Speaker 1: What is up, Fellowsiko's I am Dana Valley coming at
you with the one, the only, this certified man, fabulous
co host of this very podcast, The Hardwoodknox that thea podcast,
mister Grant Hughes, We have an exciting episode for you today.
We are going to provide a screwed score for the
NBA's most disappointing teams, disappointment being defined as relative to
their expectations. I'm going to let Grant, though, take you
through how we're going to approach it, because he came
up with a fantastic acronym that we will throw on
the screen. However, first, how the heck are you doing?
Speaker 2: I'm doing really well. I'm very I want to get
right into it, but I because I'm so excited that
we did. We did come up with a proprietary metric.
This is real. We crafted it. You say you're crediting me,
but we collectively came up with an acronym. Sorry, with
a with a rating with a score that just happens
to be an acronym. Also, I didn't tell you this.
I'm doing really well because you know how analog I
am right, and I actually keep like a planner that
I physically write on with ink. I finished an ink
pen yesterday. I finished. Do you know what's more satisfying
than finishing a whole ink pen? You know, over however
many months, Dan, nothing, not a single thing.
Speaker 1: Well, here's the thing. Did you have other ink pens
at the ready? Because then that becomes an inconvenience If
you did not.
Speaker 2: I had to go find one here I'm holding up
right now. So we've really gone to like an electric
blue pen. This is not my favorite kind of pen.
I have strong feelings on pens. I'm a ballpoint guy,
and I prefer hotel room pens to all other pens.
I don't know why.
Speaker 1: Well, you know what, I kind of get that, because
they're gonna want to make sure that you could sign
for stuff there if you in so far as you
just don't need to sign anything. I don't know that
I've ever gone to a hotel room past half decade
and look for an actual physical pen, to be honest
with you. But when they open up the hardwood Knox
Hall of Fame, that is one of the items the
memorabilia that they're going to.
Speaker 2: Hang expended pens. Yeah, that's great. So how how are
you doing are you. Are you as excited about unveiling
our proprietary metric as I am.
Speaker 1: I'm excited, and let's let's unveil it on the screen
for people watching. I am a little nervous, not nervous,
but like, this is gonna be something you and I
just have a ton of fun doing, and that it's
invariably gonna make people mad.
Speaker 2: It's okay, that's fine, so screwed score. As you said,
we are discussing teams that have been disappointing, and we're
essentially trying to look forward at like how screwed is
this team? And within that discussion, we will you know, figure,
we will we will hit on how many outs do
they have? Like how dire are the circumstances, what is
the reason that things are not going well? How likely
are they to pull out of this? How might that
have happened? Just sort of like, what's it look like
going forward? How screwed are you? And screwed? Screwed is?
Shit could really end? With extensive detonation?
Speaker 1: You ruin your own acronym.
Speaker 2: What did I say? Realistically? Damn it? Sorry? Shit could
really end realistically and with extensive detonation. I really want
to say. Really, I think that's because it's what we
had first, and it stuck in.
Speaker 1: My brain and you were the one that suggested we
sub it out.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I know, well you know I was still
thinking about the pen. I think, so we will score
this from one to ten. Coincidentally, we have ten teams
to discuss. A score of ten, A screwed score of
ten is very bad. That's as screwed as you can be.
A screwed score of one not ideal, but relative to
the other teams we'll discuss. That's that's that's solid. That's
where you'd want to be if you're in this conversation.
So you think we should get into.
Speaker 1: It, yes, I am.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 1: The only other thing I'll add is, I don't know
how you look at this when you're evaluating, when you're
talking about the outs or like even if it comes
to doubling down different directions. I did try to kind
of look at this over like a maximum of a
three year maybe like further window to where it's like
something like if you're really screwed, yeah, next season. But
like for some of these teams that are more towards
the bottom, I was trying to project a little further ahead,
and I will say, for me personally, that's gotten so
much harder because it feels like windows are just more
fleeting or even shape shifting. Maybe they're not closing and opening,
but they're just taking different forms now faster than ever.
And so it makes like it felt like when we
were talking about this, it felt like there was a
clear top three for the most screwed. There was an
easy inclusion, like to start for the least screwed, but
then got everything in between. There could be like real
debates and you're gonna agonize over like the minutia of
it all.
Speaker 2: Oh and last thing, we're not gonna so we cut
it off at ten. Some teams that you might think
are screwed just because they're really terrible, like they're not
going to feature here because for a variety of reasons,
one of which being like nobody expected anything out of
them part of it, and the other part is like
relatively speaking, they're pretty flexible, like kind of Blank's Lady,
So like Washington won't be here, Charlotte's not here, Brooklyn's
not here. Those are just rebuilders, like Utah's not here.
They have a trillion picks like, those aren't the types
of teams we're talking about being screwed. We're talking about
ones that are I actually crossed the board really like
further along in the you know, trying to win process,
and things aren't going well and they're hamstrung by various
things that we will get into, and you.
Speaker 1: Could even Charlotte is the spoiler exclusion alert to where
we talked about it a little bit because I expected
more out of them. You can excuse some of it
because of injuries, but it's very clear that they're just
not close. However, if you sat here, if you had
told me in September that Charlotte's going to be fourteenth
in the Eastern Conference, that's not something that would have
floored me. Now if I've sat here and told you
that Philadelphia in April is going to be thirteenth in
the Eastern Conference, that is something that would have absolutely
I mean, I guess actually could have said, well, that
means things went incredibly wrong. But because they were positioned
like to try and actualize their best case outcome, where
Charlotte still wasn't like if they were supposed to they
were supposed to win more games, sure, but it was oh,
maybe they'll compete for a play and the sixers. It's
all relative to expectations.
Speaker 2: Is basically, what if you had told your hypothetical self
that Philly was thirteenth in the conference. Your other self
would have said, sounds like they're screwed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly what my other self would have said. And
you know what, I would have also said, shit could
realistically end with extensive detonation.
Speaker 2: Then, so well said, we begin screwed.
Speaker 1: Score of one. I will take it the Orlando Magic.
I think you and I were disappointed that they didn't
end up doing more over the offseason in general, injuries
never really gave them a chance. This year, they're sitting
eighth in the Eastern Conference, below five hundred. The defense
can still be fantastic, but you're still kind of sitting
here asking the same questions that you were before they
even reached the playoffs last year. And it's okay for
Paula Bankara was a killer in the playoffs last year.
He's been on a better stretch recently. Is he going
to be as efficient as you need him to be?
And then it's kind of the same question with Franz Wagner.
It's like, do these two higher end stars. Wagner was
in the onset back of about MVP consideration. But will
they ever be hyper efficient or high end efficient drivers
of a higher end offense? And it's a it's an
open question. What gives them cover is One, there's the injuries. Two,
they're still relatively young. Three I will bang this drum
to death. It's I view this. I know some people
view bank. Caro specifically feels like he has more skeptics
because he's considered a ball stopper. I need to see
and he might favor more inefficient shots. I just want
to see him with any sort of functional spacing the
magic like their off ball gravity has never been good
around him since he's under the league. At the same time, though,
like they have to be on the slitt just because
their disappointment. I will say they're not going to be
prohibitive expensive until twenty twenty six, twenty seven, that's not
far away. And also they could be a tax team
next year. They probably won't be, but it's okay, Well,
if you're trying to stay out of the tax, how
do you get better? And so it's worth just considering. No,
I don't think they were a blip. They have an
excellent base in place, but the path forward for them
is not just sort of as choose your own adventure
as you might prefer it to be.
Speaker 2: Yes, I agree by far the least screwed team here.
They have all their own picks going forward. They've got
one coming from Denver this year. They've got a twenty
six first from you know, one of those worst stuffs
from Phoenix or Washington in twenty Like they're in great
shape pickwise. It really does just come down to like
the build of the roster, Like how you don't love
the idea of both Ben Heero and Franz Wagner being
iffy three point shooters. Powell has been better lately, but
like that complicates things. I do think if you want
to be alarmist about it, it's now the personnel is
one thing, and the injuries or another. But it's like,
do you have faith that Jamal Mosley is a good
offensive coach? I don't know, Like maybe maybe, like everybody
makes this comparison, but like he's the Mark Jackson. They
need their Steve Kerr eventually, and so like if you
do change coaches, then you run the risk of like
actually it just this. You know it wasn't him and
it is just the build of the team. But you
know the Orlando's in very good shape. It's just like
there are concerns with like you've you've anchored yourself to
these two guys that may or may not be ideal
fits together, and the offense just continues to be a problem.
And that's like always a little bit concerning when the
same thing is the issue, you know, year after year.
Speaker 1: And so now that I have it pulled up, they
have never since Pallo entered the league. The teammate quality
around him this season is in the first percentile grant
of both three point and overall spot up efficiency, and
it's never ranked higher than the forty first percentile since
he's come into the league. And so I think that
sort of not that it lends merit, but does it
make you feel like there's a clear direction to travel,
clear fixes to be made here? I think if you
were to really be alarmist, would you have to settle on, well,
what type of move do they need to because it
takes a belief, a conviction in both Polo and Franz
to say is this a difference between they need them
just throwing names out a Lamello ball or is it
just go out and getting Anthony Simons And you think
that does enough to put them where they need to
be or want to be even.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And that's why they're not. That's why they rate
so low here, which is good because like you could
try one or the other and the cheaper less like
full commit option might be enough, you know, especially if
you price in like I assume Franz won't shoot under
thirty percent a third year in a row from deep
and I assume Paulo is just gonna get harder to guard,
Like that seems realistic based on how things have gone.
Speaker 1: And the other thing too, They control all of their
first round picks, they have Denver's pick coming in this year,
and there's not Is there a bad contract on the books?
Does the sugs injury do anything to change your perception
of his extension?
Speaker 2: If it is bad, it's it's for reasons that are
like kind of out of the team's control, because which
would just be, oh my god, he's not gonna it's
gonna be hard for him to like get right physically,
but like as a player, he's worth the money they're
paying him, assuming he can, you know, come back next year?
One hundred percent.
Speaker 1: I will say I would we love the Anthony Simons
for this team. I wonder if they're going to figure
out a way, like could they get involved in elite
Beasley's free agency this summer would be like another perfect
type of acquisition for them. But this needs to be
you know what, I will up their screwed score over
the summer if they do another what they did last offseason,
where it was we get someone who doesn't really address
our primary issue.
Speaker 2: Yes, that would be an issue.
Speaker 1: We did not mention this at the top, and I
forgotten to start it. But we are working with timers,
so we're gonna do a maximum of eight minutes or
eight minutes and change per team. I think that's it
on the Magic Are you ready to take us to
our next team?
Speaker 2: Let's do it all right? Coming in with a screwed
score of two.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: The Minnesota Timberwolves. They're a good team. They're gonna be
in the playoffs and maybe a situation really for tell
me if you agree or disagree here, it's like you
can only be so screwed if you have Anthony Edwards
because he's on the shortest or short list of young
cornerstone type players. This is really just about the financial picture.
Like they've already made one trade, you know, moving off
Cat for Randall, which which is I don't think now
you can say was a basketball move. We've litigated this,
you know, all season. It's an expensive team. They haven't
been as good as they were last year. The offense
is just like it feels like is having to do
Can shooting toward forty percent on super high volume from three.
He's having that that's just not the role I think
you want him playing, so like he's being kind of
suboptimally utilized. He's good enough to make it work. It's
really just the money. It's the and the like they
have now I think officially or however officially you want
to call it, like have changed ownership. That that's a variable,
Like it's hard to imagine ownership will be worse than
Glenn Taylor, but you know, we don't know. So this
is still a very low screwed score. But like they
just it's hard to avoid the feeling of like there
might be another step back and that's not super encouraging.
Speaker 1: The two things that I harp on here, well, I
guess it's three because they have a lack of ass
you're moving players as your equity. At this point, they
can trade one first round pick, it's detroits that they
own this year, and then from there it's you mentioned
the new ownership things. So I actually want to ask
you a question about that. Do you think because we
know Mark Lora and al Chrabriguez were apparently heavily involved
in the hiring of Tim Connolly, do you think that
means that this won't be a situation where we see
new owner syndrome kick in because it feels like they've
maybe had more of a significant say, or do you
still kind of view it as that's absolutely a wild
card because now they're going to take eighty percent or
one hundred percent of control of the team, whatever it is,
and they're absolutely gonna come in, maybe especially after all
the Shenanigans, and try and leave their imprint on the franchise.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think the fact that they were involved
at least I don't know, maybe that just offsets the
whole like he kind of signed like a he's like
on a one plus one more or less, like he
can just Connolly could just kind of opt out. I
wonder if that was something he wanted, because like, well,
if Glenn Taylor's back, I don't want to be like,
maybe it's that, and then in that case, it's great.
We got no issue with new ownership and the top
executive like not being kind of aligned. I didn't even
think about him though, as like a potential flight risk,
because like what if he looks at the financial situation
and the options ahead of the Wolves going forward and
is like, I don't think this is it? You know,
I want to go because another team would hire him immediately, right,
like is it? Don't you think he's still probably is
someone that's highly regarded enough that he could get another job.
So like there's that aspect of it. But yeah, I
would assume that he, he and new ownership will not
have an issue and that if he does wind up leaving,
it would be because he just maybe he gets a
directive that like, hey, we're gonna, you know, try to
be a little cheaper going forward, and you're gonna have
to make another cat for Randall and the Vincenzo kind
of deal. But I wouldn't worry too much about that
side of it, do you.
Speaker 1: But do you think it could manifest maybe in a
way where they're applying pressure for him to make more
of a where like wouldn't a perfect example be they
were one of the teams that there was apparently mutual
interest with Kevin Durant. I talked about this with the
athletics s Bereheini the other day. Just would you give
like do they give up too much to get where
it's oh, yeah, we'll give you nas Read it opted
in or something or opted in and they will give
you nas Read and Jade McDaniels and that pick and
Rob Dylan. Do you think that there's the potential for
that or if you're keeping the same executive that windows
down the risk of something like that happening substantially.
Speaker 2: I don't know. It's it's hard for me to think
of the package that would be, like, that's too much
for Kevin Durant based on what they read realistically give up?
So yeah, I don't. I don't know. If if I'm
concerned about him being pressured to do something like that,
I would say, actually, and again this is a low
screwed score. I think it benefits them that, like there's
just no free agent money out there and they've got
several free agents that in other circumstances you'd be like, oh,
that guy's gone, but like they might just be able
to keep Read and gnaw and just have, you know,
at reasonable numbers because like Brooklyn isn't going to pay them,
and you know what I mean, Like I think there's
a real they're in a they're in a fortunate situation
because of the free agent landscape right now.
Speaker 1: Well that was my other question, and it's so as
of right now, if you penal in Randal and read
to so Randall's player option is worth thirty point nine
million and Reads is fifteen million, So that's about non
tax payer mid level money. The Wolves are actually under
the first apron with I think it's fourteen or fifteen players.
No Niki Alexander Walker though, and so like that's I
think it's a source of uncertainty that makes me uncomfortable
because nos Reed, Julius Randall, and Nikkeile Alexander Walker can
all be free agents, and at least one of them
will be even if nos Reed and Julius Randall opt in,
will this team pay what it's gonna take to keep
nikkil Aus. It's not like they have a salary you
point towards and say, well, then we'll just dump it
because we don't want to be emmy aprons. You're not
just gonna give like because Julius Randall's money if he
opts in, is tough to move. On the flip side,
Julie Randall's also been your second best offensive player this
year pretty clearly, what is like, Like, I guess realistically,
I'm asking you, like, what are the odds that all
three of these guys are on the roster next year?
And if they are, what was the collateral damage of that?
Because decided to offload Mike Conley's money at that point,
and we know that he's incredibly important when it comes
to his passing in the locker room. He's not had
as good of a year and he is playing less overall.
But like, it's there's just so much. Yeah, we're not
talking about their first like their top guy, but we
are talking about like I think if you were to
ask who's Minnesota's second best player, I don't know what
the contentsus answer would be, but I think you'd get
four different ones between Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Randall, and
Nasried maybe some Dante DiVincenzo sprinkled in there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, it's it's not ideal when
Randall who might Yeah, you're right, a lot of people
would say he's certainly the second most important offensive player
and and maybe as their second best player. It's not
ideal when you're like, well, if he opted out, it
wouldn't be the worst thing. You know, Like, that's not
a great situation to be in because it just speaks
to how like it touches on everything it touches on,
Like the offense isn't great, the fits weird. This is
me speaking as a very like non Randal believer, and
like maybe that solves some of our problems if you'd like,
I don't think he's opting out because I just don't
know how he's gonna recoup that money. But yeah, that's
illustrative of like there's a little screwedness when it's like
you could have mixed feelings about your second best offensive
player just leaving for nothing. That that's not a great
situation to be in.
Speaker 1: And I think Rudy Gobay are getting older, and then
I think the other thing, this isn't a bad thing,
but you need Rob Dillingham to pan out because that
you know, there's screw scores already as low as it
could be relative to disappointments. But that's a huge what
they gave up to get him right and just what
this team needs. He is so critical and so you
need something more. I would say, you need more from
him next seat, like this isn't Oh, let's check back
in year four. More of the Wolves want to get
and like they've had this is I've called them Grant
the National TV Rajon Rondo of basketball teams because they
just get up for the big ones. Yeah, we've seen
them hit that pinnacle. But if they're gonna sustain it
for more than just like games at a time, they
need to hit on Dillingham and if they if he
doesn't hit next maybe he still hits, but oh we
have to push the timeline another year for it. I
don't know the they're necessarily working with that type of
open ended window necessarily.
Speaker 2: I agree with that. I still believe in I think
Dillingham's gonna be good. I think had he played more
this year, we would even have like more amo to
say like he's gonna be fine.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I was gonna to wrap it up, most
likely of those three players not to be in Minnesota
next year. Hmm.
Speaker 2: I don't know. Is it just is it read like
just because he might be the guy that most teams
go after.
Speaker 1: I feel like it's naw, just because Randall, if he
ops in, you're not just gonna wash off that money
and then Reid will opt out. Maybe you don't because
if he opts out, you have to pay Reed and
he's gonna command the type of money that I think
other teams can't offer. Yeah, but nah, it's just well,
if he gets the non tax PAYERAMID level from someone,
that might be too and that will also be the
m we're out of time, that will be sort of
the index level. How financially motivated was the actual Julius
Randall deal? Because if it's just they're trying to it's
one thing between like trying to stay out of the
second Apron. But if they're just cost like relative to
their tax bill, that's a red flag. Yep. Our next
team with a screw score of three, the Memphis Grizzlies,
who I guess in terms of their record they could
still technically win. Can they still win fifty games? Yeah?
They would have to go six and five, six and
one the rest of the way because they've played, Yeah,
they've played seventy five games. I just I hit there
under and I think they're gonna clear it. But when
you look at the way that Taylor Jenkins left along
with Nate Laroche and now they have us to Tumas
Eastlow in there, I like, I don't know what this
organization is necessarily thinking the Jahn Morant noise. Yes, we
know it's speculation at this point, but like, if you
don't go deep in the playoffs this year, you have
to wonder, well, how far can Jock carry this offense?
Worried about his availability issues? He does he just as
we're recording this, he just hit a game winner over
Khalil Pigeon where I will.
Speaker 2: Never call you a pigeon, Dan, I had to look up,
like what's that mean?
Speaker 1: I had to too, and I feel ashamed because it's
a basketball It's like in the basketball vernacular, and I
had no idea it's.
Speaker 2: Also big in hockey. Apparently, little search revealed to me.
Speaker 1: Pigeons also pretty big in New York City as well.
It means bird, so oh so there's just their screw
score can't get too high because they have all their
own picks. They're deep, they have a bunch of interesting players,
all of whom are unless you think that Jared Jackson
Junior is going to turn down an extension, they're just
under contract. But the concern starts to kick in where
it's not just is John Morant good enough to be
the best player on a contender? It's is the big
three of John Morant, Desmond Bane and Jared Jackson Junior
good enough to reach that level? And how do you
go about getting what you still need, which I think
is still a more dynamic half court offensive player, preferably
in the form of the wing, preferly who is certainly
going to shoot threes. And I'm asking all these questions
about their offense grant, because I don't trust it in
the playoffs. It's their defense that is just absolutely imploded,
and that ups the When you're dealing with the type
of exit that you did with Taylor Jenkins, coupled with
what we know happened over the off season where they
gutted his coaching staff and put these assistants in place,
it makes you wonder whether this team. We said this
when he got fired. Does this team have their shit together?
And what's the if they get bounced in the first round,
Like they're a team. I don't know which team I
would pick as Oh, the postseason is going to inform
what they do this offseason more than any other squad.
Like that might be Houston just because they're playing around
with all those assets and young players. It could be Memphis.
Speaker 2: Yeah, have you seen this is the most interesting, one
of the more interesting elements of the whole Memphis situation
to me, where you know, I forget who who's who's posted.
It's been discussed several times about like where John Morant
ranks as in points per play as a pick and
roll ball handler just over his career, and essentially, like
the summation is like not high, Like he's not good
as a pick and roll ball handler. And the much
of the reporting, you know, in the wake of the
Taylor Jenkins firing was that like, John didn't really like
this new offense that involved the fewest ball screens since
tracking was a thing, and he wanted to get back
to more pick and roll stuff. And I so, does
it strike you as potentially an issue when your main
on ball guy wants to play a certain way and
isn't good at it and doesn't like to play other ways. Like,
you know, maybe that's just one of a half dozen
issues you'd want a flag in a season where the
team kind of quit on defense and the coaching situation
got all messed up, and they've just not traded well
generally speaking, like they get you know, what was the
like decision tree from We always talk about this, like
what it costs to get Marcus smart and what it
what you've netted from him, like the morant wanting to
be a pick and roll guy and being bad at it,
Like you just file that in there. But that's like
a that could be like a reason that this whole
thing doesn't work if you just have a guy that
like is misjudging what his best qualities are and like
and and you don't get the best out of him
when you're not letting him play that suboptimal way. Like
that's just like a that's just a thorny like potential
path to screwgdom.
Speaker 1: To me, we need an aquahem for screweddom. It's too hard,
I would agree with you. And also what I would
say is the wife that they had him playing. Maybe
it's not what he wants to do now, but that style,
I mean, I'm not even saying it was the right
one that would have prolonged his career. It made sense, Yeah,
it it made it more likely that he could be
a star later into his career than he is right
now because so much of what he does. I think
he's a very cerebral playmaker. I want to make it clear,
but this is just like, this is Derek Rose, this
is Russell what like, you need to figure out ways
if your athleticism is going to wane as you get older,
and this is not He's not been an iron man
like Russell Westbrook has been. Like he's more he's close
to the Derek Rose end of this spec or I
would think at this point of his career. And so
I understand when you're younger that it's what do they say,
youth is wasted on the young because you're not going
to have that necessary foresight. But like, that's where it
kind of hurts you here, And I think let's even
operate under the premise that, Okay, this is fine. Their
path to getting better than this noticeably better, I don't
I don't see it in the sense of this is
what they can do. Because you look at it and say, okay,
you've maxed out John Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaron Jackson Junior.
Like those guys are not so you need to believe
in Jalen Wells or Zach Edi or Gigi Jackson like.
So there is some upside on that. And then you say, well,
then they have their own picks they can except for
this year, and.
Speaker 2: They've drafted well, like that's one thing. They've drafted really
well for several years. That's why they're not that screwed.
It's because they, like you said, they've got their picks
and they tend to, you know, get a pretty good
bang for buck on them.
Speaker 1: But if you want to go you need to believe.
I think if you want to remove them, make them
even low. By the way, we don't screwed score of
three out of ten, it is not that high. But
if you want to move them lower, it's they don't.
You have to believe in their ability to make a move, which,
as you already mentioned, the front office hasn't. It's either
hasn't traded well or has been reluctant to make trades.
Looking at them missing out on Dorian Phinney Smith. But
now you have to go about and say, does Dorian
Phinney Smith. I don't know that he was exactly what
they needed, but does that type of player elevate them
to the tier they want to be in? And if
he doesn't, you have to start looking at more expensive guys.
And it gets a lot harder to acquire those guys
because you don't have like you have these like nice
small contracts on your books. But Brandon Clark is going
to be their fourth highest paid player next season at
twelve and a half million dollars. Then you have John
Conchar at fifth at six point two as of right now,
that could go up depending on who they add. That's
like eighteen million. So what can you take back with
that and attach that? Who's the best player you're getting?
If you wanted to get involved on a Kevin Durant
or just a bigger name someone that becomes available, you're
gonna have to cob together a ton of contracts or
And that leads us back to wall are you knifing
into your your big three?
Speaker 2: And then like fundamentally it is the like would you
other than Moran missing time and not not looking so
good until recently, Like I think the big their best
three players, like Jackson is playing like as well as
you could realistically ever ask him to play, Like it's
possible this is as good as he ever is and
that's not a knock because he's awesome, right, I would
say he could foul less, but I think at this
point that's just priced in. Like Baine, I guess could
be a little bit, but like you know, what I'm
getting at is like these three guys are like it's
kind of now like this is especially if you think
Moran is not going to age well because the athleticism
and the already like pretty pervasive durability stuff. Also, next
finger Guns is probably going to be a suspension. He
just cut fine for can also.
Speaker 1: See that he will not be allowed outside at recess
for an entire week.
Speaker 2: I'm we almost made it through without talking about it.
Oh they're so cool.
Speaker 1: Did you ever stop? Do you ever have those moments
where you stop and realize just how stupid our job is?
Because there's there was a release a seventy five thousand
dollars fine, and then finger Guns like that I know too, Like, well,
it's just what we do for a living.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about it. How much times on the
tim or.
Speaker 1: Do we have twenty eight seconds?
Speaker 2: Okay? I I think like it's kind of dumb because
it's pretty harmless. But it's like read the room, man,
Like you can't just like just be smarter about it,
and like if you throw up a middle finger to
the other bench, you're getting fined, or if you like
bounce the ball over your head. It's a tech, Like
we know the rules. Just follow the rules. Like it's
I know they're stupid and arbitrary and it feels like paternalistic,
but like, just just fall in line on this one.
Speaker 1: You're not you're not fighting some higher power in right.
This is Draymond complaining that he doesn't ye get the
benefit of the doubt when it comes to flagrant calls.
It's like, yeah, no, shit, sure, every job's got dumb rules.
Speaker 2: Just follow the dumb rules.
Speaker 1: Well, we're out of time, but you know you don't
get to elaborate. I really want to ask this question
who gets more in trade this summer if they were
to be moved, Joah Moran or Trey Young.
Speaker 2: Oh man, I think I'll say I'm gonna say Trey
how about that.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say that too, even though he's less time
on his contract. But I think I think it's Tray.
I think it should be Trey. I would, personally, if
I was running a team, give up more for true.
Who we on to next? Grant?
Speaker 2: We are on to with a screwed score of four,
the New Orleans Pelicans. This is where this is the
range where it started to get tricky for us. We're
gonna split some hairs, There's gonna be some differences of opinion.
It's essentially there's the zion of it all is where
it starts right Like, it's just you are tethered. We've
talked about this plenty. You're tethered to this guy that
you don't know if you can rely on him to
stay healthy and stay in shape. Recent indications are like
looking pretty good on that front, but we've been down
that road before. I do think the reason now, in
a lot of situations, this would be a higher score.
But there's the protections priced in of the weight and
sort of like body fat and weight combo guarantees or
non guarantees where worst case scenario, you can just get
off of this contract if you need to like that's
not in the discussion at this point because he looked
very good. But there's that aspect of it. There's you've
got the McCollum contract. There's just i mean, how long
until we already have been discussing like Willie Green might
be someone that is on the hot seat if you're
putting together those kind of rankings. The small market of it,
it's like it's been it's quietly been like a long
time since this team sort of fashioned itself around Zion
and the results overall have not been good and you
just sort of get to an endpoint, you know, with
before where you reach like we got to do something different.
Still a pretty low score relatively speaking, but but like
you can't deny that. First of all, this season was
a massive disappointment, and injuries were the main driver of that.
But like, how many years are we gonna you know, say, well,
we're not gonna have any health issues anymore, Like it
just keeps happening.
Speaker 1: And they're different. I mean, Minnesota probably doesn't have a
ton of outs, but referencing the teams we talked about
before them, but like this is kind of the territory
where it's okay there's still a bunch of different avenues
that New Orleans can travel down and it helps that. Okay,
you mentioned the contract protections if Zion. If you ever
get one season of seventy games of Zion, you might
just have a top ten NBA player on your roster.
Speaker 2: You're gonna have a top ten offense, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: And I think look that the Jonta Murray Achilles injury
that potentially submarines next season, but again the McComb contract
that'll be expiring, you have Trey Murphy still be nice
if he played in sixty five games, which has only
done once in his career, and you do have I
think they have more picks than people kind of understand
because like the twenty twenty seven pick that they're sending
to uh Atlanta as part of the de Jonta Murray trade,
it's going to be the less favorable between their own
and Milwaukee. So maybe you're giving up a good pick
depending on what Milwaukee's like then, but you if you
need to, is what I'm saying, like, you can just
pivot into a full on rebuild. You could take this
year's high end lottery pick, trade Zion and just move
forward if that's what you want to do, not having
to worry about sending out your draft pick elsewhere. But
you also just have enough draft dethquity to wear you
start attaching first rounders to c J. McCollums expiring contract,
what kind of conversations to those get you in and
just to have Like they found Eve's Mecie, who's been
really good this year. I still wish he did some
of like the more traditional big man stuff on defense better.
I've been really impressed with the way from what we
saw before Zion was shut down. Was just like, oh,
those two are learning to play together right too, And
so like you have him Trey Murphy and then I
guess a lot could be determined by where they land
in this year's lottery. But unless they just tumble down,
they're gonna have a top four, top five pick, Like
who are they gonna take? That's gonna make you feel
worse about it?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the thing. The upside is really there for
this team, Like I mean, I even like I like
Jordan Hawkins, like I think there still might be something
there as like a seventh or eighth guy that adds
a dimension they really need now it's eventually got to happen,
and like, you know, it's only been two years, but
it's like I think we were kind of banging the
Jordan Hawkins drum like for this year. Yeah, a lot
of talent. The Murray thing. I'm glad you mentioned it.
I should have maybe even led with the Murray thing.
How much of a bummer that is, you know, both
just like for him personally and then for the makeup
of the team, and then the financial stuff is he's
gonna make you know, thirty one next year and thirty
three the year after that. It's and he's got a
player option after that, which if things are going this
way with his health, like, you might pick that up
in what twenty seven, twenty eight? If anything, I would
move them to a lower screwed score. I wouldn't move
them up because as we move forward, we are going
to get into some pretty severely screwed situations.
Speaker 1: I will say relative to the field, I don't really
think you'd want to move them up over any of
the teams we're gonna talk about. But something that should
also be caked in this is not an organization that's
been They've made moves, but it's always felt like if
not half measures, like three quarter, like there's no the
Jontay Murray is a purpose of I liked the deal.
That was like a seventy five percent metal that wasn't
the all in play. Yeah, we know they're never gonna
pay the tax, and so they have. I think they're
fifteen million dollars beneath the tax next year, and it's like,
all right, well that's gonna be a lot of that's
gonna be taken up as of right now with their
first round pick. What are they willing to do thereafter?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: Are they gonna try and get better or is it
we don't know when Murray's gonna come back. We want to,
we don't know what. So I think that's I think
the uncertainty is the basis of that, like even more
so than the Murray injury. Yeah, sure that matters, but
that's more part of the macro uncertainty here to where
it's point to anyone on this roster that you just, oh,
I know what they're gonna be and do next season
and how much they're gonna play, and you you can't, Yeah,
do you have anything else on them?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: No, So we will restart the clock and get to
our screw score five out of ten with the Philadelphia
seventy six ers. This I think is gonna be a
controversial one because Joel Embiid he's having the arthroscopic procedure
on his knee right that was just announced.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you watched the doctor video
where I can't even remember his name, but he does
these YouTube videos he responds to like the latest sports injuries.
He's not treating him be but he mentioned, like this
type of procedure, I'm just gonna expect and bed to
feel better, but he's just gonna continue to deal with problems.
And so shocker and Beat's health is a red flag. Yeah,
they have another four years and two hundred and forty
eight point one million dollars of Joel Embiid on the books,
the Paul George contract. You sign that knowing the out
years are gonna be iffy. You didn't sign it thinking, okay,
well the front year was bad and so is it
just one of the worst deals in the league. Three years,
one hundred sixty two million dollars left on it. I
understand that their worst case outcome is maybe worse than
like the Pelicans' worst case outcome, but that's why they're
behind the Sixers. It's worse, it's it's not as bad
as Phillies, but like Philly's best case outcome. Right now,
they might get a top six pick in this year's draft,
and let's just say they don't. Let's again let's play
the pessimist's role here. You still have Tyrese Maxey. You
found Jared McCain, and it's not like his injury is
gonna be career altering. You've kind of on earth a
den Bona. I just compared him to Robert Williams the
Third but with Mitchell Robinson's passing, which is to say
it does not exist like the passing you found him,
you founded justin Edwards. You've shown that, like maybe you
could look at where Maxie was drafted, Look where McCain
was drafted, look at where you got like how you
got a den Bona justin Edwards, like you have found
players here, Quentin Grimes like mining value there. You could
still be expensive, but you also have some assets in
the clip, like yeah, you owe that pick to Brooklyn
after the if the OKC one conveys, they're still outs
here and even if joelleb never plays again, you're going
to be hamstrung, but you still just have different avenues
to explore. And because they're of anyone we're gonna talk
about on this list, I think you can make the
case that there their highest range outcome, as likely as
it might be, is better than anyone else, Like soda, right,
we got to throw them in there. So I think
that's why they kind of belong in the middle, because
there's clearly a level of high screwdom here, but it's
not I don't think it's People have kind of painted
it as doom and gloom, and I don't think we're
quite there yet.
Speaker 2: I think that's right. I think the downside, you could argue,
is as bad as almost any there's the top couple teams.
It's like that they're gonna hit the downside, and so
like that's we're talking hypothetically with the Sixers. But there
is a scenario where you could make the case that
Philly has the two worst contracts in the league. If
Paul George is this injured and ineffective going forward and
Embiid is never healthy, like that's just that's brutal. But
like you said, so let's you extinguish that obligation to Okay,
see you have the Brooklyn one, but even the Brooklyn
picks that you're owing are what top protected one through
eight in twenty seven, one through eight, and twenty eight,
and then it becomes a second in twenty eight if
not conveyed. So like you can still tank right like
that that's still in play. We will get to situe
where tanking will not help you, and that's when you're
getting much higher in the screwed score. So I agree,
like the upside is there, the downside is there, Like,
but look, you still have Tyres Maxy that they've Jared
McCain was a major find in the draft, like hopefully
if he's fully healthy. That's just another like high end
rotation guy that is young and cost controlled and all
that good stuff. Like it's not quite like I like
to think of it in terms of like what outs
do you have? Like the Sixers they don't have all
the outs because like if the contracts of Georgian and
Embiid look terrible, you're just not getting off those without
paying some of the stuff you don't want to give
up to do it. So that's a problem, Like their
outs are fewer. They're not non existent though, because you
can benefit from tanking if you gotta, and that almos
like the upside being like if what if embiid is
eighty percent of MVPM bead and he can play sixty games,
like you're a top four team in the East like that?
You know, I think that's so that's just not something
you could say about a lot of these other teams.
This is this was one of the hardest ones for me,
But I think we landed about right just smack in
the middle, acknowledging the two like extreme poles of it.
Speaker 1: How do you like, how do you think the draft
lottery has the potential to change this? Because if they
don't get their pick would be one Let's say they
get their pick. Does that almost make the decision making
process harder because it's what, should we be looking to
move this player to get immediate help? Can we fit
whoever we draft and develop them in a way And
it's okay, Well, we have like just three not huge
guards on the roster and Maxi, McCain and Grimes now
and it almost feels like not that they would get
decision fatigued, but just like the uncertainty as to what
direction they should even, like the push and pull of
that feels like that's actually what matter. People just point
to their cap sheet, how much money they Owembid and George. Sure,
but it's kind of the push and pull of like, well,
how do we juggle all of this to like how
aggressive are we over the offseason? Do we just let
it let it ride? It feels like that might be
more of a determining factor than anything else.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a big one. I was just thinking too, Like,
clearly they're acting as they want to. They want to
pick in the top six, like they want to keep
the pick this year. That's that's how they're playing.
Speaker 1: How do you know that?
Speaker 2: Well, I don't know if you've been keeping up, damn,
but like there's a lot of names that aren't household
variety that have been playing for this section. But like
is that I what if like what if you got
these these obligations extinguished sooner? Like would that is there
any Clearly they decided it's that's not the way to go.
But if you're if you're trying to avoid being fully screwed,
might it be better to just convey that pick this year?
I'm just asking I think I think I agree with
what they did, but we haven't really discussed, like what
what about the alternative of like what if you just
what if it's seven, it goes to the thunder and
then you're just you're onto the Brooklyn thing, which I
think it's at least two years after, so I guess
you're talking twenty seven.
Speaker 1: So this is interesting if you talk it's like kind
of a similar dilemma with Miami. You're not set up
to like they're not gonna tank again, so it's not
the worst thing in the world, like it'll they'll have
the ability to do it, but like, you tank this
year because it's that window of opportunity because you shouldn't
be like if Tyree's MAXI is healthier, you're not this
bad this year.
Speaker 2: Sure, yeah, they didn't really have a choice, but like, yeah,
you're right, it's like you have.
Speaker 1: You had to keep this year's pick, and if you
wanted to convey it, fine, then you should have been
more competitive there. But I don't view it as like
a missed opportunity next year because you need to unless
you're planning on stripping everything down, which that doesn't seem
like it's an option, can and if it is an option,
you know why, it's probably an option because they won
the lottery pick. They decided that's the direction they want
to go. Yeah, do you want to take us to
our screwed score of six?
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've got the heat here, which again I'm gonna
talk up the reasons they may not be super screwed,
good market, historically competitive franchise, great coach bam Adebayo down year,
but still someone you definitely like, got all the playoff bonafides,
is just like a really great player to be. Maybe
you don't can't be the best player on a team
that wins a bunch playoff rounds, but he's close. They
just have they've got similar draft obligations that there's a
scenario where they just won't be able to benefit from
like you know, the normal rebuild tanking stuff that that
you could because I'm gonna get it here. So their
first goes to okay, see with top fourteen protection and
where are we on that is that going? I can't
even remember.
Speaker 1: So they have to make the playoffs, which we don't
know if they're gonna do yet because they're in the
play in so if they don't make it out of
the play in that pick is not going to convey.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then you've also got your Charlotte obligations, which
could make it so bottoming out is just not super helpful.
Do we have them? And I think we talked about it.
I think this is right. And it's just because like
the way forward just seems tricky, like it's hard for
them to unless you really think Tyler Hero has another
level to go, and that and that where is only
going up? Where is no longer going to be a
pigeon going into next year and beyond, I'm gonna start
calling people pigeons like a lot. I hope it's not.
I hope there's not, like some urban dictionary definition I
don't know about, actually really horrible.
Speaker 1: Let me let me educate you on some pop culture. Okay, so,
do you remember the song No Scrubs?
Speaker 2: Sure?
Speaker 1: Hat tip to a listener who I now remember the song,
but they pointed it out or a follower one of
my followers on lu Sky pointed out that there was
a response called pigeons no pigeons, which so I guess
it could be a derogatory term to describe females and so,
but no, scrubs was more popular. So I feel like
we don't have to give pigeon like the credence as
just sort of some type of uh sexualized term, but
it is. It is out there as like an urban pigeon,
So be careful who you're calling a pigeon.
Speaker 2: I got it. It is, it is. It is a
funny thing to call someone, though I do enjoy it.
Speaker 1: I feel like, so if you like scoop past someone
at the supermarket with flair, like maybe you call them
the pigeon, like, oh, got it to the checkout line first?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely that or like I think, I
think I would use it. This is the thing. It
feels like because of the research we both did, it
feels pretty sports specific. So other than you know, it's
like someone that's just unskilled or like hangs around the
basket and like benefits from other people. Is like a
like scavenging a little bit, just like as birds go.
Pigeons not high on the list. It's just like kind
of calling someone lame. I guess, uh. But yeah, if
kell if where is not that going forward, or if
John Morant will just lay off and like leave Malone,
he's a rookie. What do you want? You're gonna beat
him in an ISO? Congratulations?
Speaker 1: Where due to you? Damn?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah. I so to talk me up a little
more on like why they're so screwed, because like it's
not an optimal situation, but it's like it can't again,
we're how many we're getting close to Like, okay, real problems,
Miami's not quite there.
Speaker 1: Here's so I think I can simplify it this way.
They're the Sixers without the upside, Okay because there and okay,
they're more financially flexible. They're not slated to have cap
space before twenty twenty six, so it's not happened in
this summer. But what like after Tarry Rozier's deal comes
off the books, Tyler here one year left on his deal.
I don't think they have any bad money. You could
say the Sixers have some bad money. But so we're
just assuming in twenty twenty six one that free agency
is gonna be cool again. Two. So there, they don't
need Andrew Wiggins. I could just let them go. They're
not planning on paying more money for him, Hawks or
Nikola Jovich by that point. So like there's Okay, like
you might have cat, what are you gonna do with it?
And so you're just you don't have any extra assets.
And so if you convey your pick, let's say they
convey their pick this year, you still owe that pick
to Charlotte in twenty twenty seven with top two protection,
so you have if you wanted to tank, you could
do so for one year, but if you wanted to
go through the one year tanking route, it should have
been this one because then you say, all right, we're
gonna be back at it next year. We owe the
unprotected pick to OKC, and now that pick to Charlotte,
it's also unprotected. I think they probably, I think it
makes sense for them to convey and get it out
of the way just because like try to do it
at least because you don't want that. But then again,
it's like Charlotte's only top two protected, so it's I
don't know what the right answer would have been, but
you don't have all these extra trade assets. Even there,
they've been mentioned as a Kevin Durant team. I know
the Sons are gonna work with Kevin Durant on where
he wants to go. So I think you can reasonably
assume that there might be better offers out there than
the one they ultimately accept. But if you're Kevin Durant,
you're looking at the Heat, why do you want to
go there? Aside from living in Miami right now when
you're looking at the roster. And then two, if it
comes down to like who has the best or comparable offers,
it's not gonna be this team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think two to get into the extense, is
it extensive detonation or is the E and the D
of screwed? Like if if the Heat are in a
position where they are tanking for just that one year,
I would asume it also means you've traded Bam, right,
like because you're gonna keep an in prime BAM on
a tanking team like that. So I would say, like
the screwed potential, it could sort of be self inflicted
because if you're gonna go that route, it's not just
okay gap year, It's it's more of like a harder reset,
I would I would think, because although like even that's
hard because you're get the next year after that little window,
you're gonna owe that pick again.
Speaker 1: So like it would have to be a really to
Charlotte to get that pick back and other stuff.
Speaker 2: You've cracked it. That's what it is.
Speaker 1: And so it's just it's it comes back to what
you were focusing on. The outs here don't feel like
very extensive to use the word that's in screwed but
like a acronymic because like, okay, they can't tank or
rebuild readily. Sure can they get better readily? That's like
and where's you already mentioned like hero bam, they've probably
both topped out? Where's the upside? It's khalil ware and
that like do you think that homy Hawk is a
season been? Like at some point, Eric Spolsers, doesn't they
he exists? Apparently it's like quite the turn. So yeah,
it for me, it's just the lack of optionality to
where it's they almost just have to they have to
hope they get lucky on the trade market, I think.
And that's just when's the last time they actually got
lucky on the trade market? Is it the is it
the Jimmy Butler trade?
Speaker 2: I mean? And that was just like you right, yeah,
that was because it was well, that's how the heat
always you know, over the last decade plus, just position
themselves to like when the Jimmy Butler comes available, or
like going way back, when there's gonna be a massive
free agent class, they're like ready for it. That's just
the one. The free agent class thing might not happen
under this CBA like ever again. And then the like
you just can't count on the disgruntled superstar that wants
to go to a certain place like working his way loose.
That's not you know, that's not always going to be there.
Speaker 1: And by the way, if they end up with Kevin Durant,
I'm curious. Okay, so the soonest first round pick you
could trade is too as of right now is twenty
twenty nine. What have you given up to get Kevin
Durant would be my question? Yeah, next team with this
this is only I think we've only gone over on
one or two teams here with a screw score of seven.
I think this one's gonna be pretty controversial. And we're
obviously master clickbaitters here, which is why we put them there.
But this comes down to me. I think if you
look at their situation, they've got okay, the swap that
excuse me, the the pick that they owe to Atlanta,
like they could keep it if they want. It's top
twelve protected this year, might land there next year. I
think it shrinks to what is it, top ten If
you really want to keep it, you could game it
to keep it. You did get the twenty thirty first
rounder from of Minnesota right in the Daron Fox trade,
the Spurs twenty twenty seven first round pick probably whatever
with one but Yama. But like my point is, you
have those assets. You have Keegan Murray, the Mantas bonus
is under contract. You have talented players on this team.
I will say there's even after trading Daron Fox, there's
no logical reason for them to have well, I shouldn't
say there's no logical reason they shouldn't be this high
on the screwed scale. This organization has the most incompetent
decision makers, and it starts and maybe even ends with
ownership and the VEC round a DVA, the vect de
Vladi DeVos is like linked to this organization. Again is
just flat out malpractice. And the other thing here is
take him out of the equation. I know some people
have taken the stance that they did well in the
Darn Fox trade quote unquote under the circumstances. You helped
forge those circumstances where you probably could have gotten more
at least had less pressure on you. And like in
a vacuum, you should have gotten more. Like the door,
I should say, you should have went a different direction.
And that's what also gives me major calls for pause
here is even if Sabonis, we know that's the other
part of the scrudiness here. They've tried to recreate like
they want to be Chicago Bulls West apparently, and Sabonis
I do think is better than Vouch, but he might
not want to be in Sacramento anymore. And if they
have to move Demontisi bonus, do you think that's gonna
be the wake up call to go through a rebuild. No,
because we just saw it in the darn Fox trade.
And you don't get to say, well, he only wanted
to go to the Spurs Like No, like you could
have prioritized more. And I don't also want to hear
and like you got Zack Lavine, So if you remove him,
that's like two first round picks. If zach Lvine was
gonna get you. I think Zack Lvin has become underrated.
Let me be clear if you if if Zach Colvine
was gonna get two first round picks, the Chicago Bulls
would have traded for two first round picks. So I
have zero faith in the people in charge beginning with
the VEC. I don't even know how much control Monty
McNair has it this like who's the one calling the
shots anymore?
Speaker 2: All the reporting is that like Wes Wilcox was the
guy that was on the phone, like and then that
part of the reason he was there was because they're like,
I don't know if we want MONI doing that part
of the rule. So like it's just sorry, you can finish.
I just have a couple of things.
Speaker 1: Like that's a red flag in itself, so I'm pretty
much done. It's just you can't even if they should
be set up to not be totally screwed, you don't
do you trust like this organization to like they're gonna
get lemons and just make a pilot dog shit somehow.
Like that's just that that's the trajectory of the King's
decision making tree.
Speaker 2: It's just at some point, like, okay, if you had
predicted the Kings had a high screwed score every year
for the last twenty you'd been wrong twice like once,
so like let's just check the track record on that one.
And the constant is ownership. It's not like rounda DV
is responsible for you know, the late two thousand's, uh
even the beginning of the twenty tens. But this is
just it's just a it's its ownership. Like I don't
even think we need to go much beyond that to
say that the Kings are screwed, because it's so clear that,
like you can't create a culture or a level of
organizational stability that one keeps like one creates success on
the floor sustainably. You might have a blip, which they did.
And two, look at the guys that they've alienated most recently,
dearon Fox, not a malcontent like go along to get
along guy like just good dude, Demonsta Bonus works his
ass off like plays hurt good dude. And these are
the two guys now that your organizational like fuckery has alienated.
Like what happens if you just get like a normal
NBA player there that is a star that's like not
so tolerant for so long like these guys have been
like you just it's gonna be the revolving door of
Zach Lavine's and DeMar DeRozan's for eternity until ownership changes,
or until ownership just empowers a couple smart people and
gets all the extra voices out of the room and
there's a clarity of direction and everybody understands what the
org chart looks like, which nobody does right now based
on all the reporting. Like you just like you're just
your hands are tied behind your back, like until the
principal issue of how ownership is running. Also, by the way,
the Kings have a great arena and a great fan base.
Oh yeah, like a lot of the business stuff has
been awesome.
Speaker 1: So like under a market in general, if you're a
player Sacramentos in California.
Speaker 2: Credit I guess credit run a d'ive for fostering like
for doing well in those regards. But the basketball side
of it, it's just like how many times are we
going to run up against this wall? Like it's it's
insane to me. They built that, You built that. You
saw what Levine and DeRozan did in the Weaker Conference,
and we're like, let's do that. That sounds like a
great way to Like it's just ownership is the biggest
disadvantage here. And until that changes, whether it's a new owner,
which I don't think is ever gonna happen, or empowering
someone else to just be in charge of all this stuff,
you're screwed forever. Like that's just what it is.
Speaker 1: And look, it's problematic because something you said about like
ownership getting out of the way, I don't know that
I would argue that this should be their aspiration, but
it's a problem if you can even think about their
aspirational like their most aspirational scenario is this ownership regime,
like following the the blueprint of Whiny Neppo baby fuck
boy James Dolan of him getting out of the way
in New York. And that's not like you don't like, yeah, okay,
the Knicks are run kind of like a real franchise
now and I credit that to just and there's even
quite look could they.
Speaker 2: Put in charge, Look like they got real competent people.
Speaker 1: But it's just you don't ever want to aspire to
be right, It takes trajectory of things. So yeah, and
that's just and but to look at the product on
the court, I mean, like even the fandllying of Mike Brown,
Like the firing of Mike Brown. You need to figure
out the coaching stuff now and hit on that. But
let's just look at the personnel. What coach is coming
in and making these kings more than number six in
the West, and I think, how do you even get
to better than that? It's does Keith and Murray turn
into a superstar? Which, by the way, you're not set
up for him too, because he's always going to be
marginalized on offense by having all these other ball handlers
in front of him, And it's you could go out
and make a trade, but it's you need the guy
who can define your entire championship stock at this point,
because I like domos A Bonas more than you, although
you just you give him some pretty high praise. Now,
aggregators get that, get that out there, but they don't
have like who should be the number one. You were
trying to kind of offset it by saying, do Masa
Bonis and D'aron Fox are kind of second best player
on title guys, and we have two of them, and
that's how you approximate it. Okay, fine, you don't have
like Zach Lavine and demarrow like, that's not approximating it
in the same way.
Speaker 2: No, yeah, it's I mean, I don't know what if
we could put them higher, but that's not really in
the spirit of the exercise, because it's like they just
have one problem and it's it's a fundamental one. But
like the next teams we'll talk about have a lot
of problems.
Speaker 1: And I will say another harbinger of just how poorly
the kings are set up. I guess is it felt
like we talked about them for fifteen minutes and it's
been less than eight and a half. So we move
on under the time limit. Do you want to take
us to our screw score of number eight?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we've got the bucks here at number eight.
I don't know how there's not a lot of like
new information to impart like this has just been kind
of the scenario start with. They've made several win now trades,
like what you know, sending out a bunch of picks
for Drew Holiday using Holiday and picks to get Damian
Lillard Brook. Lopez is inexplicably still very effective at his age,
and he's just fundamental to what they do. They may
lose him, he may decline immediate, Like the window for
him is pretty short. They've swapped out Middleton for Kuzma.
That's been I don't know, saved them some money, but
it's just not helping the bottom line. And you have
still Giannis is gonna finish third or fourth in MVP,
and you're you just like seem to be just losing hope,
you know, So if and when he asks out, then
that's the detonation we're talking about. It's just there aren't
a lot of like flexibility options pathways for the Bucks
to get better. And that's a huge problem when you
have a player as good as you're honest, playing as
well as he is right now, and having had him
more than once over the years, like as nicely as
you can and always in the offseason talk about like
I'm committed here, but we need to be making decisions
that allow us to win, and like just putting sort
of some conditional language on his loyalty, which like that's
not a knock, that's just if you're him, you have
to be thinking that way. So this is this is
a good team that doesn't have a great ceiling. I
don't think that's independent of Dame's injury or his deep
fan thormbosis affecting what happens in this postseason. But like,
this is a team that's been bounced early a couple times.
Granted injuries played a role, change coaches a couple times.
Like it's all just trending towards the blow up. It's
just it's a win, right, It's not an if, Like
that's how this ends at some point.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they've been able to I won't even say pull
rabbits out of their hat because they gave up like
real stuff, like giving up Jew Holiday to get Damien
Litler not an easy call if you're making the Drew
Holiday trade for a team in that market. I think
with Drew Holiday, like okay, how long will he be here?
The Giannis he did sign the extension, but at the
time it wasn't guaranteed. Those were risk You just kind
of run out of how do they make that next move?
And what's complicated? Still, we did talk about this previously
following the initial diagnosis of Dame's DVT. So as of
right now, you look at this team for next year
and they're about fifteen million outside of the tax. But
Brooklyn or excuse me, twenty three million outside of the
tax for next year. That's without brook Lopez on the books.
And even if you like, if you bring back brook Lopez,
my guess is he eats up most or all of
that room underneath the luxury tax. And then from there
it's two rotation players are free agents that you do
not have bird rights on and Gary Trent junior entorian
prints or do you just think, like, do Ryan Rollins
and aj Green replace them like kind of next guy
like positionally no, like Torrian Prince, that would be Kyle
Kuzma's job more so, and you I think you know.
Zach Low went on the Bill Simmons Pod and welcome
back zach Low. I've I can't tell you how much
I missed the low posts. Uh. Shout out to Hardwood
Knocks for getting me through. I hope that served as
a prophecy for a lot of other people. But he
had said something like he doesn't even feel Giannis as
much this year, even though the numbers are, And I
just kind of patently disagree with that. I don't agree
disagree with him often they need at the beginning of
the year. But I'm kind of just watching, like ever
since the Dame injury. He's just he's running the offense,
not just in transition, but like from the dead stops,
and it's kind of working. So having Giannis still be
y honest, I think gives me maybe more hope than
this screwed score would say. But it's gonna come back
to your words, the outs or the maneuverability. What is
that you can trade one first round pick this summer.
The contracts are the contracts, and you're also you know,
we mentioned the tax. What happens if Bobby Portis you
I don't think he's gonna decline his player option at
this point, but if he does, like you're not gonna
get Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis back for thirty five
million dollars combined. I would think it probably costs more
that maybe I'm wrong there, who knows, or you could
just lose Bobby Portis and that you're kind of in
the situation you're in right now. It's I'm with you
that it's a matter of if not when If I
told you though that Giannis is not like his future
is not going to be an issue this summer, He's
not gonna approach it, and wondering if he should ask
for a trade. Would this lower their screwed score for
you at all? Or is this you're kind of looking
at This thing is gonna come to a head by
twenty twenty seven, which is how by the way I
do view it.
Speaker 2: I agree with you. I think it's like I said,
I think it's a win, not an if. And like
I'm trying to think of the analogy. It's not quite like, oh,
the boat is springing has sprung a lot of leaks
over the years, and you are running out of fingers
or like to plug him or like it's almost just
like I just can't get there. So this was a
terrible line of thinking to go down. But it's just
like they've you talked about it. They've done, They've made
the hard decision, they've made the future mortgaging decisions at
every turn to try to like keep the they got
to and you know what, they want a title, so
like to some extent, it's like mission accomplished. It's hard
to stay that good in that market, and they've they've
tried really hard, and that's why they are where they
are where it's like they can trade the one pick,
Like you said, Guys like Bobby Portis, who are good players,
but like there's no scenario where Bobby Portis should be
this important and you should be thinking, like we can't
replace him like that, you know, that's where they are.
Where it's like if Torrian Prince leaves, like who who
was kicking the door down for Torrian Prince? Like last
in last so like and he matters and and that's
just what happens when you keep just you keep doing
the short term thing because you owe it to your superstar.
And I'm not even saying it's the wrong decision. I
think like, unlike a lot of teams generally speak, you
could quibble with the coach stuff.
Speaker 1: I guess, oh you should, I'm sorry, but not putting
And I know that that was probably the plan with
Terry Stotts not having a more offensively innovative coach Dame Giannis,
But like that's that I consider that a farce.
Speaker 2: But but would you agree they're distinct from some of
the other Certainly the next two teams we'll talk about
where it's like you made mistakes well and and that's
why you're in this position. The bucks like at almost
every turn, Like, yeah, I guess even the Dame thing.
It's like, I get it, that's justifiable. You needed someone
to finish games offensively, and like Holiday is not that guy,
and you're looking to you know what I mean, Like
this is just what happens when you win a title
and you just like keep pushing and keep trying to
stay there and you just pay that toll. Eventually you
run out of you can't pay anymore. Like you're just
in this position where the only way to go is
like a pretty significant reset.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's I mean, I liken this when I
was this is like we did talk about the Bucks
with s I sort of liking it to what happened
to the Thunder after they were younger, of course, but
after they made the finals. Think about how like it
really comes back to injuries for me is think about
how many postseasons were ruined by like it was everyone
with Kevin Durant, Sergeerbaka, Russell Westbrook. It seem that they
were all taking turns of being hurt during the playoffs
and in the for the Milwaukee it's been you know,
if you think something's gonna happen this offseason, there's a
chance that we might not see Damian Loyd Orjannis attent
to Coople play in a single playoff game together, right
wild I know it's only two years, but that's a
really big deal because that is the entire just like point,
that was the goal and what do you do? Like
what is the like what is the true litmus test
for this team all the off season is if you
look at Brook Lopez's free agency as if he's shopping
around or if he leaves, like that could be just
the now in the because how are you supposed to
We're talking about maybe Torrian Prince days and like Gary
Trent Junior, like the shooting could probably at least be
replaced with AJ Green. You can't replace Brook Lopez. I
don't even think if you threw like, could you get
Al Horford for the non tax payerman level exception if
that's now available to you, And it's just Al Harford's great,
He's not the same level of just like the rim
protector that Bro. He's more he's better on the perimeter. Sure,
But so that's the that's the trend. That's the player
I guess that I'm watching more than anyone. He's a
free agent, and it's okay, it doesn't just matter if
he comes back, it matters that the number at which
he comes back for because that'll kind of define maybe
what they could do. And I mean, even if he
comes back, it's are they even gonna be willing at
this point to put they could trade their twenty thirty
one or twenty thirty two first round pick, knowing what
we're just saying, are you gonna even put either of
those on the table in trade discussions?
Speaker 2: I mean, the thing is like it's I'm not a
Bucks fan, so I can say this, but I imagine every
Bucks fan would disagree, and I would not begrudge him
for it. Like the best thing that could happen for
the Bucks like long mid and long term futures for
Giannis to say, like, hey, it's time you gotta trade me,
because then like he he is, you're out right, like
he's the way that you replenish your picks, the way
that you hit the rece like because again, like if
Lopez leaves or stays, like if he leaves, like you
probably just lose him for nothing, but like they don't
really have anybody else with like massively or even like
I don't know, debatably positive trade value. Certainly no one
that's that's gonna give you back stuff that makes it
so like all right, twenty twenty eight or so, like
here we go again. We're on the rise again. Like
I just and and if I'm a Bucks fan, I
think I just want Giannis to stay there forever. But
like I just don't know what kind of team you
can build around him. They've just run out, They've run
out of ways to do it.
Speaker 1: I unless you think his trade value is going to
crater over the next year, or you think that you
can get a good amount of value for Damian Lillard.
Now I almost think it's better off to hope it
defers for a year, just to just kind of ride out. Okay,
we're not sending out a crappy pick next year. Maybe
we hit lightning in a bottle. And because it's the
East aside from Boston and Cleveland right now, sure Bucks
are fully healthy. Yeah, you're gonna pick the Nicks or
the Pacers over them in a series, but outside the
realm of possibility though that they could win in Yeah,
we were out of time on the Bucks, though we
went over a little bit on them. Screwed score of nine.
This was nominated by you I'd initially had them in
that eight spot. You argued to bump them up, so
maybe I'll throw it to you here. But this goes
beyond I mean, the Luka Doncis trade certainly matters. And
by the way, to hearken back to the Kings, they're
lucky that the demands exists right now because they would,
like ron A Dive, would be in the running for
worst owner in the league if whatever's going on in
Dallas wasn't happening.
Speaker 2: Right So with now the track record isn't as long,
But the boy are there's some hits on it already
for ownership in Dallas as far as to what you're
talking about. So there's that threshold issue of like, oh god,
his ownership just like wildly incompetent. And if and if
ownership is not, are they empowering an executive in Nico
Harrison is just like, man, can we trust him to
make a deal? We could until the Luca deal, and
then now that just makes you doubt everything. But then
we're talking about things that are in their control, out
of their control Kyrier, Kyrier in towards ACL that's catastrophic
to a team that I don't even know what to
say about the professed timeline and how these players make
more sense in it than Luca did. But if you're
talking a three to four year window, irving at his age,
tearing his ACL, probably losing all of next year coming
back as what like a good starter, I'm sorry, Like
just as like given his age, given what happens with
that injury, Like is he an all star again? I
don't know, but he's like fun, he's critical to the
whole thing. Like, so you have that, you have Anthony Davis,
who has looked good when he's played. Durability is like,
I don't think durability concerns are going to go away
the older he gets. So that the pick situation not good.
They have none incoming. What can they trade? So they
owe twenty seven, they owe twenty eight, They don't control.
Speaker 1: They control this year's first round pick and next year's
first round pick, and then they do not control the
fate of their own first round pick again until twenty
thirty one.
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, twenty seven, twenty twenty Okay, so not like
but here's the thing, Okay, cool, Oh, they can tank
the next two years and there'll be like upside there.
You just got Anthony Davis because you're trying to win now, Like,
how does that.
Speaker 1: You can't tank this season? It's too late, it's just weights.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you're yeah, right, you're competing somehow, You're still
in the plane mix. But that's got less to do
with how good you are and more to do with
how bad the rest of the West is. Like, this
is another situation, where is the way out? Trading Anthony Davis?
Like coldly, yeah, that is that is you're out? But man,
does that does that scream?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Okay, nobody has any idea what they're doing. If that,
if that's the move that saves you. So I don't know.
I'm sure I miss some things, but just I don't
know how you can be optimistic about anything with the
MAVs short term right now? No.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, it almost increases the likely Okay, you
can say, okay, they're deep at full strength. Think about
what the defense will look like if and when Derek
Lively and Anthony play together. Okay, great, but like next
season's at least a little bit compromised because of the
Irving injury, as you mentioned, and now it's well, they
probably still have enough. Like you look at the salaries
on their books. They do own some picks again, this
year's twenty six. They had that Lakers pick now in
twenty twenty seven, not twenty twenty nine though, couldn't get
that one in the Lugadachs trade for some reason. So like, yeah, okay,
you can put together the package, but doesn't that make
it more likely they indulge a borderline reckless move like
I would argue Kevin Durant on this team would be fun.
They can get to the money you've bought yourself. A
he's gonna be thirty seven in September. He's still spectacular.
But like you're trying to talk about like the next
three years, that doesn't seem very long. But if you're
adding Kevin Durant, like Kyrie Irving on an ACL injury,
Durant aged thirty seven, three years, So you're right, I
don't know. It's not that this team, I'll say they
it's not that they don't have outs, and you could
argue the extent of those outs because of where their
picks are going. It's not like, again, this isn't convenient.
Like with Phoenix. You look at Houston, it's like we
get control of three of our first round picks back
if we wanted to, or assuming up to three, I
should say you won't have that opportunity. But it's like
you sort of alluded to, they have outs, we just
don't believe that they're willing to explore them like. They
seem more likely to chase good money after bad now
because of the Lukadac's trading. But that's what they were
doing unprompted, was like throwing good money after bad, So
why would you ever. It's sort of an analog for
the Kings where we don't trust ownership. We don't trust
ownership or the front office to make the right decisions. Here,
I could see them being a little less screwed than
Milwaukee just because their best player right now, not neither
of their two best players are gonna go to them
and ask for out over the summer, I wouldn't think,
unless you believe Anthony Davis might like if that's a
possibility in Milwaukee, I could see a scenario in which
dam and door Giannis go to them like and if
one ask for out, the other is gonna probably ask
her out too. So that would be my argument to
have Milwaukee over them. But I also trust Milwaukee's decision
making process at this point way more than Dallas's.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's it's just the top thing if it's
not owner. If you it's ownership, and then it's management,
and it's they're very much related. But it's like, yeah,
if you if you zoomed all the way out and
you pretended that nobody had any stakes in the current roster,
you would trade Anthony Davis the first second you could,
because that's the only way you say. I think, I think,
or at least if you're really trying to like reset things,
that's what you do, and that's it's hard for me
to imagine that happening.
Speaker 1: I stand corrected by the way they got the twenty
twenty nine first round pick from the Lakers, not the
twenty twenty seven, so that.
Speaker 2: Probably everybody knew what you meant.
Speaker 1: That's more valuable, I guess than twenty twenty seven. But
also it's tough to build those distant first round picks.
Is like the entire kit and kaboodle, and it's not like,
where's the unless you're trading Derek Lively, where's the blue
chip upside trade asset on this team? I don't see
one this next one grand screws score of ten. Would
you say it's arguable or I'd love.
Speaker 2: To hear the argument against it? Phoenix Suns screwed score
ten maxed out the screwed score, the screwed meter. It's
just actually right, that's what we should have done. We
should have jumped right from nine to eleven. It just
like put a graphic up there of like a broken thermometer,
like shooting out the top or like the needle, just
like pinging against the red line. I think I would
start again. This has kind of been the through line,
I guess, of all but Milwaukee here in the in
the most screwed teams. I just I mean, ownership is
saying we, like, who wants to see a re who
I'm paraphrasing now, who wants to see us act rationally
and acknowledge the rules and restrictions that govern every team
in the league? Like who wants that? Fans don't want that.
I mean, I don't want to speak for all fans,
but I think fans want to believe that their team
is being run like competently and like in a way
that acknowledges like how smart teams are built. And like
that there are rules here to be adhered to in penalties.
God knows that are in place to keep you from
doing dumb stuff. And just so, Phoenix just to me
feels like the team most disconnected from reality and that
puts them like farthest away from competency. That said, there
is no debate. Phoenix does have outs, Like specifically with Houston,
you go get your picks back, if that cost you
Devin Booker, if that cost you Kevin Durant, whatever, if
you trade one, you're almost definitely trading both. So like
you could see a scenario where the Suns get their
picks back, get other picks, and then are like, oh, okay,
well they're just kind of a middling team on the
way up. Now that the draft assets have been like
somewhat replenished. What about the way this team has been
run so far leads you to believe that that's like
even a discussion right now. That's the thing, whatever outs
there are, just ownership is saying we're not interested. So
I like, I don't know where to go from there.
Like we could just talk about the financial complications, we
could talk about how the core guys don't fit together.
We could talk about being like anchored to Bradley Beale
because you kept the no trade clause and he's in
charge still, but it is it's the main thing, is
the main thing, which is that ownership has acted like
beyond rashly from the jump and continues to seem like
that's the plan.
Speaker 1: It's yeah, and I think if you told me they
were gonna you shouldn't trust them to do this. I
know they proactively shopped Kevin Durant with Devin Booker specifically,
and he recently talked about how you're never gonna get
the same love as from the franchise that drafts. If
he wants to be there, that's on that's up to him,
But organizationally speaking, I think it would make more sense
to whether he wants to be there or not, moving
him would be what's in the best interests of the
future of your franchise. They're not. Even though we see
them proactively moving Kevin Durant, it doesn't seem like they
would be the instigators of a Devin Booker trade, and
so that's going to diminish the trust factor, and then
it's let's the out, could be okay, you're trading Kevin Durant.
You're not gonna get all your picks back if Houston's
getting involved, And what is the what is the way
in which you trade Kevin Durant and at least remain
or have a better year next year than you did
this season? Like, what is the return on even let's
say you win the trade or get a good return
for him, which, by the way, that's not a given
because this team has not won a single trade since
Matt Ishbia took over, except for the Royce O'Neil one
ended up being good, Like even the Grayson Allen one
has been a little whatever when you kind of trace
that back to everything in his season and the extension
they give him. So why do we trust that they're
gonna get like this great return for Kevin Durant, even
if they do like picks are like, I would be
shocked if they got the level of picks that then
allow them to turn around and trade for someone who
does optimize a win now window. And I'm certainly gonna
be surprised if they get a player instead of the picks,
Like just out of the Kevin Durant trade off rip,
I just don't like even the teams that are being
mentioned as the ones that had mutual interest. I guess
Houston's the best one. But how deep into their war
chest are they gonna like dig for a thirty seven
year old soon to be thirty seven year old Kevin Durant.
I know him and he Mayo Joker are tight. I
think Rockets fans underestimate and we'll see who's right who's wrong.
I think they underestimate how much the offense is gonna
struggle in a playoff setting. Durant fixes a lot of that,
but like, that's not that's a two year You make
that move for the next two years if that like
it's a year by year thing. That's what makes this
even tell is if you kind of throw the front
office of it all and matt Ishbia out of the equation.
Even if the Suns wanted to act like a proper organization,
you could actually make the case that what if Kalen
Green kills it or the Rockets kill in general, kill
in the conference finals and they're not giving you back
all your picks to get Devin Booker, that's the.
Speaker 2: Whole thing is it's like, Okay, the Suns, Devin Booker asked,
to be traded. I want to go to Houston or not,
but let's just to make it as favorable I don't know,
realistic as possible. So the Sons in Houston are gonna transact,
and Devin Booker is gonna be involved. I still think
Houston can just take the hardest line imaginable because like,
all right, so either you accept a pick package from
us involving your own picks that's like not gonna be
all of them, or we walk away. You're stuck with
Devin Booker, who now is like asked to be traded.
You got to go send him somewhere else that doesn't
get you your own picks. Like just even if even
if it's a Booker to Houston deal, the Sons are
gonna be have like zero leverage because the Rockets know
we got the thing you need, like you need this
if you're gonna have a lifeline to respectability at some
point in the next decade, like what, We're not gonna
We're gonna drive the hardest bargain you can imagine. And
because like what are you gonna do as the Suns
if if if the price is like we'll give you
one first and Matt salary for Devin Booker, it'll be yours,
your your first and it's like the Suns just have
to I mean usually teams aren't that unreasonable, but like
Houston could just turn the screws so hard and so like,
even if you're doing the thing we're saying you should do, Sons,
you've positioned yourself in a way that's like you're just
gonna get pennies on the dollar for what you should
have been able to do in a trade.
Speaker 1: And then you go like you could go through the
other teams that aren't Houston that were on that list
where it's like, well, what is Miami giving you that's
gonna make you feel good about your team immediately? What
is New York? Like? Are you that interested in Karl
Anthony Towns? What is the team that's semi interesting would be, oh,
I guess Golden State. If it was like a Jimmy
Butler for Katie Swap, perhaps uh. And then if you
could get I think there's really only one scenario where
if your Phoenix, that maybe you could feel a little
bit better about yourself relative to this season. Not even look,
your screw factor is still probably pretty high. But if
you traded Kevin Durant and you got Jade McDaniels and
then one of nas Reed or Rude Gobert. I think
that would set you up to be interesting year for sure.
Now how interesting I don't know. But the bigger question
would be, is Minnesota giving up two of those guys
to get Kevin Durant? I don't. I would probably say no,
but I don't. I honestly don't know.
Speaker 2: It's hard to say yeah, you know, they just they
don't have That's why they're That's why they have the
highest screwed scores. It's really hard to concoct scenarios where
it's like they cut the suns come out the other
side and it doesn't feel like they're still gonna be
in deep trouble through twenty thirty.
Speaker 1: There's one scenario it's I would forget about. I mean,
this year's pick, if they if it ends up being
like really high in the lottery, should they miss the
plan and not make it out? But like it's the
like getting a couple of the more distant picks back,
like if you get the two artis Houston have twenty
seven and twenty nine in addition to this year, I
think the control whatever it is, Like, would you argue
that it's bigger or is that even more problematic because
it's like, well, why are we doing this now? If
we're like there's still gonna be like gaps in when
we own our own first round pick, you could say
just the I think the one saving grace would be
what we they're not gonna do is can you get
all your picks back from Houston for Devin Booker? But
like he even that is sort of all right.
Speaker 2: And if you're Houston too, don't you think, like Devin
Booker is a really good player?
Speaker 1: Is he?
Speaker 2: It's top fifteen, top twenty probably, Like I think there's
a lot of other guys that you could target, Like
the Phoenix needs to transact with Houston. Houston does not
have to transact with Phoenix, Like it doesn't have to
be Booker for the Rockets, but like they the Sun's
got to deal with Houston. So it's just like it's
such an inequitable negotiating situation.
Speaker 1: And to the Suns it has to be like imminently palatable.
So okay, let's say you trade Devin Booker and if
you get this year's first round pick back which is
slated to be like what tenth or something. Now, all
of a sudden, you have no Devin Booker, not your
own first round pick. Next year as soon as you
can get would be twenty seven. After that, I could
see them be like, well, even if he has an
ass round, we want to be proactive. Why wouldn't we
just wait in other year? Yeah, they are the most screwed.
I think it's I think it's incontestable. I like, does
Dallas or Milwaukee have a case over them?
Speaker 2: No, it's got to be Phoenix.
Speaker 1: We get it. That was our screwed score rankings and
what a screwed stand for? Grant?
Speaker 2: Oh, you don't even have the graphic up. Shit could
realistically end with extensive detonation to get it.
Speaker 1: Got it? Remember that the screwed score it will return.
I think we need to make this. We enjoyed it,
so hopefully you enjoyed it as well.
Speaker 2: I'm all four acronyms. I think we should go forward
with any any set of rankings or or things like
that we come up with, needs an acronym.
Speaker 1: Are you ready to take us out of here?
Speaker 2: Sir? Thank you, yes, Dan, I am. Thanks everybody for listening.
For watching, please rate, review, subscribe Wherever you're listening to this.
If you're watching us on YouTube, leave us a comment.
Let us know what you think like these are. These
are debatable rankings.
Speaker 1: To say the least, your I mean, this is your latest.
It is metric.
Speaker 2: You're right, it's been vetted by several scientists and engineers,
so you know, argue with them, I guess, but you know,
leave a comment anyway. It helps you out room, join
our discord links for that on YouTube and podcast description.
I think that's going to cover it. Shouts to Frank milachinopologies.
Speaker 1: Jared Allen