1
00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,359
Speaker 1: What is up, Fellowsiko's I am Dana Valley coming at

2
00:00:18,359 --> 00:00:21,199
you with another twenty twenty four twenty twenty five NBA

3
00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,600
season Look ahet, We're up to Los Angeles Clippers. Very

4
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,519
topico given the Kawhi Leonard injury news. I'm speaking this

5
00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,199
year once again with Justin Russo. He covers the team

6
00:00:30,559 --> 00:00:33,960
on Substack Justin Russo dot substack dot com the link

7
00:00:34,039 --> 00:00:36,479
that will be in the podcast and YouTube description. Follow

8
00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,719
him on the Twitter machine at fly by Night that's

9
00:00:38,799 --> 00:00:43,039
at fl y b y kN It does a great

10
00:00:43,079 --> 00:00:45,560
job covering this team. Excited to get to speak with

11
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,399
him about a Clippers team that's in transition or kind

12
00:00:48,399 --> 00:00:51,000
of has a weird direction or no direction at all.

13
00:00:51,039 --> 00:00:52,320
I don't know a lot to ask him about with

14
00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,799
this team. Just as a quick reminder, please remember subscribe,

15
00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,159
ratings and reviews. Help us out a ton on Spotify

16
00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,359
and Apple. Hit that sub button on YouTube. Turn on

17
00:01:00,439 --> 00:01:03,399
post notifications too. Those apparently can help. Like in comment

18
00:01:03,439 --> 00:01:05,879
on the videos, please flood them the shorts as well.

19
00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:07,519
I won't respond to all of them. I'll respond when

20
00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,560
I can, but that can help. The Algo loves back

21
00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:11,879
and again, seriously, if you're new around these parts, consider

22
00:01:11,879 --> 00:01:14,079
sticking around with us for the entire season. We cover

23
00:01:14,159 --> 00:01:16,760
the entire NBA and have lots of fun doing it.

24
00:01:16,799 --> 00:01:18,680
As always, join our discord the link that's in the

25
00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,519
podcast and YouTube description, and if you've done all those things,

26
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,400
consider recommending us shout outs. All those things are appreciated

27
00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:26,920
and we will heart you forever. But that's enough out

28
00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,239
of me. Let's get to talking some Clippers with the One,

29
00:01:29,359 --> 00:01:33,560
the Only, justin Brusso, justin welcome back your second year

30
00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:35,920
coming back for Clippers look ahead. I always appreciate it

31
00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,560
when guests agree to come back after getting into it

32
00:01:38,599 --> 00:01:40,959
for the first time. How the heck are you doing.

33
00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:43,400
Speaker 2: Doing all right? Just you know, it's the off season,

34
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,200
so I've kind of been enjoying some time away, just

35
00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,120
kind of decompressing in various ways, whether it's what the

36
00:01:49,159 --> 00:01:52,040
dog who's currently to my right, or kind of just

37
00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,200
losing my mind on the laptop playing football manager for

38
00:01:55,239 --> 00:01:58,000
hours on hours and just not caring about the outside world.

39
00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,560
It's been nice. You.

40
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,480
Speaker 1: So you're a fantasy football guy, No, okay?

41
00:02:02,519 --> 00:02:05,840
Speaker 2: So football manager is a soccer game, okay, And yeah,

42
00:02:05,879 --> 00:02:08,000
you can basically like you run a team. It's actually

43
00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,400
very fascinating, and I got into it a couple of

44
00:02:10,439 --> 00:02:12,719
years ago and now I'm like really hooked, and it's

45
00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,879
it's an obsession of mine, specifically in the offseason, just

46
00:02:15,879 --> 00:02:17,680
because you can waste ten hours in a day and

47
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:19,240
not know where the hell the time went.

48
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,800
Speaker 1: I mean, that's dope. So is it like it's like

49
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,840
from ground up, like you're running a franchise or a

50
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:27,919
club or whatever they're called.

51
00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, you take over any club in the world that

52
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,479
you want that's in the database. So like I'm an

53
00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,400
Arsenal fan, so sometimes I'll do Arsenal, other times I

54
00:02:35,479 --> 00:02:37,960
just do like unique saves with other teams, and you

55
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,759
basically just control literally everything, players that come in and out,

56
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,879
tactics stuff like you don't control any of the players

57
00:02:43,879 --> 00:02:47,479
like on the field, but you control like the tactics,

58
00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,520
who you bring in and out of the of the squad,

59
00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,560
who you sell like all. Like it's it's very in depth,

60
00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,520
like it really delves into like the minutia of like

61
00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,240
that ass like a front office type aspect, and I

62
00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,080
find that fast, but it's also like very time consuming.

63
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:03,840
So if any I always tell people, if you get

64
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,840
into football manager just be prepared to get like, you'll

65
00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,840
just get waves and waves of information that you have

66
00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,400
to digest. So take your time with it and just

67
00:03:12,479 --> 00:03:14,319
you know, kind of enjoy whatever it is that you

68
00:03:14,479 --> 00:03:16,840
enjoy in that realm, Like if you want to be

69
00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,400
at a big team, who cares, you know, just enjoy

70
00:03:19,439 --> 00:03:20,439
what you want to do in it.

71
00:03:22,159 --> 00:03:25,000
Speaker 1: Well, at least you had some time for part of

72
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,439
the offseason, most of it until the Kawhi Leonarbaum drops. Yeah,

73
00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,240
just out of media day. But before we even kind

74
00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,560
of go there, we got to look at the Paul

75
00:03:34,599 --> 00:03:38,599
George situation first in hindsight, just what do you ultimately

76
00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,919
make of that entire saga, from even the extension negotiations

77
00:03:42,919 --> 00:03:44,719
to him actually leaving.

78
00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,120
Speaker 2: So I've written about this obviously a couple times throughout

79
00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:52,120
the year, even as far back as January when Kawhi extended,

80
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,319
but specifically I wrote before it's free agency in June.

81
00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,439
I wrote in June that the timing of the Kawhi

82
00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,120
Leonard extension kind of screwed Paul George over in terms

83
00:04:04,159 --> 00:04:10,400
of negotiations because PG had always been before Kawhi in

84
00:04:10,479 --> 00:04:13,080
terms of the money aspect of getting what he was

85
00:04:13,159 --> 00:04:16,800
going to get so after the bubble he gets an

86
00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:21,360
extension of I want to say it's like a four

87
00:04:21,439 --> 00:04:25,920
years with a player option at that time, and after

88
00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,879
the bubble, before second whatever it was, he got an

89
00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,920
extension before Kawhi did. And then Kawhi got the extension

90
00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,319
a couple months later and missed the entire twenty one

91
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,240
to twenty two season the first year into that extension.

92
00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,600
So PG had always been first, and my viewpoint on it,

93
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,240
and this is strictly me speaking, is Kawhi had the

94
00:04:48,319 --> 00:04:51,839
leverage of always leaving, and the Clippers kind of were

95
00:04:51,879 --> 00:04:53,600
just like, Okay, well, if Kawhi can leave, we'll just

96
00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:55,720
keep PG. Not in like a, well we have and

97
00:04:55,759 --> 00:04:57,079
we might as well just keep him. It was more

98
00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,160
of a we want to keep Kawhi happy. He he's

99
00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:02,279
the guy that we wanted from the get go, and

100
00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,199
we scouted for an entire year. This was this is

101
00:05:05,199 --> 00:05:07,600
our prize free agency in the history of the franchise.

102
00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:09,800
We're gonna do whatever it texts to keep him happy.

103
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,160
And so we're gonna sign PG to an extension and

104
00:05:13,199 --> 00:05:15,279
then Kawhi will agree, and that's what that's what happened.

105
00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,800
They'd always been in lockstep as a pair, it was

106
00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,959
always Kawhi and PG together, and then over the last

107
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,360
eighteen months things did start to change with like quotes

108
00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,000
that would come out from PG where he would he

109
00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,519
himself would say that he was the two to Coawi's one.

110
00:05:32,879 --> 00:05:35,839
This was, you know, unprovoked. No one asked him about

111
00:05:35,879 --> 00:05:39,279
this at all. He would just offer this at times.

112
00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,160
And I know at another time a couple of weeks

113
00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,360
after he made the comment about how you know he's

114
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,000
the two to Kawai's one, he went on to say, like,

115
00:05:47,079 --> 00:05:49,360
I'm the glue guy. I just you know, I wanted,

116
00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,480
I revel in doing the glue guy type stuff. And

117
00:05:53,519 --> 00:05:55,360
I kind of think the Clickers just had a thought

118
00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,160
of why are we going to pay a glue guy

119
00:05:58,199 --> 00:06:01,560
fifty million dollars and then when he's older, we're gonna

120
00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:07,199
pay him sixty million dollars. I think PG became the

121
00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:09,680
third player in NBA history to get a MAX contract

122
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,480
at his age, right, something.

123
00:06:14,439 --> 00:06:16,680
Speaker 1: I guess of that length, maybe because like we've had

124
00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,879
staph and lebron Yeah, so I think in there.

125
00:06:20,199 --> 00:06:22,639
Speaker 2: Yeah so, I don't think the Clippers ever felt comfortable

126
00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,120
committing to that. Now I know that the the flip

127
00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,439
side was always going to be well, they committed to Kawhi.

128
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,120
The difference to me is the Kawhi commitments only three years,

129
00:06:34,639 --> 00:06:38,240
and once Kawhi did a three year, I don't think

130
00:06:38,959 --> 00:06:43,319
PG was ever going to get anything beyond three. I

131
00:06:43,439 --> 00:06:47,160
just think the Clippers were locked into three years. They

132
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,240
were never going to go beyond that. Hence why their

133
00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,600
negotiations with James never even got beyond three. Obviously they

134
00:06:53,639 --> 00:06:56,920
went to a two, but obviously I know he can

135
00:06:56,959 --> 00:06:58,519
scoff that it like who's gonna give James R in a

136
00:06:58,519 --> 00:07:02,000
four year contract? But like once a line is drawn

137
00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,639
at the their biggest star, I don't think you can

138
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,240
deviate and go beyond. Then they ultimately chose not to.

139
00:07:08,319 --> 00:07:11,040
And I obviously you know, there was the rumblings that

140
00:07:11,079 --> 00:07:13,120
PG wanted a no trade clause if you signed a

141
00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,160
three year. Clippers were never going to offer him a

142
00:07:15,199 --> 00:07:17,040
no trade clause. That was a you know, that was

143
00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,399
persona and Angrad. They were never going that route, so

144
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,000
you know, and then told we got what happened, which

145
00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,040
was a star player you could argue, still in their prime,

146
00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,120
who decided to leave in free agency to go three

147
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:36,360
thousand miles away and the Clippers. I mean from everything

148
00:07:36,399 --> 00:07:38,759
I've from everyone I've talked to, from the things I've

149
00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,399
seen them say and heard them say, they seem okay

150
00:07:42,439 --> 00:07:42,680
with it.

151
00:07:42,759 --> 00:07:42,920
Speaker 3: Now.

152
00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,319
Speaker 2: Does that mean they think they're a better team without him? No,

153
00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,480
I think they just I think they liked the flexibility

154
00:07:49,519 --> 00:07:52,839
a lot more now, and part of me does things

155
00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,680
they thought it had run its course, so why let

156
00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:56,319
it keep going?

157
00:07:57,839 --> 00:08:00,240
Speaker 1: I think, And they definitely do value the flexibility the

158
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,800
way their response to specifically when the Warriors tried to

159
00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,480
get in on the sweepstakes, it was a non startup

160
00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:05,759
because they didn't want to take back any of the

161
00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,399
money that Goley was offering. I think where and I

162
00:08:08,399 --> 00:08:11,439
don't want to belabor this because every podcast has talked

163
00:08:11,439 --> 00:08:15,000
about this ad nauseum. I just used his bad asset

164
00:08:15,079 --> 00:08:18,319
management in the end because it does sound like from

165
00:08:18,399 --> 00:08:20,360
people that I've heard. And then also what Paul George

166
00:08:20,399 --> 00:08:22,680
said publicly is that had he just gotten the Kauhi

167
00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,959
deal when Kawhi got it, that they might have still

168
00:08:24,959 --> 00:08:26,360
gotten him on the three year thing. And if the

169
00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:28,720
difference was a no trade clause, I'm not giving Paul

170
00:08:28,759 --> 00:08:30,959
George no, I wouldn't get Honestly, I wouldn't give anyone

171
00:08:30,959 --> 00:08:32,480
a no trade clause. That's probably why I don't run

172
00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,159
an NBA. Like maybe there's one player that you would

173
00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,440
do it for, But if it was like really over

174
00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:38,600
a fourth year, I'm always up the mind like he

175
00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:40,320
is someone that you could have figured it out later

176
00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:41,879
and moved him. Now, if they really don't think they

177
00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:44,279
could have moved him, I guess it's a different discussion.

178
00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,720
But they knew his free agency was coming, they knew

179
00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:48,240
that he would have a market. They didn't think he

180
00:08:48,279 --> 00:08:51,480
was going to Philly. So I found there. I find

181
00:08:51,519 --> 00:08:54,759
the justification that they're giving. Even if they believe it,

182
00:08:54,759 --> 00:08:57,960
it still just rings hollow from my end because at

183
00:08:58,000 --> 00:08:59,080
the end of the day, and we're going to get

184
00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,879
into this are you doing now, It's like you have

185
00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:03,919
James Harden and Kauai with the injury and that by

186
00:09:03,919 --> 00:09:06,519
the way, that's so I'll jump into the Kauai injury stuff.

187
00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,360
Is there one is there any chance that like they

188
00:09:08,399 --> 00:09:10,399
kind of knew, like, oh, kawi'sney is cooked, if this

189
00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,720
thing is done anyway, and that made it easier just

190
00:09:12,799 --> 00:09:14,360
let Paul George leave or do you think that that

191
00:09:14,519 --> 00:09:17,159
was even because at that point Kawi is with Team USA.

192
00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,399
I think, well, free agencies kind of unfolding, so maybe

193
00:09:20,399 --> 00:09:22,639
it wouldn't be, but it could that have been in

194
00:09:22,639 --> 00:09:23,559
the back of their mind.

195
00:09:24,519 --> 00:09:26,679
Speaker 2: So what I will say is free agent is Paul

196
00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,360
had already made his decision by the time Team USA

197
00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,360
camp had open in Vegas. Okay, then yeah, because Kawai

198
00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,799
actually got asked about it by one of one of

199
00:09:35,799 --> 00:09:38,559
my colleagues. I believe it was either Brad Turner or

200
00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,759
Omyamusik of ESPN who we were. We were there together,

201
00:09:41,799 --> 00:09:44,279
we were the Clippers people that were there, and they

202
00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,799
specifically asked him about that in terms of PG. So

203
00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,440
he gave an answer on that, and he said, you know,

204
00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,279
I support his decision, like you wouldn't got you went

205
00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,039
and got the money, like and I'll say this off

206
00:09:58,039 --> 00:10:00,799
the bat, like I fully support PG and getting the money.

207
00:10:00,879 --> 00:10:04,000
I think anyone should have at that point. I don't

208
00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,120
know if the Clippers knew then that Kawhi was gonna

209
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,919
have the knee inflammation creep up again, because they thought

210
00:10:10,919 --> 00:10:13,120
a Team USA that he was fine. They thought it

211
00:10:13,159 --> 00:10:16,039
was the normal ramp up period. Everyone I talked to

212
00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:22,039
had basically said he looks great, He looks fantastic. Apparently

213
00:10:22,039 --> 00:10:24,200
there were drills where he was killing it on the

214
00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,759
court in five y five. I didn't see any of that.

215
00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,639
Media was let in for I believe two or three

216
00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,840
ten minute sessions and then there was like a five

217
00:10:31,919 --> 00:10:35,679
on five for about fifteen minutes on the final day,

218
00:10:35,919 --> 00:10:37,480
But he didn't play on that final day from what

219
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,000
I remember, And he was never in shorts, if what

220
00:10:41,039 --> 00:10:43,519
I remember is correct. He always was in like the

221
00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,759
sweatpants and this and the warm up pants and all

222
00:10:46,799 --> 00:10:48,960
that stuff. So I don't know if he had anything

223
00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:50,600
on his knee at the time or anything like that.

224
00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:54,679
But I don't know if their thought process was, well,

225
00:10:54,759 --> 00:10:57,000
Kawhi's needs might be done, So what's the use in

226
00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,120
playing Paul George? I kind of just think it was

227
00:10:59,159 --> 00:11:02,440
like a relocation of assets where it's like, Okay, we're

228
00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,399
not gonna give PG fifty million for this upcoming season.

229
00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:11,360
What can we do to build around Kawhi and James.

230
00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,679
That obviously is not you're not gonna get a player

231
00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,200
like Paul George around them at that point because they're

232
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,360
so far over the cap. But what can we do

233
00:11:18,399 --> 00:11:23,240
to at least make this team sustainable with optionality. If not,

234
00:11:24,799 --> 00:11:26,679
you know, a year or two down the line, maybe

235
00:11:26,759 --> 00:11:30,519
even at this trade deadline where you know, because they

236
00:11:30,519 --> 00:11:34,039
give James a one plus one James Harden. If he

237
00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,559
has a killer hat first half of the season, a team,

238
00:11:37,799 --> 00:11:39,480
a team could come calling if the Clippers are not

239
00:11:39,519 --> 00:11:43,240
playing well. Same thing with Kawhi. If Kawhi is you know,

240
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,320
healthy enough and playing well, which he was great last

241
00:11:46,399 --> 00:11:49,039
year when he was on the ploy, played sixty eight games,

242
00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,080
I think, which is the most he playing like eight years.

243
00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,720
You know, he looked incredible for long stretch of that season.

244
00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,440
And if a team comes up to them as like, look,

245
00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,279
you guys, are you know eight games under five hundred,

246
00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,559
but Kawhi looks good. He's only got two years beyond this.

247
00:12:05,759 --> 00:12:08,000
What would what would you take for him? I think

248
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,600
they'd entertain it. Now would they do it? I don't know.

249
00:12:10,639 --> 00:12:12,360
That's a tough sell in a new arena to then

250
00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,039
start trading your stars. And I understand, like that sounds

251
00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:16,399
like a weird thing to say because they let one

252
00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,600
star just walk away. But I think there's a difference

253
00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,159
in someone that they never viewed as their top star

254
00:12:22,279 --> 00:12:24,159
with someone that they do view as their top star.

255
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,360
I don't think they think kawhi'snthing is like as bad

256
00:12:28,399 --> 00:12:31,720
as maybe some people think. Maybe that's foolish on their part.

257
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:34,759
Maybe it's not. I always think they just take a

258
00:12:34,799 --> 00:12:37,639
wait and see approach with this. They Lawrence Frank did

259
00:12:37,639 --> 00:12:40,879
say on Tuesday that they think they've come out of

260
00:12:40,879 --> 00:12:43,919
the other side of this and finally found ways to

261
00:12:44,159 --> 00:12:47,320
like help and manage whatever whatever was going on with

262
00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,440
it that was still causing inflammation. It sounded like he

263
00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:53,759
that he did have an off season procedure, it probably

264
00:12:53,799 --> 00:12:56,519
wasn't a major one. That's probably just like an arthroscopic

265
00:12:56,639 --> 00:12:59,679
or you know, something like that. So, which is very

266
00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:01,440
funny to say that an arthur' scopp surgery is not

267
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,240
a major surgery, because every surgery seems like a major surgery.

268
00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,440
Speaker 1: It just has it's always phrasing the minor arthro'scopic procedure,

269
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,519
and I'm just like, this is not the thing.

270
00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,120
Speaker 2: You're cutting somewhat open. I think I think it's pretty major.

271
00:13:15,039 --> 00:13:17,240
Speaker 1: Like once you get plenty things involved, Like I'm of

272
00:13:17,279 --> 00:13:18,559
the mind that it's more than minor.

273
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,519
Speaker 2: I mean, they don't seem that concerned. I mean, I

274
00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:24,120
get why people are. Let me just throw my hands.

275
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,039
I understand why people are. I just don't think they are.

276
00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,159
I think at the end of the day, they're very

277
00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,159
maybe not confident, maybe not confident, but optimistic that this

278
00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,159
is going to turn the corner. So that's where I

279
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:38,200
think they stand on it.

280
00:13:38,279 --> 00:13:40,200
Speaker 1: I'll have to circle back later to that comment you

281
00:13:40,279 --> 00:13:42,519
made about if they're struggling, if they would consider like

282
00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,759
anything nuclear. But I want to ask you this, aside

283
00:13:45,799 --> 00:13:48,960
from the fallout from whatever happened with Paul George him

284
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,799
not being there, what is the biggest storyline that you

285
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,759
will be tracking for this team, not just heading into

286
00:13:54,879 --> 00:13:56,320
next season, but throughout next season.

287
00:13:57,039 --> 00:14:00,000
Speaker 2: Is James Harden the James Harden that he was in Philadelphia.

288
00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:02,679
He was very good last year, and so I don't

289
00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:04,799
want to sit here and say he was better in Philadelphia.

290
00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,399
His numbers were better in Philadelphia. But I think he

291
00:14:07,519 --> 00:14:11,000
played really well last year. I think he was very efficient.

292
00:14:11,039 --> 00:14:13,480
I think he never really went outside of himself to

293
00:14:14,159 --> 00:14:17,320
handle the responsibilities. But they're gonna need him a lot

294
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,159
more this year, obviously with no PG in Japan. On

295
00:14:20,759 --> 00:14:23,159
Kawhi's health status, not just to start the season, but

296
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,000
during the season, so I kind of look at him.

297
00:14:26,279 --> 00:14:30,200
That's the biggest storyline for the season is what James

298
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,720
Harden do they get. Do they get the James Harden

299
00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,600
of last year who averaged almost seventeen and almost nine assists,

300
00:14:36,679 --> 00:14:38,440
or do they get the James Harden from Philly who

301
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,720
was twenty one and eleven, who's shooting more often. Tylo

302
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,039
said on Tuesday when he talked that they're gonna use

303
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:47,759
James and more pick and roles. They want him to

304
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:50,039
do more things. They need him to shoot more, they

305
00:14:50,039 --> 00:14:51,799
need him to take more shots. They aimed to score more,

306
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,440
they aim to do everything. If there's one thing we've

307
00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,279
learned about James Harden, he's one of the greatest offensive

308
00:14:57,279 --> 00:15:00,879
engines in the history of basketball, and when he wants

309
00:15:00,919 --> 00:15:04,440
to shoot, there's probably not five better offensive players in

310
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,080
the game right now than him. The problem comes down

311
00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:08,919
to whether or not he will shoot, because at times

312
00:15:08,919 --> 00:15:11,600
he would. You know, he dealt with injuries at times

313
00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,840
the latter half of last season. And then it also

314
00:15:14,879 --> 00:15:17,279
comes down to whether or not he's actually getting to

315
00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:19,519
the rim. He didn't get to the rim a lot

316
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,679
last year. Last year, I believe he only got only

317
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:24,799
twenty five percent of his shots last year were inside

318
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,200
of eight feet. It was thirty three percent the year

319
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,600
before in Philly. I want to say it was forty

320
00:15:29,639 --> 00:15:32,240
two and a half two years ago and three years ago,

321
00:15:32,279 --> 00:15:34,679
I think it was forty five percent. Like he's he's

322
00:15:34,799 --> 00:15:38,399
drastically gone down. He's become a heavy jump shooter, which

323
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:43,960
in his defense, great three point shooter, especially off the dribble. Obviously,

324
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:47,159
I just think he needs needs to get to the

325
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,039
rim a lot more. And I'm I'm really interested to

326
00:15:50,039 --> 00:15:53,000
see that process. Because Ty talked about because I asked

327
00:15:53,039 --> 00:15:58,159
Ty specifically on Tuesday, do you think with no PG?

328
00:15:58,279 --> 00:16:00,360
And obviously I know I keep saying this, but losing

329
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:04,120
PG is obviously a big deal. But does losing PG

330
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,399
allow them to streamline their offense more where you're not

331
00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:11,559
trying where you're not trying to get three main guys involved.

332
00:16:11,639 --> 00:16:16,480
It's one main ball handler, another another guy like Kawhi

333
00:16:16,519 --> 00:16:18,840
who is the best offensive player on the team, but

334
00:16:18,879 --> 00:16:21,879
won't handle the ball as much as Kawhi, and then

335
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,399
everyone fits in around them rather than trying to fit

336
00:16:24,519 --> 00:16:27,519
PG into that as a puzzle piece as well, And

337
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,639
he said he does think that to some degree, there's

338
00:16:30,679 --> 00:16:34,000
gonna be a level of uh streamlining that's gonna that's

339
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,120
gonna take hold here. He said, that's the idea. He said,

340
00:16:38,159 --> 00:16:41,879
it's always tough to replace that kind of player. James

341
00:16:41,919 --> 00:16:44,799
and Kawhi are their focus offensively, but obviously Norm is

342
00:16:44,799 --> 00:16:47,039
gonna be a focus and they aregue and he did

343
00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,320
say they're gonna post if it's a Zubots a lot more.

344
00:16:49,919 --> 00:16:53,360
And he said it's on him to find the right

345
00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:57,279
spacing around those guys, which is gonna be the biggest

346
00:16:57,639 --> 00:17:00,639
non James question of the season is how they non

347
00:17:00,759 --> 00:17:03,600
James and Kawhi question this season, which is how do

348
00:17:03,679 --> 00:17:07,519
they figure out spacing because they lost a like PG,

349
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,960
say what you want about him, all time great shooter,

350
00:17:10,519 --> 00:17:14,000
especially for a size you know, floor spacer and all this.

351
00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,640
They lost that guy and they have to find shooting

352
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,400
out of guys who not really had a great track

353
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,519
record of being great shooters. Derek Jones Junior obviously chief

354
00:17:24,559 --> 00:17:28,640
among them, Chris Dunn also among them. They get Nico

355
00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:32,400
Batoum back, very good shooter, but Nico doesn't shoot a lot,

356
00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,359
so that like he helps with the spacing, but not

357
00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,279
as much as a guy like PG would the big

358
00:17:37,319 --> 00:17:39,880
wild card and all this. I'm sure we'll get into

359
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:41,799
this later as well, is what do you get out

360
00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:44,599
of Kevin Porter Junior. We don't know if there's gonna

361
00:17:44,599 --> 00:17:48,079
be a suspension from the League office. There probably will be,

362
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,160
just based on things that have gone around and been said,

363
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,839
but we don't know yet. We don't know what that

364
00:17:54,039 --> 00:17:56,759
suspension length would be if there is one, and we

365
00:17:56,759 --> 00:17:58,359
don't know what kind of player he is right now.

366
00:17:58,759 --> 00:18:00,559
He went he missed a year of NBA basketball, He

367
00:18:00,599 --> 00:18:02,240
went to Grease, he only played five or six games

368
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,359
in Greece, and then he came back. That's a lot

369
00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:07,039
of downtime for not playing NBA high level basketball. So

370
00:18:08,039 --> 00:18:09,839
that's the big wildcard and all this and what they

371
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:11,119
can expect out of their offense.

372
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:16,279
Speaker 1: So with James Harden, though, I guess you're gonna streamline

373
00:18:16,319 --> 00:18:19,079
the offense that looks more like James Harden is kind

374
00:18:19,079 --> 00:18:21,640
of the center of everything, which I thought he did

375
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,480
a good I mean, we saw this in Philly too,

376
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:25,680
where he was kind of toggled between two existences. But

377
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:27,680
like he goes to LA and almost half of his

378
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,680
made threes came off assists, which is just unheard of

379
00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:31,640
for Harden. So if you're gonna put the ball in

380
00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:33,359
his hands, I think that's mostly fine if you're looking

381
00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:35,400
to streamline your offense, But if you're looking for more

382
00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,680
variability and maybe hardened shot selection, you've kind of already

383
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:40,559
mentioned this, but how do you get him to the

384
00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,039
rim if he's on the ball, because like that seems

385
00:18:43,079 --> 00:18:44,559
more like at this stage of his career would have

386
00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:46,839
to be an off ball thing because he's not going

387
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,400
to get by a ton of guys. And so I

388
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,799
think his rim frequency you mentioned like inside eight feet,

389
00:18:51,839 --> 00:18:54,160
he was below twenty percent of shots coming from like

390
00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,400
actually at the rim last year, which was a career low,

391
00:18:56,839 --> 00:18:59,279
I believe. And so if you have I mean, like

392
00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:01,519
Kawhi's even kind of that type of player now too.

393
00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,039
This is you've added some maybe complimentary rim pressure and

394
00:19:04,079 --> 00:19:06,799
Derek Jones Junior, so Terrence Man floating around out there,

395
00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,240
Chris Dunn as well. But I just like, what a

396
00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:12,559
streamline in the offense then, look like, is it just

397
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,599
running it through James Harden running a lot You mentioned

398
00:19:15,599 --> 00:19:17,680
posting up zoobots more, but it is a lot more

399
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,839
picking rolls featuring James fun Like I'm just curious as

400
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:21,240
to what that winds up looking like.

401
00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,240
Speaker 2: I think there's be a lot more picking roles. I

402
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,400
think they're gonna just have to lean they might end

403
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:26,920
up having to be one of the highest pick and

404
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,920
roll frequency teams in the league to have a sustainable offense.

405
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,200
I mean, Ty did talk about, you know, since he's

406
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,599
been there, they've been basically a top five offense every year,

407
00:19:36,079 --> 00:19:38,880
and obviously Kawhi helped with that, and so does PG,

408
00:19:39,079 --> 00:19:41,920
and obviously getting James last year. Like, of course, if

409
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,440
you have star players, odds are you're gonna have a

410
00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:48,039
great offense. Like that makes sense. But Ty did work

411
00:19:48,079 --> 00:19:49,960
a lot of magic in the year I want to

412
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,799
say twenty one to twenty two. Kaw I missed the

413
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,599
entire year, PG only played thirty games, and they were

414
00:19:55,599 --> 00:19:58,240
still a winning team. I think that's what they're gonna

415
00:19:58,319 --> 00:20:00,160
lean their hat on is, Look, we're not gonna be

416
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,480
as great offensively as we were last year, but we

417
00:20:03,559 --> 00:20:05,279
have to be better defensively. They went out and got

418
00:20:05,319 --> 00:20:09,599
all these defensive guys, you know, Derek Jones, Chris gun Niico, Batouma.

419
00:20:09,599 --> 00:20:13,599
They get these defensive first guys to hopefully boost them

420
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,799
on that end. To where they're not always playing against

421
00:20:16,799 --> 00:20:21,039
a set defense on the other end, and I think

422
00:20:21,039 --> 00:20:23,599
when they do play against set defenses, they're just gonna

423
00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,480
have to hope that they run enough pick and rolls

424
00:20:25,839 --> 00:20:28,599
and have enough floor spacing to where on the off

425
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,519
chance James does get downhill, he has ample runway to

426
00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:34,279
get to the rim and do what he needs to do.

427
00:20:34,759 --> 00:20:39,279
I remember there was a game very soon after he arrived.

428
00:20:39,319 --> 00:20:41,759
It was in la I want to say it had

429
00:20:41,759 --> 00:20:44,359
to be Memphis because he was being guarded by Santi Aldama.

430
00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,960
And I remember in the fourth quarter and I sat

431
00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:51,440
where my old because they changed the media seats for

432
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,279
into a dome from where it was at Staples. But

433
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:57,279
at Staples, my media seat was basically center court up

434
00:20:57,279 --> 00:21:00,200
where the broadcasters are, so I got to actually kind

435
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,519
of sit next to a lot of cool people in

436
00:21:02,559 --> 00:21:05,119
my years covering them from that position. And I had

437
00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,599
someone next to me, and James tries to take Santi

438
00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,920
Aldama off the dribble, and it just it didn't happen,

439
00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,640
like two or three straight possessions, and I remember this

440
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,160
person next to me, and I just going, oh, this

441
00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:24,000
might be bad. And yet throughout the year I will

442
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,640
say this, he dig it into better shape. He was

443
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,599
able to start getting past people at a at a

444
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,400
higher rate. Obviously not the rate that prime James Harden,

445
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,880
because he's not prime James Harden anymore. But I think

446
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:40,079
they're hoping that he comes in, you know, knock on wood,

447
00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,720
he comes in in shape. Everything I've seen seems that

448
00:21:42,759 --> 00:21:44,680
he is in shape and in great shape in the fact,

449
00:21:45,279 --> 00:21:49,519
and hoping that he's able to maybe not just get

450
00:21:49,519 --> 00:21:52,319
the burst back, but get the will back to this

451
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,000
is your team right now. The ball's in your hands

452
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,000
all the time. Go do whatever you need to do,

453
00:21:57,079 --> 00:21:59,720
and we'll live with it. And they're gonna have to

454
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,000
spam a lot of pick and rolls with Zoo. Maybe

455
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,480
they try to play small and just try to get

456
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:09,519
spacing that way where Nico plays the five and you

457
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,519
run pick and pop with Nico, because Nico is also

458
00:22:12,519 --> 00:22:16,200
a great facilitator and connector out of those that maybe

459
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,599
that's another way, maybe you incorporate some of that to

460
00:22:18,759 --> 00:22:21,759
get James a little bit more wiggle room. They have

461
00:22:21,839 --> 00:22:24,599
a lot of questions they need to answer, but we

462
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:26,119
also don't know what the answer is going to be

463
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,680
until probably ten to fifteen games into the season with him.

464
00:22:29,839 --> 00:22:33,440
Speaker 1: Especially playing by that point, we might have to wait

465
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,000
longer for what the full strength answer is.

466
00:22:35,039 --> 00:22:38,440
Speaker 2: And I mean going off of what they've said, they

467
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:40,640
haven't ruled out opening night because they're not going to

468
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,359
rule out opening night until they absolutely have to, because

469
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,559
opening night is the opening of the new arena.

470
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:47,960
Speaker 1: I will I don't even mean to interrupt you, but

471
00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:51,119
like that would be surreal in a negative way of

472
00:22:51,599 --> 00:22:53,440
look at what they gave up the Pukwai and I'm

473
00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:55,680
not religating the trade like those two were the face

474
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:57,960
of this different era. The whole point was kind of like,

475
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,000
We're going to open the init Dome with these three stars,

476
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:01,880
and imagine if I'm the opening night of the endo

477
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,559
it home they have one of one star and it's

478
00:23:04,599 --> 00:23:08,160
neither PG nor Kawahai on the court. That's just like, yeah,

479
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,240
you could believe it because of everything that we've seen

480
00:23:10,279 --> 00:23:12,240
over the years, but it's also kind of mind melding.

481
00:23:13,079 --> 00:23:16,839
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's uh as. I would say it's very Clippers

482
00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:19,720
in a lot of ways that they've had thirteen straight

483
00:23:19,759 --> 00:23:21,759
winning seasons and the one season they go into the

484
00:23:21,799 --> 00:23:24,559
new arena, basically they it looks like the same old

485
00:23:24,599 --> 00:23:29,680
thing has been happening for them, whether karma or curses

486
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,599
or just playing sheer dumb luck, they've had all of it.

487
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,079
Speaker 1: This is a team and you've talked about like the

488
00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:38,160
need for rim pressure. They added defense. Was it sort

489
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,519
of like this active decision They've looked and they've always

490
00:23:40,559 --> 00:23:42,279
been a team that like they spend more time in

491
00:23:42,279 --> 00:23:44,160
transition than you think. It's just that they're not playing

492
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:46,599
necessarily super fast. When you go out and get Derek

493
00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,640
Jones junior, Chris Donne even to a lesser extent what

494
00:23:49,759 --> 00:23:52,960
Kevin Porter junior was during his heyday or whatever you

495
00:23:53,039 --> 00:23:54,799
want to call it in Houston. Was it kind of

496
00:23:54,839 --> 00:23:56,839
like an active thought process to say, like, we need

497
00:23:56,839 --> 00:23:59,400
to get more athletic, we need to get more disruptive

498
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,839
on defense, need to add to this rim pressure, even

499
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,680
it's not coming in the form of primary ball handlers.

500
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,720
Speaker 2: The one thing we heard all last seasons, they are old.

501
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,960
They would say it themselves, we are old. They went

502
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,279
out and they got younger. That was the big thing

503
00:24:13,279 --> 00:24:17,359
for them. They got younger. I believe the only two players,

504
00:24:17,759 --> 00:24:21,720
if I can recall this correctly, the only two players

505
00:24:22,079 --> 00:24:25,640
who played in the fourth quarter of Game seven that

506
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:30,119
I believe are still on the roster. Under thirty I

507
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:35,799
believe are. Oh everyone that played in the fourth quarter

508
00:24:35,839 --> 00:24:37,920
that was over thirty is basically gone now from the

509
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,200
Clippers except for James Harden. That was what it was. Essentially,

510
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:44,880
they've gotten a lot younger. Daniel Tye has gone, not

511
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,759
saying daniel Tyse was old, but daniel Tyson's gone. Mason

512
00:24:47,799 --> 00:24:53,440
Plumley is gone, obviously Pg's gone, Russ is gone. They've

513
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:58,680
lost a lot of guys who weren't really runners. Russ

514
00:24:58,759 --> 00:25:01,039
did push in transition, I will give us a credit.

515
00:25:01,079 --> 00:25:03,079
He was always trying to push the tempo and transition.

516
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,319
But they went and got guys who are play finishers

517
00:25:06,319 --> 00:25:10,599
in transition who they can kind of lean on once

518
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,240
they get a stop to then run because, like I said,

519
00:25:13,279 --> 00:25:15,839
they know their offense is not going to be at

520
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,799
the crispus of levels in the half court. And I

521
00:25:18,839 --> 00:25:21,480
thought it's interesting that you mentioned they do run a lot,

522
00:25:21,759 --> 00:25:24,440
and they are actually pretty efficient in transition. They just

523
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,759
don't maximize. Yeah, like it didn't. It never looked like

524
00:25:29,799 --> 00:25:32,759
you thought what a great transition team would look like like,

525
00:25:32,839 --> 00:25:36,599
which is always funny in a way. So they they

526
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:38,400
really did kind of bend your mind a lot in

527
00:25:39,279 --> 00:25:42,319
that aspect. But I think they're gonna lean a lot

528
00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:44,319
more on transition, and I think they're gonna be okay

529
00:25:44,319 --> 00:25:47,400
with turnovers in transition as long as they're trying to

530
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,400
get to the rim or get good shots. They had

531
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,880
way too many silly turnovers last year that were just

532
00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:57,119
mind boggling. Where you know, you can't cough up possessions

533
00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,920
in the NBA needlessly, like if another team makes a

534
00:26:00,079 --> 00:26:03,160
great play against you, that's fine. But they were just

535
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:04,920
throwing the ball out of bounds. They were throwing the

536
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,200
ball off people's legs. It just didn't matter. So the

537
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,319
whole thing for them is defense to offense and trying

538
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,160
to alleviate the burden of the stars in that setting.

539
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,759
And I do think Derek Jones is a big key

540
00:26:17,799 --> 00:26:22,039
to that. Now, my thing with Derek Jones isn't how

541
00:26:22,079 --> 00:26:25,279
is he gonna get along and transition, It's what is

542
00:26:25,319 --> 00:26:29,319
his real three point looting three point shooting threshold? Is

543
00:26:29,319 --> 00:26:31,519
it what we saw in the postseason and parts of

544
00:26:31,599 --> 00:26:34,559
last year, or is it more in line with who

545
00:26:34,599 --> 00:26:35,599
he was before that.

546
00:26:36,039 --> 00:26:38,759
Speaker 1: My whole thing with that is I almost don't think

547
00:26:38,799 --> 00:26:42,640
it matters because I think teams aren't gonna guard him anyway.

548
00:26:42,799 --> 00:26:45,400
And unless he really gets the volume up there, like

549
00:26:45,519 --> 00:26:47,400
that's the and he's hitting them at a clip of

550
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,519
like thirty five or thirty six or thirty seven percent

551
00:26:49,559 --> 00:26:51,359
off the catch, then it starts to matter more.

552
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 3: And I was actually going, well, it's like, I don't mean,

553
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,319
I don't mean, it's like the old Marcus Smart thing, right,

554
00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:58,400
Like Marcus Smart might have shot thirty five percent, but

555
00:26:58,440 --> 00:26:59,880
he shot it like he was a shoot a forty

556
00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,279
percent shooter because of his volume, yep, And teams would

557
00:27:02,279 --> 00:27:03,680
actually clothe out on him because of that.

558
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,359
Speaker 2: If you shoot like this kind of relates a little

559
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:09,519
bit to Terrence Man, which we'll get into I guess

560
00:27:09,519 --> 00:27:10,119
a little bit later.

561
00:27:10,319 --> 00:27:12,599
Speaker 1: First team will please shoot more threes, damn it.

562
00:27:13,279 --> 00:27:15,000
Speaker 2: And I know that's the thing from the front office

563
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,440
that they want, Like I know, like Terrence Man specifically,

564
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,079
I know people will look at his you know, last

565
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,440
year's numbers gonna be like, well, this guy shot thirty

566
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,319
five percent from three. Are we sure he's actually a

567
00:27:25,319 --> 00:27:29,319
good three point shooter. My counter argument that would be, well,

568
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,319
he started the season absolutely abysmal, coming back from an

569
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:36,799
ankle injury in twenty twenty four. He shot forty four

570
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,359
percent on threes, and that's the kind of guy they

571
00:27:39,519 --> 00:27:42,440
they want shooting threes all the time. He just would

572
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,200
pass up too many, and teams wouldn't come out to

573
00:27:45,279 --> 00:27:47,319
him as much as they would like him, as much

574
00:27:47,319 --> 00:27:49,359
as they the Clippers would have liked them too, because

575
00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:52,880
he wasn't taking enough despite him being a good shooter.

576
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:55,640
And that kind of goes in line with your Derek

577
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,319
Jones point, which is he could be a good shooter,

578
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:01,400
we just won't know because teams aren't gonna play him

579
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:04,160
like that and he's not gonna shoot enough most likely

580
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:04,880
for it to matter.

581
00:28:06,759 --> 00:28:09,240
Speaker 1: Derek Jones Jr. And Chris Dune. But having them you

582
00:28:09,279 --> 00:28:12,079
mentioned sort of streamlining life for the stars defensively. I mean,

583
00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:14,759
even just Zubots's job around the basket gets a lot

584
00:28:14,799 --> 00:28:16,319
easier because he's not gonna have to cover up for

585
00:28:16,319 --> 00:28:19,160
as much stuff as happening on preimter. If Kawhi's healthy,

586
00:28:19,559 --> 00:28:21,640
his job gets a lot easier. Do you worry? And

587
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,400
we've talked about this a little bit with the shooting,

588
00:28:23,519 --> 00:28:25,680
but and I think it probably matters more for Derek

589
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,160
Jones Junior just because of the position that he can play, Like,

590
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,279
do you worry about kind of building the right lineups

591
00:28:32,319 --> 00:28:34,559
not around him, but like, if you have zu Bots

592
00:28:34,559 --> 00:28:36,960
and Derek Jones Junior in the floor, those are two

593
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,839
guys that do not stretch the defenses automatically, and so

594
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,079
it feels like you have to be very meticulous with

595
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,680
how you're going to outlay those those lineups from there,

596
00:28:45,799 --> 00:28:47,000
or is it gonna be like, well, we don't really

597
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,680
want zu Bots and Derek Jones when you're playing a

598
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:49,160
ton together.

599
00:28:50,319 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 2: I kind of don't think they're gonna have a choice

600
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:53,759
at times, like they're just gonna like they're just gonna

601
00:28:53,799 --> 00:28:57,160
have to figure it out. I do agree with your

602
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,799
point that they're gonna have to They're gonna have to

603
00:28:59,799 --> 00:29:05,559
find ways to never have more than two. I would

604
00:29:05,599 --> 00:29:08,839
even just say to have to have less than three

605
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,559
above average shooters on the floor. If you have Zoo

606
00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,359
and Derek Jones, I don't know if you can have

607
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,079
Chris Dunn. Not to say Chris Dunn's not a good shooter.

608
00:29:19,119 --> 00:29:21,400
He was shot pretty well last year from what I recall,

609
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:24,319
but we just like teams are just not going to

610
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,039
play him up to him as much as you want,

611
00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:30,319
And we just don't know what that spacing would look

612
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,599
like for the Clippers offensively, because and this kind of

613
00:29:33,599 --> 00:29:35,920
all ties in with the James thing, right, Like James

614
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,119
needs his space. James needs a space not to just

615
00:29:39,119 --> 00:29:41,960
get downhill to score, but downhill to pass. He's got

616
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,960
to have guys in the weak side corners to throw

617
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,519
skip pastes to. He's got to have guys up on

618
00:29:47,559 --> 00:29:49,920
the wing that he can kind of trail and lead.

619
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:55,799
All these factors, you know, come into play. Derek probably

620
00:29:55,839 --> 00:29:58,720
sees about twenty five minutes a night. I don't know

621
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,359
how many of those minutes would with Zoo, but they're

622
00:30:01,359 --> 00:30:03,720
gonna have to figure that out. I don't think you

623
00:30:03,759 --> 00:30:08,640
can play Derek, Zoo, and Terrence that much together either,

624
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,720
unless you're really just trying to grind teams out on

625
00:30:12,759 --> 00:30:16,160
the defensive end. Like there is a potential lineup hypothetically

626
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,880
where and I don't think this lineup ever happens unless

627
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,519
something drastically goes wrong or you're in a blowout or whatever.

628
00:30:22,119 --> 00:30:26,119
You could see Chris Dunn, Derek Jones, Junior, Terrence Man,

629
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,279
Nico batoum Vitza Zubots as a killer defensive lineup, but

630
00:30:30,319 --> 00:30:32,079
the offense is gonna be very hard to come by,

631
00:30:32,839 --> 00:30:36,440
and they're gonna have to figure things out obviously in

632
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,640
training camp, which starts on Tuesday for them, but they're

633
00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:41,640
gonna I think the preseason for them has to be

634
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,799
taken with the great deal of urgency. I don't think

635
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,359
they can take preseason as like, oh, let's just get

636
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,640
ready for the season. I think they have to take

637
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,079
it like they're actually trying to figure stuff out and

638
00:30:54,119 --> 00:30:55,359
not just going through the motions.

639
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:57,759
Speaker 1: Another thing that kind of fascinates me about this team,

640
00:30:57,799 --> 00:31:00,400
and it's not necessarily because Paul George left, but you

641
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:04,880
lose some offensive creation with him gone. Now Kawhi is injured,

642
00:31:05,599 --> 00:31:09,559
what does kind of the secondary playmaking situation look like

643
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,680
right now? Where are they gonna I mean, we saw

644
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,160
this in Utah with Chris Dunn. I would say more

645
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,079
than a little bit, like, are they gonna view him

646
00:31:16,119 --> 00:31:18,160
as like an actual backup floor general? Is that something

647
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,799
they're gonna default to. There might be lineups where, let's say,

648
00:31:20,799 --> 00:31:22,720
if James Sarnen's not on the court, we're not really

649
00:31:22,759 --> 00:31:24,720
dealing with positions. It's a lot of secondary guys like

650
00:31:24,839 --> 00:31:28,039
Terrence Man or Niko batoum are they gonna really lean

651
00:31:28,079 --> 00:31:31,240
in and like or excuse me on a Bones Highland

652
00:31:31,319 --> 00:31:32,880
or a Kevin Porter June, Like, how do you kind

653
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,279
of see not even if with it shaking out, because

654
00:31:35,279 --> 00:31:36,680
we need to see the games first, but what do

655
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,160
you think their expectations are, what they're gonna try first

656
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:40,680
and foremost in that regard are.

657
00:31:41,279 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 2: So what I would say is, I don't know what

658
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,720
they expect out of Bones. That's a that's a touchy situation. Obviously.

659
00:31:46,759 --> 00:31:50,160
The PJ Tucker situation is also an interesting one. PJ

660
00:31:50,279 --> 00:31:53,680
and Bones both kind of want to go their separate ways,

661
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:59,079
which is very fair. In Bones' case, he did show

662
00:31:59,079 --> 00:32:01,279
at the beginning of last he can be an NBA

663
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,319
rotation guard. He had a great game against Chicago in

664
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,519
Chicago towards the like the middling point of the season.

665
00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:08,839
I want to say of that game it might have

666
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:13,640
been in March, but he did show flashes. But I

667
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:15,759
kind of just think this is Kevin Porter junior second

668
00:32:15,799 --> 00:32:21,720
unit now alongside Norman Powell. Yeah, I they just based

669
00:32:21,759 --> 00:32:25,759
on what they've said, I think they're kind of I

670
00:32:25,799 --> 00:32:29,160
think I think they're locked into Kevin Porter Junior getting

671
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:32,799
a pretty substantial role. I mean, Ty was asked about

672
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:40,319
him on Tuesday, that he can definitely make an impact.

673
00:32:40,519 --> 00:32:42,720
Ty said it was his job to make sure he

674
00:32:42,759 --> 00:32:45,359
gets the most out of them. Ty said he's gonna

675
00:32:45,359 --> 00:32:47,519
stay on top of him, he's gonna coach him hard,

676
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:49,720
and he said for us to have success, he's going

677
00:32:49,799 --> 00:32:53,359
to be a big part of that. So I kind

678
00:32:53,359 --> 00:32:56,960
of just think that the second unit might end up

679
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:06,480
being some variation of Chris Dunn, Norman Powell, Kevin Porter Junior, Nico,

680
00:33:07,079 --> 00:33:09,799
and then the fifth guy could either be the backup

681
00:33:09,799 --> 00:33:13,519
center like a Mobomba or someone else that creates like

682
00:33:13,599 --> 00:33:16,599
a small lineup alongside of them, whether that's a Terrence

683
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,400
or a Derek Jones on some Knights or Kawhi on

684
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:23,839
certain nights there. This is this is a roster that,

685
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,000
like when you look at their roster, there is good

686
00:33:26,039 --> 00:33:29,000
depth on this roster. It's not a roster that's just

687
00:33:29,079 --> 00:33:31,000
like three or four or five deep. Like, there is

688
00:33:31,039 --> 00:33:35,240
good depth. I don't think they know role wise what

689
00:33:35,279 --> 00:33:38,880
that depth actually is, and you know, until they get

690
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:40,559
five to ten, fifteen games into the year.

691
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 1: I am honestly surprised I guess they did sign him,

692
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:46,359
and they gave him a player option too, so I

693
00:33:46,359 --> 00:33:47,960
guess it shows that that wasn't a ton of money,

694
00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,720
but that they do value a KPJ. And I will

695
00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:52,960
say in his final year in Houston, like I think

696
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,119
he showed a lot of playmaking improvement when he was

697
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,519
going downhill. I just this team does feel like it's

698
00:33:59,519 --> 00:34:02,279
going to etone who can like initiate like real half

699
00:34:02,319 --> 00:34:05,440
court offense, and to me, that's just not gonna be him.

700
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:07,200
Like he would score efficiently out of picking roll in

701
00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:09,360
Houston sometimes, but he would commit a lot of turnovers

702
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:11,559
like the Reids weren't there, And like, I don't know

703
00:34:11,559 --> 00:34:13,480
if this team is gonna if you're gonna give him

704
00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,000
the ball in the half court, like you better have

705
00:34:15,039 --> 00:34:17,960
floor spacing around him, and that's gonna be another challenge.

706
00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,400
So that might this is like a maybe it's a

707
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:21,960
sick o thing to monitor, but like I'm gonna be

708
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,199
looking at kind of what their secondary floor, general backcourt

709
00:34:25,199 --> 00:34:27,639
playmaking rotation, every want to frame it is going to be.

710
00:34:27,679 --> 00:34:28,880
And I think, look, this could have been an issue

711
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,079
with or without Paul George, but the Kawhi Leonard injury

712
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,000
now I'm just gonna expect the worst from it. I

713
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,159
don't care what they're saying at this point, Like that's

714
00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:38,320
made it even more higher stakes. I'm from my end.

715
00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:40,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean with the Kauhi thing, as I as

716
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:43,679
I often say in life is expect the worst or

717
00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:45,800
prepare for the worst, expect the best kind of thing.

718
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,119
You know, like you you got to prepare for the

719
00:34:48,159 --> 00:34:50,119
worst case scenario of the Kauai thing and just hope,

720
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:54,719
hope to god it's not. Yeah, the KPJ leaning in

721
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,519
would be a little I guess crazy to some degree,

722
00:34:57,519 --> 00:34:59,360
considering he was out of the NBA last year. Like,

723
00:34:59,679 --> 00:35:01,719
I don't there's you know, the.

724
00:35:01,679 --> 00:35:04,480
Speaker 1: Reasons for the violence issues, Like it was a you know,

725
00:35:04,519 --> 00:35:06,400
and we'll see you said, he'll probably get a suspension.

726
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:09,199
I mean, the league has been pretty inconsistent with stuff

727
00:35:09,199 --> 00:35:11,239
that it does. But like based off what they how

728
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,679
they handled mild Bridges coming back, I would think he

729
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,320
gets a suspension. I just from a basketball perspective, and

730
00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:19,840
I hate making that segue, but that's how you have

731
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:24,400
to do it if you're find yourself like leaning Kevin

732
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:27,880
Porter Junior in twenty twenty, I just it doesn't feel

733
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:29,559
like an ideal place to be. Like you mentioned, they

734
00:35:29,559 --> 00:35:31,199
do have real depth on this team, but if that's

735
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:33,800
who they and look, maybe there's a reason these people

736
00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:35,760
run a basketball team and I don't. But like I

737
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,480
didn't see it in Houston, so I'm not gonna see

738
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:39,280
it now. I just there have been people who would

739
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:43,280
really go to the woodshed for KPg is a basketball player.

740
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:45,519
I've just a KPg excuse me, and I've just never

741
00:35:45,519 --> 00:35:47,239
been one of them. Maybe maybe I'm wrong, but if

742
00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:48,880
they're gonna use them that way, it might be at

743
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:53,400
least watchworthy because they're gonna glean some real information for

744
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:54,199
better or bear.

745
00:35:55,119 --> 00:35:59,320
Speaker 2: I mean, not that it's cynical, but like part of

746
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:01,880
me has wonder at times. And I haven't reached out

747
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,360
to check this because there's no reason to, but like

748
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,239
I kind of wonder if KPJ is the Norman Powell insurance,

749
00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:12,800
if he's if if if Norman gets injured or if

750
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:16,719
they trade him or anything like that. Like we have

751
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:18,760
this guy that's making what is he making like two

752
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,559
and a half million dollars? Yeah, that you know, making

753
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:27,679
ten times less than Norman Powell, who can do hypothetically

754
00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:33,320
eighty percent of the production. Maybe that's a cost you

755
00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,480
live with, you know, in the interim to kind of

756
00:36:37,039 --> 00:36:38,679
see what you can get down the line on Norman

757
00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:42,679
Powell trade it is. It's a flimsy ship at this

758
00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,000
point in terms of the in terms of the KPg stuff,

759
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,000
because you know, this is probable suspension and we don't

760
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,039
know what he is. And I think that's okay. I

761
00:36:51,039 --> 00:36:53,320
think it's okay to say, es sports people, I don't know.

762
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,039
Speaker 1: What he is or what you no, we have to

763
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,840
we have to have an opinion opinion on everything, Justine.

764
00:36:57,880 --> 00:36:58,199
You know that.

765
00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:01,559
Speaker 2: I mean, he would be a fifteen point per game guy.

766
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:05,960
He could also be horrendous when he sees the court

767
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:07,559
and it's just one of those moves where like, well

768
00:37:07,599 --> 00:37:09,760
they gave it a shot, so you know, no harm,

769
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,360
no foul from an from an on court perspective, but

770
00:37:14,039 --> 00:37:17,639
you know, they seem pretty hell bent on seeing what

771
00:37:17,639 --> 00:37:21,280
they have in him. And you know, if if you

772
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:24,239
have to go off the Houston years, he's probably their

773
00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:30,239
fourth best offensive option, which is which you know, because

774
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:36,760
it would be Kawhi and James, then Norm and then KPJ.

775
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:40,760
Speaker 1: I might take you that's over that. I'm not gonna lie.

776
00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:43,599
Speaker 2: I would probably take the zoobots, post off post ups

777
00:37:43,639 --> 00:37:46,519
off above that as well. But in terms of like

778
00:37:47,159 --> 00:37:49,719
guys who you can give the ball to a you'll

779
00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:52,159
make a play or go get a bucket, I think

780
00:37:52,199 --> 00:37:55,360
he and that's kind of the situation for them.

781
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,199
Speaker 1: I think also this might be uncomfortable. I'm I don't

782
00:37:58,199 --> 00:37:59,760
know how I feel about Bones Island at this point.

783
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,559
I was all in after his rookie season. Clearly was

784
00:38:01,559 --> 00:38:03,000
wrong about that. But if you were to add the

785
00:38:03,079 --> 00:38:05,400
layer of you want someone who could create their own bucket,

786
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:07,800
but also trust them to maybe set up for others,

787
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,760
KPJ probably moves up to third then, because that's not

788
00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:13,320
gonna be Norman Powell's game at that point if you

789
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:15,000
need him to like set up others.

790
00:38:15,199 --> 00:38:19,440
Speaker 2: So yeah, Norm just sounds like a negative. I don't

791
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,039
mean this as a native. He's a very simplistic passer,

792
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:24,920
and when he gets downhill it's usually just a drop

793
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,280
off or just a straight kick, like there's nothing to elaborate,

794
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:29,800
which is fine. I think that's totally fine im basketball

795
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:31,679
to have out of a guy you know what you're getting.

796
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:37,719
But Norm's primary values are getting to the basket to

797
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:42,599
score or get fouled and being a dead eye, knockdown,

798
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:48,000
catch and shoot guy. He was phenomenal last year, especially

799
00:38:48,039 --> 00:38:52,119
in corners. There was a lineup that they had for

800
00:38:52,199 --> 00:38:54,400
a long time last season which was called the Powell

801
00:38:54,440 --> 00:39:01,800
Rangers lineup that another Clippers podcast UH tabbed, which was

802
00:39:02,159 --> 00:39:06,159
Norman Powell in the starting lineup alongside James PG, Kawhi

803
00:39:06,199 --> 00:39:09,599
and Zoo. They were incredible together as a five man unit.

804
00:39:09,599 --> 00:39:12,400
Throughout the entire season. They outscored teams by a major

805
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,880
amount of points. Obviously that didn't happen the postseason because

806
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,800
everyone got hurt, and that's the Clipper way. But Norm

807
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:22,079
is Norm is a lot better as an off ball

808
00:39:22,119 --> 00:39:25,320
and second side guy than on the ball, and I

809
00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:27,880
so I am kind of fascinated, like how does he

810
00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,760
fit with KPJ. Does Chris Dunn handle the ball a

811
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,400
lot more on a second unit if the three of

812
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:36,320
them are on the floor together. And I already know

813
00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,639
there's a segment of Clippers fans that are going, please God,

814
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:43,320
no more three guard lineups. But this team's gonna have

815
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:46,199
to run some three guard lineups at times because they're

816
00:39:46,199 --> 00:39:48,239
gonna need offense and the quickest way to get offense

817
00:39:48,599 --> 00:39:51,000
for this team might be three guard lineups.

818
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:53,960
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, especially if KUIs is any time at all,

819
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,199
you're gonna have to go to that he's missing time.

820
00:39:56,239 --> 00:39:58,119
Speaker 2: I think we could just say he's missing time. He's

821
00:39:58,119 --> 00:40:01,440
missing at least sixteen games. They play sixteen back to backs.

822
00:40:01,679 --> 00:40:04,719
I would be absolutely shocked if he played in both

823
00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:07,079
sets of the back to back at all this upcoming.

824
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:09,760
Speaker 1: Season, a Vitazubas gets an extension, which I think, even

825
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:13,320
in the current pigman climate, super team friendly extension. I

826
00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,320
may have asked you this question last year, but like,

827
00:40:17,039 --> 00:40:20,159
why don't we understand Well, I'm not saying you, but

828
00:40:20,199 --> 00:40:22,599
why don't we collectively just not appreciate what a Vita

829
00:40:22,639 --> 00:40:25,039
Zubos is on the defensive end, or at least as

830
00:40:25,079 --> 00:40:26,119
a rim protector.

831
00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,719
Speaker 2: Because I don't think he I don't think he looks

832
00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:33,639
like a modern big man, and we have like this

833
00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:36,519
idea fara foul, We have this idea of what the

834
00:40:36,559 --> 00:40:39,639
modern rim protecting big man looks like. Either they're tall

835
00:40:39,639 --> 00:40:43,280
and lanky like Rudy Gobert and Victor Webber Yama, or

836
00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:45,719
they're mobile and they're able to get out and do

837
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,079
lots of things like an Anthony Davis or a Bam

838
00:40:48,079 --> 00:40:52,039
Auto Bio. A Vita Zobots is more of what I

839
00:40:52,039 --> 00:40:54,679
would classify as an anchor big. You leave him on

840
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:57,199
the back line, he can, he takes care of things

841
00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,639
very well. I also just think we have like a

842
00:40:59,679 --> 00:41:04,480
miss understanding of like what defense is as a big

843
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:08,800
in the NBA. I think we think of blocks a

844
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:10,920
lot of times. The blocks are not what matters. It's

845
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,599
it's the guy that didn't shoot. And I actually remember

846
00:41:13,639 --> 00:41:16,159
talking to a Visa Zubots about this for an exclusive

847
00:41:16,719 --> 00:41:21,360
last year in Utah about why he doesn't think he

848
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:24,519
gets the recognition defensively. And he says, and he said,

849
00:41:24,519 --> 00:41:26,320
because he doesn't. He said what I said, which is

850
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:30,639
he thinks that people don't understand what they're watching. He

851
00:41:30,639 --> 00:41:33,679
he thinks that people only pay attention to like the

852
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:36,320
highlights and the blocks and the Steelds and these these

853
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,480
really highlight type plays, but they kind of lose the

854
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,840
forest for the trees, so to speak. In that he's

855
00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:45,280
deterring a lot of stuff at the RIM. And they

856
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:50,920
have a metric that they track in house for what

857
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:55,480
they've classified as like RIM deterrence of basically people who

858
00:41:55,599 --> 00:41:58,679
drive to the rim and then don't shoot against the

859
00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:01,199
specific big. And he was basically at the top of

860
00:42:01,199 --> 00:42:03,440
the list. And obviously, like Rudy Gobert is at the

861
00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:04,880
top of this Victor one, but was at the top

862
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,079
of the list all these great defensive bigs. Obviously, but

863
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:12,639
I don't think we value enough of guys not shooting

864
00:42:12,679 --> 00:42:16,360
around someone that if a center blocks one out of

865
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:19,039
every five shots he faces, we view that as an

866
00:42:19,079 --> 00:42:21,480
incredible achievement, Like, Okay, he blocks twenty percent of the

867
00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:26,360
shots he faces. But if he's not blocking, if he faces,

868
00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:28,800
if the guy who's not blocking shots faces half as

869
00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:33,360
many shots, that's probably the more impressive mark, because guys

870
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:36,599
aren't shooting directly at the rim around them.

871
00:42:37,039 --> 00:42:38,679
Speaker 1: It's funny bring it up because the one of the

872
00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,719
stats that I think showcases his impact is the cleaning

873
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:44,079
the glass stat. When you look at the opposing team's

874
00:42:44,119 --> 00:42:46,320
frequency at which they get to the basket when he's

875
00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:48,800
on the court, it dropped by six point four percent

876
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,360
below their season average. This is just last year.

877
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:54,599
Speaker 2: And I think I think their three point rate also dropped.

878
00:42:54,639 --> 00:42:58,519
If I'm not mistaken, teams I think teams should shoot.

879
00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:00,440
Maybe they didn't maybe it was the year before that

880
00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:01,599
it dropped a shot.

881
00:43:02,119 --> 00:43:04,239
Speaker 1: They shot more threes with him on the NY floor.

882
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, last year. I think the year before they shot fewer,

883
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:07,840
which was interesting.

884
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:10,400
Speaker 1: I think what's more wild about that is, so if

885
00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:12,800
everyone who played at least five hundred minutes last year,

886
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,199
so we're talking like a pretty true sample size, only NICOLEA.

887
00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:19,000
Jokic has like a bigger on off impact again last

888
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,400
season of opponent frequency at the rim so and THEO

889
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:23,039
Zubots has been even when you look at the raw

890
00:43:23,079 --> 00:43:26,440
rim protection numbers, especially last season, he's always been up there.

891
00:43:27,079 --> 00:43:30,599
Do you think that his job gets a lot easier

892
00:43:30,599 --> 00:43:31,800
now when you look at some of them? Not a

893
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:34,199
lot easier, but or how does it change? I would

894
00:43:34,239 --> 00:43:36,800
ask you with the personnel that's now, let's say in

895
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:39,159
front of him, when you're looking at well, if KPg

896
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:43,239
actually plays, but also Chris Dunn and Derreck Jones Junior specifically, it.

897
00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:45,360
Speaker 2: Should be a lot easier. I've talked to Clippers personnel.

898
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,360
They were not happy about all the switching they had

899
00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:51,480
to do the last couple of years. They internally they

900
00:43:51,519 --> 00:43:54,360
thought that they switched way too much. That was like

901
00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:57,840
they but it felt like a player driven thing more

902
00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:03,199
so than anything coach related or the players. The system

903
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:05,760
was designed to make it easier for the players, rather

904
00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:08,599
than the players making it easier for themselves by doing

905
00:44:08,599 --> 00:44:10,920
the hard work and then getting more stops that way,

906
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:12,840
I think we're gonna see a lot more people fight

907
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:14,480
over ball screens. I think that's why they went out

908
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:18,599
and got Derek Jones, Junior, Chris Dunn, Nico Batom's excellent

909
00:44:18,599 --> 00:44:21,239
to getting over the top of screens. I think they've

910
00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:24,519
heavily invested in guys who will put the effort on

911
00:44:24,519 --> 00:44:27,840
the defensive end for forty eight minutes to not just

912
00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:31,440
make their lives easier defensively, but make Zoos's job easier

913
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:35,199
to where, Okay, we have this guy who's kind of

914
00:44:35,239 --> 00:44:38,199
locking down the rim, why don't we just chase more

915
00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:40,679
guys off the three point line? Then why are we

916
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,480
just soft switching on every pick and roll and guys

917
00:44:43,519 --> 00:44:46,719
are just stepping back and hitting threes, Like, why wouldn't

918
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:50,559
we try to get them off the line to make

919
00:44:50,599 --> 00:44:53,719
them take tougher shots. So I think that's what we're

920
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:57,199
gonna see, and I can't gloss over it because it's

921
00:44:57,639 --> 00:45:00,559
to me, it's probably the third biggest addition they made

922
00:45:01,079 --> 00:45:03,639
all season or all off season. They went out and

923
00:45:03,639 --> 00:45:08,039
got Jeff Van Gundy, and Jeff Van Gundy's gonna make

924
00:45:08,079 --> 00:45:11,519
them get over screens and play defense. Ty had a

925
00:45:11,599 --> 00:45:16,760
very funny quote on Tuesday where he said, I always

926
00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:23,760
tell Jeff he's never happy unless he's mad, and just

927
00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:25,920
gonna get mad at this team to get them into

928
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:29,800
shape mentally for an eighty two game season defensively, and

929
00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:31,719
I think we're gonna see guys who actually want to

930
00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:34,920
compete on that end of the floor rather than kind

931
00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:36,800
of just go through the motions at times. And that's

932
00:45:36,840 --> 00:45:40,079
not a shot at any player specifically, it's just I

933
00:45:40,119 --> 00:45:43,679
do think last year's team got into a mindset where

934
00:45:43,679 --> 00:45:46,639
they just kind of just went through the motions for

935
00:45:46,719 --> 00:45:48,679
a month or so, and I think it kind of

936
00:45:49,119 --> 00:45:50,960
came came back to buy them, so to speak.

937
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,239
Speaker 1: Sticking with Zubab for one more question, him and James

938
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:58,679
Harn developed a nice chemistry. You've already mentioned that he

939
00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:00,559
might get more post ups for when you look at

940
00:46:00,719 --> 00:46:04,920
Paul George's leaving Russell or left, Russell Westbrook left, Kawhi

941
00:46:05,039 --> 00:46:07,800
might miss time. Is there any one that like we're

942
00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:10,280
talking about those four players represented the guys who assisted

943
00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:11,840
on most of his buckets last year, Like, those are

944
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:14,559
the four top ones. Three of the two of them

945
00:46:14,559 --> 00:46:16,280
are gone and one of them could miss or will

946
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:19,079
miss substantial time at some point. Is there any two

947
00:46:19,159 --> 00:46:22,000
man dynamic featuring Zubots beyond the hardened thing, beyond the

948
00:46:22,039 --> 00:46:23,480
names I just mentioned, and of course two of them

949
00:46:23,519 --> 00:46:25,079
are gone, so you can't that. You would like to

950
00:46:25,079 --> 00:46:28,159
see the Clippers maybe explore more. Do we default to

951
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,880
Nico just because he's been there like kind of done

952
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:32,400
that with Zubots before.

953
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:37,400
Speaker 2: That would be the simple option is that Nico knows

954
00:46:37,400 --> 00:46:40,360
how Zoo operates, and they do have a chemistry. They

955
00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:45,639
did like playing alongside one another. There was a very

956
00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:50,159
funny quote from from a player a couple of years

957
00:46:50,199 --> 00:46:53,360
ago to me which was talking about that. This was

958
00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,079
on the topic of Rudy Gobert, but the player said

959
00:46:56,079 --> 00:47:00,840
it while pointing out a Viatza Zoobots, which was, you

960
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:03,800
have a seven footer and he's around the rim, Just

961
00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:06,239
get him the ball. It's that simple. Just get him

962
00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:10,639
the ball. And that's kind of like Nico can do that.

963
00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,679
Nico knows how to spot those weaknesses and those those

964
00:47:13,719 --> 00:47:19,960
spaces to exploit. Maybe KPJ, maybe Norm to some degree.

965
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:23,280
Maybe Chris Dunn not a great you know, obviously it's

966
00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:26,920
not a like for like, but some of these guys

967
00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:28,800
are gonna have to are gonna have to see an

968
00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:32,360
uptick and playmaking responsibilities because you know, James is gonna

969
00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:34,559
miss time too. This isn't like James is playing all

970
00:47:34,599 --> 00:47:37,119
eighty two games thirty five minutes a night and we're

971
00:47:37,159 --> 00:47:41,599
getting prime every night. Houston, James Harden, He's gonna miss time.

972
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:44,239
I think in this landscape of the NBA, every superstar

973
00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:46,760
is likely to miss five to ten games a season,

974
00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:49,920
just just unless you're NICOLEA. Jokicchen you know you're a cyborn.

975
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:55,400
But there's gonna have to be chemistry that's found, which

976
00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:57,239
is why the training camp in the preseason is gonna

977
00:47:57,280 --> 00:48:04,280
be so interesting. Maybe it's also with Terrence. Terrence, there's

978
00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:07,559
a sneaky thing that Terrence had the pension for doing,

979
00:48:08,039 --> 00:48:11,159
which is when he would drive into the lane, he

980
00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:16,119
primarily if he wasn't finishing for himself, would always usually

981
00:48:16,199 --> 00:48:19,079
draw two and dump off to zoom. That was like

982
00:48:19,119 --> 00:48:22,559
his trademark of driving. And we might see more of that,

983
00:48:22,679 --> 00:48:27,239
especially if Terrence can exploit closeouts and kind of get

984
00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:28,519
that going in his favor.

985
00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:31,920
Speaker 1: Well, that's a good segue into is there a next

986
00:48:32,079 --> 00:48:33,519
gear for Terrence?

987
00:48:33,559 --> 00:48:33,760
Speaker 2: Man?

988
00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:37,519
Speaker 1: Is it more about putting together the consistent tools that

989
00:48:37,519 --> 00:48:39,519
the Clippers need from him? Most? I know there is

990
00:48:39,559 --> 00:48:41,840
a subset of I don't know if it's Clippers fans

991
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:43,440
or people that watch the Clippers that think that he

992
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:45,920
has like all this on ball juice to give. I

993
00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:47,480
don't know that I've ever I mean, he's had like

994
00:48:47,679 --> 00:48:49,800
he had some wild moments and what was that the playoffs?

995
00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:54,360
Speaker 2: Is that twenty one like what is?

996
00:48:54,880 --> 00:48:57,599
Speaker 1: And especially now where there might be there's like a

997
00:48:57,639 --> 00:48:59,960
more wide open pecking order on offense. It feels like

998
00:49:00,559 --> 00:49:02,679
is there a next frontier for him? And what does

999
00:49:02,679 --> 00:49:03,760
that actually look like?

1000
00:49:06,519 --> 00:49:10,920
Speaker 2: It's very interesting. He's the one guy who's had his

1001
00:49:11,079 --> 00:49:14,960
role change the most of anyone. He was a three

1002
00:49:15,039 --> 00:49:16,480
and D guy when he first came up, or and

1003
00:49:16,519 --> 00:49:18,239
I shouldn't even say three. He was just an energy,

1004
00:49:18,239 --> 00:49:21,960
impact defensive guy when he first came in. Built himself

1005
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:24,039
into a really good shooter. We've talked about shoot, but

1006
00:49:24,079 --> 00:49:26,920
he's a really good shooter. He's worked on his mechanics

1007
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:29,440
a lot. He is a very good catch and shoot

1008
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:33,119
three point shooter, especially on the corners, very good from

1009
00:49:33,199 --> 00:49:37,039
that from that area, very good driving to the rim,

1010
00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:40,519
very good second side creator. The interesting part to me

1011
00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:45,199
was before they acquired Russell Westbrook in twenty twenty three

1012
00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:49,400
February twenty twenty three, Terrence got a couple of games

1013
00:49:49,400 --> 00:49:52,719
where he ran as the starting point guard. They looked good.

1014
00:49:53,119 --> 00:49:55,800
Not like Terrence was making these incredible plays or anything,

1015
00:49:56,119 --> 00:49:58,000
but the ball was in the hands of their stars

1016
00:49:58,039 --> 00:50:02,519
a lot more, which yielded high leverage results going forward,

1017
00:50:02,559 --> 00:50:06,199
and Terrence was a big part of that. But Terrence,

1018
00:50:07,280 --> 00:50:09,440
I think there is another level he can get too offensively,

1019
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:13,559
but I will carveat it with this. On October eighteenth,

1020
00:50:13,639 --> 00:50:17,440
Terrence turns twenty eight. He's not twenty four, he's not

1021
00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:19,760
twenty five. He's gonna be a twenty eight year old.

1022
00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:21,440
That's not an old guy by any stretch, don't get

1023
00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:26,880
me wrong. But in terms of raw linear improvement, I

1024
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:30,519
don't know what's left. But I do think there is

1025
00:50:30,719 --> 00:50:34,559
more of his basketball ability that he can still show

1026
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:37,599
of the ability that he's had, rather than like a

1027
00:50:37,639 --> 00:50:41,599
new skill he's developed, and they might have to lean

1028
00:50:41,639 --> 00:50:45,800
into him a lot more with Okay, so and So's

1029
00:50:45,800 --> 00:50:47,800
out tonight, you're gonna be on the ball a lot

1030
00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:49,960
more as a creator and driving to the rim and

1031
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:53,800
doing all these things. Okay, James is here tonight. You're

1032
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:55,639
gonna have to start shooting a lot more. The biggest

1033
00:50:55,639 --> 00:50:58,199
thing for him is he has to shoot. If he's

1034
00:50:58,239 --> 00:51:01,440
not shooting, I don't want to say he shouldn't play,

1035
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:03,719
but if he's not shooting, he can't play as much

1036
00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:06,559
as he should play because he is a very important

1037
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:09,400
piece on this Clipper team. So he has to shoot

1038
00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:10,239
to stay on the floor.

1039
00:51:11,719 --> 00:51:13,840
Speaker 1: If they could get him up to like six three

1040
00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:16,920
point attempts per thirty six minutes, which is like pretty

1041
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:19,440
high above his career average, which is a little bit troubling,

1042
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:21,760
that would be huge. And he's another I know I've

1043
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:23,800
said this a bunch now. It also feels like for

1044
00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:26,000
him there might be a trickle down effect defensively to

1045
00:51:26,039 --> 00:51:29,480
where they needed him to kind of handle outside assignments

1046
00:51:29,719 --> 00:51:31,519
a bunch of times. And now that you haven't done

1047
00:51:31,800 --> 00:51:34,920
a Derek Jones junior and like Nicholas Patum's back, I

1048
00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:37,079
wonder if he starts to because people have criticized him

1049
00:51:37,079 --> 00:51:39,440
a lot on defense, and I get some of it,

1050
00:51:39,480 --> 00:51:41,719
but the other part. I always have empathy for guys

1051
00:51:41,719 --> 00:51:44,280
where it's like they're doing stuff that they really shouldn't

1052
00:51:44,320 --> 00:51:47,159
have to. And now it feels like he might settle

1053
00:51:47,199 --> 00:51:50,880
into a role that's more befitting him on defense and

1054
00:51:50,920 --> 00:51:53,360
then maybe does that somehow help him on offense. I

1055
00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:55,599
don't know, but this is the low hanging fruit. But

1056
00:51:55,679 --> 00:51:58,400
I do think it matters. Is the three point I

1057
00:51:58,440 --> 00:52:00,599
mean the volume. Sure, you need him to shoo, period,

1058
00:52:00,639 --> 00:52:02,960
but like the three point volume just needs to come up.

1059
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:05,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, it used to come up in a major way.

1060
00:52:06,639 --> 00:52:10,280
It's funny because he did so well defending Luca in

1061
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:13,320
that first round series and it just felt wasted because

1062
00:52:13,639 --> 00:52:15,719
obviously they didn't win the series and they lost and

1063
00:52:15,800 --> 00:52:18,320
how they lost it with Kawhi out again, it just

1064
00:52:18,639 --> 00:52:21,360
it just really felt like wasted energy from him and

1065
00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:24,639
I and he was gutted after it. Zoo was gutted too,

1066
00:52:24,679 --> 00:52:27,480
because you know, you feel like it's another year that

1067
00:52:27,840 --> 00:52:31,840
you put everything into it and nothing happened. But for Terrence,

1068
00:52:32,559 --> 00:52:34,679
the volume has to not just go up. But like

1069
00:52:34,760 --> 00:52:36,960
as you said, way up. I think you mentioned six

1070
00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:39,039
per thirty six for a three point times. I think

1071
00:52:39,039 --> 00:52:42,159
he was out four last year for thirty six. He

1072
00:52:42,159 --> 00:52:42,639
he needs.

1073
00:52:42,679 --> 00:52:45,039
Speaker 1: He's never been at four for his career. He was

1074
00:52:45,079 --> 00:52:47,360
a three. It was a three point nine point nine,

1075
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:49,960
like three point four for his career, and like we're

1076
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:52,920
talking five years now. But what's this isn't I don't

1077
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:55,159
mean to use the word sad, but like it's increased

1078
00:52:55,239 --> 00:52:58,280
every single season and it's topped out at three point

1079
00:52:58,360 --> 00:53:00,800
nine per thirty six, and I just that's way too

1080
00:53:00,840 --> 00:53:01,800
low for the position.

1081
00:53:01,840 --> 00:53:04,000
Speaker 2: It's funny because he is a good shooter. We've seen

1082
00:53:04,039 --> 00:53:07,519
the results. Just shoot more shot, which is funny because

1083
00:53:07,559 --> 00:53:10,480
like they said, it's funny twice. But like they've had

1084
00:53:10,519 --> 00:53:13,559
great shooters who wouldn't shoot too like Luke Kenard, all

1085
00:53:13,639 --> 00:53:16,800
time great spot up three point shooter. One of the

1086
00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:18,840
big problems the Clippers ranted him with him is like

1087
00:53:18,960 --> 00:53:21,639
he didn't shoot as much as they wanted. When he

1088
00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:24,880
let it go, they were very happy. The Clippers need

1089
00:53:24,920 --> 00:53:27,440
to get up more threes. Ty talked about it on Tuesday.

1090
00:53:27,679 --> 00:53:29,400
They have to play faster, we have to play in transition.

1091
00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:31,519
We have to shoot more threes. They need to take

1092
00:53:31,559 --> 00:53:34,679
better shots. I think they've realized their shot quality has

1093
00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:37,559
not been to the level that they want it to be. Yes,

1094
00:53:37,679 --> 00:53:40,960
they're okay with guys taking midterrraane shots. They've said this

1095
00:53:41,079 --> 00:53:45,199
many times. More specifically, they're okay with Kawhi taking midterraane

1096
00:53:45,199 --> 00:53:47,280
shots because he's one of the greatest midterrane shot makers

1097
00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:49,519
in the history of the NBA. So you live with that.

1098
00:53:49,599 --> 00:53:53,199
You're not gonna tell him no r. But for everyone else,

1099
00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:56,199
they have to fall in line with shooting more threes.

1100
00:53:56,559 --> 00:53:59,920
Whether you are Terrence Man, whether you are Derek Jones,

1101
00:54:00,239 --> 00:54:05,519
Chris Dunn, Kevin Porter, Junior, Niko Batoum, just shoot. I

1102
00:54:05,519 --> 00:54:08,960
don't think they care if you missshots. Just take them.

1103
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:11,159
At the end of the day, they need to get

1104
00:54:11,159 --> 00:54:14,000
the volume up. Like I forget what the exact winning

1105
00:54:14,039 --> 00:54:16,199
percentage they had last year, but when they shot or

1106
00:54:16,280 --> 00:54:19,880
when they attempted forty threes in a game last year,

1107
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:22,719
they were very good. And I know that's like a weird,

1108
00:54:22,960 --> 00:54:24,920
you know, benchmark for them, But they didn't take forty

1109
00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:28,239
threes a lot, but when they did, they reaped the

1110
00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:30,199
rewards of that. They need to get back to that

1111
00:54:30,440 --> 00:54:33,880
take a lot of threes. Their best offense is threes.

1112
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:36,480
It opens up everything else for them, especially on a

1113
00:54:36,519 --> 00:54:37,960
team who's two stars don't get to the rim as

1114
00:54:38,039 --> 00:54:39,039
much as you would like anymore.

1115
00:54:39,119 --> 00:54:42,840
Speaker 1: What is the path to this team having like an

1116
00:54:42,880 --> 00:54:45,280
above average offense? Like, what does that look like? What

1117
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:46,320
has to go right?

1118
00:54:46,559 --> 00:54:46,719
Speaker 2: Is it?

1119
00:54:46,719 --> 00:54:49,320
Speaker 1: You already kind of mentioned there'll be more aggressive on

1120
00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:52,440
defense that could lead to turnovers and extra transition opportunities.

1121
00:54:52,559 --> 00:54:54,719
Like what else kind of needs to happen?

1122
00:54:56,480 --> 00:55:04,519
Speaker 2: Play sounds very simple, but play smart. Just don't have like,

1123
00:55:04,639 --> 00:55:07,360
just don't have brain dead turnovers, Like you have to

1124
00:55:07,400 --> 00:55:10,400
just be connected at all times for them offensively to

1125
00:55:10,440 --> 00:55:12,360
have a great offense, which you know, if you want

1126
00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:14,880
to classify as top five or even top ten, that's fine,

1127
00:55:15,719 --> 00:55:18,800
they have to take great shots, they have to keep

1128
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:22,239
bad turnovers down, and they have to actually get out

1129
00:55:22,239 --> 00:55:26,920
and run. For them, they have to win the possession game.

1130
00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:29,800
They lost the possession game quite often last year, whether

1131
00:55:29,840 --> 00:55:34,000
that was through rebounds, turnovers, or anything in between, they

1132
00:55:34,079 --> 00:55:37,760
just lost the possession game a lot. They have. Rebounding

1133
00:55:37,840 --> 00:55:39,559
is a big deal for them. Rebounding is going to

1134
00:55:39,599 --> 00:55:41,079
be the biggest factor for them. Is whether or not

1135
00:55:41,119 --> 00:55:43,639
they're a good team as well. They have to defensive

1136
00:55:43,639 --> 00:55:45,440
rebound because if you can't get out in transition, if

1137
00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:47,880
you don't redefensive rebound, and that was a problem for

1138
00:55:47,920 --> 00:55:50,000
them last year. Terrence was a part of that problem.

1139
00:55:50,119 --> 00:55:52,599
He didn't rebound nearly as well as he could Numbers wise,

1140
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:55,239
you know, PG wasn't as good as he could have been.

1141
00:55:55,320 --> 00:55:58,639
Kawhi as well, even James with some degree. Guys just

1142
00:55:58,760 --> 00:56:03,440
weren't as involved as they could have been. And this

1143
00:56:03,519 --> 00:56:05,159
year's gonna have to be a wake up call. Maybe

1144
00:56:05,159 --> 00:56:08,599
it is. Maybe maybe the large caveat of the PG

1145
00:56:08,760 --> 00:56:12,039
thing is maybe maybe you make them realize that things

1146
00:56:12,039 --> 00:56:14,000
are not always great. You have to work for greatness,

1147
00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:15,360
and maybe that's what this can do.

1148
00:56:15,679 --> 00:56:18,239
Speaker 1: Are you ready to enter the cookie cutter portion of

1149
00:56:18,280 --> 00:56:22,360
the podcast? Okay, So when you look at the roster

1150
00:56:22,760 --> 00:56:25,760
right now, before we see any of the games being played,

1151
00:56:25,760 --> 00:56:29,559
what do you view as the biggest need for them?

1152
00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:32,559
Speaker 2: A shooter? They need a two that can shoot. When

1153
00:56:32,599 --> 00:56:36,199
I say a two, obviously like they classify Terrence as

1154
00:56:36,199 --> 00:56:38,039
a two and norm to them as a two, which

1155
00:56:38,079 --> 00:56:41,800
I understand, I mean like a like a Terrance size

1156
00:56:41,800 --> 00:56:46,199
two that that is a consistently good shooter who isn't

1157
00:56:46,199 --> 00:56:49,960
a negative on defense. That guy is hard to find

1158
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:52,280
in the NBA, and I understand that, but that is

1159
00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:54,519
a whole The other thing I would actually say is

1160
00:56:56,360 --> 00:56:57,559
who's their backup center.

1161
00:56:58,519 --> 00:57:01,280
Speaker 1: That's a I would saying that for the rotation question

1162
00:57:02,079 --> 00:57:05,119
because I'm the secondary front court like that's another rotation.

1163
00:57:05,199 --> 00:57:07,559
That's another thing that's just feels like it's just billowing

1164
00:57:07,599 --> 00:57:08,679
in the win right now.

1165
00:57:10,039 --> 00:57:15,559
Speaker 2: It's rather interesting they liked Mobamba in the draft. He

1166
00:57:15,639 --> 00:57:17,800
was a guy that they they did like when they

1167
00:57:17,800 --> 00:57:19,400
came in when he came in for a draft workout.

1168
00:57:19,480 --> 00:57:22,360
And I'm that several years since that transpired, but obviously,

1169
00:57:22,400 --> 00:57:23,639
you know, you go back to kind of the guys

1170
00:57:23,639 --> 00:57:27,239
that you like. But if Mobamba could even give them

1171
00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:29,880
an ounce of three point shooting and rim protection, I

1172
00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:34,119
think they'll take it. My gut instinct is I think

1173
00:57:34,119 --> 00:57:37,159
they're gonna They're gonna probably try Mobamba out to start.

1174
00:57:38,280 --> 00:57:40,280
Depending on how it goes, I think you're gonna see

1175
00:57:40,320 --> 00:57:43,360
Nico play a lot more five Oh wow. And I

1176
00:57:43,440 --> 00:57:45,800
know that's draining. I know that's not something he wants

1177
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,360
to do all the time, but Look, if there's one

1178
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:52,159
guy who's consistently sacrificed to help the team, it's him.

1179
00:57:52,639 --> 00:57:54,960
I think he'd do it again because they're gonna they're

1180
00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:56,920
gonna have to patchwork this thing together to get a

1181
00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:59,719
winning season again. And you know, I mentioned that before,

1182
00:57:59,719 --> 00:58:02,280
you don't thirteen straight winning seasons. They take pride in that.

1183
00:58:02,920 --> 00:58:05,039
This is not an organization that's like, oh, we won

1184
00:58:05,119 --> 00:58:09,559
thirteen straight seasons. Yay. Like they they do not want

1185
00:58:09,559 --> 00:58:12,159
a losing season. I know that for like, obviously no

1186
00:58:12,239 --> 00:58:15,000
team wants to have a losing season, but they take

1187
00:58:15,039 --> 00:58:17,519
pride in that winning streak and they wanted to continue.

1188
00:58:17,880 --> 00:58:19,559
And guys are gonna have to buy in. But backup

1189
00:58:19,599 --> 00:58:22,000
center is a big deal. I don't think they did

1190
00:58:22,119 --> 00:58:24,920
enough in the backup center department. I can easily be

1191
00:58:24,920 --> 00:58:27,000
proven wrong in the first few weeks and have to

1192
00:58:27,000 --> 00:58:31,159
eat my words. But you know, I also I don't

1193
00:58:31,199 --> 00:58:33,880
hate the flyer that they took. They took a flyer

1194
00:58:33,960 --> 00:58:35,920
on Obama's talent. I think there's worse things to do

1195
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:39,440
for backup center. It also could just signify an added

1196
00:58:39,480 --> 00:58:44,079
responsibility and kind of belief in it beatsa the Zubats

1197
00:58:44,079 --> 00:58:46,519
to play you know, thirty thirty five minutes a night.

1198
00:58:46,559 --> 00:58:48,880
Speaker 1: And by that last year he was at like twenty

1199
00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:52,039
six or twenty seven, and so like that leaves a

1200
00:58:52,039 --> 00:58:54,079
lot of he's gonna play under thirty at least quite

1201
00:58:54,119 --> 00:58:56,480
a bit of minutes at the five to then fill

1202
00:58:56,760 --> 00:58:57,639
without him.

1203
00:58:57,920 --> 00:59:01,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, he played twenty six point four, which was down

1204
00:59:01,079 --> 00:59:04,119
from the year before, but he also did miss uh.

1205
00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:06,920
He only played sixty eight games last year, which which

1206
00:59:06,920 --> 00:59:09,320
is a rarity for him because he had been an

1207
00:59:09,360 --> 00:59:12,039
iron man for them for several years and then he

1208
00:59:12,079 --> 00:59:16,079
finally missed extended time. And you know, they they felt

1209
00:59:16,119 --> 00:59:21,000
the pain of that because when that happened, Mason Plumby

1210
00:59:21,079 --> 00:59:24,320
came back early from his injury and Mason never got

1211
00:59:24,320 --> 00:59:26,840
back into the swing of things and it did hurt them.

1212
00:59:27,440 --> 00:59:29,320
So they need Zoo to stay healthy. But they needed

1213
00:59:29,360 --> 00:59:31,119
to play thirty two to thirty three minutes a night

1214
00:59:31,159 --> 00:59:35,280
as their lynchpin defensively there, you know, and also their

1215
00:59:35,559 --> 00:59:36,920
their best pick and roll option.

1216
00:59:38,039 --> 00:59:40,679
Speaker 1: Is there any chance that Ky Jones we talk about,

1217
00:59:40,719 --> 00:59:42,440
you know, athletics, have any chance that he made because

1218
00:59:42,440 --> 00:59:43,920
he's on They got him on an exhibit ten, right,

1219
00:59:43,960 --> 00:59:46,639
it wasn't Exhibit nine. So I have the same difference.

1220
00:59:46,639 --> 00:59:50,239
Basically Gleigu Rit's attached to one of them. But still I.

1221
00:59:50,159 --> 00:59:55,800
Speaker 2: Think there's a chance. I don't think he's ready. This

1222
00:59:55,960 --> 00:59:57,639
is just my but I don't think he's ready. I

1223
00:59:57,639 --> 01:00:01,920
think I think he he still needs to be taught

1224
01:00:02,239 --> 01:00:05,599
how to function at this level. Very nice guy. We've

1225
01:00:05,679 --> 01:00:10,960
we've talked to him once for his intro pressor very introspective.

1226
01:00:11,599 --> 01:00:13,960
Thought it was an amazing presser that he gave about

1227
01:00:13,960 --> 01:00:18,360
mental health. I thought it was incredible. I don't know

1228
01:00:18,400 --> 01:00:23,199
if he's ready for on court NBA high level. Okay,

1229
01:00:23,239 --> 01:00:25,199
it's the middle of the season. Go give us ten

1230
01:00:25,239 --> 01:00:28,320
minutes against NICOLEA Jokic, please. He's not ready for that. Now.

1231
01:00:28,360 --> 01:00:30,320
I understand there's other centers I could have brought up,

1232
01:00:30,360 --> 01:00:32,679
but like, that's a tall task that you're asking out

1233
01:00:33,559 --> 01:00:36,400
out of this young man after everything he's been through.

1234
01:00:36,880 --> 01:00:39,320
So I think the plan is, and I don't have

1235
01:00:39,880 --> 01:00:41,519
this is for sure, but I think the plan is,

1236
01:00:42,480 --> 01:00:44,800
let him go down to the G League, let him

1237
01:00:44,800 --> 01:00:47,400
get some time, let him get up to speed, and

1238
01:00:47,440 --> 01:00:52,159
then we can figure this out. If Mobamba doesn't work out, okay,

1239
01:00:52,519 --> 01:00:55,400
if something else doesn't work out, here's a roster spot

1240
01:00:55,480 --> 01:00:58,559
for you. They also have the Jordan Miller question that

1241
01:00:58,599 --> 01:01:01,719
they need to answer because Jordan Miller is pretty deserving

1242
01:01:01,760 --> 01:01:03,679
of a guaranteed contract, but they don't have an open

1243
01:01:03,760 --> 01:01:08,760
roster spot, so that's another situation. But Kai is a

1244
01:01:08,840 --> 01:01:12,559
very interesting guy for this roster that I think is

1245
01:01:12,559 --> 01:01:14,159
gonna have to be. He's gonna have to bite his time,

1246
01:01:14,199 --> 01:01:16,119
I think. Now.

1247
01:01:16,360 --> 01:01:20,239
Speaker 1: So if they are gonna mean on Nico at the five,

1248
01:01:21,119 --> 01:01:23,920
what does that do for like opera? Like does that

1249
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:27,480
mean that PJ. Tucker is just written off? Could they

1250
01:01:27,480 --> 01:01:28,880
try and use him in that role? Or doesn't mean

1251
01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:31,079
because they're gonna go smaller that might open the door

1252
01:01:31,119 --> 01:01:33,280
for No, this guy's gonna play center. But like if

1253
01:01:33,280 --> 01:01:35,440
you're playing really small, like does a mere coffee then

1254
01:01:35,480 --> 01:01:37,599
get like they kind of dust him off? Like how

1255
01:01:37,760 --> 01:01:39,800
like what would be the ripple effects of just okay,

1256
01:01:39,840 --> 01:01:41,880
if we're not gonna go with Mobombo or zoobots and

1257
01:01:41,920 --> 01:01:44,440
Ky Jones isn't on this team, Like who I guess

1258
01:01:44,599 --> 01:01:47,159
what would be the dark horse on this roster? And

1259
01:01:47,199 --> 01:01:48,920
it's weird to call PJ. Tucker a dark horse when

1260
01:01:48,920 --> 01:01:50,400
he's eighty years old, Like who would be the dark

1261
01:01:50,440 --> 01:01:52,760
horse contributor on this roster that might benefit from that.

1262
01:01:52,800 --> 01:01:55,800
Speaker 2: Look, it's hard to say. I mean, it really is.

1263
01:01:55,880 --> 01:01:58,559
Because Lawrence Frank talked about how he would use roster construction,

1264
01:01:58,960 --> 01:02:01,280
which is a point three wings in a big That's

1265
01:02:01,320 --> 01:02:03,960
how he said he views it. He doesn't really look

1266
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:07,000
at position by position, but obviously there's a point guard

1267
01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:12,159
and there's a center that center spot. I think there's

1268
01:02:12,199 --> 01:02:15,000
a lot of guys who can play there, and obviously

1269
01:02:15,440 --> 01:02:17,719
guys who could play the four, so to speak, next

1270
01:02:17,760 --> 01:02:20,400
to it. You know, they specifically did talk about a

1271
01:02:20,440 --> 01:02:22,880
mere copy. He's played the four at times, you know,

1272
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:26,920
Pj's played it, Nico's played it, Terrence has played it.

1273
01:02:27,800 --> 01:02:33,199
They have options. I'm not sure how it unfolds, and

1274
01:02:33,239 --> 01:02:36,719
I don't know how happy they are with the options.

1275
01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:40,239
You know, at hand, especially because of the PJ. Tucker situation,

1276
01:02:41,639 --> 01:02:43,800
they're not gonna wave and stretch them. If they worry

1277
01:02:43,800 --> 01:02:48,440
it would have already happened. They could outright wave them

1278
01:02:48,480 --> 01:02:50,480
the closer they get to the trade deadline. If they

1279
01:02:50,519 --> 01:02:54,119
don't get an offer, and you know he has, he

1280
01:02:54,199 --> 01:02:56,719
tells them, hey, this team's gonna sign me if you

1281
01:02:56,880 --> 01:02:59,760
let me go. That might be a viability. Then you

1282
01:02:59,760 --> 01:03:04,159
get someone moves into that fifteenth guaranteed contract. But there

1283
01:03:04,159 --> 01:03:07,639
are out of size deficiency and deficit right now where

1284
01:03:08,599 --> 01:03:10,880
you know, a mere coffee as a four not great,

1285
01:03:11,239 --> 01:03:14,599
but I think they like the scrappiness of their guys

1286
01:03:14,599 --> 01:03:15,280
at that position.

1287
01:03:16,840 --> 01:03:19,440
Speaker 1: I have said it multiple times this podcast. I'm kind

1288
01:03:19,480 --> 01:03:22,159
of in a mere Coffee stand. I still believe to it.

1289
01:03:22,760 --> 01:03:25,159
I know obviously last year didn't see it so much,

1290
01:03:25,199 --> 01:03:27,199
but the way that before he went into free agency

1291
01:03:27,280 --> 01:03:30,719
was at twenty twenty three, I think like specifically very

1292
01:03:30,719 --> 01:03:32,440
plug and play on offense has kind of always been,

1293
01:03:32,440 --> 01:03:34,639
but like the way he was able to shimmy between

1294
01:03:34,840 --> 01:03:38,320
not just all these different archetypes on defense, but like

1295
01:03:38,360 --> 01:03:41,760
the level of players that he was actually guarding. It

1296
01:03:41,960 --> 01:03:44,119
just stood out to me. And so I look at

1297
01:03:44,239 --> 01:03:46,280
him and I'm like, I'm not trying to say, you know,

1298
01:03:46,360 --> 01:03:48,840
he's a future star that the Clippers need to build

1299
01:03:48,880 --> 01:03:51,360
around him. Review hims untouchable, but this is someone who

1300
01:03:51,440 --> 01:03:54,280
at six seven, I feel like can capably guard maybe

1301
01:03:54,360 --> 01:03:57,320
four like different spots on the floor. And he's not

1302
01:03:57,360 --> 01:03:59,159
going to monopolize any of your offense. Now, will he

1303
01:03:59,159 --> 01:04:01,159
give you enough volume is a different story. But I'm

1304
01:04:01,199 --> 01:04:04,559
really hoping that I know there's a ton of guys

1305
01:04:04,559 --> 01:04:06,880
who need minutes on this team. I'm really hoping that

1306
01:04:06,880 --> 01:04:08,559
we get to see more of him next year.

1307
01:04:09,039 --> 01:04:11,920
Speaker 2: I do too. I think I think he's a valuable

1308
01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:14,719
asset for them on the floor and in the locker room,

1309
01:04:14,760 --> 01:04:16,639
but on the floor specifically, like you talk about, he

1310
01:04:16,679 --> 01:04:20,880
can guard four positions. The big thing for him in

1311
01:04:20,960 --> 01:04:23,920
terms of helping this team is twofold. Number one, he

1312
01:04:24,000 --> 01:04:28,480
is a willing shooter, he will take threes, and number two,

1313
01:04:29,000 --> 01:04:31,119
he does get to the rim in transition. He's one

1314
01:04:31,159 --> 01:04:34,280
of their best transition options. And that's kind of a

1315
01:04:34,320 --> 01:04:39,360
thing where I think he should play more than he

1316
01:04:39,519 --> 01:04:43,639
probably will this season. They like him a lot. He's

1317
01:04:43,679 --> 01:04:46,719
twenty seven. You look at his numbers last year. He

1318
01:04:47,559 --> 01:04:50,679
shot thirty eight percent from three on solid volume, not

1319
01:04:50,719 --> 01:04:54,239
great volume, but solid volume. And when he did get

1320
01:04:54,239 --> 01:04:59,840
the option and the chance, he would become you know,

1321
01:05:00,039 --> 01:05:03,800
an offensive option, an offensive what I want to say weapon,

1322
01:05:03,800 --> 01:05:06,239
but offensive choice for them that they could run through

1323
01:05:06,239 --> 01:05:11,000
at times. He's gonna have an interesting role because there

1324
01:05:11,000 --> 01:05:13,320
are gonna be times where he just doesn't play. You

1325
01:05:13,360 --> 01:05:15,800
know that that happens. And I know he wants to

1326
01:05:15,800 --> 01:05:17,920
play because everyone in the NBA wants to play obviously,

1327
01:05:18,000 --> 01:05:23,039
which is obviously why you're in the NBA. But I

1328
01:05:23,079 --> 01:05:24,719
think they need to use them a lot more. The

1329
01:05:24,760 --> 01:05:29,400
problem is I don't know how he how guys fit

1330
01:05:29,480 --> 01:05:32,599
in around him, Like what lineups would a mere Coffee be?

1331
01:05:32,639 --> 01:05:34,679
And like it's going to be in a lineup with Terrence?

1332
01:05:34,760 --> 01:05:36,840
Is gonna be a lineup you know that bench lineup

1333
01:05:36,840 --> 01:05:39,119
that you said where where that we talked about where

1334
01:05:39,159 --> 01:05:45,760
it's like, you know KPJ, a mere Nico and then

1335
01:05:45,920 --> 01:05:49,400
two other guys in the mix there who can supply

1336
01:05:49,599 --> 01:05:51,679
things as well, even if you go smaller, if you

1337
01:05:51,679 --> 01:05:55,320
play a big or what I He's He's the ultimate

1338
01:05:55,599 --> 01:05:58,719
for this team, the ultimate Swiss army knife. He's very malleable.

1339
01:05:58,960 --> 01:06:00,760
He give into any situation. I think they have to

1340
01:06:00,760 --> 01:06:03,480
take advantage of that and know what they have with him.

1341
01:06:03,840 --> 01:06:06,119
Speaker 1: Is there nothing cookie cutter about that portion of a

1342
01:06:06,159 --> 01:06:08,880
cookie cutter podcast? But is there anything about this team

1343
01:06:08,960 --> 01:06:11,119
we haven't talked about that you think is whether it's

1344
01:06:11,119 --> 01:06:14,920
a player or development, a storyline, whatever, question, weakness, strength

1345
01:06:15,079 --> 01:06:17,920
that's flying under the radar that you think needs more attention.

1346
01:06:20,119 --> 01:06:22,239
Speaker 2: This is gonna be funny. The storyline for the Clippers

1347
01:06:22,280 --> 01:06:25,639
season isn't whether or not they make the playoffs or

1348
01:06:25,639 --> 01:06:29,000
even finish with a winning record. The only not the

1349
01:06:29,000 --> 01:06:30,679
only thing, but the main thing that people should pay

1350
01:06:30,719 --> 01:06:32,719
attention to do with the Clippers this season is do

1351
01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:34,840
they finish with a better record than the Houston Rockets.

1352
01:06:35,400 --> 01:06:39,679
That's gonna be the biggest factor for them because their pick,

1353
01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:43,000
the Clippers pick, is a pick swap that okay see

1354
01:06:43,000 --> 01:06:47,039
has the rights to. Okay See also has a Houston

1355
01:06:47,119 --> 01:06:52,000
Rockets pick swap, but it's top ten protected. If the

1356
01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:54,599
Clippers finish with a better record than the Rockets, and

1357
01:06:54,639 --> 01:06:56,719
the Rockets are outside of the top ten, so like

1358
01:06:56,840 --> 01:06:59,440
eleven or twelve whatever, and the West is gonna be

1359
01:06:59,519 --> 01:07:02,239
very tough. So the odds is that a team who

1360
01:07:02,280 --> 01:07:05,039
misses the playoffs in the West by being the eleven

1361
01:07:05,119 --> 01:07:07,320
or twelfth seed in the West could probably have the

1362
01:07:07,360 --> 01:07:10,480
fourteenth worst record in the NBA. So you know, there's

1363
01:07:10,480 --> 01:07:13,920
that possibility because the East of so whatever we want

1364
01:07:13,920 --> 01:07:17,079
to call it, I guess, but the Clippers have to

1365
01:07:17,079 --> 01:07:18,800
finish with a better record than the Houston Rockets and

1366
01:07:18,800 --> 01:07:21,239
they get to keep their first round pick in all likelihood,

1367
01:07:21,280 --> 01:07:23,679
which could be a lottery pick. I think there's the

1368
01:07:23,719 --> 01:07:27,400
growing I think there's the misconception that the Clippers pick

1369
01:07:27,440 --> 01:07:29,719
is just going to okay, see no matter what, and

1370
01:07:29,760 --> 01:07:33,360
that's not the case. I think what people should focus on,

1371
01:07:34,599 --> 01:07:38,159
besides the on court stuff with them is are they

1372
01:07:38,239 --> 01:07:41,000
better than the Houston Rockets at the end of the season,

1373
01:07:41,599 --> 01:07:45,159
And if they are, they're most likely keeping their pick,

1374
01:07:45,199 --> 01:07:47,800
which could be a very valuable lottery pick in what

1375
01:07:47,880 --> 01:07:51,079
is supposed to be a good draft, which they then

1376
01:07:51,159 --> 01:07:54,719
could help themselves with going into the following season when

1377
01:07:54,760 --> 01:07:56,760
they don't have a pick in twenty twenty six.

1378
01:07:58,159 --> 01:08:00,400
Speaker 1: Did not expect that answer, but it's a great one.

1379
01:08:00,920 --> 01:08:04,480
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, there's other things on the floor, you know,

1380
01:08:04,639 --> 01:08:09,320
like can James keep up a high level of play

1381
01:08:10,840 --> 01:08:12,639
at his age with the ball in his hands, even

1382
01:08:12,719 --> 01:08:14,559
more than he expected when he came to the Clippers.

1383
01:08:14,920 --> 01:08:17,039
Can Kawhi get on the floor? But we already talked

1384
01:08:17,039 --> 01:08:17,520
about that.

1385
01:08:17,520 --> 01:08:19,840
Speaker 1: Can Oh yeah, none of that stuff is flying under

1386
01:08:19,840 --> 01:08:20,239
the radar.

1387
01:08:20,520 --> 01:08:24,000
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, I guess the other flying under the radar

1388
01:08:24,079 --> 01:08:27,039
thing is at what point if it's not going well,

1389
01:08:27,119 --> 01:08:28,439
at what point do they pull the plug.

1390
01:08:29,479 --> 01:08:36,000
Speaker 1: Well, let's let's get into that part, because like, what's

1391
01:08:36,039 --> 01:08:38,000
more likely for this team. I'll frame it this way,

1392
01:08:38,319 --> 01:08:41,039
that they are to make a trade that reels in

1393
01:08:41,039 --> 01:08:43,680
an upgrade, and I guess you could say it cost

1394
01:08:43,720 --> 01:08:45,399
them draft equity, but they don't have a ton ton

1395
01:08:45,439 --> 01:08:47,840
of draft equity to give up, or that they if

1396
01:08:47,880 --> 01:08:50,720
it's not working and they do pull the plug because

1397
01:08:50,720 --> 01:08:54,520
the latter scenario, I think people they just say that

1398
01:08:54,600 --> 01:08:56,720
as like a throwaway, but like they don't control, they

1399
01:08:56,760 --> 01:08:58,880
don't they don't outright control of the rights to their

1400
01:08:58,920 --> 01:09:01,840
next five draft pick, And so like how much does

1401
01:09:01,920 --> 01:09:05,399
that factor into whether they would pull the plug if

1402
01:09:05,399 --> 01:09:08,840
things aren't just not going according to plan? But like

1403
01:09:08,880 --> 01:09:12,279
the disaster factor or risk has certainly been has certainly

1404
01:09:12,359 --> 01:09:13,079
been increased.

1405
01:09:14,359 --> 01:09:16,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, they can trade their twenty thirty. They can swap

1406
01:09:16,560 --> 01:09:18,600
their twenty thirty one. I think they can trade twenty

1407
01:09:18,640 --> 01:09:21,680
thirty two. Now, if I'm not mistaken, no could.

1408
01:09:21,479 --> 01:09:24,680
Speaker 1: Go because that's seven drafts, that's eight drafts away, right.

1409
01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:26,840
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, okay, so they can't do that. So they

1410
01:09:26,880 --> 01:09:30,039
have a swap and a pick they could trade for

1411
01:09:30,079 --> 01:09:33,319
an upgrade, depending on who else is out there, and

1412
01:09:33,359 --> 01:09:35,840
I will say they've had negotiations for an extential with

1413
01:09:35,920 --> 01:09:38,760
Terrence Man. They obviously haven't yet come to an agreement.

1414
01:09:39,199 --> 01:09:41,439
That's a big thing to watch because if they do

1415
01:09:41,479 --> 01:09:44,439
come to an agreement, he can't be traded for this season.

1416
01:09:44,960 --> 01:09:48,079
If they don't come to an agreement, he could potentially

1417
01:09:48,079 --> 01:09:50,359
be on the table, and he's a very valuable role

1418
01:09:50,359 --> 01:09:51,880
piece that I think a lot of teams would call

1419
01:09:51,960 --> 01:09:57,600
them about. Samely with Norman Powell. That's for your question.

1420
01:09:57,640 --> 01:10:03,520
It's very interesting, I think would be I think it

1421
01:10:03,520 --> 01:10:05,800
would be likely that they try to go for an upgrade.

1422
01:10:06,399 --> 01:10:10,199
I don't think they would be comfortable pitching to the

1423
01:10:10,239 --> 01:10:14,840
fan base four months into a new arena and an

1424
01:10:14,840 --> 01:10:20,560
off season after you lost your second, slash third best player. Hey,

1425
01:10:21,119 --> 01:10:23,560
we're gonna get rid of everyone that's worth you know,

1426
01:10:23,640 --> 01:10:26,960
that's the superstar level, and we're gonna try again next

1427
01:10:27,079 --> 01:10:29,920
year and you know, go from there. The only way

1428
01:10:29,960 --> 01:10:33,680
I think they do that is if either Kawhi or

1429
01:10:33,720 --> 01:10:38,279
either James are at a level that the Clippers don't

1430
01:10:38,319 --> 01:10:41,560
think is sustainable and another team comes calling them for

1431
01:10:42,239 --> 01:10:47,880
So hypothetically, if like, for instance, if OKC came calling

1432
01:10:48,279 --> 01:10:53,439
for Kawhi Leonard in February and said, hey, you saw

1433
01:10:53,479 --> 01:10:54,399
what Brooklyn did.

1434
01:10:54,760 --> 01:10:55,720
Speaker 1: We need a seventh man.

1435
01:10:55,840 --> 01:10:59,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, you saw what Brooklyn did. Would you like your

1436
01:10:59,439 --> 01:11:05,640
picks back and we'll just take Kawhi. I think I

1437
01:11:05,640 --> 01:11:07,960
think it would depend on a lot of factors, because

1438
01:11:07,960 --> 01:11:09,640
it would depend on where the team is at currently

1439
01:11:09,680 --> 01:11:14,279
and what else. Okayse's willing to give up, but that's

1440
01:11:14,359 --> 01:11:17,199
the kind of level I think they for Kawhi specifically.

1441
01:11:17,880 --> 01:11:19,600
I think they believe in him so much it would

1442
01:11:19,640 --> 01:11:22,920
take more, obviously than James. I think if James is

1443
01:11:22,920 --> 01:11:25,680
playing at a high, high level, I don't think it's

1444
01:11:25,720 --> 01:11:27,600
the end of the world. I don't think it's impossible

1445
01:11:27,600 --> 01:11:30,880
to see him getting moved if they think it's the

1446
01:11:30,920 --> 01:11:34,880
best way to pivot from this current season to the

1447
01:11:34,920 --> 01:11:38,520
next one in a in like a building aspect.

1448
01:11:39,760 --> 01:11:41,600
Speaker 1: So you don't think it's a situation. By the way,

1449
01:11:41,600 --> 01:11:44,560
I wonder if we're gonna see more of teams reacquiring

1450
01:11:44,600 --> 01:11:46,560
their own draft picks when you just look at how

1451
01:11:46,600 --> 01:11:48,680
many of them are trade away, so many distant future ones,

1452
01:11:48,680 --> 01:11:52,359
and what just happened with Brooklyn and Houston. I think

1453
01:11:52,520 --> 01:11:56,359
so if just hypothetically, if Okase was to give them

1454
01:11:56,399 --> 01:11:59,399
back their two thousand control over their twenty twenty six

1455
01:11:59,439 --> 01:12:02,520
and twenty twenty having first round picks. Is that enough

1456
01:12:02,560 --> 01:12:04,079
to get the Clippers thinking?

1457
01:12:05,640 --> 01:12:08,279
Speaker 2: In my opinion, it would get me enough in their

1458
01:12:08,399 --> 01:12:12,479
enough to think about it, just because I don't know,

1459
01:12:13,720 --> 01:12:18,000
I don't know what they expect out of this current

1460
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:22,760
iteration beyond this coming season. I know that they have

1461
01:12:22,880 --> 01:12:26,359
their sight set on twenty twenty six for free agency

1462
01:12:26,479 --> 01:12:28,760
in terms of whoever might be available then when obviously

1463
01:12:28,760 --> 01:12:31,960
it's Shay and Luca, but you know, names are always

1464
01:12:32,640 --> 01:12:36,039
potentially available, and then people sign extensions, so you never know.

1465
01:12:38,119 --> 01:12:40,640
But as the Great Keith Smith always says, cap space

1466
01:12:40,680 --> 01:12:43,279
is available for more than just free agents. They always

1467
01:12:43,319 --> 01:12:47,399
use it for trades. So there is that factor to consider.

1468
01:12:47,800 --> 01:12:50,319
They're gonna have a lot of flexibility this coming off season.

1469
01:12:50,920 --> 01:12:52,319
I think that's the other thing that we have to

1470
01:12:52,359 --> 01:12:56,399
consider here, is maybe they're right out this year for

1471
01:12:56,479 --> 01:12:59,439
better or for worse than just decide, look, this offseason,

1472
01:12:59,479 --> 01:13:01,920
we're gonna have a lot more flexibility. We can use

1473
01:13:01,920 --> 01:13:05,479
that flexibility to acquire whatever we think we're missing, keep

1474
01:13:05,520 --> 01:13:08,560
a lot of this roster intact, and then go from there,

1475
01:13:09,239 --> 01:13:13,239
and because of the sorry cap projected jumps, they're not

1476
01:13:13,279 --> 01:13:15,359
going to be in the first apron and obviously not

1477
01:13:15,439 --> 01:13:18,319
the second apron for a little while now, unless uh,

1478
01:13:18,800 --> 01:13:21,199
they start acquiring stars again to get to get up

1479
01:13:21,239 --> 01:13:21,800
to that level.

1480
01:13:23,319 --> 01:13:25,399
Speaker 1: I think that's gonna be Maybe that'll be good enough

1481
01:13:25,399 --> 01:13:27,079
that it doesn't matter, But I think even that becomes

1482
01:13:27,119 --> 01:13:30,000
then fascinating, where Okay, everything you just kind of outlined, like,

1483
01:13:30,119 --> 01:13:32,159
is this a team that you think, Okay, things are

1484
01:13:32,199 --> 01:13:33,800
going fairly well, let's just say that they're in the

1485
01:13:33,800 --> 01:13:36,119
thick of the playoff race, Like, are they willing to

1486
01:13:36,159 --> 01:13:39,000
give up like that did those distant first round rights?

1487
01:13:40,079 --> 01:13:42,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's that's that's gonna be a key

1488
01:13:42,319 --> 01:13:43,760
question if they're in that, If they're in the thick

1489
01:13:43,800 --> 01:13:45,680
of that race. I mean, the other thing we have

1490
01:13:45,720 --> 01:13:49,039
to consider is James Harden's never missed the playoffs. Kawhi

1491
01:13:49,119 --> 01:13:52,560
Leonard when he's played, has never missed the playoffs. You know,

1492
01:13:52,600 --> 01:13:54,960
they they touted the winning percentage that those players have

1493
01:13:55,000 --> 01:13:57,199
when they're on the floor, and that's a very real thing. Yes,

1494
01:13:57,199 --> 01:13:58,520
they were part of a lot of great teams, and

1495
01:13:58,520 --> 01:13:59,880
I understand that there are a lot of other great

1496
01:14:00,239 --> 01:14:04,600
on those teams, but they very much bank on the

1497
01:14:05,960 --> 01:14:09,279
kind of the veteran winning ability of those players to

1498
01:14:09,399 --> 01:14:13,159
get other guys over the line, and they think they're

1499
01:14:13,159 --> 01:14:15,760
gonna have a winning season. I don't think it's crazy

1500
01:14:15,760 --> 01:14:17,079
that they have a winning season. I don't think it's

1501
01:14:17,079 --> 01:14:18,760
crazy they they we even went up to like forty five,

1502
01:14:18,840 --> 01:14:21,720
forty six games. If things go their way, allow would

1503
01:14:21,720 --> 01:14:23,680
have to go their way to get beyond that. But

1504
01:14:25,119 --> 01:14:26,840
I think they're in a unique position where a lot

1505
01:14:26,880 --> 01:14:29,119
of teams in the West we don't know what to expect,

1506
01:14:29,880 --> 01:14:31,920
and they're chief among them. They're probably number one. We

1507
01:14:31,920 --> 01:14:33,560
don't know what to expect out of this team, so

1508
01:14:34,800 --> 01:14:36,319
you know they're gonna have a lot of questions. We've

1509
01:14:36,359 --> 01:14:39,279
talked about a lot of them, obviously. But if they

1510
01:14:39,399 --> 01:14:44,439
get to February and they're seven or eight or ninth,

1511
01:14:44,960 --> 01:14:47,199
and they're right there, close enough to six to have

1512
01:14:47,239 --> 01:14:50,279
a real chance, and Lawrence Frank talked about this on Tuesday,

1513
01:14:50,319 --> 01:14:53,640
The difference between fourth and tenth last year was five games.

1514
01:14:54,560 --> 01:14:56,840
If they think they're in the thick of it, they

1515
01:14:56,840 --> 01:14:59,399
probably would go for it because they know the value

1516
01:15:00,239 --> 01:15:03,399
in consistently putting out a winning product, even if you

1517
01:15:03,399 --> 01:15:06,199
don't achieve the postseason success you would like. I do

1518
01:15:06,279 --> 01:15:09,399
think winning matters to them at a granular level where

1519
01:15:09,960 --> 01:15:12,000
they want to be a winning franchise. They want to

1520
01:15:12,000 --> 01:15:15,079
turn around the stigma that they are, you know, the

1521
01:15:15,199 --> 01:15:17,640
second losing this franchise in the history of the NBA.

1522
01:15:17,680 --> 01:15:21,199
I believe behind Minnesota if I'm not mistaken. So they

1523
01:15:21,239 --> 01:15:22,960
want to turn that around, and they want to keep

1524
01:15:22,960 --> 01:15:26,000
winning even if you know, if it's forty two and forty,

1525
01:15:26,039 --> 01:15:26,600
they'll take it.

1526
01:15:26,680 --> 01:15:28,560
Speaker 1: We've talked a lot about the lineups they could play,

1527
01:15:28,560 --> 01:15:31,239
who could play at full strength, and it might be

1528
01:15:31,239 --> 01:15:33,159
best to bring this team specifically to break it down.

1529
01:15:33,199 --> 01:15:35,840
What does the top ten rotation look like? So I'll

1530
01:15:35,840 --> 01:15:38,239
start here. Who do you envision will be the starting

1531
01:15:38,239 --> 01:15:41,960
lineup again at full strength for this team.

1532
01:15:42,159 --> 01:15:44,319
Speaker 2: That's an interesting question because it got asked on Tuesday

1533
01:15:44,319 --> 01:15:49,359
to Tie. Tie said, it's an open competition. Basically, I

1534
01:15:49,399 --> 01:15:52,920
don't think any spot is locked in stone outside of

1535
01:15:53,000 --> 01:15:55,880
James and Kawhih and Zoo when they're there. I think

1536
01:15:55,920 --> 01:15:58,560
there's two open spots and guys are gonna have to

1537
01:15:58,560 --> 01:16:02,239
fight for it, including parents. I think this is a

1538
01:16:03,399 --> 01:16:06,239
training camp where guys are gonna have to guys are

1539
01:16:06,239 --> 01:16:08,560
gonna play that their way into the roles that they have.

1540
01:16:08,760 --> 01:16:11,880
I don't think there's set in stone rolls. If you're

1541
01:16:11,920 --> 01:16:13,640
asking me what I think the starting lineup will be

1542
01:16:13,640 --> 01:16:17,800
on night one. If Kawhi plays, obviously that's not a lock,

1543
01:16:18,000 --> 01:16:21,680
but I think I think it will be, not could be.

1544
01:16:21,720 --> 01:16:27,600
I think it will be James, Terrence, Derek, Kawhi, Zoo.

1545
01:16:28,079 --> 01:16:30,479
If they're all healthy and all on the fly, I

1546
01:16:30,479 --> 01:16:35,039
think that will be the initial starting lineup for them.

1547
01:16:35,359 --> 01:16:38,479
From there, who knows.

1548
01:16:38,520 --> 01:16:41,960
Speaker 1: I mean, it does sound like there's probably like eight

1549
01:16:42,119 --> 01:16:44,920
locks right when you're looking at so I mean, to

1550
01:16:45,000 --> 01:16:49,640
go through it, you would have hardened Man. Kawhi, Batoom, Zoobots, Powell,

1551
01:16:49,880 --> 01:16:53,319
Derek Jones Junior, and Chris Dunn are the names that

1552
01:16:53,359 --> 01:16:55,800
I have penciled in. Is like those guys are all

1553
01:16:56,199 --> 01:16:58,119
gonna play on a regular basis.

1554
01:16:58,319 --> 01:16:59,640
Speaker 2: And did you say Nico as well?

1555
01:17:00,119 --> 01:17:00,680
Speaker 1: Yes? I did?

1556
01:17:01,039 --> 01:17:05,840
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, So so yeah, that's probably the eight in stone.

1557
01:17:06,039 --> 01:17:08,000
Speaker 1: And it sounds like from you that Kevin Porter Junior

1558
01:17:08,079 --> 01:17:10,359
might need to be the ninth in stone.

1559
01:17:10,159 --> 01:17:13,920
Speaker 2: Probably be the ninth, I you know, and then on

1560
01:17:13,960 --> 01:17:16,039
some nights you get mo Bomba. On some nights you

1561
01:17:16,079 --> 01:17:18,399
get a mere coffee. I think they're going to start

1562
01:17:18,439 --> 01:17:21,960
off trying to go nine deep and then kind of

1563
01:17:21,960 --> 01:17:24,560
figured it out from there, you know. I mean, maybe

1564
01:17:24,560 --> 01:17:28,279
on night one, it's not a Kevin Porter Junior fifteen

1565
01:17:28,319 --> 01:17:30,319
minute night. It's maybe like a Kevin Porter Junior, here's

1566
01:17:30,359 --> 01:17:33,760
eight minutes and Mobamba's our backup center for the ninth spot.

1567
01:17:33,880 --> 01:17:36,159
You know, it could be one of those. They're gonna

1568
01:17:36,159 --> 01:17:38,479
have to figure this out. I think I think I

1569
01:17:38,479 --> 01:17:40,079
feel pretty confident. I know a lot of teams could

1570
01:17:40,079 --> 01:17:41,600
say this, but I feel pretty compassating the team that

1571
01:17:41,600 --> 01:17:43,000
they are in opening night will not be the team

1572
01:17:43,000 --> 01:17:44,479
that they are at the end of the season in

1573
01:17:44,560 --> 01:17:46,760
terms of like how the minutes and rotation shakes out.

1574
01:17:46,960 --> 01:17:50,079
Speaker 1: This mays that this coming question that much tougher. It's

1575
01:17:50,119 --> 01:17:52,520
always to some extent matchup dependent. But if you'd guess

1576
01:17:52,600 --> 01:17:55,760
right now, what winds up being their most used crunch

1577
01:17:55,800 --> 01:17:56,439
time lineup?

1578
01:17:57,680 --> 01:18:02,520
Speaker 2: Oh, crunch timelineup. They like going kind of small and

1579
01:18:02,560 --> 01:18:06,920
crunch time. But I don't know if they can, uh,

1580
01:18:08,079 --> 01:18:23,960
if they're all healthy. I'm assuming James, Norm Kawhi Zoo, Derek.

1581
01:18:25,239 --> 01:18:27,840
Speaker 1: Now Linhem could play some defense, I.

1582
01:18:27,720 --> 01:18:34,520
Speaker 2: Think because Derek insulates the other guys defensively to play

1583
01:18:34,560 --> 01:18:39,479
on ball, and you get Kawhi as a roamer. Norm

1584
01:18:39,640 --> 01:18:42,479
isn't picked on as much, and you do need a

1585
01:18:42,560 --> 01:18:45,880
spacing same with James as the ball handler, and you

1586
01:18:45,920 --> 01:18:47,960
get Zoo for the rim protection. Now, if they opt

1587
01:18:47,960 --> 01:18:51,439
to go small, it's probably Nico in place of Zoo,

1588
01:18:51,520 --> 01:18:54,159
and you just roll with that. Maybe you get Terrence

1589
01:18:54,199 --> 01:18:56,760
instead of Derek because Terrence is a has a longer

1590
01:18:56,800 --> 01:18:57,880
track record as a shooter.

1591
01:18:58,159 --> 01:19:00,880
Speaker 1: Is there a weirdo, funky, off beat lineup that you're

1592
01:19:00,920 --> 01:19:02,520
hoping Tyler rolls out this season?

1593
01:19:04,560 --> 01:19:06,079
Speaker 2: I kind of like the one I said earlier. It

1594
01:19:06,119 --> 01:19:13,720
was like, why Chris Dunne, Terrence, Derek, Nico and Zoo.

1595
01:19:13,760 --> 01:19:16,960
I think that'd be fun. I mean, they'd probably win

1596
01:19:17,000 --> 01:19:20,760
their minutes with the defensive radio like thirty and an

1597
01:19:20,800 --> 01:19:24,239
offensive radio of thirty one. But you know, why not

1598
01:19:24,279 --> 01:19:26,479
try it out every now? I kind of like dumb, dumb,

1599
01:19:26,600 --> 01:19:29,760
stupid lineups that look like they shouldn't work, and you

1600
01:19:29,760 --> 01:19:31,640
throw them out there for two three minutes just see

1601
01:19:31,640 --> 01:19:33,920
what you got. You know, why not try that? Why

1602
01:19:33,960 --> 01:19:37,479
not try Derek and Nico and Terrence and a Mirror

1603
01:19:37,680 --> 01:19:43,600
and James just to get five wing sized guys.

1604
01:19:43,920 --> 01:19:45,439
Speaker 1: That that was kind of close to the one I

1605
01:19:45,479 --> 01:19:47,520
want to see, except I had Done and Kuhi in

1606
01:19:47,600 --> 01:19:51,399
there with Derek Batum and uh, oh my god, who's

1607
01:19:51,439 --> 01:19:52,880
the other one? Who's the other one you needed? Why

1608
01:19:52,880 --> 01:19:53,359
am I blanking?

1609
01:19:53,359 --> 01:19:53,520
Speaker 2: It was?

1610
01:19:53,520 --> 01:19:56,960
Speaker 1: But so it was I had Batoum, Kawhi, Chris Done,

1611
01:19:57,119 --> 01:19:59,199
Derek Jones Junior to mir Coffee was the five that.

1612
01:19:59,159 --> 01:20:01,760
Speaker 2: I yeah, Terrence as well, so that would be the one.

1613
01:20:01,840 --> 01:20:05,039
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, So and look, they's I could be fun

1614
01:20:05,039 --> 01:20:07,479
with what you're saying that. They almost view getting weird

1615
01:20:07,520 --> 01:20:09,960
as like a prerequisite of the roster they have in place.

1616
01:20:10,159 --> 01:20:13,039
Speaker 2: So they look, I don't want to make it sound

1617
01:20:13,079 --> 01:20:14,920
like it's worse than it is, but like it is

1618
01:20:14,920 --> 01:20:17,640
like throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

1619
01:20:17,680 --> 01:20:19,359
Like some nights they're just gonna have to do that,

1620
01:20:19,960 --> 01:20:23,720
you know. On Tuesday when when I asked them specific

1621
01:20:23,840 --> 01:20:27,520
I asked Lawrence Frank at the end of Tuesdays saying, like, look,

1622
01:20:28,159 --> 01:20:32,319
a couple of years ago, you guys were without Kauhi

1623
01:20:32,399 --> 01:20:35,800
for the entire year, PG only played thirty games. You

1624
01:20:35,800 --> 01:20:37,560
guys still had a winning season. Granted that, I believe

1625
01:20:37,600 --> 01:20:39,399
they were forty two and forty and they had like

1626
01:20:39,439 --> 01:20:42,039
a four four game win streak at the end of

1627
01:20:42,079 --> 01:20:44,479
the season to get to a winning record. If there

1628
01:20:44,520 --> 01:20:47,279
was anything that they could take from that, and he said,

1629
01:20:48,239 --> 01:20:50,520
you know, that's when he gave the comment of they

1630
01:20:50,560 --> 01:20:53,279
take a lot of pride in winning, Like it's not

1631
01:20:53,359 --> 01:20:56,840
just a like a thing. Like it's not just like

1632
01:20:56,880 --> 01:20:59,359
a thing they say, they do mean it, And I

1633
01:20:59,359 --> 01:21:01,359
think there are things they can draw from that season

1634
01:21:01,359 --> 01:21:04,000
where it's like, you know, they walked to scratch and

1635
01:21:04,119 --> 01:21:06,520
claw on a lot of nights and get weird and

1636
01:21:06,560 --> 01:21:09,399
get funky and throw lineups out there that might look

1637
01:21:09,439 --> 01:21:12,640
stupid that for this thirty second stretch of basketball got

1638
01:21:12,640 --> 01:21:16,319
a stop that you needed, or anything relating to that,

1639
01:21:16,479 --> 01:21:19,039
Like they there's a lot that they're gonna have to

1640
01:21:19,039 --> 01:21:21,399
figure out. Last year, they went into the season pretty

1641
01:21:21,479 --> 01:21:25,199
much knowing exactly what their roster and like the the

1642
01:21:25,319 --> 01:21:28,359
hierarchy was gonna be. That got thrown into flux when

1643
01:21:28,439 --> 01:21:31,439
James came a lot of people, I shouldn't say a

1644
01:21:31,479 --> 01:21:34,680
lot some people never fully adjusted to that and it

1645
01:21:34,800 --> 01:21:38,880
led to some issues that they despite their twenty six

1646
01:21:38,960 --> 01:21:41,319
and five stretch across thirty one games, at one point

1647
01:21:41,520 --> 01:21:45,920
they never really got over and yeah, they're gonna have

1648
01:21:45,960 --> 01:21:50,680
to figure it out. I I gotta say talking to Tylo,

1649
01:21:52,359 --> 01:21:54,319
I kind of think he's reveling in this. I think

1650
01:21:54,359 --> 01:21:57,159
this is where he's in his happy place, where he's

1651
01:21:57,680 --> 01:22:01,000
no one's expecting anything out of them. No one's expecting

1652
01:22:01,039 --> 01:22:03,800
them to be a top four seed, or have home

1653
01:22:03,800 --> 01:22:07,199
court in the postseason, or even win the NBA Cup,

1654
01:22:07,279 --> 01:22:09,760
or even win their group of the NBA Cup. So

1655
01:22:10,800 --> 01:22:12,600
I kind of think he's in his happy place. I

1656
01:22:12,600 --> 01:22:14,960
think he's happy he has Jeff with him, and I

1657
01:22:14,960 --> 01:22:17,239
think he's happy he's got guys who are going to

1658
01:22:17,319 --> 01:22:20,680
compete defensively and give it there all every night. And

1659
01:22:22,039 --> 01:22:28,840
I think he expects this team to outplay and overachieve

1660
01:22:29,079 --> 01:22:32,119
what the outside world thinks of them. And I kind

1661
01:22:32,159 --> 01:22:34,479
of think that's why he's excited. Now, will they long

1662
01:22:34,520 --> 01:22:37,720
way to go between here and April, but I think

1663
01:22:37,760 --> 01:22:42,319
he's excited, and being around Tye, I will say this

1664
01:22:42,840 --> 01:22:45,760
that man is excited about the craziest stuff in terms

1665
01:22:45,800 --> 01:22:48,439
of like basketball. So when he gets excited about something,

1666
01:22:48,439 --> 01:22:51,760
it's it's kind of a joy to see.

1667
01:22:51,960 --> 01:22:55,520
Speaker 1: As we record this, they're speaking of the you know,

1668
01:22:55,600 --> 01:22:57,239
not really having a handle on the Clippers, and this

1669
01:22:57,279 --> 01:23:00,840
did shift after the Kwhi Leonard injury news. The Clippers

1670
01:23:00,880 --> 01:23:03,319
win total SAIDT thirty eight and a half as of

1671
01:23:03,399 --> 01:23:05,399
right now. Would you take the over the under on that?

1672
01:23:08,039 --> 01:23:10,680
Speaker 2: I'm a little opt I think I go over, Dave.

1673
01:23:12,119 --> 01:23:16,479
It's hard for me to say under, only because I

1674
01:23:16,560 --> 01:23:18,720
have seen them win so many games for the last

1675
01:23:18,760 --> 01:23:23,359
decade and a half. I think that they are ingrained

1676
01:23:23,399 --> 01:23:26,520
as a winning team and with the guys that they have,

1677
01:23:27,199 --> 01:23:29,600
and I understand that that's Vegas anticipating that Kauai is

1678
01:23:29,640 --> 01:23:31,319
out for an extended period of time, and he might

1679
01:23:31,359 --> 01:23:35,520
be I don't know, but I think they get to

1680
01:23:35,840 --> 01:23:37,880
at least thirty nine. I think they get obviously, I

1681
01:23:37,920 --> 01:23:38,640
think they go over.

1682
01:23:40,119 --> 01:23:43,119
Speaker 1: With that in mind, however, which teams in the Western

1683
01:23:43,119 --> 01:23:46,039
Conference as of right now, before we're basically training camp

1684
01:23:46,159 --> 01:23:49,399
is right here? Would you be prepared to guarantee or

1685
01:23:49,439 --> 01:23:51,399
feel confident that the Clippers will be better than just

1686
01:23:51,399 --> 01:23:52,640
looking specifically at the West.

1687
01:23:53,399 --> 01:23:55,239
Speaker 2: I'm just looking specifically, but I'm going to pull up

1688
01:23:55,239 --> 01:23:57,840
with actually West thing real quick because I believe or

1689
01:23:57,880 --> 01:23:59,159
not actually do forget some of the teams in the

1690
01:23:59,159 --> 01:24:05,119
West sometimes, Okay, I think they're gonna be better than

1691
01:24:05,119 --> 01:24:07,039
the Warriors.

1692
01:24:06,720 --> 01:24:08,640
Speaker 1: Well, we're getting spicy right off the bat.

1693
01:24:08,680 --> 01:24:14,039
Speaker 2: Then and Houston, actually, I'm sorry, not the words Houston,

1694
01:24:15,359 --> 01:24:22,279
San Antonio, Utah, Portland, and then I think it'll be

1695
01:24:22,359 --> 01:24:30,760
neck and neck with them, Golden State and possibly Memphis.

1696
01:24:31,079 --> 01:24:33,000
I understand that there's a big thing with Memphis where

1697
01:24:33,000 --> 01:24:35,760
like everyone just expects them to go back to where

1698
01:24:35,840 --> 01:24:37,920
they were. I think I think they could. I'm not

1699
01:24:37,960 --> 01:24:40,880
saying they can't. I just think there's gonna be a

1700
01:24:40,920 --> 01:24:42,920
little bit of like a not a trial and error period,

1701
01:24:42,920 --> 01:24:44,359
but an adjustment period back to that.

1702
01:24:44,680 --> 01:24:46,359
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, I mean we still haven't seen the you know,

1703
01:24:46,399 --> 01:24:48,159
the whole group with Marcus Smart we never really got

1704
01:24:48,199 --> 01:24:50,960
see last season. And then they are just expecting a

1705
01:24:51,039 --> 01:24:54,239
rookie and Zach Edie to play this huge role for them,

1706
01:24:54,279 --> 01:24:56,439
and so if that doesn't pan out, things will shift.

1707
01:24:56,760 --> 01:24:57,520
You are a little bit.

1708
01:24:57,640 --> 01:24:59,199
Speaker 2: And I guess neck and neck with the Lakers too.

1709
01:24:59,239 --> 01:25:02,880
I'm sorry, I I've actually I think, at the risk

1710
01:25:02,920 --> 01:25:05,000
of being like ridiculed by Lakers, but I think they're

1711
01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:10,000
pretty neck and neck in terms of like rosters stars, well,

1712
01:25:11,079 --> 01:25:14,159
for the Clipper stars, obviously James is below where Anthony

1713
01:25:14,279 --> 01:25:17,760
Davis is, But in terms of like the overall hierarchy,

1714
01:25:17,800 --> 01:25:20,199
I think I think they're about neck and neck with

1715
01:25:20,239 --> 01:25:23,960
each other. And I don't know how JJ Redick's gonna

1716
01:25:23,960 --> 01:25:27,439
be as a head coach. He could be amazing, honestly,

1717
01:25:28,039 --> 01:25:31,159
and I think that's a caveat the factor into this.

1718
01:25:31,239 --> 01:25:34,039
So I think those teams and the Clippers are gonna

1719
01:25:34,079 --> 01:25:37,239
be kind of in that tussle for those final couple spots.

1720
01:25:38,319 --> 01:25:41,119
Speaker 1: Yeah, I honestly I have them in the same tiers

1721
01:25:41,159 --> 01:25:43,760
like the Warriors Lakers. For me, like that area, I

1722
01:25:43,800 --> 01:25:46,119
think the only teams are prepared to guarantee they'll be

1723
01:25:46,119 --> 01:25:47,960
better then and like the Kawhi bugaboo of it all

1724
01:25:48,000 --> 01:25:50,920
definitely plays a role is u Jahn Portland, because those

1725
01:25:50,920 --> 01:25:53,920
are the only teams that we know really aren't as

1726
01:25:53,920 --> 01:25:56,119
interested in winning right now. And I think you know

1727
01:25:56,159 --> 01:25:58,760
you mentioned like the Lakers, the Warriors, then the Spurs

1728
01:25:58,760 --> 01:26:00,279
I think are a wild card. Like I think it

1729
01:26:00,359 --> 01:26:02,199
might be fair to say, well, they'll be better than

1730
01:26:02,199 --> 01:26:03,760
at least maybe you go on through a Houston they'll

1731
01:26:03,800 --> 01:26:05,119
be better than at least one of those teams. I

1732
01:26:05,119 --> 01:26:08,119
could probably stretch the number to three. I'm not gonna

1733
01:26:08,119 --> 01:26:11,000
lie though, And maybe this is me just being a

1734
01:26:11,000 --> 01:26:13,359
prisoner of the moment. Like the Kawhi Leonard write me

1735
01:26:13,439 --> 01:26:16,039
update for me, just yeah, I actually feel better about

1736
01:26:16,039 --> 01:26:18,840
them after talking to you for the past ninety minutes

1737
01:26:18,960 --> 01:26:21,239
or so. But like that update, I was just like,

1738
01:26:21,520 --> 01:26:23,720
this team is cooked, Like I just have zero faith

1739
01:26:24,279 --> 01:26:26,199
in what they're gonna be. I see the vision more

1740
01:26:26,279 --> 01:26:29,479
so after talking to you, but I'm just like, we're

1741
01:26:29,520 --> 01:26:32,159
here again. It's another lower body Kawhi Leonard, and just like,

1742
01:26:32,199 --> 01:26:33,359
what is gonna happen?

1743
01:26:34,079 --> 01:26:38,640
Speaker 2: Listen. I will tell people all day they're fully within

1744
01:26:38,640 --> 01:26:42,199
their right to be skeptical. I completely understand it. I'm

1745
01:26:42,239 --> 01:26:45,159
still skeptical to some degree on it. I completely get it.

1746
01:26:46,239 --> 01:26:47,880
I think they need a lot of things to go

1747
01:26:47,960 --> 01:26:50,079
their way to get to the upper echelon of like

1748
01:26:50,159 --> 01:26:52,560
what I think they're seeming could be. But I do

1749
01:26:52,640 --> 01:27:00,000
think if on the surface, if Kawhi plays fifty five games,

1750
01:27:01,079 --> 01:27:04,520
so he misses, you know, all sixteen back to backs

1751
01:27:04,520 --> 01:27:06,680
and a few more and eleven more games after that,

1752
01:27:07,520 --> 01:27:13,279
I think if they can win thirty of those fifty five,

1753
01:27:15,560 --> 01:27:17,840
you know, do I think they can win another nine

1754
01:27:18,520 --> 01:27:20,560
to get to their over on to get over I

1755
01:27:20,560 --> 01:27:22,800
think they could. I think they can claw nine wins

1756
01:27:22,800 --> 01:27:27,000
out of that. So the beginning of their schedule is

1757
01:27:27,000 --> 01:27:31,239
actually not that bad. In certain stretches. It lightens up

1758
01:27:31,239 --> 01:27:35,359
here and there at times. What I will say that

1759
01:27:35,359 --> 01:27:38,880
they're actually very excited about is because of their new arena.

1760
01:27:38,960 --> 01:27:42,439
They have no afternoon home games this year and last year.

1761
01:27:42,920 --> 01:27:44,840
Last year, I believe a quarter of their home games

1762
01:27:44,840 --> 01:27:47,960
where afternoon starts. So they're very excited about this.

1763
01:27:48,880 --> 01:27:50,880
Speaker 1: I mean, between that and all the toilets.

1764
01:27:50,920 --> 01:27:55,039
Speaker 2: Like I will say, for anyone who hasn't been to

1765
01:27:55,039 --> 01:27:56,680
the arena, which I understands probably a lot of people

1766
01:27:56,720 --> 01:27:59,399
at this point, if you ever have the chance to go, go,

1767
01:28:00,039 --> 01:28:02,520
it's a very nice arena. I've sat in the chairs.

1768
01:28:03,319 --> 01:28:05,880
I am not a slim person, but these chairs have

1769
01:28:05,960 --> 01:28:08,600
a lot of space and it's probably the best chairs

1770
01:28:08,600 --> 01:28:13,079
I've ever sat in at an arena. There's a lot

1771
01:28:13,079 --> 01:28:18,439
of space everywhere. It's the scoreboard, the little halo board,

1772
01:28:18,520 --> 01:28:21,239
not little. The halo board that they have is really cool.

1773
01:28:22,840 --> 01:28:28,079
Their arena is something else and I think they view

1774
01:28:28,159 --> 01:28:34,199
that as like the crown jewel in keeping this run

1775
01:28:34,239 --> 01:28:37,880
of success going because of the star power they might

1776
01:28:37,920 --> 01:28:41,199
be able to bring in as a result, because of location,

1777
01:28:41,760 --> 01:28:46,199
new arena, everything's under one roof, YadA, YadA, YadA. I

1778
01:28:46,239 --> 01:28:48,880
think it's gonna play a factor down the line, but

1779
01:28:48,960 --> 01:28:50,880
for this season it will be very interesting. I just

1780
01:28:50,920 --> 01:28:54,000
think people should go see a game there. I know

1781
01:28:54,039 --> 01:28:56,039
people have been to concerts there already. They said it's

1782
01:28:56,560 --> 01:28:59,560
an incredible concert venue. Obviously, it wasn't built just for concerts.

1783
01:28:59,600 --> 01:29:03,840
It was built primarily for the NBA, but they they

1784
01:29:03,840 --> 01:29:06,680
went all out on this arena, and that's the other reason.

1785
01:29:06,680 --> 01:29:10,800
I think, as weird as it sounds, that they're not

1786
01:29:10,920 --> 01:29:14,920
gonna be into a tanking type situation of selling guys

1787
01:29:14,960 --> 01:29:19,479
off is I don't know if they do that. I

1788
01:29:19,560 --> 01:29:22,159
don't know if they can bring people back. That's a

1789
01:29:22,399 --> 01:29:26,039
very very long road back to that prominence that they're

1790
01:29:26,079 --> 01:29:28,560
at right now. Because people are still excited about this team.

1791
01:29:28,880 --> 01:29:30,840
It might not be like around the area, it might

1792
01:29:30,880 --> 01:29:35,039
not be you know, rainbows and lollipops every day, but

1793
01:29:35,079 --> 01:29:36,680
there are people who do want to see this team,

1794
01:29:36,680 --> 01:29:39,039
and I think that matters to this organization, and I

1795
01:29:39,039 --> 01:29:40,600
don't think they want that to change. And I think

1796
01:29:40,600 --> 01:29:43,039
they're gonna try to go balls of the wall for

1797
01:29:43,119 --> 01:29:47,279
lack of a better phrase, to get there. And we'll see.

1798
01:29:47,439 --> 01:29:49,439
That's that should be the model for the twenty twenty

1799
01:29:49,439 --> 01:29:51,720
four to twenty five Clippers. We'll see because a lot

1800
01:29:51,720 --> 01:29:53,000
of things they are gonna be have to be seen

1801
01:29:53,840 --> 01:29:54,199
a close.

1802
01:29:54,319 --> 01:29:56,039
Speaker 1: If they see the expectations that they have one of

1803
01:29:56,079 --> 01:29:58,680
their trademark like twenty five to thirty two game hot stretches,

1804
01:29:58,720 --> 01:30:01,159
it'll have to be called rainbows lollipops because I like

1805
01:30:01,239 --> 01:30:01,560
that too.

1806
01:30:02,039 --> 01:30:06,279
Speaker 2: I'm trademarking that if that happens. Okay, I'm making shirts.

1807
01:30:06,319 --> 01:30:09,439
I'm doing it. I gave Reggie Jackson his nickname, and

1808
01:30:09,479 --> 01:30:11,560
he knows that I gave him his nickname, so I

1809
01:30:11,560 --> 01:30:16,359
should have monetized that when I had the chances. Yeah,

1810
01:30:16,399 --> 01:30:17,560
I'm not gonna miss out again.

1811
01:30:17,760 --> 01:30:20,199
Speaker 1: Justin, is there anything related to this team I haven't

1812
01:30:20,199 --> 01:30:21,800
asked you about that you think needs to be covered

1813
01:30:21,800 --> 01:30:22,880
before I let uskidaddle.

1814
01:30:24,399 --> 01:30:26,039
Speaker 2: All I'll say is, and I know it's a weird

1815
01:30:26,039 --> 01:30:28,039
thing to end on. I'm very excited to see what

1816
01:30:28,119 --> 01:30:31,479
Jordan Miller can do. Maybe not at the NBA level,

1817
01:30:31,800 --> 01:30:35,039
but specifically to him. He killed it in the Summer League.

1818
01:30:35,439 --> 01:30:37,720
I thought he should have been Summer League MVP. He

1819
01:30:37,840 --> 01:30:41,039
was incredible, great person to talk to. I did an

1820
01:30:41,039 --> 01:30:43,319
exclusive interview with him at Summer League before I left,

1821
01:30:43,520 --> 01:30:46,279
and I posted on my substack a couple months ago,

1822
01:30:47,199 --> 01:30:51,079
very very down to earth, quick learner. I wouldn't be

1823
01:30:51,079 --> 01:30:54,600
shocked to see him get minutes this year in the NBA, especially,

1824
01:30:55,000 --> 01:30:57,880
you know, if some guys do get traded down the line,

1825
01:30:59,199 --> 01:31:02,600
but with him, I'm very excited to see him in

1826
01:31:02,600 --> 01:31:05,479
the G League. Setting for this team, specifically, they moved

1827
01:31:05,479 --> 01:31:08,760
G League facilities. They were totally rebringing their G League.

1828
01:31:09,079 --> 01:31:13,279
They moved down to Ocean Side. They moved from Ontario, California,

1829
01:31:13,640 --> 01:31:16,000
down to Ocean Side, which is near San Diego. They

1830
01:31:16,119 --> 01:31:18,359
built an entire new sports complex down there. I believe

1831
01:31:18,359 --> 01:31:22,159
it's like five thousand seats. They have essentially dorm rooms,

1832
01:31:23,079 --> 01:31:26,159
like condominium dorm rooms for the for the G League players,

1833
01:31:26,239 --> 01:31:29,319
right next to the arena, so like everything they need

1834
01:31:29,399 --> 01:31:33,399
is right there, and it feels kind of like tacky,

1835
01:31:33,479 --> 01:31:37,319
but I kind of appreciate an NBA team putting that

1836
01:31:37,439 --> 01:31:41,000
much thought and care into something as the G League.

1837
01:31:41,960 --> 01:31:45,800
Speaker 1: I mean, after reading Life in the g that is

1838
01:31:45,840 --> 01:31:49,880
definitely a standout priority for an NBA team for sure.

1839
01:31:50,000 --> 01:31:52,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like they built, you know, a place for these

1840
01:31:52,800 --> 01:31:56,039
players to stay. They can go to the facility every

1841
01:31:56,079 --> 01:31:58,119
day to get food, to do their workouts, to get

1842
01:31:58,119 --> 01:32:01,159
their treatment, to get anything they need. I think that's

1843
01:32:01,159 --> 01:32:03,920
incredible and I think Jordan Miller is gonna be a

1844
01:32:03,920 --> 01:32:06,520
beneficiary of that. And I think there's something there with

1845
01:32:06,600 --> 01:32:09,800
him along the lines of what we saw with Terrence

1846
01:32:09,840 --> 01:32:12,920
Mann a couple of years ago where he first broke out.

1847
01:32:13,479 --> 01:32:16,960
The difference between Jordan and Terrence. Jordan is a lot

1848
01:32:17,000 --> 01:32:20,159
more willing of a shooter, and I think that could

1849
01:32:20,199 --> 01:32:23,359
get him rotation minutes down the line, not day one,

1850
01:32:23,439 --> 01:32:25,520
but down the line in the season, because I do

1851
01:32:25,560 --> 01:32:28,199
think he can impact them in a positive way. Does

1852
01:32:28,199 --> 01:32:29,960
that mean he's gonna help them make the playoffs? I

1853
01:32:30,000 --> 01:32:32,760
don't know. That's like pie in the sky, but I

1854
01:32:32,760 --> 01:32:37,039
think rainbows and lollipops. But I do think there are

1855
01:32:37,079 --> 01:32:38,960
things that they can find with him that I think

1856
01:32:38,960 --> 01:32:41,039
they need to explore more. Same thing with Kobe Brown

1857
01:32:41,079 --> 01:32:42,199
to a lesser extent.

1858
01:32:43,520 --> 01:32:45,560
Speaker 1: Justin are you able just to tell our listeners where

1859
01:32:45,600 --> 01:32:47,319
they can find you on social media and where they

1860
01:32:47,319 --> 01:32:48,920
can find all the great work that you do cover

1861
01:32:48,960 --> 01:32:49,640
in this team.

1862
01:32:50,039 --> 01:32:51,840
Speaker 2: You can find me on Twitter I refuse to call

1863
01:32:51,880 --> 01:32:53,800
it the other thing that you can find me on

1864
01:32:53,840 --> 01:32:56,800
Twitter at fly by Night, f L y B y

1865
01:32:56,920 --> 01:32:59,279
K and I T E. You can find me. My

1866
01:32:59,359 --> 01:33:02,960
substack is justin Russo dots substack dot com. I will

1867
01:33:02,960 --> 01:33:06,119
tell people I am starting to charge as of October first,

1868
01:33:06,159 --> 01:33:09,439
so if you do join, it's five dollars a month.

1869
01:33:10,239 --> 01:33:13,199
My only my explanation for this is I'm sorry. Things

1870
01:33:13,239 --> 01:33:16,439
are expensive now and I need I need to live,

1871
01:33:16,520 --> 01:33:20,039
you know, so you can find me there. I do

1872
01:33:20,079 --> 01:33:22,640
write about basketball quite a bit. Obviously, I'll write about

1873
01:33:22,640 --> 01:33:25,399
Clippers a lot, but I'll write about other things basketball related.

1874
01:33:25,399 --> 01:33:27,720
I do write about soccer from time to time. If

1875
01:33:27,760 --> 01:33:30,239
that's not your cup of tea, that's fine, that's okay.

1876
01:33:30,720 --> 01:33:33,399
Most people don't really care about soccer the America anyway,

1877
01:33:33,479 --> 01:33:34,159
so that's fine.

1878
01:33:34,520 --> 01:33:36,039
Speaker 1: I thought you were talking about the NFL when you

1879
01:33:36,039 --> 01:33:38,479
said football manager, so lo and behold listen.

1880
01:33:38,800 --> 01:33:41,800
Speaker 2: Do you know there is a growing population of people

1881
01:33:41,840 --> 01:33:45,119
within the football manager community that want to see a

1882
01:33:45,159 --> 01:33:46,520
basketball version made.

1883
01:33:48,239 --> 01:33:51,560
Speaker 1: I've I can see like so much. I know the

1884
01:33:51,640 --> 01:33:53,439
league has changed, but the way it's covered in the

1885
01:33:53,439 --> 01:33:56,439
way a lot of people. I say this having insight

1886
01:33:56,520 --> 01:33:59,479
into the numbers behind articles I write for a big company,

1887
01:33:59,720 --> 01:34:02,399
they are still so obsessed with the transaction part of

1888
01:34:02,439 --> 01:34:05,199
this league. It feels like something like that would do

1889
01:34:05,399 --> 01:34:06,600
very well. That's all I have.

1890
01:34:06,800 --> 01:34:10,960
Speaker 2: So there's already a Baseball has had their own version.

1891
01:34:11,279 --> 01:34:13,800
I apologize for the train. Baseball already has their own

1892
01:34:13,840 --> 01:34:16,159
versions called out of the Park Baseball. They've been around

1893
01:34:16,640 --> 01:34:19,479
many many years. So has Football Manager. Football Manager has

1894
01:34:19,479 --> 01:34:21,000
been around, like I want to say, like twenty five

1895
01:34:21,079 --> 01:34:24,760
years now. Yeah, it started as I believe Championship Manager.

1896
01:34:26,399 --> 01:34:30,319
Hockey has Hockey Manager, which isn't as popular. But if

1897
01:34:30,439 --> 01:34:33,560
the NFL and specifically the NBA ever delved into this

1898
01:34:33,920 --> 01:34:37,800
and went into that line of computer games or anything

1899
01:34:37,840 --> 01:34:40,920
like that, I honestly think people would love that, and

1900
01:34:40,920 --> 01:34:43,960
it would also help people learn more about the game

1901
01:34:44,439 --> 01:34:46,960
and more about the players, and more about just the

1902
01:34:47,000 --> 01:34:51,479
way front offices work and cities and infrastructures work within

1903
01:34:51,720 --> 01:34:53,319
I think it would actually be pretty cool. I'm kind

1904
01:34:53,319 --> 01:34:55,840
of on board with it. I kind of hope NBA

1905
01:34:55,920 --> 01:34:58,840
teams kind of make it happen somehow.

1906
01:35:00,119 --> 01:35:02,960
Speaker 1: Uh, I ad excuse me as I'm talking to usted.

1907
01:35:03,000 --> 01:35:05,079
Here you can find a link to justin substack. It

1908
01:35:05,119 --> 01:35:07,640
will be in our podcast and YouTube description. Thank you

1909
01:35:07,640 --> 01:35:10,119
so much for having me oh so much of your time.

1910
01:35:10,159 --> 01:35:11,880
This was a blast for the second year in a

1911
01:35:11,960 --> 01:35:14,239
row and rest the short. As you probably know by now,

1912
01:35:14,239 --> 01:35:15,720
I will be best bring you again in the future,

1913
01:35:15,800 --> 01:35:16,880
So thanks again for time.

1914
01:35:17,159 --> 01:35:19,520
Speaker 2: That's fine. I apologize for talking so much. Kind of

1915
01:35:19,560 --> 01:35:20,000
what I do