WEBVTT

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This is the baseline, discussing the
hot button topics of the nb A.

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Welcome everybody, your tune to the
baseline. Cali Warrenshaw discussing the hot button

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topics of the NBA back and add
it again doing our coveted autopsy reports.

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The boy Cali aka doctor kill Patients, and my man, uh the most

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knowledgeable one, the doctor Shivago of
basketball a man Christin Warrenshaw rapping out of

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida, joining me
as always, brother, what is good?

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What's happening? We are now fully
embedded in spring, so it's time

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for us to spring into action as
we continue to body up some of these

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teams and are coveted at autopsy reports, zip them all the way up here,

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and just doing a little spring cleaning, you know, on our end,

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getting these bodies up out of here
and getting out of here pretty early

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for us. I'm excited to talk
about these two teams because they have some

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they have some they have something that
they should be excited about it in terms

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of like future stars or potential stars
already in the making, if you will,

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And I'm interested to see what fans
and listeners have to say about that.

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But they did not have good seasons
this year, so here they are

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on the slab, ready to take
a list. Your level of optimism is

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quite refreshing. At least I can
say that for one team, because what

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did our guy Tyler? He called
me benevolent the other day and I was

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like, wow, look at you
know the F cat word there. But

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uh, you know, I'm trying
to trying to be optimistic. I was

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a little I was a little bit
of a downer last week, so,

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you know, trying to bring it
out business. I can definitely hear it

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in your voice. It seems like
now that you're around the dead a little

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bit more, you seem to be
a little bit more lively. Oh,

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by the way, are you excited
for Beetle Juice twenty twenty four? A

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d Yeah. They could have just
kept that in their back pocket, but

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uh, you know whatever, And
like I said, maybe we could lose.

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Wasn't a beetlejuice guy to begin with. So that's why I'm not excited

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to see I say our podcast name
three times man who knows what you know?

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Who knows? Isn't that how it
always starts? Though it's always it

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always winds up being you got to
say something like three times for it for

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you to start raising holy Hell.
So that's what it basically takes for us

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to raise Holy Hell in the podcast
game. Anyway, we appreciate you and

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yours for hopping on board with us
this week. Be sure to get up

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my man at Shaw Sports NBA or
get at me a game face Leader Shows

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twinnan NBA basedline available on all the
major platforms. You know where to find

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is go to www dot the Baseline
NBA dot com to check out this episode

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and all of our previous episodes.
And if you see us on the YouTube

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channel, definitely hit us up give
us a subscribe. Hopefully you'll like what

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we're giving you. And if you
see the blue and white logo, that

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means we rock with the nineteen Media
Group family. Nineteen Media Group you running

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these content streets, so be sure
to go to www dot Nineteenmediagroup dot com

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to check out not only our show, but also the family of great show

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and content creators that are a part
of the nineteen Media Group family. So

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let's get right into it, Shaw
our coveted autopsy reports. We're gonna be

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talking about two teams in this week's
show, and the first team that we're

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gonna put up on the slab is
gonna be these Charlotte Hornets. Listen,

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there's no surprise with this. This
team definitely struggle out the gate. And

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it's it's hard to say that the
team you can assess properly when their star

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player is virtually on the slabs on
let's say, on the men. You

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know, the team is on the
slab, but he is on the men.

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But I think the first thing that
we have to really address, right,

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like the thing that we have to
call out the elephant in the room

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about this shaw is this is again
another year in which they do not have

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their star fully healthy through the stretch
of a regular season. And while all

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eyes are on the talent of LaMelo
Ball and what his potential could be and

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what everyone has been hoping for,
let's not act like this is something that

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has to be taken into consideration.
If you're Mitch cup Check, if you're

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Steve Clifford, you know they choose
to keep him around. Like, what

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are we speaking of now when we
say the future of the Charlotte Hornets,

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when we say has to rest upon
the health of LaMelo Ball, I mean

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it absolutely does. I think that
you can't talk about this Hornet's team without

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talking about LaMelo and the fact that
he's only played fifty eight games in the

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last two years. They, for
whatever reason not that I saw, have

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not officially ruled him out for the
rest of this season, whatever fourteen games

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left or whatever it is. But
he hasn't played since January or whatever it

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is. He's done. He's not
coming back, and there's no reason for

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that to happen. And I think
now you have to really think about what

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is the evaluation of their medical staff
and his body, what's what continues to

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happen. He doesn't want to be
heard, he's not trying to be heard.

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But that's the reality of their situation
now. To me, as optimistic

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as I was saying coming into the
outset, if he's not around, then

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there's not a whole lot here unfortunately, Like that's just the reality of this

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here too. While good player,
bad human, you know, in terms

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of Miles Bridges, sure can he
score? Can he rebound a little bit

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and do some things for you?
Absolutely? And if that's who they're hitching

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their wagon to, then that then
that's their business. So from a talent

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standpoint, he gives them a little
bit of something there, but it doesn't

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it goes nowhere without LaMelo being there, like absolutely nowhere. And this is

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a lot of rebound team. And
while they're taking a couple of swings,

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that's some you know, youthful talent
and Trey Mann and you know Pokasewski from

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from okc Uh. None of these
guys are sloted as like, oh my

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god, I can't wait to have
them in here. And you know they're

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going to elevate this team to being
at least in them playing contention next year.

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So it starts an end with LaMelo
and whatever they decide to do with

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Bridges and the draft picks. Because
of what you just said in regards to

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Miles Bridges. Do you think that
the Charlotte Hornets elected to keep Mile Bridges

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around more because of what they potentially
saw with him and LaMelo Ball, or

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do you think that this is more
about LaMelo Ball's influence about wanting to keep

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Miles Bridges because I find it interesting. Look, you know, I don't

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the fact that he scores a little
almost twenty two points a game is not

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anything to sniff at, but part
of my thought process was is when you

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brought Brandon Miller onto this team.
This essentially was you hitting the reset button

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and the potential about what this could
look like if you had a combination of

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LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Now, granted, Brandon Miller's had his struggles,

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He's had his ups and down so
far this year, but you can

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clearly tell Look, I don't think
it's a far lead from a guy who's

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almost averaging seventeen points per game to
get you somewhere between twenty one twenty two.

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I think the question is if if
Miles Bridges was that much of a

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problem, so to speak, someone
who's focus seemed clearly more off the court,

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then the focus should be about what
he could give you on the court.

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And it's going to be a while
before we even see that aspect of

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his life or the aspect of his
game, so to speak. Then my

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question is is what's influencing why the
Charlotte Hornet is sitting fully hit the reset

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button when the opportunity presented itself with
Moles Bridges. Yeah, I mean,

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I think it's a great question in
terms of they didn't know going into this

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year exactly what Brandon Miller was going
to be, and maybe they had some

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conversations with mister Bridges as well too
to kind of like, all right,

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well, because he has what he
has a qualifying offer, right, so

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he doesn't have a new extension,
so he's basically playing this year route to

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say, hey, well let me
show you what I can do and now

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we'll probably get some sort of a
lucrative offer potentially to stay. They could

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have tried to move him at the
deadline, none of that kind of came

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into play. They elected to keep
him for all for the presumable reasons that

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they want him to be here long
term, and LaMelo probably wants him to

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be here there long term. So
you're right. I think, you know,

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Brandon, Miller, LaMelo and Bridges
are an interesting three. Un offensive

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minded, you know Front's three.
It's like it's kind of like when you're

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doing forensics, like, oh,
this is something interesting. You know that

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that I didn't see this bullet hole. I mean there's underneath, there's something

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there, but primarily offensively, and
I think that the respect of that too.

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As you mentioned Clifford before, and
Clifford has not truly been an offensive

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minded coach. So like their skill
sets don't necessarily play to what his coaching

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skill set is, and I think
they're gonna to figure out a way to

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marry that or you know, we
do a lot of teams do get the

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proverbial assistance on the sign lines that
have those specialties and you have, you

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know, an offensive coordinator, defensive
coordinator and that type of stuff as well

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too. So to me, Brandon
Miller, Bridges, and LaMelo are are

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solid. And then whatever I said, whatever they end up doing in the

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draft, everything else on this roster, I think they're more or less taking

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flyers on. You know, got
Grant Williams from Dallas and traded PJ Washington

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where we talked about tree Man and
Pocoteski. Their bigs have not really not

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had the years that they think they
that they wanted to have. And Nick

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Richards and Mark Williams, both of
those guys have battled injuries and been in

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all the line up. I don't
think we've seen Williams since I don't know,

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like maybe November December. I can't
remember if this guy even played this

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year. You know, after coming
off coming on the scene and having a

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pretty good start in the first fifteen
or twenty games, or so. And

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then outside of that, like I
said, it's just tough. You know,

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Davias Berton's you know, non guaranteed, like what are you really going

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to do with that contract long term? So this is a situation where they've

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got to figure out what they want
to be on both sides of the basketball.

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Because even though we've kind of lot
at Clifford's potential defensive chops here,

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that hasn't translated to them being a
good defensive team. And they're not even

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in the top fifteen, if you
will, so just league average in almost

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any significant statistical category. They're in
the bottom half of that and mostly in

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the bottom third of the of the
league in almost anything that that matters when

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it comes to statistics. So a
lot of growth growth here, but it

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starts with the mellow ball being actually
on the list. It's weird because you

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look at this team roster and this
is a relatively young team. Shaw,

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you can make the comparisons that you
know, this team can be what maybe

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top top five, top six as
far as you know, you know,

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the average age of this team being
among one of the younger teams, you

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know, Cody Martin, I think
is like twenty eight on this team,

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you know, or something like that. So this team has a very has

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an extended learning curve. Let's use
that terminology for them, which again then

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brings this question to Steve Clifford to
the forefront. It's still Steve Clifford,

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the right person that you want for
this kind of youthfulness to extract the level

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of talent expectations that I think cup
Check has put together with this roster,

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right, and I understand that like
a lot of this dynamic has been impacted

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since Michael Jordan has exited stage left. But I think now we can finally

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say this is really on cup Check, and this is really on cup Check's

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decision making about what the organization from
top to bottom wants to do in giving

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people the interpretation about what this team
wants to be in the next three to

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five years. And I mean,
these are the core years based on if

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your belief is in LaMelo Ball,
if your belief is in cup Check's ability

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to scout the right talent and put
the pieces together that they can collectively become

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whole, right, you know,
Well, I mean, but the well,

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the other aspect of it too is
that cup Check is also stepping down

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right, so that that announcement came
and it kind of was like almost like

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a news dumps. I feel like
it happened around All Star or shortly thereafter,

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So, you know, he's not
intended to be here. He might

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be taking I think he might be
taking some sort of advisory role, so

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to speak, but he's not looking
to be the general manager. You know

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what that also says to me,
Shaw, That basically says to me that

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if he's taking an advisory role,
his advice is still going to be resonant

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and even whoever else comes on board, right, I'm more curious about whether

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or not there is transparency to the
idea that cup check no longer wants those

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responsibilities. Therefore he's going to put
somebody else that the organization going to put

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somebody else in place. Is that
person going to be independent of and really

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kind of carve out what he believes
should be the real culture of how Charlotte

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Hornett basketball needs to be played or
is he just gonna be another puppet string

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to the idea that cupchick just doesn't
want to deal with the business anymore.

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He doesn't want to get his hands
dirty in this anymore. He doesn't want

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to get thrown the mud, getting
thrown for what he hasn't been able to

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achieve in doing. And I think
that to me is gonna speak loudly when

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we see what takes place in this
offseason, because no matter what you do,

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Shaw, even if you bring somebody
new in to assume the role of

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what cup Check is doing, if
he's gonna have an imprint on this,

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it means he's gonna have to clean
house on the roster that cup Check is

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put together. So we already ready
to give up on that when you've already

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basically given up the house sort of
speak to put yourself in this position to

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get LaMelo Ball, to have gotten
Miles Bridges, to have gotten Brandon Miller,

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and then when the opportunity presents of
you threw money at Graham, you

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threw money at Rose, you threw
money at Hayward, and now you're only

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now starting to clean house. It's
just kind of interesting how these things are

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intersecting with themselves. Well, I
mean, I think you're your point though,

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is will he be there? The
answer to that is no again advisor

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role, And then I think that
does bring up the longer, larger question

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for Clifford as well too, And
I think at this stage this has been,

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you know, a failed return and
failed experiment. And I don't think

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Steve there's a lack of effort in
any capacity on that. But I think

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we both questioned that coming in,
Why this is a guy you fired whatever

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it was two years previous to that, then you bring it back. It

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just it just did. None of
it made sense and it just hasn't worked.

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Yes, the injuries are a huge
part of that, unfortunately, but

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now you've got to turn that proverbial
page and ultimately come with the decision.

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And the one good thing I can
say about this season as well too is

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that, well, in some ways
they've picked a youthful direction in some ways,

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right Bridges, I don't know how
old his Bridges twenty five, twenty

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six, so still within the proverbial
timeline. But if they got off Rogier,

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they got off off of Hayward.
Those are two big deals that didn't

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really make sense for even their timeline
and even their talent level. Now you're

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starting to try to reset and see
what happens, but you're one thousand percent

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correct. The general management and the
coaching position of the Seed is probably going

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to be whatever. Whenever the season
ends, you know that it will be

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like that Black Monday in the NFL. The Clifford will probably be out of

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there, or they'll he'll gracefully resign, you know what I mean. Maybe

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they won't fire us, they ride
them back in the way it is.

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I would like, yeah, like
for him to mutually agree that if the

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direction of this team does not comport
with the way that he wants to coach

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this basketball team, that he should
step aside. And I think this is

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a great opportunity. And I know
we've got a couple other things we want

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to get into with regards to the
Hornets, but I think this is a

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great opportunity to highlight Shaw. We're
starting to see something different now. I

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believe that we're kind of starting to
turn the corner where we're bringing in from

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sure voices who and and and are
extending themselves a little bit more, showing

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a little bit level of patience.
And I think it's starting to bear fruit.

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Right, look at Willie Green,
look at doganaw look at uh uh

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Darko out in Toronto, right,
I feel like a lot of great guys

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and I think especially in this this
this this era right now that we're dealing

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with the offensive movement of basketball,
I think we're seeing that they're starting to

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kind of squeeze a couple of guys
in there that I really think are gonna

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be helpful. Let's keep it,
let's keep it one hundred. While there's

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still conversations about trying to be a
defensive minded type thing. The NBA doesn't

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want to go backwards to a point
where the game becomes so sluggish, So

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I think that there's gonna be something
of a happy medium and balance. What

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I want to see more of is
those guys who are showing their innovativeness,

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their innovation to what you have,
especially if you've got younger players that have

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the capabilities to execute in that kind
of way, and the warrants are in

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a possosition to do that. Now, whether or not they pull the trigger

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on doing it. To your point, show and to what we were saying,

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really comes down to the executive part
of the organization recognizing that they are

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going to have to get younger,
even with the mentality of the culture that

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they're trying to build around for the
Hornets. Yeah, So, I mean,

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we always have to talk about the
finances right, So one hundred and

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sixteen million dollars in committed salary next
year. You know, they have team

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options on guys like Mark Williams,
Trey Mann, you know, Evin jt

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Thor shown some things as well.
Probably pick those things up and you know,

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carry the season out for you just
because you want to have the proverbial

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bodies. But then what is the
extension that that you give Bridges at what

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number do you bring him back that
you're comfortable understanding that LaMelo's max contract kicks

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in next year will be making thirty
five million dollars is one thing to be

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on the rookie scale, right,
and you know, playing twenty five to

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thirty five games a season now when
you're going to pay thirty five million and

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at the end of this contract forty
six to forty eight million dollars, that's

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that's gotta you gotta be there.
You got to be on the damn basketball

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court. So they have some big
financial decisions to make here, especially in

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the case of Bridges, but then
even some of those supplemental pieces as I

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mentioned in Williams and trey manner,
you know, what are the options that

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you'd want to pick up or you
know, do you try to thin this

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out some even some more and see
what you can do? And we know

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they haven't been traditionally been a free
agent destination unless they're going to throw money

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00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:29.200
at somebody aka like how they did
for Gordon Hayward. And this isn't a

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great free agent class. So to
me, I think you did everything that

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you just said, right, Cup
checkers out, Clifford gracefully bows out.

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Maybe you get a young, you
know, hot shot coach to kind of

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come in here and try to boost
up the offense if you will get them

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00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:45.359
kind of learning and trying to play
the right way. And then you fill

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the roster out for this year,
which this next year which would be another

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growing year. But really see what
you have in Brandon Miller now too?

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And is he the number two?
Is he the number three? Can he

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coexist with Bridges? You know?
I meaning kind of code number two roles

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assuming LaMelo is healthy, and I
think it's a growth here for their Wholene's

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00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:04.680
going your tunes to the baseline CALLI
warned Shot discussing the hot button topics of

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00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:11.039
the NB A couple of points I
guess you know before we properly eulogize this

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team. Shot Like, so when
you look at this roster, right,

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if we were gonna believe that this
roster, from a young, youthful side

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00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:25.039
of things, has the potential to
have a breakout, who should we be

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00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.799
paying attention to? Who are you
saying, yo, man, I don't

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00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:32.640
want to throw any more dirt on
your name and on your game. So

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00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:34.920
in this off season, I need
you to be on one. I need

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00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:40.640
you to come back looking like a
completely different person who's gonna have an initial

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impact for this team, for this
roster, for us to buy in,

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00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:48.920
you know, whether or not this
Hornet's team is gonna take strides, especially

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00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:52.599
if they're anticipating a fully healthy Lamello
ball and they're obviously, you know,

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gonna have an improved Brandon Miller,
and you know you're gonna get what you

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00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:00.720
get from Miles Bridges. But who
out of out of oh, those are

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00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.920
the three are we saying? You
know what, homie, I need you

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00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:07.400
to take that next step? Well, it's interesting, is again the easiest

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00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:11.200
answer in terms of who they need
is Brandon Miller? Right, Like,

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00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:14.720
you need that just that gradual progression
coming and seeing into second year or third

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00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.440
year et cetera, et cetera.
But I think it's honestly the position that

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00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:19.559
they've had a lot of problem with, and that's at that five and that

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00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.200
five man and we've just talked about, you know, Mark Williams, Nick

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00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.519
Richards, which one of those two
guys is the guy you know who's going

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00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:29.720
to be willing to kind of step
in there and say, listen, I'm

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00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.400
a double double threat every single night. No, you don't have to be

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00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:34.359
twenty and ten, but can you
be twelve and ten? I mean,

301
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:38.440
just consistently be there, not necessarily
even as a post presence, but as

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00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:41.480
a lab threat or where the case
to be, put backs energy big whatever

303
00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:45.480
it is. I think most of
those two guys have been They just haven't

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00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.519
been healthy enough to kind of really
give the horness what they've needed to man

305
00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:52.839
that middle. I mean, and
they've always been talking about this since the

306
00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:56.079
Plumbley days or whatever the case to
be. They just haven't had consistency at

307
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that five spot. So, you
know, with with Mark Williams being the

308
00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:02.039
younger of the two, and he
had earned the starting position, and I

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00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.119
speaking about it from a fantasy standpoint, ironically, like he was a guy

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00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:07.400
who was like, Yo, watch
him, there's nobody else really worthy there,

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00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:10.279
and then he just got hurt and
hasn't been there. To me,

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00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:12.799
those are the two guys, even
if they are even if they end up

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00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:15.440
splitting minutes down the middle twenty four
minutes a night over the case of what

314
00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:18.480
are they getting at? Can they
get eight and eight, you know,

315
00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.200
out of those guys on a regular
basis, And I think that'd be an

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00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:25.880
amazing progression for both of them and
be a great benefit to to LaMelo specifically,

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00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:29.400
you know, if he's hoisting shots
or all having a dump off threat,

318
00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:30.160
if he's driving you know what you
mean, to get into the dunker

319
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.880
spot. Those are things that those
two guys can potentially do, and they

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00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.920
just got to put in the work
this offseason. Who do you have who

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00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:42.119
do you think has the most confidence
to really, I guess kind of elevate

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00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:51.039
the team between the three, between
ball, between bridges, between Miller.

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00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:55.200
I'm leaning a little bit more on
Miller because I really feel like he has

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00:20:55.279 --> 00:21:00.319
a more sound, mechanically polished game
where he can you know, rests ablish

325
00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:03.319
the fact that the Hornets can hit
a jump shot. He can you know,

326
00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.799
really you know, open up the
floor a little bit better, and

327
00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:10.960
it could mean in some respects that
Miles Bridges might have to take a back

328
00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.720
seat, you know, if LaMelo
Ball is out there. But I also

329
00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:18.079
say LaMelo Ball and his ability to
pick the you know, to to to

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00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:22.519
pick up the pace, you know, to get them out open more in

331
00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.440
transition, that definitely plays more to
Miles Bridges. So I'm just curious,

332
00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:30.319
you know, who you think really
will thrive more when that opportunity presents itself

333
00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:34.720
and then we see all three of
these guys on the court together. Well,

334
00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:40.240
I mean, it's an interesting question
because I think the playmaking responsibilities fall

335
00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:42.839
with LaMelo and so the elevation,
if you will, of all players,

336
00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:47.359
all things, you know, the
the what is it, the the tide

337
00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:48.759
that lifts all ships or whatever the
case it be, has to be LaMelo

338
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.680
in that capacity. So he's the
one who can take less shots, you

339
00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:56.359
know, can rebound the basketball and
push it on the break and throw all

340
00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:59.720
off the bridges if so it be, or secondary break, have Brandon Miller

341
00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.160
fill in the you know, on
the corner and maybe pop a three.

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00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:04.640
To me, he's him and his
health are the key to what the Hornets

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00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:08.519
do. Regardless, but it's also
so much of the aspect of what he

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00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:14.279
means to everybody else, not just
what he brings statistically by himself. There's

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00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:18.000
no other a guy on this team
that can elevate everybody's skill level and get

346
00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:22.079
them open shots in the way that
LaMelo can. And there's I mean truly

347
00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:23.039
he has. He has a special
skill set. There's not a lot of

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00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:26.319
players in the league that can do
that, but for this team specifically.

349
00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.559
Listen, Trey Man and I can't
say the the Europeans name meet Hits or

350
00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:33.799
whatever. Uh, those aren't the
guys, you know what I mean.

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00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:37.839
And I think Trey Man's a good
basketball player. Love him in a backup

352
00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:41.759
role potentially, you know, behind
LaMelo, But it has to be LaMelo

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00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:47.160
who's out here bringing, bringing the
energy and allowing everybody to be better than

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00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:52.000
what they would be without him on
the basketball right Charlotte Hornets probably are gonna

355
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.960
wind up mm hmm, maybe twenty
wins this year. Shaw, I'm kind

356
00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.880
of I'm picking the under on that. Right now, they're sitting with seventeen

357
00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.000
with what a handful of games left
to go, like fourteen. I think

358
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.559
you said earlier at fourteen fifteen games
left to go. Yeah, they got

359
00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:11.319
twelve. I'm not feeling confident that
they're gonna wind up, you know,

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00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:15.440
getting the twenty. But if they
do, I would think that that at

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00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:21.400
least, you know, give give
coach Steve Clifford a good send off like

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00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:25.079
this. Don't be hovering around like, you know, among one of the

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00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.640
worst worst teams in the NBA in
NBA history, you know what I mean?

364
00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:33.799
So all right, Cali Warrenshaw basedline
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be talking about the San Antonio Spurs. I know, I know everybody,

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around till March twenty fifth. To go

405
00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:33.319
along with your ten piece McNuggets,
head to your nearest Wick Donald's and try

406
00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:41.240
the new, Bold Savory Chili sauce
while supplies last Cali warren Shaw Baseline NBA

407
00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:45.400
podcasts as we do our coveted autopsy
report. Time now for us Shaw to

408
00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:49.839
talk about the San Antonio Spurs.
And I don't know, given the way

409
00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:56.079
everyone is in a fervor about Victor
Weinbanyana and you know, you know,

410
00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.400
the next generational levels to the way
he plays this game of bass football,

411
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:03.480
we may not be talking about the
San Antonio Spurs come next year the way

412
00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:07.359
that we do, burying them,
the way that we do, eulogizing him

413
00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:15.000
the way that we do because of
the Wemby well, you're optimistic there.

414
00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:18.680
I think, did I play it
up really well? Because I played it

415
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:23.039
really well. That was trying to
sell myself so much on the idea that

416
00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:29.240
everyone believes that he is going to
suddenly turn this team into like a forty

417
00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:33.880
five win team come next year.
Yeah, I mean not not not so

418
00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:41.160
fast. I think we'll continue to
see his growth potential to be defensive Player

419
00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:42.680
of the Year next year. They
won't have enough wins for him to be

420
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:47.759
in the MVP race, but he'll
be putting up MVP type numbers, assuming

421
00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:49.640
he gets off these minutes restrictions and
things like that. Like he's he's a

422
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:53.519
real deal, and I think you
can't gush enough about how amazing he's been

423
00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:57.519
this season and been just delivered on
everything that we have hoped for and again

424
00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:06.240
inlimited minutes. Specif it's the others
that makes you very concerned about next year's

425
00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:11.759
prospect, they are not quite sure
what they're doing with Keil Non Johnson,

426
00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:15.359
and I don't think he's had the
bounce back that they would have hoped he

427
00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:18.559
would have had in various roles,
whether he's coming off the bench or starting.

428
00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:22.079
While Devin vacill Is somebody who they
seem to be attached to in some

429
00:28:22.119 --> 00:28:26.279
ways. I don't know that he's
it. Obviously, they love Sohan and

430
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:29.839
he's been a nice I think,
you know, middle piece for that there's

431
00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:33.359
continued to develop, but he still
has limitations, especially offensively. The Spurs

432
00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:37.400
don't really know who they are just
yet. They just know they have this

433
00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:41.839
amazing foundational piece and now they got
to figure out how they fill in around

434
00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:45.920
it. And that doesn't seem like
a likely thing that they'll be able to

435
00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:49.440
do just over the course of this
summer, and that that makes me very

436
00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:52.559
concerned. In addition to the fact
that, as I could continue to allude

437
00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.000
to, it's not an amazing free
agent class. Biggest names that could potentially

438
00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:00.400
come to them Tobias Hair, so
we talked about, you know, last

439
00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:03.680
week, maybe if he were return
to Detroit or something like that too.

440
00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:07.400
Maybe Demarta Rozen who's obviously had a
tour of duty with Greg Popovich and San

441
00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:11.960
Antonio. But that's not it's getting
them closer to being competitive, which is

442
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.039
what Wenby needs, but it doesn't
put them in the in the throes of

443
00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:18.920
the playing conversation. I think next
year either, and I think that's what

444
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:22.680
it is. Like they need to
decide, now, how fast do we

445
00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:25.519
want to get there? How fast
is realistic for us to get there?

446
00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:27.839
You know, with Wenby in tow
as I said before, I use anaja,

447
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:30.880
Hey, he's a Ferrari and he's
ready to ride, but you may

448
00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:36.400
not have the requisite ability to drive
as fast as you want to because the

449
00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:40.400
other pieces just aren't there. And
I think that's where they are ultimately going

450
00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:42.079
to have to decide and figure out
they'll get a top three, top five

451
00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:45.720
pick this year unless they move it. I guess potentially for some maybe some

452
00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:48.920
star who we don't know, might
become available. But to me, this

453
00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:52.440
is still at least two years out
before the Spurs are back to relevance.

454
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:57.400
But I don't know if Wenby's willing
to wait that long. So you sound

455
00:29:57.720 --> 00:30:03.720
and I'm not know trying to diss
or critique or anything like that show,

456
00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:07.279
but you sound like someone who is
of the mindset that like, because Wemby

457
00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:11.200
is like a Ferrari and it's ready
to go, that the San Antonio Spurs

458
00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:17.960
seemed to already be like stuck in
the in the garage right like they're still

459
00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:22.359
stuck in the pit and have no
preparation, have no plan in place,

460
00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:26.799
you know, for ready to ride
out. And I guess part of me

461
00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:33.240
is a little concerned with that thought
process because I'm like, if anyone is

462
00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:37.519
trying to trying to, you know, reconnect what the Spurs did to create

463
00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:42.839
that dynasty that they had. The
missing part of this was that the team

464
00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:48.039
was already foundationally sound when they had
David Robinson. When they finally had Tim

465
00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:52.920
Duncan, then everything started to come
into place. Right And because we're in

466
00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:57.319
a different error with the way that
free agency operates, I don't know if

467
00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:02.039
I'm of the mindset that if you're
San Antonia Spurs, you're playing this game

468
00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:07.400
through the level of free agency as
much as you should be buying into getting

469
00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:11.920
it right with the picks that you're
You're You're you're drafting the players the rosters

470
00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:15.599
with right like so to your point, you're saying that you don't see where

471
00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:19.359
so so hand, where Johnson and
and and in the parts that are right

472
00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:23.079
now around one man Yama, they
don't fit, correct, So do you

473
00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:29.039
think nothing? They don't fit.
They're not the accelerant that I think a

474
00:31:29.079 --> 00:31:33.480
person of his talent is like so
they can they can work. But if

475
00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:37.599
you could move Vasilla and Johnson to
get you know what I mean, another

476
00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:41.039
star or somebody you know that's in
the same atmosphere. These are right now,

477
00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:44.720
complimentary guys and if you give a
Sill enough shots, he's gonna score

478
00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:47.319
twenty a game. If you give
kel Johnson enough shots, same thing.

479
00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:52.160
But that doesn't mean they're they are
the overall right parts for the accelerant.

480
00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:56.519
They're fine, complimentary players, but
how do they get enough? That's those

481
00:31:56.519 --> 00:32:00.160
two guys are their path to a
potential another star. And you're what you're

482
00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:02.799
saying, I think as well too. It's like, well, well they

483
00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:06.640
could draft that. But that's where
it goes back to my earlier point.

484
00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:08.759
Well, then you're probably two or
three years away from really being able to

485
00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:12.359
see the fruits of that, even
if you get a top five pick this

486
00:32:12.440 --> 00:32:15.319
year, right, And so I
think that to me is what I'm alluding

487
00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:19.799
to. More so, are you
leaning into the ideas like you don't think

488
00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:22.680
that the Spurs can afford to wait
that long or you don't think that based

489
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:30.440
on the way that when Byama is
that he has the patience to cultivate and

490
00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:34.880
elevate those guys that would be coming
on board that would be the fit for

491
00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:38.079
how he plays. It's interesting to
me because when I think about guys like

492
00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:43.920
Sohan and Caldon Johnson to your point, yeah, they can go out,

493
00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:45.559
they could probably score, and they
could be complementary pieces. As if it's

494
00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:51.400
baked into this idea that they won't
be able to make when Byanda a greater

495
00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:54.640
better player and based on the way
that when Benyama plays, it doesn't look

496
00:32:54.680 --> 00:33:00.319
like he'll make them better players.
So you know, where where would we

497
00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:05.000
see a veteran like what kind of
player are we talking about that could make

498
00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:09.079
win Ba Yama a better player than
he's already as sending himself to where it's

499
00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:14.880
translating to the level of success that
I think, you know, San Antonio

500
00:33:14.920 --> 00:33:17.720
Spurs fans are are trying to say
it's going to be within the next couple

501
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:22.240
of years, right. I mean, I do think they'll need some semblance

502
00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.880
of you know, dynamic truly dynamic
wing play or guard play, and I

503
00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:29.559
don't think they have that in in
any player right now currently. And that's

504
00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:34.599
why I'm saying Lacil and Johnson can
be pieces that get you maybe whatever guy

505
00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.720
the draft pick that they'll have this
this upcoming this upcoming summer could maybe get

506
00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:43.759
them another piece that gets them that
that that other guy Wemby to me,

507
00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:45.960
and I don't obviously don't know him, you know, personally, when you

508
00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:50.480
have somebody, I think of that
talent level, you're you're thinking, maybe

509
00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:52.920
the first two years can be growth, all right, learn the game,

510
00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:57.440
play the best you know plays,
play your minutes, understand with or whatever.

511
00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.240
But by year three you're expecting to
kind of really see some fruits of

512
00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:02.799
that label. So I think they
can toil around so this week for maybe

513
00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:07.799
another year in this, but they've
got to start putting the plan into place

514
00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.239
here now. Again, they knew
what Wenby was, or hoped they knew

515
00:34:10.280 --> 00:34:14.159
what he was going into it.
I think he's probably even exceeded some of

516
00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:17.079
those expectations, which makes it a
little bit more pressure pack now to like,

517
00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:21.480
hey, no, we gotta we
got to get moving. So you

518
00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:24.000
have again another year where you can
kind of buy this being this, you

519
00:34:24.039 --> 00:34:28.880
know, eighteen to twenty two win
team whatever it is. But year three,

520
00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:31.239
that guy's gonna want to go.
And I think that's that's what I'm

521
00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:35.480
getting at and do you have the
records at pieces that can get you there?

522
00:34:36.199 --> 00:34:38.320
And what I say now is again
not a strong free agent draft class,

523
00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:43.920
So can you conjure up the assets
within your internal roster? Currently they

524
00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:45.760
still have a bunch of picks again
from the Johntay Murray trade, you know,

525
00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:49.320
moving him over to Atlanta a couple
of years ago as well too,

526
00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:52.280
a couple first round picks that got
from Boston and the Derek White deal as

527
00:34:52.280 --> 00:34:55.920
well, so they can move some
stuff around and be creative, you know,

528
00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:00.239
to pry away another you know,
potential All star type level talent with

529
00:35:00.280 --> 00:35:02.400
them, But there's not another ulstar
on this roster currently constructed, like not

530
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:07.360
even close. Yeah, and I
agree with you, there's not any potential

531
00:35:07.400 --> 00:35:09.920
All star caliber. I just wonder
if whether or not you see that there's

532
00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:15.559
potential for them to become one,
right, And so it doesn't sound like,

533
00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:17.840
you know, from the way that
you're evaluating and what you've seen from

534
00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:21.800
how they play in their style of
play, that any of that's going to

535
00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:24.159
happen. Here's the thing that really
becomes unfortunate. Shaw And I don't know

536
00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:28.559
I whether or not people recognize us
or speaking to this. If you really

537
00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:31.159
look at this, this is bad
timing for the San Antonio Spurs. You

538
00:35:31.159 --> 00:35:35.320
know, there was a window of
opportunity where they could be able to just

539
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:40.119
kind of be marginally bad, and
because the Southwest Division was marginally good,

540
00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:45.360
the gap between you know, what
a bad San Antonio Spurs team would look

541
00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:49.039
like and the rest of you know, that division would be maybe like three

542
00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:52.800
or four games. Now you look
at the way that this division is reflective

543
00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:58.000
of You got Emai Udoka in the
turnaround of what he's done with the Houston

544
00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.679
Rockets, which is absolutely phenomenal.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a new gear.

545
00:36:02.039 --> 00:36:07.079
Don't know whether or not it's viable. We'll see how this translates,

546
00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:09.719
but it's definitely trending in the direction
where there you know it's gonna be a

547
00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:14.480
reoccurring theme that they're going to be
a part of the playoff picture. The

548
00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:20.480
Dallas Mavericks right with this combination of
Luca and Kyrie Irving and the talent that

549
00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:27.039
they're making those guys essentially better very
quickly. And you know, to me,

550
00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:30.920
the Memphis Grizzlies when they eventually get
back Jahn Morant like, I know

551
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.239
that they may be the slowest of
the two because of the pieces they couldn't

552
00:36:34.360 --> 00:36:37.639
keep, but you're always gonna feel, like with Jah Morant and Desmond Bane

553
00:36:37.639 --> 00:36:42.599
that this team is gonna be competitive. So this division is stacked from top

554
00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:45.239
to bottom. So I get to
your point where there's that level of impatience

555
00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:47.760
if you're one ban Yama, like, yo, we got to be able

556
00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:52.440
to ride with these thoroughbreds that are
already in our division. I'm just curious,

557
00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:58.239
though, Shaw, like, if
next year is not going to be

558
00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:02.360
a good free agency class, then
this year, this year, this year,

559
00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:06.079
but this is not going to be
a good free agency class, then

560
00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:12.440
I would think that the emphasis has
to be focused on the current parts and

561
00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:17.159
this off season for them to significantly
take a step forward, because even if

562
00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:23.679
worst case Scenarioshaw, you don't see
them being at least they will elevate themselves

563
00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:28.320
to where they can be tradable pieces. Like you look at these guys right

564
00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:30.559
now, they're not even tradable pieces. I don't know what you could possibly

565
00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:36.239
get even for you know what I'm
saying. You know bad players that are

566
00:37:36.280 --> 00:37:37.280
out there, so to speak.
I'm not saying they're bad, but I'm

567
00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:42.639
just saying what they bring to the
table doesn't invite anyone to be saying,

568
00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:45.679
yeah, yo, bring bring me
him. I want this dude, I

569
00:37:45.719 --> 00:37:47.679
want that dude from your roster.
There's not a whole lot of pickings from

570
00:37:47.679 --> 00:37:52.280
that, but they've got to be
able to play significantly better so that their

571
00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:57.039
trade value is even worth the conversation. Well, I mean, but remember

572
00:37:57.039 --> 00:37:59.239
that's that's a double edged short.
It can go both ways, right,

573
00:37:59.320 --> 00:38:01.920
So, and beauty is always in
the behigh and the eye of the beholder

574
00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:06.199
who looks at Keldon Johnson potentially and
says, hey, I can do something

575
00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:07.800
with that. Or some people's like, no, he's topped out. This

576
00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:10.880
is who he ultimately is. Do
you give him another year? Does he

577
00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:14.400
play worse? You know what I
mean? So, I mean it's just

578
00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:17.199
a cause of benefit analysis. The
one thing one of the things that birds

579
00:38:17.199 --> 00:38:19.559
have in that, and again,
as you were talking, is like,

580
00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:21.119
well, let me just make sure
I have my facts right. No,

581
00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:24.320
they have three first round picks this
year, first round picks this year,

582
00:38:24.639 --> 00:38:29.360
and they have three first round picks
next year, so you know there's some

583
00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:31.079
protections on it, you know.
I think with Toronto, I think this

584
00:38:31.199 --> 00:38:35.920
year. I think there's protection with
Charlotte next year as well too, But

585
00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:38.800
they can be trading picks within the
lottery and their own if they were so

586
00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:43.280
inclined. If another superstar, if
you will, or at least even all

587
00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:46.639
Star wars become available in either of
the next two years. But sometimes,

588
00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:50.519
as we all know, it's like, all right, well, the picks

589
00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:54.559
don't create the equity that's needed to
bring superstar or all star level talent in,

590
00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:59.079
so you need the salaries in essence
to match. And that's where Johnson

591
00:38:59.119 --> 00:39:00.400
and the Seal kind of come into
play. So just you know, got

592
00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:05.519
his extension. He's gonna be making
twenty twenty million dollars or something like that

593
00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:07.280
over the next couple of seasons.
So that's where I'm like, well,

594
00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:09.719
yeah, you can keep those guys, but if you're really trying to add

595
00:39:09.719 --> 00:39:14.360
that accelerant, you know that that's
your path to do it. But they

596
00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:17.320
do have some leeway between this year
and next year, having six first rounders,

597
00:39:17.320 --> 00:39:20.920
three in each of the next first
year, three each in the next

598
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:24.880
two years. Where do you think
Greg Popovich leans on the most to see

599
00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:32.280
the rapid improvement of this basketball team? Right, Like you know, Greg

600
00:39:32.280 --> 00:39:42.039
Propovic started as a defensive minded guru. He has you know, transitioned where

601
00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:50.800
he's put together offensively talented rosters and
you know we've seen him basically play patchwork

602
00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:54.920
orange with marginal rosters to be competitive
and compete in the playoffs. Where do

603
00:39:54.960 --> 00:40:00.360
you lean on with us trying to
kind of be in the mind of Greg

604
00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:05.159
Popovitch going into this offseason to say, look, we're not so good on

605
00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:07.719
this, and even when we bring
in what we bring in from our draft

606
00:40:07.760 --> 00:40:14.079
class, I'm thinking this might be
the best pathway forward for us to start,

607
00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:16.320
you know, getting some of those
ls that we could not get and

608
00:40:16.599 --> 00:40:20.039
listen, by all stretch of the
imagine, by all accounts, Shaw,

609
00:40:20.280 --> 00:40:22.599
it wasn't like the San Antonio Spurs
or just this horrible basketball team. They

610
00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:27.599
have been a very competitive basketball team. This is a basketball team that can

611
00:40:28.400 --> 00:40:30.760
compete, whether or not. The
level of confidence that they can compete and

612
00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:34.440
do this through the course of a
regular season, I think to your point

613
00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:37.079
is what speaks to the fact that
maybe some of the talent has topped itself

614
00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:40.519
out and you can only get away
with doing this when you're playing against bad

615
00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:44.960
competition. But when you're playing against
the best of the best. You're not

616
00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:49.079
really seeing these guys elevating themselves to
the level that you see Victor woman Yama

617
00:40:49.239 --> 00:40:52.320
elevating himself too. So, if
you're Greg Popovich, what do you lean

618
00:40:52.400 --> 00:40:54.599
on as far as being a competitive
basketball team? Mores and more of the

619
00:40:54.599 --> 00:40:58.360
defensive side of the basketball is going
to be more on the offensive side of

620
00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:00.679
the basketball. And I think you
even know the answer to that. I

621
00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:05.519
think you know Papaovich has tradiously been
probably a better defensive coach than offensive coach,

622
00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:08.760
not that he's been a bad offensive
coach and as any aspect of capacity,

623
00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:14.639
but ultimately, defense often revolves around
scheme and effort, and those are

624
00:41:14.679 --> 00:41:19.000
things you can intimately control on a
regular basis, you know. The offense,

625
00:41:19.199 --> 00:41:22.199
it's that's more skill based and that
you can't always just teach. That

626
00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:25.840
takes a lot of time in essence, develop or acquire the requis and talent

627
00:41:25.880 --> 00:41:30.360
in essence to kind of get you
there. Right now, they're thirtieth and

628
00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:32.760
three point shooting. They're one of
the worst teams you know in an offense

629
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:37.679
in general. They're not great in
defense either. Twenty second, but those

630
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:40.400
are things to think especially with a
Wenby as as a lighthouse if you want,

631
00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:45.000
and the overall to turn in the
middle that can be the centerpiece of

632
00:41:45.159 --> 00:41:49.320
of what you do defensively, and
so sure if you can buy. What

633
00:41:49.360 --> 00:41:51.639
the NBA is saying is like,
hey, we're going to look to see

634
00:41:51.639 --> 00:41:53.960
how we can you know, empower
defenses more going into next season. We're

635
00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:58.000
seeing scoring come down here since the
All Star break here a little bit.

636
00:41:58.320 --> 00:42:00.679
That's where Sanentennial can make the most
post amount of Hey, they can't ignore

637
00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:04.800
offense, but that's where they can
hang the proverbial hat on and say like,

638
00:42:04.840 --> 00:42:07.159
all right, well we're going to
be a defensive minded team first,

639
00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:09.559
knowing that we mainly score one hundred
or one hundred and five, and see

640
00:42:09.559 --> 00:42:13.440
what we can do there to get
some recordsent shooting, and see if we

641
00:42:13.480 --> 00:42:15.920
can get timely offense, you know, as I like to talk about,

642
00:42:15.360 --> 00:42:19.599
especially when games get closed in those
clutch minutes late in the fourth quarter.

643
00:42:19.840 --> 00:42:22.840
All right, ChIL, let's properly
eulogize the San Antonio Spurs. I want

644
00:42:22.880 --> 00:42:29.639
you to give me an ideal situation
of who you would love to see Victor

645
00:42:29.679 --> 00:42:34.599
Winmbanyama paired up with in the next
couple of years. That gives you the

646
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:39.159
confidence that you know, this would
be a San Antonio Spurs team that would

647
00:42:39.159 --> 00:42:44.800
be considered as one of the more
dangerous, you know teams to probably be

648
00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:49.719
considered, you know, in in
maybe its franchise history. If we're talking

649
00:42:49.719 --> 00:42:52.079
about wimban Yama in the way that
we're speaking about him, who would you

650
00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:58.440
see would love to see be paired
up with to kind of elevant to emulate

651
00:42:58.480 --> 00:43:02.440
that level of danger? You know. Well, I mean there's you can

652
00:43:02.480 --> 00:43:07.119
have the wishless, right, and
then I think that's the aspect of what's

653
00:43:07.280 --> 00:43:10.239
potentially realistic, and I'm going to
go on on that lens, you know,

654
00:43:10.320 --> 00:43:14.159
and you know, maybe you can
bring more you know, color to

655
00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:15.239
it in terms of like, hey, you know, here's what you'd want

656
00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:19.559
to see. But I think if
I canvass the league and think, okay,

657
00:43:19.679 --> 00:43:23.360
realistically, is there another star or
all star level guy who the Furge

658
00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:29.280
could potentially get and that guy actually
is Trey Young, I think, you

659
00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:32.119
know, they could visit the Atlanto
situation, especially with Trey Young potentially may

660
00:43:32.199 --> 00:43:35.480
or may not be coming back this
year and whatever happens with the playoff,

661
00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:38.280
with their playoff run. Can you
say, hey, let's bring you over

662
00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:42.800
here and see if we can build
something here. Especially you have that one,

663
00:43:42.840 --> 00:43:45.800
you have that five, that could
be really good. I don't think

664
00:43:45.440 --> 00:43:49.920
Donovan Mitchell is somebody who would would
go there, and especially when he his

665
00:43:50.199 --> 00:43:52.559
contract is up, so that would
take a lot of workability and some doing.

666
00:43:52.840 --> 00:43:57.920
But I could see that being a
pairing that could bring them some some

667
00:43:57.920 --> 00:44:00.559
some positivity in the in the short
Treman a long term in and then giving

668
00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:04.119
and taking a lot of pressure off
of Wenby as well too, to be

669
00:44:04.199 --> 00:44:07.559
the offensive hub and the defensive hub. So I think in that regard,

670
00:44:07.719 --> 00:44:12.480
whoever that second star is can't be
more defensive minded, and sure it can

671
00:44:12.519 --> 00:44:15.280
be two way if you will,
but has to be somebody who's elite I

672
00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:17.320
think, offensively to help the Spurs
get to what ultimately need to go to.

673
00:44:17.400 --> 00:44:21.199
So I'll try the question back around
to you, who would you like

674
00:44:21.239 --> 00:44:23.159
to see I guess best case scenario
Wenby potentially pair it up with Man.

675
00:44:23.159 --> 00:44:32.159
Who would I love to see best
case scenario? If I wanted to see

676
00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:40.960
the future of the NBA from a
back court front court perspective, I would

677
00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:51.639
love to see. I would love
it'll never happen, but I would I

678
00:44:51.639 --> 00:44:57.679
would love to see John Morant and
Victor That would be my That would be

679
00:44:57.719 --> 00:45:05.639
my dream situation, dream scenario.
But if I'm saying something more realistic with

680
00:45:05.800 --> 00:45:13.719
what's currently out there in the landscape
of the NBA, pay attention to the

681
00:45:13.760 --> 00:45:21.199
Lonzo Ball situation. I would be
very curious to see what the San Aatolia

682
00:45:21.239 --> 00:45:23.159
Spurs might be able to do and
would want to do. At some point,

683
00:45:23.199 --> 00:45:25.800
I think if you are the Chicago
Bulls, you really have to start

684
00:45:25.800 --> 00:45:30.599
reassessing how much longer you can continue
to keep Lonzo Ball on your roster,

685
00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:35.760
if you're talking about trying to do
a move forward. And I think that

686
00:45:35.800 --> 00:45:39.079
there can be a point where Lonzo
Ball can can can be a healthy,

687
00:45:40.199 --> 00:45:46.239
you know, like adequate, still
young. But I find that, like,

688
00:45:46.480 --> 00:45:51.800
I don't see where the longevity of
his career stays in Chicago. I

689
00:45:51.920 --> 00:45:57.800
see guys like Rudy Gay. I've
seen other veteran guys out there maintain their

690
00:45:57.840 --> 00:46:00.960
longevity playing like either Insanity, Atonio
Phoenix are out in the west, mid

691
00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:05.639
the West, southern, southern,
West, western, you know places.

692
00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:09.800
So if there's there's that level of
seriousness of us considering what kind of combination

693
00:46:10.320 --> 00:46:15.400
you would love to see and it
be more realistic. I think if you're

694
00:46:15.400 --> 00:46:17.599
the Chicago Bulls, you have to
start kind of twirling with the idea like

695
00:46:17.639 --> 00:46:21.519
what can we do, what might
need to happen? And if you're to

696
00:46:21.559 --> 00:46:25.039
San Antonio Spurs, what kind of
skill set player would I love to see

697
00:46:25.559 --> 00:46:30.800
without compromising the elevation of when Byama, but the both of them paired together

698
00:46:30.920 --> 00:46:35.159
can really really kind of take this
team to like another level. I would

699
00:46:35.239 --> 00:46:38.239
love to see that type of combination
go down. Well, it's interesting because

700
00:46:38.280 --> 00:46:43.679
I think Chicago poses a lot of
interest for a couple of different teams.

701
00:46:43.679 --> 00:46:47.000
You know, Kobe White's are just
his emergency if you will this season to

702
00:46:47.039 --> 00:46:51.840
being one of the most improved players
this year? Does that negate the need

703
00:46:51.880 --> 00:46:54.639
for for for Lonzo moving forward?
Like Kobe has really developed and I really

704
00:46:54.679 --> 00:46:58.719
like that young man a lot.
So yeah, could they explore something that

705
00:46:58.760 --> 00:47:00.360
gets them? They still have exactly
be situation they need to figure out,

706
00:47:00.599 --> 00:47:05.320
you know, from an offensive and
defensive standpoint too. So Spurs, I

707
00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:08.360
don't think they would because the contract
is just so so ALBATROSSI if you will,

708
00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:14.360
but would make some sense, who
is that one of your el cat

709
00:47:14.360 --> 00:47:19.559
words but making stuff up here on
the fly, right, But it's you

710
00:47:19.599 --> 00:47:22.559
know, Levigne would bring some offense
to a to a team that very very

711
00:47:22.639 --> 00:47:28.000
much needs it. Ironically, though, I think my wish kiss scenario for

712
00:47:28.039 --> 00:47:30.559
Wemby coming into this before he got
drafted was like, I did want to

713
00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:32.239
see him with the aforementioned team,
you know, the other ball brother and

714
00:47:32.679 --> 00:47:37.760
Charlotte. Had Charlotte been so fortunate
and while Brandon Miller is great and all

715
00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:40.519
listen to, combination and theory of
LaMelo and Wenby would have been something that

716
00:47:40.559 --> 00:47:46.159
would have been striking the fear of
whatever to a lot of people for a

717
00:47:46.239 --> 00:47:51.519
very long time. Nobody wants that
crystal ball in the Eastern Conference at all.

718
00:47:52.400 --> 00:47:54.639
But ultimately it didn't happen, and
Wenby goes to the organization that is

719
00:47:54.639 --> 00:47:59.800
probably better equipped to develop him for
the majority majority share of his NBA career,

720
00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:01.920
which I think is obviously amazing for
him. But yeah, I think

721
00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:06.880
you know, there will be no
shortest of guys lining up to potentially play

722
00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:09.159
with him if the opportunity to arise. As for for the Spurs, especially

723
00:48:09.199 --> 00:48:15.719
fiscally, all right, So final
final thoughts, Shaw, how confident are

724
00:48:15.760 --> 00:48:21.039
you do you think that this next
year will be an improved year for the

725
00:48:21.079 --> 00:48:23.159
San Antonio Spurs or do you find
them to be kind of like the type

726
00:48:23.199 --> 00:48:29.440
of team that you know is based
on whatever they their season ends, that

727
00:48:29.599 --> 00:48:34.239
they're going to probably wind up right
back into the same fold roughly numbers wise

728
00:48:34.280 --> 00:48:37.880
as far as wins go. Before
we start talking about this, this type

729
00:48:37.920 --> 00:48:40.039
of turnaround of team coming, you
know, raising themselves out of the dead.

730
00:48:42.079 --> 00:48:45.320
You know, there to me are
a great unknown because I in some

731
00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:50.559
ways you feel like their general management
is astute and that they will at least

732
00:48:50.599 --> 00:48:52.719
kick the tires, but they're not
going to do anything that doesn't behoove them

733
00:48:52.800 --> 00:48:57.320
in the short term. So that
I think they'll do everything they can to

734
00:48:57.400 --> 00:49:00.920
investigate opportunities to make some semblance of
around an improvement, especially with three first

735
00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:05.719
round picks this year and maybe some
guys that you know could be high level

736
00:49:05.800 --> 00:49:08.559
role players on some other teams in
addition to their own. But they won't

737
00:49:08.599 --> 00:49:12.360
do anything that's just like listen,
that doesn't that doesn't make any sense.

738
00:49:12.400 --> 00:49:15.519
We're not going to just they're not
dumping assets in any capacity, So that

739
00:49:15.559 --> 00:49:20.400
depends on what the market bears for
them this this upcoming season, you know,

740
00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:22.599
and what happens in the playoffs and
which team gets eliminated. It's just

741
00:49:22.599 --> 00:49:24.679
like that, you didn't think they
should have been gone that far, and

742
00:49:24.719 --> 00:49:30.000
then can you make a magical run
at some player that we're not even talking

743
00:49:30.039 --> 00:49:34.000
about here currently. So there's too
many unknowns and variables. But I trust

744
00:49:34.360 --> 00:49:38.519
that they will be investigative in all
ways possible that improves their roster. So

745
00:49:38.880 --> 00:49:42.960
that answer has to be has to
kind of stay in my back pocket until

746
00:49:42.960 --> 00:49:45.400
I can kind of see how how
the market shares for them. All right,

747
00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:47.400
man, well this has been good
stuff. I'm looking forward to see

748
00:49:47.440 --> 00:49:52.880
what version of the San Antonio Spurs
are going to become in the off season.

749
00:49:52.960 --> 00:49:54.519
I'm not even really concerned about what
even a draft pick looks like as

750
00:49:54.599 --> 00:49:58.920
much as I'm concerned as much as
I would be very curious to see what

751
00:49:58.960 --> 00:50:02.599
which guys are put and in that
work for the off season, because I

752
00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:07.880
agree with you, I think for
us to really really assess the direction of

753
00:50:07.920 --> 00:50:10.360
this team, the mindset of this
team, it has to come down to

754
00:50:10.760 --> 00:50:15.079
us not completely focusing on what we
already have come to understand regarding the greatness

755
00:50:15.119 --> 00:50:17.719
of Victor women Yama, it has
to be about the rest of these other

756
00:50:17.800 --> 00:50:22.679
guys for us to be able to
better depict on what direction the Spurs want

757
00:50:22.679 --> 00:50:25.599
to go, whether it's keeping the
assets or moving the assets along, because

758
00:50:25.639 --> 00:50:29.679
I think that will go a long
way into your point, Shaw, what

759
00:50:29.800 --> 00:50:35.599
kind of rebuild process are we talking
about with this organization? Awesome stuff,

760
00:50:35.639 --> 00:50:39.199
Shaw, as per always Man,
you know, I love when we get

761
00:50:39.199 --> 00:50:44.480
to talk about these teams, the
way that we do properly bury them,

762
00:50:44.519 --> 00:50:50.199
the way that we do autopsium,
get into the in the forensics state of

763
00:50:50.280 --> 00:50:52.159
mind, so to speak. When
we get with these teams, Man,

764
00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:54.440
yeah, I think there's a little
bit more optimism than the first two teams

765
00:50:54.440 --> 00:50:59.840
we talked about here, just because
they have at least in theory talent that

766
00:51:00.159 --> 00:51:04.440
is elite in some way or another, that has all star level capability.

767
00:51:04.480 --> 00:51:07.360
In both LaMelo and Wemby. You
know, conversely, while we talked we

768
00:51:07.400 --> 00:51:13.159
spoke about Washington and the Detroit last
last week. Those two guys have fringe

769
00:51:13.239 --> 00:51:15.159
level guys. If you will,
if a if this person gets hurt,

770
00:51:15.239 --> 00:51:19.239
this person gets hurt to make all
stars, but all stars don't make you

771
00:51:19.320 --> 00:51:22.880
a good basketball team or a basketball
player in any capacity. I think with

772
00:51:22.960 --> 00:51:27.440
LaMelo and Wemby specifically, those guys
have talent that can really truly elevate their

773
00:51:27.440 --> 00:51:31.599
proverbial franchises on both sides of the
basketball court. And hopefully, hopefully we'll

774
00:51:31.599 --> 00:51:36.039
they'll be both be healthy next year
with some tweaks, I think, all

775
00:51:36.039 --> 00:51:38.039
the rosters that can get them in
a better position to be successful in the

776
00:51:38.119 --> 00:51:42.400
years of coop. Absolutely man,
well said, Well said, Well said,

777
00:51:42.599 --> 00:51:45.679
you should, you know, get
into the business of doing these these

778
00:51:45.719 --> 00:51:49.519
these these eulogies and sendoffs. Man, I'm telling you, the families of

779
00:51:49.599 --> 00:51:53.559
these organizations would be Yeah, this
could be a business for you just basically

780
00:51:53.599 --> 00:51:58.239
just they put it up on LinkedIn. Bro. Well, well, this

781
00:51:58.280 --> 00:52:00.679
is definitely a partnership. We do
this together. So I think you know,

782
00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:04.119
if in your local soon, did
you'd like us to come and properly

783
00:52:04.239 --> 00:52:07.719
utilogize your team, We'll be happy
to take the baseline on the road here

784
00:52:07.960 --> 00:52:10.920
courtesy of nineteen Media. Absolutely all
right, once again, man, thank

785
00:52:10.960 --> 00:52:14.639
you everybody for hopping on board.
We'd like to get your thoughts to be

786
00:52:14.679 --> 00:52:16.519
sure to get us on get at
us on all the social media outlets,

787
00:52:16.559 --> 00:52:20.400
you know where to find us.
For the baseline, Cali Warrenshaw. We

788
00:52:20.440 --> 00:52:23.000
appreciate you guys, you know we
do, and we'll catch up with you

789
00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:23.519
next time.

