Nick Wright reacts to the Dallas Mavericks selecting Duke's Cooper Flagg with the number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Is Dallas an NBA Finals contender with Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving set to return later in the season? Later, Nick breaks down the Phoenix Suns trading Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets... is Houston Nick's pick to win the Western Conference with KD? Then, Nick shares why Tyrese Haliburton made the right decision to play in Pacers-Thunder Game 7 despite tearing his Achilles. #Volume #Herd
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. Let's get to Kevin Durant.
He's headed to his fourteen in four years?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Is that correct? Thirteen thirteen? Sorry for the Rockets even
they borrowed your strategy. It's the Landam that you pitched
on your show.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I mean, it was my exact trade. Just to be clear,
everybody was throwing out do they have to include Jabari Smith?
Do they have to include Taris? And the trade that
I put out on first Things first that was roundly
mocked was Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks and Phoenix's twenty twenty
(00:43):
seven first going back to Phoenix. The trade that just
happened was Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks and Phoenix's twenty twenty
five first going back to Phoenix plus some second rounders.
It was the exact trade. And for the record, the
(01:05):
trade that I put out there for the Timberwolves to
offer was Gobert, Devincenzo and Dillingham for Kevin Durant. What
was reported today was the trade the Timberwolves offered was
Gobert Devincenzo, Dillingham and one first round pick for Durant.
(01:34):
I listen, I'm not trying to I'm not trying to
infringe on Bill Simmons' territory of the Picasso of the
trade machine. But you know, some are saying the torch
has been passed. Some are saying it like you just
go go and check the archives of what the actual
(01:55):
teams were offering and compare them to all the trades
I came up with on first things, and see what
other people were describing on their platforms, and just you know,
let history be the judge, all right, but go ahead,
sorry about that, since it's injury.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
In twenty nineteen, he's won a grand total of two
playoff series. Do you think the Rockets does sound like
you think the Rockets are a real contender or do
you think they'll end up like previous teams that he's
ended up laying on, like nets of the Suns.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So listen, it's different situations, right the Nets, he was
unbelievable In twenty twenty one postseason with the Nets Unbelievable
lost a historic series to Jannisianis goes on to win
(02:47):
the title. Since then, nothing's gone right and the Suns
never were going to be a contender. It was a
terribly built team. It was him and Booker and Beale
never made sense. And listen, Katie is older, He's not
the defender he once was, and his injury concerns are real.
(03:11):
With that, said Demonse, I think that. I think that
right now, this moment, I'd pick the Rockets to win
the West. Now that might change, most notably if the
Lakers are able to handle their center situation. But your
(03:36):
starting five is going to be Fred Van Vliet, I'm
in Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith, Alpern Shinghoon off the bench.
You are going to have Terry Eesen, Steven Adams, who
we saw Adams and Shangoon play really well in that
two big lineup, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Shepherd, who was
(03:59):
a top five pick last year that is a sniper
from three and that Udoka just didn't play because he
couldn't defend and was a rookie. So now you go
from a team that didn't have shot making that has
Kevin freaking Durant and potentially Reed Shepherd getting minutes. They
are deep, they are well coached, they are great defensively.
(04:21):
Jalen Green was an abomination in the playoffs. Wait and
now Kevin Durant steps in for him.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
There was a trend. It was halliburden I can't I remember.
I forget the other guy. But I mean, what if,
what if Jalen Green turns out to be a star,
like you know, if he just needed a little bit
of a little bit of a trackway and he just
ends up being I mean, Katie, what do you say
thirty six years old?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
He's thirty seven. I am not a Jalen Green, believe
and so the I am.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Oh it was Sga. It was Halliburdon and Sga. Those
are the two players because they think they traded him
for old stars. As Paul Joyan, I think, oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
I got you. Yeah so I I think Jalen Green
is a bit of an empty calories guy. He's a
decent shooter, not a great shooter. From threes thirty five
percent last year, thirty four percent for his career. He's
not that efficient. Outside of his threes, he's forty two
(05:23):
percent last year and the year before and the year
before that. And I don't love when my young players
aren't showing market improvement. He year two, Jalen Green twenty
two a game, year three, twenty a game, year four,
twenty one a game. So I and I certainly don't
(05:45):
see what Phoenix is like. Phoenix is just like they
have one hundred guards and nothing else, but they don't
know what they're doing. That's fine. It is a short
term bet for sure, Demonse. But it's a short term
bet that I could net them a finals. Now for Durant.
(06:07):
Durant his last six years in Oklahoma City made four
conference finals and one NBA finals. His three years in
Golden State obviously made all three conference finals, made all
three NBA finals. He he then leaves there and as
(06:30):
you mentioned, has won two series total and not been
out around two. I would love to see Kevin Durant
with one more deep playoff run. I would love to
see Durant remind people how great he still is because
he is man and all.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And I love that he went to the Rockets, the
team that the Golden You know, the Rockets couldn't get
over Golden State. Katie's like, I'm gonna help you guys.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
That well, And and here's the other thing. The Rockets
couldn't get over Golden State, and who are the Rockets
trying to get over? Now Oklahoma City, Katie's old team,
and so there is some nice kind of storylines there.
(07:20):
I think it's a perfect fit. And they didn't give
up too much. They kept their depth, they kept their flexibility.
I think oddly they actually still if he were to
come available mid season, might have the ability to still
trade for Giannis and like that. I don't think that's
(07:44):
off the board. The who were you saying trade for
your honest the Rockets? The Rockets. Yeah, I think let me,
I can try to do this on the fly real quick,
and then we're gonna have to move on. But I
think I think we can make the salaries work because
(08:04):
you so let me turn this off. Fred van Vliet
is forty four million, Giannis is fifty four. So if
you if you were to send, for instance, Fred van
Vliet read Shepherd, let me just see if that if
(08:30):
that works, so the salaries I believe Fred van Vliet
and Shepherd work, and then Houston would have to include
all the Phoenix picks that they have twenty twenty nine
and twenty twenty seven, the Brooklyn pick that they have
in twenty twenty seven, Like you could make a trade,
(08:53):
that is, if you are, if you're the Rockets, where
you are sending out Fred van Vliet read Shepherd and
(09:14):
the following picks, you could send them the what picks
would they probably want? Yeah, there we go. You could
send them if I'm reading this properly, Fred van Vliet
read Shepherd and Brooklyn's first in twenty twenty seven, Phoenix
(09:38):
is first in twenty twenty seven, Dallas is first in
twenty twenty nine, Phoenix is first in twenty twenty nine,
and Houston's first their own first in twenty thirty. Those
are valuable, prime first round picks. And so my point
is I don't think they're going to do that. But
(10:00):
the point is it's not like by going for Durant
they hunted on any chance at Yannis, and I think
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dot co, slash audio tyres Haliburton.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Try to play through that injury obviously towards Achilles. You
committed him on first scens first or playing through that
is his injury in game seven. The single biggest story
of the finals or the playoffs included.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
No, I don't think so. The story has to be
the champion. But the most memorable piece of this is
his injury. And so I said almost all of this
on TV, but I want to reiterate it here. It's
two things. One is, you know I am not going
(12:41):
to run from or pretend that after game six I
didn't have real questions. No, I definitely hold on that
that didn't happen. I did. At no point did I call.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Him, No, you didn't see You were like, if you're
if you're moving around like you got to play in well.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
And what I said was he didn't look hurt. That
it seemed like like it was. I said that for
a guy to have a calf strain and supposed to
be out a month or a few weeks, which is
what the reporting, was pretty much right to injure it
(13:26):
and then play after the injury in game in game five,
played twenty seven minutes after the injury, and then in
game six was awesome. I said, like, is unlike any
calf strain I've ever seen.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I actually was watching game seven with some active NBA
players and when it happened, everybody all reacted the same,
but I, I just said, I was like, how I
(14:03):
was like, if it was that close to tearing, how
did he move like that in game six? And what
one player in particular said to me was said two
things that I thought were fascinating. He said, in our league,
the calf strain is the new torn MCL, like a
(14:25):
scary precursor of a potential devastating injury. And the other
thing they said was the calf strain, it's not it's
not like a hamstring, where it when it happens, you
just simply can't save as well, right, right, But it's
(14:48):
it's that he's like with a hamstring or a groin,
you can see that impact it has. Because of how
NBA players move, they can't move as well. They're like
with a calf, you can move a lot of times
like okay, and you won't see it. But the only
(15:09):
way to get it to heal it is to stay
off it, right, He was, like, it has if you
get a calf strained, it's got to be what I
was he told me, was three or four weeks of nothing,
of just flatly staying off it or else you risk that.
And so I listen. I didn't know that. And so
(15:32):
when I saw Hallie moving around like he was in
game six, like the timeline of my Halliburton takes where
game five I in Demon's disagreed with me on it.
I didn't really cut him a lot of slack for
a zero field goal, oh for six performance, uh, because
he was playing and in game six he was so
(15:53):
fluid and so good. I thought, okay, like he's you know,
dodge the bullet here. Of course he's gonna play game seven.
Of course he was gonna play game six and then
in game seven minutes and he tears his achilles. So
all that happened right, and people can judge it however
(16:15):
they want, like that's fair, is fair? The here is
my updated if you will opinion that maybe people will
judge this as well. It's good that he played. He
was supposed to play, he wanted to play, and he
(16:39):
took a risk that he was supposed to take. When
you and people were like, well, it cost them all.
It cost him and them all of next year. If
the goal of team sports is to win a championship,
(17:03):
games six and seven of these NBA Finals, Demonse had
more championship equity attached to him the next season in
its entirety for the Indiana Pacers, like when you are
that close, like those games are worth more in your
(17:26):
chance to win a championship than the entirety of next season.
They just are and the goal your mindset, and also
just for your teams, like for the Pacers, the what
Halliburton's performance in game six and even just the five
(17:48):
minutes of game seven added more to the Pacers championship
probability than him having a full all NBA season next year,
because even if that happens, like you still have to
get through the whole tournament and get there, and so
they were there. So the only and qualifier I think
(18:12):
that one would put on it is yes, that's all true.
The goal of team sports to win a championship, with
the goal of anyone in what they do for a
living is to make a living for them and their family.
So if Tyrese Haliburton were in the final year of
a rookie contract and hadn't been you know, re signed,
(18:34):
then you do have to do some personal math on
what this means for me and the people I care
about and all of that. But when you are Tyrese
Haliburton and you are in the first year of a
five year, two hundred and fifty million dollar contract and
(18:56):
you can play and play well through the injury while
risking catastrophe, which is what happened, playing is the right thing.
He made the right call. It went terribly for him,
but he made the right call. And by the way,
(19:17):
I said this on TV yesterday and then he today
or last night tweeted this well, tweeted a lot. But
one of the things he wrote is the following I'll
(19:39):
just read you the whole thing. Man. Don't know how
to explain it other than shock. Words cannot express the
pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I've worked
my whole life to get to this moment, and this
is how it ends. Makes no sense. Your heart breaks
like for real, now that I've gotten the surgery of
wish you could count the number of times people will
(20:00):
tell me I'm going to quote come back stronger. What
a cliche. Lol, This shit sucks. My foot feels like
dead weight, fam But what's hurting most, I think is
my mind. Feel like I'm rambling. But I know this
is something I'll look back on when I'm through this
as something I'm proud I fought through. It feels good
(20:20):
to let this shit out without y'all seeing the kid
ugly cry. At twenty five, I've already learned that God
never gives us more than we can handle. I know
all come out better on the other side of this,
a better man and a better player. And this is
the part that I speaks to what I was saying,
And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don't
(20:42):
regret it. I do it again and again after that
to fight for this city and my brothers for the
chance to do something special. And he goes on from
there and everybody like people can check it out on Twitter.
That's right, that's right. And the point I made at
(21:05):
the top of the show that Brew made yesterday that
I think it was worth revisiting is I always go
back to that quote and it's guy. It's from the
guy who wrote The Road, never under who wrote the Road.
(21:27):
The road author uh Cormack McCarthy, and the quote is, uh,
never underestimate the awful luck that your bad luck saved
you from. And that has I That to me is
like a very from like a mental well being standpoint,
(21:49):
a very useful quote that I and for me as
a parent, I I it has helped me a ton.
The only really tough instance in uh my life since
I've started really kind of leaning on that kind of
mind frame that that didn't help at all with was
(22:10):
last year when our friend passed. Because there's no there's
no like silver lining to that. It's not like, oh well,
because it's the sudden death of a friend is you know,
it's as rough as it gets. But I had some
you know, anything bad that's happened to a loved one.
I've thought, I've tried to use that as a silver
(22:33):
lining or bad that's happened to me. And when I
see when I'm bringing up with Halliburn, is.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
This the the the road not taken for Halliburton is
don't play keep the's intact and for the rest of
your career, wonder what if and did you let your
(23:08):
teammates down?
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Did you let the city down? Did you was that
your what would you have gotten through it without getting hurt?
What did you leave your championship on the board? And
when I say, never underestimate the awful luck your bad
luck saved you from. Would that demonse have changed him
(23:30):
fundamentally as a player, a guy whose rep for this
postseason was the most cold blooded assassin at the end
of games? Would that decision tree have altered him? And
while his achilles would have been intact, would have changed
(23:52):
him forever? Maybe? Absolutely? Maybe so? I so I think
that he clearly made the right decision, even though it
was a tragic decision.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
The MAVs took Cooper Flag with the first pick, so
they extended Kyrie and Gafford. The question is if Kyrie
ends up healthy. Do you think that Dallas's contenders for
Dallas are contenders?
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Do you think they are? Yes?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
I do.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I knew you. I could tell just from the look
in your face, So go ahead.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, I mean, I was just telling the guys this morning.
The balance of defense and offense on that team also
paired in with the way I know it's your guy,
but the way that Luca was looking in the playoffs
last year, it just kind of seems like Beakole might
have had a grasp on the situation and what was
going on over there. And I like that team, Like
if Cooper flag pans out nicely, I hate that it
(24:52):
worked out for him, and you know he got that
they ended up with the number one pick.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
But with that number one pick, that's a that's a
squad right there. So so that let's go with a
Nico piece of this and then we'll get to the team.
Because Nico had a quote. Nico said, Fortune favors the
bold and on behalf of MAVs fans everywhere. I wanted
to break a TV. You do not. You do not
(25:21):
get to Trey Luca hold a press conference saying we
did this for this year because we think we are
better right now to win a championship this year or
next year, and then end up bad enough that you're
in the lottery and all lass backwards into the number
(25:44):
one pick and then be like all part of the plan.
If at that listen, honest to god, if at that
press conference he had said, listen, we are all about championships.
I even though we thought last year's finals appearance was
fool's gold, and we traded for Anthony Davis knowing he's
(26:07):
injured and by the way, he's going to take some
time to come back this year. This is not about
this season, and we may or may not even be
back in the playoffs this year. We're okay with this
because this is a long term play. And then you
end up with Cooper Flag then you can say, told
you a part of the plan. Didn't expect number one pick,
but we were going to add an impact player. Fine,
(26:30):
you don't get to be like we are doing this
to contend right now. You fall into the and then
be in the play in and be trying to win
the play in, lose, fall into the lottery, get the
number one pick, and be like Bang told you so.
That's first of all, but they are where they are.
Go ahead, Well, yeah, Just to be clear, I don't
(26:50):
want to give Nico. I don't want to.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Give him any credit for this, like it, no, the
Luca piece of it, Like I kind of can see
he's a little bit on something. It was a crazy trade,
but with it work painting out the way it did
and then getting that first pick.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
I think they have quite the squad on them right now. Okay,
so that's the real question is do they And my
answer to that question is I think right now they
are more than a touch over rated. And here's why
I listen. I heard and again this is not picking
(27:26):
on him. I think other people thought this, but I
heard this from I heard Stephen A yesterday say that
they think that he thinks they could be Oklahoma City's
biggest competitor. I disagree. And the reason I disagree is this,
I do.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Not care.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
How good you are, how what your profile is. In
the modern MBA, in particular, rookies that have to be
the focal point of a team's offense do not contribute
to winning flatly. They just don't. Like I understand, Magic
(28:12):
was great as a rookie, he was not the focal
point of the team's offense. Kareem was lebron as unbelievable
as he was. That Cavs team missed the playoffs. Michael
Jordan as a rookie I think, averaged twenty eight points
a game. That Bulls team won thirty eight games. Okay,
(28:37):
like asking rookies, hell take the MAVs with Luca that
Luca's first year he was Cooper, Flag's not going to
be better than Luca year one Luca. When year two
Luki was First Team All NBA, they won thirty three games. Now,
(28:58):
obviously those guys didn't have Anthony Davis on that on
their team and eventually Kyrie Irving, but so they should
be better than those records. But the point that I
am making is, as long as Kyrie is out and
I do not think Kyrie, I think expecting Kyrie to
(29:20):
be back before the All Star break is foolish. I
think Kyrie Irving, given his you know, knee history and
injury history and his size, in his age and you
just signed him to an extension, rushing him back would
be foolish. And until Kyrie comes back, you are going
(29:42):
to be asking your primary ball handler and your primary
creator to be an eighteen year old. Like I love
Flags Upside because of his age, but he's eighteen. He
turns nineteen in December, and you know, maybe Clay as
(30:03):
a bounceback year. He is not creating. Anthony Davis is awesome.
He is not creating. Gafford and PJ. Washington and Derek
Lively are all useful players, they are not creating. You
traded away a guy who could create a bit in
Quentin Grimes for reasons I don't totally understand to bring
(30:25):
in Caleb Martin. So like your secondary main creator is
gonna be Max Christie, the other part of the A
D trade until Kyrie gets back, and he is He's
just not good at creating shots. No, I don't dinwitt
Am I wrong? I thought Dinwitty was a free agent.
(30:48):
Maybe I'm the I don't so. I think Dinwitty right
now is the Uh maybe they bring him back, but
he's so, He's not on the roster right now, so
they I mean so, and Dinwitty is. I mean, there's
a reason that Dinwitties last few last contract was for
(31:09):
the league minimum, you know what I mean? Like he he.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Can be a microwave offense, but he is it's if
it's for the purpose of making it to where Cooper
Flag isn't your main guy, then you know, if well
Dinwitty's the alternative.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Sure something, and maybe that's something. And free agency hasn't
happened yet, and they obviously will you know, add some
some pieces. They will add something. I understand that, but
I I do not think it is rational to expect
the MAVs this next year with Kyrie playing. I don't know.
(31:49):
I would say thirty games at best, and I would
take the strong under on that with Anthony Davis. And
you know, if you if you right now as a
MAVs and if you were like, hey, ad is gonna
play sixty five games on the nose, you would be
like take it, like you know, I'll sign up for
that immediately. And with Cooper Flag being the youngest kid
(32:12):
in this draft class and you know, having a lot
on his plate, I don't think in twenty twenty this
coming season the MAVs are contenders. I do think that
if Kyrie comes back from that knee injury and looks
(32:35):
like he did before the knee injury, and Cooper Flag
is the guy that a lot of people think he
can be that in the season after this one, they
can be really good. So I don't. If I am
power ranking the West going into this coming season, I
(33:01):
personally would power rank it thunder Rockets, Lakers with an asterisk.
The asterisk being I'm assuming they are going to add
a major piece in the next ten days. Nuggets, Minnesota
(33:25):
four five, Golden State six, and then Dallas alongside the
Clipper Clippers seven eight. That's where that's where I think
they will be for next year. Now, in two years,
I think that could be different.
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. Let's get to Kevin Durant.
He's headed to his fourteen in four years?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Is that correct? Thirteen thirteen? Sorry for the Rockets even
they borrowed your strategy. It's the Landam that you pitched
on your show.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I mean, it was my exact trade. Just to be clear,
everybody was throwing out do they have to include Jabari Smith?
Do they have to include Taris? And the trade that
I put out on first Things first that was roundly
mocked was Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks and Phoenix's twenty twenty
(00:43):
seven first going back to Phoenix. The trade that just
happened was Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks and Phoenix's twenty twenty
five first going back to Phoenix plus some second rounders.
It was the exact trade. And for the record, the
(01:05):
trade that I put out there for the Timberwolves to
offer was Gobert, Devincenzo and Dillingham for Kevin Durant. What
was reported today was the trade the Timberwolves offered was
Gobert Devincenzo, Dillingham and one first round pick for Durant.
(01:34):
I listen, I'm not trying to I'm not trying to
infringe on Bill Simmons' territory of the Picasso of the
trade machine. But you know, some are saying the torch
has been passed. Some are saying it like you just
go go and check the archives of what the actual
(01:55):
teams were offering and compare them to all the trades
I came up with on first things, and see what
other people were describing on their platforms, and just you know,
let history be the judge, all right, but go ahead,
sorry about that, since it's injury.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
In twenty nineteen, he's won a grand total of two
playoff series. Do you think the Rockets does sound like
you think the Rockets are a real contender or do
you think they'll end up like previous teams that he's
ended up laying on, like nets of the Suns.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So listen, it's different situations, right the Nets, he was
unbelievable In twenty twenty one postseason with the Nets Unbelievable
lost a historic series to Jannisianis goes on to win
(02:47):
the title. Since then, nothing's gone right and the Suns
never were going to be a contender. It was a
terribly built team. It was him and Booker and Beale
never made sense. And listen, Katie is older, He's not
the defender he once was, and his injury concerns are real.
(03:11):
With that, said Demonse, I think that. I think that
right now, this moment, I'd pick the Rockets to win
the West. Now that might change, most notably if the
Lakers are able to handle their center situation. But your
(03:36):
starting five is going to be Fred Van Vliet, I'm
in Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith, Alpern Shinghoon off the bench.
You are going to have Terry Eesen, Steven Adams, who
we saw Adams and Shangoon play really well in that
two big lineup, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Shepherd, who was
(03:59):
a top five pick last year that is a sniper
from three and that Udoka just didn't play because he
couldn't defend and was a rookie. So now you go
from a team that didn't have shot making that has
Kevin freaking Durant and potentially Reed Shepherd getting minutes. They
are deep, they are well coached, they are great defensively.
(04:21):
Jalen Green was an abomination in the playoffs. Wait and
now Kevin Durant steps in for him.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
There was a trend. It was halliburden I can't I remember.
I forget the other guy. But I mean, what if,
what if Jalen Green turns out to be a star,
like you know, if he just needed a little bit
of a little bit of a trackway and he just
ends up being I mean, Katie, what do you say
thirty six years old?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
He's thirty seven. I am not a Jalen Green, believe
and so the I am.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Oh it was Sga. It was Halliburdon and Sga. Those
are the two players because they think they traded him
for old stars. As Paul Joyan, I think, oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
I got you. Yeah so I I think Jalen Green
is a bit of an empty calories guy. He's a
decent shooter, not a great shooter. From threes thirty five
percent last year, thirty four percent for his career. He's
not that efficient. Outside of his threes, he's forty two
(05:23):
percent last year and the year before and the year
before that. And I don't love when my young players
aren't showing market improvement. He year two, Jalen Green twenty
two a game, year three, twenty a game, year four,
twenty one a game. So I and I certainly don't
(05:45):
see what Phoenix is like. Phoenix is just like they
have one hundred guards and nothing else, but they don't
know what they're doing. That's fine. It is a short
term bet for sure, Demonse. But it's a short term
bet that I could net them a finals. Now for Durant.
(06:07):
Durant his last six years in Oklahoma City made four
conference finals and one NBA finals. His three years in
Golden State obviously made all three conference finals, made all
three NBA finals. He he then leaves there and as
(06:30):
you mentioned, has won two series total and not been
out around two. I would love to see Kevin Durant
with one more deep playoff run. I would love to
see Durant remind people how great he still is because
he is man and all.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And I love that he went to the Rockets, the
team that the Golden You know, the Rockets couldn't get
over Golden State. Katie's like, I'm gonna help you guys.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
That well, And and here's the other thing. The Rockets
couldn't get over Golden State, and who are the Rockets
trying to get over? Now Oklahoma City, Katie's old team,
and so there is some nice kind of storylines there.
(07:20):
I think it's a perfect fit. And they didn't give
up too much. They kept their depth, they kept their flexibility.
I think oddly they actually still if he were to
come available mid season, might have the ability to still
trade for Giannis and like that. I don't think that's
(07:44):
off the board. The who were you saying trade for
your honest the Rockets? The Rockets. Yeah, I think let me,
I can try to do this on the fly real quick,
and then we're gonna have to move on. But I
think I think we can make the salaries work because
(08:04):
you so let me turn this off. Fred van Vliet
is forty four million, Giannis is fifty four. So if
you if you were to send, for instance, Fred van
Vliet read Shepherd, let me just see if that if
(08:30):
that works, so the salaries I believe Fred van Vliet
and Shepherd work, and then Houston would have to include
all the Phoenix picks that they have twenty twenty nine
and twenty twenty seven, the Brooklyn pick that they have
in twenty twenty seven, Like you could make a trade,
(08:53):
that is, if you are, if you're the Rockets, where
you are sending out Fred van Vliet read Shepherd and
(09:14):
the following picks, you could send them the what picks
would they probably want? Yeah, there we go. You could
send them if I'm reading this properly, Fred van Vliet
read Shepherd and Brooklyn's first in twenty twenty seven, Phoenix
(09:38):
is first in twenty twenty seven, Dallas is first in
twenty twenty nine, Phoenix is first in twenty twenty nine,
and Houston's first their own first in twenty thirty. Those
are valuable, prime first round picks. And so my point
is I don't think they're going to do that. But
(10:00):
the point is it's not like by going for Durant
they hunted on any chance at Yannis, and I think
that's very useful. Let me tell you, guys, hotels in
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dot co, slash audio tyres Haliburton.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Try to play through that injury obviously towards Achilles. You
committed him on first scens first or playing through that
is his injury in game seven. The single biggest story
of the finals or the playoffs included.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
No, I don't think so. The story has to be
the champion. But the most memorable piece of this is
his injury. And so I said almost all of this
on TV, but I want to reiterate it here. It's
two things. One is, you know I am not going
(12:41):
to run from or pretend that after game six I
didn't have real questions. No, I definitely hold on that
that didn't happen. I did. At no point did I call.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Him, No, you didn't see You were like, if you're
if you're moving around like you got to play in well.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
And what I said was he didn't look hurt. That
it seemed like like it was. I said that for
a guy to have a calf strain and supposed to
be out a month or a few weeks, which is
what the reporting, was pretty much right to injure it
(13:26):
and then play after the injury in game in game five,
played twenty seven minutes after the injury, and then in
game six was awesome. I said, like, is unlike any
calf strain I've ever seen.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I actually was watching game seven with some active NBA
players and when it happened, everybody all reacted the same,
but I, I just said, I was like, how I
(14:03):
was like, if it was that close to tearing, how
did he move like that in game six? And what
one player in particular said to me was said two
things that I thought were fascinating. He said, in our league,
the calf strain is the new torn MCL, like a
(14:25):
scary precursor of a potential devastating injury. And the other
thing they said was the calf strain, it's not it's
not like a hamstring, where it when it happens, you
just simply can't save as well, right, right, But it's
(14:48):
it's that he's like with a hamstring or a groin,
you can see that impact it has. Because of how
NBA players move, they can't move as well. They're like
with a calf, you can move a lot of times
like okay, and you won't see it. But the only
(15:09):
way to get it to heal it is to stay
off it, right, He was, like, it has if you
get a calf strained, it's got to be what I
was he told me, was three or four weeks of nothing,
of just flatly staying off it or else you risk that.
And so I listen. I didn't know that. And so
(15:32):
when I saw Hallie moving around like he was in
game six, like the timeline of my Halliburton takes where
game five I in Demon's disagreed with me on it.
I didn't really cut him a lot of slack for
a zero field goal, oh for six performance, uh, because
he was playing and in game six he was so
(15:53):
fluid and so good. I thought, okay, like he's you know,
dodge the bullet here. Of course he's gonna play game seven.
Of course he was gonna play game six and then
in game seven minutes and he tears his achilles. So
all that happened right, and people can judge it however
(16:15):
they want, like that's fair, is fair? The here is
my updated if you will opinion that maybe people will
judge this as well. It's good that he played. He
was supposed to play, he wanted to play, and he
(16:39):
took a risk that he was supposed to take. When
you and people were like, well, it cost them all.
It cost him and them all of next year. If
the goal of team sports is to win a championship,
(17:03):
games six and seven of these NBA Finals, Demonse had
more championship equity attached to him the next season in
its entirety for the Indiana Pacers, like when you are
that close, like those games are worth more in your
(17:26):
chance to win a championship than the entirety of next season.
They just are and the goal your mindset, and also
just for your teams, like for the Pacers, the what
Halliburton's performance in game six and even just the five
(17:48):
minutes of game seven added more to the Pacers championship
probability than him having a full all NBA season next year,
because even if that happens, like you still have to
get through the whole tournament and get there, and so
they were there. So the only and qualifier I think
(18:12):
that one would put on it is yes, that's all true.
The goal of team sports to win a championship, with
the goal of anyone in what they do for a
living is to make a living for them and their family.
So if Tyrese Haliburton were in the final year of
a rookie contract and hadn't been you know, re signed,
(18:34):
then you do have to do some personal math on
what this means for me and the people I care
about and all of that. But when you are Tyrese
Haliburton and you are in the first year of a
five year, two hundred and fifty million dollar contract and
(18:56):
you can play and play well through the injury while
risking catastrophe, which is what happened, playing is the right thing.
He made the right call. It went terribly for him,
but he made the right call. And by the way,
(19:17):
I said this on TV yesterday and then he today
or last night tweeted this well, tweeted a lot. But
one of the things he wrote is the following I'll
(19:39):
just read you the whole thing. Man. Don't know how
to explain it other than shock. Words cannot express the
pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I've worked
my whole life to get to this moment, and this
is how it ends. Makes no sense. Your heart breaks
like for real, now that I've gotten the surgery of
wish you could count the number of times people will
(20:00):
tell me I'm going to quote come back stronger. What
a cliche. Lol, This shit sucks. My foot feels like
dead weight, fam But what's hurting most, I think is
my mind. Feel like I'm rambling. But I know this
is something I'll look back on when I'm through this
as something I'm proud I fought through. It feels good
(20:20):
to let this shit out without y'all seeing the kid
ugly cry. At twenty five, I've already learned that God
never gives us more than we can handle. I know
all come out better on the other side of this,
a better man and a better player. And this is
the part that I speaks to what I was saying,
And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don't
(20:42):
regret it. I do it again and again after that
to fight for this city and my brothers for the
chance to do something special. And he goes on from
there and everybody like people can check it out on Twitter.
That's right, that's right. And the point I made at
(21:05):
the top of the show that Brew made yesterday that
I think it was worth revisiting is I always go
back to that quote and it's guy. It's from the
guy who wrote The Road, never under who wrote the Road.
(21:27):
The road author uh Cormack McCarthy, and the quote is, uh,
never underestimate the awful luck that your bad luck saved
you from. And that has I That to me is
like a very from like a mental well being standpoint,
(21:49):
a very useful quote that I and for me as
a parent, I I it has helped me a ton.
The only really tough instance in uh my life since
I've started really kind of leaning on that kind of
mind frame that that didn't help at all with was
(22:10):
last year when our friend passed. Because there's no there's
no like silver lining to that. It's not like, oh well,
because it's the sudden death of a friend is you know,
it's as rough as it gets. But I had some
you know, anything bad that's happened to a loved one.
I've thought, I've tried to use that as a silver
(22:33):
lining or bad that's happened to me. And when I
see when I'm bringing up with Halliburn, is.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
This the the the road not taken for Halliburton is
don't play keep the's intact and for the rest of
your career, wonder what if and did you let your
(23:08):
teammates down?
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Did you let the city down? Did you was that
your what would you have gotten through it without getting hurt?
What did you leave your championship on the board? And
when I say, never underestimate the awful luck your bad
luck saved you from. Would that demonse have changed him
(23:30):
fundamentally as a player, a guy whose rep for this
postseason was the most cold blooded assassin at the end
of games? Would that decision tree have altered him? And
while his achilles would have been intact, would have changed
(23:52):
him forever? Maybe? Absolutely? Maybe so? I so I think
that he clearly made the right decision, even though it
was a tragic decision.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
The MAVs took Cooper Flag with the first pick, so
they extended Kyrie and Gafford. The question is if Kyrie
ends up healthy. Do you think that Dallas's contenders for
Dallas are contenders?
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Do you think they are? Yes?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
I do.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I knew you. I could tell just from the look
in your face, So go ahead.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, I mean, I was just telling the guys this morning.
The balance of defense and offense on that team also
paired in with the way I know it's your guy,
but the way that Luca was looking in the playoffs
last year, it just kind of seems like Beakole might
have had a grasp on the situation and what was
going on over there. And I like that team, Like
if Cooper flag pans out nicely, I hate that it
(24:52):
worked out for him, and you know he got that
they ended up with the number one pick.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
But with that number one pick, that's a that's a
squad right there. So so that let's go with a
Nico piece of this and then we'll get to the team.
Because Nico had a quote. Nico said, Fortune favors the
bold and on behalf of MAVs fans everywhere. I wanted
to break a TV. You do not. You do not
(25:21):
get to Trey Luca hold a press conference saying we
did this for this year because we think we are
better right now to win a championship this year or
next year, and then end up bad enough that you're
in the lottery and all lass backwards into the number
(25:44):
one pick and then be like all part of the plan.
If at that listen, honest to god, if at that
press conference he had said, listen, we are all about championships.
I even though we thought last year's finals appearance was
fool's gold, and we traded for Anthony Davis knowing he's
(26:07):
injured and by the way, he's going to take some
time to come back this year. This is not about
this season, and we may or may not even be
back in the playoffs this year. We're okay with this
because this is a long term play. And then you
end up with Cooper Flag then you can say, told
you a part of the plan. Didn't expect number one pick,
but we were going to add an impact player. Fine,
(26:30):
you don't get to be like we are doing this
to contend right now. You fall into the and then
be in the play in and be trying to win
the play in, lose, fall into the lottery, get the
number one pick, and be like Bang told you so.
That's first of all, but they are where they are.
Go ahead, Well, yeah, Just to be clear, I don't
(26:50):
want to give Nico. I don't want to.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Give him any credit for this, like it, no, the
Luca piece of it, Like I kind of can see
he's a little bit on something. It was a crazy trade,
but with it work painting out the way it did
and then getting that first pick.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
I think they have quite the squad on them right now. Okay,
so that's the real question is do they And my
answer to that question is I think right now they
are more than a touch over rated. And here's why
I listen. I heard and again this is not picking
(27:26):
on him. I think other people thought this, but I
heard this from I heard Stephen A yesterday say that
they think that he thinks they could be Oklahoma City's
biggest competitor. I disagree. And the reason I disagree is this,
I do.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Not care.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
How good you are, how what your profile is. In
the modern MBA, in particular, rookies that have to be
the focal point of a team's offense do not contribute
to winning flatly. They just don't. Like I understand, Magic
(28:12):
was great as a rookie, he was not the focal
point of the team's offense. Kareem was lebron as unbelievable
as he was. That Cavs team missed the playoffs. Michael
Jordan as a rookie I think, averaged twenty eight points
a game. That Bulls team won thirty eight games. Okay,
(28:37):
like asking rookies, hell take the MAVs with Luca that
Luca's first year he was Cooper, Flag's not going to
be better than Luca year one Luca. When year two
Luki was First Team All NBA, they won thirty three games. Now,
(28:58):
obviously those guys didn't have Anthony Davis on that on
their team and eventually Kyrie Irving, but so they should
be better than those records. But the point that I
am making is, as long as Kyrie is out and
I do not think Kyrie, I think expecting Kyrie to
(29:20):
be back before the All Star break is foolish. I
think Kyrie Irving, given his you know, knee history and
injury history and his size, in his age and you
just signed him to an extension, rushing him back would
be foolish. And until Kyrie comes back, you are going
(29:42):
to be asking your primary ball handler and your primary
creator to be an eighteen year old. Like I love
Flags Upside because of his age, but he's eighteen. He
turns nineteen in December, and you know, maybe Clay as
(30:03):
a bounceback year. He is not creating. Anthony Davis is awesome.
He is not creating. Gafford and PJ. Washington and Derek
Lively are all useful players, they are not creating. You
traded away a guy who could create a bit in
Quentin Grimes for reasons I don't totally understand to bring
(30:25):
in Caleb Martin. So like your secondary main creator is
gonna be Max Christie, the other part of the A
D trade until Kyrie gets back, and he is He's
just not good at creating shots. No, I don't dinwitt
Am I wrong? I thought Dinwitty was a free agent.
(30:48):
Maybe I'm the I don't so. I think Dinwitty right
now is the Uh maybe they bring him back, but
he's so, He's not on the roster right now, so
they I mean so, and Dinwitty is. I mean, there's
a reason that Dinwitties last few last contract was for
(31:09):
the league minimum, you know what I mean? Like he he.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Can be a microwave offense, but he is it's if
it's for the purpose of making it to where Cooper
Flag isn't your main guy, then you know, if well
Dinwitty's the alternative.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Sure something, and maybe that's something. And free agency hasn't
happened yet, and they obviously will you know, add some
some pieces. They will add something. I understand that, but
I I do not think it is rational to expect
the MAVs this next year with Kyrie playing. I don't know.
(31:49):
I would say thirty games at best, and I would
take the strong under on that with Anthony Davis. And
you know, if you if you right now as a
MAVs and if you were like, hey, ad is gonna
play sixty five games on the nose, you would be
like take it, like you know, I'll sign up for
that immediately. And with Cooper Flag being the youngest kid
(32:12):
in this draft class and you know, having a lot
on his plate, I don't think in twenty twenty this
coming season the MAVs are contenders. I do think that
if Kyrie comes back from that knee injury and looks
(32:35):
like he did before the knee injury, and Cooper Flag
is the guy that a lot of people think he
can be that in the season after this one, they
can be really good. So I don't. If I am
power ranking the West going into this coming season, I
(33:01):
personally would power rank it thunder Rockets, Lakers with an asterisk.
The asterisk being I'm assuming they are going to add
a major piece in the next ten days. Nuggets, Minnesota
(33:25):
four five, Golden State six, and then Dallas alongside the
Clipper Clippers seven eight. That's where that's where I think
they will be for next year. Now, in two years,
I think that could be different.
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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