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What is krack lacking fellow thermonuclear a
effort, I am a damp of alley

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coming at you with another palmark mail
back before we count the ball. In

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the four usual reminders, subscribe to
us Apple, Spotify, YouTube. All

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three those help us out the most
hits up on YouTube as we continue to

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try to grow. That comment like
help the algorithm, love us back,

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join our discord. The link of
that is in the podcast a description,

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follow us on all the social handles. Those are in the podcast and YouTube

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descriptions as well. And if you've
done all those things, consider telling people

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about a shout outs on Twitter,
word of mouth recommendations. They all go

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a long way. With all of
that said, though, let's get into

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this mail back of a lot of
questions. I'm gonna try and get through.

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I'd like to get through all of
them, but we know how wordy

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I can be, and we got
a ton. I'm always very overwhelmed by

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how good great our discord users are
with the questions. And so this first

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one comes from an actually Twitter.
I have one Twitter solicitated mailbag question from

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this time. I don't know why
I'm saying solicitation. I had a question

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on Twitter that I will answer here
comes from unbiased Rockets fans. Kings no

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defense, great offense is a lot
like people describe the MAVs post Kyrie trade.

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So why aren't the MAVs like the
Kings? Now? Why so much

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worse? Lots of quote value judgments, Oh my god, no analysis of

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what is happening on the floor,
good old bad dy. Why are the

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MAVs not like the Kings? I
don't really know about the understand the value

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judgment part of this, but I
will say, you know what's happening with

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the MAVs right now. It's not
really just about the post Kyrie trade.

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This was kind of their identity before
the Kyrie Irving trade and getting rid of

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your best perimeter defender and then just
someone who's a bigger guard in Spencer Dinwiddie.

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I do think that exacerbated some of
your issues. And now you're left

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also post Maxi Kleba injury and his
return and trying to just scramble and figure

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out the center rotation. Should we
play Val McGee. Christian Wood's clearly not

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long for this team. Maxic Lee
does not look great following his return from

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that hamstring surgery and what separates them
from the Kings, just aside from the

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vibes, is I think Sacramento One
is going to play a lot faster,

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including on the defensive end, Like
I feel like there's more. I don't

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want to say effort there and I
do. The other thing to note here

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is that the MAVs low lights are
probably lower than the Kings. Is when

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you look at just some of their
really bad transition defensive sets. They are

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not the worst transition defense in the
league, but when you have Luca don

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Chi on the court with Kyrie Irving
especially, those numbers have not been great

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in transition defense, and that just
paints a really bleak picture of the MAVs.

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But the Kings, they do,
they scramble a lot faster on defense.

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They are one of the best in
the league at forcing opponents deep into

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the shot clock. I think that
their opponents have like the fourth longest possessions

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in the NBA average offensive possession time, and it is not translated to an

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efficient defense, so like we can't
you know, the Kings are hovering around

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the bottom five and points a lot
per possession. But there's kind of just

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like a blueprint and an energy there
where that's felt way off with the Mass

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all year, and then again go
back and look at some of their low

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lights or some of their best lineups, just being so poor at getting back

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in transition. The other thing with
the Kings is, and this is especially

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true when looking at them versus the
Maps post Kyrie Irving trade, they're better

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at gobbling up the low hanging fruit. They grab defensive rebounds, they're limiting

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second chance opportunities. They're not failing
a ton and like Dallas is not doing

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a good in either of those areas
right now. And when you also struggle

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on offense at times, whether it's
in crunch time and the Mass offense has

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been fine with Kyrie and Luke on
the court, when you struggle like during

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the don Chitchen no Kyrie minutes,
if you can't get your defense set because

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you're missing shots or your offensive possessions
aren't ending, well, that's going to

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harm your defense too. And you
know, we can look at the margins.

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The Mass have lost a lot of
close games this year. The Kings

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we know, have been the arn
Fox specifically been really good in the clutch.

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But I think that the MAVs are
not being unfairly judged here, and

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they're setup is demonstratably worse than the
Kings this season because they're not built,

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especially now to gobble up that low
hanging fruit. And this is all again

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you can look in statistically the MAVs
defense has not been as bad as the

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Kings this year, but there are
elements you look at in the King's defense

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where I don't want to say that
they've overachieved relative to their personnel, but

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it's okay, they're at least doing
this, And with Dallas it's very much.

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It doesn't feel that way. It
hasn't for a lot of a season,

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but especially since the Kyrie Irving trade
and the loss of Dorian Fennie Smith

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and as they've gone through an even
or it feels like a greater existential crisis

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on their their frontline. Another Mavericks
question here, which I think I'll have

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to make the hook for this podcast
because it's it's so spicy. Alex John

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Alvarez s It's been speculated that the
MAVs have been keeping an eye on Luca's

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ability to lead and play with Kyrie
post trade deadline, between his body language,

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the losing record, missing the playoffs, is it ridiculous to think the

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MAVs could trade Luke and keep the
other star they have in the building in

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Kyrie, before letting Kyrie walk for
nothing after trading so much to get him.

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I lean towards no way in hell
do they trade Luca. But their

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lack of assets makes this situation very
interesting for the future, so I would

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give it a I guess I should
never say never, but it would be

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like a point zero zero zero zero
zero one chance that Kyrie Irving is kept

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over Luca donches before next season.
And the thing to remember here, too

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is that as bad as things look
in Dallas right now, and as bad

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as you might feel about their future, they have control over Luca don Chich

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for a few more years. You
start to worry probably two years before he

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hits free agency, because that might
you know, the year there's the player

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option year, and there's that season
before the player option year leading into that

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season. That's when Luca might be
most likely requested trade or when you have

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to think, okay, do we
risk He's the type of player where I

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would argue that if you think you
have a chance of keeping him, you

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go outa bron James Aleck Kevin Durant, and you play it out to keep

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him. And so that's why I
could see, Hey, we're with other

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guys, you might just look at
trading them if they didn't ask her out.

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But with Luca, I look at
it as Okay, you have three

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years left before he hits free agency
in twenty twenty six. Is his player

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option. That's your timeline, so
you just you don't get rid of him

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unless he asked her out. And
that might be the question here is will

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he ask for out? I would
be surprised if that happened over the summer.

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The other issue here is what does
happen with Kyrie Irving? Let's assume

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that, and so the leadership stuff, Luca hinted at that he's going through

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some off court personal stuff. Hopefully
that's you know, you never want to

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see players dealing with any of that, So hopefully he's fine. He's mentioned

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that his defense has been poor,
but that also we've been playing basketball for

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like three years straight. That's just
like, you know, he's being too

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honest, Like you could just say
at that point, I don't I don't

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know. I'm hopefully everything's fine with
him off the court. And there was

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the report or Tim Hardaway Senior was
talking about how Luca and Kyrie weren't leaders.

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Tim Hardaway Junior very thoroughly to that, and so I'm not too worried

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about Luca's leadership or even Kyrie's leadership. I don't, well, I worry

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about all things Kyrie irving, but
he's not you know what's ailing the MAVs

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right now. And Tim Hardaway Junior
was talking about Kyrie and glowing terms with

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how well he's done with rallying guys
together for text message with text messages and

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checking in on everyone. Maybe Luca's
not perfect at that just yet. But

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with that being said, Lucas still
really super young and has time to learn

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how to do that, and so
when he's like in year seven, eight

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nine, he could be more of
a vocal leader if he's not already.

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And so I don't think this is
a situation where, if you're the MAVs,

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you look at moving him and just
build around Kyrie. If there's not

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that would be that would be a
terrible move. You get a haul for

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Luca Dante and something that you could
you know, relaunch or rebuild with,

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but you're certainly not going to do
that and then keep Kyrie Irving. That

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doesn't make any sense to me,
and I think it's I don't want to

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say the MAVs assets are underrated,
but this season they're either going to have

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this year's lottery pick and then another
future first they could trade, or they

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will have, let's say they make
the playoffs, which doesn't seem too likely

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at this point, they will have
two future first round picks then to move,

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and so in essence, they still
do have two first round picks they

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can move. It's just that I
personally, I know a lot of people

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think they should just tank and eased
into the lottery because of Web and Yama,

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and maybe there's are just getting into
the top four. Maybe there's merit

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to that, but I think teams
and all likely if they're gonna wind up

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with the eleventh pick or something,
teams are going to prefer a distant mass

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first round pick or another first round
pick over just getting that eleventh pick this

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year. And if you wind up
the eleventh pick, you can only trade

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one future first because of the way
that you traded your pick in twenty twenty

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nine to Brooklyn, and so you
could go, you know, you would

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trade this year technically two thousand and
twenty three, and then you could trade

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one and it could be your two
and twenty four, it could be your

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two thousand and twenty five and two
thousand and twenty seven, I guess at

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that point. But no, the
problem here, excuse me, what becomes

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the problem there is you still owe
that obligation to the Knicks that fills over

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to two twenty four if you keep
your own pick, and so then as

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soonest, you could trade your pick
is two and twenty six at that point,

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and then because you owe the two
and twenty nine pick, the maximum

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that you can trade if you keep
your own draft pick is one additional first

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round pick this year, which is
why for me, if I'm the Mavericks,

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I'm better off setting that pick to
New York now, and then you

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can trade two future first which just
retained that mystery box appeal because we don't

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know where they're gonna land just yet. They have some salaries that they can

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move to match stuff. I've already
talked about this where Jade Hardy, Josh

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Green, they're not blue chip prospects, but those are guys that will have

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some value on the trade market.
Do I think they have the best offer

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for Michael Bridges. No, do
they have a better or a competitive offer

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for O g n and Obi.
Maybe if two firsts are on the table,

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plus you know those young guys,
and then just matching money, they

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can still go that route. And
so it's definitely time for urgency in Dallas.

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But you have to before you even
look at moving Luca, whether he

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ask for it or not. You
have the one figure out the Kyrie Irving

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stuff, and then when there you
still need to take the other swing because

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Luca is a generational talent regards of
how you feel about him, like a

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lot of people think he's overrated.
It's just too too early to tell that

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the season has been a mega disappointment. The MAVs are one of the most

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disappointing teams in the league, if
not the biggest disappointment, the biggest disappointment

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in the league. But they still
have options on their table, and I

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don't think there's a scenario in which
unless Luca really pushes for out, because

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let's say Kyrie Irving left and he
thinks the futures bleak, and even then

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again, having him under contract for
three more years before free agency, I

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think the MAVs do their damnedest to
sort of figure it out, and you

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have to take that next home run
swing whether Kyrie Irving stays or not.

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And I look at this point,
I would bet on Kyrie Irving staying.

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The money and the bird rights are
clearly important to him. That's why he

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has for out in Brooklyn. And
for all the ship that's going on with

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the MAVs, it hasn't seemed like
there are these fissures in the locker room

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at least. And so I'm not
a big believer in Kyrie Irving culture center,

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but it does seem like the MAVs
like what he has brought to the

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table from that dynamic. And look, if you get to go through a

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training camp in an offseason with Kyrie
and Luca together, they're gonna have better

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chemistry late in games and that should
help their crunch time offense. And I

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will just reiterate I'm not defending the
mass here. They suck in the Mark

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Cuban comments and Jalen Brunson and Rick
Brunson blaming the parents for getting involved in

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Jon Brunson's free agency, look really
quickly on that. Even if that information

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has been misportrayed about how many times
Jalen Brunson was willing to sign the four

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year, fifty six million dollars extension. You have nothing to gain by whipping

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out your phone and reading a text
message from an agent about contracts and clients.

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There's just you could say. You
could lightly refute it and be like,

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well, I think some of this
stuff is misrepresented, but hey,

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we fucked up, and he did
say that he misses Brunson, but we

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fucked up. We should have given
him the extension at the first chance that

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we could have, which they would
not have offered it. We know that

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for a fact it was offered at
least once, and just move on.

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So that's just fucking dumb ass behavior
there, quite frankly, But again,

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where is my actual train of thought
on this? Now that's awkward. But

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look, with Kyrie and Luca,
they've played a lot of close games.

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They're still winning the minutes. With
those two on the court, I think

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that there is at least a pathway
to them being a lot better, And

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I would be more panicked if they
keep Kyrie. They make some moves on

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the margins, just get better centers, which you can do on a budget,

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and then they make you have to
make the trade. They should be

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trading this year's pick if they keep
it, they should be trading a future

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verse round pick or two over the
off season to bring in real talent.

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You have to make another move like
that. And if we're sitting here,

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not this time next year, but
leading into the trade deadline next year,

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the Mazer kind of asked, and
the Kyrie and Lucas stuff isn't working out,

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then you start to ask yourself more
existential questions about well, not just

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where are we headed, but how
much is Luca a part of the struggle,

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because right now I just don't think, yeah, your defense, he

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is part of the problem. Your
offense. I guess he's part of the

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problem when he doesn't have the ball, the same way Kyrie is part of

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the problem when he's standing in the
corner. Isn't that kind of on the

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coach though to some extent right now, again, let's see him go through

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a training camp before they've become these
stationary off ball bystanders to play off one

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another because you don't want to go
through the hasn't always been your term?

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I turn stuff in Dallas, and
again it's been effective at points what they're

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doing, it has not been inventive
at all. Is that a symptom of

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this happened in mid season? Or
does Jason Kidd just to not the right

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head coach for this team. Time
will tell. And so that's just kind

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of a cop out answer here,
but I would be shocked if the Maths

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entertain any sort of Luca Doncious trades, even if he asked her out,

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which again I do not expect him
to do this offseason specifically. Next question

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Rome eighty one eighty and he Let's
be clear, Rome did not want me

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to include this question on the podcast, but I actually thought it was a

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fascinting question, so I'm including it
anyway. Maybe I shouldn't because we have

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such a backlog. Speaking of this, that brings me to a question inspired

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by your pod, would you include
Trey Murphy and a trade for Jaylen Brown?

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I wouldn't. Is that just a
Homer fan thing. I would one

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hundred percent include them at a trade
for Luca, though bear in mind I'm

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a higher on Trey Murphy than anyone
on the Pelicans. Besides hypothetical zion,

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this is interesting, and so what
I do think factors in the equation is

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that Jolen Brown is still young age
twenty six. Murphy's about to turn twenty

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three, so he's less than John
Brown will turn twenty seven before next season,

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but they're less than four years apart. Brown's going into a different contract

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spectrum, though. You have Trey
Murphy two more years left on his rookie

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scale, and then you get the
second contract is always team friendly, even

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if it's the max, just because
of the percentage that it is of the

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salary cap. For the most part, it's always seem friendly. So you

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have to factor that into this.
And then you're not trading for John Brewn

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unless you think he's going to resigned
because he hits free agency in twenty twenty

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four, or you can maybe sign
his extension. Either way, you're looking

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at paying him forty plus million dollars
after the twenty three twenty four campaign.

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So heading into twenty four twenty five, would you move to not move Trey

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Murphy for him, though I think
would probably be a mistake. It depends

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on what else needs to be in
the offers, and when you're looking at

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a team like the Celtics, it
probably wouldn't be draft pick heavy because if

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you move Brown, you're still gonna
be trying to win around Jason Tatum.

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So you would look at Trey Murphy
as okay, well that dude comes in

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and plays immediately, the Pelicans would
missus three point volume, his just movement

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off the ball, even giving them
some rim pressure away from the ball.

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On the ball, he's shooting fifty
five plus percent on drives over the past

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over the like I don't know,
basically half the season at this point.

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Not high volume of drives, but
he's been getting better at attacking and open

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space. The way he can move
in open space, get off shots quickly

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or like I said, get going
towards the basket, gives you a lot

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of defensive length and disruption. I
get that there's still the mystery box appeal

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though, but if you're not going
to trade him for Joyn Brown, who

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is going to be in the All
NBA discussion this year, I don't know

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if he makes it. I would
say I'll frame it this way. If

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there was a fourth All NBA team, I think Jalen Brown would make it.

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I guess a lot of it depends
on what do people do with the

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Kyrie kd Lebron James stuff in the
playing time. I'm not gonna say it

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would be foolish. I understand the
hesitants, but if and also knowing okay,

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well design, I'm gonna be healthy. But just in a vacuum,

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I would move Trey Murphy for Jalen
Brown because we've seen that. I don't

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know if and again you have to
bank on development here. I don't know

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if Trey Murphy can never become sort
of the slow it down. I'll run

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some things in the half quarter.
I'll get to my spot to knock down

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these pull up Jay's in the half
court in a higher volume, like Jalen

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Brown has proven that he can do, and where a lot of stuff Trey

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Murphy does is still predicated on not
being teed up, but being teed up,

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but also just moving and not having
like needing that sort of alcohol at

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the off ball head start. Jalon
Brown no longer really needs that. He

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can get the head of steam going
from on the ball. He's not the

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perfect player. You maybe you want
to argue that Tray Murphy will end up

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being the better pastor. I do
think Jayon Brown has made incremental improvements there

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over the years. I also think
that you know right now, Jalon Brown

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is going to be better defensively than
Trey Murphy. I think a lot of

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what goes on in Boston that everyone
kind of insulates each other. But aside

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from Derek White this year, just
given how limited, just given how limited,

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excuse me, Robert Willams, the
third has been. I could you

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make a case that Jalen Brown has
been better than Marcus Smart on defense?

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I mean maybe I think that there's
more to the positional spectrum than him.

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So again, if Jalen Brown says
I will stay in New Orleans, and

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it does depend on the rest of
the package, but that's if that's the

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centerpiece asset where you're either giving up
then you're giving up salary fodder and maybe

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a very protected first or just someone
else you're not giving up Dyson Daniels and

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Trey Murphy and then also Herb Jones
and picks. If it's just Trey Murphy

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is the centerpiece of this package,
sort of like the McHale. No,

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there's a lot of picks included in
the Kemn Durant trade. What am I

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thinking, man, I'm trying to
think of what would be a good analogy

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for that type of package. But
if it's Trey Murphy and just odds and

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ends to get Jalon Brown because he's
in the last year of his deal,

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I'm probably doing it. If I'm
the Pelicans, assuming I have a good

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feel for what he wants to do
in New Orleans a long term, I

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get. I do think it's arguable
depending on how you feel about the Pelicans

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direction, Zion's health, all that
jazz. This next question comes from Peto.

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Which NBA team is underlooked in terms
of urgency to make a big move

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to satisfy their top players, otherwise
they could leave. This is always an

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interesting question, and it's an offseason
one, for sure. I think he

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a. Pico mentions that the Mavericks
are certainly one with Luca. I think,

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yeah, you just need to you
know, they already made the Kyrie

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trade, but there needs to be
another one there other teams. I think

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people around the league do believe in
Atlanta's kind of on the clock with Trey

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Young. We'll see if they make
any big moves over the summer, or

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if having Quinn Snyder in there ends
up being huge. I would say Washington

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is on the clock with Bradley Beale, he has that no trade clause and

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another four years left on his deal, but he has already said that he

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doesn't really want to go through a
rebuild. Portland with Damian Lillard is probably

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the biggest one. I don't want
to make the discourse about that, but

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he did say doesn't want to go
through a rebuild. I respect that he

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doesn't define his legacy by championships.
I don't think we should be honest,

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and so if he wants to stay
in Portland, respect that. But I

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do think as the Blazers, unless
they tell him this is what we're doing,

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do you still want to stay here? And he says, yes,

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you are obligated to try. She's
coming off the best season of his career,

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and you did fuck shit at the
trade deadline, quite frankly, and

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you need to stop hitting these singles
and doubles and go over their triples and

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home runs. And so I think
he's the big one. If we were

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looking for sort of just like an
off the beaten path, this is just

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like, Okay, well what is
he accomplished? He's extension eligible this summer,

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and just like what is going on
in Charlotte, you're on the clock

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00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:17,599
with LaMelo Ball. Quite frankly,
he will sign the extension, but is

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he gonna set the record for like
the quickest attempt to get out of there

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if they don't really turn things around. I'm not saying he hates Charlotte if

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you look at the direction of that
team and you're like, Okay, they

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have another top lottery pick coming this
year, so maybe that's good. Steve

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00:19:29,519 --> 00:19:32,279
Clifford has definitely installed a defensive identity. A lot of that has come with

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Outla La Ball in the lineup.
That's a situation that would be monitoring,

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quite frankly, depending on Minnesota season. Then I know that they've already made

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00:19:40,319 --> 00:19:42,640
like the big move and then made
ancillary moves on top of that, bringing

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Mike Conley, getting rid of D'Angelo
Russell. Are you on the clock with

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00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,599
if he Edwards again, he's only
he will sign the extension and you will

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00:19:49,599 --> 00:19:52,839
have team control over him probably for
at least unless he's gonna sign the four

332
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,000
year deal. It'll probably a five
year deal player options, so four years

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00:19:56,279 --> 00:20:00,960
under team control on top of next
year, so that's five But just could

334
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:06,880
things get weird there? But I
think the sort of the like the like

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off quirky one. Maybe LaMelo Ball
shouldn't qualify for this. I would just

336
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watch the metal Ball's future, and
it's Charlotte at this point because that team

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00:20:12,039 --> 00:20:15,039
does sort of feel like it's a
little bit on the fast track to nowhere.

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I don't really have anybody after that. You're not going to disenchant anyone

339
00:20:19,599 --> 00:20:23,640
in with the Clippers if their season
disappoints. I don't really think it's it's

340
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Lebron dinner request to trade after this
year with the Lakers' and you're always just

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under pressure by virtue of the Lakers. You could argue that the Celtics are

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00:20:32,039 --> 00:20:34,480
under pressure with Jalen Brown. I
don't know what else they could do to

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make him want to stay. If
it's an issue, if he hasn't been

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treated properly, then yeah, sure. But if it's a basketball thing,

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you're not going to elevate him above
Jason Tatum or who are you moving to

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00:20:45,079 --> 00:20:49,000
make Jalen Brown's role more prominent.
He's the number two on one of the

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00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,279
three best teams in the league.
That's a big deal. Finally, I

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00:20:52,319 --> 00:20:56,519
also think that Joella be just has
to be circled here, and I think

349
00:20:56,519 --> 00:20:59,519
it will Hinge on James Harden's free
agency. But even if James Hardon stays

350
00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:03,480
and you flame out in the playoffs
this season, he loves Philly and bid

351
00:21:03,519 --> 00:21:07,680
does, but where do you do? Things start getting weird there. But

352
00:21:07,759 --> 00:21:11,119
looking at the more imminent issues,
I hate to have it be the same

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names, but Bradley Beale and Damian
Lillard feel most urgent. I think LaMelo

354
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,839
ball needs to be thrown up there
a little bit Luca don Chich of course,

355
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and then I'll in bed. I
guess it's an honorary mentioned because it

356
00:21:22,039 --> 00:21:26,559
does depend on James Harden's free agency
a little bit bit. Other than that,

357
00:21:26,839 --> 00:21:29,799
Trey Young, Yeah, I really
let me just let me pick one,

358
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,920
and it can't be Damian Lillard to
Bradley Beal. Let's just stick with

359
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,079
the LaMelo ball stuff. That just
feels like a situation that could deteriorate and

360
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,759
get weird, even though again,
I believe he will sign the extension.

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So I'm just going with that.
No rhyme or reason to it other than

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I don't trust the Hornets, the
Hornet's future, HP Bergie. If the

363
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,920
Jazz get web Yama with the Timberwolves, pick, where's the nearest bridge at

364
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:56,559
least four stories above water. This
isn't funny. I'm actually not gonna mention

365
00:21:56,599 --> 00:21:57,599
what happened, but I'm not gonna
answer this question that is hysterical. I

366
00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:04,799
can understand why Timberwolves fans are incredibly
nervous about what's going to happen with their

367
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,440
their pick. Should it be in
the lottery and the Jazz get to keep

368
00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:12,799
it, I would be Look if
if the Jazz end up with Oneben Yama,

369
00:22:14,039 --> 00:22:17,279
like holy fuck, that just what
already looks like a home run trade

370
00:22:17,279 --> 00:22:19,799
for them becomes one of the best
trades in NBA history. Assuming that Victor

371
00:22:19,839 --> 00:22:23,960
Wieman Yama is even forty five percent
of the player that people think he's going

372
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,359
to be, man, this year's
lottery is going to be wild. We

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do have a question that's related to
this to dovetailt with from Herb Jones Enjoyer.

374
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If the Jazz, oh sorry,
Roman, but my question is,

375
00:22:37,039 --> 00:22:41,559
if you haven't answered this already,
which team do you prefer? Victor Weeban

376
00:22:41,599 --> 00:22:45,400
Yama goes too. Here's the thing. We've been asked this question. I've

377
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,000
given it different levels of thought,
and I feel like my top one or

378
00:22:48,039 --> 00:22:51,000
two answers have changed every time I've
done it, so I tried to.

379
00:22:51,039 --> 00:22:52,559
I did think about this one a
little bit more this time, and I

380
00:22:52,559 --> 00:22:56,599
was trying to figure out who I
want Victor Romyama to go somewhere where it's

381
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okay, let's just say the Pelicans
are in the lottery and he ends up

382
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on the Pelicans. The idea of
him on a team that can be so

383
00:23:02,599 --> 00:23:08,119
good immediately is super enthralling. But
a really, really really big part of

384
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,279
me wants to see him on a
team where he's just going to be unleased

385
00:23:11,319 --> 00:23:15,559
from the jump. And so Dallas
All was on one lottery after missing the

386
00:23:15,559 --> 00:23:18,880
plan. Yeah, that'd be cool, But like, are they gonna give

387
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,400
Victor rama Yama the learning curve that
he warrants? Are they going to give

388
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,440
him the role prominence on offense that
he deserves maybe early on? Yeah,

389
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,440
there's connective stuff. You wanted to
be more of a play finisher, but

390
00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:34,160
you don't want his spotlight to be
or his usage to be cannibalized into that

391
00:23:34,279 --> 00:23:40,720
fully, And I think I lean
towards the ladder where I'd like to see

392
00:23:40,799 --> 00:23:42,880
him on, Yes, a team
that has at least one other higher profile

393
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,440
guy, but I want that team
to just unleash him and it's going to

394
00:23:48,519 --> 00:23:52,279
be the Webin Yama show, just
to really plumb the depths of what he

395
00:23:52,319 --> 00:23:56,680
can do. And so the teams
that stand out to me, and I

396
00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,359
will say, I don't really want
him in Houston because i'dea, what the

397
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,440
fuck they're doing. And I do
think that they would unleash him, even

398
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:04,880
though they have all this sort of
mishmash of talent. But I don't want

399
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,079
him in Houston. That's just I
don't understand the Rockets direction. I'm not

400
00:24:08,079 --> 00:24:12,519
trying to criticize there, I think
and I don't. This is gonna sound

401
00:24:12,599 --> 00:24:15,759
I guess kind of shitty. Portland
would be interesting, but they're like a

402
00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:19,160
franchise that's addicted to not making big
swings, and so I would just be

403
00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:25,640
I'd be curious to see that Damian
little Victor Woman Yama partnership. I don't

404
00:24:25,799 --> 00:24:27,519
That's not the one that I need
to see or think would necessarily be.

405
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:32,960
Is that the best situation for Victor
Woman Yama? The two I have three

406
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,599
and maybe this I guess it could
be four. I just don't view Utah's

407
00:24:36,599 --> 00:24:38,240
a legitimate destination. Yeah, they
might have two lotto picks with their odds

408
00:24:38,279 --> 00:24:42,279
are going to be so like the
but Utah be a fun long shot,

409
00:24:42,319 --> 00:24:48,559
so I will rank them here.
I think four is Utah just because they

410
00:24:48,599 --> 00:24:52,160
have lowry marketing, They have a
bunch of guards. They play very spaceline.

411
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,599
I's Walker Kessler at the five.
That could be an like that could

412
00:24:56,599 --> 00:25:00,720
be set up incredibly well for women. Just is Lady Mark and is your

413
00:25:00,759 --> 00:25:03,119
best player. And he's even more
of just a I don't want to say

414
00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,960
a play finisher, but he's not
ball dominant. I'm vaulting the jazz up

415
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,119
here. So Charlotte's gonna be number
four. I want to play see him.

416
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:11,319
I just said I don't trust the
Hornets, but I want to see

417
00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:15,079
him play with LaMelo Ball. And
I think just even if you keep PG

418
00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,279
Washington there, you're not going to
see his usage get cannibalized. And so

419
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,240
that would be a very interesting partnership
for me. Number three is gonna be

420
00:25:22,279 --> 00:25:26,759
san Antonio. He will be fully
unleashed there. They have you know,

421
00:25:26,839 --> 00:25:29,279
Trey Jones, they're starting point guard. Hitting free agency this year, by

422
00:25:29,279 --> 00:25:30,680
the way, you could do some
nice things, but not going to eat

423
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,480
into your touches. And then Vasell
Kelton Johnson, even Jeremy so and well,

424
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,160
I'm in love with just what a
rookie season from from so in.

425
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:44,759
They're not these tier one ball handler
from scratch scorer types. I think probably

426
00:25:44,799 --> 00:25:47,400
Devin Vassel or so on has the
best chance of getting there. So you

427
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:52,319
come in and you kind of have
this be to be plus building blocktown around

428
00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:53,680
him. And there's just this a
plus plus guy in Victor women Yam,

429
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,920
and you're building everything around. There's
a case to vault them higher. I

430
00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,599
really do believe Utah is gonna come
in it too. I like I'm gonna

431
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,240
I'm giving the bump because they might
have two lottery picks and so I think

432
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,319
it's fair to include them here.
And why did I stop it for I

433
00:26:07,319 --> 00:26:07,960
don't know. I mean, if
I want to throw a fifth one in

434
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,240
there, Oklahoma City would be super
fun. I haven't gotten my number one

435
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,920
spot. By the way, for
anyone who's following along here, I know

436
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,279
a lot of people said Orlando,
but I'm just kind of like they have

437
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,039
Ballaban Caro and Franz Wagner. Not
that I think we Banyam would get lost

438
00:26:22,039 --> 00:26:23,480
in the shuffle. I need to
see the right amount of a least from

439
00:26:23,559 --> 00:26:26,839
him. I think okay See would
be even better fit. We've seen progress

440
00:26:26,839 --> 00:26:30,960
from Giddy playing off Shake Gilbert Alexander. You had ched Homegren there with Victor

441
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,400
woman Yama and Joan Williams. Holy
holy, holy, holy shit. That

442
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:38,039
would be just like the other talent
around, Like having Kendrick Williams there,

443
00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:42,000
Isaiah Joe if his three pointer starts
fooling again consistently, Gusman Jang, who

444
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,119
everyone here listen to podcast knows,
I'm very high on. It's like that

445
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,680
team would be fun. The Pelicans
again would be fun. But my number

446
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,160
one spot and it does blund I'm
and I it's with apologies to Detroit.

447
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,000
I guess that would be another fun
one. But I need I need him

448
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:57,240
to be on a team that's going
to generate him more space. But the

449
00:26:57,319 --> 00:27:02,759
Kate Cunningham Victor Wee Ban yamamduo would
be fun even through Ja Nivy And there's

450
00:27:02,799 --> 00:27:04,359
a trio with Jalen during that's a
nice little basin there. Look, there's

451
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,400
so many intriguing spots. I don't
want to see him in Dallas. I'll

452
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:12,160
be quite frank honest with you.
I want to see him in Indie Tyres

453
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:17,440
Halbert and Victor Webanyama and Miles Turner. Those are three players who just elevate

454
00:27:17,599 --> 00:27:21,720
each other and just work so well
off of one another. I think Indiana,

455
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,960
final answer, would be my favorite
destination for Victor Webonama. There's a

456
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:27,039
bunch of all the teams that I
listed I'd want to see him, though

457
00:27:27,039 --> 00:27:32,319
I was going with the five that
I'm most curious about, maybe even six.

458
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,400
Kind of want to see him in
Detroit with Kay Cunningham and Jay n

459
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,920
Ivy. So okay, see,
so those are my honorable mentions. But

460
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:42,079
Utah one, Indiana one, Utah
two, number three is going to be

461
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:51,000
San Antonio, and then four is
Charlotte. This next question comes from Bower.

462
00:27:51,279 --> 00:27:55,400
If you could guarantee perfect health for
one player this playoffs, who would

463
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:59,440
you pick and why? Which team
would you pick? So I'm guessing I'm

464
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,160
applying this to the same team question. I mean, if I could guarantee

465
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,119
perfect tell from one player this playoffs, I go with Zion Williamson. I

466
00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:10,799
guess that sort of pre supposes the
Pelicans make the playoffs, and so we're

467
00:28:10,799 --> 00:28:17,000
getting into just all sorts of a
rabbit hole there, so aside from Zion,

468
00:28:17,319 --> 00:28:19,240
but let's I'm gonna say Zion like
that would be the if even if

469
00:28:19,279 --> 00:28:22,319
New Orleans has to get New Orleans
has to get there by way of the

470
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:25,920
playing, Let's go with Zion.
If I wanted to be along the same

471
00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:27,880
lines and kind of cheat here,
Chad Homers and Okloma City would be great,

472
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,920
but they wouldn't play him anyway,
even if even if he was fully

473
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:36,960
healthy. I think I would want
to go with Harden or and Bead just

474
00:28:37,039 --> 00:28:38,799
to say like, hey, no
excuses here, and Be's always building up

475
00:28:38,799 --> 00:28:41,200
in the playoffs. Might even want
it just because Harden's dealt with hamstring and

476
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,920
achilles shit the past couple of years. I might want to say him,

477
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,519
I think that's the player I'm going
with, which is weird because we've seen

478
00:28:48,559 --> 00:28:49,559
him playing games. But I don't
want there to be any excuses, and

479
00:28:49,559 --> 00:28:53,000
I want to see what and I'll
pick the Sixers as a team. I

480
00:28:53,119 --> 00:28:57,839
want to see what they kind of
look like. Excuse free Joan Beads not

481
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,480
banged up, he has like he's
as healthy as he is at his peak,

482
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,000
and just what does that team look
like? Can you win a championship

483
00:29:06,079 --> 00:29:07,799
with sort of your big man as
your best player. That's not something that

484
00:29:07,799 --> 00:29:11,920
we've seen a ton of over the
past. I don't know a couple of

485
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,400
decades at this point, how far
we're going back and whatever you consider you

486
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,240
honest, I don't consider him a
big or a wing. He's he's fucking

487
00:29:18,359 --> 00:29:21,559
honest. But you get my point
there, And so I think that's the

488
00:29:21,559 --> 00:29:26,720
team, but it would be Zion. So it's Zion or the Sixers as

489
00:29:26,759 --> 00:29:30,799
the team, but their stars specifically, And I'll single out just because as

490
00:29:30,839 --> 00:29:33,279
Joel and Bee been just looking at
the way, they're playing healthier than James

491
00:29:33,279 --> 00:29:36,480
Harden even than they bull up been
dealing stuff. Yeah, they're the Achilles

492
00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,079
thing with James harn scares me.
So I'll go with that. That's a

493
00:29:38,119 --> 00:29:42,079
fun question to sort of think about, though, but also a reminder of

494
00:29:42,079 --> 00:29:45,359
how much injuries suck. I did
not mention the Clippers. That might make

495
00:29:45,359 --> 00:29:48,319
people mad. Should Paul George be
beyond that list. I didn't mention the

496
00:29:48,319 --> 00:29:51,039
Bulls with a Flonzo ball was fully
healthy. Yet I want to see everyone

497
00:29:51,319 --> 00:29:55,640
healthy, how like, I'm very
equal opportunity be fully healthy. Please t

498
00:29:56,079 --> 00:30:00,319
bloom one sevens. Is there a
chance that m kill Bridges can win Most

499
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:06,920
Improved Player this year based off his
performance since the trade deadline? And anyone

500
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:11,079
who's not been paying attention to mcail
bridges since the trade deadline, you have

501
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,359
been missing out. He's averaging twenty
seven point four points, two point eight

502
00:30:15,359 --> 00:30:18,400
assists, hitting over fifty percent of
his two shooting almost forty percent from three

503
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:23,160
on seven attemphs per game, averaging
seven free throw attempts per game while still

504
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,519
hitting them at a ninety percent clip. I think his defense has probably slipped,

505
00:30:26,559 --> 00:30:29,799
but like he's still good enough to
just be hey, yeah, he's

506
00:30:29,799 --> 00:30:34,079
a really good wing slash, perimeter
defender, Kenny win mos improved player.

507
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:38,319
I think what helps his case,
I will say, is there was this

508
00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,920
functional turn before he ever left Phoenix. You know, a slow start and

509
00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:47,319
injuries to injury to Chris Paul,
injuries to Devin Booker, topsy turvy,

510
00:30:47,359 --> 00:30:52,759
shit from DeAndre Ayton, and so
all that inconsistency had the Sons relying on

511
00:30:52,839 --> 00:30:56,000
him more as this on ball creator. And then he goes to Brooklyn and

512
00:30:56,079 --> 00:31:00,279
just explodes from it. And it's
a large enough sample size to where you

513
00:31:00,319 --> 00:31:03,440
say Okay, it's been more than
a quarter of the season in Brooklyn,

514
00:31:03,759 --> 00:31:07,200
the third of the season in Brooklyn, or whatever it ends up being,

515
00:31:07,599 --> 00:31:10,680
and we saw the turn come in
Phoenix. Yeah, he could be a

516
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:12,440
candidate, but what should he finish
On some people's ballots. He might finish

517
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,279
top three, since that was three
deep on my ballot. I just feel

518
00:31:15,279 --> 00:31:18,880
like most people have kind of assumed
that the award is going to lowry marketing.

519
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,759
I don't know if I agree with
that. When shake gilges Alexander going

520
00:31:22,799 --> 00:31:29,359
from just sort of young bridgetting star
to an MVP candidate, that is a

521
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,000
heart elite to make. In my
humble opinion, maybe that's not humble to

522
00:31:33,039 --> 00:31:34,960
say, but I don't I mean
it to be added with some air of

523
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:40,799
humility. I don't I would bet
against him probably finishing him the top three,

524
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,200
just because I think a lot of
people might gravitate towards even Tyr's Haliburton.

525
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,720
Did he play enough? Jalen Brunson
or Emmanuel Quickly in New York,

526
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,039
Desmond Baying in Memphis? Did he
play enough? There are a lot of

527
00:31:51,039 --> 00:31:55,759
good candidates here shout out to he
might have if we went like five or

528
00:31:55,759 --> 00:31:57,720
seven deep maybe not five, but
seven, and he never got injured.

529
00:31:57,759 --> 00:32:02,440
Hammudillo might have gotten some love for
me here. So I don't think he

530
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:06,880
can realistically win, mostly because I
think it's really going to be Larry marketing,

531
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,240
even if I don't ultimately pick him. But when you look at it,

532
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:14,759
could you say that he's been one
of the three most improved meaningfully improved

533
00:32:14,799 --> 00:32:17,799
players from the NBA who's not,
you know, a sophomore, just because

534
00:32:17,839 --> 00:32:21,759
I think we expect the leap from
year one to two, and even sometimes

535
00:32:21,759 --> 00:32:24,720
from year two to three, but
definitely year one to two. So yeah,

536
00:32:24,759 --> 00:32:28,559
I think you could make that argument. And he's just I think it's

537
00:32:28,559 --> 00:32:30,839
absolutely huge what he's doing. I'd
like to see more from him as a

538
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:35,039
passer, but the Nets don't necessarily
have the requisite talent around him to get

539
00:32:35,039 --> 00:32:37,160
that. The fact that he can
do so much to drum up the assist

540
00:32:37,279 --> 00:32:42,000
numbers, I mean, but him
to set up higher quality shots I think

541
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,720
defense no like which bots he's trying
to get to at this point, but

542
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,599
the fact that he's been able to
maintain his efficiency on a shot difficulty level

543
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:52,079
that is just by and large,
way way higher than what he was doing

544
00:32:52,119 --> 00:32:58,200
in Phoenix. You look at just
the number of field goal made field goals

545
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,880
that were coming off assist for him
in Phoenix before the trade deadline or before

546
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:06,359
the trade deadline, it was the
overwhelming number of his baskets are coming off

547
00:33:06,359 --> 00:33:12,400
assist. And then since in Brooklyn
more than half of his shots or almost

548
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,079
half of the shots are going on
assistant. That's a really big turn.

549
00:33:15,559 --> 00:33:17,759
And I think that that having that
creation, even if it's mostly for yourself

550
00:33:17,799 --> 00:33:21,920
at this point, just opens up
the possibility that, hey, this isn't

551
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,640
do I think he's you know,
a top player on a I don't want

552
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:30,240
to say a championship team because that's
so few players, but a title contender

553
00:33:30,319 --> 00:33:34,240
sort of that you know, quaint
top four team in the conference. I

554
00:33:34,319 --> 00:33:37,359
don't know, I might mean towards
now, but he certainly looks like he

555
00:33:37,359 --> 00:33:39,000
could be the numbers two on that. And so also that's why I kind

556
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,359
of alluded to why the shape gil
just Alexander Leap that looks like a guy

557
00:33:42,359 --> 00:33:44,920
who can be the best player in
the championship team. Just just let out.

558
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:46,920
That's why I think that he deserves
more love, not I guess he's

559
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:50,640
getting love and most improved player,
But I'm just surprised that it feels like

560
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:58,880
Larry Marketings candidacy or victory is faded
complete. Sticking with youngsters though, this

561
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:05,359
question comes from HB. How many
rookies from this class have superstar upside?

562
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:12,000
Palo? And who? I mean? Superstar is such a tough thing to

563
00:34:12,039 --> 00:34:14,119
define, and I would think about
this before I came on. I have

564
00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:16,840
notes in here? Is how many
players deep you go on this? I

565
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:21,320
have Palo? Do I still have
Jabari Smith Junior? Here? I do

566
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:22,880
not. I just don't. I
don't know that he's ever going to become

567
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:27,639
the type of offensive player that warrants
it. I have to throw ched Homegren

568
00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:30,000
in here, just because we haven't
seen Ched Homegren yet, and so we

569
00:34:30,039 --> 00:34:34,159
can't just say, knowing what he
was supposed to be coming into the league,

570
00:34:34,519 --> 00:34:37,599
we can't rule that out just now. I don't know how great it

571
00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:39,639
is he's missing his first full season, but like you know, Ben Simmons

572
00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:45,519
was borderline superstar after you know he
missed a full season. Granted that fell

573
00:34:45,559 --> 00:34:51,119
off. I'm just saying that would
be an example. Does Jayn Williams deserved

574
00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:53,480
to be here? I don't know
that I see it in terms of just

575
00:34:53,599 --> 00:34:59,280
like this deliberate, slowed down version
of someone who's going to be He's his

576
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,639
offensive you and importance to the Thunders
is greater than I think people will realize.

577
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:07,000
But is he ever going to be
the nervous system of anything a team

578
00:35:07,039 --> 00:35:10,880
does on a really good team.
I don't know. I don't I don't

579
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:14,440
want to put a limit on him. I want to make that clear.

580
00:35:15,679 --> 00:35:17,079
He's been He's going to finish in
top two on the Rookie of the Year

581
00:35:17,119 --> 00:35:22,119
ballot, SUPERSTARSUS. We need to
make the bar really high, and so

582
00:35:22,159 --> 00:35:27,400
I'm looking at I think Shade,
Sharp, Jade and Ivy Polo and chet

583
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,079
Holmegren is what I'm going And you
can put Jaylen Williams in there, and

584
00:35:30,079 --> 00:35:32,199
I won't push back against you.
I just think we need to have that

585
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:37,239
bar higher where I consider, hey, should I even have Shade and Sharp

586
00:35:37,639 --> 00:35:39,199
in there. I just look at
some of the shots that he's able to

587
00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:42,000
make, which he is able to
do with the ball in his hands and

588
00:35:42,039 --> 00:35:44,679
the physical tools that he has,
is I think he needs to be being

589
00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:46,800
there and so those four for sure, and I'm just not going to push

590
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,840
back if you want on clue John
Williams. He's been fantastic this year,

591
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,440
but we're talking superstar, and I
would say super like player who has a

592
00:35:54,519 --> 00:35:59,360
chance to make an All NBA team, multiple All NBA teams at some point

593
00:35:59,599 --> 00:36:01,400
in his career. And I just
I don't know if that's Jalen Williams.

594
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,440
I don't and I don't mean that
as an insult. You can end up

595
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,280
being like, you know, a
Chris Middleton level player, where it's just

596
00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:10,559
that you're kind of bring around,
like the top thirty players in the league.

597
00:36:10,599 --> 00:36:13,440
You're not gonna make an All NBA
team. Maybe make a couple of

598
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:15,760
All stars. All stars, not
superstar, remember, And I think I'm

599
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:19,320
rolling the dice definitely on Jet homecreen. He hasn't played, which is the

600
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,719
mystery box appeal of Jay and Ivy
and Shade and Start Sharp. And I

601
00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:24,800
do think that Jay and Ivy made
some strides kind of after the first,

602
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:29,360
like third or whatever of the season, and so those would be my four

603
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:34,159
picks. I don't mean to denigrate
John Williams. I also thunder fans,

604
00:36:34,159 --> 00:36:37,079
if you're listening, I did pick
your other rookie who did not play.

605
00:36:37,119 --> 00:36:38,840
I'm just so tantilized by what someone
who looks like that could do with the

606
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,440
ball in his hands, stretch the
floor, and then everything that he's going

607
00:36:42,519 --> 00:36:47,239
to be able to do to impact
his team on defense. Next question comes

608
00:36:47,559 --> 00:36:53,519
from Nicole ch colev I. Hope
I didn't butcher that too much. At

609
00:36:53,519 --> 00:36:59,199
this point, what's the most chaotic
West playing combination? Why is it?

610
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,559
Lakers quip and MAVs versus Mini.
So Lakers clips is off the table,

611
00:37:02,679 --> 00:37:05,920
just based off and by the time
you listen to this, this might even

612
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,440
be outdated. Recording this late on
Thursday night, and so if you're listening

613
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:14,960
to this after Friday, the standings
could just look way different. The most

614
00:37:15,039 --> 00:37:19,840
chaotic West playing combinations though, the
Lakers and somebody. Of course, it

615
00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:22,480
doesn't look like the Warriors are going
to drop down. That would be pretty

616
00:37:22,559 --> 00:37:28,400
chaotic. I'm gonna say Lakers MAVs
would be chaotic just because Luca versus Lebron.

617
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,519
In the plan, the MAVs can
only get the tenth though, so

618
00:37:30,639 --> 00:37:35,440
Lakers are off to fall to ninth, which is still pretty It's possible,

619
00:37:35,519 --> 00:37:39,199
it's just unlikely unless they lose out
at this point. Lakers Pelicans would be

620
00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:44,800
really funny to see them in the
plane just because the Pelicans are the right

621
00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:46,400
to swap picks with the Lakers,
and so it's you you're at that level

622
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:50,840
doesn't really kind of matter, but
that would be pretty funny Anti Davis up

623
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:55,079
against his old team as I unhealthy
for that one. I guess I don't

624
00:37:55,199 --> 00:38:00,119
have like a good chaos answer here. It would be the Maverick versus I'm

625
00:38:00,159 --> 00:38:06,480
gonna say the Mavericks versus the mass
versus Pelicans, and then Lakers versus Timberwolves

626
00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:07,360
if we're talking about that first round
of playing, you know, I think

627
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:12,280
that would be chaotic where it's like
Lakers and Timberwolves, they had these higher

628
00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:15,719
expectations, both really miss on it. I think people kind of knew who

629
00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:17,039
the Lakers are gonna be the Pelicans
at a higher expectation, but they've just

630
00:38:17,079 --> 00:38:21,639
been so banged up between the time
Herb Jones's miss brand Ingram's miss his Ion

631
00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,679
barely playing as well, and then
if just to see them go against Luca

632
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:29,280
where it's just kind of like does
Zion come back for that? And what

633
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,400
happens is Luca and Kyrie really lose
to a team that is missing. What

634
00:38:31,519 --> 00:38:36,639
is the top ten NBA player Zion's
not playing. I think those are my

635
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:38,519
picks and that would balance the Thunder
from the plan. And I really want

636
00:38:38,519 --> 00:38:42,039
to see the Thunder in the playoffs. I don't know how conducive they are

637
00:38:42,119 --> 00:38:45,800
to chaos. It would be great. It would have been great excuse me

638
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,519
to have seen, and I guess
it's it's a lot would need to happen.

639
00:38:49,559 --> 00:38:52,599
When we're talking about the Clippers dropping
down to ninth, which I don't

640
00:38:52,599 --> 00:38:58,559
even know if they could do at
this point, but like seeing the Clippers

641
00:38:58,599 --> 00:39:00,079
and the Thunder have to meet in
the play would be would have been pretty

642
00:39:00,079 --> 00:39:04,039
funny. I just based on the
scenarios here, we're looking at the five

643
00:39:04,079 --> 00:39:06,920
teams and I think wound up in
the playing the Warriors really do control their

644
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,280
own A few of these teams control
their own destiny and getting into the playoffs

645
00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:14,400
scenarios, I will trip over my
words that are right about it. On

646
00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,960
Wednesday night, I'm just gonna say
Lakers versus Timberwolves would be kind of pure

647
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:23,239
like Anthony Davis going up against Towns
and and Gobert Gobert, Jared Vanderbilt playing

648
00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:27,519
against his former team, and or
do the Lakers have the ability to make

649
00:39:27,519 --> 00:39:29,639
the Wolves go small? Do the
Wolves want to go small? Can?

650
00:39:29,679 --> 00:39:32,280
They? Are their biggs too slight? When you look at Davis and Jared

651
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:37,320
Vanderbilt to hang up against that,
Anthy Edwards kind of going up against the

652
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:40,639
Lakers rotating casts of just the guys
who they're trying to stop on the perimeter,

653
00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:44,320
Jared Vanderbilt having a guard Anthy Edwards
a time. We know that's going

654
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:51,000
to happen. So Lakers, Timberwolves, and then Pelicans, Mavericks, maybe

655
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:52,039
even Thunder Matt. I guess you
just had to put the Mavericks and they're

656
00:39:52,039 --> 00:39:57,239
evening. Don't want to like I
would rather watch Thunder Pelicans at this point.

657
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:00,599
I find the Mass to be a
relatively joyless watch at the moment.

658
00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:07,400
Next question comes from Everything Blacks.
Oh, this is topical. What's your

659
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:13,079
take on the Nick Nurse situation in
Toronto? He was awfully ellipsis candid dot

660
00:40:13,159 --> 00:40:17,440
dot when speaking about his future.
Yeah, that was weird. I definitely

661
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:22,079
do appreciate the candor from him,
and as he mentioned, he's kind of

662
00:40:22,119 --> 00:40:24,320
been there for ten years, and
yes, it feels like it feels like

663
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:29,039
a lifetime ago since he won that
title. The Raptors have undergone many changes.

664
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:31,000
We had the pandemic we had that
season in Tampa. There are a

665
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:38,559
lot more challenges, societal challenges.
When you're looking at life being day to

666
00:40:38,599 --> 00:40:44,119
day life being impacted more in Canada
than it was here in the States.

667
00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:45,679
You could argue that Canada was just
much safer about it. WI should be

668
00:40:45,679 --> 00:40:50,000
a good thing, but I could
see that taking a really big emotional strain.

669
00:40:50,039 --> 00:40:53,199
As he mentioned's built with the franchise
for ten years. This season the

670
00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:58,280
Raptors have been one of the bigger
underachievers. Which is still kind of weird

671
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,559
though, is that they have a
chance like they're gonna hover around the top

672
00:41:01,599 --> 00:41:06,119
ten in both offense and defense and
then throw net rating and there they have

673
00:41:06,159 --> 00:41:09,079
the ten best net rating right now
that's at five hundred. That's definitely some

674
00:41:09,119 --> 00:41:13,280
blowouts of skewed that. But that's
just a weird thing to say. They're

675
00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:17,000
very top heavy. Is he just
sort of exhausted with the model roster they've

676
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,880
tried to build. How top heavy
it's been, not being able to explore

677
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:22,760
depth. Is that on him at
all? Have they varied up their defense

678
00:41:23,159 --> 00:41:28,360
enough? I also think this is
just sort of like It's like when you

679
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:30,320
ask it, let's use it.
I'll use the marathon runners an example.

680
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:36,880
It's almost asking a marathon runner at
mile twenty five if they're gonna run another

681
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:42,000
marathon next year. They're almost done. It's been exhausting. You're probably not

682
00:41:42,079 --> 00:41:45,199
thinking about it. It's why I've
never understood why people. And when I

683
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:47,199
was younger, I used to get
up in arms where you ask, let's

684
00:41:47,199 --> 00:41:52,920
say, everyone, I loved the
Marvel superhero movies. You're asking Tom Hollands

685
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:55,679
after he did four Spider Man movies, immediately after he's done filming, spend

686
00:41:55,679 --> 00:41:59,800
all the time Spider movies? Are
you gonna play Spider Man another three movies

687
00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:02,519
or something? They're kind of just
exhausted so in that moment, so close

688
00:42:02,519 --> 00:42:06,360
to it that they actually haven't had
the time to reflect. And then I

689
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:09,559
also feel like, did they just
catch Nick Nurse at a moment of not

690
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:15,880
weakness, but where his guard was
just down and he's had some strain within

691
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:20,400
the organization, his relationship maybe with
Massai Yujerie, difference of opinions when it

692
00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:23,400
comes to roster construction and vision,
and you just kind of caught him at

693
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:29,320
an exhausted moment with the Raptors kind
of going through this. It's this season

694
00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:32,199
where it's they were never out of
it enough to choose the direction of well,

695
00:42:32,199 --> 00:42:35,519
maybe they should be a tanker.
They've never been in it enough,

696
00:42:35,559 --> 00:42:38,159
even though they made the Yaka Purdle
trade to kind of know where they stand,

697
00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:43,280
and so it's just been sort of
this stop and start dead sprint all

698
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:45,920
season. So I could see him
being exhausted, but I would the fact

699
00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:52,480
that he said it does make me
think that this organization is maybe approaching a

700
00:42:52,519 --> 00:42:54,800
crossroads with him. Also, could
it just be, hey, I want

701
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:59,280
a new fucking contract. Could this
be his way of saying that it could

702
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,079
have been that too, But the
Rappers have a lot of decisions to make,

703
00:43:01,119 --> 00:43:05,360
so just wouldn't shock me if everyone's
orbit involved is looking to take a

704
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,199
step back. Fred Ran Fleet player
option, Jarred Trent junior player option,

705
00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:14,599
Yakam Peurtle free agent, pressous A
Chuwa extension eligiable, oh Giannaobi extension eligiable.

706
00:43:14,639 --> 00:43:16,159
Would he even sign one based on
the new extension rules? I don't

707
00:43:16,159 --> 00:43:21,000
know if they get them there.
Pascal Siakam extension eligiable. They're any depointment

708
00:43:21,039 --> 00:43:22,880
they have to like kind of double
and triple down on this core that is

709
00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:28,239
going to win forty one forty two
games for the year, maybe not even

710
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:30,920
making out of a play in.
I could see everyone involved being exhausted and

711
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:35,400
needing some time to just take a
step back. Like, I appreciate the

712
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:37,880
candor, but I could also very
much see this being aside from hey,

713
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,519
we caught Nick Nurse with his guard
down, this season has been trying.

714
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:44,360
He's been here for forever. Maybe
he's looking for a change of pace,

715
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:46,119
and maybe there are difference of opinions
that we don't know about behind the scenes

716
00:43:46,199 --> 00:43:49,880
right now. I could just also
very much see it being sign me to

717
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:57,239
a fucking contract, and so let's
not discount that possibility either. Two more

718
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,199
questions, Oh wow, three more
questions, unbiased Pistons fan. What team

719
00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:05,760
would be the best if the NBA
changed to a three versus three league?

720
00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:08,480
What team would be the worst?
Answering what team would be the worst is

721
00:44:08,639 --> 00:44:15,239
really really hard for me, I
just because I think it would just probably

722
00:44:15,239 --> 00:44:19,679
be Houston or San Antonio, like
looking at the half court talent there.

723
00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,880
I also with these three v three
v three rules, are we still playing

724
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:27,360
full court or is it half court. It's half court as a best team,

725
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:29,559
or the Mavericks just in there because
you don't have to worry about like

726
00:44:29,679 --> 00:44:32,599
we're talking about teams needed to clear
it so kind of going one way and

727
00:44:32,599 --> 00:44:37,639
then turning around. So Lucas transition
defense isn't the damaging I think what would

728
00:44:37,679 --> 00:44:39,840
be the best team, and I
feel pretty bullish about this after thinking about

729
00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:44,880
it, would be the Cleveland Cavaliers, just the three players that they could

730
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:49,360
pick, Evan Mobley, Donna Mitchell
and Darius Garland. Is there just a

731
00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:52,679
better accommodation for three v three whether
you need to play full court, whether

732
00:44:52,719 --> 00:44:55,039
you need to whether we're playing half
court. I think that would be the

733
00:44:55,079 --> 00:45:00,480
best team. I'm sure some would
gravitate towards lebron A and what they say

734
00:45:00,559 --> 00:45:04,880
d Loo or Jared Vanderbilt. You
can definitely come up with a Clippers combination

735
00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:08,559
and Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and
Terrence Man will probably be my third Colden

736
00:45:08,599 --> 00:45:15,400
State your Draymond Clain steph Okay maybe, but I Cleveland just has the shot

737
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:20,239
making ability from Donovan Mitchell and Darius
Garland. Donov Mitchell's gotten a lot better

738
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:22,159
defensively, this year. Just the
defensive everything about Mobley so he still gives

739
00:45:22,199 --> 00:45:25,039
you some size, but he can
guard anyone on the perimeter and contest a

740
00:45:25,039 --> 00:45:29,639
ton of shots. He can work. Is just a play finisher as well.

741
00:45:29,679 --> 00:45:32,760
In the ground that he's able to
cover is going to help you,

742
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:37,039
don't matter the style we're playing here, full court or half court. Interesting

743
00:45:37,119 --> 00:45:40,000
question. I'm pretty bullish on Cleveland, which probably means just the wrong answer

744
00:45:40,079 --> 00:45:45,400
since they came to me pretty quickly
there. Second to last question comes from

745
00:45:45,599 --> 00:45:51,440
Kai at Rinker. What for so
power forward are you targeting if you're the

746
00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:55,559
Pacers young and can grow with the
team or overpaid vet like Tobias Harris for

747
00:45:55,639 --> 00:46:00,440
one to two years. Love this
question on the pay I don't know enough

748
00:46:00,559 --> 00:46:06,039
about the draft to go into if
I think they could go both routes.

749
00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:07,039
I will get into what I would
do. But if you want them to

750
00:46:07,079 --> 00:46:09,199
go to the younger route and you
want to focus on it in the draft,

751
00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:13,320
I haven't done my draft prep work
yet. I'm not going to include

752
00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,159
those names. I would go from
someone who straddles the line. I guess

753
00:46:16,239 --> 00:46:20,280
is that's such a cop out.
I wouldn't be like, hey, let's

754
00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:23,559
go all in on, Like what
is a veteran power forward here, Like

755
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:27,960
let's go all in on a Harrison
Barnes or even I like Jeremy Grant for

756
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:30,119
them and they have cap space,
but it wouldn't be Hey, let's go

757
00:46:30,159 --> 00:46:32,480
all in on a Jeremy Grant.
I wouldn't skew that far unless it was

758
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:36,039
a megas like you honest becomes available, Yeah, you go out to be

759
00:46:36,079 --> 00:46:38,880
honest. I also would say someone
like OGM and Noby makes a lot of

760
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,320
sense if you want to try and
play McHale at the four, even though

761
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:45,559
he's more of a three. I
don't see the Pacers giving up enough to

762
00:46:45,679 --> 00:46:50,440
ever be involved in those discussions.
They might have it if you put Benn

763
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:52,880
Nick matherin in this year's pick on
the table. Those are assets they can

764
00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:54,760
get you into those discussions. I
just don't see them doing it, and

765
00:46:54,800 --> 00:47:00,119
so that's why I just qualified them. I think my ideal two for these

766
00:47:00,159 --> 00:47:04,679
team this team would be PJ.
Washington. He's a restricted free agent.

767
00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:07,159
We've seen him really branch out his
offensive horizons this year. He can handle

768
00:47:07,199 --> 00:47:10,639
some pretty tough defensive assignments. On
offense, he can operate from the nail,

769
00:47:10,679 --> 00:47:13,599
he can pick a pop, he
can kind of roll, he can

770
00:47:13,639 --> 00:47:16,320
attack from the outside. In love
his fit next to Miles Turner, Patrick

771
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:21,400
Williams in Chicago, just being extension
eligible, showing some more moxy when he's

772
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:23,519
coming off the bench. Is he
higher volume enough? Maybe the Pacers don't

773
00:47:23,519 --> 00:47:28,000
care as much about that, But
when you're playing with alongside someone and Tyris

774
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:30,960
Halbert, who I think just uplifts
his opponents more than a DeMar Rose his

775
00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:35,199
teammates, excuse me, more than
a Demart Rosen or zach Lavine when you're

776
00:47:35,199 --> 00:47:37,840
looking at primary playmaking. That would
go a long way. So those are

777
00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:42,239
two other names that spring to mind. Anyone who listen to podcast knows I

778
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:46,519
love John Collins on this team.
And then Obie Topping showing a lot of

779
00:47:46,519 --> 00:47:51,360
flashes since Julie Rynold's been injured in
New York, he's extension eligiable. Are

780
00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:53,519
they willing to move him for some
low first round equity just to have another

781
00:47:53,519 --> 00:47:57,880
asset in the chamber rather than deal
with oh, we might have to pay

782
00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:00,199
him, and then what is his
value going to be on the trade market

783
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:02,679
or how much do we ultimately use
him? And so the four names than

784
00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:06,719
John Collins, PJ. Washington,
Patrick Williams, at Obi Toppen. Now,

785
00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:12,320
if I could pick the perfect one, it's ply between Patrick Williams and

786
00:48:12,639 --> 00:48:15,599
PJ. Washington. I feel like
investing in PG Washington could be difficult,

787
00:48:15,719 --> 00:48:20,119
but I also there's a dice roll
there. I also kind of feel like,

788
00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:23,639
is there a chance Patrick Williams becomes
more expensive because of the like the

789
00:48:23,679 --> 00:48:28,679
bandwidth that he has on defense and
fury. I think PJ. Washington he's

790
00:48:28,679 --> 00:48:30,599
just clearly the more impactful player at
this point. If you're more if you

791
00:48:30,639 --> 00:48:34,039
are more concerned about your defense,
you want someone who can also play the

792
00:48:34,039 --> 00:48:37,119
three than sure. But if we're
looking at strictly a four, I go

793
00:48:37,239 --> 00:48:38,719
PJ. Washington. I'm very tempted
to go John Collins, but that's a

794
00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:43,960
big rehabilitation project and then you're getting
into it for another three years. With

795
00:48:44,039 --> 00:48:46,000
PJ. Washington, he has four
years, but he's a little bit younger,

796
00:48:46,079 --> 00:48:49,559
and like I said, he's shown
the ability to do more on offense.

797
00:48:49,639 --> 00:48:52,480
So that's the ideal one. But
I wouldn't again. Patrick Williams,

798
00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:55,360
Obie topping John Collins, I think
are all fantastic options for that team.

799
00:48:57,599 --> 00:49:01,800
This next question comes from Usher,
and it is a it is. I

800
00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:06,480
mean, that's two questions. One's
Joe question, But which current NBA players

801
00:49:06,480 --> 00:49:07,880
most likely could be in an exhibition
boxing m and a fight? And why

802
00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:13,079
is it Draymond Green? I would
One thing I will say here not to

803
00:49:13,079 --> 00:49:15,039
think about this too much, is
Draymond Green doesn't seem like someone who's just

804
00:49:15,119 --> 00:49:21,079
gonna do something post career for spectacle. That feels more like a Dylan Brooks

805
00:49:21,159 --> 00:49:23,960
or Patrick Beverley move where Draymond Green
just might immerse himself in media. He's

806
00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:31,599
not gonna need to go to these
novel avenues or departments to really keep himself

807
00:49:32,199 --> 00:49:37,400
relevant, let's say post playing career. And even he's not someone who's gonna

808
00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:38,760
do it in the offseason. I
could just see like Dylan Brooks or Patrick

809
00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:43,239
Beverley deciding in the offseas without having
retired or anything yet, going about that,

810
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:45,280
and so I think those would be
my picks. Steven Adams was mentioned

811
00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:49,280
to Discord. I could, I
could probably see it, but he just

812
00:49:49,320 --> 00:49:52,400
seems like too chill and wants to
fly under the radar to who have done

813
00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:54,079
it. If he did, it'd
be like in the backyard and like this

814
00:49:54,199 --> 00:49:59,280
dirt pick, and he'd be doing
it with the like a fucking grizzly bear

815
00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:01,440
or a rhino? Is who he
is? What he would be facing.

816
00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:08,400
The actual question from Usher comes says, my real question is if Eton has

817
00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:12,320
a really good Playoffs, especially if
it leads to a championship, is it

818
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:14,960
more likely that the Suns keep him
as part of their core since it led

819
00:50:14,960 --> 00:50:17,639
to Playoffs success or does it increase
the likelihood he gets traded since it would

820
00:50:17,679 --> 00:50:22,559
likely raise his trade value significantly.
Love the show as always, Hey,

821
00:50:22,599 --> 00:50:25,960
thank you, Rusher. I really
I never tire of hearing compliments if surprise,

822
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:29,519
surprise, even though they can sometimes
make me awkward. If our season

823
00:50:29,599 --> 00:50:31,119
in public when it's just me sitting
in front of the camera, love it

824
00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:35,239
and also in discord when you guys
give it. Thank you for the confidence

825
00:50:35,239 --> 00:50:37,840
we got on that Keith Smith interview. If you haven't checked it out,

826
00:50:37,079 --> 00:50:40,559
broke down the entire CBA, the
implications a lot of fun. I would

827
00:50:40,639 --> 00:50:44,719
say, it's a hard note for
me that the Suns would trade Aid and

828
00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:46,199
if they won the title and he
played well, if he played poorly during

829
00:50:46,239 --> 00:50:49,719
the title run and they viewed to
this, Hey, we had to carry

830
00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:52,440
him, they would be more likely
than me. Hey, we win a

831
00:50:52,440 --> 00:50:53,599
title. Chris Paul plays well like
we're still going to look to move on

832
00:50:53,679 --> 00:50:58,480
from him anyway because of his age. What I do think is interesting just

833
00:50:58,519 --> 00:51:02,079
gets into a larger discussion about DeAndre
is will he find his groove with this

834
00:51:02,199 --> 00:51:08,559
new era of the Sun's David He's
at the four point play for his U

835
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:13,239
in Roman numerals at the four point
play on Twitter had a great threat about

836
00:51:13,280 --> 00:51:17,000
how Eton is spending more time in
the dunker spot during with Kadi on the

837
00:51:17,039 --> 00:51:21,760
court. When I was going back
and doing this, which was actually before

838
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:23,960
half of it was done, before
I saw that threat, and then I

839
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:28,440
did some more after that thread.
I'm watching back a lot of the plays.

840
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:30,920
Yeah, Like he was around the
basketball, around the dunker spot more

841
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:34,719
with Kadi on the court, And
I think that's the benefit, especially when

842
00:51:34,719 --> 00:51:37,000
you have Devin Booker and Kadi at
once, of just having guys who they

843
00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:39,880
don't need a ball screen operate.
I still think Chris Paul's at the point

844
00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:43,679
where he probably very much needs one, if it's if he's not already mismatched

845
00:51:43,679 --> 00:51:46,280
against someone bigger and slower, and
even then he might just still prefer a

846
00:51:46,280 --> 00:51:50,599
ball screen. So there's the real
benefit of there. And Etan's he suited

847
00:51:50,639 --> 00:51:53,320
to do that role because we know
he's going to bail out if you a

848
00:51:53,320 --> 00:51:59,199
lot, if you ask him to
do stuff higher and I what I was

849
00:51:59,440 --> 00:52:02,400
have noticed watching and then going back
and watching a bunch of stuff. It's

850
00:52:02,519 --> 00:52:06,440
and some of it's finicky when you're
looking at the data. Like before March

851
00:52:06,519 --> 00:52:09,719
first, which was Katie's debut debut, DeAndre was averaging four point four post

852
00:52:09,760 --> 00:52:13,920
ups per game. Since then,
he's at two point four. Katie missed

853
00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:15,079
a bunch of time during that span, though, and since Katie came back

854
00:52:15,119 --> 00:52:17,719
the second time, his post stops
are actually kind of closer to four point

855
00:52:17,719 --> 00:52:22,800
four than they are a two point
four. Before March first, thirty seven

856
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:25,440
point seven percent of his shots were
coming inside the restricted area. Since Katie's

857
00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:30,440
first debut, they're at thirty point
three percent, and his mid range volume

858
00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:35,000
overall has gone up from twenty It's
at like twenty four twenty five percent of

859
00:52:35,000 --> 00:52:37,400
his shots, and it was at
like nineteen twenty before the KD trade.

860
00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:43,000
Now since Katie's second return, which
has been four games, that's Sam was

861
00:52:43,079 --> 00:52:45,440
seventeen percent, and so like we
that is it's evidence he's getting the basketball.

862
00:52:45,440 --> 00:52:50,679
We've seen more of his shots come
in the restricted area. I don't

863
00:52:50,679 --> 00:52:57,199
know though, if he's definitely going
to find his offensive niche here And I'm

864
00:52:57,239 --> 00:53:00,920
not saying he strikes me now if
someone's been paid and will want or functionally,

865
00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:04,840
but I could just see when you
need him to be a play finisher,

866
00:53:05,719 --> 00:53:07,800
you're going to need him to do
other things other than hang around in

867
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:13,360
the dunker spot to get those attempts
where if he bails out or he's gonna

868
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:15,039
go up a little softer, it's
not as damaging because they're not jumpers or

869
00:53:15,039 --> 00:53:17,840
hooks that he's using. They're at
least like closer to the basket, even

870
00:53:17,880 --> 00:53:22,119
when he's kind of bailing out and
taking jumpers around that spot. And as

871
00:53:22,199 --> 00:53:24,519
David mentioned in his thread, there's
also we've all bemoaned how a few free

872
00:53:24,519 --> 00:53:29,000
throws he attempts that's a way for
his free throw attempts to go up.

873
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:31,119
And so I need to see more
of that. But I do just question

874
00:53:31,159 --> 00:53:35,199
because when you watch him, and
I think a lot would it would surprise

875
00:53:35,280 --> 00:53:37,400
me. He's when I went back
and watched a lot of this stuff was

876
00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:39,400
when Kevin Durant was on the court
versus when he was off the court.

877
00:53:39,920 --> 00:53:44,480
He seems hesitant more than ever to
put the ball on the floor where he's

878
00:53:44,519 --> 00:53:47,400
going to if he catches it.
He's not going to after he's screening like

879
00:53:47,440 --> 00:53:50,880
he's not one. It feels like
he's been behind a lot of the screens

880
00:53:50,920 --> 00:53:53,079
where it's like Chris Paul's looking for
him and he's not yet where he's supposed

881
00:53:53,079 --> 00:53:55,760
to be on the roll or even
the pop, and it feels like he's

882
00:53:55,760 --> 00:54:00,199
bailing out. He's catching the ball, stopping firing, He's not doing a

883
00:54:00,199 --> 00:54:05,039
bunch of dribble moves. He's you
know, we're seeing more if he's on

884
00:54:05,079 --> 00:54:07,800
the run, like he's kind of
just throwing it up push shots or turning

885
00:54:07,079 --> 00:54:10,760
what could be one two dribble touches
to the basket into just these little mid

886
00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:15,800
range baby jumpers. And that's just
weird to me. And when Katie's not

887
00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:19,639
on the court and it's one of
Booker and Paul or both of them,

888
00:54:20,159 --> 00:54:22,480
it does feel like he's more inclined
to attack off the dribble, where there's

889
00:54:22,519 --> 00:54:27,119
there's still a lot of settling though, And I don't know if that's just

890
00:54:27,800 --> 00:54:30,840
something that I'm wrong about, Like
I didn't watch enough of him, but

891
00:54:31,039 --> 00:54:34,920
the bailout stuff still very much matters
to me. And so if you are

892
00:54:34,960 --> 00:54:37,840
if he is going to spend ample
more time around the dunker spot and he's

893
00:54:37,840 --> 00:54:39,480
not going to need to come up
set all these screens that will make his

894
00:54:39,559 --> 00:54:44,039
life easier, I just question,
is that something he either gets bored with?

895
00:54:45,039 --> 00:54:46,760
Is is he going to want more? Do they get to a point

896
00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:50,719
where they're going to trust him to
know even do more than Chris Paul is

897
00:54:50,719 --> 00:54:52,719
getting up there in age You're gonna
stagger Kevin Durant from Devin Booker. There's

898
00:54:52,760 --> 00:54:55,599
going to be opportunities for him to
do more. He just seems more reluctant

899
00:54:55,599 --> 00:55:00,599
to do more. So I'm talking
about will he be unhappy doing well less?

900
00:55:00,440 --> 00:55:05,719
I honestly I don't know, but
what I will say is super promising

901
00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:09,000
here is I've loved what I've seen
defensively from the Kevin Durant DeAndre Eton front

902
00:55:09,039 --> 00:55:15,159
court on Aiden, specifically since the
trade deadline opponent shooting fifty three point three

903
00:55:15,199 --> 00:55:17,559
percent against him at the rim.
That is just a that's an elite mark.

904
00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:21,039
That's and it's since the k D
trade, so it's before the trade

905
00:55:21,039 --> 00:55:23,800
deadline, actually a whopping like second
before the trade deadline stop coming on a

906
00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:28,519
huge volume under five attempts contested at
the basket per game. But he's been

907
00:55:28,559 --> 00:55:31,320
massive there. Now you add k
D to the equation whose defense I missed

908
00:55:31,320 --> 00:55:34,280
on at the beginning of the season
in Brooklyn, I said people were kind

909
00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:37,199
of overstating it. He's had a
really good defensive year when he and DeAndre

910
00:55:37,239 --> 00:55:42,280
Eton are on the floor, and
almost two thirds of Kevin Durant's minutes have

911
00:55:42,320 --> 00:55:45,000
come with DeAndre eight of course,
at least who were playing together a lot.

912
00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:47,840
Twenty two point eight percent of opponent
shots are coming at the rim.

913
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:52,480
That's in thee hundredth per cent tile, and they're shooting sixty point four percent

914
00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:53,880
at the rim against the Suns,
that's in the ninety six percent tile.

915
00:55:54,159 --> 00:55:58,559
The Sun's on the season allow thirty
two point six percent of their opponent shots

916
00:55:58,559 --> 00:56:00,159
at the rim, and they will
hit him in sixty five point three percent

917
00:56:00,159 --> 00:56:04,280
clip. So we're talking about drastic
differences here. I could see that front

918
00:56:04,280 --> 00:56:08,119
line being very successful defensively, and
when your fifth wheel is going to be

919
00:56:08,159 --> 00:56:12,519
either Josh Akogi or Tory Craig.
A lot of the time, certain matchups

920
00:56:12,599 --> 00:56:15,840
might be iffy, but that just
top unit. The Suns are built to

921
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:19,800
just steam roll during those minutes.
And that's why sometimes I wonder if we're

922
00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:23,480
overthinking it and we should just call
the Sun's title favorites the health questions or

923
00:56:23,480 --> 00:56:27,199
whatever, but we can't. We
can say that about every team. This

924
00:56:27,719 --> 00:56:30,559
team is riskier. You're stepping out
on a limb more than more than many

925
00:56:30,599 --> 00:56:32,840
others. But when their ceiling is
just so high, I really do think

926
00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:36,800
we're overthinking it, and that if
they had gone through, if this has

927
00:56:36,840 --> 00:56:37,960
happened, let's say before the All
Star break, and we trust that they

928
00:56:38,039 --> 00:56:40,519
got a few practices under their belt, or even let's say that Kim and

929
00:56:40,559 --> 00:56:45,159
Arrette never got injured, that they
didn't acquire Let's say they acquired him injured,

930
00:56:45,159 --> 00:56:46,599
but we never get injured the second
time and missus ten games, whatever

931
00:56:46,639 --> 00:56:49,760
it was. I think we're at
the point where was probably just like,

932
00:56:49,840 --> 00:56:52,639
hey, the Suns are title favorites, and we're overthinking this. But because

933
00:56:52,639 --> 00:56:54,159
he missed some time, because they
haven't had a ton of time together because

934
00:56:54,199 --> 00:56:58,440
the offense is it doesn't always look
right. And look the stuff I said,

935
00:56:58,440 --> 00:57:00,679
were eating this part of it the
last four games, and thank you

936
00:57:00,800 --> 00:57:04,599
David to alerting us all to go
check out that threat. I retweeted it

937
00:57:04,639 --> 00:57:07,760
on my feed. It's important that
he's doing that will last in the postseason

938
00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:12,199
when he's going to have to go
up against more difficult defenses and when the

939
00:57:12,320 --> 00:57:15,960
like the bigs that are going to
be like around the basket there, they're

940
00:57:15,960 --> 00:57:17,960
going to do more to at least
change his shot. He's just surrounded by

941
00:57:17,960 --> 00:57:20,920
so much talent. He's going to
get a lot of opportunities. But will

942
00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:25,480
he go up physical enough when they
are more demonstrative contests. I question whether

943
00:57:25,599 --> 00:57:31,960
DeAndre is going to flourish with the
Suns under this structure offensively, I mean

944
00:57:32,039 --> 00:57:37,239
defensively. As long as he's engaged, it's going to be a rousing success.

945
00:57:37,280 --> 00:57:39,119
During the minute he's with KD.
We'll see if they have enough depth

946
00:57:39,159 --> 00:57:43,440
when we're projecting forward. The moral
of the story is, I do not

947
00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:46,679
think that they're going to move him
unless this season ends poorly and he was

948
00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:51,639
part of it, and then that's
when we start getting into two trades.

949
00:57:51,800 --> 00:57:53,559
And I don't I don't really want
to get into prospective suitors, but if

950
00:57:53,559 --> 00:57:57,599
we were looking at what's a team
that I think could maximize DeAndre eight and

951
00:57:57,679 --> 00:58:00,719
the most with what we want to
see from him, I think it's probably

952
00:58:00,760 --> 00:58:02,519
San Antonio, and not just because
of the absence of a center there,

953
00:58:02,719 --> 00:58:06,679
but looking at the talent around him
and the way they like to play right

954
00:58:06,719 --> 00:58:08,800
now. But I would like to
see there's gonna be more basket pressure if

955
00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:12,599
he's hanging around the dunker spot.
I need to see more of what's happening

956
00:58:12,599 --> 00:58:15,440
though, when he is going to
come out and set screens or he's playing

957
00:58:15,519 --> 00:58:19,679
from the outside in. And it
also kind of feels like he's not like

958
00:58:19,760 --> 00:58:22,599
they're gonna need him to make passes
out of a short roll or a full

959
00:58:22,679 --> 00:58:25,000
role, however you want to frame
it, like when you have if Katie's

960
00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:28,159
going to be in the corner,
Katie's actually allowed to hit corner threes.

961
00:58:28,239 --> 00:58:31,079
Now he's in Phoenix's that's incredible.
Is DeAndre going to be able to define

962
00:58:31,159 --> 00:58:34,880
him more? They might need him
to make no more complicated decisions, but

963
00:58:34,920 --> 00:58:38,280
like those are decisions that rather than
him sort of bailing out for a jump

964
00:58:38,360 --> 00:58:42,679
hook or a fade or just to
stop and pop MIDI, short MIDDI,

965
00:58:42,800 --> 00:58:44,880
whatever you want to call it.
Can you get all the way in the

966
00:58:44,920 --> 00:58:46,719
basket, especially now that you're working
with so much space and just so much

967
00:58:46,760 --> 00:58:51,119
proven scores around with just adding you
have a Booker and Kevin Durant on just

968
00:58:51,199 --> 00:58:53,679
either side of you. Holy fuck, imagine what that does the defense is.

969
00:58:54,039 --> 00:58:58,559
I want to see more of that
from him. I think having him

970
00:58:58,559 --> 00:59:00,320
closer to the basket to begin with, and that's something that having k D

971
00:59:00,440 --> 00:59:06,239
alone helps you with, but also
Devin Booker as well, like that's going

972
00:59:06,280 --> 00:59:09,960
to I think I can see how
it would help DeAndre and especially David mentioned

973
00:59:09,960 --> 00:59:15,960
this and his threat too against certain
playoff opponents. But I think long term

974
00:59:15,960 --> 00:59:20,840
and just overall, you need a
little bit more from him. And I've

975
00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:24,880
been when he's had to play higher
on offense in the half court during the

976
00:59:24,920 --> 00:59:28,760
Kevin Ratt minutes and even during the
non dram and it's the ballots are still

977
00:59:28,760 --> 00:59:31,719
there. It just doesn't feel like
that is necessarily clicking. Yet maybe I'm

978
00:59:31,760 --> 00:59:35,320
right, maybe I'm wrong. I
think this team is gonna be really fucking

979
00:59:35,360 --> 00:59:37,719
good. They're already really fucking good
and I don't think they've hit their peak

980
00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:40,639
yet. I hope everyone enjoyed this
show. As always, please just remember

981
00:59:40,639 --> 00:59:45,159
to subscribe, you to Spotify,
rebecate your podcasts, cross subscribe. Tell

982
00:59:45,199 --> 00:59:47,440
people about us that goes a long
wait, Hey, join our discord.

983
00:59:47,679 --> 00:59:51,119
We have a room for more people
in there. The discussions are always fun.

984
00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:54,400
Everyone who goes the extra joins Discord. We very much appreciate you.

985
00:59:54,519 --> 00:59:58,760
Until next time, Grant and I
will be back next week, probably after

986
00:59:58,760 --> 01:00:00,760
the season ends. With our all
MBA and awards picks. We decided to

987
01:00:00,760 --> 01:00:04,280
wait. He wasn't able to go
this week. We didn't want to do

988
01:00:04,320 --> 01:00:06,519
it last week. Like I said, there was still just so much going

989
01:00:06,559 --> 01:00:08,280
on. But we will have those
wrong outs. You can feel free to

990
01:00:08,400 --> 01:00:13,320
get mad. I already submitted mine
for Pucher Report. I'm not sure I'm

991
01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:15,119
gonna make any tweaks to them.
I will say defense, the Player of

992
01:00:15,119 --> 01:00:17,159
the Year, six Man of the
Year, and MVP, and then we

993
01:00:17,239 --> 01:00:22,880
all vague. I digress until next
time, and you get the shout out

994
01:00:22,880 --> 01:00:27,880
as always to the one we only
rank Neilakta and also, as ever,

995
01:00:28,119 --> 01:00:29,440
apologies to JAREDI