What's up, y'all is Drewsky and I've teamed up with Mountain Dew to produce a hilarious new basketball podcast called The due Zone with Drewsky. Learn the backstories of your favorite balls and celebrities like Jamal Murray. Did you have like a favorite team? Was it the Raptors at the time or no? Was the Raptors even started on the topic? Come on, bro, I had that talking like I'm fifty, Taylor Rogues, Asian Wilson, and many more. You won't want to miss this. Listen to The Due Zone with Drewski on Apple Podcast, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts what is Kracklack and Hardwoodnox listeners. I am Dan for Valley, coming out you ahead of our usual Monday mail bag. That was actually originally going to be delayed because I have another podcast ready for you, but then the James Wiseman injury and the Timberwolf sale happened, So we talked about that, and I want the pod that I have in the bank with one of my favorite writers coming on. I want that to stand on its own, So that will be coming out probably Wednesday, maybe Tuesday, but probably Wednesday. Before we get started, though, just want to deliver our usual housekeeping notes. One. Start joining us on locker room. We had a great group there this time four pm Eastern time. I know they're still not on the Android app, but if you're an iPhone user, please come join us four pm Easter time as of now every Sunday. We love interacting and speaking live with you guys. You can ask questions live. You can speak live if you want to as well. We had one person, Logan who covers the Timberwolves, spoke about them on this one. We also cover a lot of different ground. You guys sent in a bunch of good questions, so we'll get to those. But again, locker room. Join us there four pm Easter time every Sunday. There are promo tweets every week. Also, subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts and download every episode and definitely rate. Review us wherever you're getting your podcast. Definitely on iTunes as well, whether or not you use it, head over there, search Hardwood Knox, write us a review, throw us a five star rating, Criticize the hell out of us in the review. As long as you throw us that five star rating. Follow us on Twitter. At Hardwoo Knox. Our podcasts are on YouTube as well. Go to YouTube dot com search Hardwood Knox and we will come up. Subscribe to us there help us deduce those numbers as well, and follow Sports Math, the network under which we are along with Blue Wire. Sports Math Network has NBA Math, MLB Math, QB Math. Follow them on Twitter at v Underscore Sports Underscore Math. All right, let's hop to it. We're beginning with the James Wiseman injury that's impact on the Warriors. We'll go into the Timberwolve scale, and we're answering a bunch of your questions that are punctuated by many many who you got scenarios. Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest episode of Hardwood Knox. This is Adam from Will here with my fantastic, fantabulous co host Dan Favali. We've got another mail bag plan for you today, but we want to start off this episode with a couple of big news items, including the recent sale of or impending sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves to Alex Rodriguez and Co. And the unfortunate injury to James Wiseman that might end his rookie season. But Before we dive into either of those topics, we have the all important question, which is how's it going? Dan? I am doing well better than James Wiseman, not as well, doing it as well as Glenn Taylor though, so somewhere between those two extremes. Yeah, yeah, I hear that, how are you doing? I think about the same that those seem like like fairly good extremes to be in the middle of. It's like, it's totally non specific about how you're doing. It's it's a great answer. Can you say the same. Are you in the middle of those two? I mean, I think so. I'm a little jealous that you've had both doses of the vaccine. Like you can talk about that if you want, just like explain, to explain to our listeners that you might just like crash midway through since you had it yesterday. Yeah, I thought I was watching my future unfold in front of me with everyone who was getting sick afterwards. And look, it's if you're gonna get sick afterwards, it's it's one hundred percent worth it in the end. I want to make that clear. And my wife has not reacted the best to it. I'm absolutely fine. So maybe it's coming mid podcast, I'll just I'll just won't be here anymore. I'll have to disappear. But I'm I'm feeling great, and that's not to you know, I'm not bragging about it, but there are people on Twitter yesterday after it's that I got it, like you're not going to be feeling this way tomorrow. And I'm happy to say I got through intense workout today. I did sleep longer than usual last night, if that's a side effect? Another non specific answer, does that mean like one hour? Does it mean like nine hours, because like a normal night of sleep for you is what like thirty minutes. I've gotten into the habit of doing a sleep deficit, which is really unhealthy. But I make it up in like one night at the end of the week when I have flexibility, where if I sleep three or four hours x amount of days in a row, then I'll do like Saturday into Sunday, I slept for nine nine and change, which is that's a long I think that's a long time for anybody. So yeah, but I'm feeling good. I hope our listeners can say the same. And we do encourage everyone when they're able to to go out and get the vaccine, because the more people that can do it, the better for public health. Do you want to talk about some actual basketball related things though, I think so. I think we have to start with the most unfortunate news first, which is James Wiseman after an MRI has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus and the expectation seems to be that he's going to be out for the rest of the season, which sucks. You know, his rookie year, he was playing a lot better of late. I think part of that was, as many people have noted, including the light Years podcast another Blue Lyre podcast that's been campaigning from this day one, is just the injection of more pick and roll with Stephen Curry has helped him out a lot. I'm just curious as to how much do you think this is you know, what is this h what do you think about this is a setback for his career, for the Warriors, his own development, and then what have you just have you seen anything more from him over the past let's say, like month or so or past few weeks or so. I'll start with the last part, because I do think we've seen more from him. He's just looked more sharp on the court in terms of where he needs to be and what role he's attempting to fill as have looked better. He's not fumbling as many passes, He's corralling rebounds on the first attempt rather than just kind of batting them up into the air like I think. The best half of basketball I've seen him play this season was the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks back on April sixth. Then he followed that up with eighteen six and a loss to the Washington Wizards in which he again looked like he was making strides and unfortunately only managed to play six minutes against Houston, and that looks like it's going to be it for his rookie season after that. But he does look like he's playing much more confident, more impactful basketball, So the timing of that is unfortunate. But I don't know that I view this as having substantial negative repercussions for either the Warriors season or his career. If anything like it might help the Warriors a little bit because he has not been a net positive when he's been on the court, and this is still a team that wants to make a push for a play in game spot or an actual playoff spot during Stephen Curry's extended prime, So it might help them from that standpoint, but it will also be more difficult if they intend to shop him in the Timberwolves first round pick this summer to sell teams that this new and improved version we're seeing is more sustainable. So I don't know, like it's what impact it's going to have on his future, because he's still this raw clay that needs to be formed and we're not going to see the best of him until the Warriors have more floor spacing around him when Clay Thompson is back in any other offseason additions that they might make this summer. So it just kind of feels like this nebulous situation that might help the Warriors in the short term, probably won't help them in the long term and might not have much of an impact in either direction for him. So I skewed towards the other side, and I think it's an absolute unmitigated disaster for all parties involved. Really, Okay, Yeah, So the callous look here is now, if if he misses the rest of the season and you want to use him as his tantalizing trade ship, he's just slightly less intriguing now because he's coming off this injury and we're talking about someone who also only played unlimited sample in college's And I think that's the least of the problems because I'm not trying to just treat him like an asset. But Stephen Curry is a top three, top five player, whatever you want to call him right now. That has to be a part of the calculus. The other thing that I think it does is obviously he was sort of gaining some momentum and now there's just less time for them to ramp up him to ramp up this season since he's probably not going to play again. And if you don't have that connection, assuming he's still on the roster next year, are they're gonna be bringing him along slowly because the Warriors are going to have clayback and they're going to have those more immediate hopes. You can't be as sure that he is one year long term center but also your immediate center. But I guess the follow up is, like two days ago, would you have thought that he was going to be on the roster for more than this season? Here's my but so I think that comes back to the trade stuff is that I wouldn't move him a baseline, base basement value this summer if he's you know, doesn't play again, that's just not something I'm gonna do. So and then the third thing, and I think that's the most important thing. There's still so much just to figure out with the roster around him, and you alluded to it with the lack of shooting, the chemistry between him and Draymond on offense. If you're going to run more pick and roll with Steph, I don't know how it works because Draymond's not a threat off the ball. I don't know if you saw the video the other week, it was hysterical where Bradley Beal went to close out on Draymond in the corner and realized it was Draymond. It just turned around to get ready for the rebound. And there was also that still image where you just see him at the top of the key and no one else is in the shot and he has the ball, Like, when was the last time you saw that in an NBA game? Right? That too, so that I don't know what you do and that might have been a problem no matter what, But now you're just you're aving abridging that sample and you're going into next season if you has Wiseman with the same problem. Can you have Wiseman and Draymond on the same court for extended periods of time? Yes, you could stagger them, and I think I think running more pick and roll with Wiseman is the smartest move. And if you're gonna put the ball in STEP's hands for that, just what are you doing with Draymond there? I know the light Years podcast also mentioned that maybe you could stash Wiseman in the dunker spot and have Draymond and Steph run more pick and roll together. But just now, that's something that you can't test out this season, and I think that's just an unmitigated disaster for the Warriors. You have so many questions already with Clay coming off in a cl and they kill he's injury next year? What is Draymond to you on offense? To begin with? Can you sort of goad him into doing more where can you at least get a little bit more into the paint on his drives, like past floater range to put more pressure on the defense. This is I don't think it's it's not going to be some harbinger of where James Wiseman ends up in the NBA long term. I do not believe it really obfuscates even more of the warriors is future in a way that I don't know how you plan around and now what the solution and is going to be then moving forward and looming over all of this, By the way, the Timberwolves might keep their pick, they're probably gonna have. They're definitely gonna have top five lottery odds. They might end up with one of the three worst records in the end, and they could end up with one of the top three picks. It's statistically more likely they don't, but like they do, they are probably going to have the higher chance of a top three pick. And I don't go it's to top four and stuff, but it's top three protected of them and two other teams. So if they don't have the Timberwolves pick this summer, what are you doing? Just what are You're? Not? James Wiseman isn't bringing you back. You still have the unprotected pick in twenty and twenty two, but now Minnesota has Anthony Edwards, kat Malik Beasley, D'Angelo Russell. Even if people don't like him. If they're all healthy, plus the infusion of a number three pick in a very good class, right the Warriors as they could be screwed. Then I'm just not I'm try not to over react to this stuff, but I think this is you know, they're they're already sort of living through the worst case scenario of this season. This is like the worst version of the worst case scenario for them. Now. Yeah, I still just think that the short term benefit is there, but it doesn't supersede the long term issues that you're elaborating upon. To me, it feels more likely now, even though his value isn't going to be as high during the summer as it otherwise could have been, that Wiseman and Draymond Green are not both going to be on this team next year. I think that's a fair prediction, except for the fact that does Draymond become the one that you move, I just don't know what Wiseman's value is going to be now. Yeah, but it's real. I stand by that the Warriors wouldn't have invested that top pick in him knowing that he was not an ideal in no way an ideal fit for their system, because when they were making that pick, you know, you're still operating under the assumption that you're going to have the Splash brothers. He's not a great fit for that roster, which means they must have really been blown away by the potential upside and how high his ceiling might rise. So because of that, like I don't know, then use him incorrectly for the first, you know, sixty percent of the season, right, Yeah, I mean it might be a case of the front office and the coaching staff not being totally like minded here, But I just I can't shake the idea that their investment in him was because of how much confidence they had in that upside, even if it wasn't going to be immediately realized. And therefore I think it might be more likely that they're willing to alter the scheme to build around like a core with him and Steph more than maintaining that relationship with Draymond that I think. I do think this injury could potentially make that more likely. Maybe even just the mere presence of James Wiseman made that more likely. The other quick current news item we want to get to before we dive into these who he gots that were fuel to buy mailbag questions from listeners the Timberwolves they will be sold to Mark Lore's and Alex rodrig Is. I don't know if anyone's heard of the ladder. He seems like a pretty well known guy. Glenn Taylor is selling them. I think the reported price from the Athletic was one point five billion, and they're gonna remain under his Those two, you know a, Rod and Mark are going to remain under his tutelage for the next two point five years. And right now it's not official. They're in the exclusive window. Everyone I'm sure has already heard this. I'm just curious this as to your thoughts on this. My immediate reaction was, you know, I don't know how I feel that like it. Here's the one that's funny is them sort of working with Glenn Taylor for the next two point five years. I respect that he wants to keep the team in Minnesota, but he has not necessarily been the billboard for good team governorship over the past, you know, a couple of decades. The other thing is I saw people making jokes about the Timberwolves being moved out of Minnesota. There are two. There's there's one thing I think works in their favor, and it's not this agreement that that a Rod and his partner are going to keep the team in Minnesota. That was I think Chris Hine wrote about it, is that that's basically a good faith agreement if they make it. What I think is more likely is that because there's this two point five year window, the NBA, to me, is going to be more interested in expansion than moving a team. And so if you want to move the Timberwolves to Las Vegas or Seattle, there's just going to be a chance that there might be franchises lined up there anyway. And I think that's great because Timberwolves fans are fantastic. I don't want to see any really, I don't ever want to see a market lose their team. But I hate that the gut reaction is too oh, they're They're definitely gone. And whether or not this new group wants to keep them in Minnesota, I think the setup that Glenn Taylor has made, and more so than the agreement, just the sort of length of time that they have to work in tandem with him, kind of ensures that they're not going to be moved from Minnesota. I'm curious as to your thoughts on that, I agree with you, and ultimately that's all I ever want from these kinds of sales, Like I don't know that Alex Rodriguez has any ties to like the Tri Cities area or anything, but as long as that team is going to be kept there, because yeah, the NBA is looking more at expansion than relocation right now, to the best of our knowledge, Like that's that's the important part. You just don't want this to devolve into a situation like, you know, Clay Bennett buying the Den Seattle SuperSonics and moving them under the shroud of night to Oklahoma City like that that's the worst case scenario. But it does seem because of the prolonged nature of the transaction that that's not going to happen. I have no idea like what to expect from an Alex Rodriguez led ownership group in terms of how involved they'll be with the day to day operations of the club or anything like that. You hope that you know they he won't try to be too involved because he's not a basketball mind. But that's that's always to be determined. But I know that that one of our listeners, right now Logan has uh some Timberwolves fandom and wants to to say something. So Logan, I'm inviting you to speak now and just sent that that invite your way. Oh guys, we have you here now, Yes, sir, are you going today? I can perfect. I'm doing pretty well. How are you? I'm doing well? Thanks good. So, yeah, that's it. Honestly came out of nowhere. I believe the reporting was that like they met last week and just kind of hit it off from there, and like Taylor had been trying to sell the team for over a year now, I believe, which is it's not longer it seems. Yeah, I know he tried to sell it again or tried to sell it like a few years back, nothing really came out of it, and then he kind of just let it go and then try to restart some discussions over a year ago or so. But yeah, with everything coming up so like fast and everything, it always sounded like Taylor wouldn't sell it to anybody that was planning on taking it out of the market. So like with him or with every thing kind of coming up so fast, it almost sounds like he knows that a Rod and them while keeping in the market. I think that was his biggest like snake on all of the negotiations. Yeah, I think I think that's my impression as well, And you know it is. It is one of those situations where ultimately, like that isn't really going to be part of any contractual agreements. As Dan hinted at, like it is a good faith agreement when it comes to like city location and whatnot. So we just kind of have to hope now he doesn't It doesn't it seem know that he was so selective though, that it would almost mean that he really does have real faith they want to keep them there. I'll preface this with I still don't think it matters just because of the two point five year window that they're going to be working with him. I think that the NBA is going to be when you look at the expansion fees and just the ingrained interest in Las Vegas and Seattle and there are other markets that could come into play, obviously, I think that expansion is going to end up being I think it's more like the NBA gets two new teams before the Timberwolves are moved to another market. Is basically my stance on this. I also wonder if, like what's happening in the NHL might have any impact here, Like with the with the introduction of the Seattle Crack into the NHL market and the expansion draft they're coming up this season, Like that's been a non existent team that's already generating a ton of buzz, Like their merchandise is selling off the shelves and out of the online markets, and any piece of content about the Seattle Crack in tends to do very well in terms of readership metrics and whatnot. So I wonder if the NBA is also looking at that and just realizing, like how much of an infusion of popularity you can get from having an expansion team? Are you ready to get to these questions? Slash? Who you Got? I'm so intrigued by You're you just don't want to talk about hockey? Do? What is hockey? Is? Wayne Gretzky did it? Was? He? He was good? Right, he was pretty decent. So we have a bunch of questions. But if anyone wants to ask live, we will ask them live. We have a ton teed up for our mail bag, and that's what inspired these who you Got? Noah otage he Owes his own podcast, Stick two Sports. Excuse me, It's very good. He The impetus for this is how good? He asked, he has three questions, but this first one was how good is RJ. Barrett's his recently just a fluke or is there a true improvement there? And this was sort of an extension. The Knicks beat the Grizzlies the other night, and there was this talk afterwards where everyone assumed that the Knicks were in this position where they ended up with RJ at three in the twenty nineteen draft, and they fell one short again. But now the impetus among Knicks fans is, or the belief, excuse me and I'm on Knicks fans, is that gap between Jah and RJ. Barrett has shrunk. And so I want you to answer Noah's question at him, because you were team RJ. Barrett for most improved Player. But I also want to know what you think about job versus r J and who you would build around long term or who you think is going to be better care I am buying the RJ. Barrett improvement. I think that the numbers we're seeing right now and since the All Star break, he's been averaging twenty points, five point six rebounds, three point one assists, forty seven percent from the field, forty four point one percent on threes, and and he's been getting to the foul line more. And I think that those are indicative of a more controlled and intelligent style of play where he is fitting into the offense better. He's always taken the right kinds of shots this season, but they're starting to fallow more often, which I think is you know, him gaining that consistency, gaining that understanding of his role within the Knicks offensive schemes, and I do think we can reasonably expect him to play at this kind of level moving forward. That still doesn't mean that I'm taking him over John Morant, who even though he's coming off this loss to Barrett and the Knicks, like again, like since the All Star Break, he's averaging seventeen point eight points seven point zero assists. The shots haven't been falling as frequently, but like if you look at the roles, like Barrett is still filling more of a complimentary role where he's relying on set up passes from other players and Julius Randall taking away defensive pressure from him, and John Morant is spearheading everything that Memphis does, and ultimately that role is still going to be more important. We're dealing with a larger sample of unquestionably beneficial play and you still just you watch John Morant play, and what he can do with the basketball and with his body is just it remains astounding. I still think that Barrett has like an All Star kind of ceiling, but John Morant has an All NBA ceiling, right, I actually think that they are. I would probably put RJ. Barrett's healing after watching watching him closer to All MBA, and that's sort of where I think it's close. And I agree with everything you've said. John Morant is just two thirds of John Moran shot attempts are going on assisted, about half of RJ. Barret shot attempts here only undersisted. The roles are just different. John Morant is the primary offensive engine. There's a chance that RJ. Barrett can technically get to that point. He's not a bad passer. When he can really put more pressure on the rim, the defenses are going to collapse, and we've seen him be able to, you know, make the easy reads, but the smart reads that are going to lead to pretty good shots for his teammates. I'm still insure to see what could happen if they surround him with more spacing in New York. I do trust he's shooting more so than I do John Morants at this point. I know RJ's working with a lot of catch and shoot attempts from beyond the arc that those things are going in. I think what the difference is going to be you've you've already pointed out is that John Morant has the primary orchestration role and is he might be And we're not talking about this enough, And I don't know if it's because the Grizzlies forever fly under the radar even though they've been really good this season relative to what they've dealt with with. You know, Job missed time, but Jared Jackson Jr. Has missed a ton of time this year. So I actually do think though, if we get to a point where RJ. Barrett is more of a state pull at the free throw line, where it does seem like certain games early on he's going to make the decision to attack, but it can kind of peter out throughout the course of the action. There's a chance to me, I don't know if I would pay it, maybe, like I'm gonna say a thirty five to forty percent chance that RJ. Barrett ends up being the better player over John Morant at this point. I like his size for what he's gonna be able to do defensively. I think he's gotten a lot better with what he's doing off the ball. Perhaps this is the Knicks fan in me speaking or not giving John Morant enough credit. And he's not dealing with all these shooters around him on the Grizzlies either. He could benefit from the second ball handler that RJ has in Julius Randall. I still think there's more to plumb with RJ. Barrett as a frump scratch score, and I don't know if the Knicks ever get to that point. But that combined with his defensive improvement and then just accuracy on the shots that he is getting from beyond the yard, you can't ask the player to do better on shots that he's just not expected to take. Right now, there's a I think there's a really I wouldn't call it a good chance, there's a semi significant chance that this debate is not as foregone as people build it as Last year, especially just given r J. Barrett's age and the roles that he's filled throughout his career. I mean, lest we forget he turns twenty one on June fourteenth this year, like he is still a twenty year old despite being in his second NBA season and even during his one and only season at Duke. Like under Mike Chaszewski, Duke does not run on NBA style offense. It produces NBA caliber players, but because there's so much one and done talent, you tend to see a lot more isolation, heavy attacks and alternating possessions and the roles that they're asked to fill. We saw this really with Jason Tatum too, where I don't think we truly knew what he was going to be on the offensive end because of what he was asked to do and did at Duke. There there is more to r J. Barrett than we knew. I'm with you, Are you ready for our next? Who you Got? Absolutely this is was inspired by I just don't think this is a question to be on street with you, but we could do a quick who you got on this one? Would you pick Zion over John Morant still in the draft? Yes? Yeah, I didn't think that was a good just looking at what Zion's done off the ball, and that was I'm sorry that came from dope at Beats asked if you had to redraft, would you pick jo or Zion. I think the clear answer is Zion. There what I do think is interesting and this is what let me is. I don't know if you saw, I mean a two K nudged Zion's rating over Kat and Jason Tatum. So I think Tatum and I cat like is in theory just they don't play the same position, but they're like the same there. They're bags essentially. I'm more interested in who do you have long term, Zion or Jason Tatum. I wonder how many players you could put next to Zion and I wouldn't choose Zion at this point. That's kind of my follow up question. And Jason Tatum is not one of them. Like that is not any disrespect to Jason Tatum. It's just a testimony to like what Zion has our he've been doing. I mean, we're talking about the guy who now has the highest scoring average in NBA history for someone who's shooting sixty percent from the field, and he's doing this as a relatively inexperienced second year player who still has so much more room for growth, Like his jumper still isn't coming around. It might down the road. He still isn't, you know, the most effective defensive player, but we're starting to see those flashes of quality of defensive play come out of the wordwork a little bit more often. He is already like a generational offensive talent who there is no answer for right now, Like now that he's initiating offensive possessions in the half court and running the pick and roll rather than relying on setup feeds, and showing off more advanced facilitating skills than we knew he was going to have at this stage, Like what he's doing on offense is just unfathomable right now. And we've seen so often with young players where it's this sequential progression where they take the step forward on offense, but it's it's it happens at the same time assive ineffectiveness, because ultimately they don't have the energy to fill both roles. But as you get more comfortable with that lead offensive role than your defense starts to improve more. And I see no reason to expect him not to go down that similar kind of route. So as much as I think Jayson Tatum is just an incredible two way basketball player who has so much appeal on both ends of the floor, Like there are not many Zions in the NBA, and there have not been many Zions in the history of the NBA, And I'm just I remain so excited to see what the Pelicans are going to craft around him, because it's already just abundantly clear that he is worthy of being a franchise centerpiece. I'm happy we disagree here because I don't know how the answer is not Jason Tatum. I Zion is spectacular. A few things that concern me. He's probably more apt to be the primary playmaker of a team than Jason Tatum is. Even though Tatum, I mean, he threw I think it was against the Knicks this past week. He threw like this just left handed pass across the court to Jalen Brown. It wasn't the most acurate past, but he's making more complicated reads and I know the Celtics have been disappointing, but he's been He's been great this season. Like you mentioned, he is a two way player, and while Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart are gonna get tougher assignments. He I said this, and I might be falling off this take, but he's in the conversation to me as one of the best off ball defenders in the NBA. I called him the best offball defender. I'm ready to walk back that take a little bit after watching the Celtics this season's unfold. Kind of that's huge because Zion isn't there yet and maybe he does get there, but that's still a question. The other thing I think you have to ask is at some point, yes, he's the most he but it's between him and Jannis are the most dominant inside scorers since Shack. Just looking at the volume and efficiency that they have near the basket. Does he have any more elements to his game? Can he score at any of the other two levels? Essentially, and we just don't have the sample he does it? Oh well, that's gonna lead me. My third point is what I know he's twenty what like what point? And there's there. I want to make this clear. There is skill, there is aft, there is IQ to what he's doing right now when he has the ball in his hands. Is his athletic prime going to somehow be shortened because humans are not supposed to be built like him. I don't have a problem. I don't think he's overweight. I'm on a problem with his size. He is so anomalous when you look at the physical tools of an NBA player. So maybe this is just ignorance to not having seen a player like him before. There's a chance to me that his prime window is shorter than it would be for a Jason Tatum, and I'm not That's not what I'm weighing. Mostly, I'm looking at the You know, Jason Tatum has a problem scoring right now at every level because he doesn't get to the rim enough. So I'll make that there. But I think he's the more versatile scorer still, And I don't know that the playmaking gap is just large enough for me to cast aside Jason Tatum when he also does what he does on the defensive end. Yeah, I think all of that is fair. I also have concerns about how long that athletic prime is gonna last for Zion. We just we don't truly know right now. But ultimately, like you can replace Jason Tatum because there are other players like him, and there are going to be other players like him. There are there you've never seen it. No, No, I mean you know you other there are other all star caliber players right now who fill a fairly similar role. There's no one like Zion, and I think that that uniqueness lends itself to a higher ceiling. Ultimately, Like, for me, this question comes down to what exactly you're trying to build, because if you're choosing Jayson Tatum, to me, it's like, yeah, you might win a championship building around him, and you know that you're going to be a consistent playoff team. But with Zion, like there's more risk, but I think there's more reward where like if everything does fully materialize, and like he's is shooting thirty six percent on threes this season, albeit on a very small stamp, we're already seeing strides made out the free throw line, And like, shooting seventy point six percent on eight point seven attempts per game as a sophomore is not something to scoff at. I think there are enough signs that there is shooting ability yet to be fully realized. But like, if you're choosing to build around Zion, sure you might be running the risk of having a shorter window. You might be running the risk of having a more serious injury derail this season, but you're also allowing for the possibility of just forming this dynastic force. There are two questions that no Clement asked that leads us to our next who you got that still includes the Pelicans and I was actually fascinated by this is his first one. I think you can answer quickly because you laid out the case. Is there any reason Zion's usage shouldn't be like we finally saw that the other night versus the Sixers, and the result was thirty seven points an eight assist on fifty three percent shooting against one of the best defenses in the league. Isn't it There is a reason. There is a reason, and it's because he should have a fifty percent usage rate. That's too high. You want to have some very I'm mostly joking, but I don't know that I'm entirely joking. His basic questions, isn't it worth sacrificing a little bit of efficiency for that kind of production? I don't who's going to push back against that? Put the ball more in Zion's hands. I think they're starting to in crunch time just don't get away from it. This is the next two you got though, And it's the question is if it is true that the best way for the Pelicans to win US to increase Zion's usids, could it mean that Ingram is the more expendable piece compared to Lonzo, And so the who you got is if you're the Pelicans brandon Ingram or a Lonzo Ball, it's still I'd still rather have Ingram, you know, I think what Lonzo Ball does for that team is very valuable, and we've talked about it before. How I think we both expect him to return on like eighteen to twenty million per year just because he has proved his value to that team and has shown that he can fit in more seamlessly. And I apologize if I'm putting incorrect words in your mouth, and you should correct me if that's the case. But ingram ceiling is just so much higher and ultimately, like you do need multiple high level score to win a title in today's NBA, Like, even if they're not perfectly seamless fits, Lonzo Ball is not going to do what Brandon Ingram does on the nights that Zion is not totally feeling it and he's not going to be totally feeling it every day. I think that you need that high level sidetury scorer. Yeah, I mean, yeah, there's no need to have a hot take here, Like Brandon Ingram is clearly the better basketball player, and you can have multiple players like that who aren't necessarily totally compatible as long as the rest of the supporting cast around them is cohesive. And the Pelicans I don't think knew that Zion was going to be filling this kind of role, or else we'd have seen it earlier in his career. Like granted, his rookie season was got off to a weird start because of the knee injury and the delayed debut and everything, but even this year, like we didn't see him starting to run pick and rolls until we were over a month into the season. Like, they're still figuring out what they have and because of that, it's been impossible for them to put the exact right pieces around them. Sure, they've made some missteps, like you can argue that the Steven Adams extension, the trade for and subsequent extension of Steven Adams still doesn't make too much sense that they should have prioritized having better shooters around him. But there's still so much time, given the respective ages of Ingram and Zion, to figure that out. And they can figure that out. There's no reason that two players that talented, even if they don't have perfectly meshing skill sets, can't work together. I'm with you, and it would be different if you know, if one of them was if Lonzo Ball was more of a pure floor general where yes and transition fine, if you want to keep the ball moving fine. Defenses just aren't afraid of him, Like if he's going to be the one running pick and roll, they're gonna respect brandon Ingram there more, he hasn't shown that he can score at all those levels. Even when he does get into the paint. There just seems to be a reluctance to shoot. What is interesting is I don't think and I was a lot higher on brand Ingram is just a disruptive defender, and I think a lot of Lakers fans were at the time of the trade. It turns out Lakers fans were right. I just haven't seen it. This is the Pelicans defense in a nutshell, but I just haven't seen it. And maybe maybe if you're the Pelicans because of Lonzo's sort of like team defense. I don't know if you want him going up against you know, the best guards individually, or even the biggest guards I'll say, or some wings. Maybe there's an impetus to want to keep him because he'll probably be cheaper and is the seems like the better defender right now, You're still I think brand Ingram is just and off the dribble score is just going to be harder to find. He gives you more positional options on defense right now than Lonzo Ball is going to If Ball was hitting more of his pull up three pointers, there's a chance I would feel differently. They both have been fined off the catch. I mean, Lonzo Ball street forty one point five percent on off the catch threes, and look even Brandon Ingram is shooting forty two percent on those looks. So he's improved as a shooter, and I think he's more likely to turn into He's taken more off the dribble threes this year, which is arguably one of the two most important shots in basketball right now, if not the most important shot, and willingness I think helps long term. So I would still pick Brandon Ingram, I get those specifically within New Orleans why it could technically become a debate given the way that Zion is playing right now. But can we also just note that Brandon Ingram has been better this year than he was last year when he made the All Star team, and it just hasn't been getting any attention because everything that any discussion about the Pelicans has either revolved around Zion Lonzo ball or whether they're going to sell off pieces or trade four pieces at the trade deadline. And because of that, it feels like breand Ingram has flown well below the radar because ultimately, like he sacrificed a tiny bit of scoring but has been just as efficient as a scorer while also being more involved as a playmaker, Like he's averaging point five more assists per game while averaging point seven fewer turnovers per game, which is an impressive stride for him to make at this stage of his career, especially without seeing any scoring dip. Like he hasn't been as effective on defense this year, I don't think, but that's least in part because of the pieces around them. It just it feels like he has not been getting the credit that you would expect for a guy who doesn't even turn twenty four until September to be getting from making these continuing growth pieces of growth. The yeah, and the thing that does worry me is that his efficiency has been fine this year, like you mentioned, so it's not, but he's traded in looks at the rim for just mid range jumpers and long twos. He's shooting a career high seventy one point nine percent inside three feet, and so I would just can he get to the rim more? I think that's been sort of a push and pull, and I think we'll see that more because he was more at the beginning of the season, but as Zion started running more pick and roll like, he's had to settle for a few different kinds of looks. I think ultimately like they'll settle back into a more efficient shot profile. The this one's this week you got is still gonna include Zion, And it leads us into two questions that we have. No, is it Zion or alka long term Oh? Definitely, Luca, So it's definitely that. Is that even a bait to you? No, I don't think. So we haven't seen We haven't seen Zion elevated team like we've seen Luca elevated team. It's as simple as that for me. Like Luca is also this generational, unique force, but we've seen it translate directly into wins and a Western Conference playoff appearance and a competitive first round playoff series against a stacked Los Angeles Clippers team. We haven't seen that from Zion yet. We could, we probably will, but Luca is incredible. So there, it's more likely that r. J. Barrett ends up being better than John Morant than Zion Williamson ends up being better or more valuable than we could che Wow, how's that for a who you got? That's a four four fascinating question that I was in no way prepared for. Io. Yeah, I think it's more likely that r. J. Barrett is better than John Morrett. I probably. That's a tough one. I think it's I feel like that's one of the best questions that has been asked on any episode of this podcast, and it doesn't wow way to brochet in our listeners because that was my question. But we do have two maverish questions that I think pertaining to Luca that makes sense to tackle right here. So blurry face asked what does the MAVs, what do the Mas need to challenge for a ring? And then Fern asked who's the ideal sidekick for Luca don Chich? And I think those are one and the same questions, and they also sort of hint at the fact that, oh, hey, the answer is not Christoph Splorzingis. Can you ask that one more time, because I was just distracted by the user name, which I assume is a reference to twenty one pilots that's now like six years old, and I'm just impressed that that's still a Twitter handle. So these questions come blurry. Face asked what do the MAVs need to challenge for a title? And then Fern asked, who's the ideal sidekick for Luca don Chich? Isn't the ideal sidekick for Luca don Jag Kris Stops porzingis if he's healthy. No, it's not. You don't think so like just the rim protecting three point shooting big. No, you need someone who could do create his own offense, and that's just not going to be Chris Stops on a consistent basis, because that's and it leads into my answer to the other question. Which is you need another another guy who you can consistently rely on to create offense. You know, we've seen it be Jalen Brunson in spurts off the bench, but that's not the highest ceiling guy that we're talking about here. But I think the answer Jalen Brunson's the only other MAVs rotation player who has an effective field goal percentage better than fifty on pull up jumpers. Just like a hinte of just the lack of self creation there, he can't be your second most valuable score in that way. To me, I don't think even Tim Hardaway Junior, who's turned into a great sniper, just a really valuable shooter, it's not him. I think you need someone. I've seen this on Twitter, is that they think with a lack of star power when you're looking at this free agency is if Will Barton declined his player option, Luca is so good that having that level of a guy who can create means it means a ton to what they'd be able to do, because you might be then be able to keep Josh Richardson and him Hardaway Junior around, and there's just a lot of different lineup combinations that you could run if you had to single out a player, and let's say a non star, because the ideal compliment to Luca Nach is probably like Janis or Stephen Perry or somebody. Where how are we delineating here? Like where is the star cutoff? For You's my initial My initial answer is like c J. McCollum would be an awesome fit there. I think that's he would be. I'm trying to think of, like, let's go non all star caliber. I don't when c J. MCom has never made althor name, but he might have had he never gotten injured this year, right, I think that's like that's a really good answer. Though, that's like, that's a super good answer. I appreciate that. Every once in a while I'm like, yeah, that's a tough question. So like, no, you know what I would say is I think that has to be allowed. So Jim mcolms that he's not a Fred van Vleet like kind of thing, like is that a valid answer? You took my answer? So that's really upsetting. I think that's the Fred van Fleet might be better because he's gonna give you more on defense than McCollum, and he's bigger. I mean he's smaller, but he can just defend more positions. If you were I mean, even Kyle Lowry, I guess we're in the star category there. He will be a free agent. I'm just trying to think of, like like if we were to go like deeper cut than that, But it is that Grant thriller maybe, well, speaking of a Hornet's Terry Rozier would probably be really good for this team like that, that type of player who could situate situationally get his own shot more like Zach Lavine is another name that came to mind, but definitely qualifies as a star now like any any of those efficient scoring guards who likes to operate off the balance. I think is going to be a good answer here. So this next two you got actually is inspired by well, all right, it's not. It'smired by you, but it's we just watched the Jazz and Suns game this past week, and i'd be curious as to who you have long term between Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker. I think I think I would go with Donovan Mitchell just because yeah, I'm sorry, my voice squeaked. I'm very I'm very hesitant. About that answer, But I think that there's more two way juice to squeeze out of Donovan Mitchell. Like Booker is the better scorer, he's the better facilitator. But I don't know that we're ever going to see that defensive growth to the point that you trust him against the point of attack guard on the other team. And we've already seen the Jazz put that kind of faith in him in a playoff series, albeit with Rudio Gobert protecting behind him. So who knows, Maybe Devin Booker could fill a similar role if Gobert was protecting the rim behind him. But I think that I think that Mitchell's defense gives him a very slight edge here for me, Yeah, I think that's that's one of your worst answers of all time. I'm just gonna I said that about my RJ. Barrett answer too, So I'll take it that's I apologize to Devin Booker in advance a harbinger of doom for his career. So I actually it's I think it's an actual debate, which is why I asked the question because of like the Twitter discourse during that game and just watching those two The thing for me is that you kind of tiptode by it were you actually came right out and said it that he has Rudy Gobert behind him, And I'm just not ready to evaluate Dono Mitchell's defense, and also, you know his you're just gonna have if you want to hide him or put him on different players, you're more limited there. And a lot of the heavy lifting has been done this season defensively from Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. And I don't think Donovan Mitchell is just a terrible defender. I just don't know that he's good enough for that to be the difference. Devin Booker, I think, has been more engaged in one on one situations by the way this season, which could be just a function of having Chris Paul beside him. You laid out my case for me is that he is the better offensive player right now, without question. And I look, I will say this, though Donovan Mitchell has been he's hitting over thirty seven percent of his pull up threes. The shot selection still sort of gets to you. But like if you have a problem within between jumpers, you're not going to cape for Devin Booker either. So like that's a. I think they're also only fifty days apart in age, so like we can't turn there for any answers either. I'm actually shocked given that Devin Booker's breadth of NBA experience right now and how young he still is. I know that there's still the same age. Bookers had a rough go in crunch time this year. I think defenses are just more inclined to key in on him. Maybe I'm gonna like his his size. I think that helps him a ton there too. I also think, and we're not seeing it in full effect this season, or he's at least not being credited with it. He is. He's the better passer by a mile for me, and his playmaking has been underrated for years, and I think now being at least a couple now playing beside Chris Paul, you've seen the assistants dip a bit, it's not a ton, and he throws these passes he's passing. There are shots that exist for his teammates because he exists. They wouldn't exist otherwise. And he gives you I think he gives you more gears than Chris Paul when you're gonna go through the half court, even though they both are kind of these play at your own pace players. I think the answer is Devin Booker by a considerable margin. And I don't you know, Donovan Mitchell has had an opportunity to do things in the playoffs that Booker has not, which I think has more to do with the Sons than it does with Booker. And now people, this is sort of the other who you got. I saw you mentioned that Chris Paul should be mentioned on the periphery of the MVP discussion. I strongly disagree if you're going to put him there over a Devin Booker, and I'm talking, you know, seventh, eighth, ninth place on the ballot, So we're not getting into the room. And and I'm not critic I think a lot of people share your take because the Sons were so bad. This is a different Sun's team, even if you pull Chris Paul off of it. I don't know where the Sun I'm not saying they're a contender. They're better, they have Jay Crowder Dario Shars was not playing like better, but like he's still take a substantial step back. They do. But the minutes that Devin Booker has played without Chris Paul. The Sons are double digits in net rating per one hundred possessions. That was a terrible way of phrasing that they're plus ten point four boots for an hundred pssessions. One Booker plays without Paul, that is, with a with an offense that has a offensive rating of nearly one hundred and twenty two, and they're just as good when Chris Paul plays alone. I want to make that clear, But there's better personnel around Booker this season than he's ever Bridges is just better. I know he had a bad National TV Game of this past week, but he I think so much of that is credited to Paul too, where we've consistently seen him come into new organizations and everyone elevates their level of performance, not just because of what he's doing on the corp, because of what he's doing off the court. Like that's that's part of the argument here, is it? Like his presence in the locker room and his leadership ability and his ability to take so much responsibility on and sacrifice his own numbers for the betterment of the team, Like all of that lends itself to his MVP candidacy. Yeah, he doesn't have a case like that. For me, I just I failed. If he's not the best player on his team, it's tough for me to and I guess you can make some people make the case that he is better. I think Booker's just he's going to give you more of like when you're looking at getting to the basket as well, which Chris Paul just doesn't have and that was never a huge part of his game. And I think it probably feels like I'm just crediting Chris Paul. This one two partnership is probably like one of the more equitable ones when you're looking at the most dynamic one two's in the NBA, where yeah, Lebron and a D are great. Lebron is clearly just a dimension above Anthony Davis. I think with Kauai and PG it's the same thing. Maybe James Harden Kevin Durant is like similar, not again in scale, but just looking at James Harden Kim Durrant are so close. I think James Harden's clearly better. This one feels like it's more of a debate, and among the star partnerships they're probably their value is so equal, just relative to what we're used to with star partnerships, where it was like there, I do want to circle back to Mitchell though, Like I guess my follow up question here is, given what he's doing in this egalitarian Utah Jazz offense, if you switch places between him and Booker, what would happen like just a lot better, you think, So, Like, I just wonder that, like Mitchell is putting up his numbers in a system that is designed to share touches, he does it without ever making negative plays, and like, to me, like that might help explain why my answer is what it is, because in general, like I'm I'm going to defer to those those guards who are in no way turnover prone, and that is still a bugaboo for for Booker some nights, and it's just not for Mitchell. So to me, that lends itself to a higher offensive ceiling because you're not making negative plays that turn into easy run out points for the other team. And I just I wonder if you hoot, like I think that the Jazz would still be as good and might even get better with Booker on that team because they have more of that go to offensive force. But I wonder if Mitchell was free to operate in the Phoenix system like Booker can. Now if we would see an even larger jump, I don't know that we would because Booker his baskets, the percentage of his baskets that are coming off asists, are actually larger than it is for Donovan Mitchell right now because he is there. Only even when you're looking at a boy on Maydanovitch, they're all the secondary guys. Mike Conley, although he's not necessarily a guy that's going to look to score. They don't have the other He probably has more freedom than Devin Booker would be. My point is because you have Chris Paul, who's just one of the best creators of all time, and so I think that's and you know, the differentiation in their roles. I think it's would be fair to more. You look at Mitchell's defense, I think he's he's just he might be more integral to the Jazz offense right now than Booker is to the Suns because they have Chris Paul. But that doesn't that's not a reflection to me of Booker's values, just because Paul exists, whereas Mitchell hat like he he is. There is no other guy in Utah for that, and I think that's why I'm not concerned about the Jazz offense, because you already mentioned their system, and I just trust what Quinn Sneyder's going to run in the screen assists, you know, I mean, yeah, we actually have Rudy Gobert's gravity is at least you know that we don't have to troll that. But having like going on Bydonovitch Conley, I'm not worried about it. But the type of second optional or alternative go to option, it's just so different in Utah as it is in Phoenix right now. I'm just I'm still shocked that you have such a definitive answer to this question, because to me, it very much feels like an even one where it could easily go either way. Maybe I'm over compensating for how I think Devin Booker has just been undersold because of how Sons, the bad, how bad the Sons have been in the past, and so perhaps that's skewing my bias here, but I look at him and it's not just a fit, Like there's the size and stuff. I trust him to run an offense more than I trust Donovan Mitchell, and I think that is that's just the main line of demarcation for me is I think I think I do as well, but I just I think the defensive difference is significant enough and it might be just tough for me to gauge that because I'm looking at what the Jazz do with Rudygobert in the middle. Which is fair? Which is fair? Let's get to another question, this one, I think we have a bunch about the Nuggets. Noah odage As are the Nuggets title favorites? Now? Can they win a seven game series against the Lakers and Nets. I want to parlay this with another question that we have from Meyer roth Bomb, who has between the Nuggets, Sons and Jazz. So look at that, like how good of a segue. We'll talk about the Sons and Jazz. What team has the best chance to win the West? Between the Nuggets, Sons and Jazz. I'm gonna go with the Nuggets, like they have the best player of the bunch and Nicolai Yogics, who I still think should be the runaway MVP favorite at this point. And the addition of Aaron Gordon has been huge, Like just what a perfect fit that has been in as this guy who's capable of spotting up who already shows this cutting chemistry with Yokichen, not that anyone should struggle with that given yo just passing skill like this is it's a really good team that has advanced deep into the playoffs already, which we've seen. It does make a difference, like having that postseason experience matters. That's in no way meant to discredit how good the Jazz and the Suns are because we've we've been waffling between these teams all season. But I just think, based on what I've seen since the trade deadline, Gordon has already had a bigger impact on that offense than I expected, and if it is truly as seamless a fit as it has seemed thus far, they have to be the answer. Right. Maybe I'm asking the wrong person because I know, like how firmly you've been on the Sun's bandwagon since even before the season started. I will say it plays the Jazz in this discussion, and I feel bad doing it because of how good they've been this year. It's just the absence of having that go to wing defender where Royce O'Neil is good, but he's just undersized for that type of a role. Between the Suns and the Nuggets is tough. The Nuggets are pushing the boundaries of my belief in the Suns when I do come back to with Denver, and it just might not matter because of how good their offense is. I like the different ways that Phoenix can work defensively where they have Chris Paul to go after smaller guards. That's an element you lost with Gary Harris. Now whose responsibility does that fall too. You've got a more important player I want to make that clear in Aaron Gordon, but you also have Michael Bridges and Jay Crowder in Phoenix. When you look at some of the top teams, I still might like or I do still like Phoenix to defend the Lakers or the Clippers better than I would the Nuggets. And I think that's a huge difference. I lean the Suns by a very thin margin right now, and the Nuggets team with Aaron Gordon just makes so much sense. They You know, to go back to Noah's question, if you were to say that you want to pick them to come out of the West, I'm not ready to do that for them or Phoenix. I need to see what the Lakers look like healthy, But the Nuggets feel like they might have that more that immediate higher ceiling of if you want to pick a team that's not the non healthy Lakers to come out of the West, you might as well just pick the Nuggets at this point. And so that's I still need the Suns, but I might be overweighting their defensive versatility just might not matter as much because of how well the pieces fit in Denver and how much of a machine they're well oiled machine their offense is right now. So here's my follow up question, and it's just I want to hear how you would rank all five, like if we're throwing the Lakers and Clippers into the equation here, given what we've learned about them, given what we learned about the Clippers in last year's postseason collapse, and the fact that we don't know if Anthony Davis and Lebron James are going to be fully healthy for the playoffs, especially given you the lingering nature of these achilles calf issues that the Davis has been dealing with, and they haven't been the same team without them obviously, So are you willing to put any of the three we've already been talking about above either of the LA teams. Yeah, oh, the Clippers. In the five team conversation, the Clippers are dead last. Yeah, I think so. The Jazz are strong fifth though, Like can you imagine, like it's ridiculous that that's what we think is the fifth best team in terms of coming out of the Western Conference odds. Yeah, there, that's a it's scary. But they're also fifth and the Jazz are fourth. The three team conundrum is this is subject to change. For me, I still have the full strength Lakers at one because of just Lebron and Anthony Davis might be the most talented one two punch in the league, James Harden Kevin Durant, notwithstanding we haven't seen enough of them. But looking at two way, like they're just so balanced. There I have the Sons and then the Nuggets. I feel it might be for me it might be two a to be with the Sons and the Nuggets. There that Aaron Goren acquisition. I don't know. I'm sure this has been a topic, but like, I don't think that people appreciated how much of a difference that was in the moment, or even appreciate. I know there's been a lot of thing I definitely did not, but I still just being understood how big of a difference he makes. But that does mean that you still have the Lakers at number one, the healthy Lakers. And if I look, if you were to tell me, that's not the question. I'm not asking you where the healthy Lakers rank. I'm asking you where the Lakers rank like that that one. Maybe that's semantics, but that matters, Like we don't know that they're going to be the healthy Lakers. Okay, Well, if you tell me unmusch un less than you're telling me that Lebron is out in the postseason, I'm going to pick the Lakers right now. It's subject to change, so I'm not even basing it off of I'm assuming they're healthy unless you're telling me that he and Anthony Davis are physically not on the court. I want to pick them because Davis was not playing his best offensive basketball at the time of his injury, and he was just still a monster on defense for them. So I would still pick the Lakers. That Look, the margin is just so slim, So you just have that much faith in Andrew Drummond. No, I hope that he's not time for them. For what worth I agree with you, like I would have the Lakers number one two regardless of the healthy descriptor, even though you just sort of attacked me. We have a question in the room from Richard Libido. Do you guys think James Ennis has another level to get to? I feel like he has some gritty screen setting potential that hasn't been tapped into. I mean, I think that we're seeing this year that James Ennis has like good high end role player ability, But I don't know that there's another level beyond what he's doing. Where Like, he's been pretty productive this season, I mean, only eight point three points per game, but he's shooting forty three and a half percent from behind the arc, like as you mentioned, he said, setting good screens. He's playing passable defense. But like the guy's almost thirty one, and we just I don't know, like what in his past we would have seen that indicates that there is another level to be reached beyond what he's doing right now. Yeah, I I have not noticed the screening, So kudos to the two of you if you have noticed that shooting forty three point five percent on this Magic team from three, that's absolutely huge, And I think There's a reason they kept him because they will have his early bird rights as bird rights this year. He's very plugging ply on offense when I think helps, and I do think you could get away with him defending more bigger wings or fours than the Magic have him do At the moment, I just don't see the for him to have another level there needs to be on ball value, and I don't know that he has any, to be honest, that would be my reflective answer. No, I mean I'm with you there for sure, And like even if we look at I'm trying to find the percent assisted numbers right now and struggling to find those, but it feels like it's got to be like at least eighty five percent of his three's have come off passes. It might even be higher than that, but so yeah, ye, it is significantly higher than that. It is ninety four point six percent. Yeah see, I mean this question comes from Hayden, who's been the best player since the start of March in the league. I'm assuming not just on a specific team. My default answer like, and you know, I haven't really like looked at just the mark splits for everyone to be to be perfectly clear there, but like it's got to be Yokits right, because he's been the best player all season. Like, it doesn't feel like he's he's fallen off whatsoever since the start of March, if anything, Like he's been even more involved as a passer, like averaging twenty five point seven points, ten point eight rebounds, nine point two assists, slashing fifty eighty five eighty two, like still playing pretty decent defense for a team that just keeps winning games. Maybe there's someone who has just caught fire. But like that that feels like the default answer. I think it's between him, Jannie or Steph. Looking specifically at since March, step has been limited sample, which I think works against him. But well, not even his eleven games thirty one points and slashing basically fifty forty ninety and shooting above forty percent from three on the types of shots that he is taking a golden state and there's you know, I don't know how to value this in the MVP discussion. Is the fact that he uplifts the Warriors to the level of an actual playoff team when he's on the court might be the greatest feed of his career so far. We're talking about three time champion, unanimous MVP winner because the Warriors are so bad without him. I don't know how to reward that in the MVP debate, just because I wasn't a big fan of people saying, well, look at how good the Bucks are without Jannis last season on the court, and do we reward Steff because the Warriors, you know, yes, they lost Clay beyond their control, but they built just a roster that didn't make a ton of sense to at bare minimum navigate non Steff minutes, let alone just looking at the talent around him. Yeah, it's always a tricky one just because there's no like distinct, one hundred percent ironclad, bulletproof definition of MVP, because if it truly meant what it literally stands for, a most Valuable player like lub On would have ten trophies on his mantle, because we've seen time and again that without him, like especially all the Cleveland Cavaliers teams just absolutely fell apart. Like that's clearly what it doesn't mean, and maybe it should. But if we're talking about like what tends to be rewarded with the actual Maurice Poddleoff Trophy, that's not how it works like there is there is a threshold for like team quality, which I think is stupid, Like, I don't think I don't think it makes sense that to be an MVP you have to have good enough teammates to be on a competitive team. Like that means that the counter side of that argument is like, if we took away Chris Middleton from Jannis these last two seasons and the Bucks weren't the number one seed in the East, and we changed nothing about how Yannis played, that he wouldn't be the MVP. Like that argument has never really worked for me. So I personally think that, like, yeah, Steph should be in the discussion because of the way that he's elevated this team. It's just it doesn't work that way. I do think he's in the discussion for the best player since March though, for sure. Yeah, I agree with you. Let's get the two final questions here, and this one is I think right up your alley. Ice Tray asked, what do you think is the best scoring setup for head to head fantasy basketball geeks? Mhmm, you would think it would be right up my alley, but it's actually not just because I've I've tended to stay away from fantasy basketball because it isn't really representative of like players true value, because there isn't a way to like truly measure defense in a way that's going to correspond to fantasy. So, like, the most fun I've had is is like a points based system. So like the league that I do play in, which is part of the multi sport fantasy league that I've talked to you about, we base the scoring on game score, so just the stay entered game score calculation where you get credit for the box score contributions that you make, you lose points for turnovers, for fouls, for misshots, for whatever the case may be, and then just add them up for the week. I think that that promotes the most engagement and competitiveness just because it's an easy scoring system to understand. That makes it easy to trash talk and feel that competitive fire against an opponent because you know what you need to do and it's not like you're trying to calculate how many threes you need to take and make to flip a category and a category based head to head structure by the end of the week. Like basketball, fantasy basketball in particular, just it doesn't lend itself well to like Rotissory or those more category based scoring systems. In my opinion, and I'm sure other people feel strongly in the other direction, that that's been my experience. Final question is a two parter because it's the last who you got I have written down. Noah's final question was what team is zach Lavina twenty twenty three and why won't it be the Bulls? I mean, my answer would have been the Bulls, So I'll throw it to you. If you have something different, it'll be the Knicks. If it's not the Bulls, I don't they're they're the guy that he'll pay because I think they've circled twenty twenty two free agency. Is that when they're going to make v move or maybe he'll want to be traded from Chicago. I actually think it'll be the Bulls. I don't think this is just not Spici. I don't think you do what they did with Vujovich give up those two first round picks. If zach Lavine hasn't told you he'll come back, and maybe there's the agreement that hey, they're going to create cap space now to renegotiate and extend him, which different from a regular extension or signing him free agency. It will his immediate salary for next season will be increased. But whether I don't think they make that move without knowing that zach Lavine is going to be v guy, then so I'll be that's my argument as well. Yeah, I'd be sort of surprising he's not. Here's an interesting question, though, who you got, Zach Lavine or Jamal Murray. I think I think I have Lavigne. I think I'm there with you if you were to if it's in a vacuum. But I think for the Nuggets, like the Jamal Murray Nicole Yokich connection is Yeah, so there's a difference there. But if you But at the same time, like what if you again, like it's the switching team's argument, like what if Lavine were able to play in that kind of offensive system where he wasn't the sole focus of defensive attention, Like the guy is putting up like absolute, flat out superstar caliber numbers. The blend of scoring volume and efficiency that he's submitting on a team that has no offensive protection for him for the most part, Like what he's done these last few years is just astounding. He's shooting thirty nine point one percent on pull up three and he's shooting more than five of them per game. That's just a level of difficulty is ingrained into his role. Even with Vouch there, it's you know, I don't think he's the guy to be in that role and then elevate the team. But if you need someone to prop up an entire offense, I don't know that Jamal Murray's as a successful in that situation. If vice versa. I don't know if Lavine is as successful in Denver. But you made the great point of Lavine has never been allowed to be he was. It felt like he was miscast in Minnesota and then in Chicago we just never had enough help around him. And so I am interested to see just the long term fit between stuff's been stopped, like touching go in Chicago because there's no one's practicing really and it's still so soon. But there I do think there's now that he has someone like Guch who can set up the offense from the you know, the block that you'll Wendell Carter Junior never turned into that guy. And if you get maybe a bump from Kody Kobe White, or if you're draft you know, if you keep your own pick for some reason this year. But they're obviously hoping that they don't, so they still feel at least one player away. But zach Lavine has now been I've never been the biggest Zach Lavine advocate, but he's His scoring is just in this playmaking has improved. He's still not. I might maybe you defer to Jamal Murray there. It's probably pretty close. Jamal Murray's life has made easier on that end too, because he's not the primary. I think it's actually a very close conversation in the vacuum. I would lean Lavigne though, just looking at his shop making see this is it's a funky one for me because these are two players who I've been in their camp from day one? Did you mute yourself? I don't think so. Can you hear me? Now you've left us? I don't know why you're so angry. I'm just gonna assume that you agree with literally everything that I've said right now with you, you can't hear me. I still can't hear you. Or this is a great way wait, wait, great way to close out the pot unless you have anything damning that you want to say. I mean, I would love to say, but like you can't hear what you're speaking, I just don't. I don't hear him. He's giving me the thumbs down. I think it's time to wrap it up. Thank you all for joining us in the room this time. This was great. We will be here as of now every Sunday at four pm Eastern time. If you want to throw more who you got at us, you can do that on Twitter at Frommel zero nine F R O M A L zero nine. I'm Dan for Valley FA v Ali. Follow the show at Hardwood Knox. That's at Hardwood Knox. Please rate, review, and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Download every episode as well. Those are all the best ways to help out the pod. We hope to see you guys next time. Until that time, though, I leave you out with the shout out. Since Adam can't say anything, I need to go nuclear here, I leave you with the shout out to RJ. Barrett, who I, unlike Adam, had complete an utter faith in leading into this season. I thought he was going to be in the most improved player. In discussion, Adam kept saying he wasn't going to be good enough the Knicks. You know, they missed out on John morand they were one player short. So I don't really like victory laps, but I was just so right on r J. Barrett compared to Adam, who, if he disagreed right now, would say something obviously, which he's not. Shout out to RJ. Barrett