Speaker 1: Welcome in the Clips and Tip I'm Meta MA'SLM. We
Speaker 1: got will Updike in a special guest here today, participating
Speaker 1: with us. If you're watching on the YouTube, you already
Speaker 1: see him. That's at Clips and Dip podcast on YouTube.
Speaker 1: Also get to us at Clippers Pod on X. Got
Speaker 1: a good show coming up. We'll talk about the latest
Speaker 1: with Russell Westbrook officially signing with the Denver Nuggets. We'll
Speaker 1: touch upon Kevin Urant still being with Team USA while
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard was sent home. An interesting situation there. But first,
Speaker 1: without further ado, let's bring in our guy from Cletch points.
Speaker 1: Cletch appearance from the one and Only Toe Mayr Azarie,
Speaker 1: fresh off of just returning from Vegas. He was there
Speaker 1: the entire summer league. I guess we can start there
Speaker 1: all eleven days. Toe Mar thanks for coming back and
Speaker 1: doing some more work as you arrive home.
Speaker 2: No, thank you, guys for having me. It's an honor
Speaker 2: to be on the Clip and Clips and Dip Show.
Speaker 2: I'm a little disappointed that Chuck couldn't. It wasn't important though,
Speaker 2: for Chuck to be here. That's okay.
Speaker 1: His quarterback got signed today, so it was just too
Speaker 1: pressing for him to You got a Paul George s contract.
Speaker 1: As our friend Lucas Han said, Okay, Summer League, give
Speaker 1: us some of the off the court vibe to start
Speaker 1: with of just what it's like being there. We talked
Speaker 1: a little bit off the air, but the temperature, how
Speaker 1: hot it was, the night life, the people you could
Speaker 1: run into. I know, I think it was Jamal Christopher
Speaker 1: who ran into Kawhi Leonard and took that shot of
Speaker 1: him and Paul George at a club at three in
Speaker 1: the morning waiting for Little Wayne to arrive. And that
Speaker 1: was right after Paul George left the Clippers, So I know,
Speaker 1: it's kind of like you could reach out and actually
Speaker 1: touch guys. Type of place, type of setting there. I've
Speaker 1: been to Edgewood Golf tournament up in NorCal and Tahoe
Speaker 1: and it's the same type of vibe every summer when
Speaker 1: you go there. They don't have bodyguards you you can
Speaker 1: easily be accessible to players and stuff like that. Just
Speaker 1: what is it like at Summer League in Vegas?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's strange because everyone is, like you said, so
Speaker 2: accessible just right there in front of you. I mean,
Speaker 2: we hit you know, being there eleven age you hit
Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty degree weather. I think at some
Speaker 2: point it averaged out probably to about probably about one
Speaker 2: fourteen one fifteen during the day, we cooled off to
Speaker 2: a very nice about ninety nine in the dead of night. So,
Speaker 2: you know what, it sounds like a joke, but when
Speaker 2: you walk outside at that point of the day, it
Speaker 2: feels incredible compared to what it was, So it definitely
Speaker 2: makes a difference. No, and then like you really do
Speaker 2: run in the NBA players literally everywhere in Vegas. You
Speaker 2: can go to five different hotels like Resorts World, win Encore, Aria,
Speaker 2: They're all there everywhere. It's incredible.
Speaker 1: You know, I think any interesting interactions, yeah, uh you
Speaker 1: super professional to you know fan out or anything like that.
Speaker 2: No, I no, I don't really know enough fanning out.
Speaker 2: But like I mean, I guess, you know, I went
Speaker 2: to watch the show at the wind and I saw
Speaker 2: Moosa there. I saw a couple other players, but you know,
Speaker 2: there's so many that you kind of forget who you saw. Uh,
Speaker 2: there weren't really any interactions that stuck out, but uh,
Speaker 2: they were really everywhere. I mean Resorts World, there was
Speaker 2: a couple of people, you know, I saw some coaches around,
Speaker 2: like it's just oh, Luke Canard. I did see Luke
Speaker 2: Canard at the Loris Laws press covers. We're just walking
Speaker 2: out and Luke Canard is rarely walks by, just casually
Speaker 2: his wife and I'm like, the Lukenard, what you're doing? Man?
Speaker 2: We caught up for a for a minute there. That
Speaker 2: was cool. No, it's just it's just like it's just
Speaker 2: like a basketball haven for like the first five days.
Speaker 2: I think after five d five six days, everyone kind
Speaker 2: of takes off. But those first four days, it's like
Speaker 2: a couple of parties here and there, with a tip
Speaker 2: tip off party, a media party, you know this party,
Speaker 2: the PG and and Kawhi concert video that came out.
Speaker 2: I think that was that. It might have been at Access,
Speaker 2: but I'm not sure. But yeah, I mean it's it's
Speaker 2: just like a basketball having to be around for the
Speaker 2: first you know, five days, and then everything kind of
Speaker 2: kind of trails off and everyone kind of goes home.
Speaker 2: But no, it's fun. It's incredible. Outside of the weather,
Speaker 2: it's incredible.
Speaker 1: No complaints to Marrazarlie, our guest here from Clutch Points
Speaker 1: joining us here on clips and Dip. I'm thinking it's
Speaker 1: episode three twenty. Is that in the ballpark at least?
Speaker 1: Will you feel about that?
Speaker 2: Now? Have we done?
Speaker 3: We've done twenty episodes since the draft already.
Speaker 1: Ooh, so now we're talking. So we started season three
Speaker 1: at three hundred. You're saying, yeah, and since then we.
Speaker 3: All starts every season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm just trying to think. Twenty episode seems like
Speaker 1: a lot, but there's been so much going on as
Speaker 1: we do officially start when the draft starts. So this
Speaker 1: is episode three nineteen. I was one off.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, great work.
Speaker 3: So aside from the off court stuff, like, what did
Speaker 3: you see from the Clippers summer league squad? Did anything
Speaker 3: stand out? Like, I don't know how familiar you were
Speaker 3: with these draft picks prior to summer league. Did anything
Speaker 3: stand out for you? Did anything kind of surprise you?
Speaker 2: No? I mean yeah, there definitely were some things, but
Speaker 2: you know, I think it was kind of what you'd
Speaker 2: expect to see, Like, you know, Kobe and Jordan, Kobe
Speaker 2: Brown and Jordan Miller entering their kind of second year here,
Speaker 2: they really took on being the focal points offensively and defensively.
Speaker 2: I think they were really impressive. Just the composures they
Speaker 2: played with the you know they maybe if they saw
Speaker 2: doubles or if they they read different situations. Well, I
Speaker 2: think they played well top to bottom, like even down
Speaker 2: to the final game, like they they lost by one,
Speaker 2: Kobe had a chance to tie it with like one
Speaker 2: point nine on the clock, so they were right there.
Speaker 2: And I think was really impressive just his his It
Speaker 2: sounds kind of cliche, but like if it really feels
Speaker 2: like watching the game slow down for him in real time,
Speaker 2: where like, you know, I think he was fine last
Speaker 2: Summer League. What you'd expect that of a second round pick,
Speaker 2: but he was very, very dominant this year and that
Speaker 2: he didn't really let anyone dictate his play. He was
Speaker 2: you know, he didn't. He also didn't do too much.
Speaker 2: He whether he spotted up in the corner, hit a
Speaker 2: couple of threes, whether he was getting in the basket,
Speaker 2: uh through three pump picks that a guy wasn't there,
Speaker 2: kicked it out if it was there, drew foul like
Speaker 2: it was just it was just watching him be under
Speaker 2: under complete control, uh and kind of control the game throughout. So, uh,
Speaker 2: Jordan Miller was really good. Should have been should have
Speaker 2: been the MVP in my opinion, I heard, I hear
Speaker 2: it was a close, close result, but definitely should have
Speaker 2: been the MVP if you ask me. Kobe Brown was
Speaker 2: really good. I thought Musa also played well. He was
Speaker 2: dealing with with with the with a minor hand thing,
Speaker 2: and when I saw him at one of the hotels,
Speaker 2: he had a rap on his hand, on his left hand,
Speaker 2: and like, gro every time I see you, you have
Speaker 2: a rap on your left hand, Like what is going
Speaker 2: on on? So he was. He played well. I thought
Speaker 2: cam Christie obviously was thrown into a starting position and
Speaker 2: he kind of just gradually got better as the summer
Speaker 2: league went on. I think he learned to pick his
Speaker 2: spots a little better. I think, you know the I
Speaker 2: think guys want to be unselfish, but when you're a
Speaker 2: shooter like him, you gotta shoot the dam ball. You're talented,
Speaker 2: you have a great shot, a quick release, like you
Speaker 2: got to put those up. So I think he learned
Speaker 2: that as it went on. I think I think in
Speaker 2: the final game he scored their first nine and I
Speaker 2: think twelve of their first like eighteen points, I want
Speaker 2: to say, as they were struggling through it. So yeah,
Speaker 2: he was fantastic, and he got better as we went on.
Speaker 2: I think Jordan and Kobe also again I don't know
Speaker 2: if I touched it, but defensively, they also really took
Speaker 2: on the challenge of, you know, being those defensive guys
Speaker 2: for that team. I remember I talked about a little
Speaker 2: bit on on on Twitter, but there was that game
Speaker 2: against the Jazz where Kyle Philipowski kind of elbowed Kobe
Speaker 2: Brown on the face, and sitting in that sitting where
Speaker 2: we were in the baseline, you could see all of
Speaker 2: it happened in real time. So I watched him elbow
Speaker 2: Kobe and then Kobe. It was like a swim move
Speaker 2: technique on an inbound based on inbound and Kobe didn't
Speaker 2: thought he was gonna get the call, didn't get the call,
Speaker 2: and Kyle got the balls gonna go dunk it, and
Speaker 2: Kobe realized, oh shit, I'm k not getting the call.
Speaker 2: So he went up and he fouled the ship out
Speaker 2: of him. Sorry for chrissing, but he blocked the hell
Speaker 2: out of him and fouled him, and from there on
Speaker 2: he took that match up personal. He said he didn't,
Speaker 2: but I watched him go at Philipowski like nine straight
Speaker 2: possessions in the fourth quarter. He had five and ones
Speaker 2: in the fourth.
Speaker 1: Reminded me of Kobe versus Mike Miller back in the
Speaker 1: day when they got into it on the court a
Speaker 1: little bit. Kobe Bryant lay great. Okay, maybe the stakes
Speaker 1: weren't that high recognition, but.
Speaker 2: Still no, but it definitely was like, Oh, He's gonna
Speaker 2: take over this game, and that was impressive to watch.
Speaker 2: I thought Elijah Harkless was really good the Menace defensively,
Speaker 2: probably deserves a spot in the league somewhere just off
Speaker 2: that defensive tenacity alone. Like he put uh he gave
Speaker 2: Scotty Scottie Pippen junior hell in that final game. He
Speaker 2: gave Isaiah Collier some some trouble as well. So I
Speaker 2: think they had a really solid uh uh you know
Speaker 2: team there. I think even ray J Dennis, I think,
Speaker 2: you know, everyone gonna talk about the ill advised layup.
Speaker 2: He took a transition in that final game, but he
Speaker 2: was really solid for him throughout the tournament, if you
Speaker 2: want to call the tournament. I think Trevor Hudgins is
Speaker 2: also really good. So they got some solid play from
Speaker 2: a number of guys. I would say so you know,
Speaker 2: a lot of the guys are probably gonna be in
Speaker 2: their G league team. I think they they probably should
Speaker 2: try to retain them. I wouldn't be surprised if some
Speaker 2: end up in the NBA and in a year or
Speaker 2: later on. This year, but now, it was good to watch.
Speaker 2: It was really good to watch. It was fun to
Speaker 2: watch a lot of these guys developed, especially Kobe and
Speaker 2: Jordan again last year being second round picks, be kind
Speaker 2: of thrust into the situation right away, and this year
Speaker 2: they really just took on that challenge of being the guys.
Speaker 2: So that was that was really fun to watch for sure.
Speaker 2: And Dante Jones also being being the ever emotional coach
Speaker 2: that he's on the sidelines, like they got to stop
Speaker 2: or charge something and he's over here like swing his fist, flexing,
Speaker 2: going yeah, like like like he's a player out there.
Speaker 2: I was like, you don't see that from a coach,
Speaker 2: that kind of emotion. He was out there screaming, flexing
Speaker 2: like on the court. It was incredible to watch. He's
Speaker 2: and the guy I thought was a really good summer
Speaker 2: League too.
Speaker 3: So looking at like sort of where the Clippers are
Speaker 3: now in the absence of Paul George and and what
Speaker 3: they need fit wise. Is there anybody, uh, from the
Speaker 3: from the Summer League or or from the younger Clippers
Speaker 3: that that you could see taking on some sort of
Speaker 3: rotation minutes in the season this year.
Speaker 2: Oh, the answer is Kobe Brown. Easily. Absolutely easily. I
Speaker 2: mean you have to look at that. To me, you
Speaker 2: have to just have to look at the positional availability,
Speaker 2: like they're missing afore, they've been missing afore, and so
Speaker 2: can you While it would be while, it would be while,
Speaker 2: it would be nice to see Jordan and I think
Speaker 2: he played better than Kobe for sure in Summer League.
Speaker 2: Like the immediate pathway to minutes is the four with
Speaker 2: Kobe Brown, just like it was last year. We saw
Speaker 2: it last year as well when they need a four
Speaker 2: and they tried him for a couple of games and
Speaker 2: he just wasn't there yet. This year, maybe he is.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure. I think I think he really I
Speaker 2: think he drew. He drew like maybe two fouls all
Speaker 2: of last year, I want to say on the NBA level,
Speaker 2: But he really showed a willingness to get to the
Speaker 2: basket and play out of the inside first at Summer League.
Speaker 2: So That's something that I'm intrigued by. If he can
Speaker 2: kind of bring that same level of aggression. You know,
Speaker 2: obviously NBA level is much different, but if he can
Speaker 2: bring something similar to that level, I think I think
Speaker 2: there's definitely a pathway to him playing that And you know,
Speaker 2: kind of the the in out game, if you need
Speaker 2: to spot up for three, make sure you're there for
Speaker 2: James and Kawhia hit a shot for them. You know,
Speaker 2: we saw last year he was there but wasn't making
Speaker 2: those shots. So I think I think the pathway is
Speaker 2: there for Kobe. As for Jordan, I mean what, I
Speaker 2: think he's had a two year, two way deal. I
Speaker 2: could see it. I mean, I'm not going to rule
Speaker 2: it out. It's definitely a possibility, especially with kind of
Speaker 2: the youth move that they might have. But they did
Speaker 2: add some guards with KPJ and Chris Dune who will
Speaker 2: play with James Harden, So you know, I think it
Speaker 2: should be there. It could be there. I just think
Speaker 2: the pathway is closer for COVID than it is for Jordan.
Speaker 2: But that's not trying to take away one from another.
Speaker 2: Like I think they both could play this year, but
Speaker 2: we'll kind of see what they do.
Speaker 1: Who do you kind of see Kobe Brown being at
Speaker 1: the NBA level. I've compared him to someone like Boris
Speaker 1: Diao or even Slow Mo a little bit Kyle Anderson,
Speaker 1: which is the all round game that he has. It
Speaker 1: seems like jack of all trades but a master or none.
Speaker 1: Right now, he's still a very young player. But I
Speaker 1: don't know if there's an elite skill set, but you
Speaker 1: can certainly get on the court if you do everything
Speaker 1: at a very solid level. Just I don't know who
Speaker 1: would you compare him to or how do you think
Speaker 1: he would blend in now in his second season with
Speaker 1: the big club.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think he has a uh you know,
Speaker 2: one skill set that sticks out from the other. I
Speaker 2: think he's He's The one thing I will say is this,
Speaker 2: and I said this last year. He's too quick for
Speaker 2: traditional fours and he's too big for traditional threes. That's
Speaker 2: his greatest asset in my opinion. So like we saw,
Speaker 2: you put Kyle Philabowski on him again, Summer League is different.
Speaker 2: But you put a bigger man on him, he'slowing by him,
Speaker 2: he's bullyballing him. You put you put a slower, faster,
Speaker 2: guy on him than to bullyball him too. So like that,
Speaker 2: I think I think if they can, if they can
Speaker 2: work out different you know, he's he was doing a
Speaker 2: good good job of finding mismatches. I will say that,
Speaker 2: like Dante, that was the one thing he kept talking about,
Speaker 2: Like Kobe played with in the offense and kept finding
Speaker 2: mismatches and things that worked for him that they wanted
Speaker 2: to attack in an offense. So I don't know how
Speaker 2: that directly translates to the NBA level because Kobe is
Speaker 2: not going to be asked to be a top seven
Speaker 2: option on this team, you know. But I think there
Speaker 2: are different things that he does that that could work
Speaker 2: if you're throwing him out there to give you spot minutes,
Speaker 2: hit hit a three, you know, pump faket to the basket,
Speaker 2: draw fout, create for someone else who's overreacting on the drive.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I think I think it's again no, No
Speaker 2: one great thing that he does. But I think he's
Speaker 2: got just the physical attributes and and and and the
Speaker 2: overall skill set to be a solid four guy, three
Speaker 2: guy in yea.
Speaker 1: So, Mary, do you think that there's a possibility. Obviously,
Speaker 1: it feels like there's still a trade to be made
Speaker 1: for the Clippers. Whether or not that's for a major
Speaker 1: acquisition or anything like that, I don't. I don't expect that,
Speaker 1: but just to clear up maybe a little bit of
Speaker 1: space for these young guys. Can you see that happening
Speaker 1: where obviously PJ Tucker, his name has been out there,
Speaker 1: Bones Highland, they're both still Clippers at this point. Russell
Speaker 1: Westbrook will talk more about him coming up as he
Speaker 1: has a new team, But can you see them just
Speaker 1: kind of making way for an opportunity for a young
Speaker 1: guy by consolidating or movement making a move here.
Speaker 2: I think if you look at this team right now
Speaker 2: like I would, I would tell you if you just
Speaker 2: look at the team right now, that Bones and PJ
Speaker 2: are obviously not in the rotation. They're just not. And
Speaker 2: so those are the two we know what's going on
Speaker 2: with PJ. Those are the two candidates I would say
Speaker 2: probably are the most likely to be on their way
Speaker 2: out if I had to guess, like I don't, I
Speaker 2: don't see either of them being on the opening night
Speaker 2: roster again. Something could change, or you know, they might
Speaker 2: kind of try to take this into the regular season
Speaker 2: and see I think a lot of guys, you know,
Speaker 2: want the new deals they signed this off season, they're
Speaker 2: eligible to be traded around December, so maybe they take
Speaker 2: it to that point. You know, I could see scenario
Speaker 2: where like they try to, they try to just wave
Speaker 2: PJ Tucker, take on the cap hit and be done
Speaker 2: with it this year. You know, they could also wave
Speaker 2: and stretch him, but that's I don't know if they
Speaker 2: want to do that. And PJ himself has said he's
Speaker 2: not taking a buyout. Maybe that changes. I don't know,
Speaker 2: but uh, he said it multiple times that he's not
Speaker 2: going to take a buyout. So any trade I think
Speaker 2: the player that good shouldn't have to I think if
Speaker 2: you do include them, included trade with with PJ like
Speaker 2: bones would be like the asset, the intriguing part of it,
Speaker 2: just off the potential. I think he's like, what twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three, so there's still some room for him in
Speaker 2: the NBA. It's just I think this is this year especially,
Speaker 2: it was just a really really tough guard market for
Speaker 2: There wasn't really a market for guards like Tys Jones
Speaker 2: is still waiting. Gary Trent just went for the minimum.
Speaker 2: It's absurd. So it's kind of a really tough time
Speaker 2: for these guards to be available and go on the market.
Speaker 2: So if I had to guess, I would say, you know,
Speaker 2: bones is probably included as the asset part of the
Speaker 2: trade with with PJ. But I kind of would be
Speaker 2: surprised if either of them are on the team to
Speaker 2: start the year, just because I just don't see a
Speaker 2: role for them right here. Uh. They fully revamped that bench,
Speaker 2: They gave KPJ a multi multi year deal, and clearly
Speaker 2: the for him to play this isn't just a Josh
Speaker 2: pretty much situation. So and then Chris Don't obviously got
Speaker 2: a multi year deal as well part of the signing trade.
Speaker 2: So their guard rotation, we haven't even talked about James
Speaker 2: and the Terrans and normal we're still here, so clearly
Speaker 2: those are their guards that I don't see Bones being
Speaker 2: in their plans. Definitely don't see pgaving in their plans.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I would kind of expect some moves that
Speaker 2: we made here, maybe not immediately, but at some point
Speaker 2: earlier this season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Adam, time for you to ditch the skeleton key.
Speaker 1: Let me throw it out the door, the skeleton key,
Speaker 1: the holder of it as I've been for so long.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I've been preparing myself for this likely scenario
Speaker 1: and possibility with bones Hyland no longer being on the team.
Speaker 1: We touched upon a little bit with Jordan Miller and
Speaker 1: Cam Christy. Did it surprise you at all? I felt
Speaker 1: like Cam Christie stood up to the task defensively better
Speaker 1: than I thought he'd be at this point when he
Speaker 1: was technically still eighteen playing in the Summer League before
Speaker 1: just turning nineteen right now, like that narrative about him
Speaker 1: being such a liability on the defensive end and too small,
Speaker 1: he stayed in front of his man for the most part.
Speaker 1: What did you.
Speaker 2: See from him?
Speaker 1: We know how beautiful the shot is, but just some
Speaker 1: of the other things, because it's gonna be the other
Speaker 1: things that gets him on the court.
Speaker 2: Really yeah, I mean, I think I think Cam has
Speaker 2: the ability to turn into kind of the perfect complimentary
Speaker 2: three and D type guy. Can you can put him
Speaker 2: on one of your one of the better opposing players. Uh,
Speaker 2: He'll be solid, won't get beat, and then he'll give you,
Speaker 2: you know, good three point shooting. Maybe he showed he
Speaker 2: showed the wonder will pull up really well as well.
Speaker 2: During some of the guys over reacting, he just took
Speaker 2: one drill, pulled up. Yeah, I think defensively he held
Speaker 2: his own. I think there's there's definitely gonna be some
Speaker 2: growth there. I think he talked about, you know, with me,
Speaker 2: about the differences in the NBA versus college, where you're
Speaker 2: you're forcing guy's baseline versus middle it's it's it's a
Speaker 2: big it's a big change schematically. So there's different things
Speaker 2: that he's still learning and getting acclimated to. And I
Speaker 2: think on the NBA level is gonna be even more
Speaker 2: different than what we thought Summer League. So there's definitely
Speaker 2: a learning care for him. But hey, they finally drafted
Speaker 2: someone in no disrespect, but they finally drafted someone at
Speaker 2: a young age who has more time to develop. Again,
Speaker 2: just turned nineteen, if I'm not mistaken, yesterday, two days ago,
Speaker 2: I believe. So there's a lot of room for improving,
Speaker 2: a lot of room for growth there. I mean, a
Speaker 2: guy was in Vegas for eleven days and couldn't even
Speaker 2: know what the hell was he doing.
Speaker 1: So getting buckets kids, clearly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, clearly. So, Yeah, I think there's there's a lot
Speaker 2: of room to grow there for him. And you know,
Speaker 2: guys that their body is still gonna develop, still going
Speaker 2: to grow over time, They're going to mature even more so,
Speaker 2: although I was that he is, he is very mature.
Speaker 2: So he's got the he's got kind of the physical
Speaker 2: attributes to be a solid defender. But you know, we'll
Speaker 2: kind of see how we transitioned into the NBA level.
Speaker 2: It's uh, it's uh, we'll see. He really is very
Speaker 2: similar to Max Christie, though I will say he seems
Speaker 2: a little further ahead than Max Christie was when he
Speaker 2: first got in the league. But you know, we'll kind
Speaker 2: of see how we how he developed over time.
Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of Max Christie, so I love
Speaker 1: the compliment there of saying that he's even further along
Speaker 1: because to me, the NBA shot, I think it's there.
Speaker 1: I think it's real from him. He has a real
Speaker 1: skill set that can translate at this level. It's just
Speaker 1: whether or not he can do the little things right
Speaker 1: to stay on the court and not be a complete
Speaker 1: negative out there because that shot, I don't know, that
Speaker 1: looks like I don't want to say young Klay Thompson
Speaker 1: or anything like that, but you mentioned the relocation shots
Speaker 1: that he took. That is special. That is a really
Speaker 1: unique skill. The balance and the arc on his shot,
Speaker 1: and just the peak and apex he gets to before
Speaker 1: the release is something else.
Speaker 2: I know. I really think I really was impressed with
Speaker 2: how he reacted, how he adjusted to defenses, over overreacting
Speaker 2: to his to his face, Like I think there were
Speaker 2: a couple that I just he just caught the ball,
Speaker 2: jabbed left, and he saw a defender just fly by,
Speaker 2: and he was able to just take wonderable pull up
Speaker 2: long too. Not the most it's a fishing shot. But again,
Speaker 2: if you're taking enough a wonderable pull up wide openly,
Speaker 2: you got to take that shot. So Dante jo I said, like,
Speaker 2: how are you evaluating? Like what are you looking for?
Speaker 2: He goes shoot the ball? Shoot He's gifted as a shooter.
Speaker 2: Shoot the damn ball. That's what he said to me.
Speaker 2: Let it fly.
Speaker 1: Will you got anything else on summerly? Before we take
Speaker 1: a break.
Speaker 3: Here, No, No, let's take a little break and what
Speaker 3: talk Russell Westbrook?
Speaker 2: We could do that? Why not? Yeah?
Speaker 3: So if you're listening to this, we're gonna be taking
Speaker 3: a little break here. If you're watching this on YouTube
Speaker 3: at Clippers at Clippers podcast, we never go away. But Anyways,
Speaker 3: Russell Westbrook talk coming up in three two one.
Speaker 1: Welcome back in I'm Adam Oslin. We got Will up
Speaker 1: deck and tomorrow Zarrely from Clutch Points is joining us here.
Speaker 1: Some off season clips and dip still to come. We'll
Speaker 1: discuss Kawhi Leonard leaving team USA. I know Till Mayer
Speaker 1: has some thoughts on that. Also for the most recent
Speaker 1: no you do, I've seen it on Twitter. Don't make me,
Speaker 1: don't make me pull those I will also Paul George
Speaker 1: his latest calling the Clippers organization the B team and
Speaker 1: getting fans up in arms. We'll talk about that too.
Speaker 1: But Russell Westbrook, I guess in just doing a little
Speaker 1: bit of a recap on who he was as a
Speaker 1: Clipper and then who do you think he's going to
Speaker 1: be with the Denver Nuggets, because that is a really
Speaker 1: strange move to me for a team like that to
Speaker 1: bring in Russell Westbrook fit wise, once again, he's kind
Speaker 1: of replacing KCP. He did that when he came out
Speaker 1: with the Lakers. He's doing it now with the Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 1: But he's not a shooter. The skill set doesn't seem
Speaker 1: to match what exactly they need.
Speaker 2: But Hey, it's.
Speaker 1: Jokich and Mike Malone and they can make a lot
Speaker 1: of different things work. But just how would you summarize
Speaker 1: his career's tenure as a Clipper to mare.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think it was mixed with lots of
Speaker 2: good and lots of bad. Like he brought exactly what
Speaker 2: you needed him to during the regular season, and all
Speaker 2: the concerns that people had with him during the playoffs
Speaker 2: kind of just crept up. I thought the injury he
Speaker 2: suffered with the hand really kind of set him back.
Speaker 2: It was hard to kind of reintegrate him at that
Speaker 2: point when he was able to come back, and I
Speaker 2: think it was late in the season, if I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 2: So just anunfortunate, unfortunate timing from that perspective. But he
Speaker 2: gave them a lot of what they needed. I mean,
Speaker 2: they had tons of slow starts during the years during
Speaker 2: the year, and you know a few of those games
Speaker 2: they don't come back and win without him igniting them
Speaker 2: off that bench in the second unit. So I thought
Speaker 2: he was important from that aspect. But again, the biggest
Speaker 2: concern that everyone was worried about with him being off
Speaker 2: the ball and just the kind of out of controledness
Speaker 2: in the playoffs is exactly what happened, and Dallas was
Speaker 2: fully content with him taking corner threes and occupying the
Speaker 2: dunker spot. And you know, I think on the ball
Speaker 2: he was probably his best, but even then he really
Speaker 2: did not finish around the basket the way he should have.
Speaker 1: And eight for the last five games.
Speaker 2: I thought individually, like individually, defensively he was he was
Speaker 2: good for them. I thought he was. He was all
Speaker 2: for them. He gave them something at the guard position,
Speaker 2: just just something they didn't have at the guard position defensively,
Speaker 2: which which I thought was intriguing, But again it was
Speaker 2: it was just way too much to make up for offensively.
Speaker 2: Like again I said this last year, just as the
Speaker 2: James Harden trade happened, like they were not as they
Speaker 2: were not as good for sure, with just Westbrook and
Speaker 2: no Harden, but I thought I was intrigued by what
Speaker 2: their ceiling might be. It wasn't championship, but I was
Speaker 2: intrigued by what it might be with him as the
Speaker 2: loan guard, kind of being the primary bull hander that
Speaker 2: Kawhi and Paul were asking for so long, Like I
Speaker 2: was just I would have just be curious to see
Speaker 2: a month of then how it happened, you know, but
Speaker 2: clearly their ceiling was increased with James Arden arriving here.
Speaker 2: The the offensive three level score, the the incredible playmaking.
Speaker 2: You know, I can't count how many big moments you
Speaker 2: had this year, but I remember the game winner over
Speaker 2: the Rockets and the playing tournament. There's the the snow
Speaker 2: angel thing in the Rockets, in the I guess the Pacers. Uh,
Speaker 2: there's so many great moments that he had, so uh
Speaker 2: the block attempt on Kawhi a gainst the Blazers. That
Speaker 2: was the other funny things. So like, uh, no, I
Speaker 2: think James definitely chrias they're stilling it. Just at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, they got hampered by injuries once again.
Speaker 3: So the real question is which russ stand account are
Speaker 3: you going to miss the most?
Speaker 2: In your mentions, you know. You know what's funny is
Speaker 2: I talk about like I talk about everything in the NBA,
Speaker 2: literally everything in the NBA. I've committed all of my
Speaker 2: knowledge to it. It's come at the detriment of knowing
Speaker 2: certain NFL things or certain baseball things, but it's fully
Speaker 2: NBA today. I just tweeted like I think the Nuggets
Speaker 2: got to be like they need generational Yokichen Murray and
Speaker 2: it just Russ stands everywhere and I'm like, bro, I
Speaker 2: didn't even mention this guy. What are we doing? And
Speaker 2: it's it's toxic. I mean, look, I think I think
Speaker 2: Russ for for one thing, I will say Russ off
Speaker 2: the court was was good to deal with. I think
Speaker 2: it was tough from immediate perspective, but he wasn't like
Speaker 2: an ass or and like that. There was like one
Speaker 2: time after immediately after he got bench, but like I
Speaker 2: get it, he's frustrated just got bench, lost his starting spot.
Speaker 2: I get it. The team was on a losing streak.
Speaker 2: So it's tough, but he was fine to deal with.
Speaker 2: I enjoyed working with him. Uh he did a ton
Speaker 2: for the community, which he still does. I think he
Speaker 2: had like a food thing a couple of days ago,
Speaker 2: uh here in La with with some kids. So like,
Speaker 2: he really does a ton off the court as well
Speaker 2: that there really needs to be acknowledged. I mean he
Speaker 2: had the part they renovated with his name, So off
Speaker 2: the court, he's a great, great individual, great great person
Speaker 2: to be around and work with, and he really does
Speaker 2: do a lot but on the court, the product to
Speaker 2: me is just it's just not there. Like I I
Speaker 2: struggled to see the fit in Denver as well. Uh
Speaker 2: given that, you know, I thought, struggle.
Speaker 3: To see the fit anywhere, Like, where does he fit?
Speaker 1: Like in the NBA, he's a zero level scorer. He
Speaker 1: doesn't scort any level anymore, t mare.
Speaker 2: I mean he fits somehone where he needs the ball
Speaker 2: in his hands and he can play make out of that.
Speaker 2: That's really where we're So Denver is not that to me. Now,
Speaker 2: if he's going there with the understanding that he's going
Speaker 2: to be a six to seven minute in the game guy,
Speaker 2: then maybe maybe maybe that works with him. I'm not sure. Uh,
Speaker 2: but I think that the biggest thing is you're just
Speaker 2: not you're just, for lack of a better word.
Speaker 1: Oh the rust stance got to You're.
Speaker 2: No longer the guy. You know, you're no longer going
Speaker 2: to be able to play twenty five minutes a game
Speaker 2: and you know, have the ball in your hands like
Speaker 2: you want to. And so I think a certain role
Speaker 2: makes sense for him on the right team. I don't
Speaker 2: think it's Denver. I don't think he was here when
Speaker 2: James Harden got here and so it's tough. I mean again,
Speaker 2: we've seen stars in the NBA struggled to grasp with
Speaker 2: the fact that they're kind of betting phased out, and
Speaker 2: from that perspective, it does kind of suck because this
Speaker 2: is the guy who was I think the first is
Speaker 2: the Oscar to Average triple double, had that incredible twenty
Speaker 2: seventeen year after Kadi left, like he made everyone a
Speaker 2: fan of face and it was really fun to watch.
Speaker 2: But I think from the basketball perspective, it's just slowly
Speaker 2: starting to, you know, be phased out, and so that's
Speaker 2: not easy. But I don't know where he belongs right now.
Speaker 2: But I'm looking forward to seeing Denver this.
Speaker 1: Year and going back to what Will originally asked you
Speaker 1: what other player or binds you of just the polarization
Speaker 1: and toxicity on Twitter, like Russ is there anything like that?
Speaker 1: I mean, Kobe was probably like that back in the day,
Speaker 1: but Twitter was yeah.
Speaker 2: No, no, there is nothing like it. I'm trying to
Speaker 2: think of one.
Speaker 1: I guess abroad you could say to an extent for
Speaker 1: some people, but it's.
Speaker 2: There was like from from a stand them perspective, like
Speaker 2: you want to say, stand them, like I think Derek
Speaker 2: Rose has his fans are the most loyal people and
Speaker 2: they're not like, not that level of crazy, with that
Speaker 2: level of loyal like they are loyal to a fault
Speaker 2: with Derek Rose, Like even after he said of those injuries,
Speaker 2: they were just like, yo, he's he's this, he's this,
Speaker 2: mvpc's like. So I think I think to that level,
Speaker 2: like maybe it's not as delusional, but definitely as loyal.
Speaker 2: So I don't know. Again, I I did not mind
Speaker 2: the Russell Westbrook experience, covering him like he was. It
Speaker 2: was great. He did provide a lot of good moments.
Speaker 2: I think the fans has really made it hard to
Speaker 2: uh to say anything without just coming off as either
Speaker 2: a hater or a stand or. It was just very strange.
Speaker 2: It was very strange from that perspective. I've never seen
Speaker 2: that before where you say one thing and it's like
Speaker 2: one thing. You say one thing and it's like europe
Speaker 2: can hater, you fucking suck I have, I have, dude,
Speaker 2: You're just calling me a fat ass out of nowhere
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, And then guys who were just
Speaker 2: like you were this, you were that, you were cool,
Speaker 2: and I'm like, okay, like, I don't understand why it's
Speaker 2: all the opposites end of the spectrum and not like
Speaker 2: somewhere in the middle, like like I've never had this
Speaker 2: from anyone else. But you know, I guess I don't know.
Speaker 2: I guess I hate that.
Speaker 1: I don't know. As you mentioned, you could critique anyone
Speaker 1: in the NBA, it is your job, you do analysis.
Speaker 1: But when you talk about this one particular player for
Speaker 1: whatever reason, it gets people riled up and ready to
Speaker 1: go and just out of control. Before we break here
Speaker 1: and talk about Paul George and what he said on
Speaker 1: the podcast recently, you did bring up a really interesting
Speaker 1: point I think on Twitter as the Olympics for just
Speaker 1: getting underway today with the opening ceremony happening and it
Speaker 1: was Lebron James holding the flag like it was George
Speaker 1: Washington crossing the Delaware. People were put very cool, uh,
Speaker 1: but notably missing, of course is Kawhi Leonard as we know,
Speaker 1: and it sounded like at first with that original press
Speaker 1: released from Tbosa, tomre that it was this joint collaborative
Speaker 1: decision between Kawhi, the Clippers and Team USA, And then
Speaker 1: I know you were at I'm assuming you were at
Speaker 1: least on the call with Lawrence Frank when he came
Speaker 1: out and talked about the situation and stressed multiple times
Speaker 1: how very disappointed they were with Team USA's decision. First,
Speaker 1: just is that Laurence Frank's sticking up for his guy,
Speaker 1: because obviously Kawhi is not gonna have a press or
Speaker 1: he's not going to be on social media talking about it.
Speaker 1: And this was just at least them saying, hey, what happens,
Speaker 1: you know, or frowning upon it. It wasn't viewed how
Speaker 1: TMOSA viewed it. There were two different experiences going on
Speaker 1: with Kawhi leaving Team USA.
Speaker 2: It seemed like, yeah, so I'm just pulling up a
Speaker 2: transcript here from what Laurence said. The quote from grand
Speaker 2: Hill was that it was it was a collaborative effort
Speaker 2: with the Clippers. I believe they kind of jointly decided that.
Speaker 2: Lawrence Frank said, Uh, it was USA's call, and I
Speaker 2: was quite frankly, very disappointed the decision. Kawhi wanted to play,
Speaker 2: we wanted them to play. Noted that he was there
Speaker 2: the first couple of practices of Washington and he did well, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't know. I will say this I think I
Speaker 2: think a lot of people kind of just a lot
Speaker 2: of people did not read my tweet. And I expect
Speaker 2: that when people just have like certain things they want
Speaker 2: to be mad about, that happens. I get it. That
Speaker 2: was in no way a shot at Kevin Durant again.
Speaker 2: Kevin Durant an all timer, He's an Olympia. He deserves
Speaker 2: to have that chance to be there.
Speaker 1: I give the back story on that tweet you're talking about.
Speaker 2: So I said that I just found it strange that,
Speaker 2: you know, nearly two and a half weeks later, this
Speaker 2: is a couple of days ago, that Kevin Durant still
Speaker 2: hadn't practiced I played, he barely been practicing, but he
Speaker 2: was still had a spot saved on Team USA, while
Speaker 2: Kawhi was, you know, removed after four practices in Vegas
Speaker 2: earlier this month and not given a chance to recover properly.
Speaker 2: Excuse me from what I understood, Cawhi, I practiced all
Speaker 2: for all four participated in all four practices. Looked fine,
Speaker 2: there weren't any setbacks. And Lawrence Franks said that he
Speaker 2: you know, in observing him, that they they felt he
Speaker 2: was good to go. Steve Kerr, I believe said that
Speaker 2: he was he was good, but I think there was
Speaker 2: room for improvement, which and that goes with anyone who's
Speaker 2: coming off an injury. I would expect that with KD
Speaker 2: as well. And so I felt like I just I
Speaker 2: just thought it was strange that he was removed at
Speaker 2: you know, the next morning, early morning, the day of
Speaker 2: the first game, after participating participating in four practices, and
Speaker 2: wasn't given a chance to really recover the way he
Speaker 2: should have. And again, Kevin Durant, again is an all timer.
Speaker 2: He definitely should have a chance to heal as much
Speaker 2: as he wants. In my opinion, if Kevin Durant stays
Speaker 2: on this whole run and doesn't play at all, he
Speaker 2: just still deserves to be there because he's one of
Speaker 2: the greatest and he deserves that time to come back.
Speaker 2: I just didn't understand why Kawhi wasn't given that scene,
Speaker 2: given that he's one of the you know, according to
Speaker 2: some of the clothes that came out of there, he
Speaker 2: was one of the four guys that kind of like
Speaker 2: ruled the last decade with with Lebron, Stephen kad you know,
Speaker 2: Kawhi's got two chips, led a couple of teams. There's
Speaker 2: a lot of respect for him there, and I was
Speaker 2: just surprised that he wasn't given that same kind of leeway,
Speaker 2: Like if if you go into London, let's say last week,
Speaker 2: and it's not where you need to be, then you
Speaker 2: can kind of consider making a move or shifting it,
Speaker 2: you know. I think there was there was a question
Speaker 2: about Katie and Steve CHRISTI there was no consideration whatsoever
Speaker 2: replacing even though he hadn't played a game yet, which
Speaker 2: again is fine, you absolutely should not replace Katie the
Speaker 2: whole tournament. But I just didn't understand why Kawhi and
Speaker 2: why that early where he came out for four practices.
Speaker 2: Sounded like he went, well, there's a little bit of
Speaker 2: room for improvement, but not a big deal. He wanted
Speaker 2: to play. The Clippers say he wanted to play, and
Speaker 2: ten USA claims it was a joint effort. It just
Speaker 2: wasn't really adding up. And I I understand if if
Speaker 2: if there's like Nike politics involved in the three black
Speaker 2: cvs just pulled up. No, I understand if there's I
Speaker 2: just don't buy that as an easy excuse. Like I
Speaker 2: don't know. I saw on Twitter, like like Katie's guy
Speaker 2: went out and said, well, it's because they needed another guard.
Speaker 2: I'm like, well you need another guard. I just saw
Speaker 2: Tyre Taliburton get benched like for the last game. I
Speaker 2: don't even think he play that much, if he played
Speaker 2: at all. So I don't think it's a guard thing.
Speaker 2: And I've seen people say the Nike thing, and I'm like, oh,
Speaker 2: I don't know, what would you really be that salty
Speaker 2: like Steph Curry's is an under armour guy like Joel
Speaker 2: and beads, a sketchers guy like. I understand their different,
Speaker 2: you know, companies, but like, what we really gonna do
Speaker 2: this over over a brand? Like I don't know, maybe
Speaker 2: that is the case. I don't know. Kawhi's trainer came out,
Speaker 2: uh clip Parks said that it was it was some
Speaker 2: some some Nike politics and brand stuff. We all know
Speaker 2: what the lawsuit he had with Nike and a couple
Speaker 2: of years ago without the logos. So I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't think there's a simple answer here. I don't
Speaker 2: think we'll ever know the real the truth here. I
Speaker 2: do know that from what I understand, Kawhi was planning
Speaker 2: to be in Paris. Kawhi was planning to play in
Speaker 2: the Olympics. He was working very hard to get there,
Speaker 2: and up until the day he was removed from the team,
Speaker 2: he thought he was going to be in Paris from
Speaker 2: what I understand. So again, understanding that we'll probably never
Speaker 2: know the full truth behind it, I'm of the belief
Speaker 2: that this was a Team USA call for whatever reason.
Speaker 2: But again, it's hard in this situation because you can't
Speaker 2: take everything the Clipper say at face value. You can't
Speaker 2: take everything the tm USA says a face value, Like
Speaker 2: the Clippers refused to address with the Kawhi the procedure
Speaker 2: of this offseason. That's kind of weird. Why would you fail?
Speaker 2: Would you fail? It's a yes or no question? And
Speaker 2: I followed up. I said, hey, like just following following up,
Speaker 2: because you're opening it for speculation by not answering that
Speaker 2: did Kawhi a procedure? And Lawrence Frank was not open
Speaker 2: to detailing anything like that.
Speaker 1: So correct me if I'm wrong somewhere. But he says
Speaker 1: something to the effect of, if it was something more serious,
Speaker 1: we would have refarded whether or not he at a procedure.
Speaker 2: That sounds.
Speaker 1: Because you did press about that. I found that interesting
Speaker 1: it because a lot of people have speculated that when
Speaker 1: Kawhi came into camp and said will what was the quote?
Speaker 1: It was something to see the effect of I had
Speaker 1: a turnaround within the last couple of weeks. We're thinking,
Speaker 1: does that mean the swelling has been going on since then?
Speaker 2: I think he said no. I think I think what
Speaker 2: the quote was that he was he was ready to
Speaker 2: go within like two or three weeks before that. He
Speaker 2: was actually feeling like himself, like on the court, doing
Speaker 2: everything he needed to. So the quote that from from
Speaker 2: Florence Frank. When I asked him that follow up question,
Speaker 2: I said, just to clarify, did you open up for speculation?
Speaker 2: Did he or did he not undergo a procedure at
Speaker 2: the end of the last season, he says, I'm not
Speaker 2: going to talk about any specific treatments, whether it's Kawhi
Speaker 2: or anyone else. If a player has significant surgery, we
Speaker 2: always announced those things, but in the off season, guys
Speaker 2: are always getting maintenance things that we just don't comment on.
Speaker 1: If a player had significant surgery, we would announce those things.
Speaker 2: So is there a minor surgery, is.
Speaker 1: Clean up procedure minor?
Speaker 2: How to? I don't know again, See, you just opened
Speaker 2: up for speculation by doing this, and so when you
Speaker 2: do that, it's hard to take everything that people say
Speaker 2: a base value, Like, do I believe that it was
Speaker 2: fully on Team USA? Do I believe that it was
Speaker 2: fully on the Clippers? Did Kawhi just decide he didn't
Speaker 2: want to play anymore and one of the focus in
Speaker 2: the season, and everyone's kind of taking the hit for him, Like,
Speaker 2: it's hard to tell. It's really hard to guess what
Speaker 2: that is. So I again, I don't want to speculate
Speaker 2: too much, but because it's really hard to guess. But
Speaker 2: it sounds like based off Lawrence Frank coming out and
Speaker 2: saying we're disappointed with the decision, I feel like you
Speaker 2: don't do that and you know, kind of call someone
Speaker 2: out without some kind of substance being there. And so
Speaker 2: I think I really think it was a Team USA
Speaker 2: call at that point, and for why, I don't know specifically,
Speaker 2: but it sounds like it was our call.
Speaker 1: Well, how do you feel about the seemingly double standard
Speaker 1: between Kawhi and KD and how they handled them with TuS?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean Kad has more of a history with
Speaker 3: Team USA. I think that that makes sense. That he
Speaker 3: would get like the benefit of the doubt. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I don't know. It's just it's it's hard to say
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, like what was the
Speaker 3: final straw or what was like the full contribution to
Speaker 3: that decision. I don't necessarily believe that it was like
Speaker 3: a brand politics thing. While like that might have played
Speaker 3: a minor factor, I doubt that that's the extent of
Speaker 3: the situation. I was excited, really excited about, you know,
Speaker 3: Kawhi volunteering to play Team USA basketball. I thought that
Speaker 3: that was going to be really good for him, especially
Speaker 3: coming off an injury, to see at a competitive level,
Speaker 3: like what you know what where he's really at, how
Speaker 3: the how the knee would respond. But knowing that there
Speaker 3: could have been some sort of procedure that apparently wasn't
Speaker 3: major enough to let us know about it, it doesn't
Speaker 3: make me feel great about the situation. But again, I
Speaker 3: still feel like if he was good enough to go,
Speaker 3: as half of you know, the situation seems to think,
Speaker 3: I would have like to see him get get the shot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think just of all, But I think it's
Speaker 2: not really that Kawhi was just sent home. Like I
Speaker 2: think if if he if he goes to London or
Speaker 2: if he goes to Abu Dhabi and tries to play
Speaker 2: a game and you know, plays well, but maybe the
Speaker 2: swelling comes back a little bit, or there's concerns about hisself,
Speaker 2: then you can say, Okay, we might need to we
Speaker 2: should replace him because we don't know if he can
Speaker 2: give it a go. The whole way like that makes sense,
Speaker 2: But you didn't even give him an opportunity, in my opinion,
Speaker 2: to even get get in game actions. And what are
Speaker 2: you gonna what are you gonna need from Kawhi with
Speaker 2: this kind of team eight minutes a game, ten minutes
Speaker 2: a game, like you're not gonna need that much. So
Speaker 2: not really giving him an opportunity to even get to
Speaker 2: one of the other countries and play a game, considering
Speaker 2: of a guy on the sidelines who hasn't played with
Speaker 2: the Castra in a month now, Like it's just strange
Speaker 2: to me. Yeah, it's not that, it's not the fact
Speaker 2: that they sent Kawhi home. So they send him home
Speaker 2: so early without an opportunity to see him play.
Speaker 3: That's a great point.
Speaker 2: That's a great Maybe maybe they saw him play and
Speaker 2: weren't happy with what they saw during those practices, but
Speaker 2: Lawrence Frank said he looked good, and I'm gonna I'm
Speaker 2: gonna assume to inilicate.
Speaker 1: That because Laurence Frank said something else to the degree
Speaker 1: of like, we know how he looks in practice, like
Speaker 1: we've been around him for five years. We know how
Speaker 1: he should look when he's right. And Timyo say, maybe
Speaker 1: you know obviously coach lou knows too. But that's just
Speaker 1: it's so strange, it's so mysterious. I know a lot
Speaker 1: of people could be saying in the comments, you know,
Speaker 1: well Kawhi is so injury prone, that's why KD.
Speaker 2: That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: Well, and Kd's missed about the same amount of games
Speaker 1: as Kawhia since twenty nineteen. Like they're both they both
Speaker 1: have been injury.
Speaker 2: Problem more, this is more coming off.
Speaker 1: The achilles and now you're talking about a calf injury
Speaker 1: with him. That's not something you can downplay.
Speaker 2: And this is a guy who played on the calf
Speaker 2: injury in the finals and ended up tearing his achilles.
Speaker 2: So like you're being extra careful with the guy you
Speaker 2: know has dealt with a history of CAF issues. So
Speaker 2: like I again, it's not it's not that they cut
Speaker 2: Kawi's when they cut Kawhis without even a chance to
Speaker 2: play that in one of the games. Again, I think
Speaker 2: if he plays in a game, the nie swells up
Speaker 2: a little bit and you're not comfortable with how he looks,
Speaker 2: that's totally unstainable because I think you gave it a shot.
Speaker 2: But bringing him all the way to Vegas, having him work,
Speaker 2: I've been in an accelerated timeline to get ready for
Speaker 2: Vegas in that training game. And then he'd be like
Speaker 2: all right, so yeah, like that doesn't make sense to me.
Speaker 2: And there was that report during the finals. I remember
Speaker 2: I actually asked Grant Hill. It's strange how that timing worked,
Speaker 2: because I remember I proched Grant Hill after game uh,
Speaker 2: after game two of the finals, I prosed grand Hill
Speaker 2: has introduced myself, said who I was. I was like, Hey,
Speaker 2: have you had any discussions or do you know what's
Speaker 2: going on with Kawhi if you heard any updates? I
Speaker 2: know he's with the nise swelling. And he said no,
Speaker 2: I haven't. I haven't spoken with Lawrence or Kawhi yet.
Speaker 2: And then like a day and a half later, WLDE
Speaker 2: reports that thing during the during the game, saying that
Speaker 2: Derek Whites came to to replace Kawhi, and that to
Speaker 2: me was just like a that's a strange timing moment,
Speaker 2: like I'm not gonna take I'm not taking credit for
Speaker 2: I just thought it was strange that I asked him
Speaker 2: about it. There was nothing about Kawhi for weeks, and
Speaker 2: then all of a sudden when I asked that, that
Speaker 2: Derek White thing came up and that was a month,
Speaker 2: not a month, it was two and a half, three
Speaker 2: weeks before they were supposed to show up to training camp.
Speaker 2: So I don't know. The whole the whole situation was
Speaker 2: was very strange. It was, it didn't it didn't really
Speaker 2: make a lot of sense. Like the fact that the
Speaker 2: replacement publicly considered that way three weeks before was also
Speaker 2: very weird. Like you can have replacements in mind and
Speaker 2: those usually aren't reported, but the fact that his specific
Speaker 2: name was reported as a replacement that early was strange.
Speaker 1: It seems almost like they were setting him up to fail,
Speaker 1: where if they see any indication that he's not completely
Speaker 1: fully one hundred percent or has the most bounced out there,
Speaker 1: that oh, I guess we gotta go with Derek White
Speaker 1: like this was maybe something in the works early on.
Speaker 1: You should take credit for that. Timer.
Speaker 2: I mean, look, I I don't want to go that
Speaker 2: far because I don't want to speak for anyone.
Speaker 1: I'm just throwing out there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's it's a weird, little sensitive matter with Kawhi.
Speaker 2: You know that we're never going to ever get the truth.
Speaker 2: We'll try, but the truth. It's just a very very
Speaker 2: strange scenario that I've had. I've never had to cover
Speaker 2: something so strange where it's like wait, all around, just
Speaker 2: just completely strange. Not giving a chance to play in
Speaker 2: the game cut the morning of that pre you know,
Speaker 2: the exhibition game against whoever they played Canada there you go, Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: it was just the whole situation was very very strange.
Speaker 2: It didn't really make a lot of sense to me.
Speaker 2: It still doesn't, but you know, I thought he deserved
Speaker 2: a chance to be there, and unfortunately it's not. So
Speaker 2: you know, Lawrence Frank was undoubtedly sure that he'd be
Speaker 2: ready for training camp. I said he was good to go.
Speaker 2: So again, it's just a very very confusing situation to
Speaker 2: start to start the month with with that camp stuff.
Speaker 1: As we hardy boys our way through this mystery, or
Speaker 1: Nancy drew it here. The only other thing I could
Speaker 1: think of was the day before they cut him, the
Speaker 1: Tuesday before the Wednesday game against Canada, I believe is
Speaker 1: when you said the knee is in a neutral state,
Speaker 1: and I wonder if that made them think that, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is going to be something recurring.
Speaker 2: So what what does neutral state mean?
Speaker 1: I just feel it's not swollen. I would guess it's
Speaker 1: not swollen, or it's not sore, or you know, it
Speaker 1: hasn't been aflamed. I would just guess that hum talking
Speaker 1: like that might have said maybe a red flag. I
Speaker 1: don't know. Did they read into that interesting?
Speaker 2: I just I just didn't know. I saw that floating
Speaker 2: on Twitter. I just didn't know how to take that,
Speaker 2: Like to me, that was good news, Like, I don't
Speaker 2: know how it's it's I don't know how to how
Speaker 2: to take that. I I always took it, Okay, that
Speaker 2: means the swelling is not there, which is what you want.
Speaker 2: It's the swollen or not right, that's pretty much I
Speaker 2: should be.
Speaker 1: But it could be interpreted as but it's always in
Speaker 1: the back of his mind, or it could be lingering
Speaker 1: it's okay right now. Right because he spoke about it,
Speaker 1: you know, it makes it seem like it's on his
Speaker 1: mind too. So therefore it's still a very situation with
Speaker 1: the knee.
Speaker 2: I mean, these guys have their medical people there. I'm
Speaker 2: sure the Clippers probably sent their own as well, like
Speaker 2: they had evaluations being done. It wasn't like he was
Speaker 2: just practicing four days and they're like, oh, why you
Speaker 2: suddenly feel something like No, I'm sure they were evaluating
Speaker 2: him day to day, especially him, So.
Speaker 1: I just some one I'm trying to get into the
Speaker 1: mind of, like why would Timysa do it right then too?
Speaker 1: And that did come out the day before. I don't know,
Speaker 1: it's it's weird. We'll take a quick time out, we'll
Speaker 1: come back. We'll get into some more weird stuff with
Speaker 1: Paul George as we have to mar Azari with us
Speaker 1: here on Clips to Dip commercials coming your way in
Speaker 1: three two one.
Speaker 3: All right, we're back in the Clips and Dip with
Speaker 3: special guests t Mayor Azzarrely of Clutch Points. All right,
Speaker 3: so we got to talk about the Paul George stuff. Adam,
Speaker 3: I don't think we've talked about this on the show.
Speaker 3: Yet Paul George up to the same old stuff, putting it,
Speaker 3: putting his foot in his mouth publicly. We recently heard
Speaker 3: on the podcast PCE Show that he kind of viewed
Speaker 3: the Clippers as as a as the b team, uh
Speaker 3: of course to the Lakers. And there is some context
Speaker 3: of this. I guess like people want to talk about
Speaker 3: the context that he was talking about this is how
Speaker 3: like maybe he his friends or something made him feel.
Speaker 3: I think the thing if you're a Clippers fin or
Speaker 3: if you've you know, been following Paul George is it's
Speaker 3: just a complete one to eighty from what he said
Speaker 3: when he signed that he grew up a Clippers fan,
Speaker 3: and it's just it's all very bizarre. It's all very
Speaker 3: on brand for for Paul George and and what we.
Speaker 2: Know of him.
Speaker 3: So, Mayor, did these comments surprise you as anything about
Speaker 3: PG and the way he's kind of carried himself surprised
Speaker 3: you since the exit and you know, his his uh
Speaker 3: introduction in Philadelphia there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I those of those comments actually did surprise me.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I don't know why you would, why you would kind
Speaker 2: of burn that I don't know, burn that bridge, but
Speaker 2: kind of what's the what's what's the word on your
Speaker 2: way out? What's the phrase? I don't know what the
Speaker 2: phrase is, but he kind of the way out. Sure, yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't know why you would do that,
Speaker 2: Like Clipper fans had to watched you have like three
Speaker 2: straight non healthy postseasons, like and they still showed up
Speaker 2: as a board of the buyer jersey, Like, you don't
Speaker 2: need to do that. So I definitely was surprised that.
Speaker 2: I'm not surprised, to tell a certain way. I'm surprised
Speaker 2: that he went out and just said that, like the
Speaker 2: the podcast as as as great as it has been
Speaker 2: for setting him up for a media career, and I
Speaker 2: think he definitely does have one because he's great at it.
Speaker 2: It sets him up so much because he just he
Speaker 2: just talks too much and just just be being honest.
Speaker 2: Like I think he just says too much of what's
Speaker 2: on his head and you don't have to you don't
Speaker 2: have to do that all the time. To me, if
Speaker 2: you're actually an l A native, you know what the
Speaker 2: situation here is in LA. It's no question, it's no
Speaker 2: question you came here, you were you, you were acquired
Speaker 2: to try and change that to become the A team.
Speaker 2: They gave up the hall to try and for you
Speaker 2: to try and help you, for you to help turn
Speaker 2: the organization into the A team. That's never gonna happen.
Speaker 2: In LA. We know that the Lakers, the Lakers and
Speaker 2: Laker fans run LA. They've been here forever, They've their
Speaker 2: historic franchise.
Speaker 1: Any I don't even think in the history of sports.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't even think it's it's about that. You
Speaker 2: just have to go and carve your own nage and
Speaker 2: and and do things for yourself, whether it's reached the
Speaker 2: conference finals for the first time, like that was a
Speaker 2: big moment, reached the finals for the first time, Like,
Speaker 2: I don't think it was. I don't think that even matters.
Speaker 2: And if you're like if you're if you're secure with
Speaker 2: yourself and who you are, Like, I don't know those
Speaker 2: comments screaming and security to me because I'm like, you
Speaker 2: know what in LA? Yeah, like you know what the
Speaker 2: situation is in LA, Like of course, Like are you
Speaker 2: telling me you let a couple of Laker fans kind
Speaker 2: of dissuade you or mess to you mentally? Like why
Speaker 2: was that even on your mind that that's the thing
Speaker 2: for me where it's like again, Clipper fans Clipper player,
Speaker 2: like they know what it is. And I think if
Speaker 2: you're making millions of bucks and millions of dollars and
Speaker 2: you're playing for for for a high level organization, like
Speaker 2: that doesn't even matter, but that legitimately should not even Matt,
Speaker 2: why does anything an opposing team saying, even say even
Speaker 2: matter to you. That's just what I can't kind of
Speaker 2: wrap my head around, Like how much shit do do
Speaker 2: people do? Defense hear take like, why does it matter?
Speaker 2: You're playing for the LA Clippers and a top notch organization,
Speaker 2: they're paying you top dollar and you're always contending for
Speaker 2: a championship or attempting to anyways, Like why does that matter? Why?
Speaker 2: I don't know. I understand there was some context around
Speaker 2: it that may have been missing, but to me that
Speaker 2: also doesn't matter because that quote alone kind of says
Speaker 2: it all.
Speaker 3: And even if there was context, you know how people
Speaker 3: are gonna take that, like they're like, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean, you know what NBA media is, you know
Speaker 3: exactly how that's going to be interpreted.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I was genuinely confused by that, Like if
Speaker 2: people were saying he said that he said the same
Speaker 2: thing last year when he had Terrence Man in the podcast,
Speaker 2: and that's not true. Saying Laker fans, let you hear
Speaker 2: it and saying I'm on the B team. That's the
Speaker 2: vibe is very different. And again not that not that
Speaker 2: he should care too much about it, but just don't don't,
Speaker 2: you know, shit on people on the way out, you know,
Speaker 2: fans or people who are trying to like like you know,
Speaker 2: you know, trying trying to get this organiztion to where
Speaker 2: they want to be. Like, I don't think you need
Speaker 2: to do that. Like you got your max money. No
Speaker 2: one on earth is going to criticize you for wanting
Speaker 2: to take an extra sixty million dollars in a year.
Speaker 2: You should want us to do that. I would do that,
Speaker 2: any one of us would do that. Just don't talk
Speaker 2: too much in the way out and to kind of
Speaker 2: burn those bridges and make it look bad. I don't
Speaker 2: know that. That's the thing for me speaking of that.
Speaker 2: You can't keep saying. You can't keep saying stuff stuff
Speaker 2: you said was taking out of content, because that's not true. Yeah,
Speaker 2: there was a lot of stuff that he said was
Speaker 2: taking like when he said I'm not the right way
Speaker 2: he said, championship is not is not my my my
Speaker 2: number one priority and free agency, it's it's the right
Speaker 2: style of basketball. That is immediately a shot at James
Speaker 2: Harden and and the Clippers to me. And so you
Speaker 2: can't say that was taken out of context. You can't
Speaker 2: oun't know where to say, I'm the be, I'm the two,
Speaker 2: he's the one, I'm the one, be he's the one.
Speaker 2: A yes, yes, yes, You can't say that was taken
Speaker 2: out of context because it wasn't. The proper context is
Speaker 2: being applied. You just said what you said, and maybe
Speaker 2: he didn't like how people reacted to it, like was
Speaker 2: there context missing when when he said we don't have
Speaker 2: an identity? No, the proper context was applied, and everyone
Speaker 2: around him was pissed off because of that.
Speaker 1: So it seems like he talks out of both sides
Speaker 1: of his mouth a little too much sometimes, like he
Speaker 1: gets himself in trouble unnecessarily. He put a target on
Speaker 1: his own back in this situation because a lot of
Speaker 1: Clippers fans now are saying, oh, well, I'll be there
Speaker 1: your first time back and ready to boo you now,
Speaker 1: and I don't think that was the case at first, because,
Speaker 1: like you said, seventy two more million dollars, I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna hate it on our guy for that.
Speaker 2: No, No, I think he definitely has a case, still
Speaker 2: has the case regards of the comments and being one
Speaker 2: of the best Clippers ever. Yeah, he was like Game
Speaker 2: five Utah, Game five Phoenix, like incredible formance. He makes
Speaker 2: two free throws. They probably go up, you know, two
Speaker 2: to one in that series heading back to Game four
Speaker 2: in La. So like there's so many what is but
Speaker 2: like he definitely has a case for one of the
Speaker 2: best best Clippers of all time. I just don't think
Speaker 2: you need to you need to, you know, do this
Speaker 2: on the way out, like go to Philly, enjoy your time,
Speaker 2: enjoy your money. What about that? Like people are like,
Speaker 2: why are Clipper fans talking about this and that? But
Speaker 2: well he's he's coming at them. That's why he's shooting
Speaker 2: on him for no reason. And and and in a
Speaker 2: way kind of going into the West by saying we
Speaker 2: took his comments out of context, when no, we did
Speaker 2: not take them out of context. We get in a
Speaker 2: proper amount of context, you said stuff that didn't make sense.
Speaker 1: The only way they could be taken out of context,
Speaker 1: is if right afterwards he said, just kidding, I always
Speaker 1: want to be the number one, And that didn't happen.
Speaker 1: Everything there was, it's a minute long clip. I put
Speaker 1: it up like it's not hard. No one's reading into this.
Speaker 1: He went out of his way that day. He's talking
Speaker 1: about Lebron and Dwayne Wade in Miami, as you know,
Speaker 1: somewhere being in the locker room when it happened. And
Speaker 1: then he jumped right into and just to be clear
Speaker 1: on the number two here, and he went so far
Speaker 1: to say that he's not even one B. He's the
Speaker 1: number two, not one A to one B, which is
Speaker 1: the best closer, he's number two.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And that that comment actually pissed off Toron Lou
Speaker 2: to the point we're tired of talk to him about
Speaker 2: things like, no, I don't need you to be the
Speaker 2: number two. You got to act like a one. If
Speaker 2: it happens to falling away where you're taking a night
Speaker 2: back seat one night, that doesn't make you the two,
Speaker 2: you know, So that I know, I know he wasn't
Speaker 2: happy about those comments. And that's where after that PG
Speaker 2: kind of clarified he was kind of annoyed and he's like, well, no,
Speaker 2: I'm the one. Bee's the one ad it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 2: We're both working together, YadA YadA. So no, again, one
Speaker 2: of the greatest Clippers ever just just kind of kills himself,
Speaker 2: beats himself up with his own comments. Unfortunately, that's the
Speaker 2: that's the that's the really strange truth. Like I again,
Speaker 2: I think everyone looks at Paul's time fondly here until
Speaker 2: he made those comments, and it's like, well, it's just
Speaker 2: no reason for that, no reason even with the injuries.
Speaker 2: People look at a sign fondly here because he was
Speaker 2: still again all time three point leader in the regular season,
Speaker 2: like he made history as a three point shooter, he
Speaker 2: got to the conference finals. There's so much that he did,
Speaker 2: you know, being from LA, all the comments you said
Speaker 2: about being Clipper fan being from LA and then you
Speaker 2: turn around and do this. It's just so strange. It
Speaker 2: doesn't make sense at all. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't ever really get what that guy is thinking.
Speaker 3: But now that Paul George is sort of out, you
Speaker 3: talked about the Clippers sort of their approach to revitalizing
Speaker 3: this bench. Where do you see the Clippers at right now?
Speaker 3: Like in terms of like what do you would you
Speaker 3: call it a rebuilding phase? Like what where are they
Speaker 3: at right now and what do you think their ceiling
Speaker 3: is as constructed or if there's a move that you
Speaker 3: could see.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't directly compare it, but this seems similar to
Speaker 2: the twenty seventeen eighteen year after Chris Paul left to Houston,
Speaker 2: where they retained one of their stars, I leave. They
Speaker 2: signed Blake Griffin that offseason to a MAX deal.
Speaker 3: Forty That was the they missed the playoffs, and that
Speaker 3: was the forty one win year.
Speaker 2: That was the forty two and forty year. Yeah, that
Speaker 2: was the Milo ste Dosich, the Blake Griffin, Austin ever
Speaker 2: spell on Blake's knee, gallop nineteen games, Boban and Tobias
Speaker 2: Scott here later that year. Yeah, I think they're definitely
Speaker 2: in a traindditional phase. But by no means are they
Speaker 2: just like punting on the season, Like there's still They're
Speaker 2: still all a couple of draft picks that okay, so
Speaker 2: they so they have to remain competitive. And I think
Speaker 2: this is my opinion, This is not what I at
Speaker 2: all what anyone else is saying, is my opinion the
Speaker 2: league is trending towards more towards like two star led
Speaker 2: teams as opposed to three star teams, just because it's
Speaker 2: much harder to build a team, an actual team in
Speaker 2: this new CBA, Like you can't just do three stars
Speaker 2: of minimums. That doesn't work. It no longer works unless
Speaker 2: those stars are Like even even with the Suns like
Speaker 2: Kevin Durant Devin Book are two of the best offensive
Speaker 2: players in in the NBA. Didn't they just get swept
Speaker 2: last year four?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah, Minnesota in four and dumped on Gad on the
Speaker 1: way out was a yeah.
Speaker 2: So, like I, I personally don't believe the way to
Speaker 2: build teams anymore is a three star system. I think
Speaker 2: it's more so too. And the Claybers don't even have
Speaker 2: a max player on this roster if you look at it,
Speaker 2: they don't have a max player anywhere. They have Kawhiander
Speaker 2: the max, they have James Wayne to the max, and
Speaker 2: they have a bunch of compliments guys around them, so
Speaker 2: they're they're really trying to build a good team here.
Speaker 2: So I can kind of appreciate the attempt here to
Speaker 2: to build a solid team. And honestly, I think if
Speaker 2: Paul was willing to accept the three one fifty, which
Speaker 2: right around that ballpark, which I think if it was
Speaker 2: on the table to end, like if he accepted that,
Speaker 2: they would have been a second apron team this year,
Speaker 2: but they would have probably been under the second apron
Speaker 2: if they navigated that correctly, and so for next year,
Speaker 2: they would have been under the second April next year.
Speaker 2: So like that would have allowed them to Again it's tight,
Speaker 2: not a lot of margin for you know, movements, but
Speaker 2: you can do something around there. So I think they
Speaker 2: were still willing to give him that and navigate around that.
Speaker 2: But now that he's gone, I mean that opened up
Speaker 2: the non taxp A mid level, the obviously MLI the
Speaker 2: bi annual exception which they gave but to him, and
Speaker 2: so like I think I think it really helped them
Speaker 2: build an actual team around. So the signing for Chris Dunn,
Speaker 2: you know, they're they're they're under the first apron. They
Speaker 2: have a legitimate team with some guys around, very movable
Speaker 2: pieces if they find out they need to move one eventually.
Speaker 2: And if you look at how all the contracts line up,
Speaker 2: most of them are kind of either like an option
Speaker 2: for that last year in twenty six twenty seven, which yeah,
Speaker 2: twenty six twenty seven, which is that that's freegencies what
Speaker 2: they're kind of targeting some of the big guns. If
Speaker 2: you look at that free agency, there's a lot of
Speaker 2: guys that they're uh that may become available, maybe they
Speaker 2: sign extensions, maybe they don't. And you always need the
Speaker 2: possibility that a star has disguntled, disgruntled and regush the trade.
Speaker 2: So I think I think they did. They did the
Speaker 2: right thing and not really caving to any demands, maintaining
Speaker 2: their their their flexibility, staying under that first apron and
Speaker 2: getting a bunch of complimentary guys. You can kind of
Speaker 2: see what you have here. Like I think Chris Dunn
Speaker 2: is a really solid guard. He's not gonna, you know,
Speaker 2: keep you twenty a night, but he'll he'll he'll be
Speaker 2: able to be your point of attack defender at the
Speaker 2: guard position. He's a really smart guy, doesn't gamble too much.
Speaker 2: A solid defender like Derek Jones Junior would not have
Speaker 2: been available if they resigned Paul and so Derek Jones
Speaker 2: is another really good defender who I think you want
Speaker 2: around Kawhi and James and want to reduce that workload.
Speaker 2: So they really, they did a really good job building
Speaker 2: an actual team around these Kawhi and James and maintaining
Speaker 2: the fixibility in twenty six, twenty seven.
Speaker 1: Last question for me because you brought it up and
Speaker 1: it kind of reminded me of betweeting you and getting
Speaker 1: some clarity on the situation with the contract with Paul George.
Speaker 1: Do you believe what he said on his podcast because
Speaker 1: he presented it as if the three for one point
Speaker 1: fifty wasn't there until later? Do you believe it wasn't
Speaker 1: there around the All Star break or before they tabled talks.
Speaker 2: So my understanding, my understanding of this is that the
Speaker 2: two sixty that he was offered was part of an extension,
Speaker 2: but he was But I believe it was like a
Speaker 2: starting point extension type of thing, like obviously, you can
Speaker 2: negotiate your way up if you want, and that's kind
Speaker 2: of how business works. We'll start low, you start high,
Speaker 2: we'll meet in the middle, like that's just how it works.
Speaker 2: And so I think that was more of like the
Speaker 2: baseline minimum extension that would include him opting in next trime.
Speaker 2: I believe, so like that part wasn't included either.
Speaker 1: No, he acted like they really were just offering two
Speaker 1: for sixty when it would be him opting in for
Speaker 1: fifty plus the sixties. So it's one ten as your
Speaker 1: starting point.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it was a little a little, a little different,
Speaker 2: But yeah, you think he did.
Speaker 1: Offer him before you know, free agency opened up, that
Speaker 1: it was there three for one to fifty at some
Speaker 1: point during the season.
Speaker 2: Before free agency opened up. My understanding is that there
Speaker 2: was a three one fifty on the table. I don't
Speaker 2: believe that was on the table at All Star Break.
Speaker 2: I think he was still looking for a four year
Speaker 2: or a max at that point, but I think as
Speaker 2: free agency got near, he was more willing to accept
Speaker 2: the three one to fifty. But I think that's where
Speaker 2: he mentioned the no trade clause. And my understanding was
Speaker 2: he did request a no trade clause, but the Clippers
Speaker 2: were just not willing to include that. Again, that kind
Speaker 2: of limits their ability to do anything at that point.
Speaker 2: And I think with respect to Paul, you do want
Speaker 2: to have him, but you also want to keep your
Speaker 2: options open.
Speaker 3: And what two NTC's in the league right now, Like,
Speaker 3: how many players even have an NTC at this point.
Speaker 2: I don't even know. I have no idea. I couldn't
Speaker 2: even tell you. I think maybe Leron.
Speaker 1: Broun has one, Lebron has one.
Speaker 3: Who's I think Bradley Bradley. Yeah, and people thought when
Speaker 3: he signed that extension, they thought it was insane to
Speaker 3: give to give him a no trade clause. And he
Speaker 3: wasn't thirty four years old, and.
Speaker 2: You saw what Washington have to do. They had to
Speaker 2: find a way to get him, and they didn't get
Speaker 2: much back for him, So like, yeah, that complicates things
Speaker 2: at that point. So yeah, my understanding is that they
Speaker 2: weren't willing to just give him a no trade clause.
Speaker 2: Even at three one fifty. They weren't willing to give
Speaker 2: him that, and they weren't willing to go up because
Speaker 2: you know, I think, I think you have to look
Speaker 2: at it this way. I think when when when Paul,
Speaker 2: when Jane's arrived, I think there was understanding that, Okay,
Speaker 2: all three of us are gonna have stick some kind
Speaker 2: of pay cut in order to make this work. We
Speaker 2: can't just max all of you like. It doesn't work
Speaker 2: that way. And so I think even if you if
Speaker 2: you even look back to training camp in Hawaii, we
Speaker 2: asked Paul about extension dogs and he goes, yeah, you know,
Speaker 2: we're good, but we still have to meet at the
Speaker 2: right number. So even back then he was saying that,
Speaker 2: he was saying that we're not We're not there yet.
Speaker 2: So you know, I think at the end of the day,
Speaker 2: just again hard, hard to turn down another seventy million
Speaker 2: or whatever that ended up being sixty million, Like I think, everyone,
Speaker 2: I'm doing that. I don't care if I have believe
Speaker 2: in Philly for you an extra year, I'm doing that
Speaker 2: seventy million dollars generational money. But the three one fifty
Speaker 2: was there. I think at that point you just wanted
Speaker 2: to know trade clause. And you know, I think the
Speaker 2: last thing I will say on that, I think you
Speaker 2: also have to, you know, considered the you know, from
Speaker 2: the Clippers perspective, the relationship part of it, where you know,
Speaker 2: if you tell Kawhi, James and Paul, hey, this is
Speaker 2: what we want to sign you guys to, it'll work
Speaker 2: for all us and we can build a team around you. Okay.
Speaker 2: So so, so James plans to sign that whenever it happens,
Speaker 2: whenever agency happens. You know, if Kawhi signed his extension
Speaker 2: when he did, uh so, then you can't turn around
Speaker 2: and then give Paul way more than you gave Kawhi,
Speaker 2: or way more than you planned to give James, because
Speaker 2: they're like, wait, what about me? I thought we had
Speaker 2: an agreement and you might kind of mess some relationships
Speaker 2: up like that, And I don't think this is how
Speaker 2: I'll tell you. Do think you can't do that obviously,
Speaker 2: So James signed pretty quickly. I agreed pretty quickly after
Speaker 2: free agency. I think they they knew they wanted to
Speaker 2: continue their partnership together. Uh. Kawhi had his back then
Speaker 2: in January, and I think it was very clear. I
Speaker 2: mean I'd been writing it was it was it was
Speaker 2: kind of training in that direction that he was just
Speaker 2: going to be gone that final month heading into the finals.
Speaker 2: It just felt like he was on his way out. Uh.
Speaker 2: He felt kind of disrespected by the Clippers offer, and
Speaker 2: he would Uh. I wanted to get that four year deal,
Speaker 2: so he did. Congrats to him. That's that's life changing money.
Speaker 2: And Uh, I look forward to seeing how everyone involved.
Speaker 3: Does very diplomatic answer.
Speaker 2: Honestly, honestly, he said, I'm looking forward to the scrutiny
Speaker 2: and the criticism from Philly fans. Okay, I want to
Speaker 2: see it.
Speaker 3: Believe it when I see it, Pal, I'll believe it
Speaker 3: when I see it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a tough thing because, like again, Paul had
Speaker 2: such a great tenure here with the Clippers. He was
Speaker 2: really great with us in the media, like he was
Speaker 2: solid with fans, like fans love the podcast, like it
Speaker 2: just didn't need to go there. It really didn't got.
Speaker 1: His podcast off the ground. The Clippers fans did. It's
Speaker 1: not it may not be going right now if it
Speaker 1: wasn't Forcliper Nations supporting it from the ground floor.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know. Best of luck to him
Speaker 2: though he was he was, he was a joy to
Speaker 2: cover five years here. He did he was always great
Speaker 2: with us in the media. I will say that, like,
Speaker 2: regardless of how much he said, like I think he was,
Speaker 2: he tried his best to be open and forthcoming with
Speaker 2: with anything that we had to ask. And I think
Speaker 2: from that perspective, you appreciate that. You definitely want that.
Speaker 2: It helps you understand the bigger picture of a bit
Speaker 2: more so. I think from that aspect, nothing, but you know,
Speaker 2: I appreciate, appreciative. I'm appreciative for my time covering and
Speaker 2: he was he was great with us considering you have
Speaker 2: you know Kawhi who doesn't really speak that much. James
Speaker 2: wasn't a big talker. Russ, who we know is not
Speaker 2: a big talker like Paul was the one guy who
Speaker 2: would speak, so uh definitely appreciate it to him for that.
Speaker 1: We appreciate you and all your time today here Till
Speaker 1: Mayra on Clips and Dip my friends. Well, if there's
Speaker 1: nothing else, you want to let the people know where
Speaker 1: they can find this spot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, thanks Againtel Mayor for joining us. You can
Speaker 3: even check out Clips and Dip over on YouTube that's
Speaker 3: at Clippers podcast, or you can listen to us wherever
Speaker 3: your podcast. We're on Apple Podcasts, We're on Spotify, We're
Speaker 3: on Amazon Music. We're everywhere anywhere you can find us.
Speaker 3: If you have to listen over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify,
Speaker 3: go ahead leave a little rating review.
Speaker 2: We appreciate it. Wow Amazon, Amazon even got clipson Dip Wow.
Speaker 3: Wow, we're lying in Bezos's pocket over here.
Speaker 2: What an off season for Amazon.
Speaker 1: As he sells his stuff. Maybe we're the reason why,
Speaker 1: uh Tmarra, thanks again for doing this. Where can people
Speaker 1: find you?
Speaker 2: Where can people read your work? I know think, thank
Speaker 2: you guys for having me. It's always fun to be
Speaker 2: uh to be on the clipch and Dip show. I'm
Speaker 2: missing Chuck again shout out. Uh but no. Yeah, you
Speaker 2: can find my stuff on on on Twitter, on clutch
Speaker 2: points dot com. My handle is t O M E
Speaker 2: R A Z A R O Y. Yeah. I have
Speaker 2: a story with Jordan Miller coming out in the next
Speaker 2: couple of days. I won't Jason Tatum that I did
Speaker 2: that's coming on in the next day or two, just
Speaker 2: having with Donovan Mitchell also spoke with the Christie brothers
Speaker 2: Max and Camp Christie in Vegas, so uh, yeah, you
Speaker 2: can find my stuff there, find on clutch Points Twitter,
Speaker 2: I'm not calling it x Instagram and yeah, I think
Speaker 2: that's I think that's pretty much. Oh. I have a
Speaker 2: cool little Norman power workout video. I got to watch
Speaker 2: one of his workout videos and workouts in Vegas, so
Speaker 2: I'm putting together a nice little compilation video of him. Uh.
Speaker 2: Then I'll probably be posting soon as well. So what
Speaker 2: you get ready? That's tough, because dude, I've gone I
Speaker 2: thought about I thought about I thought about reaching out
Speaker 2: to me, like, hey, Drake Kendrick like, what are we
Speaker 2: what are we doing here? Because you spent six or
Speaker 2: seven years in Toronto, but I know that you've been
Speaker 2: in La Now. I don't know how that's tough. I'm undecided.
Speaker 1: We know where Demarto Rosen's allegians last in the day,
Speaker 1: not like us video.
Speaker 2: My god, Drake's heard in the Yeah in the video,
Speaker 2: that's how you know. I'm glad he was involved in
Speaker 2: that video, though, I will say because for for a
Speaker 2: while I thought he I thought he said Derek Rose
Speaker 2: or t Rose. I thought that I thought he made
Speaker 2: why you mentioned Derek Rose? But I'm not going to
Speaker 2: question Kendrick. Well, he also said.
Speaker 1: That video Joel Osmond and instead of Hailey Joel Osmond,
Speaker 1: he said the preacher swindler.
Speaker 2: Guy, Oh did he Yeah, he's.
Speaker 1: Just talking about the sixth sense and he messed that
Speaker 1: up too. So whatever, it's cool.
Speaker 2: It's Kate. Do you do whatever he wants exactly? Yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna question it. Do your thing, man, Well you.
Speaker 1: Want to get this out of here?
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you so much. Everybody who listened or watched this,
Speaker 3: And uh is our not Her co host always says,
Speaker 3: let's go