What is up, fellow Thermo nuclear a efforts, I am damn Valley coming
at you with some more NBA talk before we cannon ball in here, though,
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those, bump those once I do see them. That's it though, for
me. With all the housekeeping notes out of the way, let's cannonball right
in here. I thought it'll be interesting or not interesting. I thought it
was necessary to do sort of a news pod. We haven't the trouble with
covering the entire league get large when it's not. It is my full time
job, but the podcast is not because I don't know how struggling to go
through every team as much as possible. I don't think I'll necessarily make these
newsers. I think it's the guys that Dunke Dunk called them very sort of
like too consistent. But there's some stuff that's built up that I think is
noteworthy. So if there's ever just a bunch of news and rumors nuggets,
maybe I'll hop on to do that. We will begin with I think two
tough topics that are going to be difficult to discuss. The first of which
is Josh Primo from the San Antonio Spurs. They waved him on Friday night
and he cleared waivers as of Monday, which was Halloween. Attorney Tony Buzby
told ESPN on Saturday that he had been retained by a woman who worked for
the Spurs and says Primo exposed yourself him self to her. Buzzby and the
woman who the name has come out, I believe, but I'm not throwing
it out there. But Buzzby and the woman are set to have a news
conference on Thursday morning, where they're expected to address the allegations. Fredday was
not familiar with Tony Buzzby. ESPN noted that he represented multiple women in the
sexual missconduct lawsuits against the Cleveland Browns and DeShawn Watson. This topic is all
sorts of tough, and you knew something was wrong the moment that he was
released. Primo had his third year option picked up and then was waved shortly
thereafter. That just doesn't happen, especially where someone who has drafted it number
twelve and still considered a tantalizing prospect for the organization. It has come out
that the allegations are that he exposed himself to the multiple woman, that this
doesn't seem like it's a one off instance. He did release a statement to
ESPN on Friday as soon as the news broke. He said that he had
suffered previous trauma and will now take his time to focus on mental health and
treatment. More Fully, I don't I'm not dismissing any trauma that someone actually
went through, but that does not excuse this action of which he's exposing himself
allegedly to a female employee, and to have that put out there immediately while
we're dealing with the slow drip of details overall, just doesn't feel like the
best look. I don't know that we need to be in a rush to
put out these or it's not even put out, put published these statements from
aggrieved parties when the entire story isn't known, so that there's this reckless and
rampant speculation that takes place thereafter, and there are people were saying, well,
I hope that Josh gets the help that he deserves and painting him as
sort of the victim in that scenario. And I'm this is not to say
that he was not a victim at one point in his life of anything,
but it's now it overshadows a factor gets out first where there's these really serious
accusations of him improperly exposing himself to multiple women within the organis that's just an
issue, and it like that needs to be the focus here first and foremost,
and we need to be myself included, and we need to be willing
to learn and listen and understand if we're not presenting this in the proper context,
where if there's criticism, and what I'm saying about it like, I
need to be able to sit and listen and try to figure out a way
where I'm equipped to at least discuss this, since I think it's noteworthy enough
to mention even if I'm not a sexual misconduct expert. That being said,
this is pretty clear cut to me in the sense that I don't know that
we would ever need that we ever should know the full details, because does
that put anyone else to safety at risk? But while the slow drip of
what details we can know are coming out, everything needs to be contextualized where
there's just when there's such an unknown cloud sort of surrounding something, why are
we just putting out and promoting these statements before we know like even a shred
of the entire story. And so it seems like there will be a press
conference on Thursday where we will learn a lot more. It's a super shitty
situation, and my condolences and heart and empathy or with just all the potential
victims in this. Kyrie Irving who Kyrie Irving? So? Kyrie tweeted out
a link to a movie without a caption in the tweet, and the movie
itself is considered to be littered with anti Semitic views and conspiracies. I have
not watched the movie Rolling Stones. John Bleistein did an article where he sort
of delved into it pabulatory. A VSPN tweeted out a screenshot of the book
that the movie is based on. It's written by the same director, and
that director calls the fact that over six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust
one of five major falsehoods. So I feel comfortable in saying that, yes,
the movie book communicates anti Semitic views. He was asked about it at
the postgame press conference after Nets lost to the Pacers. He was also asked
about when he posted in Alex Jones video about the New World Order, and
he defended posting that video just by saying, the entire conspiracy surrounding secret societies
is it's It's true, were his words. He did distance himself from Alex
Jones's conspiracies surrounding and his commentary surrounding Sandy hook. I everyone, my emotional
response immediately was just one of disgust, and I think that that should have
been the initial one for everybody. Kyrie was combative in that postgame presser,
and the response is and to me, just the best way to sort of
tackle it is to acknowledge what the quote unquote opposing stance has been. There
were people that said, well, this isn't basketball questions, why are they
asking it? It's relevant. I know that people have an issue that the
NBA, it seems all the biggest storylines or what's happening off the court,
or their hypothetical trades which are actually gonna get through in a minute, shout
out Miles Turner. I understand that this is relevant when you're posting something so
incendiary, something that can be harmful because you have this huge platform and if
people share or at their adopt those views, that's going to empower them,
and it dehumanizes Jewish people based off those theories and the other one of the
other pushbacks that I received, specifically because I put a tweet noting that one,
Kyrie said, it's not a promotion and to not dehumanize him when he
was going back and forth with ESPN's Nick Fredell, it's reasonable to assume it
was a promotion or some show of support when there's just no caption, and
when you're not willing to answer questions about whether it was or not, Like,
if it wasn't, he's saying he's just putting it out there and it
wasn't meant for people who are going to criticize it. That doesn't actually make
any sense. And the other thing here is people constantly told we're saying to
me, they were saying others, well, why aren't people going after Amazon
or Jeff Bezos for having this movie on their their platform? One, No,
Amazon isn't allowed to hide behind the cloak of capitalism or whatever you want
to call it. But no one is out there saying that Amazon is this
bastion of morality either, And so that's just disingenuous. And if that's where
you're going with this. The other thing that I was seeing and that was
said to me is, you know, why isn't there this much outrage over
anti black stances and as soon as it becomes anything that's a hint of anti
semitic, there's this a wider spread outrage. There's probably a fair discussion to
be had about what, you know, even going to the Kanye West stuff,
why the reaction was as powerful as it was when there has been anti
black propaganda out there and it does seem that when it comes to anti semitism
it might be stronger. But we could deal with this. We're talking about
racism against Asians as well. There's a conversation to be had that doesn't make
this okay. What Kyrie was doing. Everything that I just mentioned, all
like anti black stance is anti Semitism, racism in jed in general. Excuse
me not acknowledging or refusing to they're trying to rights from women, or people
are against the lgbt QIA plus community. All this shit is terrible, and
just because one exists or one there's a reaction on a larger scale, it
doesn't make the other one right or okay. It's perfectly fine for people to
be outraged by this and to feel like there to evoke some type of just
angry emotion from this, especially given Kyrie Irving's response, and I the whole
dehumanization thing. It's not it's disingenuous here in this case with Kyrie Irving,
because he's in that press conference contradicting himself over and over again where he says
that he's lucky enough to have this huge platform, but then this media builds
it up so that he has this big influence. You don't get to have
it both ways, And there is an inherent responsibility when you do have a
platform as largely as his, or any platform where if you're going to post
something publicly and people want to ask you about it, you should be prepared
to answer it. He wasn't prepared to expound on it. Nothing he said
was coherent. Nothing he said justified in any way or explained what he was
doing with the tweet, which, by the way, just putting it out
there. One, it's not a thing you put there was no caption,
like, then what were you trying to accomplish with it if it wasn't a
promotion or a show of support. And two he did delete it. I
don't know, we'll hear maybe we'll hear more about that eventually. There was
also people sitting courtside at the Nets Pacers game tonight that said, I believe
they had shirts on that said fight anti Semitism. And then there was an
exchange with Kyrie and he apparently said is pert Brian Lewis of The New York
Post, I believe that I appreciate you. Uh, I I don't know
like that is you know, it's I think it's fine that they were courtside,
but like him in the exchange with him, that's just so bizarre.
My overarching point here is, though, there's if you're defending someone who has
to qualify, like I don't agree with Alex Jones on him disseminating disinformation and
conspiracies that were harmful to the families of the victims from Sandy Hook, but
he made some good points about occult in secret societies. No, no,
no, that's not okay. It's not you know. And the movie from
this runt of the screenshots that Pabulatory printed out is cited us quoting Adolf Hitler
from a secret document, So who knows if that's even accurate. But when
they're quoting it off Hitler, that's a kin to say, like, well,
you know, like Adolf Hitler and mass genocide, that's not okay.
Uh, you know, like but he had like some really good tips on
like how to groom your mustache or something. You don't provide legitimacy to people,
uh, to those people, like, that's not okay. And so
the fact that Kyrie Irving would it doesn't matter. Forget about the content of
the Alex Jones video that he posted just for just for a second. It
doesn't matter that it was a different topic compared to the Sandy Hook stuff which
Alex Jones has been forced to think he was, like the punitive damages or
whatever they were over a billion dollars that he's supposed to pay something ridiculous.
He's admitted to playing a character put misleading people making money off of it because
he's playing that character on that dumbass info war show. So I like,
you don't using that source is problematic in itself because he's Kyrie is about how
this is from years ago. You know what that source has become. And
I'm just this has nothing to say of what Alex Jones was at that point,
but you know what the source has become. What he did. You
don't get to hide behind like, oh well no, this was from beforehand,
and I don't share his views on that. It doesn't work like that.
You need to find a different source than in this case. The subject
matter is complete bullshit anyway. So there were been holes poked in it to
begin with. I thought there was a lot of smarter commentary on this than
than from me, like from other people on Twitter and I think the whole
Kyrie sort of hiding behind this veil of cultural empowerment is is just not fair
and it's disingenuous and it's not you know, do I personally like Kye Irving?
Absolutely not. But this is not the media personally attacking him like this
is an actual issue someone with his influence, with his platform disseminating just disinformation
at this scale on subjects that are just so sensitive and then just absolutely disgusting.
It's it's absolutely not okay, and I'm like disappointed, I guess would
be the word that we haven't seen more NBA players, or any NBA players
at least as far as I'm concerned, come out and speak out against this.
That's something that I'll be looking towards. It's not I'm gonna point to
someone and say, well, this and this and this and this. I
think Kevin Durant like kind of you know, low key sucks throughout all this,
where he's saying, you know, in the postgame presser, oh,
it didn't impact us in the locker room, just you guys, like like
that's just the low key, shitty response if he doesn't want to comment on
it, like like Kyrie Irving is techinically not his responsibility. That's fine,
that just sucked too. And I'm not Look, I'm not perfect like and
and no one's perfect, and it's not on I'm not trying to be this
arbiter of morality here. I'm not trying to virtue signal either. This is
just actually pretty cut and dry, like what Kyrie Irving did was absolutely fucked
up, and his inability, his unwillingness to explain that, I think it
just proves like this comes back to anyone who follows Dragonfly Jones on Twitter.
He is essentially a clown with this stuff, Like he's a foe intellectual who
when he's pushed to have to comment or justify his stances, he can't or
won't because he the assumption is that he his opinion is right, or that
he's the only one that needs to be talking. Everyone else needs to be
listening. He's not the smartest person in the room, just because he is
going against the grain. Is the kind of way, the kindest way to
put this and subscribing to these you know, false realities and just absolutely dangerous
conspiracy theories. And I doubt this is the last that we've heard of this
topic. It doesn't seem like there's gonna be any disciplinary action for what Kyrie
posted. And you know, we saw what Joe Sai said on Twitter,
and then people are talking about like, oh, well, you come from
a country that supports this and that it's again, it's not. It's not
just because one thing is true, it doesn't make supporting the other okay,
and it doesn't make it wrong to speak out against which is not okay,
like against the topic that is not okay. Just would moderate. Those are
my thoughts there, and I tweeted about it too as I'm stammering through this
whole thing. But the whole situation just absolutely sucks. And again Kyrie deleted
the tweet, but it's absolutely disgusting that it was put out there in the
first place. If he was gonna put it out without a caption, there
was a different reasoning behind it. He should have been prepared to explain it.
It's not on anybody else other than him. Then if I'm going to
post something that doesn't have a caption, this is not comparing myself to him.
But if I'm going to do that and someone wants to ask me,
well, why'd you post a link to this article and you didn't describe what
it was about. Do you support it? That's a fair This wasn't You
can't retweets or not endorsements this ship because it was one a native tweet like
it was your own tweet, and there was no context there, so it
was fair game when it came to questioning, and he was unwilling or incapable
to rationalize why he posted it in the first place, So the only reaction
should just be one of disgust towards him and that entire belief and obviously anti
semitism, anti semitism in general, and even if it's anti black policies,
like we went through all this, like racism is bad, discrimination in general
is bad. This is not hard to wrap your head around. And Kyrie
Irving is not any smarter than you or I just because he's traveling off the
beaten path to this just absolute bs and having outrage over it does not make
you, you know, over this is their selective outrage, Yes, and
there's a conversation we had about selective outrage. But it's okay to be outraged
by this. It's absolutely okay to be outraged by this, and don't let
anyone tell you otherwise. And if you're twisting yourself into a fucking pretzel to
defend Kyrie Irving, just like kyr Irving has to disqualify something he posted about
Alex Jones, who was, you know, disseminating all this men's information about
Sandy Hook where children were slaughtered. Yeah, like, maybe it's time to
look yourself in the mirror and rethink what the fuck you're doing. And I'll
end there. This is there is no natural segue here, Kwie Leonard.
He's going to miss at least the next six games with the Clippers not going
on their current road trip. Tyler said, it's right knee management. They're
calling it from the partially torn acl that he suffered before. Was that in
the twenty that's the twenty twenty one postseason. Now time is just such an
odd concept for me to follow, Tyler said. Kawai is frustrated, but
he's also getting better. I don't really know what to make of this.
My you know, I don't want to panic about any team or any player
at this point, but like you know, the Clippers, it's been rough.
The Lakers are the only team they're scoring fewer points per possession. At
the moment, Kauai is obviously a huge part of their offense. He's dealt
with all these injuries to his lower body in the past, and so it
does make you concerned he's on the wrong side of thirty and the fact that
this is like, you know, it was just a Parsley torn acl It
wasn't considered the better scenario, but it was something that many wondered, Oh
would even have to miss the entire season while he recovers from it. He
did, and now it's just still not okay he is when he's been on
the court. I think there's been a ton of moments where he's looked fine
on the offensive end in particular, but this team is not going to come
anywhere near title contention if he's just not available. And what I will say,
while we have made jokes about load management, and I always think there's
an important line to toe here, like making fun of Anthony davis injuries is
super cringe. Acknowledging that he is injury prone or accident prone, however you
want to call it, is absolutely fair game. This is like Kawai didn't
wake up as a two time champion at one morning and just aside, like,
hey, like I'm really not going to play during the regular season,
Let's just rest up for the spring. These are guys that absolutely want to
play, and so the fact that he's not and we're to point like the
games matter for the Clippers because they're they're not given in the West. The
West is just so deep and brutal. Kawai missing an extended period of time
could absolutely derail their season. It just sucks. And I don't really have
any other analysis on it other than that. Unfortunately, I just hope he
gets better so we could sort of see the Western Conference and close to its
full form, and hopefully all these elite supposed to be elite teams getting healthier
and healthier. This is something that's absolutely worth monitoring though, because you know,
we're now he's going to now have missed just the majority of the games
this season, and even when he's playing the games, there's you know,
they're still trying to work him in very slowly, like this is somebody who's
coming off the bench. It will be interesting to see how they handle this
and when he actually returns, and do we perhaps get more definitive information on
what's going on. Here, it's I think it's it's good to hear,
like, well, quits frustrated. That's not good to hear. But that
he's getting better, I guess. I guess that is good to hear,
But what does that actually mean? Okay, he's getting better, but he's
still missed most of this season and he's not traveling with you. Just something
to keep our eyes on. Miles Turner was on the Wojpod with ESPN's Adrian
wos Roowski. He was asked point blank about the trade rumors involving him with
the Lakers and man his answer was, just I had no idea this this
was out there. I subscribe to the wopod. It's become like too much
of just like propaganda for me, uh, you know, for agents and
executives to listen to on a regular basis. That's if you like that cup
of tea, the interviews that yes he yet or legit, we can't get
Miles Turner on this podcast. More power to you, woch. I do
like I enjoy when him and Bobby Marks do have their pots together. I
will say that, but like the question is just like I couldn't believe it
was asked Caitlyn Cooper Vinny Corners tweeted about it this morning, which is how
it was brought to my attention in the first place. Miles Turner responded,
though, if I'm the Lakers, I take a very hard look at this
position that you're in. I know what I can provide for a team,
my leadership, my shot blocking, my three point ability, and just my
ability to make plays out there on the floor, and I take a very
long look at it. But as far as playing the trigger, I get
paid to shoot. I'm not paid to make these calls. So I couldn't
answer that. We all know picks are so valuable in this league, and
someone like myself, I'm heading into last year in my deal, and you
want to make sure you're getting a return for your assets. Turner added a
hat tip to Dave McManaman of ESPN, who transcribed that as well, my
god, just being asked so directly about it, I guess, is one
thing. And it's also fair because Miles Turner has been in trade rumors for
basically ten years. And he hasn't even been in the NBA for ten years,
but that's how long he's been in trade rumors. Just flat out so
to ask me about it is fair for someone who's spending that much time the
rumor mill him sort of talking about though, capitalizing on assets and being in
the final year of his deal. That doesn't sound like someone who's gonna even
entertain coming back to Indiana. This season, he's only appeared in two games
at this recording, shooting a perfect of perfect thirteen at the line. By
the way, he went back and watched, I wasn't watching it. I
was his debut game or a second game, and he was like hitting runners.
I mean, like this Milestur on offense has been kind of fun to
watch. I went back and watched his offensive possessions this season. We're talking
about limited volume here, only eight three point attempts, but he's made three
of them, like shooting thirty them at a thirty seven point five percent clip.
The rim protection i Q is really just still there. And I always
thought that he didn't receive enough credit for his mobility on the perimeter when he's
defending. I think this is someone who's absolutely a difference maker. And oh
hey, he's only nja's twenty sixth season. He's dealt with a ton of
injuries and he's going to be a free agent, but he's still a hyper
valuable player. When it comes to the Lakers specifically, you can go back
and look at or listen to all the content I put out on it.
If push came to shove the Buddy Healed Turner framework, I probably would just
give up the two first round picks. That being said, I'm at the
point where, and this is on Rob Blink in the front office, I
view the Lakers as sort of so hopeless that even giving up those two first
round picks from Master and Buddy Hell doesn't make you contender. And so now
I understand the logic of you might as well just ride this out, let
the cap space it until next summer, and we'll still have our picks.
Maybe we poach someone in free agency. So I probably leaned towards that mode.
But that like in the cold callous vacuum few But then you look at
it and it's Lebron is in his age thirty eight season. Now is it
at age thirty nine? Why do I keep getting that that mixed up?
I'll track that really quick. We have Lebron who's about to turn thirty eighties
in his age thirty eight season. I was right the first time. Always
trust your instincts, folks, unless your instincts leads you to post, you
know, regurgitate something from Alex Jones and then claim to be a freethinker even
though you're just sort of aggregating all the thoughts of these famous A S Hattery
conspiracy theorists. Sorry, Miles Turner, so still super valuable. We have
Lebron in his age thirty eight season. You're obligated to go for it,
and so I would say just give it up at this point. Now,
does waiting make it more likely the Pacers do this deal for just a pick
or maybe a pick in a swap. I honestly have no idea. If
the Lakers continue to freefall, you know, you get that win against the
Nuggets. Russ has looked okay in two games coming off the bench. Maybe
maybe you gain some leverage back here. Maybe you're just inclined to we we
could still like make the plane or be you know, like seven or eight,
or just be somewhat frisky if we make it out of the plane and
you're just content with that and punting out another year of Lebron being a star,
and that's just not a given from season a season anymore, just camp
be at his age, I would I get not making the deal now,
even though like you had all off season to kind of address more of your
overarching issues than the Lakers actually did. They didn't need to be so guard
addicted over the off season either. But I have to also till towards you
have Lebron and so if you're not trying to win a title or play meaningful
basketball into the spring, then what the hell are you doing right now?
I don't think the Lakers are built for that. Miles tur did also comment
on like why it would be appealing to play for the Lakers, and he
said this is per the Woespod and it comes from Dave McManaman when he transcribed
to for ESPN. Turr said, I just feel like here in the Midwest,
we don't get the love that I think we deserve. It doesn't get
taken on the national level. You were under the microscope out there at the
West when you were doing bad. You're going to hear about it. When
you're doing great, you were going to get a lot of love, especially
with the love that the Lakers get. I think another aspect that is appealing
is playing with greatness and playing under Lebron, I feel like he demands a
certain level of excellency, especially at this point of his career. It's just
one of those things when you're out there, you got to perform people who
are going to expect you to go out there and hold onto that legacy that
the Lakers have built over the years. I don't I find the answer completely
innocuous here, and again I think it's fair game because of how often or
how relentless see Miles Turner has been in the rumor mill, and so if
teams were going to just include players like that and we get to a point
Whereho's basically traded to the Celtics at one point, I don't have a problem
with them commenting on just these you ceaseless trade rumors that are involving their name.
Do I take this is him sort of campaign need to play for the
Lakers. I don't know. It's just sort of surreal to have him talking
this way so openly about the trade rumors. It'll be interesting to see where
this winds up and if the Pacers actually get the full boat of the two
first, should they go through with the deal or if Russ winds up on
another team for a lesser cost. On the Lakers part, I'm just I'll
be fascinated to see how it all plays out. I do think the Lakers
are really going to try and push this to wait, Like if this happens
before game, if any trade with Russ happens before the game, let's say
between twelve and fifteen of the season, I will actually be fairly surprised because
I really think they're either trying to wait out the market, which it makes
sense if you're hoping to gain some leverage. It doesn't make sense if you're
thinking better offers are going to arise, because the Lakers best offer, while
it's steep for them, it can be beaten by so many teams, So
if better players become available, you're just gonna miss out on them for teams
that are that can and will offer more and can give a draft pick that
comes sooner than one of the next five drafts beyond my Dottage signed a two
year at thirty nine point one million dollar extension with the Pins. That does
not sound like a lot on the surface. It sounds like even less when
only two million of the final season of that extension is guaranteed. Just a
no brainer here for me, Boyomdonovitch is shooting like a trillion percent from the
floor has really opened up the Pistons offense and the half court for them.
They're effective people go percentage rises like seven points when he's on the court.
I think when you have that type of outlet, it's streams line development for
all the kids that are within this ecosystem, and it's you know, it's
Kade having more space to operate. Ditto with Jay n Ivy, the room
that Jalen durn in certain line ups has to roll to the basket. If
you go back and watch, like having just Boio Madonna's addition to him just
stroking three after three after three, it's a good fit and he doesn't compromise
whatever the Pistons are trying to do. If it's yeah, we eventually want
to enter the play and discussion this season, then he becomes a player who's
valuable to that. If it's well, we kind of want another high draft
pick, he's just not going to be the guy that single handed lead derails
that. Another interesting note though, just given the nature of this extension,
they Jill Ken immediately trade him, so that's this is not like a given
that he stays in Detroit through this season, unless I'm mistaken there. But
under the terms of this extension, when you look at it, and they
were limited by the extensional rules, since he was traded, I believe that
he can be immediately traded, so that that might be something to monitor.
But that's just that's a fair price to pay if you're the Pistons. I
want to keep him, and I think there's value in just having someone who
opens up the floor as reliably for specifically I'm looking at I mean, even
Isaiah Steward a little bit, but Jalon During, Kake Cunningham, j and
Ive, who are the three most important players in the building for Detroit.
Blake Wesley will wrap up here before we get to have I'll throw out an
MVP ladder. How about that? Anyone to enjoy MVP ladders early season?
Comes from Tom Orsbourne of the San Antonio Express. News. Sources confirm that
Blake Wesley's expected mis six to eight weeks with a torm NCL he suffered in
Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The MRI performed on Monday revealed the MCL
tear. The X rays were negative initially on Sunday night. That sucks.
He's a rookie. The Spurs are built, so he hadn't played a ton.
I think that was only his second appearance of the season Wesley for the
Spurs. But like the Spurs are rolling out their youngsters, and so to
have this type of setback when there are minutes potentially open now in the back
court without Josh Primo there just kind of blows. So we'll have to monitor
that. See hopefully he just gets healthy. And this is someone who was
building the NBA, as you know, coming into the NBA, excusing me
like he can take and make some some difficult shots. And the Spurs they're
still that deficit. As impressive Keldon Johnson and Devin Missel have been this offseason,
there's still sort of that. And now that Premo the player on the
court is gone, you sort of look at the structure of their team and
they don't have that obvious from scratch playmaker slash shot maker. Could it be
Trey Jones, Could it be Malachai Brandam? Perhaps, but like is that
would would would Blake Wesley have giving you any of that? So I don't
know, but blows. Hopefully he's out there soon we get to see him
on the court. The Spurs has been kind of fun to watch the season.
They're blowing expectations out of the water already, just like the the Utah
Jazz. So that's been pretty fun. How about an MVP ladder early season?
I'm tasked with doing these every two weeks for Bleacher Report. I don't
think I'll spam you with them every two weeks, but the first one is
always difficult, just because you know, and I'll throw it up on the
screen for people who are watching along on YouTube, and we'll get to honorable
mentions. I did the top five and then I actually fleshed out a top
ten. What's so interesting though about doing an MVP ladder right now when we're
fewer than eight games into the season. For everybody, the MP ladders are
both brutal and beautiful. The margin of separation is so terribly, terrifically thin
that it makes ironing out a definitive hierarchy rewardingly wrenching. And it's basically the
you know, Tony Horton P ninety x I hate it but I love it
video, which is what I posted when I was knee deep in and writing
it because it was so tough. As a reminder, like the first MVP
Ladder of this season is based on everything I have seen and we have seen
entering games on Halloween, I did not take those games into account, even
though I just watched the Raptors absolutely slaughter the Hawks like he was sort of
close. Though, like for three and a half quarters, there is a
dash and dab of is so and so's performance sustainable peppered throughout the final pecking
order? Beyond that, though I'm not really trying to project. Would also
makes it difficult. Interpretations of the NBA's MVP Award vary across the board.
How much how much should team's success reflect the selection? Does a player's case
get diluted by by having excuse me, types of player's case get deluded by
having enviable talent around him? Should players receive pomp and circumstance for lifeline usage
and thriving within a shallower supporting cast. I just I can't pretend to have
all the answers here, and I've always sort of viewed the MVP Ladder is
just okay. Which player uplifts his team the most circumstances be damned where Yeah,
it matters what Yogas did with the Nuggets two of their three best players
out last season. But like, if you're also uplifting a team a better
team, but you're still uplifting them a crap ton, It's arguably harder to
take a really good team too great, too title contender status to take what
would be a team that sucks without you to like, oh they're they're like
respectable, or they're they're really good. That jump is just a little bit
easier to make than the one that I just outlined it, So I try
to just view it through who uplifts his current team the most and would do
so in nearly any other situation. Make no mistake, though this order is
going to change throughout the year. No one is untouchable right now, even
though I think number one is pretty clear cut, and I considered over fifteen
names just across the top five, Winnowing that list down was painful, rest
assured, I thoroughly hate myself, So just very brief recap instead, or
like always, this ranking is meant to reflect a snapshot in time what my
ballot would look like if the season ended right now. Which thankfully it does
not, because after this should be obvious number one entry, things get debatable
as hell. We start though with the honorable mentions and which is basically ten
through six. For me, I have Damian Lillard at ten for the Blazers.
Here's every player averaging more points per possession out of isolation than Damian Lillard.
That's it. That's the entire list you just heard. That's not Lillard's
entire case. He remains an offensive cheek code across so many different usage types,
and his defensive energy is picked up to boot a calf injury that's going
to keep him sidelined for a bit, coupled with an offense that is less
dependent on him to create everything and anything for everyone this season, that dragged
him down, but not yet outside the top ten. For me, he's
been absolutely spectacular when you look at his scoring and in terms of spearheading,
how good the Blazers actually are. Number nine Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors.
Did Pascal Siakam get better again? He sure did. Even what his
finishes aren't falling, his attack mode is just this great weapon. He has
more counters than everyone probing and doesn't get thrown off balance or out of his
dribble and faced with congestion, the catch and shoot three for now is back.
He's hitting them at a forty two plus percent clip. He's getting into
the line at a career high clip as well, and few players rival his
overall offensive importance and efficiency to wit. Luka Danci and Trey Young are the
only other players matching Siakam's usage and assist rate while committing turnovers on fewer than
thirteen percent of their possessions. That's big time, folks, NICOLEA. Jokis
checks in at number eight for me, Yes, Yoki just scoring numbers have
dipped, and sure he needs to be taking and making more threes, and
no question, the Nuggets lots to the Los Angeles Lakers is clearly unforgivable,
and uh I fully recognize Jokis has no chance of actually winning this award because
voter fatigue is a thing. Still, let's collectively agree to not write off
twenty plus points and eight plus assists per game from an offensive lifeline drilling sixty
nine percent of his twos, especially when Denver continues to comfortably outstrip opponents with
Yokich on the floor, they are outscoring them by more than seven points per
one hundred possessions. Number seven, I'm not sure if this is gonna surprise
people. It's Shay Gilders Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder. That is not
a mistake. Sga is having an absolutely monster season, averaging thirty one points
and seven assists per game on better than league average for shooting, while hardly
ever turning the ball over and subsisting almost entirely on self created looks his no
joke to me, and right now, the Thunder aren't funny either. They
are hell on Earth to face and though the offense remains clunky, it hovers
above league average. With Sga on the court above league average, which when
you look at the talent surrounding him still, that's really fucking impressive. Also,
when he's on the floor, the Thunder out scoring opposed by twelve point
six points per one hundred possessions. He's ratchet it up on defense this season
as well. That team is going to be tough to play. I don't
expect him to stick here all year just because do I think the Thunder eventually
like throw in the towel? I mean maybe I guess they could keep Shay
in there all year. I still expect some weird stuff to happen, I
will say, but he absolutely deserves to be in the top ten right now.
And like you can't, Oh, you can make the joke that the
Thunder sucked, and there are people that have watched way more than the Thunder
than I have this season, but I've I've watched the Thunder this season,
and those dudes, it's not just a matter of trying. Like Shay Giobs,
a gender is so talented and they're substance to what he's doing. The
Thunder have been actually good when he's on the court, and they've been actually
good overall this season. Number six might surprise some people. Steph Curry,
Steph going Kaboom is among the NBA's most enduring constants, and despite the warriors
awkward start, he'd be a shoe in for the top five if three of
his past four outings didn't feature this lackluster outside shooting. I will say I
do tend to sometimes cite net rating swings. I try and avoid them too
much in this discussion because we have to move beyond that. I am sort
of wondering if Steve Kerr is single handedly campaigning for Steph to have the biggest
net rating swing in the NBA by having James Wiseman on the floor when Steph
Curry is not, because that really helps Steph's net rating swing. Just in
case anybody cares about those things. Let's get to the top five though,
So number five Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. I don't think anyone who
listens to this podcast will be particularly surprised that I have him here. I
think he may have had a case. He went cold from three the past
two games, so maybe that bumped them down a bit. But giving the
final spot the Booker not easy. Steph could be here diddo for Siakam and
Yokich didto for Dame and SGA. At the same time, Booker himself could
also be hired. To me. He's averaging twenty nine point three points and
five point five assists while banging in sixty percent of his twos, including a
fifty six percent clip from mid range, for a Phoenix Suns team that has
retained its status as a well oiled machine. What's more, Booker has never
been more pivotal to that machine. Chris Paul isn't off to the clean to
start. Cam Johnson began the season battling hit issues, and while the bench
has been surprisingly strong, the Suns remain without Jay Crowder, who's their sixth
best player or should be their sixth best player maybe well, I guess they're
third best player is Jacque Landale. So but you get you catch my drift
there. Booker is averaging ten point five potential assists per game. That's as
highest since the PRECP three era, and it's a significant uptick over last season's
eight point four. So much of the Suns' offense is now tethered to his
decision making out of double teams and from the in between. Opponents are doubling
him on thirty one point nine percent of his possessions, which is one of
the I think ten highest marks in the league. When I was checking,
they are the Sun's at least going one point zero points per possession out of
those double teams. But Booker's ability to find outlets like DeAndre Ayton in those
situations has helped Phoenix navigate various slumps from certain players and just stay afloat.
Booker is also shooting sixty percent on fifteen point eight drives per game, while
notching what would be a career best free throw at tenth. Right, Like
I said at the top, two consecutive ice cold games from distance kept Booker
outside the top four and barely in fifth. Because that's how this ship works
right now when we're only six seven games in the season. But the offended
comments you hear about his defense no longer being a weakness or accurate, and
in the early going he's elevated the Sun's point differential per one hundred possessions by
twenty five point seven when he's on the court. That is again I don't
lean on these, but that is the highest mark of anyone who's going to
appear in the top five. We are on, too, number four,
and we have John Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. I guess you can consider
this my latest apology to the Grizzlies, who I just continue issuing apologies too
for being so wrong about them. Spectacle ensues every time John Morant attacks,
not really because he's a human poster, but for the unpredictability with which he
now plays. Well, go for the monster, finish, slow down,
get a defender on his hip, and finish with a much too easy or
impossibly angled scoop layout seamlessly slide back for a double clutch, jumper loft or
threaded dime to his rolling big. The offensive armory from which Morant poles has
never been deeper that includes his three ball. He won't shoot sixty one percent
out above the break triples forever, but leaving him under unattended is no longer
tenable recourse four defenses. To that end, the Memphis Grizzlies currently leave the
league in point scored per possession outside garbage time per cleaning the glass. Fewer
than ten games isn't much to go off, but no reasonable mind had them
here five plus outings into the season, and the John Morant power minutes haven't
only been better thing thlue to half court offense that ranks inside the seventy third
percentile of efficiency. Memphisip's aggregate success takes center stage most of the time it
should, the Grizzlies collectively traffic and defying expectations, but this year's defense is
off to a rocky start without Jaren Jackson Junior and the impressive Santi Aldama ranked
second on the team in total minutes again Santi aldam I've been impressive. He's
still second on the team in total minutes. These are not picturesque circumstances,
which makes morants thirty two point six points and six point seven assists on the
highest true shooting percentage sixty six point two that you'll see within this discussion much
more impressive and that much more mission critical to what Memphis is doing. Number
three on here where this was tough. I'm not gonna lie Luca don chich.
I think this might be in the minority. I'm not sure, and
I kind of hope it's not because I don't try to be purposely incentiary.
Figuring out where to place Luca was and is and might remain a struggle.
On the one hand, is thirty six point seven points per game lead the
Association. He pairs that distinction with eight point seven assist per game and a
jaw jutting sixty five percent conversion rate inside the arc. The level to which
the Mavericks depend on him still shouldn't exist. His forty point nine usage rate
would be the second highest in NBA history, behind only twenty sixteen twenty seventeen
Russell Westbrook, who, by the way, one MP honors, and yet
partners this historical centrality with a turnover right south of nine. The words you're
looking for here is what the fuck those are words? So how the words
you're looking for is how it shouldn't be possible to blend the degree of difficulty
on so many of his passes with such economical possession control. On the other
hand, Dontech is so far shooting a career low twenty two point six percent
from three, and his offensive monopolization directly contributes to the Mavericks altogether, punting
on transition and any sort of variable cadence whatsoever. How much of a bump
should he get for his one man showism and how much of a pass does
he warrant for Dallas's rocky start Pretty big ones on both fronts, if you
ask me, the Mambis appear to be in self discovery more given some of
the rotation decisions Jason Kidd has made. That's not on Don Chi, who,
despite the departure of Jalen Brunson, a woefully predictable crunch time in late
clock structure, and frankly too much fucking JaVale McGee, continues to somehow,
some way anchor a top five offense, Number two Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland
Cavaliers. I would not have bet on this even if you told me it
was going to happen. I don't care how early in the season. It
is my mega controversial take here, and I want people to stop what they're
doing and sit down so that they can hear this. The Cleveland Cavaliers were
smart to trade for Donovan Mitchell. I'm very glad to get that off my
chest. I hope it doesn't anger too many, but that is my mega
controversial take. Though the Calves have cobbled together a more effective bench rotation than
I expected, which related Holy crap, Kevin Love. Mitchell has been the
life force for an offense that ranks sixth in point score per possession, fight,
playing almost entirely without Darius Garland and experimenting with imperfect solutions at the three.
On another related note, that Dean weight extension was highway robbery by Cleveland.
He's fantastic. The numbers here speak deafening volumes. Mitchell is averaging thirty
two point two points and seven point three assists while knocking down fifty two point
six percent of his twos and a sanity, shattering forty five point five percent
of his threes. He's thrown more errant passes than normal, but that comes
with figuring out timing and fit with a completely new team, missing the primary
playmaker off which you were supposed to operate. At this moment, I don't
think there's a hotter rim and three score in the league. Mitchell is shooting
seventy three percent at the basket and sixty two percent on sixteen point three drives
per game, and his fifty two point nine percent clip on off the dribble
threes leads the field of everyone who's attempted at least fifteen of those looks.
Whether Mitchell can maintain this pace as a matter of course, there is no
ceiling on the twenty twenty two twenty twenty three calves, but the complexion of
the offense will change once Garland rejoins the rotation. Mitchell's singular excellent excellence may
pull back as a result. I'd still bet against it materially dissipating here.
Number one, you know it. I know it. At least we all
should know it. Johannest attent to Coupo. I just I don't have I'm
gonna try and give some words to this, but Johannes's tent to coopo is
beyond words. He's relentlessly dominant everywhere against everyone, without fail. There continues
to be an unprecedented unstoppability with which he plays. Can he fall to in
love with the mid range from where he's shooting twenty nine percent? Yeah?
Sure? He can also flip a switch and resume attacking the basket, and
what opposing defense is can only describe as hopelessly unguardable avalanches. It has become
a cliche to wonder aloud whether the Mothership will ever call him home and ruin
the NBA experience for all of us. Quite frankly, that doesn't make it
untrue. His numbers shouldn't exist in this timeline or dimension. Through five games,
he's averaging thirty four point four points, fourteen rebounds, five point eight
assists, and one point six blocks while downing sixty five point two percent of
his twos, and in I what the hell why not thirty five point three
percent of his threes. The defense is a standout as ever. Has there
ever been a more effective week side helper or someone seemingly so emotionally invested in
the outcome of every possession he takes each basket. Personally, I'm not sure,
but I do know Yannis once again ranks among the best high volume stoppers
at the RIM. And more importantly, I know that the Milwaukee Bucks sit
atop the east and the entire MBA without Chris Middleton or Pat Connaughton because of
Yannis. That is my MVP Ladder top ten. Let me know what you
think in the comments and my mentions whatever. Please remember to subscribe on YouTube
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on YouTube description. Until next time, I'll get the shout out to the
one, the only, the guy who just missed this MVP Ladder because he's
on his own MVP ladder right Because there needs to be a number of better,
more superior than one, that is Frank neil keia