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Speaker 1: What is up, fellows, Stickles, I am Dan Valley coming

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at you with another twenty twenty four twenty twenty five

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NBA look Ahead. We are on to the Detroit Pistons,

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and as loyal listeners of the podcast know, that means

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we get to talk to Laz Jackson. He's an editor

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for Detroit Bad Boys. Go follow him on Twitter. The

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link is in the podcast and YouTube description at Las Chance.

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That's at laz Cha and Ce. We get into everything Pistons.

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He's just one of the smartest minds out there. I

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always appreciate these annual conversations with him, and he does

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mention at the end that he might be doing at

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some point this year, especially because he's back in the

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Detroit market, some more writing, maybe some more podcasting. He is,

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as anyone who's listening to this podcast knows, I've shout

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him out previously when he would do his podcast and

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some of his solo stuff like was just some of

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the best I ever heard, especially from that solo host perspective.

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So go follow him if you haven't already excited to

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maybe get some more content from him that's not just

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behind the scenes this coming year. That's all I got

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for you, though, if you're new around here, consider subscribing,

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Get on YouTube, get in the comments like help you Algorithm,

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love us back, Spotify, Apple, the whole nine rock with

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us throughout the entire regular season. Grant, I have a

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ton of fun covering every single team. We think we

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do it quite well around these parts. So let's get

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to talking some Detroit Pistons with Laz Jackson. Laz, welcome

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back to the Hardwine Knocks Podcast. I think we were

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talking you might be in the double digits in terms

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of appearances at this point. Well, this is your sixth

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or seventh year of doing the look Aheads with me,

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because you did a Central Division one back when we

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broke it up that way, and I've had you on

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independent of look Ahead, so this could be like your

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tenth or something. But you've crossed the half decade threshold

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on coming on this show.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, now I feel old, old than I already felt before,

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I suppose, But as always, it's great to be here.

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I appreciate being experienced enough that you reach out to

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me a year after year. It's like I'm very much

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in my old man game in the content game right now.

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So it's good to still know that I have the fastball.

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Speaker 1: Though, I I'm happy you answer because of how much

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of a mess to like all, like a lot of

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our regulars, like no one's on I'm not on Twitter

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as much like I promote the show. Sometimes I fire

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off jokes and I leave just because of what it's become.

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And so sometimes like I'm I have to wait a

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certain amount because there were people that I love having

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imp like they won't answer me for like one or

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two weeks because they're just not on Twitter, and where

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I'm just systatic that you still answer me, like these

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past two years at Dicey where it's, oh, we're gonna

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get answers from you know, they still on Twitter now.

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Speaker 2: I mean I wish I could quit Twitter. That would

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probably be better for me, honestly, but I can't. So

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it's fine.

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Speaker 1: It'd probably be better for us all, wouldn't. Yeah, I

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would think the Detroit Pistons though, how we how we

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feeling about just the the taudy of the offseason and

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like every what they did with their cap space, They

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fire Monty, they hire JB. How do you feel about it?

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What does it say? Do you think about their overarching direction?

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I'm see I'm saying it's about every team, but like,

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this is really fascinating stuff from them, fascinating pivot, I

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would call it.

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Speaker 2: So I feel like the direction has to be up

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right after you win fourteen games, there's nowhere to go

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but up. After you fire all the decision makers involved

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with the fourteen game season and hire new people, like

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you feel like things have to go up right. But

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I think the real answer to your question is, like

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how I feel overall, is that the new President Basketball Operations,

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Trajan Langdon, has done what you and I have been

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asking the Pistons to do for the last couple of

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years and finally started shifting the talent on the roster

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more towards the skill set of Cad Cunningham. There's no

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more double big line up because Troy Weaver really likes sinners.

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There's more spacing from the guards and the wings who

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you would think actually will play minutes with Kate. This season,

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they hired a coach with experience staggering two ball dominant

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guards who can't play together but are probably better a part.

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And you know they also paid Kate two hundred and

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twenty four million dollars, which the old regime would have done.

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But that's very much like, hey, we're new, we value you,

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We're sorry about the last couple of years. Here's two

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hundred and twenty four.

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Speaker 1: We're sorry about the last couple of years. I did

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find it. I always assumed it was a given, but

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in theory it could have been the Kate extension, which

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was not something I planned to talk to about because

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I just would have given it to him. That was

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my reaction to it. I don't think there was I

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know some people were with him and mobile they're twisting

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themselves into pretzels and like, I subscribe to what Brian

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Windhorst says. This is the fun Max, this is what

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the no brainer offer? Is it? Like concerned with more?

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Speaker 2: Like after the last three years, would he take it right?

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He'd be the first guy who's like, no, I don't

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want two hundred million dollars. I want my freedom. And

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so getting getting that out of the way is like okay,

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like he's gonna be here for the long term, Like,

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let's make this thing happen. Let's build the team around him.

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Speaker 1: It probably helped them in that regard that he's had,

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like the lower body issues, wh let me just lock

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down this quarter of a million bucks basically, and then

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and then we could move on.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, what did you make though of the JB.

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Bicker staff higher specifically, because I think in the Piston

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situation or how we view I know they're shifting towards

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Kid's skill set more. I think they would have been

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a team that after firing Manty, especially that they might

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have been a team that people pegged, oh, did they

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go off the beaten path and hire someone who doesn't

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have head coaching experience, but they go with this veteran

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in JB. So one had like, do you think that

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says anything specific like going that direction with the Higher?

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And two do you have any sort of sensor insight

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into what you think they're gutting principles, whether it's you know, stylistically, culturally,

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whatever are going to be like under him?

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Speaker 2: So I do know that there was there was reports

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that after hiring a first time like team manager at

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Trajan Langdon has been like a GM but under David

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Griffin in New Orleans, and so he's running a team

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solely for the first time, they did not want to

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hire a coach who would be running, who would be

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a head coach for the first time, and so that

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eliminated some potential candidates Mike and Norri Shawn Sweeney, both

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guys with Detroit experience.

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Speaker 1: Mind you, I will say just interject, I just want

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Mike and nor to have a head coaching job ever

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since that John Krasinsky piece at the Athletic mapping out

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how he just works in random turns of phrase and

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words into his his interviews basically off of dares from

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his fellow assistant coaches or like players that are on

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the team. So Mike Andy is going to be a

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head coaching legend and any team that didn't hire him

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missed out. That is my official stance.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And they were two assistants under Dwayne Casey, like

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the year the Pistons made the playoffs with Blake and

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so like there's there's a little bit of warm and

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fuzzies around around those two guys in particular. And then

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obviously there was the connection of James Barrego being hired

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as the lead offensive guy in New Orleans and Trajan

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playing a part in that, and obviously none of that

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came fruition, and they went with JB. I felt fine

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with JB as the higher even all the names I

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just listed. None of those guys like really like made

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me feel like, oh, like this is going to be

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the guy that's really going to turn this team around.

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And the guy I would have preferred in. Kenny Atkinson

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would also like fall under that same umbrella of like

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kind of a retread coach. But the thing I think

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that JB brings is boring competence, And after you win

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fourteen games, boring competence is a massive leap in the

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right direction, Right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a fair way to frame it.

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And actually I had this discussion with I've had a

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a bunch of times with people in DMS. What we

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talked about on the show where my biggest criticism of

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Jbi Bickerstaff is that sometimes it felt like in Cleveland

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he specifically he'd play it too safe, and I think

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some of the injuries forced him to kind of get

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out of that a little bit, and we saw it

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towards the end of the season. I think when you

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look at the way Mobley was deployed, when you look

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at some of the lineup, they would run and crunch

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time even when they were healthy, and so I'm like wondering,

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does he now, I mean like, experience matters, and we've

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seen it with think about Mike Brown and Sacramento what

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he was viewed as until he went to the Golden

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State Wars, and it's kind of like, did the experience

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with Cleveland, Like could we see more flexibility, experimentation, just

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some more creativity from JB. Bickers staff to where it's

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not just about the boring competence. It's like, oh, this

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is someone who brings a level of innovation.

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Speaker 2: Now, yeah, I think that was needed for that Cleveland

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team last season, especially after the way that they lost

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to Your Knicks in the playoffs two years ago. It's like,

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we need to show something, we need to show more versatility.

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But for this Pistons team and for all the young

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guys at this Pistons scene that are on this Pistons team,

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I think it's gonna be really important to get the

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basics down and the thing I'm looking forward to seeing

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from the coaching staff is development. That was one thing

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that was I think the biggest hit you could give

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many Williams was that none of the young guys besides

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Cade seemed to be better than they were in their

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previous seasons under him. It's like, yes, maybe they were

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like the rotations were weird. I liked some of the

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stuff Moni did offensively. I think there are some fair

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he obviously like the Jade and Ivy situation was the

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most like high high profile thing. But like I had

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been warned by people I would talk to about money,

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like he would play favorites, and like we saw that

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in Phoenix, we saw that in Detroit. But honestly, like

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I think, if if any of the young guys had

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looked better, there's a chance, like Minnie Williams would still

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be here. But yeah, no, I think so. I think

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that development and improvement year over year, guys looking more

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confident and more experienced in March and April versus how

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they look in November, I think is the main thing

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that I'm going to be looking for JB in that staff.

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Speaker 1: We don't have to get in every into every move individually.

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I will say, though, shame on the rest of the

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NBA for letting Simoni Fontechio resigned Detroit for just like

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highway robbery of a deal. But do you think they

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got enough traction out of their cap space? Do you

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even not care about framing it in that way? Is

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it's just like okay, like we got kid in actual

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spacing now.

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Speaker 2: So it's interesting, right, Like I think they did enough.

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Like would I have liked to be the team that

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got three second round picks to take Reggie Jackson on,

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Like yeah, I would have liked that. Would I like

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to have not put Quinton Grimes in the Tim Hardaway

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junior trade? Like yeah, that would have been nice? But

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there was some rumblings about Grimes being unhappy about his

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potential role and a lack of potential extension and so

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like maybe that might be a thing where they just

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like it's not worth the headache.

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Speaker 1: There were some of that in New York too, where

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he would complain about like not not complain might be

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too strong a ward, but like not having the ball more.

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And it's like, well you're on a team, Jalen Brunson,

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Like what do you what? Right?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? So but in getting vets that a I think

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will play and be again like fit around Cade Cunningham.

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I think they did pretty well using their cap space.

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The other thing is that these deals are here for

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a good time, not a long time. Right, Tobias Harris

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is here for two years and that's it. Milik Beasley's

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on a one year deal. THHJ is an expiring deal.

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Like I'm I'm not the biggest Tim Hardway junior fan

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in the world, but like he can play more than

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Joe Harris can, right, And like that was what we

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were talking about last offseason, was like the Joe Joe

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Harris is like was going to impact this team, and

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so it's what they did was fine. It was between

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this and it's like do they go after a zach

242
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Lavine do they go after a braindon Ingram? And I

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think while those avenues like would have been interesting to explore,

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I think that what we're seeing from the rest of

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the NBA regarding like those two guys in particular, is like, Okay,

246
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like maybe like this was the right call, right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And I mean you mentioned it too. They're so

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the contracts are so short term that you can quibble,

249
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but there's nothing wholesale that it looks like you need

250
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to worry about here. And this offseason was I would

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also say all teams were like most of them, except

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with the exception of the Sixers, who pulled off a

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you know, cap space master class. They're all kind of

254
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going through it and figuring out what was going Like

255
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I never would have guessed that Fontechia was so cheap.

256
00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:35,840
I never would have guessed that Obias Harris got so

257
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much guaranteed money in two years. I do think Kitln

258
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Cooper calls it a soul tax, where like a situation

259
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becomes so toxic that a player's value just veers so

260
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far from his reality. And I think with Tobias Harris,

261
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it's fair to think that he'll just be better in

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Detroit than he was in Philly. But like even though

263
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he Beasley only getting one guaranteed year at six million,

264
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what happened with Gary Tran Junior and Tias Jones. Yeah,

265
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I don't know to they can spin it how they

266
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want that. It was like kind of up to them, like, well,

267
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you only do this if you don't have like the

268
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other options. So I also wonder how much of that

269
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kind of just played into did they act a little

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too early? Also not and even if you want to

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not want to say too early, but they're coming at

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it from the perspective of, well, we need like a

273
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guy like to buystis to want to come to Detroit,

274
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or we don't want to miss out on like cap

275
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like getting these like this deal for Tim Hardaway. I

276
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wouldn't have done the deal for Tim Hardaway Junior or

277
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at least try not to include Quentin Grimes. But like

278
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it does seem like I don't even want to call

279
00:13:26,279 --> 00:13:27,799
it a misread, but it seems like maybe they were

280
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trying to figure like, well, how soon do we act

281
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or let this cap space sit before we use it?

282
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And I really the only move that I would look

283
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at and be like, oh is the Tim Hardaway one.

284
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And it's just on the level of just like who cares?

285
00:13:41,279 --> 00:13:44,039
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, well, I think about like Utah, like I listened,

286
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I listened to you guys, and so I've listened to

287
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you and grant to apologies. What is what is UTAH

288
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,039
doing right? And as it turns out, like they give

289
00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,320
Lauria the extension and they're forced, not forced, but like

290
00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,360
they're given, like Kyle Philipowski, like an extra like three

291
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and a half million dollars to like eat up their

292
00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,039
cap space because of the new CBA where you need

293
00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,879
to hit the floor before the season starts. And so

294
00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:12,480
it's like, uh, could there have been some better options

295
00:14:12,519 --> 00:14:15,559
out there? Like maybe like could they have waited and

296
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,120
gotten the leak Beasley like on the Gary Trent Junior

297
00:14:18,159 --> 00:14:21,519
where it's like just a minimum, like maybe they do

298
00:14:21,759 --> 00:14:23,720
kind of still need a backup point guard. And so

299
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,519
but tyas Jones very much, I think thinks of himself

300
00:14:26,559 --> 00:14:29,279
as a starter and with kid like that's that's not

301
00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,720
going to be in the cards. And so there there

302
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:33,960
are there were options out there, Like would I have

303
00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,159
liked to be involved somehow in the DeMar Derosen like

304
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,440
sign and trade, Like yeah, maybe, like that would have

305
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:43,399
been nice, but there wasn't enough. I don't think there

306
00:14:43,399 --> 00:14:45,879
were enough avenues for the Pistons to like get in

307
00:14:46,159 --> 00:14:48,360
on and taking advantage of other teams like trying to

308
00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,840
duck the second apron and things. So it is what

309
00:14:52,879 --> 00:14:56,080
it is, and the the team is better, right, I

310
00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:58,840
think the team is more functional, and that's really what

311
00:14:58,879 --> 00:15:00,480
they were focused on this off season.

312
00:15:01,679 --> 00:15:03,840
Speaker 1: So looking at this actual team and what may play

313
00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,840
out on the court and this forthcoming season, what is

314
00:15:05,879 --> 00:15:08,519
just the biggest storyline that you personally are going to

315
00:15:08,559 --> 00:15:09,720
be monitoring throughout the year.

316
00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, so this one's pretty obvious. It's Kaid. How How

317
00:15:13,919 --> 00:15:17,600
good does Kaid look with the roster more suited to

318
00:15:17,679 --> 00:15:21,159
his talents? Right? Because we again, we've complained about it,

319
00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,200
and even through all the complaining, he was a lot

320
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:25,960
better last year. He was a twenty four to five

321
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,639
and seven and a half guy. He shot forty thirty

322
00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,919
nine like and a half percent from three after the

323
00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:32,399
All Star break, Like those.

324
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,600
Speaker 1: Are extra fawn, you love to see it.

325
00:15:35,279 --> 00:15:38,600
Speaker 2: Those were very good numbers. And they coincided with just

326
00:15:38,679 --> 00:15:42,440
like adding Simone Fantechio and not much else and like

327
00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:48,200
getting rid of the Killian Hayeses and Isaiah Livers's of

328
00:15:48,279 --> 00:15:51,799
the team who were just like not real NBA players, right,

329
00:15:52,279 --> 00:15:56,480
And so with less of a phone booth, with better

330
00:15:56,519 --> 00:15:58,639
talent around him, with other guys who might be able

331
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to make some shots around him, could he be like

332
00:16:00,759 --> 00:16:04,679
a twenty six five and nine guy like that, that's

333
00:16:04,759 --> 00:16:06,879
kind of an All Star, Like Tyrese Maxey was an

334
00:16:06,919 --> 00:16:08,960
All Star last year and he was a twenty six,

335
00:16:09,039 --> 00:16:12,000
four and six guy, right, And so's like, you know,

336
00:16:12,759 --> 00:16:15,759
if kid can get to that level of production and

337
00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:20,679
the team can find some level of success on the court,

338
00:16:20,799 --> 00:16:25,759
some amount of wins, not lose twenty five plus games

339
00:16:25,759 --> 00:16:28,720
in a row, it's like you have a narrative around

340
00:16:28,799 --> 00:16:31,519
like the team building something kid being a large part

341
00:16:31,519 --> 00:16:35,279
of that, and him being acknowledged kind of in the media,

342
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,919
in the national media, and like by his peers as

343
00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,279
like a guy who's like Willing, who's been able to

344
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:41,440
do like the things for them.

345
00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,320
Speaker 1: Why do you think I didn't you just said something

346
00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:45,799
made me think of it. Why do you think that

347
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,200
there seems to be so much division over him? Is

348
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,519
it because Okay, so we have this track record of injuries,

349
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,799
and then last year everyone kind of latched on to

350
00:16:53,879 --> 00:16:58,039
the turnover issue, which got better. And but like, if

351
00:16:58,039 --> 00:17:00,559
you weren't watching, and I guess this amounts to me

352
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:02,440
being condescending if you weren't I hate playing if you

353
00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:04,720
weren't watching the Pistons car But it seems like even

354
00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,799
with players who are more established, something might happen in

355
00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:10,480
the first like ten to fifteen games quarter of the season,

356
00:17:10,519 --> 00:17:13,039
and like that's the storyline that defines the rest of

357
00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:16,559
their year, almost regardless of what is actually happening. What

358
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:18,559
do you think makes him such a divisive figure in

359
00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:20,799
the I guess it's the would you build around this

360
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:21,680
player discourse?

361
00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:26,880
Speaker 2: Basically, Yeah, I think it's the fact that nothing about

362
00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:32,079
him is really like he doesn't stand out in any

363
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:36,920
like one area of the game, right, He's not. He's

364
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,119
a really good passer, He's he made he's made himself

365
00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:42,599
more of a shooter over the last season, but before

366
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,480
that he was really inefficient and he turned the bowl

367
00:17:45,519 --> 00:17:48,319
over a lot, didn't really get to the rim, never

368
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,599
shot any free throws, and so again, like if you

369
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,000
were only turning the pistons on, like during the twenty

370
00:17:55,039 --> 00:17:56,880
eight game losing streak, which I think was still like

371
00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,799
before Christmas, it's like, okay, like this team's going nowhere.

372
00:18:02,079 --> 00:18:04,960
This guy's like not able to elevate them, and so

373
00:18:05,039 --> 00:18:07,440
it's like we can kind of write them off. But

374
00:18:07,519 --> 00:18:12,359
I think the team was so bad last year. There

375
00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,680
were just so many non functional NBA players around him,

376
00:18:15,759 --> 00:18:19,119
and the skill set that he has was just like

377
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,079
not because he's not a guy who's going to go

378
00:18:22,079 --> 00:18:24,359
out and score forty, it's like because he's a guy

379
00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:26,160
who wants to kind of play slower and kind of

380
00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:30,599
dissect defenses. I think that like he just he wasn't

381
00:18:30,599 --> 00:18:32,720
able to leave the team to wins, and people just

382
00:18:32,799 --> 00:18:36,000
kind of took that in a poor way as a

383
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,079
poor reflection of himself. Like you look at like Paul

384
00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,680
Benchero was like equally as inefficient but like slightly more productive,

385
00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,200
but his team was winning and he got a lot

386
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:48,720
of credit for that. He gets a lot of kudos

387
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:54,039
for that. I don't and I think team's success will

388
00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,359
lead to people viewing kid in a more favorable light,

389
00:18:57,599 --> 00:18:58,440
if that makes sense.

390
00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:02,039
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. What does the next front tier for

391
00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:02,480
him look?

392
00:19:02,559 --> 00:19:02,640
Speaker 2: Like?

393
00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:04,759
Speaker 1: You mentioned sort of the rim stuff and I'd mentioned

394
00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:06,799
in the notes, And sometimes feel like he might have

395
00:19:06,839 --> 00:19:08,839
that extra gear, like let's flip the dial and get

396
00:19:08,839 --> 00:19:11,680
a little bit faster rather than you know, relying on

397
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,279
I don't know. Hesitations are like bailing out too early

398
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,599
on his drives and he does still maybe the lower

399
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:19,759
body injuries have impacted it, but like you've seen him

400
00:19:19,759 --> 00:19:22,279
turn corner sometimes and like get by people, And if

401
00:19:22,319 --> 00:19:24,559
he did that more consistently, is that a spacing thing?

402
00:19:24,599 --> 00:19:26,359
Maybe now it'll be better around him, you could get

403
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,720
there or is it just something else entirely that you're

404
00:19:28,759 --> 00:19:30,200
looking at for his development?

405
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,200
Speaker 2: Now I'm looking at rim finishing, but I'm looking at

406
00:19:33,519 --> 00:19:37,400
him adding strength. Right. The thing that really stood out

407
00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,839
to me last season was as he as he got

408
00:19:40,839 --> 00:19:43,960
stronger and as he got better using his making, using

409
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,599
his body to carve out space. You could really see that.

410
00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,400
There were times where you were reminded, like, oh, yeah,

411
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,359
he's six six and like he can extension finish around

412
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,920
biggs or if he if he gets into the paint

413
00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:58,440
with with with no help, like he can finish over

414
00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,720
and around guys. It's still below the rim, right, but

415
00:20:01,759 --> 00:20:05,880
he can still do that. Like stylistically, he does still

416
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,039
love those mid range jumpers and he's he's very good

417
00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,000
at them. But you do wish some of those were

418
00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:14,519
like paint touches and kickouts. I wish some of those

419
00:20:14,519 --> 00:20:17,279
were like ten foot floaters instead of fifteen foot like pump,

420
00:20:17,319 --> 00:20:22,519
fake pump, fake pump, fake shot. But I do think

421
00:20:22,599 --> 00:20:24,319
that he will always kind of be who he is.

422
00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,559
He'll always be a change of pace operator. That's how

423
00:20:27,599 --> 00:20:30,319
he wants to play. But like Dan, you watch Jalen Brunson, right,

424
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,720
Like Jalen Brunson would just like pick people apart from

425
00:20:32,759 --> 00:20:35,960
like inside twelve feet and like as long as you

426
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,119
get into the paint and uh pressure the defense, like

427
00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:41,319
you can figure stuff out from there. I think kid

428
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,799
like absolutely has the potential to do that, and that

429
00:20:43,839 --> 00:20:45,480
will be the thing I'm looking for him to do

430
00:20:45,559 --> 00:20:46,039
this season.

431
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,119
Speaker 1: Imagine someone his size and Jalen Brunson's like footwork, that's

432
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:52,519
a nasty basketball player.

433
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,200
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well the other thing is too, like as the

434
00:20:55,319 --> 00:20:59,960
roster gets better, Like we talk about the spacing being

435
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,680
something good for him obviously, but with the spacing being

436
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,680
better and with his teammates being able to hit more shots,

437
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,279
he'll he'll be able to distribute a lot more. And

438
00:21:09,319 --> 00:21:13,759
I think his distribution is something that doesn't get enough

439
00:21:13,759 --> 00:21:15,839
play because his teammates like don't hit enough shots.

440
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,400
Speaker 1: Right, he's a guy, He's a really really good passer,

441
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,680
and maybe some of it's like like he just the

442
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,680
ability to see things, and so I am very anxious

443
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,759
to see not anxious excited to see what he could

444
00:21:27,799 --> 00:21:29,960
do with what I assume will be better spacing. But

445
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,960
that does kind of lead me into what I guess

446
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,279
my biggest question for this team would be how challenging

447
00:21:35,559 --> 00:21:40,359
is it to integrate even whether it's like like together

448
00:21:40,599 --> 00:21:43,640
or separately, just the primary kids on this roster. Where

449
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,160
the two things that stand out to me is even

450
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,079
if you don't think there are a ton of redundancies,

451
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,759
the Jade and Ivy a Sarr Thompson, Ron Holland Jayle

452
00:21:50,799 --> 00:21:53,599
and Duran for like they don't feel particularly complimentary. And

453
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,559
the other thing that I haven't seen it get a

454
00:21:56,599 --> 00:21:58,480
ton of run. But like one of these fives, my

455
00:21:58,599 --> 00:22:01,079
kid is there. So one of these four guys is

456
00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:03,480
this front office is guy and like the other three

457
00:22:03,559 --> 00:22:05,839
kind of aren't. And so like how could that impact

458
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,319
like the priorities or how these players are used? How

459
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,200
challenging do you see like just the integration of all

460
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,000
four of them together set like what whatever?

461
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,880
Speaker 2: So I think like not not all of the kids

462
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,160
are gonna make it, and not all the kids are

463
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,160
gonna make it in Detroit, Like I just probability wise,

464
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,000
like that's that's going to happen. So the thing I'm

465
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,759
looking at especially for this season is Jalen, Duran and

466
00:22:32,839 --> 00:22:35,400
Jade and Ivy And that's because they're going to be

467
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,200
extension eligible this offseason and so you need to figure

468
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,720
out what you have in these guys, so A you

469
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:43,880
can figure out if you're gonna pay them or not,

470
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,279
and B if you are going to pay them, you

471
00:22:46,319 --> 00:22:48,640
need to figure out how much. Right, I think it's

472
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,799
fair to say Jade and Ivy and Jalen Duran, like

473
00:22:50,839 --> 00:22:52,880
aren't going to get the two hundred million dollars that

474
00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:57,039
we saw Kaide get, but like, could they get smaller extensions? Right?

475
00:22:57,079 --> 00:23:00,279
Could they get the like I think think of it

476
00:23:00,319 --> 00:23:02,440
as the Norm Powell, it's not the Norm powal anymore,

477
00:23:02,759 --> 00:23:06,200
but like the post rookie extension that's not a max, right,

478
00:23:07,559 --> 00:23:12,279
And so that's really important. And before the kids as

479
00:23:12,319 --> 00:23:15,480
a whole, it's really about who can play with Cad,

480
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,519
right then Answering that question I think is going to

481
00:23:19,559 --> 00:23:22,400
be paramount. Right now, I think it's really clear that

482
00:23:22,599 --> 00:23:25,799
Duran is the most clear pairing with kid. We'll talk

483
00:23:25,799 --> 00:23:29,960
about during a little bit later. The idealized versions of

484
00:23:30,039 --> 00:23:33,480
Ron Holland and Tasar Thompson can absolutely like play off Kaid.

485
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,119
Both of those guys are like under twenty two, and

486
00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:37,759
it's going to take a while to get to those

487
00:23:37,839 --> 00:23:41,839
idealized versions, and so we'll see if those happens. But

488
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:44,200
also importantly, you don't have to pay either one of

489
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,839
those guys for like two three years, right, and so

490
00:23:47,079 --> 00:23:51,079
that means Jade and Ivy's the big major question mark

491
00:23:51,599 --> 00:23:54,759
about a like can you play with Cad and be

492
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,200
like if he can't, what do you do with him?

493
00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,000
And if he can, what do you do with a

494
00:23:59,079 --> 00:23:59,880
guy like that? Right?

495
00:24:01,079 --> 00:24:04,400
Speaker 1: What is the key to him playing? Like? The biggest

496
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,960
key to Ivy playing with Cad and even just your

497
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,279
overall sentiments on him at this point, because there are

498
00:24:09,319 --> 00:24:11,240
elements of his game where it feels like they all

499
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,359
make sense next to Caid, where if he's gonna hit

500
00:24:13,599 --> 00:24:16,240
set threes and he has that you know, catching attack

501
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,440
mode or even just that fast twitch attack mode, they

502
00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:21,839
complement each other really well. But there's like all this

503
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,599
other stuff he doesn't do, and everything he does well

504
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,440
feels like it's inconsistent. So one, where are you at

505
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,440
with j and Ivy and who? Like what's the biggest key? Like,

506
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,119
if he's gonna work aside from Cad X needs to

507
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:32,039
happen next season.

508
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,519
Speaker 2: Yeah, if he's going to work alongside Cad, I think

509
00:24:36,759 --> 00:24:39,599
the major thing would have to be he would need

510
00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:44,200
to be a more consistent shooter. He was by percentages,

511
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,119
he was like an OK shooter, but there were some

512
00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:52,000
huge like peaks and valleys there. There's two games against

513
00:24:52,039 --> 00:24:55,440
Sacramento and Portland on back to back nights where he

514
00:24:55,519 --> 00:24:58,920
shot like thirteen of fourteen from three and they won

515
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,960
both of those games, and it was like, oh, like

516
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,480
like yeah, if he's gonna do that, then like, yes,

517
00:25:05,519 --> 00:25:09,079
this can absolutely work. And then I think for there

518
00:25:09,079 --> 00:25:12,039
were whole months where he shot like sub thirty percent

519
00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:15,359
from three, and it's just it's a really it's really

520
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,119
hard to figure out. It's really hard to evaluate what

521
00:25:19,319 --> 00:25:22,119
he's gonna be next o kaye if he can't be

522
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,799
that type of consistent player, but like what his long

523
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,440
term future is for this team. I'm ultimately like really torn.

524
00:25:29,599 --> 00:25:32,079
I'm very guilty of focusing like on the things he

525
00:25:32,079 --> 00:25:35,680
doesn't do well. He doesn't defend very well at all.

526
00:25:36,039 --> 00:25:40,119
He turns the ball over way too often, and not

527
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:41,920
only that, he turns the ball over in ways that

528
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,799
are like guaranteed to piss the coach off, like live

529
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,359
ball turnovers that instantly turn into layups, where like even

530
00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,400
he's kind of like doing the surrender cobra like on

531
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,319
the court, like oh, I can't believe I just did that,

532
00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:55,519
And they there were a lot of times where like

533
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,880
I understand, like I talked a little bit about the

534
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,319
scenario with money and like not having a lot of

535
00:26:00,319 --> 00:26:03,319
confidence and having a lot of faith in Jayden. I

536
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,960
got it at times, like I understood why, like you

537
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,920
can't operate like that, but I totally understood like why

538
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:14,440
he was doing that. Also, like sneakily, Jayden doesn't really

539
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,759
have an in between game. It's like threes or the

540
00:26:16,839 --> 00:26:20,799
rim or nothing. And like that's that is like morey ball,

541
00:26:20,839 --> 00:26:23,599
that's how you like idealize, like want to play. But

542
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,160
when teams know you like won't operate from the mid

543
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,200
range or you can't, it makes you very easy to defend.

544
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,279
And so like that's one that's one area I think

545
00:26:32,279 --> 00:26:33,720
he needs to show some improvement in.

546
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,400
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think you could make for some players too,

547
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,119
Like Mari ball makes a ton more sense for someone

548
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:42,200
who's being deployed as an accessory, not someone necessarily who's

549
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,200
running your offers. You want them to have more layers

550
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,839
and levels to where they're scoring from. So was he

551
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:49,880
this You know, we'll get into the rotation a little

552
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:51,079
bit more later, but like it is, do you view

553
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,200
him as like they're going to start him next to

554
00:26:53,319 --> 00:26:54,279
Kaid to begin the year?

555
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 2: I think you have to. The roster is also kind

556
00:26:58,039 --> 00:27:02,480
of weird where I've lost faith in Marcus Sassar and

557
00:27:02,559 --> 00:27:05,279
so without a true backup point guard, it does feel

558
00:27:05,279 --> 00:27:07,599
like Jade and Ivy is just going to be your

559
00:27:07,599 --> 00:27:10,119
backup point guard. Again. J B. Baker staff has a

560
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,039
lot of experience doing the hard stagger where one of

561
00:27:12,039 --> 00:27:15,720
those guys is always on the floor. But in the

562
00:27:15,799 --> 00:27:20,319
long term, I think where I'm at is it's it's

563
00:27:20,319 --> 00:27:22,200
going to be best for both sides if there's a

564
00:27:22,279 --> 00:27:26,359
change of scenery. And that's not because I don't think

565
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,960
Jayden isn't a talented player, because I absolutely do. I

566
00:27:30,039 --> 00:27:33,119
just think he's going to be best with this is

567
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,519
like we've talked about this for years, like literal years.

568
00:27:35,559 --> 00:27:37,880
Dan like he's going to be best with the ball

569
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,799
in his hands, and it's going to be really tough

570
00:27:39,799 --> 00:27:42,799
to do that when at his best, he's probably not

571
00:27:42,839 --> 00:27:44,599
going to be as good as Kate Cunningham is with

572
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,680
the ball in his hands. And like, with that in mind,

573
00:27:47,279 --> 00:27:50,079
I even think there's like a really great destination out

574
00:27:50,079 --> 00:27:53,880
there for him, Like Brooklyn. Brooklyn absolutely needs a guy

575
00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:56,839
who can make stuff happen with the ball in their

576
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,400
hands and is prepared to be bad enough to let

577
00:28:00,519 --> 00:28:02,680
him figure out like how to do that at an

578
00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,680
elite at a at a high level for like an

579
00:28:05,799 --> 00:28:08,079
entire season and have him like be the quote unquote

580
00:28:08,079 --> 00:28:11,160
guy like Ivy and camp Thomas. That's not a good team.

581
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,960
That's a very fun team. I'll watch that team.

582
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,400
Speaker 1: So yeah, it was am Johnson to Detroit Rumors too.

583
00:28:18,519 --> 00:28:20,839
By throwing this into the by throwing this into the ether,

584
00:28:21,559 --> 00:28:24,960
uh you know, uh DFS would be a nice addition

585
00:28:25,039 --> 00:28:25,759
on the wing too.

586
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,880
Speaker 2: But yeah, I think like it's tough because like this

587
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,160
is all's going to kind of happen, right, Like I

588
00:28:32,519 --> 00:28:35,559
talked about this. He was drafted, so he's going to

589
00:28:35,599 --> 00:28:37,599
be best with the ball in his hands. And they

590
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,920
have kid, and so I do think a change of

591
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,799
scenery is going to would be best for both sides.

592
00:28:45,839 --> 00:28:48,000
Will it actually happen, like no? And do I do?

593
00:28:48,079 --> 00:28:49,799
I hope they trade him, like I don't, And I

594
00:28:49,839 --> 00:28:51,880
honestly don't know. If he figures some stuff out his

595
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,359
back a point guard, cuts down on the turnovers, shows

596
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,480
more consistent shooting, like that's absolutely a very very valuable

597
00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:01,640
player and that's something as somebody I think like JB

598
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:05,559
could take advantage of offensively. But will it happen, Like

599
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,200
I don't know, I don't know is there.

600
00:29:08,359 --> 00:29:10,160
Speaker 1: And the other thing too, So I was gonna ask

601
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,680
if the hard stagger maybe increases the likelihood that it

602
00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,519
would pan out. But then you have difficult decisions to

603
00:29:16,559 --> 00:29:19,839
make with your most important lineups to where J and

604
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,000
Ivy probably still isn't in them, and just what does

605
00:29:22,039 --> 00:29:24,000
that look like long term? And the other thing is,

606
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,680
if you're going to hard stagger them, my assumption would

607
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:28,799
be then he in turn is spending a lot of

608
00:29:28,839 --> 00:29:33,359
time next to Asar Thompson and or Ron Holland, and

609
00:29:33,519 --> 00:29:36,480
that's going to create a whole bunch of space and

610
00:29:36,559 --> 00:29:38,599
concerns unless Jay n Ivy just turns into not just

611
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,480
a great set shooter but like this off the dribble

612
00:29:40,759 --> 00:29:43,799
shooter And so there is a complex nature there. But

613
00:29:43,839 --> 00:29:45,480
I also do J n Ivy's one of those guys

614
00:29:45,519 --> 00:29:48,680
where when he like when he's on like, it's just

615
00:29:48,759 --> 00:29:49,759
tantalizing as hell.

616
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:54,960
Speaker 2: Mm hmmm. And because of that, you hope that, like

617
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,599
the I think if they are going to separate or

618
00:29:57,599 --> 00:30:01,000
if the decision is made, you you would want Jayden

619
00:30:01,119 --> 00:30:06,119
to really thrive in that like staggered bench roll up

620
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,839
until like January and then have like a giddy situation

621
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,319
where some team looks at him, it's like, yeah, we

622
00:30:12,359 --> 00:30:14,319
would like that guy to have a bigger role. We'd

623
00:30:14,359 --> 00:30:16,839
like that guy to come in and like run things

624
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,039
for us. We think he could be successful doing it,

625
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,000
and you could get something of value back for him,

626
00:30:22,079 --> 00:30:25,480
because it would really be crushing to trade a number

627
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,920
five overall pick for like very little in return, simply

628
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:33,279
because like he was the wrong selection, right, not that,

629
00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,759
not like not for nothing, but I know that he

630
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,400
was not the preferred selection of the Pistons, like in

631
00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:46,839
that draft it was Keegan Murray, but like obviously Keegan

632
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,839
went before five, so you it kind of just like

633
00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,319
it was what it was. But yeah, is it? The

634
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,039
whole j n Ivy thing is really complicated and really complex,

635
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,640
and I hope he figures it out, whether that's in

636
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,200
Detroit or someplace else. Like you said, like when he's on,

637
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,519
he's a tantalizing player to watch.

638
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,319
Speaker 1: I am in love with the Sartnobson, the defense, and

639
00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:10,720
I was wrong about we were on this podcast last

640
00:31:10,759 --> 00:31:12,240
year because I went back and looked at my notes.

641
00:31:13,119 --> 00:31:15,680
I talked about how I believed in the jumper.

642
00:31:16,119 --> 00:31:16,559
Speaker 2: We all do.

643
00:31:17,079 --> 00:31:20,640
Speaker 1: I won't say that I'm a disbeliever now, but I'm

644
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,400
feeling less confident about it than I did. But the

645
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,160
passing stood out to me as well. And like there

646
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:27,759
were smart stuff from the stand, stuff when he was

647
00:31:27,759 --> 00:31:30,720
getting going downhill, and there's something I was working on

648
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,480
months ago, Like his assist percentage on drives was just

649
00:31:33,519 --> 00:31:35,799
absolutely bonkers, Like relative to the rest of the league

650
00:31:35,799 --> 00:31:40,519
at large, let's start with a positive. What impressed you

651
00:31:40,599 --> 00:31:43,240
or stood out or surprised you the most about him?

652
00:31:43,599 --> 00:31:48,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, the definitely the way in which he was able

653
00:31:48,279 --> 00:31:51,079
to attack advantage situations. Right. There was a lot of

654
00:31:52,119 --> 00:31:54,240
kind of tinkering to figure out, like what the best

655
00:31:54,359 --> 00:31:57,359
role for Usar was. You saw them kind of stick

656
00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:59,599
him in the corner a little bit and just kind

657
00:31:59,599 --> 00:32:01,720
of tell him to figure it out. And he made

658
00:32:01,759 --> 00:32:05,119
hay with like baseline cuts. And in transition, as the

659
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,079
season kind of went on, they started involving him more

660
00:32:08,079 --> 00:32:10,160
in actions kind of they had him slip a bunch

661
00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,079
of screens. You'd throw him a pocket pass at sixteen feet,

662
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,319
he would make a dribble and then like he would

663
00:32:15,319 --> 00:32:17,240
either finish or like make a good decision with the ball.

664
00:32:17,279 --> 00:32:21,400
And that's something I think that we'll keep, Like that's

665
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,240
a that's a skill in an area I think in

666
00:32:23,279 --> 00:32:26,359
which he will continue to make improvements and continue to

667
00:32:26,359 --> 00:32:32,039
be able to contribute this season. And like weirdly he

668
00:32:32,119 --> 00:32:34,720
was he was a good He had a really good jumper,

669
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,519
Like inside the arc. There were times where he'd get

670
00:32:37,559 --> 00:32:40,359
like cut off on a drive and he'd do this

671
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,519
turnaround where he would just jump like twelve feet in

672
00:32:42,559 --> 00:32:45,039
the air, shoot like this little ten foot turnaround, and it

673
00:32:45,079 --> 00:32:46,480
felt like it would go in at like an eighty

674
00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,559
percent rate. And it's just like translating whatever confidence he's

675
00:32:50,599 --> 00:32:53,559
got in that shot to the three pointer I think

676
00:32:53,599 --> 00:32:57,000
would be paramount for him and for what it's worth,

677
00:32:57,599 --> 00:33:01,720
like he shot like an eye bleeding fifteen percent from

678
00:33:01,759 --> 00:33:05,920
three prior to the All Star break. After the All

679
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,680
Star break, and he like he had some injuries. He

680
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:10,599
got whacked in the face, I think prior to the

681
00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:11,279
All Star break.

682
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 1: So after the situation too, that was, uh, yeah, that sucked.

683
00:33:15,599 --> 00:33:18,279
I hope he's fine, by the way, I haven't heard

684
00:33:18,279 --> 00:33:19,000
anything about that.

685
00:33:19,319 --> 00:33:21,440
Speaker 2: All reports are that he's going to be fine for

686
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:24,880
training camp. He was in Chicago for the draft lottery,

687
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,799
and like obviously you can't fly with the blood clots

688
00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,559
and so like him being not in Michigan tells you

689
00:33:31,599 --> 00:33:34,160
that he's probably able to fly and they're probably like

690
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,759
not worried about it long term, So like, yeah, that

691
00:33:36,759 --> 00:33:38,400
that is a good situation, obviously.

692
00:33:38,599 --> 00:33:40,559
Speaker 1: I have a fob question about that. Do you think

693
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:43,839
that these players want to go to the lottery or

694
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:45,559
is it like a form of punishment, like, hey, you

695
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,039
shot below twenty five percent from three, You're gonna have

696
00:33:48,079 --> 00:33:50,359
to go represent us at this at the slattery. I

697
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,480
just I never know if the active players want to

698
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,119
be there. Most of them aren't like, oh am I

699
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,839
here because they're drafting my replacement, But like, I just

700
00:33:58,119 --> 00:33:59,960
it's just like do they want to be at these things?

701
00:34:00,119 --> 00:34:03,720
Speaker 2: Like I think he was like he was just chilling,

702
00:34:04,119 --> 00:34:06,519
and I think I think a Tradan represented them in

703
00:34:06,559 --> 00:34:08,719
the lottery, so I think he was just there like

704
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,920
oh okay, yeah not but uh but yeah. It is

705
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:14,960
a very weird moment when you have like the guy

706
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,800
who was just drafted being like, yeah, I'm excited to

707
00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,519
be here, but also like am I am I getting

708
00:34:21,519 --> 00:34:23,440
another guy that's going to be in competition with me?

709
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,079
I don't know how they.

710
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:29,440
Speaker 1: Did Yeah, yeah, what is the jumper? The swing skill

711
00:34:29,559 --> 00:34:31,159
for him. Is there anything else that's just kind of

712
00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:34,280
like stand that's low hanging fruit, but it's like it's

713
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:34,840
a big deal.

714
00:34:35,519 --> 00:34:39,320
Speaker 2: The jumper in the handle his handles really weird. H

715
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:44,760
He dribbles, He dribbles and shoots very methodically, very regimented,

716
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:47,400
very much like someone who's been coached to dribble and

717
00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,880
shoot in a certain way. And then after the All

718
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,079
Star break the shot didn't. It went in at twenty

719
00:34:54,119 --> 00:34:56,119
seven percent, which is still bad, but.

720
00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,280
Speaker 1: Like twenty eight percent on threes, so hey.

721
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,760
Speaker 2: But he looked a lot more confident and fluid taking them.

722
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,880
But previously, like for for the YouTube audience, in the

723
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,360
first half of the season, you see him like catch

724
00:35:12,039 --> 00:35:15,599
elbow up like over, and you could see like him

725
00:35:15,639 --> 00:35:17,599
like walking through the motions of like.

726
00:35:17,559 --> 00:35:19,559
Speaker 1: How the string Internet is what it looked like.

727
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:22,840
Speaker 2: Very much so, And as the season went on, like

728
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:26,679
that process got quicker and smoother, and then and the results, uh,

729
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,280
there were there were better results. Still not good results,

730
00:35:29,679 --> 00:35:32,679
but better results. Obviously both the Thompson twins up like

731
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:35,159
legendary work ethic and I bet he's in the gym

732
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,119
like shooting like right now, and so I feel confident.

733
00:35:39,599 --> 00:35:41,880
I feel confident that he'll get to a baseline level

734
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,519
of confidency with the jumper. It's just going to be

735
00:35:45,519 --> 00:35:47,480
a longer process than we initially thought.

736
00:35:48,079 --> 00:35:50,280
Speaker 1: Someone the smart as yourself saying that in tern just

737
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,639
makes me feel so much better about how I felt

738
00:35:52,639 --> 00:35:54,639
about him a year ago, and now I will that

739
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:56,480
those feelings are undergoing a renaissance.

740
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,440
Speaker 2: Is there, well, no, and the other things like like

741
00:35:59,559 --> 00:36:03,079
JB has experienced, like leveraging off ball shooters in offense right,

742
00:36:03,559 --> 00:36:07,440
like Isaacacorro playing two bigs with Evan Mobley and Jared

743
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:11,039
Allen win like the two years ago, and elbe like

744
00:36:11,079 --> 00:36:14,960
wouldn't shoot any threes right. So I feel also confident

745
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,880
in that in a bench role, they'll be able to

746
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:21,079
figure out ways to get him involved offensively to the

747
00:36:21,119 --> 00:36:23,840
point where, yes, the jumper is still be an issue,

748
00:36:24,119 --> 00:36:26,000
but he'll still be able to contribute on that end.

749
00:36:26,559 --> 00:36:29,079
Speaker 1: That's aund just about to ask too, is they're sort

750
00:36:29,079 --> 00:36:30,599
of like the They definitely have the time, but do

751
00:36:30,679 --> 00:36:33,920
they sort of have the bandwidth to explore more? Asar

752
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,840
Thompson on the ball, just because I know his's handle

753
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:38,800
can be a little erratic, but he is such a

754
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,320
good passer and as you mentioned, there is kind of

755
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:43,440
a vacuum at yeah, okay Stagger j and Iby and

756
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:45,440
k Cunningham, but there is still kind of a vacuum

757
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,599
for secondary playmaking. And if he's gonna come off the bench,

758
00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,159
it feels like a natural point to be like, oh,

759
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:53,599
you know, maybe we trust Ron Hollins's handle more, but

760
00:36:53,679 --> 00:36:55,599
like I think a sar Thompson is the better passer,

761
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:57,639
So like, is there do they have the bet? Would

762
00:36:57,679 --> 00:36:59,079
you expect them to explore that or no?

763
00:36:59,159 --> 00:37:03,079
Speaker 2: Not really, that's definitely a like later in the season

764
00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:06,679
thing I would I would definitely explore that studio space

765
00:37:07,039 --> 00:37:09,000
with the first part of the season being like, hey,

766
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:10,960
how competitive are we? Like again, like what are we

767
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,920
gonna do with Jade and Ivy? You know, can we

768
00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:16,840
can we win some in season tournament games? Like can

769
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:21,079
we not? Can we not? Can we portray ourselves as

770
00:37:21,199 --> 00:37:23,719
more confident than we've been in the past, And then

771
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,559
the second half of the season that's the Will Hardy

772
00:37:26,599 --> 00:37:31,079
Special everybody gets to experiment, well, explore some studio space.

773
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,000
That would be I think be a good time for

774
00:37:33,079 --> 00:37:35,519
a SORR to get some more on ball reps, reps

775
00:37:35,519 --> 00:37:37,639
in which I think he would probably do fine. Right,

776
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:42,840
you can slither underscreens if if he gets even like

777
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:44,960
a little bit of advantage. He's not like Jade and

778
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,840
Ivy fast, but like guys can't stay in front of him.

779
00:37:48,199 --> 00:37:51,280
And so I absolutely think there's potential there.

780
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,960
Speaker 1: And you think there's even and I think you might

781
00:37:54,039 --> 00:37:56,360
have mentioned this before, is there even more potential? Like, Okay, well,

782
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,559
then we'll use him at the beginning or the meat

783
00:37:58,599 --> 00:38:00,519
and potatoes of the season. However they real it we're

784
00:38:00,519 --> 00:38:02,480
gonna use him as a screener more. Then, do you

785
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:04,360
think that's something they're really gonna focus on this year?

786
00:38:04,599 --> 00:38:07,400
Speaker 2: I think that's the best way to leverage like we've

787
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,199
seen him with like Draymond, right, Like that's the best

788
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:11,679
way to get guys involved who can't shoot, is to

789
00:38:11,719 --> 00:38:13,960
just have them like screen and create space for your

790
00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:16,960
other shooters on the floor. And again, like we talked

791
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,800
about his ability to pass off drives, like Asar is

792
00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:23,840
a very high IQ player, and so if he's leveraged

793
00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:25,960
in that way, like, I have no doubt he'll be

794
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,320
able to like make hay out of it.

795
00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:31,880
Speaker 1: So Jalen Duran confused the hell on me last year

796
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,519
and I'm almost giggled out loud because I forgot where

797
00:38:34,519 --> 00:38:36,599
we were and the like the outlines that I'm bouncing

798
00:38:36,639 --> 00:38:38,760
around and your first response to what I said with that,

799
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:42,920
are we gonna see like less? I phrase it is,

800
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,840
is he gonna get a shorter leash, a more streamlined

801
00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,360
role on the offensive end? Like what is going what

802
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,159
is gonna happen with Jalen Duran this season?

803
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,480
Speaker 2: So the way you inside baseball, the way you put

804
00:38:54,519 --> 00:38:56,199
it in the outline was like, was he given too

805
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,639
much agency to try shit on offense? And what I

806
00:38:59,679 --> 00:39:02,480
respect was that it wasn't given to him. He took

807
00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:08,440
it though, was like and from his perspective, I completely

808
00:39:08,559 --> 00:39:11,800
understand it because like at the beginning of the season,

809
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:13,679
it was very much like he was playing his role

810
00:39:14,639 --> 00:39:16,599
and then like as the losing streak kind of went on,

811
00:39:17,039 --> 00:39:19,119
you could see him being like, well, shit, like nobody

812
00:39:19,119 --> 00:39:21,360
else can do anything like let me, let me have

813
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:25,480
a go at it. And it was very frustrating to

814
00:39:25,519 --> 00:39:28,599
watch because it was just like head scratching decision wise,

815
00:39:29,119 --> 00:39:32,079
But I understood it from a mentality perspective, like I'm

816
00:39:32,079 --> 00:39:34,320
gonna you can spin it as like what is he

817
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:35,719
doing or you can spend it as like he's trying

818
00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:38,159
to do anything he can to win basketball games, and

819
00:39:38,199 --> 00:39:40,000
for the sake of argument, I'm gonna spin it as

820
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,239
like he was trying to do everything he could to

821
00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:44,960
win basketball games. And the other thing is he very

822
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:49,760
clearly likes cares about his offensive game. You see the

823
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,440
level of refinement in his post moves. He's hit. He

824
00:39:53,519 --> 00:39:55,159
hit like the Wizards, and he hits some bonus with

825
00:39:55,199 --> 00:39:58,360
like just some insane footwork down low. He had some

826
00:39:58,679 --> 00:40:01,760
really nice finishes overture at Holgren in a twenty twenty

827
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:05,599
game at twenty twenty game in which he told the media,

828
00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,800
don't forget my six assists as well, it was just

829
00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:11,960
like shows you what kind of prioritization he places on

830
00:40:11,599 --> 00:40:14,760
his on his offense. And so like, he's a very

831
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,400
very talented player. He also like made real strides as

832
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,559
a free throw shooter. Last year. He went from sixty

833
00:40:20,599 --> 00:40:22,760
one percent his rookie year to seventy nine percent in

834
00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:25,840
the sophomore year. That's a big jump and it was

835
00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:28,679
a meaningful jump too. He looked a lot more comfortable

836
00:40:28,679 --> 00:40:31,639
at the line. There were there were late game scenarios

837
00:40:31,639 --> 00:40:34,039
in which you're like oh, like I feel okay with

838
00:40:34,079 --> 00:40:36,599
like him taking these free throws, which was a far

839
00:40:36,719 --> 00:40:39,480
cry from where he was his rookie year, and so

840
00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:43,159
I do think he's very offensively talented, very offensively gifted.

841
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:46,400
I mentioned the partnership with Caid. We saw some of that,

842
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,920
like the USA Select Team scrimmages, right, they have a

843
00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:50,559
lot of chemistry and pick and rolls. He's got like

844
00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:54,679
between the legs handoffs to Kaid to get in kind

845
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:57,800
of like a stampede cut, and so like they have

846
00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:00,239
a lot of chemistry and that's really cool ing with

847
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,480
Jaalen durn Is, though he was so bad on defense,

848
00:41:03,119 --> 00:41:08,000
so bad on defense last season, and the generous interpretation

849
00:41:08,079 --> 00:41:11,679
of that is after the ankle injury, which I believe

850
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:14,679
was his like third ankle injury in two years, he

851
00:41:15,119 --> 00:41:18,159
like basically stopped trying to block shots because he was

852
00:41:18,199 --> 00:41:20,400
worried about landing. He kept landing on people, and it

853
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:23,639
was like that that kept messing up his ankle. I like,

854
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:25,880
one of the beat guys talked about this, and I

855
00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,320
couldn't remember if it was in like a report or

856
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,960
a podcast, And so I was combing through podcasts like

857
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,559
try and get this nugget for you, damn, but I

858
00:41:32,559 --> 00:41:34,679
couldn't find it. But like, this is definitely it was

859
00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:36,480
definitely a thing where like after he came back from

860
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,760
the ankle injury, he like stopped trying to block shots.

861
00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:41,880
I believe like Asar had more blocks than him on

862
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:44,880
this season, which is like, yeah, Asar, but like also

863
00:41:45,039 --> 00:41:46,000
like like that's.

864
00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 1: Not given the time that Asar. Honestly, if Asar never

865
00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,239
misses all that time, I'm probably like it's a Sar

866
00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:54,320
That's okay, but yeah, given the games played, thing, yeah,

867
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:55,000
that's bizarre.

868
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, And like it didn't help him that they were

869
00:41:58,360 --> 00:41:59,719
playing a lot of drop, they were playing a lot

870
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,280
of no middle, and like nobody could really keep the

871
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,519
ball in front, and so like he's constantly having to

872
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,440
react and overreact and he's twenty and he's still figuring

873
00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:14,039
stuff out. But he also very much like the level

874
00:42:14,079 --> 00:42:17,559
of detail you see in his offensive game you don't

875
00:42:17,599 --> 00:42:20,400
see in his defensive game. And that's something that's that's

876
00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:25,519
definitely like concerning for me. But he was willing to

877
00:42:25,639 --> 00:42:29,280
play a more defined and refined offensive role at the

878
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:32,119
beginning of the season, and so I think if there's

879
00:42:32,239 --> 00:42:37,039
team success, if the team can win without him, doing

880
00:42:37,079 --> 00:42:40,679
like fake keeper ded dribblehandoffs and attacking the rim if

881
00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:43,039
the team can win without him, you know, trying to

882
00:42:43,039 --> 00:42:45,679
take rebounds coast to coast like he did, which was cool,

883
00:42:46,159 --> 00:42:48,000
but like when it didn't work, is like what what

884
00:42:48,079 --> 00:42:52,760
are you doing? And it's like I think he can

885
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,320
succeed in that role and have that role being like

886
00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:58,760
clearly defined for him, and like the team really needs him, right,

887
00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,760
like Stu back up big right now? Like unless you

888
00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:04,159
really like Paul Reid, Like I like what I've seen

889
00:43:04,199 --> 00:43:06,599
from Paul Reid, but like, do I think Paul Reid

890
00:43:06,639 --> 00:43:09,159
is gonna start for this team? Like not really? And

891
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,400
so like he's Jalen Durn's is the de facto like

892
00:43:12,519 --> 00:43:16,239
big for this team. And again we talked about as

893
00:43:16,519 --> 00:43:19,440
we talked about the extensions, like if he's going to

894
00:43:19,519 --> 00:43:22,840
be that guy, if he's going to be the big

895
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,599
man on this team, Like how much is that guy worth?

896
00:43:25,719 --> 00:43:28,880
Especially if he doesn't make strides defensively? Right? Like how much?

897
00:43:29,079 --> 00:43:31,760
How much is an offense is a mainly offense only

898
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:34,800
like big man like worth in today's NBA? Right?

899
00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:37,039
Speaker 1: And do you think that I think we've seen at

900
00:43:37,119 --> 00:43:39,760
least the potential of him on defense, but you mentioned

901
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,119
the struggle of playing with people who really can't keep

902
00:43:42,119 --> 00:43:45,199
the ball in front. Simoni Fontechio might be a little

903
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:47,360
underrated there. But the two players on this roster who

904
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:50,400
are best equipped to do that, I would say Ron

905
00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:54,159
Holland and ASR. Thompson, and he can't really play with

906
00:43:54,199 --> 00:43:57,400
both of them. So is this team built to optimize

907
00:43:57,440 --> 00:43:59,480
because I do think like in terms of if he's

908
00:43:59,519 --> 00:44:01,559
able to rotate over to the rim and like those

909
00:44:01,599 --> 00:44:04,039
sort of basic reads like he can get and has

910
00:44:04,079 --> 00:44:05,639
I think I've seen games at least where it's like, oh,

911
00:44:05,679 --> 00:44:08,400
he's doing that really well. But is this team built

912
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,199
to I don't want to use the word insulate to

913
00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:11,840
imply that he's always going to be a weakness, but

914
00:44:12,199 --> 00:44:14,519
are they built to optimize him defensively yet?

915
00:44:15,239 --> 00:44:18,079
Speaker 2: I think the answer to that is no, especially if

916
00:44:18,119 --> 00:44:20,199
like one of like Jade and Ivy or Milik Beasley

917
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:23,039
or Timartowa Junior is in the starting lineup. But I

918
00:44:23,079 --> 00:44:28,960
think they're better equipped than they were last season. It's interesting,

919
00:44:29,039 --> 00:44:33,320
right because like defensively, his best pairing was with Isaiah Stewart,

920
00:44:34,079 --> 00:44:35,800
and Stu was a guy who could keep the ball

921
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:39,840
in front and like he could just like collect rebounds,

922
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,159
and I think that was that was a priority for

923
00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:45,400
him obviously, Like he's not gonna be playing with a

924
00:44:45,519 --> 00:44:47,239
sar and he's not gonna be playing a lot with Stu.

925
00:44:47,519 --> 00:44:49,039
I think that's a look that they'll give. But he's

926
00:44:49,039 --> 00:44:50,920
probably not gonna be doing it a lot, And so

927
00:44:51,599 --> 00:44:55,599
will the will like your Simone Fantecio's and your Tobias

928
00:44:55,639 --> 00:44:58,239
Harris's like be able to contribute defensively in a way

929
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,800
that matters for him. And I think the answer is yes,

930
00:45:01,119 --> 00:45:05,679
just because they're vets who like know where they're supposed

931
00:45:05,679 --> 00:45:08,320
to be positionally, and so it won't be a matter

932
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:12,559
of it will be a matter of ability and not knowledge. Right,

933
00:45:12,639 --> 00:45:15,559
you won't have guys being like, like where am I

934
00:45:15,599 --> 00:45:17,559
supposed to be? And that's why they're not in front

935
00:45:17,559 --> 00:45:21,719
of the ball versus like in the regular season, you're

936
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:25,920
not playing, Uh, you're not. Everyone you face in the

937
00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:29,800
regular season is an NBA player, But you won't always

938
00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:34,320
be facing like Philly or right Like, there will be

939
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:37,760
times in which like Tobias Harris and Samni fan Techio,

940
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:40,960
other wings are like perfectly adequate, perfectly cromulent defense for

941
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:41,840
what the business needs.

942
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:45,840
Speaker 1: What did you think of the Ron Holland pick, and

943
00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:47,880
what are kind of your early impressions of his game?

944
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:49,400
Has fit the whole line there?

945
00:45:49,599 --> 00:45:51,960
Speaker 2: Oh, man, I love Ron Holland. I love Ron Holland.

946
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:54,920
Speaker 1: Yet I'm not sure if you were familiar. I don't

947
00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:57,599
who you know who Jonathan Wasserman is, But he did

948
00:45:57,639 --> 00:46:00,679
have Ron Holland as the number one prospect his big board.

949
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:04,440
If that imbused you with any sort of even more

950
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:05,800
hopefulness than you already have.

951
00:46:06,519 --> 00:46:10,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I was confused that more people didn't have

952
00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:14,599
him higher. Right. My thing was always when I watched

953
00:46:15,119 --> 00:46:17,639
Holland and I watched the Ignite like this is a

954
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:22,800
very young, very disorganized team, and he was still he

955
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:26,840
still managed to be productive but inefficient, but he was eighteen, right,

956
00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:29,679
Like having that level of production I think was outstanding

957
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:34,119
for a young guy. And the like the but like

958
00:46:34,159 --> 00:46:38,039
the elevator pitch of like the Jalen Brown starter kit

959
00:46:38,199 --> 00:46:40,800
like yeah, like like I love that art type of player,

960
00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:43,800
like sign me up. Anyway, Holland had a really good

961
00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:47,199
summer League in my opinion, again, he was productive but inefficient.

962
00:46:48,519 --> 00:46:51,239
There were there were bad aspects he did kind of

963
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:53,480
put his head down and drive into three people and

964
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:57,239
get stripped a lot, and that wasn't great. But the

965
00:46:57,280 --> 00:47:00,559
way he was able to play and transition, I think

966
00:47:00,599 --> 00:47:04,039
the decision making improved as Summer League went along, which

967
00:47:04,079 --> 00:47:06,760
was good to see. And then he was he was

968
00:47:07,559 --> 00:47:11,760
very impressive on defense, not in a like al He's

969
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:13,920
like got a bunch of blocks and steals, or like

970
00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:18,480
he's a Sar like eracing Grady Dick's existence in some

971
00:47:18,639 --> 00:47:21,519
rearly like two years ago. He's just really really solid

972
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,320
and really really huge for a wing. Right he's six

973
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:29,039
's eight, and you can see guy like figure like,

974
00:47:29,079 --> 00:47:30,719
oh wait, this guy's way too big for me to

975
00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:35,000
like drive into. And so the Holland can do a

976
00:47:35,039 --> 00:47:38,840
little bit of everything right now. You can score, he

977
00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:41,159
can defend. He's a better shooter than the Sar. He

978
00:47:41,199 --> 00:47:43,480
looked confident in the shot. I think the shot will improve.

979
00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:45,280
He had a very He had a couple like really

980
00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:47,199
nice like mid range jumpers that is like, oh like

981
00:47:47,320 --> 00:47:49,920
once he builds a base, like the jumper will be better.

982
00:47:51,559 --> 00:47:55,880
But I think key for Ron this season is that

983
00:47:56,280 --> 00:48:00,440
unlike Asar Thompson and Jay n Ivey and Jay and Duran.

984
00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:03,960
They don't need Ron to play right away. It'd be

985
00:48:04,079 --> 00:48:08,199
nice if he does, but he can focus a little

986
00:48:08,199 --> 00:48:10,960
bit more on development, or he can focus a little

987
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,719
bit more on the things that will get him on

988
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,639
the floor, like in his rookie year, which will be

989
00:48:16,760 --> 00:48:21,280
like defense and not like ball handling and in creativity right,

990
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:24,559
And so I think limiting not we talked a little

991
00:48:24,559 --> 00:48:26,519
bit about this a little bit with Durren, but like

992
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:29,679
having him play more of a role early in his

993
00:48:29,719 --> 00:48:34,440
career I think will be beneficial for Ron, and it'll

994
00:48:34,559 --> 00:48:37,360
enable the coaching staff can tell him, like, hey, if

995
00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:40,000
you do these things, you'll earn minutes as opposed to

996
00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:43,440
just be given as opposed to the minutes just being

997
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:46,960
like given to him. That also is like a little

998
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:48,760
bit of a double edged sword. I don't think there's

999
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:50,880
any value in like sending him down to the Cruise

1000
00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:54,159
if he's not going to play, for example, because again, like, yeah,

1001
00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:57,199
the situation might be a little bit more organized, but

1002
00:48:57,519 --> 00:48:59,679
like he proved he's a twenty point per game guy

1003
00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:01,599
the G League, and is like, will he be best

1004
00:49:01,639 --> 00:49:04,679
served by just like being a twenty point game, twenty

1005
00:49:04,719 --> 00:49:06,719
point per game guy for the Cruise like probably not,

1006
00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:08,960
and so it's probably better for him to just like

1007
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:11,159
stay with the big the big team and focus on

1008
00:49:11,199 --> 00:49:13,320
the things he needs to improve on to actually play

1009
00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:17,079
NBA basketball. But like in year three, like this guy

1010
00:49:17,159 --> 00:49:19,199
is gonna pop, Like I can just see it already,

1011
00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:22,280
And so I'm super high on Rod Holland where.

1012
00:49:22,159 --> 00:49:24,880
Speaker 1: Are you at with if you watched enough of his uh, Like,

1013
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:25,920
there are a lot of people that seem to be

1014
00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:28,199
commid that his jumper is going to be fine. It's

1015
00:49:28,159 --> 00:49:29,599
so where do you kind of land on that end

1016
00:49:29,599 --> 00:49:30,880
of the spectrum he's got.

1017
00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:33,960
Speaker 2: He's got a very obvious mechanical tweak that I think

1018
00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:37,159
will be made. Of course, oh we have didn't even

1019
00:49:37,199 --> 00:49:40,760
mention Fred Vinson, the legendary shooting coach, brought into Detroit

1020
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:43,760
huge aspect of what I think the Pistons are looking

1021
00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:47,159
to do with Asaar and Ron in particular, and so

1022
00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:50,199
I think, like, yes, I think he will be a

1023
00:49:50,559 --> 00:49:54,320
perfectly fine NBA spot shooter. He looked, he looks really fluid.

1024
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:58,360
He looks already and Asar is not like a good baseline.

1025
00:49:58,519 --> 00:50:00,719
But it's just like I got so used to looking

1026
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:04,760
so uncomfortable like taking jumpers. Ron looks way more comfortable.

1027
00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:10,400
The jumpers just don't don't go in.

1028
00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:10,639
Speaker 1: In a big departure from where the pistons are at.

1029
00:50:10,679 --> 00:50:14,679
They currently have fewer than one trillion bigs on their

1030
00:50:14,679 --> 00:50:17,880
depth chart, are they It seems like just my zoomed

1031
00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:19,639
out view, I mean, did see the points last year

1032
00:50:19,679 --> 00:50:21,159
that they are going to lean into more of the

1033
00:50:21,199 --> 00:50:24,679
space here looks overall? And so does that mean even

1034
00:50:24,760 --> 00:50:26,599
more as AA steward at the five? Is there a

1035
00:50:26,679 --> 00:50:28,800
chance we even see Bobby Clintman gets some minutes? Does

1036
00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:32,320
Paul read up his three point gone and he dabbled

1037
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:34,199
in a little bit with Philly? Is that like the

1038
00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:36,639
look it feels like they're going to try and go for,

1039
00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:39,840
especially if look, if you want Thompson and Holland to

1040
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:41,559
have these roles, and even Jade and Ivy when you

1041
00:50:41,639 --> 00:50:43,719
have so many even if you don't want to call

1042
00:50:43,719 --> 00:50:47,719
them liabilities because that's too strong of a word, let's

1043
00:50:47,719 --> 00:50:50,079
say question marks when it comes to you know, perimeter

1044
00:50:50,119 --> 00:50:52,800
shooting and spacing. Is that a look that you expect

1045
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,960
them to lean into even more, let's say, independent of

1046
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:57,039
the jail and Duram minutes.

1047
00:50:57,679 --> 00:51:00,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely think the way the bigs are set

1048
00:51:00,840 --> 00:51:05,000
up on the roster right now. Duran's gonna be the starter,

1049
00:51:05,599 --> 00:51:07,800
Stuart's going to be the backup, and Paul Reid is

1050
00:51:07,840 --> 00:51:11,719
there for part injury insurance. Quietly, both Duran and Stu

1051
00:51:12,159 --> 00:51:16,000
have like played like fifty to sixty ish games per year.

1052
00:51:19,199 --> 00:51:23,280
But I am intrigued by both Stu and Reid's ability

1053
00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:27,119
to stretch the floor as quote unquote like small fives.

1054
00:51:27,159 --> 00:51:28,679
Now they're one of those guys is like tiny, but

1055
00:51:29,079 --> 00:51:32,239
they're both like not like seven feet either, And so

1056
00:51:32,559 --> 00:51:35,280
I do think that playing a quote unquote stretch five

1057
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:37,679
like allows you to get away with playing in the

1058
00:51:37,760 --> 00:51:41,519
Star or Ron or both in like bench lineups in

1059
00:51:41,559 --> 00:51:44,719
a way that like playing Duran and Ron or like

1060
00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:49,159
wouldn't let you like get away with as much. I

1061
00:51:49,199 --> 00:51:51,199
do think. I think it would be really funny to

1062
00:51:51,199 --> 00:51:52,960
see like Paul Reid and Stu on the floor at

1063
00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:56,039
the same time. It was like two like two stretch

1064
00:51:56,280 --> 00:51:59,880
bigs kind of sort of. Reid is a really funky player,

1065
00:52:00,199 --> 00:52:03,760
and all of my exposure to him has been like

1066
00:52:03,880 --> 00:52:05,960
only when he plays well, So I'm very curious to

1067
00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:09,159
see how he plays on a very consistent basis. And

1068
00:52:09,199 --> 00:52:12,719
then Bobbie Clintman, Bobbie Clinton's Bobe.

1069
00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:15,760
Speaker 1: I'd like keep I kept too many people calling him Bobby,

1070
00:52:15,760 --> 00:52:18,800
including myself. Apparently Boby's cooler, so I favor it.

1071
00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:21,159
Speaker 2: Boby is cooler. He's probably going to play with the

1072
00:52:21,199 --> 00:52:26,559
cruise that's upsetting I. He was fun in Summer League.

1073
00:52:26,599 --> 00:52:30,880
He also shot like nine for nineteen inside the arc,

1074
00:52:31,760 --> 00:52:33,760
and so if like the only thing he's going to

1075
00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:37,519
contribute is floor spacing, there are better options for the

1076
00:52:37,800 --> 00:52:41,159
team than that. But he's he's a very interesting player,

1077
00:52:41,280 --> 00:52:43,440
and I hope he gets the chance to work out

1078
00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:46,559
some of those when he gets stronger and a little

1079
00:52:46,599 --> 00:52:48,039
bit better with the ball in his hands, Like he's

1080
00:52:48,039 --> 00:52:49,400
that's going to be a really interesting player and he'll

1081
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:51,199
get the chance to do that at the G league level.

1082
00:52:52,679 --> 00:52:55,079
Speaker 1: Marcus Sasser may have produced me last year just by

1083
00:52:55,199 --> 00:52:57,719
being someone who could hit threes.

1084
00:52:58,280 --> 00:52:58,400
Speaker 2: Uh.

1085
00:52:58,559 --> 00:52:59,880
Speaker 1: And it seems like you think I might have been

1086
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:02,840
over seduced by him relative to their situation, because I

1087
00:53:02,920 --> 00:53:05,679
look at the the way the rotation is set up,

1088
00:53:05,679 --> 00:53:07,800
and unless you think you're gonna give more ball handling

1089
00:53:07,880 --> 00:53:11,039
or playmaking responsibilities to a Nasar Thompson or want to

1090
00:53:11,039 --> 00:53:12,960
try out run. How hand, in that capacity, it looked

1091
00:53:12,960 --> 00:53:14,199
like it might have been set up for him to

1092
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:17,599
have a little bit of an expanded role. But you

1093
00:53:17,599 --> 00:53:19,079
you seem to disagree on that front.

1094
00:53:19,199 --> 00:53:23,599
Speaker 2: Yeah, I yeah, I'm kind of out on Sassar from

1095
00:53:23,920 --> 00:53:27,199
what we saw last season and in summer league. He

1096
00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:31,159
is not a point guard. He's just point guard sized,

1097
00:53:32,320 --> 00:53:34,199
and so like as an off ball guy, he can

1098
00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:36,800
like we can run a secondary pick and roll and

1099
00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:39,239
like make some open shots. Like I think he has value,

1100
00:53:39,840 --> 00:53:43,440
but he's no longer a guy who's development I would

1101
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:47,920
really be trying to prioritize, especially given like the regime

1102
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:50,239
that drafted him is no longer in place and he's

1103
00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:56,639
already twenty four years old, right, Jade, I need to

1104
00:53:56,639 --> 00:53:58,639
figure out what I have in Jade and Ivy and

1105
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:01,679
in order to do that, like Marcus Asser like kind

1106
00:54:01,679 --> 00:54:06,760
of superfluous but interesting, but superfluous.

1107
00:54:07,199 --> 00:54:09,360
Speaker 1: So is that like does that become sort of a

1108
00:54:09,599 --> 00:54:12,920
if he's not that guy? Okay, you have Ja and

1109
00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:15,119
Ivy and Kid Cunningham, but like what's the theory of

1110
00:54:15,119 --> 00:54:18,480
like who's the third playmaker then on this team? Is

1111
00:54:18,519 --> 00:54:22,000
it just like the third best passer after them is

1112
00:54:22,119 --> 00:54:24,079
Asar Thompson, Right, who am I missing?

1113
00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:26,519
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, it's it'd be a sar. It'd be a

1114
00:54:26,519 --> 00:54:28,679
star in my mind, and that would be a guy

1115
00:54:28,679 --> 00:54:32,800
who'd like run some bench lineups. Or what I think

1116
00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:37,440
is more likely is they probably bring in some outside

1117
00:54:37,519 --> 00:54:39,639
help down because.

1118
00:54:39,519 --> 00:54:42,159
Speaker 1: The theory of why they had Monty Morris at one

1119
00:54:42,239 --> 00:54:44,079
point like it made I know, the injuries and stuff

1120
00:54:44,119 --> 00:54:46,519
like that made sense to me in terms of I've

1121
00:54:46,559 --> 00:54:49,920
become over the past years a big believer in I

1122
00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:52,360
don't know if the word is optimizing or streamlining development

1123
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:54,199
for everyone where it's okay, it's cool to see SR.

1124
00:54:54,239 --> 00:54:56,079
Thompson as a example and all these on ball reps,

1125
00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:59,159
but if like the half court ecosystem isn't set up

1126
00:54:59,159 --> 00:55:00,800
for him to succeed, or you're asking him to do

1127
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:03,199
too much in a less than an ideal environment, I

1128
00:55:03,239 --> 00:55:05,599
don't know how much service you're doing him. And you

1129
00:55:05,639 --> 00:55:07,480
point this out also with the G League stuff is

1130
00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:10,400
also if you put players in roles in different situations

1131
00:55:10,400 --> 00:55:12,440
that they're not gonna have when the minutes matter or

1132
00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:14,679
the most important lineups, how much of a benefit is

1133
00:55:14,719 --> 00:55:18,079
that to you or them anyway? And so I'm like,

1134
00:55:18,280 --> 00:55:19,840
now I look at this team and you don't think that,

1135
00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:21,559
which I think is perfectly fair. By the way, like

1136
00:55:21,559 --> 00:55:23,079
I said, I think I was over reduced by Oh,

1137
00:55:23,119 --> 00:55:26,239
Marcus Asser shot like almost league average from three. Basically,

1138
00:55:26,280 --> 00:55:29,000
like on this business team, it feels like there might

1139
00:55:29,039 --> 00:55:30,880
be value and like, well, is there're just a veteran

1140
00:55:30,920 --> 00:55:32,880
that can soak up some minutes. It's not We're giving

1141
00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:34,760
up a ton of assets to get them, but it

1142
00:55:34,800 --> 00:55:37,079
makes the job easier on everyone else and also fills

1143
00:55:37,480 --> 00:55:39,400
what seems like it is clearly avoid on this roster.

1144
00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:43,079
Speaker 2: Yeah, they do have an open roster spot, and they

1145
00:55:43,119 --> 00:55:48,199
have two big voids in like backup veteran organizer. I

1146
00:55:48,239 --> 00:55:50,719
think in terms of like organization right, like getting guys

1147
00:55:50,719 --> 00:55:53,000
where they need to be and making sure that you're

1148
00:55:53,039 --> 00:55:55,039
like running your half court offense in a way that

1149
00:55:55,079 --> 00:55:58,199
like actually makes sense. And I've talked a little bit

1150
00:55:58,199 --> 00:56:02,599
about the bigs Reid and Stewart are undersized, and we

1151
00:56:02,639 --> 00:56:05,880
talked about Jyllan Duran's defensive deficiencies so that I would

1152
00:56:06,039 --> 00:56:09,639
like another rim protector. So either filling that roster spot

1153
00:56:09,639 --> 00:56:12,199
with like either one of those archetypes is I think

1154
00:56:12,320 --> 00:56:14,760
gonna be what they need to do to flesh out

1155
00:56:14,760 --> 00:56:17,719
the roster. But yeah, I agree with you that like

1156
00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:22,039
if Sas, there's not if SAS's not in there for

1157
00:56:22,239 --> 00:56:25,159
the long term. And he's also like not really an

1158
00:56:25,239 --> 00:56:28,800
organizer or a streamliner. They need that arc type absolutely.

1159
00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:32,599
Speaker 1: So are you ready to enter the cookie cutter portion

1160
00:56:32,639 --> 00:56:36,239
of the podcast, mister, let's do it, mister lajja accent. Okay,

1161
00:56:36,280 --> 00:56:41,280
So what does the top ten rotation look like for

1162
00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:41,840
this team?

1163
00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:46,400
Speaker 2: So what what I would do is I would probably

1164
00:56:46,440 --> 00:56:48,760
start Millik Beasley, a guy we haven't talked about that much,

1165
00:56:48,880 --> 00:56:51,239
but a guy who was by.

1166
00:56:51,159 --> 00:56:52,679
Speaker 1: The way, I don't know, maybe I was watching the

1167
00:56:52,679 --> 00:56:55,079
wrong Bucks games. He catches a lot of shit. They

1168
00:56:55,079 --> 00:56:57,840
were asking him to do too much defensively. He's a

1169
00:56:57,880 --> 00:57:00,880
lot better defensively when he was switching on specifically like

1170
00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:04,199
bigger players. I think Detroit Piston stands other being pleasantly

1171
00:57:04,199 --> 00:57:07,199
surprised with how he does there that or I only

1172
00:57:07,239 --> 00:57:10,119
watched the games, which we all know I don't watch games.

1173
00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:12,480
I don't watch them, but I must have only seen

1174
00:57:12,880 --> 00:57:15,119
the games in which he was doing good things or

1175
00:57:15,159 --> 00:57:17,079
not terrible things on that end. So I've just seen

1176
00:57:17,119 --> 00:57:19,039
him catch a lot where it's like, oh, like easily

1177
00:57:19,079 --> 00:57:21,559
sucks on defense. It's like, well, it's not his fault,

1178
00:57:21,639 --> 00:57:23,760
Like the Bucks wanted him to be like that type

1179
00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,119
of advantage creator defender a lot of the time last year.

1180
00:57:26,199 --> 00:57:28,159
Speaker 2: It's like he was guarding Tyree s Maaxy a lot

1181
00:57:28,199 --> 00:57:30,199
of the time. Like what do you want from him? Man?

1182
00:57:30,320 --> 00:57:32,360
Speaker 1: Like here one game against the Bulls where he just

1183
00:57:32,400 --> 00:57:36,480
gave like Nikola Vucevich the business on three consecutive possessions defensively,

1184
00:57:36,960 --> 00:57:38,719
and it was like, not that that was the trend,

1185
00:57:38,719 --> 00:57:40,679
but it was like he was holding up fairly well

1186
00:57:40,719 --> 00:57:42,480
in those situations in the game that I saw. So

1187
00:57:42,519 --> 00:57:44,639
I don't know how much he's gonna find himself in

1188
00:57:44,679 --> 00:57:47,440
those scenarios with Detroit, but just just to the league

1189
00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:50,760
easily love, especially because he cost fucking nothing one year

1190
00:57:50,760 --> 00:57:53,079
and six million is just bonkers to me.

1191
00:57:53,519 --> 00:57:56,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I would put him in the starting lineup.

1192
00:57:57,360 --> 00:58:01,440
I would saw'd start Kaid Beasley, Small and Fount techy O,

1193
00:58:01,519 --> 00:58:04,800
Tobias Harris and Jalen Dern, and then I would have

1194
00:58:05,719 --> 00:58:09,400
Jade and ivy Asar Thompson, Tim Hardaway Junior, and Isaiah

1195
00:58:09,440 --> 00:58:12,800
Stewart be your like nine man rotation and my rule,

1196
00:58:13,039 --> 00:58:16,719
like after Monti Williams like, no more ten man rotations,

1197
00:58:17,199 --> 00:58:20,559
no more full bench lineups, We're done with that. My

1198
00:58:20,679 --> 00:58:23,920
rule would be like one of Cayden Ivy is always

1199
00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:26,920
on the floor and one of Tobias and Simone is

1200
00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:30,119
always on the floor. Hard staggers for both of those guys,

1201
00:58:30,840 --> 00:58:35,920
Tobias and Simone's skill sets open up. I think like

1202
00:58:35,960 --> 00:58:38,760
we talked a lot about like what like the shooting

1203
00:58:38,840 --> 00:58:40,800
and the spacing that they need. It is like if

1204
00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:43,000
you play one of those guys at the three or

1205
00:58:43,000 --> 00:58:45,480
the four, that enables you to play like an Asar obviously,

1206
00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:47,519
and then you can obviously play them together because they

1207
00:58:47,559 --> 00:58:49,280
both can can space the floor.

1208
00:58:51,039 --> 00:58:54,159
Speaker 1: Obviously, this will be matchup dependent. But what would your

1209
00:58:54,679 --> 00:58:57,480
crunch time lineup crutch be. Is it just the starting

1210
00:58:57,760 --> 00:58:59,079
unit that you outlaid.

1211
00:58:59,639 --> 00:59:01,599
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it would just be the starting lineup unless

1212
00:59:01,639 --> 00:59:04,360
like Jade and Ivy is having a really amazing game offensively,

1213
00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:07,880
or Asar Thompson is just like completely cut off somebody's

1214
00:59:07,880 --> 00:59:10,320
water like that. The starting lineup is the direction that

1215
00:59:10,360 --> 00:59:15,559
would headen and against bigger opponents, against like against like

1216
00:59:15,599 --> 00:59:23,199
a Cleveland or a or even like a even like

1217
00:59:23,239 --> 00:59:26,760
a like a Lakers. I would maybe you'd see a

1218
00:59:26,800 --> 00:59:29,639
crunch time lineup where Stu and durn do play together,

1219
00:59:30,039 --> 00:59:32,159
just because again, like that was one of their best

1220
00:59:32,199 --> 00:59:35,559
defensive pairings like early in the season, and I think

1221
00:59:35,559 --> 00:59:37,400
that that that's a pairing that works.

1222
00:59:37,920 --> 00:59:40,840
Speaker 1: Is there any offbeat, funky lineups that you would like

1223
00:59:40,840 --> 00:59:42,760
to see them roll out at any point next season?

1224
00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:47,239
Speaker 2: The starting lineup with Stewart instead of durn I think

1225
00:59:47,239 --> 00:59:49,840
would be like it's kind of five out if you

1226
00:59:50,039 --> 00:59:52,880
squint a little bit, I think that would be really interesting.

1227
00:59:53,440 --> 00:59:57,119
And then there's a defense in chaos lineup. I've got

1228
00:59:57,320 --> 01:00:01,480
where's Jade and Ivy, Asar Thompson, Ron Hollow and Paul

1229
01:00:01,519 --> 01:00:04,480
Reid and Isaiah Stuart's just like shooting, Like who cares

1230
01:00:04,480 --> 01:00:06,039
about shooting? We're just gonna make shit happen.

1231
01:00:07,679 --> 01:00:10,639
Speaker 1: Uh wow. I don't know what the offense. I feel

1232
01:00:10,639 --> 01:00:12,440
like my eyes were already bleeding thinking about what the

1233
01:00:12,480 --> 01:00:12,880
offense with.

1234
01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:16,280
Speaker 2: We're getting turnovers. We're turning people over and getting out

1235
01:00:16,280 --> 01:00:18,760
in transition. That's the plan with that line up.

1236
01:00:19,039 --> 01:00:21,000
Speaker 1: I do like the idea of just seeing what it

1237
01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:23,880
looks like defensively, of having Ron Holland and Asar Thompson

1238
01:00:23,920 --> 01:00:26,360
just on the floor together and seeing what type of

1239
01:00:27,159 --> 01:00:28,800
chaos they can interject.

1240
01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:33,639
Speaker 2: That's that's in my mind, that's the long term vision,

1241
01:00:34,039 --> 01:00:35,760
and so like, yeah, you would want to get some

1242
01:00:35,840 --> 01:00:40,320
looks at like how that looks sometime during the season.

1243
01:00:41,760 --> 01:00:46,840
Speaker 1: I want to see caid Fontecio Asar Ron Holland and

1244
01:00:46,960 --> 01:00:49,320
let's put Bobi in the middle. I remain I know

1245
01:00:49,400 --> 01:00:51,960
I couldn't pronounce his name correctly, but the idea of

1246
01:00:52,039 --> 01:00:53,679
kind of stretching the floor and like some of the

1247
01:00:53,679 --> 01:00:56,039
stuff he can do in the open floor. I don't

1248
01:00:56,079 --> 01:00:59,320
know what that team or lineup looks like defensively, but

1249
01:00:59,400 --> 01:01:01,719
it's like and I can talk myself into it because like, oh,

1250
01:01:01,719 --> 01:01:04,079
there's like enough youth and like Simoni fun Techio is

1251
01:01:04,079 --> 01:01:05,880
the only one that's over the age of twenty five

1252
01:01:05,960 --> 01:01:07,880
in that Unit's like doesn't, like, why don't I just

1253
01:01:07,960 --> 01:01:09,760
roll it out just to try it? Maybe that's something

1254
01:01:09,800 --> 01:01:11,440
we could see like post trade that vide.

1255
01:01:12,519 --> 01:01:16,360
Speaker 2: I mean, uh, I doubt we'll see something that little,

1256
01:01:16,800 --> 01:01:20,760
but like you've always tended towards the like ultra small

1257
01:01:20,800 --> 01:01:23,119
lineups when we do the fucking lineup, So I'm totally

1258
01:01:23,159 --> 01:01:24,920
not surprised that that's where your mind is at.

1259
01:01:25,280 --> 01:01:29,400
Speaker 1: I think Asar had enough stocks last year that discounts

1260
01:01:29,440 --> 01:01:32,519
as small ball with with like with some like gritty

1261
01:01:32,599 --> 01:01:34,599
size to it. He plays like a player who's a

1262
01:01:34,960 --> 01:01:36,760
lot bigger. But you are right, I'm glad my brand

1263
01:01:36,800 --> 01:01:38,880
stay strong after all these years of leaning into the

1264
01:01:39,320 --> 01:01:41,320
although by my standards, this might be a pretty big

1265
01:01:41,360 --> 01:01:43,519
lineup if you really think about it. I'm not making

1266
01:01:43,639 --> 01:01:45,119
to play Marcus Asser at the five.

1267
01:01:47,159 --> 01:01:50,599
Speaker 2: You definitely had like you definitely had like an Isaiah

1268
01:01:50,599 --> 01:01:53,320
Livers at four lineup, like like a couple of years ago,

1269
01:01:53,360 --> 01:01:55,239
where I was like, oh, like we're tiny.

1270
01:01:55,719 --> 01:01:58,039
Speaker 1: You were gutted when we didn't talk about Isaiah Livers

1271
01:01:58,119 --> 01:01:59,719
until the end of the podcast last year.

1272
01:02:00,639 --> 01:02:03,880
Speaker 2: Asaiah Livers was so disappointing last year. He just could

1273
01:02:03,920 --> 01:02:06,079
not make a shot. And then we found out that

1274
01:02:06,199 --> 01:02:08,039
like you had like rotator cuff or you're like a

1275
01:02:08,079 --> 01:02:11,360
shoulder issue, which is probably the reason why he couldn't

1276
01:02:11,360 --> 01:02:14,280
make a shot. And then Troy Weaver promptly rescued him

1277
01:02:14,280 --> 01:02:15,400
and he's in Washington right now.

1278
01:02:15,440 --> 01:02:18,760
Speaker 1: So their current win total is said at twenty five

1279
01:02:18,800 --> 01:02:20,559
and a half. Would you take the over the under

1280
01:02:20,599 --> 01:02:23,719
and how many wins do you actually see them potentially

1281
01:02:23,719 --> 01:02:24,519
getting next year.

1282
01:02:25,239 --> 01:02:28,840
Speaker 2: So I'm not sponsored by BETMGM. This podcast is not

1283
01:02:28,840 --> 01:02:32,079
sponsored by BETMGM, but that is my sportsbook app of choice,

1284
01:02:32,519 --> 01:02:35,519
and I have a wager on the Pistons at over

1285
01:02:35,599 --> 01:02:38,800
twenty four and a half, I would go to twenty

1286
01:02:38,800 --> 01:02:40,239
five and a half. I would go over on that

1287
01:02:40,280 --> 01:02:43,719
wager as well. Twenty seven and a half is where

1288
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:47,719
I started to get like squirrelly, because then you're kind

1289
01:02:47,760 --> 01:02:50,840
of you're I think this team will be better, right.

1290
01:02:50,880 --> 01:02:53,519
I think it's pretty clear that the rosters better, the

1291
01:02:53,559 --> 01:02:57,480
situation around Kate Cunningham is better, the coaching will probably

1292
01:02:57,519 --> 01:02:59,320
be I think a little bit more streamlined and better.

1293
01:03:00,679 --> 01:03:03,639
But to double your win total, even from a season

1294
01:03:03,679 --> 01:03:06,840
from hell, I think it's like a hard expectation to

1295
01:03:06,920 --> 01:03:10,800
set on any team. And so I think like twenty

1296
01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:13,519
eight twenty nine wins is where I'd be like, ooh, like,

1297
01:03:13,599 --> 01:03:15,199
I don't think. I don't think this team has got

1298
01:03:15,199 --> 01:03:17,960
that in them. So twenty six twenty seven wins is

1299
01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,039
about I think where I put this team, which would

1300
01:03:20,079 --> 01:03:24,480
be like again, like a thirteen win improvement is not nothing, right, No,

1301
01:03:24,719 --> 01:03:27,960
but uh, it's but when you start from such a

1302
01:03:27,960 --> 01:03:31,079
low baseline like that, that kind of gets you in trouble,

1303
01:03:31,400 --> 01:03:31,719
does it.

1304
01:03:31,719 --> 01:03:34,400
Speaker 1: It has to make it maybe the words not enjoyable,

1305
01:03:34,440 --> 01:03:37,920
but there has to be more hopefulness involved here, because yeah,

1306
01:03:37,920 --> 01:03:39,880
you're working off a low baseline, but there's like that

1307
01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,360
has to be last year's rock bottom from like that

1308
01:03:42,480 --> 01:03:45,880
experience perspective where it's even if they only win, let's

1309
01:03:45,920 --> 01:03:48,119
say they hit the under on this, but it's like, oh,

1310
01:03:48,159 --> 01:03:50,039
they still won like twenty three games twenty four years,

1311
01:03:50,079 --> 01:03:52,199
Like that's ten more. It's eleven more than last year.

1312
01:03:52,320 --> 01:03:55,360
Like that that just makes experience a little bit more enjoyable,

1313
01:03:55,639 --> 01:03:58,320
I would think. The other I guess it's a twofold

1314
01:03:58,400 --> 01:04:00,480
thing is in the East, what would bend fit them

1315
01:04:00,480 --> 01:04:03,960
winning more games is like the Nets and the Wizards

1316
01:04:04,000 --> 01:04:06,320
are coming out the gate. They don't give a fuck,

1317
01:04:06,480 --> 01:04:08,599
like you just you know, like that's going to happen.

1318
01:04:08,639 --> 01:04:09,960
And I think that's the right move for them. I

1319
01:04:10,000 --> 01:04:12,039
want to be clear. And then there's like some other

1320
01:04:12,119 --> 01:04:15,199
teams where Charlotte's always injured. I think they're better if

1321
01:04:15,199 --> 01:04:18,320
they're healthy, But will they be healthy in Toronto and

1322
01:04:18,440 --> 01:04:20,440
Chicago and Atlanta a kind of caught. It's like one

1323
01:04:20,480 --> 01:04:22,360
of those teams the floor is gonna be ripped out

1324
01:04:22,360 --> 01:04:24,800
from underneath them, and at Chicago, Uh so we don't

1325
01:04:24,800 --> 01:04:26,480
even really need to talk about the other two. So

1326
01:04:26,519 --> 01:04:29,239
I think that benefits them where the bottom of the East,

1327
01:04:29,320 --> 01:04:34,159
there's gonna be more wins available. But I would ask you, like,

1328
01:04:34,320 --> 01:04:36,960
is that something this team is interested in in making

1329
01:04:37,559 --> 01:04:40,440
progress in the form of winning games? I think when

1330
01:04:40,480 --> 01:04:42,960
you see so many veterans that they signed, my guess

1331
01:04:43,000 --> 01:04:46,719
would be yes. But like, is there also a chance like, oh,

1332
01:04:46,719 --> 01:04:49,159
it's the trade deadline, it's you know, we're still clearly

1333
01:04:49,199 --> 01:04:52,719
not in playing territory, Like do they will call it

1334
01:04:52,760 --> 01:04:55,760
morean like late season shenanigans? Like are those potentially in

1335
01:04:55,760 --> 01:04:58,519
play if this roster's healthy. I want to make it clear,

1336
01:04:58,599 --> 01:05:00,400
not if injuries kind of force their hand.

1337
01:05:00,639 --> 01:05:04,079
Speaker 2: No. I definitely think you'll see some like April shenanigans

1338
01:05:04,559 --> 01:05:08,320
with this roster. I think this team is better suited

1339
01:05:08,519 --> 01:05:13,039
to win games early in the season. I also think, like,

1340
01:05:13,039 --> 01:05:15,760
like the Malik Beasley signing, that's definitely like a hey

1341
01:05:15,920 --> 01:05:19,239
like contender. Would you like some Malik Beasley at the

1342
01:05:19,239 --> 01:05:22,519
trade deadline for for like an early second round pick.

1343
01:05:22,559 --> 01:05:26,079
I bet you would right like that. There's there's a

1344
01:05:26,119 --> 01:05:29,320
setup for that. So what I'll I'd rather.

1345
01:05:29,159 --> 01:05:32,159
Speaker 1: Have Malik Beasley than an early second round pick. If

1346
01:05:32,159 --> 01:05:34,599
I'm the Pistons, I'm just like Pearl clutching all the

1347
01:05:34,599 --> 01:05:36,480
shooting for this roster on the line.

1348
01:05:38,079 --> 01:05:41,400
Speaker 2: I like Malik Beasley. I think you will contribute. I

1349
01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:45,159
also think that, like you could find a different Milik Beasley,

1350
01:05:45,280 --> 01:05:47,119
like not super difficulty.

1351
01:05:47,239 --> 01:05:50,880
Speaker 1: Apparently shooting shooters don't get paid anymore, so you'll find

1352
01:05:50,880 --> 01:05:52,119
them next year in the open market.

1353
01:05:52,159 --> 01:05:55,119
Speaker 2: I guess fewer people got paid, just like in general,

1354
01:05:55,280 --> 01:05:58,639
teams are terrified of the second apron. But the thing

1355
01:05:58,639 --> 01:06:02,519
I'll say is that, as a young team who needs

1356
01:06:03,119 --> 01:06:06,400
things to look forward to early in the season, before

1357
01:06:07,039 --> 01:06:10,280
the squirreliness begins to happen, what I would want to

1358
01:06:10,320 --> 01:06:14,400
see from the Pistons is to be to treat the

1359
01:06:14,880 --> 01:06:16,760
what is it now, it's the NBA Cup, I was

1360
01:06:16,800 --> 01:06:18,400
going to say n Season tournament. It's not the n

1361
01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:21,960
season tournament anymore, But to treat the NBA Cup games

1362
01:06:22,000 --> 01:06:26,559
like very serious games that you need to win, making

1363
01:06:26,800 --> 01:06:29,480
making like I don't expect them to make it to

1364
01:06:29,519 --> 01:06:32,039
like the second level of the bracket or whatever. But

1365
01:06:32,239 --> 01:06:34,880
they just got like absolutely destroyed in all their n

1366
01:06:34,960 --> 01:06:37,719
season tournament games because teams were like, oh, like we

1367
01:06:37,719 --> 01:06:40,280
need to kind of get up for this one. And

1368
01:06:40,360 --> 01:06:43,440
having that not be the case, being competitive like in

1369
01:06:43,519 --> 01:06:46,599
those games in particular, and aiming at those games as

1370
01:06:46,639 --> 01:06:48,719
something like, hey, like we know that they want this,

1371
01:06:48,840 --> 01:06:51,599
like we should want this too, and having that something

1372
01:06:51,639 --> 01:06:54,039
you'd be, having that be something you worked towards early

1373
01:06:54,079 --> 01:06:56,000
in the season is something I would like to see

1374
01:06:56,039 --> 01:06:57,320
them prioritize.

1375
01:06:57,559 --> 01:06:59,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I really I also want a team like the Piston.

1376
01:07:00,119 --> 01:07:01,880
I know the Pacers were kind of like they burst

1377
01:07:01,920 --> 01:07:03,920
on a national scene, but we knew the Pacers weren't

1378
01:07:03,920 --> 01:07:05,920
going to suck last year. I want a team that's

1379
01:07:05,960 --> 01:07:08,039
like very early on or like going through this more

1380
01:07:08,079 --> 01:07:10,599
gradual process like to go off. It's like, give me

1381
01:07:10,599 --> 01:07:12,599
the Wizards of the Pistons winning me. And can we

1382
01:07:12,639 --> 01:07:15,119
call it something else like the NBA Goblet or Chalie,

1383
01:07:15,159 --> 01:07:16,400
Like we need to come up with a better name

1384
01:07:16,480 --> 01:07:19,639
for what the mid season tournament like title is called.

1385
01:07:20,000 --> 01:07:22,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, the the NBA Cup is now sponsored by Immirates,

1386
01:07:23,039 --> 01:07:24,440
And when I first saw that, I was like wait,

1387
01:07:24,480 --> 01:07:28,199
they're playing in Dubai in like November, Like why, Like,

1388
01:07:28,320 --> 01:07:34,199
oh no, just just sponsored, but that's that's definitely coming.

1389
01:07:34,920 --> 01:07:37,360
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I didn't even think of it like that.

1390
01:07:37,440 --> 01:07:41,639
You're probably right, though, Uh okay, So is there anything

1391
01:07:41,840 --> 01:07:44,440
anyone that I didn't ask you about related to this

1392
01:07:44,480 --> 01:07:46,800
team you think we need discuss to discuss before I

1393
01:07:46,840 --> 01:07:47,639
let you skiddattle.

1394
01:07:48,239 --> 01:07:51,639
Speaker 2: We we didn't really discuss the vets in only as

1395
01:07:51,679 --> 01:07:54,199
far as to say that, like, hey, we think they

1396
01:07:54,199 --> 01:07:56,039
will make Kate and the rest of the team better

1397
01:07:56,039 --> 01:08:00,239
and introduce a baseline confidence. But like Tobia serious doesn't

1398
01:08:00,320 --> 01:08:03,280
suck man, Like he's sucked in his role, and he

1399
01:08:03,400 --> 01:08:07,480
sucked in like high profile, high leverage situations. There won't

1400
01:08:07,519 --> 01:08:10,599
be any of that in Detroit. Like he'll just be good.

1401
01:08:10,800 --> 01:08:13,599
He'll just be like a fine like nineteen and six,

1402
01:08:13,639 --> 01:08:17,560
And like the Pistons honestly really could use another like

1403
01:08:17,680 --> 01:08:21,520
nineteen and six that like didn't take fifty million shots

1404
01:08:21,520 --> 01:08:25,159
to like get to that point. So I think Tobias

1405
01:08:25,199 --> 01:08:27,319
has a chance to like re establish some goodwill for

1406
01:08:27,399 --> 01:08:30,600
himself in the larger NBA community this season, and I

1407
01:08:30,640 --> 01:08:32,119
want to see that happen for him.

1408
01:08:32,920 --> 01:08:34,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think he was also even when he was

1409
01:08:34,920 --> 01:08:36,800
playing well, Like there was a point in Philly where

1410
01:08:36,800 --> 01:08:38,680
it was like he was just quite like a perfect

1411
01:08:38,720 --> 01:08:40,920
three and D weapon for them, like he was really

1412
01:08:40,960 --> 01:08:43,720
defending his butt off. But I also think that even

1413
01:08:43,800 --> 01:08:47,319
during that stretch, everybody looked at his contract number, and

1414
01:08:47,399 --> 01:08:51,239
like we're so often guilty of we make players whose

1415
01:08:51,239 --> 01:08:53,880
contracts we don't necessarily like or think of positive value,

1416
01:08:53,920 --> 01:08:56,680
Like we just assume that player sucks, and it's like

1417
01:08:56,960 --> 01:08:59,279
it becomes tough to separate. We do it with young

1418
01:08:59,319 --> 01:09:01,159
players too. I mean, I hope I don't do it

1419
01:09:01,159 --> 01:09:03,560
specifically too much, but like think about all the players

1420
01:09:03,600 --> 01:09:07,640
who were super intriguing, Like remember Tyler Hero before he

1421
01:09:07,760 --> 01:09:10,399
signs his extension, and it's like, oh no, whoa Tyler

1422
01:09:10,439 --> 01:09:13,159
Hero is awful? And so it's like there's that tendency

1423
01:09:13,239 --> 01:09:15,319
like once these players start to make more, if they're

1424
01:09:15,520 --> 01:09:18,399
if you're paying the third option what some people believe

1425
01:09:18,399 --> 01:09:20,119
to be too much money, Chris Middleton's kind of going

1426
01:09:20,159 --> 01:09:22,199
through it right now in Milwaukee. I think, so I

1427
01:09:22,199 --> 01:09:24,640
would agree with you. I'm curiously how good he is.

1428
01:09:24,760 --> 01:09:26,960
But like I said, to reference Kaitlyn Cooper again, like

1429
01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:29,399
the Philly feels like Tobias Harrison Philly feels like a

1430
01:09:29,439 --> 01:09:31,359
perfect soul tax situation.

1431
01:09:31,960 --> 01:09:35,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, and on on your point about uh, like guys

1432
01:09:35,439 --> 01:09:38,479
becoming their contract, I'll be really curious to see how

1433
01:09:38,560 --> 01:09:42,439
like if Isaiah Hartenstein like doesn't fix okay, sees like

1434
01:09:42,560 --> 01:09:45,680
rebounding thing. It's like we're paying thirty million dollars for

1435
01:09:45,760 --> 01:09:48,119
this guy and he's like not doing the only thing

1436
01:09:48,159 --> 01:09:50,119
we need him to do. It's like I can see

1437
01:09:50,119 --> 01:09:52,359
that situation like turning ugly, like very quickly.

1438
01:09:53,000 --> 01:09:55,159
Speaker 1: Yeah, I see like and sometimes I free even so

1439
01:09:55,199 --> 01:09:57,720
I look at the Hartenstein situation specifically, I'm like, I

1440
01:09:57,720 --> 01:09:59,600
feel like they paid a we're not going to play

1441
01:09:59,600 --> 01:10:02,039
you as much whause you want tax on this, whereas

1442
01:10:02,039 --> 01:10:04,199
like you're probably not gonna close because they view Chet

1443
01:10:04,199 --> 01:10:06,399
Holmgren as a center in most cases. And like I

1444
01:10:06,479 --> 01:10:08,520
don't think he's gonna start I haven't really dug into this,

1445
01:10:08,680 --> 01:10:10,640
like what's gonna happen with the Thunder next season yet,

1446
01:10:11,399 --> 01:10:14,319
but you're absolutely right, Like I'm sure people are already

1447
01:10:14,319 --> 01:10:16,279
doing it. It's like why Isaiah hart and start getting

1448
01:10:16,640 --> 01:10:18,720
all this money? And it was also I think he

1449
01:10:18,800 --> 01:10:21,199
might have contributed to and even seeing what happened if

1450
01:10:21,199 --> 01:10:23,840
you want to found Tunis. After that hit job on

1451
01:10:23,920 --> 01:10:26,680
Jared Allen and the Athletic by anonymous sources related to

1452
01:10:26,680 --> 01:10:28,760
the Cavaliers, I was shocked he's on an extension, but

1453
01:10:28,800 --> 01:10:30,079
I think he also kind of looked at it and

1454
01:10:30,199 --> 01:10:32,279
was like, all right, people will still get caught. Like

1455
01:10:32,359 --> 01:10:34,359
Jared down at thirty million a year feels like a lot.

1456
01:10:34,720 --> 01:10:36,760
It's not in relation to the cap. And to be honest,

1457
01:10:36,760 --> 01:10:38,560
like he probably thought like maybe he would get more

1458
01:10:38,920 --> 01:10:40,439
in two years. But you're looking kind of the lay

1459
01:10:40,439 --> 01:10:42,720
of the land for non superstars right now, It's like, no,

1460
01:10:42,760 --> 01:10:44,199
I better take this money right now.

1461
01:10:44,600 --> 01:10:50,800
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, especially uh, non offensive like Creators Centers. It's

1462
01:10:50,880 --> 01:10:55,119
like take whatever money you can get poor like like

1463
01:10:55,159 --> 01:10:58,479
Mitchell Robinson and like Robert Williams the third Like I

1464
01:10:58,479 --> 01:11:00,600
have no idea what like those next those guys is

1465
01:11:00,640 --> 01:11:02,560
like next contracts are going to look like right.

1466
01:11:03,800 --> 01:11:05,560
Speaker 1: I would pay if he was healthy. I'd probably pay

1467
01:11:05,600 --> 01:11:07,439
Rober Williams a third and one god the amount of money,

1468
01:11:07,439 --> 01:11:11,399
which is good that I'm not running an NBA team. Then, last,

1469
01:11:11,600 --> 01:11:14,520
this was so great. As always, I always appreciate your time.

1470
01:11:14,520 --> 01:11:17,079
I appreciate your insight even more. Are you able just

1471
01:11:17,079 --> 01:11:19,560
to tell our listeners where they can find you and

1472
01:11:19,640 --> 01:11:22,079
all the fantastic stuff that you are. You want me

1473
01:11:22,119 --> 01:11:25,199
to say xing about no, don't don't. I don't want

1474
01:11:25,199 --> 01:11:25,800
to say it either.

1475
01:11:27,520 --> 01:11:31,039
Speaker 2: Well then Dan, I always I will say, I always

1476
01:11:31,079 --> 01:11:35,119
appreciate you having me on. I feel very valued by

1477
01:11:35,319 --> 01:11:39,039
your continued apprisal of my expertise. That makes me feel good.

1478
01:11:39,800 --> 01:11:42,199
People can follow me on Twitter, not x on Twitter

1479
01:11:42,560 --> 01:11:45,399
at last chance that's at la z c h A

1480
01:11:45,600 --> 01:11:49,319
n ce uh now that I might like, I just

1481
01:11:49,359 --> 01:11:51,960
did a move, so I'm back in Michigan now, and

1482
01:11:52,039 --> 01:11:55,159
so I'm hopeful, like I'll buy a house eventually and

1483
01:11:55,199 --> 01:11:56,960
then I'll be really settled in and then I'll start

1484
01:11:56,960 --> 01:11:58,920
writing it to Troy Bad Boys again. But I will

1485
01:11:58,920 --> 01:12:03,239
say the podcast due of Blake Silverman and West Davenport

1486
01:12:03,479 --> 01:12:05,560
have done a really great job with their podcast The

1487
01:12:05,600 --> 01:12:08,159
pin Down for Us over Detroit bad Boys. So check

1488
01:12:08,199 --> 01:12:10,720
out that podcast. And then yeah, I did the UH.

1489
01:12:11,560 --> 01:12:13,920
I was like guest host for like a month on

1490
01:12:14,199 --> 01:12:18,560
James Edwards the Third's UH Patreon podcast, The Detroit Players

1491
01:12:18,560 --> 01:12:21,800
podcast that's like three bucks a month. Check that out

1492
01:12:21,840 --> 01:12:25,000
as well. You get great insight. But yeah, you'll you'll

1493
01:12:25,039 --> 01:12:27,720
see me a little bit of everywhere during the season,

1494
01:12:27,800 --> 01:12:28,960
and that's the way I like it.

1495
01:12:29,399 --> 01:12:31,920
Speaker 1: I love it, Love your tweets, miss your the pin

1496
01:12:32,039 --> 01:12:34,079
down is very good. I'll second that that's the most

1497
01:12:34,279 --> 01:12:38,000
Like frequent Pistons podcast I listened to, I miss your

1498
01:12:38,039 --> 01:12:40,039
podcasting and I've actually shouted you out a bunch of

1499
01:12:40,039 --> 01:12:43,199
times as when I'm doing solo episodes, which I hate doing.

1500
01:12:43,520 --> 01:12:45,520
Our audience doesn't seem to mind them, though, which is

1501
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:46,720
I mean, that's a good thing.

1502
01:12:47,000 --> 01:12:48,760
Speaker 2: You've done a good job with them. Again, like I

1503
01:12:48,800 --> 01:12:50,239
listened like, you've done a good job with them.

1504
01:12:50,359 --> 01:12:52,399
Speaker 1: I just buse them. You when you were doing your

1505
01:12:52,439 --> 01:12:55,039
Pistons podcast, and a lot of it was solo, You

1506
01:12:55,399 --> 01:12:58,920
and Keith Parrish like two of the best solo podcasters

1507
01:12:58,920 --> 01:13:01,880
I've ever listened to, where his case watched and so

1508
01:13:02,000 --> 01:13:03,279
kudos to you for being able to do that. I

1509
01:13:03,319 --> 01:13:06,039
miss hearing your your voice on podcast though, so hopefully

1510
01:13:06,039 --> 01:13:07,880
that that can be remedied at some point in the

1511
01:13:08,000 --> 01:13:09,800
in the near future. Thank you so much. Once again,

1512
01:13:09,840 --> 01:13:11,079
take care, I'll talk to you soon. Last