada.

886
01:05:04,920 --> 01:05:10,639
This is always a genuine joy.
Thank you so much for me so generous

887
01:05:10,639 --> 01:05:13,559
with your time and your insight.
As you know by now, I will

888
01:05:13,599 --> 01:05:15,960
be pasturing you again in the future
course, of course, Man, look

889
01:05:15,960 --> 01:05:19,199
forward to having this conversation this year
and figure out how wrong I was this time.