Speaker 1: Wait is this Kesha? Who's this singing? I know it's Pitbull,
Speaker 1: but who's singing?
Speaker 2: You know? All right?
Speaker 1: Because I Shaquira's fine. I just I can't do the
Speaker 1: Kesha thing. If I'm going to allow Pitbull on the show,
Speaker 1: I can't compound it with pit Bull and Kesha.
Speaker 3: But we'll we'll allow, Shakira, will allow today?
Speaker 1: How do you feel about going limp biscuit pit Bull
Speaker 1: Shakira back to back.
Speaker 3: That's rough.
Speaker 1: That is counter to the brand of this radio program.
Speaker 1: But you know what, I'm one for a bit. I'm
Speaker 1: one to motivate our guests, and our next guest is
Speaker 1: motivated by Pitbull.
Speaker 3: Hello, Zach Harper, Happy Wednesday.
Speaker 2: Hold on a second, Happy Wednesday. Do what's wrong with Kesha?
Speaker 3: She sucks.
Speaker 2: Good enough for Darryl Morrid like every one of her posts.
Speaker 1: Yeah, build a chance, build a decent NBA team, and
Speaker 1: I'll respect your musical taste like whatever.
Speaker 3: Daryl Morey.
Speaker 2: Hey, if it wasn't for all of those things that
Speaker 2: are definitely not his fault, they would be multiple time champion.
Speaker 1: I know, I know, so I'm old enough to remember
Speaker 1: when you were good at your job, you could keep it. Uh,
Speaker 1: Michael Malone. Yeah out in Denver. What's what's going on?
Speaker 2: Zack? Oh? Man? I think what I think? I think?
Speaker 2: Yesterday morning, Uh, someone reminded Stan Kronk that he owns
Speaker 2: the Denver Nugget and he was like, yeah, make whatever
Speaker 2: changes he want. I don't care. I don't know, man.
Speaker 2: I It's like I I think, you know, it wasn't
Speaker 2: great going into this year, but not like this. Like
Speaker 2: throughout the year, you hear things about uh Antony Jones,
Speaker 2: it did great report on this yesterday, but you hear
Speaker 2: things about, you know, his battle with Calvin Booth, and
Speaker 2: you know he you know, Michael Malone doesn't typically have
Speaker 2: a great history with a front office, but you know,
Speaker 2: Kelvin Booth wanted to play these young guys and like,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Like the young guys aren't that good and
Speaker 2: they're trying to win. And so I understand that he's
Speaker 2: in these battles left and right. The defense has not
Speaker 2: been good. Also, Aaron Gordon has played forty eight games
Speaker 2: and Can Davi's Cambo Pope got to walk for free.
Speaker 2: So like that next man up thing, just do like
Speaker 2: there's a there's a drop off there, like you know,
Speaker 2: Christian Browns hasn't been really good filling in, but the
Speaker 2: drop off is still there, like from the next spot down.
Speaker 2: And Jokic hasn't been good as good defensively as he
Speaker 2: was previous years because he's got to do too much
Speaker 2: on offense because Jamal Murray's need doesn't work anymore and
Speaker 2: his hamstring is is hurting all the time. And you know,
Speaker 2: I think there are plenty of reasons to question Malone.
Speaker 2: I don't think he's an infallible coach by any means,
Speaker 2: but I think they're doing pretty well considering the injuries
Speaker 2: and the issues with this roster construction everything. Like I
Speaker 2: get not letting Calvin Booth stay on past this season.
Speaker 2: I you know, they but also even in regards to that,
Speaker 2: you tighten the first strings, what's he supposed to do?
Speaker 2: Like this is a frugal ownership and they didn't want
Speaker 2: to spend the money to you know, be deep in
Speaker 2: the tax all that stuff and spend what it takes
Speaker 2: to remain a contender in a champion And now they're
Speaker 2: just letting, you know, everyone else take the blame for it.
Speaker 2: And you're gonna do it three games before the playoffs.
Speaker 2: You're gonna give David Adoman three games in the midst
Speaker 2: of this playoff, you know, push and traffic jam in
Speaker 2: the West to figure it out, and then hey, we
Speaker 2: think there's more to this group than there than what's
Speaker 2: been shown so far. Sorry, Josh Crocky, there isn't this
Speaker 2: is it. It's Jokic, save us or nothing.
Speaker 1: Let me let me move over into what Josh Cronky
Speaker 1: had to say about like he wants to see these
Speaker 1: guys play.
Speaker 3: With joy again.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and like, I don't know, pat Riley's the one
Speaker 1: that said infamously or famously there's winning in misery and
Speaker 1: NBA basketball and maybe this is a generational shift.
Speaker 3: I don't know that.
Speaker 1: And look, you should approach your work with enjoyment, and
Speaker 1: you should find joy and life oers and that. But
Speaker 1: this stuff is hard, man, Like, winning at a high
Speaker 1: level is hard. And I don't have an issue with
Speaker 1: a coach who at times decides that a more heavy
Speaker 1: handed approach is necessary for a team that I might
Speaker 1: not be maximizing. Uh, you know exactly who they could be.
Speaker 1: And side note, I've never seen Russell Wilson, Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: do anything with joy.
Speaker 3: I don't know that he knows what that.
Speaker 1: Is like that that that's that kind of struck me,
Speaker 1: Like I want to see this team play with joy
Speaker 1: and like, dude, you don't get it. This stuff is
Speaker 1: hard winning championship like give me, give me your take
Speaker 1: on that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, go go run in Nate and under League then right,
Speaker 2: like that's not what just is. Like this is maybe
Speaker 2: like he watches the Thunder and their post game press
Speaker 2: you know, uh, you know, little sideline interviews and everything
Speaker 2: goes wow, they have so much joy, Like yeah, because
Speaker 2: they win by fifteen every night, right of course they
Speaker 2: have joy. Like it's yeah, this is hard, and I
Speaker 2: I think that's I'm fair to say about Westbrook. You
Speaker 2: clearly don't watch him on Instagram. He's always happy on Instagram.
Speaker 2: He's just not happy playing basketball, but he's always happy
Speaker 2: on Instagram, So you know you gotta you gotta follow
Speaker 2: him there smash that Liken subscribe button with the Nuggets,
Speaker 2: Like I mean, man, this, I do think Michael Malone
Speaker 2: is a very grading coach and personality. I do like
Speaker 2: I think that, and we've seen that in the past,
Speaker 2: like he does get on people's nrves. I think I
Speaker 2: think that's he's very hard mentality. He does try to
Speaker 2: like push buttons and call his team soft and call
Speaker 2: them weak and say that, you know, they suck at
Speaker 2: defense and all this stuff. And he's done that in
Speaker 2: the past, and it motivates them early on in the season.
Speaker 2: It ends up working. And he's even admitted like, yeah,
Speaker 2: these are just motivational ploys. Right when I say, no
Speaker 2: one believes in us, as everyone believes in them. These
Speaker 2: are motivational ploys. Like he He's admitted to the stuff before.
Speaker 2: There's a certain point where you want to be coached
Speaker 2: or not, like you either do or don't. And I
Speaker 2: know that Joki has not been happy with the defensive
Speaker 2: stuff and some of the commitment to that and maybe
Speaker 2: even some of the coaching with it. You know, I
Speaker 2: don't know that he is completely absolved of this. I
Speaker 2: don't think this happens without one without telling him. Obviously
Speaker 2: they told him too, Like I think he has to
Speaker 2: give some level of okay. I think if he if
Speaker 2: they say, hey, we're going to fire at Malone and
Speaker 2: he's like, no, you're not, I think they would have
Speaker 2: to reconsider on some level. Right. I'm not saying that
Speaker 2: he went out and got Malone fire, but that I
Speaker 2: got to assume that that the best player in the
Speaker 2: world can affect that one way or another. At the
Speaker 2: same time, like, yeah, you want them to be happy, well,
Speaker 2: maybe don't put them down a man every time you
Speaker 2: add to the roster, like they like his backup is
Speaker 2: DeAndre Jordan in twenty twenty five? What like, what do
Speaker 2: you expect to happen? These guys are are are a
Speaker 2: man down the rotation at least every single game. I
Speaker 2: don't know what joy they're supposed to have.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's look, it just comes down to this.
Speaker 1: You know, rich people shouldn't talk to anybody besides other
Speaker 1: rich people, but they don't know how other people live, Like,
Speaker 1: you know, right, Miriam Addelson, Patrick Dumont. They talk after
Speaker 1: the Luca trade, Josh Kronkey talking af like, I've got
Speaker 1: a finance bro who I grew up with, who I
Speaker 1: had dinner with last year, and I haven't seen a
Speaker 1: number of years, and he's made millions upon millions of dollars.
Speaker 3: And he dropped a lot. He said.
Speaker 1: You know, in life, if it's a problem about with money,
Speaker 1: it means that it's actually not a problem. I'm like,
Speaker 1: don't say that to anybody outside of your other rich bros, dude,
Speaker 1: because it is a problem for people that don't have
Speaker 1: generational wealth like you have been able to create based
Speaker 1: off the connections that.
Speaker 3: You have rich people.
Speaker 1: Like when it comes to ownership in sports, Okay, hire
Speaker 1: good people, let them do their jobs and enjoy your
Speaker 1: life on your ship or traveling around, Like, don't don't meddle,
Speaker 1: don't get involved because you don't know what normal people
Speaker 1: have to do day to day to get by.
Speaker 3: Like it's easy for.
Speaker 1: Josh Cronky be like I need you guys to play
Speaker 1: with joke, Like, yeah, you've got millions and millions and
Speaker 1: millions and millions of dollars in the bank. You can
Speaker 1: live your life easy every day with joy. The rest
Speaker 1: of us have to get up and work. Like the
Speaker 1: ownership situation. Whenever these rich people try to get involved
Speaker 1: and then explain themselves, they only compound the problem.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like your job is to sign checks. Let the
Speaker 2: basketball people do the basketball stuff right. And by the way,
Speaker 2: the Kunky family doesn't even like they don't even enjoy
Speaker 2: owning a basketball team. They enjoy owning everything else, but
Speaker 2: not a bad They don't enjoy owning a basketball team.
Speaker 2: That's been pretty clear throughout this whole time. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: I enjoy my life, right, I've I've got my dream job.
Speaker 2: I've been successful at it, Like I do pretty much
Speaker 2: what I want. Like I'm in a good spot. I
Speaker 2: wouldn't go like, and I believe in work ethic and
Speaker 2: all this stuff. I wouldn't go out there and try
Speaker 2: to relate to a Kardashian for life advice. Right, they
Speaker 2: don't know, Like, I can't relate to that. That doesn't
Speaker 2: make any sense, right, They're on a different stratosphere. They
Speaker 2: can't relate to anything that any normal person is able
Speaker 2: to do. So like a Kronky or a Dan Gilbert
Speaker 2: or any of these people, Like, you know what I
Speaker 2: should do right now? I should look at all these
Speaker 2: basketball operations, like what are you doing? No, sign the checks,
Speaker 2: that's what you're there for. Sign the checks, you know,
Speaker 2: get the get the city to fund your arena, even
Speaker 2: though you can pay for it. Do that stuff. Don't
Speaker 2: do don't do the NBA stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it never ends well.
Speaker 1: The best ownership groups and pro sports hire good people,
Speaker 1: let them do their jobs, then go live their dream life.
Speaker 1: And that's you know, ultimately the model that we all
Speaker 1: should hope for. And I guess, Zach, it comes down
Speaker 1: to whenever you've been able to achieve something, some sort
Speaker 1: of measure of success, even extreme success. I just feel
Speaker 1: like a lot of these people believe they can translate
Speaker 1: that skill set into running a sports team, and they're
Speaker 1: not mutually excl It's not the same thing.
Speaker 2: It ever is, right you, you if if your success
Speaker 2: comes from the business world, which obviously does, if you
Speaker 2: end up with that much money or your dad is
Speaker 2: mister Dolan, right, then you can use that stuff to
Speaker 2: use the business side of it, like go affect the
Speaker 2: business side of it. You want to make more money
Speaker 2: off the people, you want to, you know, find ways
Speaker 2: to market better all that stuff. I'm here for it,
Speaker 2: Josh Cronki. Let the basketball people do the basketball stuff.
Speaker 2: Any other organization you have, you hire basketball people to
Speaker 2: do their stuff. Like, one of the things I appreciate
Speaker 2: about my job, and it has been expressed to me
Speaker 2: through my bosses, my editors, all that stuff is they
Speaker 2: always say to me and like, this is very empowering.
Speaker 2: It's something that not like not any other place I've
Speaker 2: worked has done. They say, we hired you to be you,
Speaker 2: So go be you, right, That's what basketball people are
Speaker 2: supposed to do. They're not supposed to do anything else
Speaker 2: but be basketball people in NBA organizations and instead that
Speaker 2: all these dumb ass games all the time, like these
Speaker 2: political games and stuff, instead of just focusing on basketball stuff,
Speaker 2: and you get situations like that when that happens.
Speaker 1: Speaking of your reputation, Zach, if I told you, oh though,
Speaker 1: that somebody on this radio show referred to you as
Speaker 1: a basketball bully, would you push back on that or
Speaker 1: agree that that's real?
Speaker 2: Oh, basketball bully? Yeah, that could happen.
Speaker 3: Okay, well no, this was Tom. This was Tom Aberstrow.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, well okay, all right, Yeah that I did
Speaker 2: bully Tom on a basketball court.
Speaker 1: Oh okay, okay, because I did. I didn't bring it
Speaker 1: like I texted you. The texted you this off air.
Speaker 1: I have not had the heart to bring up the
Speaker 1: Read Shepherd stuff because on the show last year, prior
Speaker 1: to the draft, Tom did the Tom thing where it's
Speaker 1: like he's going to be historic, he should be the
Speaker 1: number one pick. Like I think, I think a lot
Speaker 1: of people liked Reed Shepherd. Tom liked Read Shepherd scoach too.
Speaker 2: Much.
Speaker 1: But I did bring up the fact that you push
Speaker 1: back on his Kevin Garnett Cooper flag comp and instead
Speaker 1: of instead of standing up for himself, he peed down
Speaker 1: his leg and went back because he was afraid that
Speaker 1: he was afraid that you were gonna stuff him into
Speaker 1: a locker? What did you do to poor Tom Havershow well,
Speaker 1: this was years ago.
Speaker 2: This is probably legitimately like ten years ago. We were
Speaker 2: both in Miami and we played basketball and I lit
Speaker 2: him up, like Tom's good. Tom can play, but I
Speaker 2: lit him up, and I was talking to some trash
Speaker 2: and I hit a deep shot to win the game.
Speaker 2: And so I was a bit of a basketball bully.
Speaker 2: And then you know, I could be very aggressive in
Speaker 2: my opinions and stuff like that. But yes, like I can,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't say I am a basketball bully. I can
Speaker 2: exhibit the behavior of a basketball bully from time to time.
Speaker 2: But also one I watched and look I've gotten We
Speaker 2: could do a whole week of shows on draft comps
Speaker 2: that I have gotten wrong, all of us a lot wrong.
Speaker 2: But I watched, really watched one game of Reed Shepherd
Speaker 2: last year. It was the game against Oakland where they
Speaker 2: got and I was like, this guy can't get past
Speaker 2: any of these dudes. He stinks, And I was like,
Speaker 2: there's no way. Like I watched one game and I
Speaker 2: was like, Nah, this guy doesn't have it. The Cooper
Speaker 2: flag is really good, but the idea of comparing him
Speaker 2: to Kevin Garnett just to me, even even eighteen year
Speaker 2: old Kevin Garnett, just doesn't make any sense. You keep
Speaker 2: trying to like, people keep trying to find these Kevin
Speaker 2: Garnett comparisons, and they tried it with Anthony Davis. If
Speaker 2: that didn't work, like it just you gotta you gotta
Speaker 2: find other people. Like there's certain guys like you know,
Speaker 2: we do it with Dirk Navitsky and stuff like we've
Speaker 2: done it with like Lowry Markinen with Drknavitski set Like, No,
Speaker 2: Dirk's this level of guy. You got to find someone lower.
Speaker 1: What is the tale of tape between you and Tom?
Speaker 1: Is there a sizeable size difference between the two of you.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think we're we're the same here. You're
Speaker 2: doing a lot better shape than I'm inn okay for sure,
Speaker 2: but I think we're I mean we're about like I
Speaker 2: think I think we're the same height. I don't know.
Speaker 2: It depends on you know, how tall my hair is
Speaker 2: that day, but we're the same height, hesn't He's in
Speaker 2: better shape. I might have a longer reach than he.
Speaker 1: Does based off of because Tom's usually one that will
Speaker 1: stand up for his own opinion or kind of bring
Speaker 1: the noise back. Based off of the way he just
Speaker 1: declined to take my bait, it feels it.
Speaker 3: It felt more personal.
Speaker 1: Than just a game winning shot in a pickup basketball game.
Speaker 2: I think this is what I think he I think
Speaker 2: he knows like Tom's a very smart, eloquent, reasoned person.
Speaker 2: I think he knows I'm kind of a loud idiot
Speaker 2: at times. I think he just doesn't. I think he's like, oh,
Speaker 2: I don't want Zac to be annoying about this, so
Speaker 2: he's just like, it's not worth.
Speaker 3: It, Okay, all right.
Speaker 2: I think that's probably what it is.
Speaker 1: Gotcha takeaways from So mcmanimon just reported the NBA rescinded
Speaker 1: that second technical against Luca, and ultimately the reason it
Speaker 1: sucked for me is I'm dial the end of that
Speaker 1: game because watching Lebron and Luca try to figure this
Speaker 1: thing out has become like a fascination of mine, based
Speaker 1: off of how smart they both are as players, so
Speaker 1: I want to kind of see how this thing unfolds.
Speaker 1: And then it's a one point game last night, Luca
Speaker 1: gets run for talking to a fan and then the
Speaker 1: thunder just run away from him and it ruined my
Speaker 1: experience as a basketball consumer.
Speaker 3: What were your takeaways, dame?
Speaker 2: I mean, I was locked in that game, and and
Speaker 2: you know, here's what I hate. I hate that the
Speaker 2: reaction is, well, yeah, but Luca complains all the time,
Speaker 2: So this is just justice for that. Like, sure he
Speaker 2: does complain all the time, So does Draymond, so does
Speaker 2: Chris Paul. So like you can Lebron complains all the bit,
Speaker 2: like you can go through all these like Yoki's complains
Speaker 2: all the time, Like all these guys, all these stars
Speaker 2: about the history of the game, complain, yell at ref
Speaker 2: talk all the time, right, Like it is just you
Speaker 2: get leeway if you have a certain skill or you
Speaker 2: set a certain tone or whatever. It's just like, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's unfair. That's life. I don't know what to tell you.
Speaker 2: That's what it is. And I don't I don't believe
Speaker 2: because you drive eighty five miles in a you know,
Speaker 2: on a sixty five mile an hour freeway all the time.
Speaker 2: The one time you went sixty eight, you deserve a
Speaker 2: speeding ticket. Like I just I don't believe in that,
Speaker 2: Like that was a bad technical foul. The times that
Speaker 2: he's complaining to a ref and yelling and whining and
Speaker 2: stuff him up for that stuff, that's fine. This was
Speaker 2: a bad technical foul. The refs should have gotten together
Speaker 2: rescinded it right on the spot, and instead you have
Speaker 2: what has become more of a problem with officiating. Like
Speaker 2: I don't like blaming rest for stuff. I believe in
Speaker 2: accountability when it comes to players and teams, and like
Speaker 2: I don't believe ref's ruined, you know, ruined the game
Speaker 2: for you and made you lose. I think the entirety
Speaker 2: of the game is what matters with that stuff. But
Speaker 2: the rest took away last night through a bad technical foul,
Speaker 2: the enjoyment and like the analysis and everything that's good
Speaker 2: about the NBA, because they wouldn't just think, like take
Speaker 2: a minute and be like, maybe he was yelling at
Speaker 2: that fan, Maybe we shouldn't team up for that for
Speaker 2: the second one. Maybe we should like just take a
Speaker 2: breath and be like, hey, we're gonna take this back,
Speaker 2: but you got to watch it the rest of the game.
Speaker 2: Why can't that happen? I don't understand, like why it
Speaker 2: has to happen. Yeah, that happened the way it did.
Speaker 1: Now for sure. What's the scene like in Dallas tonight?
Speaker 1: How do you think this is gonna go?
Speaker 2: I So I wrote about this a little bit in
Speaker 2: the Bounce today, which is on my plug. It's our
Speaker 2: free newsletter from the NBA that I about the NBA
Speaker 2: that I do every single day on the Athletic. It's free,
Speaker 2: you don't have to pay for it. The Athletic dot
Speaker 2: com slash. The Bounce goes right into your email box.
Speaker 2: I wrote about this today. We had earlier this season,
Speaker 2: we had karl Antonia Town's return to Minnesota right and
Speaker 2: the fans loved it. They loved him, but they still
Speaker 2: wanted the Temperwolves to win that game. And then not
Speaker 2: that long ago, we had Jimmy Butler returned the Miami
Speaker 2: and the fans hated them and they were so happy
Speaker 2: that he lost that game. And tonight, I think for
Speaker 2: the first time ever, we're going to see Mavericks fans
Speaker 2: not only love and embrace Luka Doncic. I think they're
Speaker 2: going to root for the Lakers to win. It's like
Speaker 2: a big middle finger to Nico Harrison. Wow. I don't
Speaker 2: think they've become Lakers fans. I don't think any of that.
Speaker 2: But I think the goal for Mavericks fans, knowing that
Speaker 2: this team is cooked and there is no light at
Speaker 2: the end of the tunnel for this thing this season
Speaker 2: and maybe not even next season, depending on how Kyrie
Speaker 2: recovers from his injury, I think the whole goal for
Speaker 2: the majority of really die hard Mavericks fans is Nico
Speaker 2: Harrison has to go. And I don't know how realistic
Speaker 2: that is, but the worst that this trade looks, you know,
Speaker 2: short term and long term, I think that's what they
Speaker 2: want to emphasize. And I really think it's going to
Speaker 2: be a cool scene, an emotional scene, but a weird vibe.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, it's man.
Speaker 1: If they go to the extent of charing for the
Speaker 1: other team, I mean, you know, it's such a generational misstep.
Speaker 1: And I feel the same way about it today, Zach
Speaker 1: that I did the moment I heard about the trade, like,
Speaker 1: and you know, wondering where you're at, Is there anything
Speaker 1: that you have heard since this deal went down that
Speaker 1: made you pump fake on your take about how misguided
Speaker 1: the whole thing was.
Speaker 2: No, not like I don't know. I don't know what
Speaker 2: I could hear, right, I legitimately don't know. Like we're
Speaker 2: walking Luca right, like he's out there, he's getting better,
Speaker 2: Like he's playing really well, They're starting to gel like
Speaker 2: they look they look pretty dangerous. This Malone stuff with
Speaker 2: Denver might eliminate a potential big threat for them in
Speaker 2: the postseason, where it's like you might start believing in
Speaker 2: the Lakers as actual contenders. Like I don't even know
Speaker 2: what to think anymore, But I don't know what reporting
Speaker 2: could actually happen outside of a heinous crime that was
Speaker 2: covered up that makes me believe that this was even
Speaker 2: a reasonable trade to think about, let alone execute.
Speaker 1: Yeah, now I'm with you, all right. Last thing, because
Speaker 1: we are in saw Lake. There is a basketball team
Speaker 1: that plays here. They are three there are three games last.
Speaker 1: Nobody gives a rip. Everybody's just waiting for the season.
Speaker 1: And but we are hoping that there is a little
Speaker 1: bit of luck here that does land Cooper flag and
Speaker 1: saw Lake after watching him play in the tournaments. What
Speaker 1: are your takeaways, and you know your your your thoughts
Speaker 1: For Jazz.
Speaker 3: Fans curious to see what this kid is in the NBA.
Speaker 2: He's really good. I mean I do, I do think
Speaker 2: at the NBA level, and I still feel this way
Speaker 2: watching him in the tournament. I still feel like he's
Speaker 2: a long way away from being someone who can consistently
Speaker 2: create his own shot in a way that like he
Speaker 2: can shoot. But creating your your own shot versus catching
Speaker 2: and shooting are two very different things. And I think
Speaker 2: catch and shoot he'll be fine. I think creating his
Speaker 2: own shot it is a bit of a mess, and
Speaker 2: so until he does that, I think he needs to
Speaker 2: be with a strong lead guard or a strong playmaker. Sensibly,
Speaker 2: I think he's going to be awesome right away. I
Speaker 2: don't think he's going to have any of that you know,
Speaker 2: rookie figuring it out. Like he's just such a competitive,
Speaker 2: smart athletic player, and I think he's going to avoid
Speaker 2: the fouls. I think he's going to be, you know,
Speaker 2: really active defensively. And I was impressed in the tournament.
Speaker 2: We saw this during the regular season a bit, but
Speaker 2: in the tournament, super impressed by his playmaking in terms
Speaker 2: of his passing ability, catching the ball on the move
Speaker 2: and finding guys in the corners, finding guys under the basket.
Speaker 2: He's a he's a really good passer. So I just
Speaker 2: you know, he's got to bring up the ball handling.
Speaker 2: He's got to bring up the creation at the NBA level.
Speaker 2: But everything else like looks like, you know, a very
Speaker 2: good to elite skill that I think he'll have right away.
Speaker 3: And sounds a little Garnett like to me.
Speaker 2: But uh well, yeah, I mean if Garnett was with
Speaker 2: six eighth and a lot worse, I think he would.
Speaker 2: I think it would be Cooper Flag.
Speaker 1: I just want to know what you did to poor
Speaker 1: Tom Habershaw when none of us were looking, buddy, that's all.
Speaker 2: It's you know what. And Casey's listen, it's what I
Speaker 2: did to Tony Jones two. I lit him up on
Speaker 2: a basketball corps. That's right, Tony.
Speaker 1: Wow, we're gonna we're getting a text from Tony because
Speaker 1: I've got the time.
Speaker 2: That's Tony about the time he and Kareem Copeland were
Speaker 2: arguing about who had to garden me? Not who gets
Speaker 2: the guard me, who had to guard me on a
Speaker 2: last possession?
Speaker 1: Wow, Porter are you. We need to clip this sound
Speaker 1: and we need to play it when Tony joins us
Speaker 1: this week.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, whatever Tony says about other times is a lie.
Speaker 1: Tony never lies about his basketball careers. I kind of
Speaker 1: what you're talking about. Tony can ball, all right, buddy,
Speaker 1: Thanks for the time with you out too, all right.
Speaker 2: Thanks.
Speaker 3: Zach Harper from The Athletic UH.
Speaker 1: He does write a daily newsletter about the NBA called
Speaker 1: The Bounds for the Athletic. You can get him on
Speaker 1: Twitter at Talk Hoops is where you find him.