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Speaker 1: What is up, fellow Sikos. I am Dan Valley coming

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at you in advance of another twenty twenty four twenty

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five MMA look Ahead. We're on to the Denver Nuggets.

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So I got to speak with Adam Modes of DNVR

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Sports of Lockdown, Nuggets of Coast at All City NBA

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podcast with Tim Legler. Those guys are sickos. They're gonna

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be ramping back up soon, he tells us later on

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in the episode we get into all things Nuggets wanted

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to discuss very quickly. We did record this. I think

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it was like a day or two before Jamal Murray

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signed his MAX extension four years about two hundred and

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eight million. Adam Adaes actually reported himself on the d

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NVR show. I think that day in the emergency podcast

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that there's no options or anything on it, so just

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the full four years. So he's under contracts for another

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five years when you include next season. We didn't We

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talked about the extension as if it wasn't done, but

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we did discuss Jamal Murray in the terms of he's

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just going to be a Nugget, not for only next season,

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but just beyond. So but wanted to give a note

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because while there are some notes about whether he's going

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to get the extension, is he we didn't really talk

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about whether he's worth it. I think I said, is

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like the Nuggets have no other choice that they give

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it to him. Why would this even be a debate?

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I did ask him why it might have been taking

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so long, so again recorded before that, But the rest

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of the episode is all extremely GERMANE got Adam for

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over an hour, so I think you're really going to

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enjoy it. If you're new around these parts and you're

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sitting through an intro, subscribe already, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, the

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whole nine. Anyone who can like, comment, help theago, love

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us back on YouTube. Some love in the comments will

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be nice. We get a good amount of it, but

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there are people that just complain too much. We'll get

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in the comments on this episode. Obviously, your opinions mean

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a lot too, and I will respond to as many

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of you as as possible. Join our discord if you're

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new around here, the link to that in the podcast

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and YouTube a descriptions, and look, if you've done all

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those things, please consider spreading the word about us, shouting

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us out, sharing our episodes, anything you could do to

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help Hardwood Knock become bigger and better and just generally enormous.

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And with that, I take us to the Denver Nuggets

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twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five NBA Season look Ahead

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with the One and only Adam Modis. Adam, welcome back.

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Thank you so much for coming back number one to

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do the Denver Nuggets look Ahead with me. How are

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you doing this year?

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Speaker 2: Man? I'm doing great. Needed this offseason, I think more

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than any other one. But you know, it's that time

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where I'm ready to be back into the NBA, So

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I'm excited.

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Speaker 1: The Olympics didn't kind of mess with that at all, No.

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Speaker 2: Because it felt so different from the NBA. It felt

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like a whole separate thing. So it was fresh and

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new and exciting. But the NBA I definitely needed, like

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the four month break we got.

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Speaker 1: I totally feel that from you. So the Nuggets lots

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of stuff like kind of happened or feels like, there's

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lots of stuff to talk about. So I have to

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start off rip Piers. I think leading into free agency,

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it became pretty clear that Kentavious called what Pope was

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going to leave, or at least that seemed like the

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most likely outcome. Where you still at all and I've

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heard you talk about this a bunch, but were you

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still at all surprised that Denver didn't even go though, Okay,

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we'll pay him and we'll just figure this out later

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if we're trying to cut cost route.

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Speaker 2: Well, I would. I mean, surprise is the operative word

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there for me. I wasn't surprised because I think I

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have a pretty good sense of how of what Calvin

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Booth in the front office's vision is and what things

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they value. So I kind of assume that this was

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going to happen, but I am surprised in that I

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disagree with it. You know, I thought he was a guy.

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The way you put it was great. I think the

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second A brind concerns are real and in many ways valid,

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and I don't think it's just financial and a lot

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of people think it's just Cronky's wanting to cut money.

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I don't think it's that. I do think it's flexibility

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and the concern about what you could do going forward.

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But my philosophy in the NBA is everyone thinks they

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can see around the corner better than they actually can.

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And I think you can only plan one year at

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a time, and if you sign him and it's like

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we have to get off of him or make maneuvers

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next summer, so be it. That's just the way the

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world works, that's the way the NBA works. It's not

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going to be it would not have been more difficult

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to do that try to maneuver under the second April

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next summer, then it will be to try to build

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a contender next summer. So to me, I think the

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calculus was wrong on that. I think they were to

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have been a better team with him this year, and

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you just figured it out down the road.

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Speaker 1: You you know, I'm gonna get there in a second.

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So I have to talk about the Jamal Murray thing

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first though. Sets the other sort of thing that's looming

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over this. I've had him penciled in for just a

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four year extension. I know you've kind of assumed that

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that's coming. Is that still the expectation and what if

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anything has gone into just this delay?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that is the two hundred and ten

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million dollars question. Why is it taking so long? And

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I think that I think there's a couple of things.

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I mean, let's not kid ourselves, Jamal Murray is now

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injury prone. Like if we're going to start from the

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top about concerns with him, some of them can be fair,

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some of them can be speculative or banners of opinion.

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But one that can't be is that he's just injury prone.

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And the one big injury you could point to and

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say could have happened to anybody, But now all the

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subsequent ones, and even if you go back before that,

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he always had little things that he was just banged up.

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You know, missed five games here, missed seven games here.

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So I think now as you set out to say

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the best player in franchise history, Nikola Jokic, you want

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to have him for forever. His entire career and his

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prime will span the entirety of this extension that you're

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likely to give Jamal. I think it's a fair question

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to say, is he going to be healthy and motivated

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for that period? And if not, then there's reason to

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be concerned about it. And when you watch how injured

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he was last year with things like cash strains, hamstring strains,

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like soft tissue injuries, that you sit there and go,

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come on, what is going like Zion Williams esque injuries

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that make you concern for a player when you go

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through those, and then you watch him go through two

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months of not playing into Team Canada and all of

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a sudden he doesn't look any better. I think it's

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natural to say, like, what are we getting from Jamal

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going forward? Is that a you know, what is his

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motivation level? So part of me thinks that the team

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likely wanted to give it the summer to kind of

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evaluate him, his approach and different things. And there's likely,

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though this has never been reported, this is my own opinion,

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my own speculation, there's likely some of these nagging injuries

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that the team and probably the ownership group wants to say,

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let's just see what he looks like in September. Let's

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just see if he actually has rehabbed properly from these

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injuries and is healthy before handing out that contract. What

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leverage do we have to lose at that point? He

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still will almost certainly sign it if you give it

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to him on September twenty ninth, the night before media Day,

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he'll still sign it. So why don't we just give

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it to that and see how he rehabs. That's my

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hunch That's what I think is going and I think

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the organization is probably uncomfortable giving him that extension, even

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though they know they probably have to.

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Speaker 1: Is there like any risk though not the word ruins

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too strong, but like fracturing, then the relations, and then

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there's also just the element of what is Denver's actual leverage,

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because like Jamal Murray is in a vacuum, is Jamal

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Murray max player debatable to the Nuggets and how valuable

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he is to them? It's not really up for debate.

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And so I guess that's why I'm most fascinated why

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this is taking so long.

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Speaker 2: Book.

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Speaker 1: I'm just like, whatould the alternative even look like? Denver?

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Speaker 2: I don't even think it's Denver doesn't have any leverage.

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You're a hundred percent right, And it's I don't even

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think it's anything that they have done, you know, to

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position themselves necessarily. I just think it's in the NBA,

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when you have players like this Brandon Ingraham, Andrew Wiggins,

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guys who are not quite worthy of a MAX, but hey,

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what else, what other option do you have? You kind

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of have to give it to him. But what I

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think there is is there is more risk and less risk,

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and there was more risk in giving this to him

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in June, you know, right the first day that they

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could do it, than if they give it to him

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September twenty ninth, because at least you give the opportunity

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to see like does he pull a hamstring in September?

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Does he blow out his knee in September? So it

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might as well just be like, hey, this guy seems

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to get hurt every time he ramps himself up, so

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why don't we just ramp him up and give it

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to him the last day to make sure, just to

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mitigate our risk as much as we possibly can. And

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that's my hunch about what's going on. I expect it

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to get signed. I predicted this week. We're on Thursday,

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so I don't I'm probably gonna be wrong on that,

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but I do expect it before media day.

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Speaker 1: Is it weird? And maybe not because how they prioritize

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your suplexibility that we haven't heard any rumblings on an

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Aaron Gordon extension. And the second part of that is

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is it all concerning about like, well, okay, well, what's

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going to happen with Aaron Gordon? Given how they viewed

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the KCP situation, I think that you.

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Speaker 2: Have to view those two together and look, we're gonna

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find out, right. I think it's very realistic that Aaron

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Gordon could be a player that they move on from

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and the exact same scenario that you viewed KCP, especially

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if this season you see a big year from Peyton

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Watson and they say, hey, maybe maybe he is ready

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to the degree Christian Brown was like, if you go

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through the season, Christian Brown actually replaces KCP in a

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way that you go that was actually good. He was

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ready to go. I mean, this is Calvin boost theory, right,

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He's going to be ready to go, and that's a

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good You just swap one guy and for the other.

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If that happens this year in Denver has a successful season,

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whatever that means, do you go into next year and

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I think you would be in bolden to say, well, okay,

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now Peyton Watson can do the same thing for Aaron

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Gordon allows us spend money elsewhere. So I think there

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is a possibility of that. But what I would say is,

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if you were ranking players in terms of their value

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to what Denver does, KCP would have ranked fifth in

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my opinion, maybe fourth. You could talk me into fourth,

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but probably season maybe, yeah, for sure, Yeah, playoffs is probably,

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You're probably almost certainly fifth. I think Aaron Gordon is

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clearly third or fourth. I would say third, but fourth

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is the lowest you would go. So to me, he

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ranks higher in the priority list and I think more

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likely to be extended, retained, or what have you. But

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at the same time, when you go into a free agency,

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teams can offer him more years, and Denver is obviously

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going to be very concerned about their flexibility giving guys years.

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So I think it is a concern.

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Speaker 1: I will say the one thing that's working in their favors.

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It does seem like everyone's getting very extension happy and

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the market for just non stars is so turbulent. Maybe

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a lot of people think this was a one summer blip.

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I think it might be a couple summer blips, just

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even based off some of the things we've seen since

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the transaction. Tumult has slowed down, so that bodes well

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for Denver unless it's just what we just we don't

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even want to pay him, you know, beyond next season.

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Speaker 2: So here's the thing about the Denver organization, And I

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think this goes back to Tim Conley and now to

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Calvin Booth. So I think there might be something structurally.

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I mean, we know the kron Keys like a skeleton crew.

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They like things to be as thin as possible. The

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more people you high, and there's reason, there's pros and

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cons to that. By the way, I know, it's like

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easy to say, oh, that's just cheapness, and I think

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it is motivated by that. But there are strengths to

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having a smaller, tighter crew making decisions. But the teams

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that seem to have more people there, especially that run

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it well, more decision makers. There's people that specialize in

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things like you're talking about, Okay, let's forget what we need,

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our team needs, what's the market going to be in

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a year or two from now based on everything that's happening.

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And I think Denver has been bad at that, Like

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some of the contracts they've offered, they haven't seen around

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the corner as well as other teams have in terms of, well,

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are we going to have leverage or aren't we based

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on some of the indicators we see already. So I

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think Denver probably honestly doesn't necessarily have an in depth

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strategy there but I could be wrong.

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Speaker 1: I've been asking everyone what their biggest storyline is that

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they're tracking for the specific team, but for the Nuggets,

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And I would love it if you have a different

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opinion on this. We're going to talk about either. Is

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it just like the development of the three core youngsters

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at this point is particularly viewed against the backdrop of

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KCP leaving.

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Speaker 2: So I actually think that might be third for me.

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So it's really important and I understand and this is

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probably a semantic answer, but Number one to me is

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Jamal Murray. Even last year Denver had was winning at

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a sixty two win pace when Yokichen Murray played. The

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truth is, we just don't know how many games he's

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going to miss. He missed twenty three last year, no matter,

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Denver won fifty seven games, a franchise record, and their

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second best player missed twenty three games. So I look

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at this and I go, I think Denver is actually

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better than what we all were the very high on him.

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I think we were appropriately high on them last year.

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You get an injury to your second best player, he

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misses a ton of time, and the team runs out

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of gas and they end up coming up short in

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the playoffs. But I think that on March tenth, out

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of the All Star break, they're on a big win streak.

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I was like, they are the favorite to win the title,

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and they might have another sixteen and four run in them.

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They were playing at that level. To me, all these

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other things are important margins and of big margins. But

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Jamal Murray's health, motivation, conditioning, and you know, consistency, to

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me are by far more important than all the other

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variables for Denver. So to me, that's number one. And

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to be honest with you, I have no idea what

285
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to expect from Jamal. Is he going to play? He's

286
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always been bad in October and November? Is he going

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to be good this year in ways that are meaningful?

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And this is like, Look, his stock is at an

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all time low, and I have to think that he

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hears all the noise. He also ended last year, if

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you recall by throwing a heat pack onto the floor.

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I think his reputation not only in how he plays,

293
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but I think also to some extent his character is

294
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in question in ways that I hope and I would

295
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expect him to say, Okay, I need to remind people

296
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this year because at the moment, there's valid arguments that

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I am the guy the haters think I am, and

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not who I think I am.

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Speaker 1: He's like, might be just one of the players that

300
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have explored the most extreme peaks and valleys and this

301
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past like year, eighteen months whatever. It might be a

302
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perfect example. Where I was being asked to go on

303
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podcast radio shows last year after they won the title.

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Is Jamal Murray a top fifteen player? Was the question,

305
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and now it's like, oh, man, like, should the Nuggets

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even pay this guy?

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Speaker 2: It's like, so, I think ESPN had him seventeenth last

308
00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,440
year in the player rink, like really really high all,

309
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you know, coming off of that incredible finals. I'm so

310
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curious to see where ESPN has them this year. I'm

311
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guessing it's like fortieth somewhere somewhere around there. And it's crazy, right,

312
00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,600
like that you should he should be ascending as a player,

313
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not dropping that far right.

314
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is a fascinating way to frame it. I

315
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think my biggest storyline for them is Michael Malone had

316
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said I think it was his exit interview. I don't

317
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think it was a random one where he mentions like

318
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I need to do a better job of emerging from

319
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the bunker basically of the regular season to play the

320
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longer game. Is that actually gonna happen? I'm assuming we're

321
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,720
just referring to, you know, the staggering patterns in the

322
00:13:47,759 --> 00:13:49,440
way when you look at the you know, after the

323
00:13:49,519 --> 00:13:52,120
Julian Strother injuries, specifically, Denver Post had a great article

324
00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,639
where they're looking at minute usage and how heavily the

325
00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,080
Nuggets relied unlike their top seven guys, and just those

326
00:13:58,120 --> 00:13:59,720
staggering patterns. You and I have talked about it a

327
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bunch in years past. Is there potential for change here?

328
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,200
Even Zach Lowe kind of casually mentioned on his return

329
00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,600
podcast that, like, you know, there's mumblings now that the

330
00:14:07,639 --> 00:14:10,159
disconnect between the front office and the coaching staff is growing,

331
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And I was like, that doesn't really square with what

332
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Michael Malone said at the exit interview. So I'm just

333
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,519
I'm so confused by what is going on here.

334
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Speaker 2: So, first of all, this is such a fascinating thing.

335
00:14:20,159 --> 00:14:21,720
There's three ways I want to answer this to see

336
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if I can remember all three. The first is, it

337
00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:29,200
wasn't an exit interview. It was an unscheduled press conference

338
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that was kind of bizarre when it happened, like why

339
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,159
are we doing a press conference? And the reason was,

340
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you know, it had been reported at multiple places that

341
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there was, you know, some tension behind the scenes. Josh Cronkey,

342
00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:42,600
Calvin Booth, and Michael Malone come out again on a

343
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press conference, and it was clearly a united front, right, like, Hey,

344
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we're gonna come out here and show them that we're together.

345
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So when Michael Malone says things like that, first of all,

346
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I go, okay, Well, that was the point of the

347
00:14:53,279 --> 00:14:55,240
press conference, right for everybody to kind of say, we

348
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,759
have to come together. We all made mistakes's let's show

349
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a united front. Number two, there are personality types that

350
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I think are good at wearing different masks, seeing different

351
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perspectives and maybe having flexibility and core values and things

352
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like that. Michael Malone is the opposite of that. Michael

353
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Malone is a guy who is insanely principled and and

354
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you know, really believes what he believes. And then number three,

355
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Michael Malone is the son of a coach, Brendan Malone,

356
00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:22,879
a very popular you know, he grew he's a lifer,

357
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he grew up in the NBA, he grew up around

358
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,720
coaches and Michael Malone's first coaching job, he was fired

359
00:15:28,879 --> 00:15:31,799
because DeMarcus Cousins got spiral meningitis. They were having a

360
00:15:31,879 --> 00:15:34,000
good season, he gets sick, they go on a losing streak,

361
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and he's fired. I think that has scarred Michael Malone

362
00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,399
in ways that really texture all of his decision making,

363
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:42,799
which is to say, I need to play the long game.

364
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,799
Well what happens when we're five hundred in November? I

365
00:15:45,919 --> 00:15:48,919
get fired? Like just I'm doing I'm doing a good

366
00:15:49,039 --> 00:15:51,519
job over here, We're actually there's good indicators. But you

367
00:15:51,799 --> 00:15:54,039
said this is what you needed. I did it, and

368
00:15:54,159 --> 00:15:55,759
now I'm fired for it. And I think that's how

369
00:15:55,799 --> 00:15:59,159
Michael Malone thinks, and that's why he will ride starters

370
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and play veterans and do all these things, because at

371
00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,799
least he can point to, hey, we were nine and

372
00:16:03,879 --> 00:16:06,000
four in November, like you're not gonna fire me. Now

373
00:16:06,039 --> 00:16:07,919
we're nine and four. You can't fire me at that moment.

374
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Speaker 1: Is could there have been any element to that factoring

375
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,039
into the KCP walking where it's well we need to

376
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:15,639
take this, you know, as everyone's at the club out

377
00:16:15,679 --> 00:16:17,639
of Michael Malone's bag, Like now you have no choice

378
00:16:17,639 --> 00:16:19,840
but to play at least two of these young guys now,

379
00:16:19,879 --> 00:16:21,519
because you can't not play the bench at all.

380
00:16:22,279 --> 00:16:24,480
Speaker 2: I one hundred percent think that all of Michael Malone's

381
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,159
decisions as a coach are at least partially influenced, whether

382
00:16:28,279 --> 00:16:31,000
consciously or subconsciously, by that factor. And I'll tell you

383
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,519
some crazy examples of this. I mean, one, we remember

384
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,240
Nikoli Joki took a year and a half before he

385
00:16:35,279 --> 00:16:37,840
could start consistently for the Nuggets, which is, in hindsight

386
00:16:37,879 --> 00:16:41,360
obviously an insane thing. But you even look at Christian

387
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,679
Brown comes in Davon Reach started over him for half

388
00:16:44,759 --> 00:16:47,240
the year his rookie season when they needed somebody to

389
00:16:47,279 --> 00:16:48,919
play in that position, and you look at it and go,

390
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,480
why on earth would you do that? Well, I think

391
00:16:50,519 --> 00:16:53,159
there is a level of you know, you play a

392
00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:56,519
rookie and lose like it's on you. So if you

393
00:16:56,799 --> 00:16:57,960
kind of go the other way. So if you look

394
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,399
at Justin Holiday played last year, and Michael Malone when

395
00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,400
he said and when you mentioned that show that you

396
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,759
show a United Front press conference. Again, I'm digesting every

397
00:17:07,799 --> 00:17:10,359
single phrasing and every single word of this because you know,

398
00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,880
I understand the different dynamics at play. One of the

399
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,160
things he said was, yes, I need to play some

400
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,039
of the other guys, but what options do I have?

401
00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,920
Like I had to play, He's basically saying I had

402
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,559
to play Justin Holiday in the playoffs. I had to

403
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,680
because all I had was a rookie, you know, Peyton Watson,

404
00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:27,400
who again, by the way, I think Peyton Watson clearly

405
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,200
the better option in that spot. But it's easy for

406
00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,680
him to say and logical, I think for people to believe, well, yes,

407
00:17:33,799 --> 00:17:35,559
you had to do it because just A Holladay has

408
00:17:35,599 --> 00:17:37,759
ten years of experience and Peyton Watson has two thousand

409
00:17:37,799 --> 00:17:40,440
minutes of experience and this is an elimination series, so yes,

410
00:17:40,519 --> 00:17:42,079
you have to go out there. And I think that

411
00:17:42,319 --> 00:17:44,119
is how he thinks. So now you take the training

412
00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,640
wheels off, there is no Justin Holiday. I don't think

413
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,359
the KCP move was that necessarily, but I do think

414
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,519
when you look at the end of the roster Hunter Tyson,

415
00:17:51,599 --> 00:17:54,240
Jalen Pickett, Ron Holmes, guys that are not going to play,

416
00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:56,680
there are no options that are your break glass in

417
00:17:56,759 --> 00:17:58,200
case of emergency options for Denver.

418
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,480
Speaker 1: So that's gonna be something then just to be what

419
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,640
what is his response to that, Like they've given him

420
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:06,319
no options to but like, is he going to figure

421
00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:08,200
out away around that anyway? Type deal?

422
00:18:08,759 --> 00:18:11,039
Speaker 2: One thousand percent. I mean, this is the thing is

423
00:18:11,079 --> 00:18:14,240
there is no full proof method. And I think for

424
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:16,400
and I've said this a lot, I think Calvin Booth

425
00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,000
is a very smart basketball mind with really great, great

426
00:18:19,839 --> 00:18:22,960
perspective and opinions. But I do think he struggles with

427
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,240
the interpersonal dynamics of a person like Michael Malone. A

428
00:18:27,279 --> 00:18:30,440
stubborn and by the way, Michael Malone's not an anomaly.

429
00:18:30,759 --> 00:18:33,960
Most NBA coaches. You rise to that level through shrewd

430
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:36,839
thinking and being able to like, hey, you know, you

431
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,759
have the mind of a general, so being able.

432
00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:41,880
Speaker 1: To knock on coach. But like that was just like

433
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,359
he just wouldn't adjust anything.

434
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,880
Speaker 2: Everyone thought Tibbs. I mean, you go through the list,

435
00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:47,920
there's a lot of great coaches who are like, yeah,

436
00:18:48,039 --> 00:18:50,160
you know what, it's my way, and you stay out

437
00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,000
of the kitchen. Here, you give me the ingredients and

438
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:53,880
then get out of the kitchen. I think if I

439
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,279
look at it, you know there's a couple of things.

440
00:18:56,359 --> 00:18:58,119
One I don't love the way Michael Malone has been

441
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,119
tied to his rotations. I know we're talking about that

442
00:19:00,279 --> 00:19:02,920
late later. He plays his five man starters and four

443
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,240
four starters one bench guy more than anyone else, and

444
00:19:05,319 --> 00:19:08,599
he plays zero starters or one's starter more than anyone else.

445
00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,200
I think Denver's roster is gonna you're gonna have to

446
00:19:11,279 --> 00:19:13,480
go away from that. But there's decisions like where do

447
00:19:13,519 --> 00:19:16,839
you play Peyton Watson? His value, in my opinion, is

448
00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:18,759
that he has the mobility of a guard in the

449
00:19:18,799 --> 00:19:20,920
length of a forward. But if you play him at forward,

450
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,119
all of a sudden, like you've lost some of that advantage.

451
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,920
So do you play him there? Do you play DeAndre

452
00:19:27,079 --> 00:19:30,039
Jordan any minutes? Do you play Russell Westbrook? And positions

453
00:19:30,079 --> 00:19:31,640
that really make it fail? I mean, I look at

454
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,200
that and I go Russell Westbrook is so volatile. If

455
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,599
you're gonna believe in him working out in Denver, there's

456
00:19:36,599 --> 00:19:38,359
a lot of variables that you think are gonna hit.

457
00:19:38,559 --> 00:19:41,039
But it'd be very easy to sabotage that. If you

458
00:19:41,079 --> 00:19:43,960
are trying to make Russell Westbrook fail as a like,

459
00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,079
what were I supposed to do? You gave me Russell

460
00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,160
Westbrook in a championship year, That's.

461
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,640
Speaker 1: Easy with all the nonspacers in those secondary I.

462
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:53,240
Speaker 2: Mean, I'm not even kidding when I say this. If

463
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:57,400
you play Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon together and

464
00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,640
maybe throw out Saritch out there and the bench just

465
00:19:59,759 --> 00:20:04,039
killed you, it's every columnist in America will write, well,

466
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,200
look at this bench. The front office gave him the

467
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,240
worst bench of all time, and like what's going on?

468
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,200
Like Michael Blowe did all he could and it's a

469
00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:13,559
very easy argument to make.

470
00:20:15,079 --> 00:20:17,920
Speaker 1: So Russell Westbrook, I want I'm gonna start with this.

471
00:20:18,079 --> 00:20:20,039
Speaker 2: That was number two, by the way, number two storyline,

472
00:20:20,079 --> 00:20:21,559
the young Guy's number three.

473
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,079
Speaker 1: I think the Westbrook is polarizing. I will say two

474
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,440
things have almost sold me on it. One is that

475
00:20:27,599 --> 00:20:30,200
Nicole Jokic wanted this to happen, and so I'm just like,

476
00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:33,680
you know what I'm wrong about everything. Two you recorded,

477
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:35,759
I think it was a solo podcast for Locked on

478
00:20:36,079 --> 00:20:38,640
Nuggets where you really went into detail about the things

479
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,160
they could use him, like how they could use him,

480
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,079
the lineups that they could tailor. And two so I

481
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:44,920
came away from that and I was like, Okay, this

482
00:20:45,079 --> 00:20:47,039
might work. But now like I've had more time and space,

483
00:20:47,079 --> 00:20:48,839
and it's just like, I look at the track record

484
00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:51,599
of Russell Westbrook and I can't quite get there. So

485
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,160
I'm just curious. As you know, your viewership has already

486
00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,119
heard all this, but I'm just curious. It's like, where

487
00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:58,000
are you at with this fit? What are you monitoring?

488
00:20:58,240 --> 00:20:59,839
Is what intrigued you the most about it?

489
00:21:00,559 --> 00:21:03,079
Speaker 2: Again, the number one part part of this is I

490
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,039
think organizational alignment is so important. I do think that

491
00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:08,759
everybody in the organization wants that alignment. I don't think

492
00:21:08,799 --> 00:21:11,000
this is a thing where it's like everyone is so

493
00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,000
dug in. I think everybody will come into a new

494
00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:15,119
season with sort of fresh perspective and hey, let's work

495
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,279
together on this. But that being said, the number one

496
00:21:17,319 --> 00:21:20,839
thing is just are you going to have the same

497
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,759
vision for how to maximize Russell Westbrook? Because for this

498
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:25,920
to have a chance, everything kind of has to go perfect.

499
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,519
In my opinion, this is not one that you can

500
00:21:27,559 --> 00:21:30,000
get the fiftieth percent dile and it's going to work out.

501
00:21:30,079 --> 00:21:31,799
You kind of need it to work out big time.

502
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,519
But Number one, what he brings his leadership, and I

503
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,640
know that his type of leadership. Maybe people will roll

504
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,400
their eyes at that, but Denver's a weird team. Jokic

505
00:21:39,519 --> 00:21:41,640
is their best player, but he's a weird leader, greatly

506
00:21:41,759 --> 00:21:44,160
by example guy. Everybody looks up to him, and I

507
00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,079
think everybody has a healthy respect for him so that

508
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,160
they want to do right by him. But he doesn't

509
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,440
necessarily call anyone out. And I think when we talk

510
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,559
about the number two leader, Jamal Murray is the guy

511
00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:54,559
that probably needs the most calling out. So you have

512
00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,799
a weird dynamic here, and Russell Westbrook represents an example

513
00:21:57,839 --> 00:21:59,640
of a guy that I think can be that type

514
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:01,759
of leader for Denver in the locker room, and hopefully

515
00:22:01,759 --> 00:22:05,400
he pushes Jamal to be the best version of himself.

516
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,920
You know, I tell this story on the other podcast

517
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,519
I do, but I was told Russell Westbrook and his

518
00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,119
first arrival in Denver to sign his contract, took stock

519
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:15,880
of the locker room and called people and told him

520
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,160
what the heck's going on with your locker It's disgusting,

521
00:22:18,519 --> 00:22:20,559
total mess, And like that's the type of stuff that

522
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,960
sounds simple and dumb, but I think Denver actually needed it,

523
00:22:23,079 --> 00:22:24,880
Like nobody else would have said, Hey, man, your locker

524
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,160
room kind of smells like you're kind of marrored in

525
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:28,960
it for everybody else. So I think he's a guy

526
00:22:29,039 --> 00:22:31,039
that's going to have everybody working as hard as they

527
00:22:31,039 --> 00:22:33,720
possibly can, and that's important. But the on court fit

528
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,440
one thousand percent comes down to how much Wes Russell

529
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,559
Westbrook is willing to adapt his shot profile, because I

530
00:22:40,559 --> 00:22:42,680
think he's adapted his game pretty well with the Clippers.

531
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,319
We saw him try to adapt and come off the

532
00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:47,319
bench and play different styles, But he still doesn't seem

533
00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:50,519
to understand where he what is a good shot and

534
00:22:50,559 --> 00:22:52,279
what is a bad shot relative to where he is

535
00:22:52,319 --> 00:22:54,240
as a player right now. And Denver is a team

536
00:22:54,759 --> 00:22:59,039
that doesn't get a bunch of just bucket getter buckets,

537
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,440
and I don't think Westbrook's going to provide those. What

538
00:23:01,559 --> 00:23:05,400
they get is smart basketball and efficiency because they're smart

539
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,759
about what shots they take. One player can ruin all

540
00:23:07,799 --> 00:23:10,759
of that. One player taking bad shots lowers your efficiency

541
00:23:10,839 --> 00:23:13,359
enough to now it's like, well, we can't survive without it,

542
00:23:13,519 --> 00:23:15,480
And that's by far the biggest concern.

543
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,160
Speaker 1: Do you think it's more important to get and obviously

544
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:19,640
he'll play with both of them, but is it more

545
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,240
important to get him to when you're looking at some

546
00:23:21,279 --> 00:23:24,240
of those stagger lineups minutes with Jamal Murray or minutes

547
00:23:24,279 --> 00:23:26,480
with NICOLEA. Jokicch Like, what is going to be like

548
00:23:26,559 --> 00:23:29,279
the more optimal way to maximize his fit.

549
00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,000
Speaker 2: Well, we have a nine and ten year sample size

550
00:23:32,079 --> 00:23:35,319
that if you play with Joki you optimize, you're optimized,

551
00:23:35,599 --> 00:23:38,240
and if you play with Jamal Murray you're not optimized.

552
00:23:38,799 --> 00:23:41,240
Jamal Murray without Nikola Jokich, I mean, Jamal Murray has

553
00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,880
ran Denver's bench for several iterations and it just never

554
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,200
seems to elevate it. It's not something that works. On

555
00:23:47,319 --> 00:23:49,400
top of that, as we saw with Team Canada. I mean,

556
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,279
part of what, in my opinion went on with Team

557
00:23:51,319 --> 00:23:54,079
Canada was he just doesn't look healthy or in great shape,

558
00:23:54,599 --> 00:23:57,319
and that's concerning. But another part of it is Jamal

559
00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,319
Murray kind of needs to the ball in his hands.

560
00:23:59,519 --> 00:24:04,359
He's not good at reducing his role into other other spots.

561
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,839
And I think if you play with Russell Westbrook, unless

562
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,720
Russell Westbrook is your off you know, off ball floor spacer,

563
00:24:09,759 --> 00:24:11,759
which I don't think is great, then you probably need

564
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,519
to share the rock a little bit and play off.

565
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,279
And Jamal Murray just does. I don't think he's very

566
00:24:15,319 --> 00:24:17,759
interested in that, but he also doesn't seem especially good

567
00:24:17,799 --> 00:24:19,440
at that, which is surprising because it was the role

568
00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:21,839
he found himself in at Kentucky. So it's something he

569
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,680
seems to have lost along the way, or at least

570
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,240
lost the impact of. So I don't think so. I

571
00:24:27,279 --> 00:24:30,400
think you play with Westbrook and Murray opposite. Michael Malone

572
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,000
has never done this, though Jamal Murray has been the

573
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,279
one starter that he has put with his bench in

574
00:24:35,559 --> 00:24:37,759
the entirety of Murray's existence. I think one of the

575
00:24:37,799 --> 00:24:40,279
big questions is does Malone go away from that because

576
00:24:40,319 --> 00:24:42,680
it clearly doesn't seem like it's the right play.

577
00:24:44,039 --> 00:24:47,279
Speaker 1: Uh. The dariusarag fit. What kind of intrigues you about that?

578
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,640
Speaker 2: Well, what intrigues me is that I think he is

579
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,599
a Jokiic facsimile, which which is important. You know, Denver

580
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,400
has tried players that are not at all like Jokich. Okay,

581
00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:57,319
we're giving a different lookof of our bench, and it

582
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,440
just hasn't worked. I do think there's something too. You

583
00:25:00,559 --> 00:25:03,839
can run your elbow offense through Sarich and everything kind

584
00:25:03,839 --> 00:25:05,359
of looks and feels the same, even though it's a

585
00:25:06,319 --> 00:25:08,559
lesser version of it. But at least there's continuity of

586
00:25:08,599 --> 00:25:10,319
what we're trying to do and the reads we're making.

587
00:25:12,079 --> 00:25:12,559
Speaker 1: He is a.

588
00:25:14,319 --> 00:25:16,200
Speaker 2: Backup center, and by the way, I know there's a

589
00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:17,920
lot of discussion about whether or not he's a center

590
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,559
for Denver and the NBA. I think six ten is

591
00:25:21,799 --> 00:25:23,720
fine center for a backup center. You have DeAndre Jordan

592
00:25:23,799 --> 00:25:25,279
for the three or four teams you're gonna need a

593
00:25:25,319 --> 00:25:27,599
bigger body against if you actually need that. But I

594
00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:29,839
think he'll be good as the fulcrum of the second unit.

595
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,720
He passes the ball extremely well. And then the last

596
00:25:32,759 --> 00:25:35,799
piece of this is Dario Sarich. I think I'm not

597
00:25:35,839 --> 00:25:38,039
sure we've actually seen the best of him. His last

598
00:25:38,079 --> 00:25:40,119
two healthy years have been the best version of him.

599
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,160
But because he's only twenty nine thirty years old, I think,

600
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,920
and he doesn't really rely on his athleticism, I think

601
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,119
it's possible that he is a better player than what

602
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,160
he has shown, and you know the ramp up to

603
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,039
him in his career. The thing I'm not excited about

604
00:25:54,039 --> 00:25:55,880
sarch is I just don't think he's a Westbrook player.

605
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,200
So you have a player that I actually love before

606
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,039
you sign Westbrook, but putting him in Westbrook together seems

607
00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,400
like a bit of two different philosophies.

608
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,799
Speaker 1: He also, you know, when he was in Phoenix, I

609
00:26:05,839 --> 00:26:07,480
think probably some of his best moments like that was

610
00:26:07,559 --> 00:26:09,000
just him at the five, and so like, I think

611
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,039
he's perfectly fine as a backup center. My qualm with

612
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,000
it was viewing it in tandem with the Westbrook signing,

613
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,279
is Sarge hit his threes, and he hit his threes

614
00:26:16,279 --> 00:26:18,079
in the past, he doesn't take a ton of them,

615
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,799
like six per thirty six minutes. I guess at the

616
00:26:19,799 --> 00:26:22,480
center spot like that'll probably be well above average. But

617
00:26:22,599 --> 00:26:25,160
I don't think defenses care. And I also just didn't

618
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,920
understand why he got the mini MLI. That was the

619
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,960
other thing that just like was like, is this the

620
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,160
second year of their just giving this out just because

621
00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:36,720
so I found that interesting, especially because it's a player who,

622
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,880
in theory, you're using to play your best player's best position.

623
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,680
Speaker 2: And this is when I talk about Denver. While I

624
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,319
like some of the like basketball decisions and thinking, I

625
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,000
don't always love that they maximize the value that they're getting.

626
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,680
And that's an example of it. As same with Reggie

627
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,680
Jackson getting two years on his deal and then you

628
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:53,839
have to pay to get rid of him on the

629
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,079
second one, I just it seems like Denver can, even

630
00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:00,240
when they are right on things seem to mess except

631
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:01,920
the Margins just a little bit that ended up coming

632
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:03,480
back to hunt you. So I agree with you. I'm

633
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:04,839
not sure there was other teams that were out there

634
00:27:04,839 --> 00:27:05,599
trying to get him for that.

635
00:27:06,079 --> 00:27:08,160
Speaker 1: And I guess, just because you had mentioned this before

636
00:27:08,559 --> 00:27:10,880
we had actually started, that you thought I was a

637
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,599
little bit lower on their offseason overall than you, And

638
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:15,640
I guess, like, do you know where our disconnect then

639
00:27:16,039 --> 00:27:18,039
comes from? Is it just like you're waiting while I

640
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,680
understand like the vision of this team, and I'm coming

641
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:22,559
at it from like, well, you could have just maintained

642
00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:25,279
that vision and kept KCP two. And I'm getting too caught.

643
00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 2: Up in that, No, because again the CACP part is

644
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:29,960
the hugest part of this, right I'm and I'm with

645
00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:31,720
you lock Step on that one. I just think you

646
00:27:31,799 --> 00:27:34,119
figured out down the road. Where I differ with most

647
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,039
people is Denver just having Murray come back from injury,

648
00:27:38,039 --> 00:27:40,440
and remember he was terrible for twenty games that year.

649
00:27:40,519 --> 00:27:43,000
He came back and they still have a high seed

650
00:27:43,039 --> 00:27:44,440
and then go on to go sixteen to four in

651
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,480
the playoffs, and then last year, missing him for twenty

652
00:27:46,559 --> 00:27:49,759
three games and winning fifty seven, still going to the

653
00:27:49,799 --> 00:27:52,000
second round even though he clearly was hobbled. Jamal Murray

654
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,599
didn't have a good game in the playoffs. I know

655
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,240
people will point to Game seven. I thought he was

656
00:27:55,319 --> 00:27:57,000
terrible in Game seven. In the second half of the

657
00:27:57,039 --> 00:27:58,519
first half, he was pretty good, but in the second

658
00:27:58,559 --> 00:28:00,599
half he wasn't. So I look at this and I go,

659
00:28:01,279 --> 00:28:05,240
Murray was good for roughly half of the season last

660
00:28:05,279 --> 00:28:07,119
year and they still won fifty seven games, and if

661
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:08,480
he was healthy at the end, I think they would

662
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:10,880
have at the very least gone to the finals. Boston

663
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:12,480
was such a good team that I think you have

664
00:28:12,519 --> 00:28:14,559
to at least give them respect and say that who

665
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:15,960
knows what would have happen there. They want it, so

666
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,440
they get to say they would have. But I look

667
00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:20,519
at that and say, Denver was at least still a

668
00:28:20,839 --> 00:28:24,759
title favorite last season and what they lose in KCP.

669
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,440
And I'm higher on probably Christian Brown, Peyton Watson than

670
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,000
most people are. I think that they you look at

671
00:28:30,039 --> 00:28:32,440
them and say they're still contender, they might not be

672
00:28:32,559 --> 00:28:34,480
the favorites that they were of the last two years.

673
00:28:34,799 --> 00:28:37,559
But I don't think that they are very far below

674
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,160
the Bostons of the world. And that's where the disc

675
00:28:40,359 --> 00:28:42,200
that to me is just where I look at it. Yes,

676
00:28:42,319 --> 00:28:45,480
I think this was not the most optimized offseason, but

677
00:28:45,559 --> 00:28:48,079
I still look at Denver and go their margins. They're

678
00:28:48,119 --> 00:28:50,599
small margins that hurt them and handicap them a little bit,

679
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:52,519
but their margin for air in twenty twenty three was

680
00:28:52,599 --> 00:28:54,559
so wide, and even last year, I think it was

681
00:28:54,599 --> 00:28:57,200
whiter than people realize that. I still think that they're

682
00:28:57,279 --> 00:28:58,039
right there in that mix.

683
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 1: I think one of the players who can maybe perception,

684
00:29:00,599 --> 00:29:02,480
especially during the regular season. Of all this is what

685
00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:07,440
Christian Brown does in his expanded role. Is there just

686
00:29:07,559 --> 00:29:11,960
a chance that Denver's better off defensively by elevating him

687
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:13,119
into that KCP spot.

688
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,319
Speaker 2: This is a controversial opinion, and I say this as

689
00:29:18,359 --> 00:29:20,920
somebody that fully respects what KCP does, especially on the

690
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,640
offensive end, because I think he was a really it's

691
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,559
underrated how good of a fit he was, both in

692
00:29:24,799 --> 00:29:27,920
usage percentage and the skill set he had. But yes,

693
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,200
I think that when you look at KCP and what

694
00:29:30,279 --> 00:29:31,640
he did for this team, he's one of the best

695
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,640
at getting through screens. He's incredibly smart, he's locked in

696
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,279
and never takes possessions off. But he did get bullied

697
00:29:37,319 --> 00:29:39,480
by a lot of really good players in ways that

698
00:29:39,599 --> 00:29:41,559
and I know everybody gets bullied by star players. You

699
00:29:41,599 --> 00:29:43,960
can't shut him down, but in ways that you go, man,

700
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,400
it doesn't really feel that different from anyone else. Devin

701
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,640
Booker's just given him the business and he's making zero

702
00:29:48,759 --> 00:29:52,000
impact on him. Anthony Edwards is almost looking for him

703
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,960
and hunting him in matchups. Christian Brown is a really

704
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,480
good defender and there are things he brings to the

705
00:29:58,559 --> 00:30:00,720
table that KCP did not, So I wouldn't put it

706
00:30:00,759 --> 00:30:02,680
that I think he will be better. I just put

707
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,319
it in that he will be different. And I think

708
00:30:05,359 --> 00:30:07,960
the NBA is as level as it's ever been. There's

709
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,720
as much parody as it's ever been, and a lot

710
00:30:09,759 --> 00:30:11,240
of this comes down to do you match up with

711
00:30:11,279 --> 00:30:14,079
a team that you just match up well with defensively.

712
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,039
Last year, Anthony Edwards was a guy that I wish

713
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,720
Christian Brown would have guarded more because I think he

714
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,039
would have had a bigger impact than KCP. If that

715
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,799
happens again this year, I think it it favors Denver.

716
00:30:22,839 --> 00:30:25,359
If you go up against say a Steph Curry, now

717
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:27,160
I think you want a KCP. So it's kind of

718
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:28,640
just a I think it's in one hand out the

719
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,160
other with them, and that's why I think the team

720
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,240
is more or less similar to what they were last year,

721
00:30:33,319 --> 00:30:35,880
maybe a slight step below. It's just gonna come down

722
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:36,880
to what matchups do you get.

723
00:30:37,599 --> 00:30:39,680
Speaker 1: It's funny that my first reaction, and I don't mean

724
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:41,240
to make this so much about KCP, but when he

725
00:30:41,359 --> 00:30:43,519
left was my It wasn't the defense I was worry

726
00:30:43,519 --> 00:30:44,960
about as well. How are they just going to replace

727
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,160
that three point volume? I know it's not been like

728
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,000
a huge part of their offense and the way they

729
00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:51,200
generate shots it doesn't always matter, but then you had

730
00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,640
Russell Westbrook into it all and it becomes combustible and

731
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,680
it just feels like that type of volume is super important.

732
00:30:56,759 --> 00:30:59,720
So what does if Christian Brown's gonna make an offensive leap,

733
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,759
what does that look like? Is it just the addition

734
00:31:01,839 --> 00:31:03,599
of three point volume? Where is there's something else that

735
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:05,920
you're really looking for in that area of his development?

736
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:08,480
Speaker 2: To me, the three point volume is I just don't

737
00:31:08,519 --> 00:31:10,200
buy that he's a three point shooter, right. I mean,

738
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:11,920
there's some guys you can tell they have fluidity of

739
00:31:12,039 --> 00:31:13,839
motion in their shot that you think Okay can grow.

740
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,279
He's a little rigid looks like. I mean, he practices

741
00:31:16,319 --> 00:31:17,880
it and everything else, but he doesn't look to me

742
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:19,359
like a guy that's going to be a forty percent

743
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,720
guy on volume. But he also brings other things to

744
00:31:22,759 --> 00:31:25,960
the table. One size, He's enormous compared to KCP, and

745
00:31:26,119 --> 00:31:29,759
size is important today's NBA, I always say, and this

746
00:31:29,839 --> 00:31:32,599
goes back to the Wilson Chandler era. Yoke is really

747
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,559
good at throwing passes when there's a size advantage to

748
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:38,279
his receiver. And Christian Brown is going to have a

749
00:31:38,319 --> 00:31:42,119
size advantage against almost every single shooting guard. So when

750
00:31:42,119 --> 00:31:44,640
you talk about cuts, yokis doesn't need you to beat

751
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:45,880
your guy on the cut. He just needs you to

752
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:47,839
be taller than him so he can throw that fade

753
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:49,640
pass over the top. And Christian Brown is going to

754
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,720
be taller, bigger, stronger, and equal, if not more athletic

755
00:31:52,759 --> 00:31:54,640
than most of the guys he's going to And on

756
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,960
top of that, one thing he does that KCP did

757
00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,880
not do well, Christian Brown cuts hard and in a

758
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,720
motion offense, a motion heavy offense like Denver runs. Having

759
00:32:03,759 --> 00:32:08,119
people that cut hard makes the defense react more strongly.

760
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,480
It opens up more passing lane, so I think, and

761
00:32:10,559 --> 00:32:12,400
then you go to offensive rebounding, which is one of

762
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,400
Christian Brown's strengths. He needs to emphasize that this year

763
00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:17,960
and give Denver second chance opportunities, which is one of

764
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,599
his strengths. So I think you gain some there from

765
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,559
him that CACP didn't provide. But at the end of

766
00:32:23,599 --> 00:32:26,839
the day, shooting is the easiest thing. You don't need

767
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,480
to even make your shots to space the floor. With shooting.

768
00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:32,440
Christian needs to cut hard, he needs to rebound, He

769
00:32:32,559 --> 00:32:34,319
needs to do those things, and like there'll be nights

770
00:32:34,319 --> 00:32:36,960
he doesn't do him. So it is again in one

771
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,400
hand out the other. But I think it's still a

772
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,000
concern because shooting is the easiest thing to have night tonight.

773
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,599
Speaker 1: What is Peyton Watson ceiling on defense?

774
00:32:46,759 --> 00:32:49,599
Speaker 2: So, I mean, I think it's a Herb Jones level defender,

775
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,079
a shutdown type guy. He's that good. He does it

776
00:32:53,119 --> 00:32:54,640
in a little bit of a different way than say

777
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,400
the Jade McDaniels and the Herb Joneses. He's more of

778
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,799
a shot blocker. He gets beat off the dribble more

779
00:33:00,799 --> 00:33:02,640
than those guys. Those guys kind of bottle people up.

780
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,480
You can't get around him. Peyton Watson, you know, more

781
00:33:05,599 --> 00:33:08,319
tracks guys and then surprises them and blocks them, which

782
00:33:08,319 --> 00:33:09,799
I think if I had to pick between the two,

783
00:33:09,839 --> 00:33:13,240
I would rather have the containment. But maybe the containment

784
00:33:13,319 --> 00:33:15,559
comes this year. What I think is tough about Peyton

785
00:33:15,559 --> 00:33:17,200
Watson so I think he can be an elite All

786
00:33:17,319 --> 00:33:19,839
NBA caliber defensive player. I think he's that good. I

787
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:21,559
don't know if it comes this early, but I think

788
00:33:21,599 --> 00:33:23,000
at some point in his career he can be that

789
00:33:23,079 --> 00:33:25,000
caliber player. The thing that I think is tough for

790
00:33:25,039 --> 00:33:28,480
Peyton Watson is I don't love his fit on this bench.

791
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:32,640
Denver's biggest weakness is shooting. Across their entire lineup. Peyton

792
00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:34,440
Watson is not a shooter. But I have a feeling

793
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:35,960
he's gonna have to play the role of shooter this

794
00:33:36,039 --> 00:33:38,519
year just by default, but just based on who he's

795
00:33:38,559 --> 00:33:40,000
going to be next to. It's like, well, we need

796
00:33:40,079 --> 00:33:42,319
you to be in the corner knocking down shots, and

797
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,200
that's not a strength of his. And then on top

798
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,680
of that, you know Michael Malone had hinted that the

799
00:33:46,839 --> 00:33:49,519
starting shooting guard position is up for grabs in camp,

800
00:33:49,559 --> 00:33:51,240
which I think is a little crazy. Christian Brown, to

801
00:33:51,319 --> 00:33:53,039
me think clearly like he has earned that to what

802
00:33:53,079 --> 00:33:55,319
he's done, but Michael Malone likes to do this, And

803
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,240
then it gets you thinking Peyton Watson might be best

804
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,200
in that role, like if you played him there, that

805
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,480
might be the best thing for him. But I don't

806
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:05,279
think he'll ever get a chance there. You have Julian Straw,

807
00:34:05,279 --> 00:34:07,039
that you have Christian Brown, so he's gonna be off

808
00:34:07,119 --> 00:34:09,199
the bench in the small forward role, needing to shoot

809
00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,000
the ball to provide enough spacing. And it's just this season.

810
00:34:12,079 --> 00:34:15,239
It's not anybody's fault necessarily, Like I'm not trying to

811
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,000
set Malone up here for something, but I don't know

812
00:34:18,119 --> 00:34:20,360
that the rotations are gonna work out in his favor.

813
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,239
So I hope I'm wrong on that because I love

814
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:23,960
Peyton Watson as a player, but I think he might

815
00:34:24,079 --> 00:34:25,400
have to swim upstream this year.

816
00:34:26,079 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 1: And so I guess there's just going to be even

817
00:34:28,119 --> 00:34:30,280
with the addition of Westbrook, even Starch, if you want

818
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:31,760
to use your big man in a way where he's

819
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,079
gonna have the ball more. The ship is kind of

820
00:34:34,079 --> 00:34:36,239
sounding like, well, we've seen him experiment more with Peyton

821
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:38,239
Watson as kind of a ball handler, because he does.

822
00:34:38,599 --> 00:34:40,320
To me, he probably has that element of his game

823
00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,159
more than a Christian Brown would. And so if they're

824
00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:45,079
trying to like plumb the depths of these guys, I

825
00:34:45,119 --> 00:34:46,440
would like to see more of that.

826
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,559
Speaker 2: If this was Eric Spolstra, I would one thousand percent

827
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,800
expect that, I would say if this was Mark Dagnott,

828
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,039
I would one thousand percent expect, like, well, what does

829
00:34:56,079 --> 00:34:58,039
he do well on offense? He has a really good handle,

830
00:34:58,119 --> 00:34:59,559
he seems to be able to get into the paint

831
00:34:59,599 --> 00:35:01,760
really well. Well, he's not a great finisher. He doesn't

832
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,280
shoot the ball well, but he's a good passer. How

833
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:06,199
do we tailor our offense so that he does the

834
00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:08,360
things he's good at and we try to mitigate the

835
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:09,960
things he's not good at. I just don't think that

836
00:35:10,119 --> 00:35:11,960
is how Michael Malone operates. I think he looks at

837
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,320
and goes, we need somebody in the corners. Peyton Watson

838
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:15,840
get there, and you're gonna get four a game, and

839
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:17,639
you need to make two of them. And I just

840
00:35:17,679 --> 00:35:19,000
don't count on him to do that, I think he'll

841
00:35:19,039 --> 00:35:22,239
have a lot of oh for four nights. And again

842
00:35:22,679 --> 00:35:24,440
that is a criticism of Michael Malone. I don't think

843
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,519
he always thinks that way about how to maximize each

844
00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:30,400
individual talent. And Peyton Watson to me is I just

845
00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,000
play the numbers game. He seems to be the guy

846
00:35:32,079 --> 00:35:35,000
that I think will have the least tailored to him.

847
00:35:36,119 --> 00:35:38,880
Speaker 1: What did you make of Julian Strother last year pre

848
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,280
that's bray knee injury, and then even just I know

849
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:42,559
a lot of people were happy about what they saw

850
00:35:42,559 --> 00:35:43,599
from him in Summer League too.

851
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,199
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I was lower on him than I think

852
00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:48,559
most people were, and not even lower on him long term.

853
00:35:48,679 --> 00:35:50,199
He just looked to me like a rookie, and he

854
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,079
looked like a late first round pick rookie that okay,

855
00:35:53,159 --> 00:35:55,000
this guy could be something in a couple of years.

856
00:35:55,679 --> 00:35:58,559
He shoots the ball extremely well. He needs to shoot

857
00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,360
and to shoot the ball for three to be effective.

858
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,159
And when you're a young player and not a star,

859
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:06,480
it's hard to get especially on a championship team, it's

860
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,679
hard to get shots. So I think that's kind of

861
00:36:08,679 --> 00:36:10,039
how I evaluate him. Is I think a lot of

862
00:36:10,039 --> 00:36:12,320
people pencil him into oh, he's gonna help the bench

863
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,639
score and this or that he's played half of the season.

864
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,119
To expect a guy with a thousand minutes under his

865
00:36:19,199 --> 00:36:21,199
belt to go out there and now save your bench,

866
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,599
it's scoring is a really big ask, and I think

867
00:36:23,639 --> 00:36:25,880
he's up for the challenge a few years from now.

868
00:36:26,079 --> 00:36:27,280
I don't know if he's going to be up for

869
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:28,840
that challenge this year. I think he'll have games where

870
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:30,880
he scores thirty points this year, because when he gets hot,

871
00:36:31,119 --> 00:36:32,599
he's one of those guys that makes four or five

872
00:36:32,639 --> 00:36:34,639
in a row. So I think he'll have some big

873
00:36:34,679 --> 00:36:38,159
scoring games. But you need consistency probably from him more

874
00:36:38,199 --> 00:36:40,039
than I think he'll be able to provide. And then

875
00:36:40,119 --> 00:36:41,960
defensively when you get to a playoffs, one of the

876
00:36:42,039 --> 00:36:45,119
concerning things for Denver is all right, Christian Brown the starters.

877
00:36:45,119 --> 00:36:46,920
I'll bet you that lineup is really good this year.

878
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:48,639
If he plays, you go to the bench and say,

879
00:36:48,679 --> 00:36:51,840
who are your guys? I hope it's Peyton Watson, Dario Sariz,

880
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,039
probably Westbrook. I have no idea he was certainly wasn't

881
00:36:55,079 --> 00:36:57,079
one last year. He was a playoff anchor last year,

882
00:36:57,159 --> 00:37:00,920
like but pretty big one, Julian Strather. Regular season teams

883
00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:02,480
aren't going to do this, But in the playoffs, is

884
00:37:02,519 --> 00:37:05,320
he gonna be up to snuff to where you're playing

885
00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:07,880
Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic is playing against your bench?

886
00:37:08,159 --> 00:37:10,519
Do they just hunt him every single time? And if so,

887
00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:13,559
I don't think he's going to develop in this one

888
00:37:13,639 --> 00:37:17,000
year up to the level of well, obviously nobody wants

889
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:19,480
him to be hunted, but we can survive based on this,

890
00:37:19,599 --> 00:37:20,840
this and this. He might just be a guy that

891
00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:23,639
gets scored on every single time and becomes unplayable.

892
00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:26,679
Speaker 1: So you think he would be that much of an

893
00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:29,119
issue defensively that there's no scenario in which, because of

894
00:37:29,159 --> 00:37:31,559
the concerns we just met with mentioned with Peyton Watson

895
00:37:31,599 --> 00:37:32,679
in the role you think he's gonna have in the

896
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,960
Nuggets where maybe Julian Strother just becomes more important to

897
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:37,599
those bench units because of the spacing.

898
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:42,280
Speaker 2: I mean, they have opposite strengths and weaknesses, right, So

899
00:37:42,599 --> 00:37:46,360
it might come down to into one how right, Well,

900
00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:47,960
that would be a superstar, right, I mean if you

901
00:37:48,039 --> 00:37:50,199
had both of those guys on out each side, But

902
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:52,519
you might I think that Michael Malone will come to

903
00:37:52,599 --> 00:37:55,000
a point at some point in the playoffs where you

904
00:37:55,079 --> 00:37:57,519
have to make the decision of, well, do we put

905
00:37:57,599 --> 00:37:59,920
Peyton Watson out there so Luka Doncic isn't just get

906
00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,400
free reign to the paint, but we don't have any

907
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,159
shooting hut the court and we can't score. Or do

908
00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:07,320
we put Julian out there and we're gonna make some shots,

909
00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:10,760
but Lucas probably gonna score eighteen points this quarter. I

910
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:13,159
think that's gonna be a situation Denver finds himself in

911
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:15,800
unless Peyton develops a better shot throughout the year and

912
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,880
becomes a more consistent shooter, or Julian is better defensively

913
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:20,760
than I kind of anticipate he will be by the

914
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,000
end of this year. And again, it's not even a

915
00:38:22,119 --> 00:38:24,519
knock on Julian. It's hard to play defense at that

916
00:38:24,599 --> 00:38:26,639
level in the NBA, especially when you're an offensive player.

917
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,360
And I think he'll get there, But will he get

918
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,239
there by April of next year? We'll find out.

919
00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:35,199
Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior healthy last season. That's always fun. None

920
00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:36,679
of what I'm about to ask him as an insult

921
00:38:36,679 --> 00:38:38,360
to Michael Porter Junior, who I tend to be higher

922
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:41,679
on thank consensus, but is this his final form? Are

923
00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:43,519
there more liars to it? And also one this is

924
00:38:43,599 --> 00:38:46,079
like a personal agenda question. Why does he feel like

925
00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:50,159
or to me the streakiest all time great shooter in

926
00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:52,519
NBA history, Like I just you look at his percentages

927
00:38:52,559 --> 00:38:54,920
in the volume knocked down sniper all time, and it's

928
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:56,440
just he seems so streaky.

929
00:38:56,559 --> 00:38:59,519
Speaker 2: Anecdotally, I can tell you the answer that second one,

930
00:38:59,559 --> 00:39:02,360
and I know it. But his shot is so perfect

931
00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:04,599
that you just expect them all to go in. And

932
00:39:04,639 --> 00:39:06,239
at the end of the year he shoots forty percent

933
00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:08,400
and you're like, man, he was off all year. It's like, no,

934
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:10,559
he wasn't it just every time he shoots it. I

935
00:39:10,599 --> 00:39:13,159
think it's in literally every time, because it's always balanced,

936
00:39:13,199 --> 00:39:16,079
it's always perfect for him. It's everything. I think the

937
00:39:16,159 --> 00:39:18,039
thing with Michael Porter, when you ask if it's his

938
00:39:18,119 --> 00:39:21,800
final form, I kind of do. But that meaning I

939
00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:24,199
don't think there's like a major change in the style

940
00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:26,800
that he plays or unlocks all these skills he's off

941
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:29,119
the ball, dribbling or this or that. I think Denver

942
00:39:29,199 --> 00:39:31,320
can unlock him a little bit more, getting more movement

943
00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:33,719
in their offense. I know that has been a when

944
00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:36,599
we talk about alignment between coach and front office. I

945
00:39:36,639 --> 00:39:38,960
think that's probably one of them that I think Michael

946
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,559
Malon would say, you want me to run him around more? No, like,

947
00:39:41,679 --> 00:39:43,880
this guy belongs in the corner. Our offense is fine,

948
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:46,480
and I tend to side on the other side where

949
00:39:46,519 --> 00:39:48,280
I think that they can be a little more dynamic

950
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:52,679
and using his gravity, using his movement to increase his

951
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,119
gravity and his role in the offense. But here's where

952
00:39:55,159 --> 00:39:57,679
I think he can be a little different. Michael Porter

953
00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:01,760
is a pure shooter, and his shot selection his first

954
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,840
two seasons in the NBA was laughable, and yet he

955
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:07,199
shot really well. He shot even better forty four percent

956
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,480
from three to forty two percent from three because he's

957
00:40:09,519 --> 00:40:11,760
such a good shooter that bad shots can be good

958
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:13,519
shots for him. And I think there's a value to

959
00:40:13,639 --> 00:40:15,960
having a guy. Klay Thompson was this guy. He would

960
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:18,039
take bad shots, but guess what, he made enough of

961
00:40:18,079 --> 00:40:20,199
them that you ran out on him all the time,

962
00:40:20,239 --> 00:40:21,679
even if he thought like it would be dumb for

963
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:23,239
him to shoot this, but I have to go and

964
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,400
run him off the line because there's that gravity there.

965
00:40:26,519 --> 00:40:29,960
I think Michael Porter has called those bad shots. He's

966
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,760
reduced him in a way that has been It was

967
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:34,719
smart and it served its purpose. They won a title

968
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:36,920
that way. But I think now you can open it

969
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,800
up a little bit. Sometimes you have to reduce a

970
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,079
guy a little bit overcorrect and then say, okay, but

971
00:40:42,119 --> 00:40:44,039
there is a little more leeway, and to me, that's

972
00:40:44,039 --> 00:40:46,119
where he can make himself a more impactful player. It's

973
00:40:46,159 --> 00:40:48,400
just it's not a lot. It's one or two shots

974
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,960
a game that Denver builds into their offense that says, hey,

975
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,119
we're living with this. You come off the handoff and

976
00:40:53,199 --> 00:40:54,840
you just go into your shooting motion like you see

977
00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,000
a tiny little bit of daylight. Not the best shot,

978
00:40:57,079 --> 00:40:59,519
doesn't matter. We need that defender to jump out at

979
00:40:59,559 --> 00:41:02,039
you every time you're running off of a handoff. So

980
00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:04,280
go off of them. And some games you're gonna go

981
00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:06,599
three for three on those and it'll break the game

982
00:41:06,639 --> 00:41:07,079
wide open.

983
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:09,920
Speaker 1: Even just the pure concept of having him on the

984
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,199
floor seems more important than ever now when you remove

985
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:14,679
KCP from the equation and throw maybe some question mark

986
00:41:14,719 --> 00:41:15,800
shooters into the fold.

987
00:41:16,119 --> 00:41:18,400
Speaker 2: Well, this is why another one of the most interesting

988
00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:22,000
storylines to me is in years past, Jamal Murray is

989
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,440
always the guy that you stagger, and Michael Porter is

990
00:41:24,519 --> 00:41:26,760
not well rounded enough of a player to carry a

991
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:29,199
bench unit. He just isn't. And we've seen him when

992
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,000
Murray and Yokicha been out. What it looks like. It

993
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,079
looks horrible. He looks worse than you know, what you

994
00:41:33,079 --> 00:41:35,239
would expect of a player that caliber, like Kevin Herder

995
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:38,199
would probably carry a team better than Michael Porter would

996
00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:42,039
in that position. But you give Russell Westbrook and Dario

997
00:41:42,119 --> 00:41:45,079
Sariz two playmakers, two set up guys. I think that

998
00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:47,119
he needs to be the stagger guy at least would

999
00:41:47,119 --> 00:41:49,039
love to see it for fifteen games. Just give it

1000
00:41:49,039 --> 00:41:50,960
a long sample size of Okay, you need shooting off

1001
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,800
the bench, and you need a guy who now you

1002
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:55,800
can really slide that scale up of who else is

1003
00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:57,079
going to shoot the ball. So you're out there and

1004
00:41:57,119 --> 00:41:59,400
if Westbrook kicks it to you, man, that ball goes up.

1005
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,119
I don't care how open or not open you are.

1006
00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:03,639
That ball goes up from three. And I think that

1007
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,039
would that when you talk about does he have more

1008
00:42:06,079 --> 00:42:08,239
to go? It's the same skill set but in a

1009
00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:11,119
different role that might allow him to shine a little

1010
00:42:11,119 --> 00:42:11,400
bit more.

1011
00:42:12,599 --> 00:42:14,400
Speaker 1: The three players are going to ask you about not

1012
00:42:14,559 --> 00:42:16,840
playing roles, but they're taking up roster spots. So I

1013
00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:20,320
think that it's important. Denver has all fifteen guaranteed contracts

1014
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:22,199
in the books right now, so on a start, just

1015
00:42:22,199 --> 00:42:26,840
if any impressions or thoughts on them over archingly Jalen Pickett, So.

1016
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:32,920
Speaker 2: Jalen Pickett, I think is a guy that is over.

1017
00:42:33,199 --> 00:42:36,000
He's done, and I think he is an example of him.

1018
00:42:36,039 --> 00:42:37,800
We talk about the schism, and I knew this early on.

1019
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:41,239
I'd always tell people it was going into his rookie

1020
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,039
season because he I like the skill set you go

1021
00:42:44,079 --> 00:42:45,199
in the summer league, and I thought he had a

1022
00:42:45,199 --> 00:42:47,599
pretty good summer league, and then going into camp and

1023
00:42:47,719 --> 00:42:49,440
just talking to people, and I was like, this guy

1024
00:42:49,559 --> 00:42:51,400
is not a guy that the coaching STAPHF likes. This

1025
00:42:51,559 --> 00:42:53,519
guy is out from day one, and of course from

1026
00:42:53,599 --> 00:42:56,519
there he has gotten progressively worse. So he's a guy

1027
00:42:56,559 --> 00:42:57,920
that I look at and I say, I think it's done.

1028
00:42:58,039 --> 00:42:59,639
I think there's zero chance for him. I think is

1029
00:42:59,679 --> 00:43:05,119
confident shot and he this last several weeks he has

1030
00:43:05,199 --> 00:43:06,920
not been spotted in the gym, and I don't believe

1031
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:09,119
he's been in Denver. All the other young guys are

1032
00:43:09,159 --> 00:43:10,920
in Denver working out in front of the coaching staff,

1033
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:11,960
and I just look at that and I go, I

1034
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,239
think the coaching staff knows that's not our guy. He

1035
00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:15,920
knows the coaching staff things, that's not our guy. So

1036
00:43:16,039 --> 00:43:18,400
he's out hundred are are you moving on to the

1037
00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:18,760
next one.

1038
00:43:19,039 --> 00:43:21,559
Speaker 1: Yeah? He of two first names, hunter Tyson.

1039
00:43:22,039 --> 00:43:25,159
Speaker 2: Hunter Tyson to me is interesting because I think he's

1040
00:43:25,159 --> 00:43:27,760
another guy that when we talk about Calvin Booth had

1041
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:30,360
a vision. Okay, we have this new CBA, We're we

1042
00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:31,639
have to bring in some young guys.

1043
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:31,880
Speaker 1: Now.

1044
00:43:32,199 --> 00:43:33,760
Speaker 2: I think Michael Malone looked at that and said, three

1045
00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,320
rookies on a defending title team like no way the

1046
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:40,159
out Pickett out, hunter Tyson out. But unlike Pickett, who

1047
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:43,159
I think was always like a risky play, he's just

1048
00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:45,440
short Eddie slow, like he was always going to be

1049
00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:47,800
a risk to hit. Hunter Tyson to me, has a

1050
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:50,079
skill set. Denver needs shooting. He might be the third

1051
00:43:50,159 --> 00:43:52,079
best or fourth best shooter on the entire team. He's

1052
00:43:52,159 --> 00:43:54,840
really reliable, he's tall. He's not a great player in

1053
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,239
my opinion all around, although we haven't seen a ton

1054
00:43:57,280 --> 00:43:58,920
of him, but he is a good shooter. And you

1055
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:01,719
look at it and go need shooting. That bench lineup

1056
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:04,239
might need him over time, So I think he might

1057
00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,079
actually get a chance at some point this year. I

1058
00:44:06,119 --> 00:44:09,599
think he's still on the outside looking in. But in

1059
00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:11,320
most years I would look at him and say, no

1060
00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:13,079
chance he's getting in. What's he doing on the roster?

1061
00:44:13,159 --> 00:44:14,559
Why do you have this guy? And now I look

1062
00:44:14,559 --> 00:44:16,960
at it and go, Denver doesn't have that many guys

1063
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:18,559
and they need shooting. He might get a chance.

1064
00:44:19,639 --> 00:44:23,239
Speaker 1: Doron Holmes obviously has the Achilles injury. But when you

1065
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:25,400
go back, we were just doing our Western Conference grades,

1066
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:27,079
and I don't think I appreciate in the moment, like

1067
00:44:27,159 --> 00:44:28,920
how much they gave up, like to move up and

1068
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:30,880
get him. It was It's not like super egregious, but

1069
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,000
it was like stuff. Any early impressions on him were

1070
00:44:34,039 --> 00:44:35,400
just the organization's view of him.

1071
00:44:35,719 --> 00:44:38,360
Speaker 2: Well, I think it's it's kind of tragic, to be

1072
00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:40,960
honest with you, because here's Doron Holmes brought shooting, and

1073
00:44:41,039 --> 00:44:42,679
I actually think he was a pretty good shooter, and

1074
00:44:42,719 --> 00:44:44,280
I know that's one of the number one things he

1075
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:47,199
was emphasizing. His numbers weren't great his first two years. Obviously,

1076
00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:49,639
last year it was phenomenal, and I think from everything

1077
00:44:49,679 --> 00:44:52,639
i'd heard it in the gym and everything else, he

1078
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,000
was showing that he was actually a real shooter, a

1079
00:44:55,039 --> 00:44:56,800
guy that you know in the years to come would

1080
00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,559
be a shooter defensive like he kind of tied the

1081
00:44:59,679 --> 00:45:02,039
team the vision together in some ways, and I don't

1082
00:45:02,079 --> 00:45:04,440
think you should have expected that this year. But the

1083
00:45:04,519 --> 00:45:07,920
problem with using draft capital moving up in the draft,

1084
00:45:08,199 --> 00:45:10,599
having so many young players on your roster is every

1085
00:45:10,679 --> 00:45:13,639
year of development matters, and you kind of lose one

1086
00:45:13,679 --> 00:45:15,880
development year for him being out this entire year. So

1087
00:45:16,079 --> 00:45:17,559
even if that plan was a good one, which we

1088
00:45:17,599 --> 00:45:19,519
don't know if it was, but even if it was,

1089
00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:22,480
you basically reset the clock next year and he's a

1090
00:45:22,559 --> 00:45:25,119
rookie next season. So for me, that hurts. I think

1091
00:45:25,159 --> 00:45:27,519
if your Calvin Booth, your vision was the team is

1092
00:45:27,519 --> 00:45:29,400
good this year, maybe wins a title, and then next

1093
00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:31,960
year you basically have a first round pick in Deron

1094
00:45:32,039 --> 00:45:34,199
Holmes because he went through the system in a year

1095
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:36,599
and he's coming to your team. That's not going to

1096
00:45:36,639 --> 00:45:38,840
happen now. He's going to be another year behind, and

1097
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:41,320
that hurts. But I like him as a player. I

1098
00:45:41,519 --> 00:45:44,760
just circumstances matter and he unfortunately got hurt in his

1099
00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:46,199
very first Summer League game.

1100
00:45:47,119 --> 00:45:49,119
Speaker 1: I want to couch this next question by saying, if

1101
00:45:49,159 --> 00:45:51,280
anyone's doing this through the lens of just because they

1102
00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:53,800
like ACP walk, that's not why I feel. That's why

1103
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:56,119
I almost can't just like it's ineffable. Like I can't

1104
00:45:56,159 --> 00:45:58,440
describe why I feel this way, But I don't know

1105
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,079
if I have PTSD from the Jamal Murray experienced last

1106
00:46:01,079 --> 00:46:03,079
season and through the Olympics. But is there just a

1107
00:46:03,239 --> 00:46:06,480
chance with the emphasis they're placing on the youth and

1108
00:46:06,679 --> 00:46:09,159
just looking at this like adding Russell Westbrook into the fold,

1109
00:46:09,199 --> 00:46:11,760
that they're just putting too much or asking too much

1110
00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:14,360
of Nikole Jokis to tie this entire thing together on

1111
00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:15,199
the offensive end.

1112
00:46:16,119 --> 00:46:18,960
Speaker 2: Uh. I mean, of course, but that's true of every

1113
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:21,679
superstar player, right like Heavy as the head that wears

1114
00:46:21,719 --> 00:46:24,880
the crown. So for me, yes, Jokic has to be

1115
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:26,519
the best player in the world for Denver to have

1116
00:46:26,599 --> 00:46:30,760
a chance. But I think that's just inevitable. The way

1117
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,119
I would answer your question, though, that I think is fair,

1118
00:46:34,639 --> 00:46:37,639
is Jokic has put this team on his back for

1119
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,159
five straight seasons. Murray was out for two of those,

1120
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:43,280
they obviously won a title. You know, in twenty twenty

1121
00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:46,440
three last year, he's carrying the team. I think it's

1122
00:46:46,519 --> 00:46:48,519
some point he's now twenty nine, he'll be thirty by

1123
00:46:48,519 --> 00:46:50,719
the end of the year. At some point you look

1124
00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:53,000
at it and go, can he do that? Though, like

1125
00:46:53,159 --> 00:46:55,239
Lebron could carry his team for the first ten years

1126
00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:57,800
of his career, no problem, not even tired. I'm carrying

1127
00:46:57,880 --> 00:46:59,480
this team. I'm playing forty minutes a night. I can

1128
00:46:59,559 --> 00:47:01,480
do it. But at some point you get to an

1129
00:47:01,559 --> 00:47:04,199
age where it is, Yeah, but that's not smart to

1130
00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:06,199
write him that many minutes. And I think Denver has

1131
00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:08,440
to be at that point, and I would agree with

1132
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:11,719
you that again, Michael Malone knows you get fired for

1133
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:13,840
seven and seven, you don't get fired for nine to five.

1134
00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:16,519
So I think there's gonna be some games in November

1135
00:47:16,599 --> 00:47:19,679
where it's very clear that Jokic is at thirty five minutes.

1136
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:22,480
We probably shouldn't play him this many, but man, if

1137
00:47:22,559 --> 00:47:24,679
we just play him another four minutes tonight, we can

1138
00:47:24,719 --> 00:47:26,760
still win here. And I just think he's gonna We're

1139
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:28,639
gonna see him at some point start to wear down.

1140
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:30,320
And by the way, I think it happened last year.

1141
00:47:30,639 --> 00:47:33,280
I was thinking about this, Yoke. We're not that far

1142
00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:36,000
removed from when Yoke played sixty five of sixty eight minutes,

1143
00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,039
and it was one of the most impressive feats. He

1144
00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:40,159
sprints the floor, he does all this stuff. He's still

1145
00:47:40,199 --> 00:47:43,079
in great shape. But he wore down last year in

1146
00:47:43,119 --> 00:47:44,920
the playoffs, and he wore down because of the regular

1147
00:47:44,960 --> 00:47:47,639
season and cumulative wearing everything else. But I look at

1148
00:47:47,679 --> 00:47:49,679
that and I go, could Yoke play sixty five of

1149
00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:51,800
sixty eight Not that he should, but could he play

1150
00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:53,960
that like he did a few years ago? I don't know.

1151
00:47:54,239 --> 00:47:56,199
And maybe that's the age, right. You can do that

1152
00:47:56,239 --> 00:47:58,000
at twenty five, you can't do that at twenty nine.

1153
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:00,800
And that was one of Yokic's advantage that he didn't

1154
00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:02,480
wear down when other people did. And so if you

1155
00:48:02,559 --> 00:48:04,920
lose that, that is one like I don't think has

1156
00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:06,760
really lost anything in Room's game. He's still a sending

1157
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:08,719
but that might be the one thing he's lost, is

1158
00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:13,559
that ability to not wear down against other teams.

1159
00:48:14,119 --> 00:48:16,599
Speaker 1: And I was gonna say that maybe that extra break

1160
00:48:16,679 --> 00:48:19,039
because you lose it. He's played so much basketball over

1161
00:48:19,039 --> 00:48:20,960
the past few years. But then so you have that break,

1162
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:22,679
but then you go right into the Olympics where he's

1163
00:48:22,679 --> 00:48:26,239
playing his ass off. Anyway, So are you ready for

1164
00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:28,719
the cookie cutter lightning Round portion of the podcast?

1165
00:48:28,960 --> 00:48:29,440
Speaker 2: Let's do it.

1166
00:48:30,679 --> 00:48:33,639
Speaker 1: So is there anything about this team that we haven't

1167
00:48:33,639 --> 00:48:35,559
discussed that you think is just flying under the radar

1168
00:48:35,639 --> 00:48:36,559
deserves more attention?

1169
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:39,920
Speaker 2: To be honest, not really. I mean we talked about

1170
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:43,920
all these the major storylines here. I think Denver everybody

1171
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:47,679
knew Denver was gonna take Deron Holmes. Like, there's so

1172
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:49,639
much about Denver that it's kind of known. I think

1173
00:48:49,639 --> 00:48:51,840
they're less mysterious than they have been in years past.

1174
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:54,239
So the cards are to some degree out on the table.

1175
00:48:54,840 --> 00:48:57,039
Speaker 1: We've come a long way from the discourse of Kennon

1176
00:48:57,119 --> 00:48:59,280
Cooleyoak to be the best player on a championship team.

1177
00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:00,800
Speaker 2: Though. Yeah, for two years.

1178
00:49:01,599 --> 00:49:03,679
Speaker 1: When you look at this roster before we see any games,

1179
00:49:03,679 --> 00:49:05,880
before training camp opens, what do you view is its

1180
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:08,840
biggest need? Uh?

1181
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:12,920
Speaker 2: Shooting? I think it's probably just if you're going to

1182
00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:15,360
be optimistic about all the pieces fitting all the pieces

1183
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:17,960
that Denver has, the shooting is the one thing where

1184
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:20,199
it's just hard to say, well, you need Sarch to

1185
00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:22,639
really make his threes, and you need Strawther, who's a

1186
00:49:22,719 --> 00:49:24,559
rookie and even though we think he's a good shooter,

1187
00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:26,920
didn't shoot a good percentage his rookie year. And maybe

1188
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:29,159
Peyton needs a little bump, and that there's just a

1189
00:49:29,239 --> 00:49:31,360
lot of guys that you feel like need to shoot

1190
00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:34,840
better than what their market average would be, and so

1191
00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:37,320
that's probably shooting and then depth. I mean, the other

1192
00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:39,880
thing about this is we're talking about Denver's fully healthy roster.

1193
00:49:40,199 --> 00:49:42,800
Let's just look at point guard. You have Murray and

1194
00:49:42,880 --> 00:49:45,239
you have Russell Westbrook, and then we have Jalen Pickett

1195
00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:47,639
and Trey Alexander, who I like, but he's a two

1196
00:49:47,639 --> 00:49:50,400
way player, so you have only two guys. Well, Murray

1197
00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:52,320
missed twenty three games last year, If he missed twenty

1198
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:56,199
three this year, Westbrook starts, who's the backup point guard,

1199
00:49:56,519 --> 00:49:59,280
There's not a clear option there, so lots in time, Adam,

1200
00:50:00,559 --> 00:50:03,199
maybe it is, maybe it's Trey Alexander. Who knows. But

1201
00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:05,559
I look at it and I just go Denver fully

1202
00:50:05,639 --> 00:50:07,800
healthy playoffs. I can talk myself into a lot, but

1203
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:09,760
we just know there's gonna be games throughout the course

1204
00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:11,559
of the year where you're like, Wow, Aaron Gordon's out

1205
00:50:11,559 --> 00:50:13,639
and there's really nobody what is the guy behind him?

1206
00:50:13,679 --> 00:50:13,760
Speaker 1: Now?

1207
00:50:14,079 --> 00:50:16,679
Speaker 2: Who's hunter Tyson's in the game. I think there's gonna

1208
00:50:16,679 --> 00:50:19,079
be a lot of games where there's the depth will

1209
00:50:19,159 --> 00:50:23,159
really uh, You'll see Denver's thin depth at points throughout

1210
00:50:23,159 --> 00:50:23,800
the regular season.

1211
00:50:25,159 --> 00:50:26,360
Speaker 1: It was a nice segue to this. And when you

1212
00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:27,880
look at when they're fully healthy, and if you had

1213
00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:29,639
to pin it down to a top ten rotation, it

1214
00:50:29,719 --> 00:50:32,159
feels like there's nine locks right when you look at

1215
00:50:32,199 --> 00:50:34,119
the starters. If we include Brown, then you're gonna throw

1216
00:50:34,159 --> 00:50:37,480
Peyton Russ Charich and Julian Strauther. So it would that

1217
00:50:37,559 --> 00:50:39,159
be to nine locks? And then who would you think

1218
00:50:39,360 --> 00:50:40,400
he gets that tense spot?

1219
00:50:41,199 --> 00:50:42,920
Speaker 2: Well, there's not a great option there is there, because

1220
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:46,360
you're either talking about Blacko Chanchar Zeke Naji or Hunter

1221
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:48,719
Tyson or maybe even DeAndre Jordan if you'd decide to

1222
00:50:48,719 --> 00:50:51,840
move starage to four or what have you. I don't know.

1223
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,760
I think sik Naji maybe has the inside track. I

1224
00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:57,639
mean Blacko Chanchar I like a lot. And in theory, again,

1225
00:50:57,679 --> 00:51:00,519
the Westbrook piece of this complicates things. But in theory,

1226
00:51:00,599 --> 00:51:03,840
Asarich Vlatko, both of those guys are very smart. They

1227
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:05,840
both can shoot a little bit, They know how to

1228
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,960
defend their position and play team defense, and they're just

1229
00:51:09,079 --> 00:51:11,880
smart players. And I like them together. But does Westbrook

1230
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:14,360
kind of mitigate their strengths? Does the ball in his hand?

1231
00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:17,199
And those guys are good as connectors, right, they're swinging

1232
00:51:17,239 --> 00:51:19,639
the ball. Well, Westbrook's not necessarily swinging the ball himself,

1233
00:51:19,719 --> 00:51:22,360
So does it take something out there? And then Zeke Nagy,

1234
00:51:23,119 --> 00:51:24,840
he might be in the sweets, but this, this is

1235
00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:27,119
the this is the but it might just work this year.

1236
00:51:27,920 --> 00:51:31,400
Zeke Naji has been a guy that has been like

1237
00:51:31,519 --> 00:51:34,000
it's his time now for two years. Two years it's like,

1238
00:51:34,039 --> 00:51:35,920
well here it is. The red carpet has rolled out

1239
00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:38,639
for you. And both years and again, I think a

1240
00:51:38,679 --> 00:51:40,480
little bit of this is he's a casual and Michael Malone.

1241
00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:42,320
I don't think Michael Malone has ever liked him. I

1242
00:51:42,360 --> 00:51:43,920
don't think he has gotten the best chance. If you

1243
00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:47,960
look at players who have played the most minutes but

1244
00:51:48,159 --> 00:51:51,880
the fewest with other starters, I think he's number one

1245
00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:53,639
on the list. He never plays with the good players

1246
00:51:53,719 --> 00:51:55,960
on Denver's roster, so I think he's been set up

1247
00:51:55,960 --> 00:51:57,639
in a way into some because some of this is

1248
00:51:57,679 --> 00:51:59,960
on him, but he's been put in the toughest position

1249
00:52:00,159 --> 00:52:02,800
of all players on Denver. That being said, this year

1250
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:04,880
he needs to make shots and if he gets he'll

1251
00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:07,119
get his chances because Denver so thin. There is a

1252
00:52:07,199 --> 00:52:09,119
world where he can shoot the ball well this year

1253
00:52:09,159 --> 00:52:11,679
and it's like, hey, zig Naji out there alongside Sarch

1254
00:52:11,719 --> 00:52:13,559
and now we actually have some shooting because both of

1255
00:52:13,599 --> 00:52:15,840
those guys can shoot. I'm not betting on it, but

1256
00:52:16,159 --> 00:52:18,360
that is the avenue now. And by the way, zeke Naji,

1257
00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:20,320
everyone's given up with, the fan base, is given up on,

1258
00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:22,880
the coaches, given up on Sometimes that's nice to be

1259
00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:24,960
over the hump to where it's like, Okay, nobody expects

1260
00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:27,440
anything of me, so maybe i'll make my threes this year.

1261
00:52:27,719 --> 00:52:29,639
Speaker 1: I won't ever quit on the Ichnagi. I'm just going

1262
00:52:29,679 --> 00:52:31,480
to continue to go to Billy. I was elated when

1263
00:52:31,519 --> 00:52:33,079
they signed that extension him. I was like, oh, that

1264
00:52:33,199 --> 00:52:35,000
was so smart. It's a contract they could move or

1265
00:52:35,039 --> 00:52:37,960
he's gonna look like a margin that take age like milk.

1266
00:52:38,079 --> 00:52:41,239
So far, but I'm holding out hope. So this is

1267
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:44,400
like the ninth consecutive year where this question is stupid,

1268
00:52:44,519 --> 00:52:47,000
But what is is their best most used crunch time

1269
00:52:47,079 --> 00:52:49,280
unit just going to be the starters with we're assuming

1270
00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:50,199
Christian Brown is in that.

1271
00:52:50,719 --> 00:52:52,840
Speaker 2: What I think is interesting of that question is Denver

1272
00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:56,039
has had a clear cut starting and closing five for

1273
00:52:56,239 --> 00:52:59,480
most of their Jokich Murray era. And I think when

1274
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:01,199
you look at a lot of your best teams, and

1275
00:53:01,239 --> 00:53:03,519
again I keep going back to the Spolsters and the Dagnats,

1276
00:53:03,639 --> 00:53:06,199
they didn't have that. And it wasn't a weakness, it

1277
00:53:06,360 --> 00:53:09,320
was a strength. It was what is the game call for? Oh,

1278
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,079
we need a little bit more of this Isaiah Joe

1279
00:53:11,119 --> 00:53:12,400
out there, we need a little bit more of this.

1280
00:53:12,559 --> 00:53:14,159
Let's put Giddy out there, we need a little more

1281
00:53:14,199 --> 00:53:17,119
of this. Let's put Cason Wallace out there. Denver, I

1282
00:53:17,239 --> 00:53:19,400
think this year is in position for that. I don't

1283
00:53:19,400 --> 00:53:21,440
think it fits Michael Malone's coaching style. I think he

1284
00:53:21,559 --> 00:53:23,400
really likes to we are who we are and we

1285
00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:25,480
go out there. So I would say, yes, it's gonna

1286
00:53:25,480 --> 00:53:27,840
be Christian Brown. But my opinion, there would be nights

1287
00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:29,599
where it'd be nice to see Julian in that role.

1288
00:53:29,679 --> 00:53:31,559
It would be nice to see Peyton Watson in one

1289
00:53:31,599 --> 00:53:34,840
of those roles, and to me, that would be Denver's strength.

1290
00:53:35,039 --> 00:53:37,320
That would really prepare them for a postseason, which, by

1291
00:53:37,360 --> 00:53:39,280
the way, Michael Malone will do that in a postseason,

1292
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:41,440
but he never does that in a regular season. So

1293
00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:44,519
this year, I think they have a clear cut closing four,

1294
00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:46,760
and I think that there is a spot that you

1295
00:53:46,880 --> 00:53:49,360
have three options. Maybe even for let's say Russell Westbrook.

1296
00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:51,519
It surprises us all. Maybe he could be a guy

1297
00:53:51,599 --> 00:53:54,400
that closes in certain circumstances there and I just think

1298
00:53:54,519 --> 00:53:56,199
Michael Malone would need to have his finger on the

1299
00:53:56,239 --> 00:53:59,000
pulse and be willing. I think one of the reasons

1300
00:53:59,039 --> 00:54:00,960
he doesn't do that, This is my own opinion. One

1301
00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:02,960
of the reasons he likes to have his starting five

1302
00:54:03,079 --> 00:54:06,440
is there's no controversy there. Everybody closes the same every year.

1303
00:54:06,440 --> 00:54:08,079
We don't have to go to the locker room explain myself.

1304
00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:10,880
You choose a guy and then you lose the game.

1305
00:54:11,239 --> 00:54:13,679
Everybody knows in the NBA like that's tough you have

1306
00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:16,760
to have. You know, that can hurt your culture if

1307
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:18,519
you have to answer for why did he do this

1308
00:54:18,639 --> 00:54:20,760
and not that? And I just think Michael Malone knows

1309
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:22,280
that's a vulnerability I'm gonna avoid.

1310
00:54:23,119 --> 00:54:24,920
Speaker 1: Do you think because I guess we didn't kind of

1311
00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:26,480
set on this. You mentioned how principle he is, but

1312
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:27,920
do you think the roster is going to force him

1313
00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:29,400
to like just we're not even talking about just the

1314
00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:32,360
crunch line, but experiment on some level here because he's

1315
00:54:32,440 --> 00:54:34,480
out of other options or out of the way to

1316
00:54:34,599 --> 00:54:36,400
like I'm gonna use these like you don't even have

1317
00:54:36,519 --> 00:54:38,239
eight guys. You can just view on a crutch as

1318
00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:39,679
a crutch on this roster anymore.

1319
00:54:40,280 --> 00:54:44,480
Speaker 2: I'm just I'm telling you, I think that you and

1320
00:54:44,559 --> 00:54:46,280
I it's easy to do that because we don't have

1321
00:54:46,320 --> 00:54:48,280
a million dollar contract that could go away in one

1322
00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:49,920
month when we do something wrong. And I just think

1323
00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:53,719
that experiment, Yes, but if you we all know when

1324
00:54:53,760 --> 00:54:56,599
a coach experiments and it works, genius, man, they throw

1325
00:54:56,599 --> 00:54:58,360
out all these combo and look, he's willing to get

1326
00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:00,960
crazy and zany, and it's great. If coach throws out

1327
00:55:01,239 --> 00:55:03,800
combinations like that and that doesn't work, there's no consistency,

1328
00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:05,880
nobody knows what the role is, nobody knows what's going on.

1329
00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:08,079
It's like it's a very easy thing to criticize a

1330
00:55:08,119 --> 00:55:10,559
coach for and I think Michael Malone knows that. Whereas,

1331
00:55:10,639 --> 00:55:12,800
as I said earlier in the show, if you kind

1332
00:55:12,840 --> 00:55:17,320
of play this this straight, no creativity, no no adjusting

1333
00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:19,199
night but none of that stuff, you can just look

1334
00:55:19,239 --> 00:55:20,960
at it and say we got killed because we just

1335
00:55:20,960 --> 00:55:23,159
didn't have the right guys. I played the guys I'm

1336
00:55:23,159 --> 00:55:24,840
given and they don't. They don't do the job, and

1337
00:55:25,000 --> 00:55:27,119
I'm doing the best I can and in a year

1338
00:55:27,159 --> 00:55:29,079
where by the way, he doesn't have a contract extension,

1339
00:55:29,119 --> 00:55:32,119
neither's Calvin Booth. I think both guys are like trying

1340
00:55:32,159 --> 00:55:35,880
to impress Dad, and you know, both guys trying to

1341
00:55:35,920 --> 00:55:37,559
be the one that's left standing at the end of

1342
00:55:37,639 --> 00:55:40,000
this and just to fight game theory this out. Maybe

1343
00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:41,920
I'm overthinking this, Maybe they don't think.

1344
00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:45,199
Speaker 1: I honestly would have thought from my like million foot

1345
00:55:45,239 --> 00:55:47,880
perspective of if you're going this route that Calvin Booth

1346
00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:50,480
has gone, I just would have expected that there needed

1347
00:55:50,519 --> 00:55:54,079
to be more alignment between coach and front office, because,

1348
00:55:54,679 --> 00:55:56,400
like you, like, if you're in the front office, Okay,

1349
00:55:56,440 --> 00:55:58,159
Michael ol Won will get criticized in the you know,

1350
00:55:58,519 --> 00:56:00,599
the media for if the Nuggets loose, but like if

1351
00:56:00,639 --> 00:56:03,199
you've actually wanted these young guys to play. You have

1352
00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:05,800
to understand that, like the opportunity costs, there might be

1353
00:56:06,239 --> 00:56:09,800
victories or regular season awkwardness. I understand Malones if you

1354
00:56:09,880 --> 00:56:12,000
want to call it stubborness or perspective, especially based off

1355
00:56:12,079 --> 00:56:15,360
what happened in Sacramento, But like, I find it mind

1356
00:56:15,440 --> 00:56:17,519
bothering that we're like, we're multiple years of like the

1357
00:56:17,599 --> 00:56:19,719
Nuggets clearly laying this out, and like, how do you

1358
00:56:19,880 --> 00:56:22,400
not like how is there not more of an alignment

1359
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:24,440
here between the coach and the front off? Is that?

1360
00:56:24,920 --> 00:56:27,079
Speaker 2: Again? I just think that you have very principled people

1361
00:56:27,320 --> 00:56:29,840
that you know have succeeded. It's just the same thing

1362
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:32,559
with the you know, you get the star college players

1363
00:56:32,679 --> 00:56:34,440
drafted twenty eighth and he comes in, It's like, hey,

1364
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:36,480
can you be a corner shooter? That's not what got

1365
00:56:36,519 --> 00:56:38,320
me here? Man, What got me here was doing what

1366
00:56:38,440 --> 00:56:40,320
I do. It's like, yeah, but you're at a new level.

1367
00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:42,039
You need to change. I think Michael Malone's a guy

1368
00:56:42,119 --> 00:56:44,159
that I know what got me here, and I know

1369
00:56:44,239 --> 00:56:46,119
how coaches get fired. And I grew up and I've

1370
00:56:46,159 --> 00:56:49,199
gotten all this advice from, you know, following my father's footsteps.

1371
00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:52,239
And I just think that he knows that. Again, and

1372
00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:54,039
I know this personally, like I'm part of a startup

1373
00:56:54,119 --> 00:56:56,559
right at all city that I see these different dynamics.

1374
00:56:56,760 --> 00:56:59,480
You can be right about something and feel principled about

1375
00:56:59,480 --> 00:57:02,920
the direction, but the truth is, nobody in a team,

1376
00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:06,159
or in a corporation, or in anything is a sole

1377
00:57:06,400 --> 00:57:09,239
decision maker. And I think that he kind of understands,

1378
00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:11,599
you know, everybody kind of understands that, Hey, Calvin Booth

1379
00:57:11,679 --> 00:57:13,480
might have had one vision, but if everybody doesn't buy

1380
00:57:13,480 --> 00:57:15,440
into that vision, it doesn't matter. And Michael will in

1381
00:57:15,519 --> 00:57:17,280
the same thing. He has a vision, but if Calvin

1382
00:57:17,280 --> 00:57:19,599
Booth doesn't buy into it, it doesn't matter. And those

1383
00:57:19,599 --> 00:57:21,320
two are just gonna have to find the right harmony.

1384
00:57:21,320 --> 00:57:23,119
And by the way, not just them. I think ownership

1385
00:57:23,199 --> 00:57:24,519
is a part of this, and I even think some

1386
00:57:24,599 --> 00:57:25,800
of the players are a part of it, to be

1387
00:57:25,880 --> 00:57:28,320
honest with you, because when we talk about who plays

1388
00:57:28,360 --> 00:57:30,519
on the bench and who doesn't, some of this I

1389
00:57:30,599 --> 00:57:32,400
think has a little bit to do not a lot,

1390
00:57:32,480 --> 00:57:33,719
but a little bit to do with what do the

1391
00:57:33,719 --> 00:57:36,400
players want? Does Jokich want to play with those guys?

1392
00:57:36,440 --> 00:57:38,039
Does Michael Porter want to play with the bench, like,

1393
00:57:38,079 --> 00:57:40,280
I think there's a level of Yeah, I don't want

1394
00:57:40,320 --> 00:57:41,480
to be responsible for that.

1395
00:57:43,079 --> 00:57:46,000
Speaker 1: Is there a weirdo, funky, offbeat lineup? You're hoping that

1396
00:57:46,639 --> 00:57:48,280
Michael Malone might roll out this season?

1397
00:57:50,840 --> 00:57:52,880
Speaker 2: So there's just so many funky lineups, right, Like anything

1398
00:57:52,920 --> 00:57:54,679
with Westbrook and Jokich is funky to me. I have

1399
00:57:54,760 --> 00:57:56,880
no idea how that's going to work. If it works,

1400
00:57:56,880 --> 00:57:59,039
it's awesome. So there. I mean, I would like to

1401
00:57:59,039 --> 00:58:01,920
see those two play again quite a bit. I want

1402
00:58:01,960 --> 00:58:04,199
to see Peyton Watson handle the ball. I don't expect it,

1403
00:58:04,320 --> 00:58:06,280
but I would love to see opportunities for him to

1404
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:08,039
play with a little bit more shooting and a little

1405
00:58:08,079 --> 00:58:10,159
bit more Hey, you're bringing the ball up, you're coming

1406
00:58:10,199 --> 00:58:12,079
off this dribble handoff and trying to read the cord

1407
00:58:12,159 --> 00:58:14,239
off of it. So those would be the things I

1408
00:58:14,239 --> 00:58:15,280
think I'm most interested in.

1409
00:58:15,840 --> 00:58:17,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what we need to see the Peyton

1410
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:20,639
Watson will just throw Julian Strather, Michael Porter, Junior, Dario

1411
00:58:20,719 --> 00:58:22,920
Sarz and Zeke Nauji out there and it's a Peyton Watson.

1412
00:58:23,559 --> 00:58:25,519
Speaker 2: I think that one might be bad. A Zeke Naji,

1413
00:58:25,840 --> 00:58:28,199
So I'm so worried about I will say this, I

1414
00:58:28,239 --> 00:58:30,360
want to see Michael Porter play more four with the bench.

1415
00:58:30,800 --> 00:58:32,320
So if you put Sarch at the five and him

1416
00:58:32,360 --> 00:58:34,119
at the four, I'm curious how you build a lineup

1417
00:58:34,159 --> 00:58:35,960
so that he is a true four in that and

1418
00:58:36,079 --> 00:58:39,280
not like him and Peyton Watson together. Who's the three,

1419
00:58:39,320 --> 00:58:42,360
who's the four defensive? It doesn't matter. But if he

1420
00:58:42,480 --> 00:58:45,280
is alongside Christian Brown and Julian Strather, Okay, he's clearly

1421
00:58:45,360 --> 00:58:47,519
the four here, and I think that gives you some

1422
00:58:47,599 --> 00:58:48,199
good spacing.

1423
00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:51,800
Speaker 1: As we record this, they're over under a set at

1424
00:58:51,840 --> 00:58:54,559
fifty one point five. Taking everything into account, would you

1425
00:58:54,679 --> 00:58:56,039
go with the over the under on that?

1426
00:58:57,559 --> 00:59:01,199
Speaker 2: Every single year from of the entire I have taken

1427
00:59:01,239 --> 00:59:03,280
the over, and I think I've been right every single

1428
00:59:03,360 --> 00:59:06,079
year except for one in the Bubble where they lost

1429
00:59:06,199 --> 00:59:08,599
all those bubble games. If you're a call, so they

1430
00:59:08,639 --> 00:59:10,519
were on pace to beat it, and then they went

1431
00:59:10,639 --> 00:59:12,320
like two and eight in the Bubble to end the

1432
00:59:12,400 --> 00:59:16,000
season that technically put them as another. But I think

1433
00:59:18,239 --> 00:59:21,480
so so every year I've gone over. This might be

1434
00:59:21,599 --> 00:59:24,599
the first year where I'm tempted to take the under,

1435
00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:26,519
and I think I actually, I mean again, I have

1436
00:59:26,639 --> 00:59:28,840
a month I probably won't make this real pick until

1437
00:59:28,840 --> 00:59:30,360
I see preseason and see how some of this stuff

1438
00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:32,320
comes together. But at this very moment, I think under

1439
00:59:32,400 --> 00:59:34,559
might be the better play. And it's not because I

1440
00:59:34,559 --> 00:59:37,199
don't think they'll be good. They're just so thin and

1441
00:59:37,280 --> 00:59:39,239
there's so many question marks. Are they gonna get off

1442
00:59:39,239 --> 00:59:41,960
to a hot start? This is the least continuity we've seen.

1443
00:59:42,079 --> 00:59:43,760
I imagine there's gonna be a period of time where

1444
00:59:43,760 --> 00:59:45,159
they figure out who and what they are and what

1445
00:59:45,199 --> 00:59:46,920
their rotation is, So that hurts you a little bit.

1446
00:59:47,199 --> 00:59:49,239
The West is more loaded than ever, so I think

1447
00:59:49,280 --> 00:59:52,280
that hurts you a little bit. And then if any

1448
00:59:52,559 --> 00:59:57,119
of Jokic, Gordon or Murray or even Westbrook probably to

1449
00:59:57,199 --> 01:00:00,039
some degree miss any amount of time ten games, I

1450
01:00:00,039 --> 01:00:02,320
think Denver's going to struggle over that stretch. So I

1451
01:00:02,360 --> 01:00:04,119
think there's too many variables that would lead me to

1452
01:00:04,159 --> 01:00:06,679
think Denver wins fifty games this year, maybe fifty one

1453
01:00:07,400 --> 01:00:09,519
and not above. So this might be the first year

1454
01:00:09,559 --> 01:00:11,519
I take the under on Denver in the OCACHERA.

1455
01:00:12,199 --> 01:00:14,440
Speaker 1: Now when you give it through a championship equity perspective,

1456
01:00:14,440 --> 01:00:15,719
where you can kind of like, maybe they don't have

1457
01:00:15,719 --> 01:00:17,440
a great regular season, but you're looking at who can

1458
01:00:17,519 --> 01:00:19,679
win the title, where you think they stack up in

1459
01:00:19,719 --> 01:00:22,360
that Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Dallas tier of it on if

1460
01:00:22,360 --> 01:00:23,840
you want to throw another team from the like if

1461
01:00:23,840 --> 01:00:26,400
you think Phoenix is going to be on that level too.

1462
01:00:26,800 --> 01:00:28,639
Speaker 2: I do think Phoenix is on that level this year.

1463
01:00:29,840 --> 01:00:30,920
I am buying the moves.

1464
01:00:31,320 --> 01:00:32,880
Speaker 1: What's that there's no wings like?

1465
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:36,000
Speaker 2: I just don't. I mean, look, they have their flaws.

1466
01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:38,880
They're like they've been in years past, and that their

1467
01:00:38,920 --> 01:00:41,320
hupside is so high, but they do have their tragic flaws.

1468
01:00:41,360 --> 01:00:43,719
But I think the things that have made them weak

1469
01:00:43,760 --> 01:00:45,559
in the past will be there a little bit. But

1470
01:00:46,039 --> 01:00:49,679
to me, it's matchups and I think Denver, if they

1471
01:00:49,719 --> 01:00:51,760
are healthy at the end of the season, I still

1472
01:00:51,800 --> 01:00:53,800
think that they're going to be a Tier one contender.

1473
01:00:54,360 --> 01:00:56,199
Boston has done it and they have a little bit

1474
01:00:56,199 --> 01:00:57,800
more well rounded in depth, so they might be the

1475
01:00:57,880 --> 01:01:00,360
favorite overall. But when I look at a Dallas also

1476
01:01:00,400 --> 01:01:02,800
a flawed team. I mean, even last year, as impressive

1477
01:01:02,840 --> 01:01:04,360
as it was that they went and they and they

1478
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:06,039
went to the finals and they were very good, they

1479
01:01:06,079 --> 01:01:08,519
didn't look like an unbeatable team to me, especially out

1480
01:01:08,559 --> 01:01:11,199
West Minnesota is a great matchup for Denver, and I

1481
01:01:11,239 --> 01:01:13,360
think that they might even be a better matchup against

1482
01:01:13,400 --> 01:01:15,119
Denver than they were last year, just by account of

1483
01:01:16,119 --> 01:01:18,199
whatever you think of Russell Westbrook, however high you want

1484
01:01:18,239 --> 01:01:19,719
to be on, it fits and all of a sudden,

1485
01:01:19,719 --> 01:01:21,960
all the pieces fit. Minnesota is the type of team

1486
01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:24,360
though that they're gonna have people in the paint and

1487
01:01:24,760 --> 01:01:27,880
when you don't, when you have length on the perimeter

1488
01:01:27,960 --> 01:01:29,400
to close out and guys in the paint, like what

1489
01:01:29,440 --> 01:01:31,360
does Westbrook do? So I think Minnesota matches up with

1490
01:01:31,440 --> 01:01:33,360
Denver really well. I don't think they're better than Denver,

1491
01:01:33,440 --> 01:01:35,159
but I think they match up with Denver really well.

1492
01:01:35,559 --> 01:01:38,400
But I think Denver should be to me, alongside Phoenix, Dallas,

1493
01:01:38,480 --> 01:01:41,079
Minnesota if they get to the playoffs healthy, I think

1494
01:01:41,079 --> 01:01:44,119
they'll have a top seven that is as good as anyone,

1495
01:01:44,199 --> 01:01:45,559
and they'll have the best player in the series.

1496
01:01:46,639 --> 01:01:49,679
Speaker 1: Before I end my interrogation, is there anything about this

1497
01:01:49,800 --> 01:01:52,239
team I did not ask you about that you think

1498
01:01:52,280 --> 01:01:53,760
we need to touch upon before I let you skie

1499
01:01:53,760 --> 01:01:54,039
that them?

1500
01:01:55,239 --> 01:01:57,280
Speaker 2: I don't think so. You know, the contract piece of

1501
01:01:57,360 --> 01:01:59,239
this is important to me. Michael Malone, by the way,

1502
01:01:59,360 --> 01:02:00,880
is going to become here's what's so funny about it. So,

1503
01:02:00,920 --> 01:02:05,480
Michael Malone Collum Booth both need contract extensions. Right, Michael

1504
01:02:05,519 --> 01:02:07,840
Malone is nine games away from becoming the winningest coach

1505
01:02:07,920 --> 01:02:10,760
in Denver Nugget's history, currently held by Doug mo Doug

1506
01:02:10,840 --> 01:02:14,239
Moe's jersey is hung up in the raptors at Ball Arena.

1507
01:02:14,320 --> 01:02:16,360
That's what a figure he has. So you're talking about

1508
01:02:16,360 --> 01:02:19,159
a guy without a contract extension, and what direction do

1509
01:02:19,199 --> 01:02:21,400
you go forward if things go south? And oh, by

1510
01:02:21,440 --> 01:02:23,280
the way, this was going to be a season of

1511
01:02:23,360 --> 01:02:26,840
celebration of Michael Malone, So it's kind of a funny layer, right,

1512
01:02:27,039 --> 01:02:30,159
like he might get all these accolades and we're talking

1513
01:02:30,159 --> 01:02:32,000
about history and everything else, and oh, by the way,

1514
01:02:32,679 --> 01:02:33,280
you're out the door.

1515
01:02:33,320 --> 01:02:35,119
Speaker 1: If things don't go well, we could be in store

1516
01:02:35,159 --> 01:02:38,159
for some epic press conferences from this team, that from

1517
01:02:38,159 --> 01:02:40,159
Michael Malan specifically that throughout the season.

1518
01:02:40,920 --> 01:02:43,440
Speaker 2: I think that's definitely true. Michael Malone is the king

1519
01:02:43,559 --> 01:02:45,880
of that and I think Michael Malone will be musty

1520
01:02:45,920 --> 01:02:46,519
TV this year.

1521
01:02:47,480 --> 01:02:49,599
Speaker 1: Adam, this was great as always, Thank you so much

1522
01:02:49,639 --> 01:02:50,960
for your time. Are you just able to tell our

1523
01:02:51,039 --> 01:02:53,000
listeners and viewers where they could find you in all

1524
01:02:53,000 --> 01:02:53,480
the great work.

1525
01:02:53,519 --> 01:02:56,320
Speaker 2: They obviously DMBR nuggets. Most people watching this probably know that.

1526
01:02:56,719 --> 01:02:58,639
And then the All NBA Show, Me and Tim Legler

1527
01:02:58,880 --> 01:03:01,320
will be back hearing about a month or so. We'll

1528
01:03:01,360 --> 01:03:02,199
be back in about a month.

1529
01:03:02,400 --> 01:03:04,800
Speaker 1: Uh, I'm excited. That's real Seco stuff. You got to

1530
01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:05,519
do a great tige.

1531
01:03:06,039 --> 01:03:07,639
Speaker 2: He's the best man. And then this year we're adding

1532
01:03:07,679 --> 01:03:10,239
some new people to the rotation, so I'm excited for.

1533
01:03:10,239 --> 01:03:12,800
Speaker 1: That as well. Well. Thank you so much once again,

1534
01:03:12,840 --> 01:03:14,440
and as you know by now, I will be bestering

1535
01:03:14,480 --> 01:03:15,320
you again in the future.