May 29, 2025 • 43 mins
Jack and Jabari were pleased to be joined by Tiny Death's vocalist/songwriter and NBA writer for the Guardian, Claire De Lune for today's episode. The trio discussed the conference finals and the potential for a Thunder/Pacers series. They also discussed offseason options for several teams and players!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, well, well, the Thunder the Pacers exactly as we predicted,
exactly exactly as I predicted, like thirty minutes ago. They
appear to be on a finals collision. Course, we'll discuss
whether wolves or Knicks can extend things, even make an
(00:21):
unprecedented comeback, I guess not unprecedented. But also some news
from around the NBA with NBA writer and musician Claire
de Loon on today's episode.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm Jack O'Brien and I'm Borian from Miles and this
is Miles on Jack.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I read boom ste.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Dongitj three guy it, I look at dongjit h.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
T o kymb driving spinning by. I don't number nine two.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Secure the selfis or NBA Champions to.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
The double t yon us to tell.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
What'd you go? Honest? Claire, Yes, NBA writer for The Guardian,
lead vocalist and songwriter for Tiny Deaths. Just to remind you,
because I don't know. Sometimes it's helpful. I forget who
I am. Sometimes I do all the time. Yeah, what's good?
How are you doing? How are you enjoying your NBA
(01:27):
postseason thus far?
Speaker 5 (01:29):
I'm good, I'm uh.
Speaker 6 (01:32):
I guess there's been some controversy among the NBA fans
about like if it's cool or not if that we're
heading towards like a PACER's Thunder Finals. And I would
just like to put my two cents in and say
that the basketball aside as a media member, I would
say this.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Is like a zero tier.
Speaker 6 (01:50):
Travel finals for those of us to travel, right, So
that that would be my two cents is that, Like
I think the basketball would be hypothetically phenomenal, but from
a travel perspective, Indianapolis and Oklahoma City are like pretty
low on the power rankings of NBA cities to travel
to for work.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Like even San Antonio has the River Walk, you know,
like you can even pretty.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Much every other NBA city has.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
A little bit more has a little something. Indianapolis has
that one steakhouse that has cocktail with very spicy, clear
your nostrils all the way out. So that's something there,
you go.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
Cocktail.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Was it just for like the Final four or something
like that, or does Indy, if I'm not mistaken, to
have a basketball court at their airport?
Speaker 1 (02:44):
They did?
Speaker 5 (02:44):
That was just when they hosted All Star weekend.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Yeah, got it didn't even look forward to that. Got it.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Do they just have like a giant Papa shot thing
and there was that just just for the Final four?
Is there Convention Center always filled up with like basketball
trivia games. Yeah, you know, it's a great play. I mean,
they love hosting things that they're enthusiastic hosts. And imagine
(03:12):
I feel like the fans of both sides will be
so revved up for this that maybe you can at
least like bask in the secondhand serotonin, all the good
brain chemicals that'll be sloshing around.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
In our cities arenas. It'll be awesome.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. And the basketball is good. We'll
get to that. But the basketball, I feel like the
two coolest things I've seen so far in the postseason
are the Pacers coming back, just like making incredible, unprecedented
like comebacks. It's like just starting from the Bucks series,
Like I remember that was I think that might be
the only thing that I live texted you guys about Jamar.
(03:50):
I was like, yo, just see how Milwaukee went out.
And then also Oklahoma City's defense. It's to the two
kind of strongest weapons that seem like they're going to
actually be in the finals, which is exciting, but of
course we have to talk about the Lakers. Of course,
(04:10):
because we got Claire here, who you know, great Lakers coverage.
Lebron rumored to be planning to opt in this summer. Yes,
I feel like Lebron currently is underrated once again because
one thousand, Yeah, because of how the season ended, by
the way by Lakers fans full disclosure clear.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So I feel like Jack is going here, I'm going
to tell him myself, I am not underrating Lebron. I
merely stated that in the event that he wanted to
move on for his final season and go back to Cleveland,
I would support him in his dreams.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
That's all I agree with that.
Speaker 6 (04:49):
I'm I'm currently like tempering my rage because I was
listening to Bill Simmons this morning and he was ranking
his top fifteen players heading into next season, and he
didn't even have Lebron in the top fifteen, not.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
In the top fifteen, and I was like, it's death.
At like eight or seven.
Speaker 6 (05:06):
I was like, can we make the math math the
fact that this man was second team All NBA, which
just by definition theoretically makes you a top ten player
in the NBA if you're just going by the numbers,
of all NBA as theoretically the best fifteen players in
the league, and then he doesn't even make your top fifteen,
even with a spot vacated by Jason Tatum, who he
(05:29):
left off due to injury. Yeah, because he'll be out
for all of next season. Yeah, so I'm like, make
make the math math that Lebron is somehow now a
worse NBA player than Jalen Williams and Karl Anthony Towns
and like.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
In his top fIF like Iron James.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I saw. I saw people saying Kat has like had
a great season. I've seen him play really well in
the playoffs. I've seen him play not so well in
the playoffs, and I'm here to tell you that I
would take Lebron James over that.
Speaker 6 (06:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That that was that was interesting. I feel like in
intense recency bias, well it was about.
Speaker 6 (06:07):
Kingd of recency bias, which is what I tried to
tell myself as I was like going into a blind rage.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
But but yeah, No, I do think Lebron is just
sort of like the last few years he's just been
there's been this rhythm of like he is consistently underrated
in the off season due to his age. Yeah, then
he spends an entire NBA season showing that his age
is like not nearly as much of a factor as
the like theoretical narrative would have you.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Believe, because people are like, surely not this time.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Surely sure They're like, like Bill's reasoning was like, well,
he's going to be forty one.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
I'm like, well he was forty and he just made second.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
You know how you know how old he was last season?
Is cravity.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I have a theory to that it's all the lost
guys like me that are like, well, I know how
I feel in my forties way that I can.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Almost as if Lebron James is a unique physical specimen
that is not a direct one for one representation of
other people who are forty plus.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But I'm just going to need to see him do
it more, you know, like he did it as a
forty year old one years. Yeah, so defying expectations.
Speaker 6 (07:12):
But I agree with you that if the Cleveland thing happens,
I think you know it would be there's plenty of
reasons for him to want to play for Cleveland versus
LA like not, the least of which is that the
Eastern Conference looks like it's going to be as weak
as it's ever been next year.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
So fun. Yeah, I think I think I support that
on the mainly on the basis that it would be
so cute if you actually it would be so.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Actually, I think that you're onto something there, even though
I know it's sort of tongue in cheap because I think,
you know, people have asked me like, where would Lebron
go and whatever, and what I've said to them every time,
and this isn't like reporting, this is just conjecture based
on you know, following him very closely.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Is that I think he's.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
So preoccupied with narrative and I think that's super important
to him. And I really don't see him ending his
career anywhere besides LA unless it fits like the narrative
arc of his career that he's trying to create. And
I could really see like a end it where I
started it and it where it all began, just a
kid from Akron, you know, type narrative arc. So I
(08:16):
think if he's gonna leave LA, which I haven't really
heard anything to make me believe that that's the case,
I think it would be cleveland if I if I
had to guess, But I haven't heard, honestly, anything that
makes me believe that he would be leaving. The only
thing is just like if you're watching the Lakers and
watching the sort of trajectory of the team, if he
(08:36):
wants to win a ring next year in his theoretical
potential last year in the league, Like I just based
on the moves the Lakers can make right now, like
and how good the West is and how much even
better it's potentially going to be next season, Like it's
an uphill it's going to be an uphill climb for
them to become contenders with what they have to work
with right now.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I think, and I feel like he's best served right now.
But he did defensively towards the end of this season
where he just suddenly became a stopper and like was
just awesome all over the boards and stuff. Was like,
it's amazing to see that he can do that. But
I feel like he might be better served on a
team like Cleveland where he's just like there's an offensive
(09:16):
weapon and you know Mobile is backing him up. Yeahs
oppose time have.
Speaker 6 (09:22):
To be the defense at forty one years old, It's
like that you're sick.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
I would imagine you had an idea.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, big news. Though, there's a picture of Luca where
he's looking slim and trim, so that's the other big
Lakers news. Are you guys buying it? He did look slim,
he looked trim A hell great.
Speaker 6 (09:40):
Yeah, I mean that additive free European food can do
the body good. He's back home for a while, I think, Yeah,
I don't think he's to my knowledge, he spends his
off season not in the United States. But yeah, I
mean I think, you know, he's got to be on
a mish at least a revenge mission like whatever however
that manifest for him, whether that's like, you know, putting
(10:02):
the time and energy into getting in better shape or
whatever it is. But like, there's no way he's going
to be going into his first full season having been
traded from the Mavericks without being on like a violent
mission to prove Neco Harrison wrong. You know, like that
just seems inevitable. So I wouldn't be surprised at all
if he got in really great shape this summer.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
People need to just start seeding like being like Cooper Flag.
A lot of people are calling him the new Luca.
People are saying that that trade actually makes a lot
of sense.
Speaker 6 (10:33):
Now, Mavericks have been doing that for freaking six months,
just like dragging his name through the mud and leaking
every like besmirching story that you could possibly imagine, Like
he has all the fodder that he needs.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Do you remember, you know what it feels like.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Do you remember that one Kobe commercial from back in
the day when it was like it shows him in
training and it was like all of the different articles,
all of the different headlines, all of the different you know,
like rebuddle to you know, his greatness or whatever, and
it was essentially him saying, like, you know, like I'm
going to use this as motivation, just basically just put
up all of Nico's in all of Dallas's you know,
(11:10):
comments and leaks over the last six months to your point,
and yeah, I can't see how he's not going to
be ready.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
Yeah, no, for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Do they have moves? I don't. I refuse to learn
do the homework of like learning about the yeah, the
apron all that stuff.
Speaker 6 (11:26):
How do we feel I would debunk one thing that
I've heard Lakers fans say, which is like, oh, well,
if Lebron walks and we'll have all this cap space
to like go sign whoever. There's two things to that
that to debunk that myth thing. Number one, the way
that the collective bargaining agreement it's et cetera.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Work.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
It's not like they just have access to all the
money of Lebron's that was on the books if he
were to walk, like, oh, he left, so now we
have fifty million dollars to play with. Like, I think
what it actually ends up being if Lebron and Dorian
Phiney Smith both decided not to opt in, is I
think they have total as far as like tax pit
to stay under the taxpayer limit. It's like sixteen million
(12:06):
or twenty million or something like that. It's very little
to work with. So it would not be to the
Laker's benefit for Lebron not to opt into his contract.
Like if you're trying to say, like, oh, that money
could be better used elsewhere and he decides he wants
to be traded because he does have a no trade clause,
then that money could be used for something else, but
not just if he ops out. And then the other
(12:28):
thing is I think there's been a lot of people
being like, oh, like go get this and go get that.
They don't have a ton of like movable assets that
are desirable or have like positive trade value, even like
they have one first round pick left, but that first
round pick is now of course worth a lot less
than it was before Luca was there, because theoretically they're
(12:48):
going to be good for a while with such a
young superstar. But yeah, so I think the average fan
things they don't might maybe don't know. A Lebron has
no trade clause, so he's only gonna if he opts in.
He can only get traded if he wants to, and
he has to sign off on wherever.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
That is.
Speaker 6 (13:03):
Number two, they don't have access to that salary if
he does opt out. That's not how the aprons work.
I'm not going to get too far into the weeds there.
And number three is like they probably have to get
pretty much anything that they're going to want to get
because of the aprons via trade and they don't have
a ton of super valuable trade assets ipso facto like dramatic,
(13:25):
huge seismic moves this summer probably not in the cards.
But I would have said that a Lukadn's trade mid
season wasn't.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
In the cards either.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
So Lakers fans love making a shopping list for you.
They're like, let's go get me proof.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
So we're going to respond as a Lakers fan and say, so,
what you're saying is Austin Reeves is gone?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Now, okay, got it all right? What can we get?
Speaker 6 (13:48):
So I guess that's also another good Maybe I'm just
here to debunk Lakers things. The other thing I would
mention as because there's been so much talk about I've
heard talking heads be like he's for sure gone this summer.
Like I haven't heard that at all. What I would
say about Austin is like what makes a lot more?
He's on one of the best.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Value contracts in the ABA right now.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
He's if he think he's making like sub fourteen million
dollars at the moment. So for what he provides as
like a bonifide third option, like that is crazy value.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Obviously, that crazy value.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
Makes him a more desirable trade candidate, except that he's
up for an extension, which he's almost certainly going to decline.
He's going to become a free agent. He's going to
want to get paid. He's going to command upwards of
thirty million dollars. A year, and anyone who trades for
him would know that, So it'd have to be a
team first of all that's willing to pay him, so
that eliminates some people. Second of all, the Lakers could actually,
(14:40):
in my opinion, benefit way more for the reasons I
said about the Lebron salary thing. From keeping Austin, giving
him whatever money he commands as a free agent next summer,
and then if they want to make a trade, then
they can get thirty to forty million dollars worth of
player back for him, versus if they trade him right now.
Because of the salary cap and how close they are
(15:01):
to that will be to that second apron, they can't
take back more salary than they give out. So they're
going to have to get fourteen million dollars worth of
NBA player back for Austin Reeves. And if you you know,
survey the market, even if you're just looking for a center,
the caliber of player you're going to get back for
fourteen million dollars is just not what Austin Reeves is
bringing to your roster. So it's in the Lakers' best
(15:23):
interest in all likelihood to keep him, give him whatever.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
Money he wants.
Speaker 6 (15:27):
Next summer when he's a free agent, and then at
that point, if they want to move on for him
for a fit that they think is better next to Luca,
it'll give them more salary flexibility to do so.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I'd like fourteen million dollars worth of NBA player please,
thank you very much. I get that tick sliced.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
And it's a nice empathetic way to discuss human beings.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Love it it's I mean, it is the It does
feel like the Laker fan way where they're just like,
all right, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And get Rea and that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Fifteen million dollars of small forwards, get me, thirty million
dollars of backup center and point guard. You guys need
a dang point guard. It turns out. Let's uh, let's
take a quick break and we'll be right back and
talk about the remaining teams and why point guards are
suddenly so valuable and we're back, and yeah, I mean
(16:26):
it's three to one. Both series I wish it wasn't.
The Next Pacers series has been super fun. I wish
it was going going the distance. Maybe, I mean maybe
the next turn a corner, but it certainly didn't look
like it in Game four, it looked that that felt
like a pretty definitive win for the For the Pacers,
(16:46):
it doesn't feel I don't know, I just don't feel
great about where the Knicks are at right now, especially
like the feels like even though Brunson is a bucket
when you most need a bucket, and he has scored
forty three thirty six twenty three thirty one in the series,
the game where he scored twenty three and was in
(17:08):
foul trouble was the game where they like made a run.
They seem to have like made more runs when he's out.
I think it's because like the Pacers seem to match
Haliburton with him, and so like Haliburton might not be
in as much when he's out. But it just, I
don't know, like there's something about this matchup where in
just the speed with which the Pacers moved the ball
(17:30):
around and you know, Brunson's defensive limitations that it just
like I feel like it's a riddle that the Knicks
still haven't quite solved and nobody has really I mean,
the Pacers feel like they're about to go to the finals,
and it's I'm convinced, like I don't I don't feel
it doesn't feel fluky to me, like they feel like
(17:51):
the best team I've seen in the East.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
I mean their path was bonified, like they got through Giannis,
and also all of this has been in five games,
Like they've gotten decisively through all of these rounds. You know,
they got through honest, they got through the Calves, which
were ostensibly the best team in the East all year long.
And then the Knicks, you know, who just took down
the defending champs and were kind of on fire and
(18:14):
on a roll. They seemed to be making like relatively
quick work of them as well. So like that's kind
of hard to argue with. I would push back on
you saying that Game four seemed super definitive, like I
think all these games have been, you know, like I
don't feel super convinced about either team in any win.
I mean, if you look at it, like the Knicks
(18:35):
should have won Game one, Like were it not for
Andrew Neasmith, absolute heroics the likes of which we've almost
never seen I think in the NBA playoffs, like they
would have won Game one.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, I thought it was just because his great grandfather
invented the game.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
You know advantage, you know, I think this could easily
be a two to two series. And that's kind of
how Game four felt to me, Like there were so
many moments where the Knicks just weren't able to capitalize
on the momentum. Like it felt like every time they
were kind of taking control of the game, they let
go of the rope in one way or another. But
(19:13):
I didn't feel like, Oh, the Pacers are definitively the
better team here. I just felt like, Oh, the Pacers
are playing just better enough tonight to eg out this win.
And I feel like every single game has been like
a coin flip really, which is what's made this series
so fun. But I don't think I don't think the
Knicks should overreact to this series and be like, Oh,
we need to tear this all.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Down, we need to get this whole project.
Speaker 6 (19:36):
I think there's a universe where, you know, the Pacers
aren't the team of destiny that it feels like they
are this year, where every bounce goes their way, every
you know, every shot that needs to go in goes in,
where all those variance elements are not you know, not
in their favor, where the Knicks are going to the
NBA Finals, like they are right there. They were so close,
and I think we have sort of like a tendency
(19:58):
to overthink the playoffs sometimes when like a bounce doesn't
go our way, when like the controllables are what you
can control obviously, and then there's like the luck, fate,
destinies and a siquah of the playoffs, and like certain
teams just kind of feel like they have that, and
I feel like that's how the Pacers feel right now.
Like I don't think the Knicks are far away, I
(20:19):
do feel like their weaknesses have been exposed specifically in
this Pacers series, which is that because Brunson isn't like
a defensive minded Garden, he kind of needs to be
on the floor for them to be at their best.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
It is like a little bit of a.
Speaker 6 (20:34):
Liability to have another offensive first player like Kat on
the floor with him, and your top two players are
basically like offense first, like defensively lacking, and that's made
their starting lineup have a horrible plus minus and that's
made it kind of hard for Tips to juggle lineups.
So that would be where I think they could address
(20:57):
in this offseason, Like we need to surround Brunson should
be the priority, like with more defense. But besides that,
I mean, I think they're right there, and like the
Celtics are a non issue for the next year, Johannis
might be leaving the conference. So I wouldn't like overreact
to this Pacers series, would I would be this is
the farthest they've gotten in you know, my lifetime, so
(21:22):
I think they should. They're on the right track. There's
just tweaks that need to be made.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Of the two teams between the Knicks and the Wolves.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Obviously the two teams that are both down, you have
three one which do you feel more confidently in at
least extending.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
This series? It's sending this year.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
This year, I think the next time a better chance
than the Wolves, just because I think the Wolves have
looked relatively outclassed in most of these games, except for
that one game where they absolutely blew them out and
it was just.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
Like the upside down.
Speaker 6 (21:54):
But I would say for the most part in these games,
it's more what you were kind of referencing, where it's like, oh,
one of these teams is clearly better than the other,
And I just personally feel like these the Eastern Conference finals.
The reason they've been so fun is because it really
does feel like a coin flip series. It feels like
two teams that are both really good in very opposite
ways and like play very different styles, and the clash
(22:18):
of the styles has just sort of been like the
Pacers have been able to impose their style on the
series more than the Knicks have been able to do so,
and you know, at the end of the day, their
best handful of players have played better than the knicks
handful of players in that series. But it does feel
like a more closely matched series. And if the Knicks
were able to, like, for example, command the boards like
(22:40):
they should be doing because that's more fundamental to their
identity than the Pacers, like, it could be a different series.
So to be fair, I don't honestly really think either
of these series or going in the distance, But if
I had to guess, I would take the Knicks over
the Wolves in that scenario.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
That's fair.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, I guess, not definitive necessarily, but just like it.
They do seem to have like more bullets, They seem
to have like more ways to win for sure.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Deeper, I feel like they're like they have the better
coaching going right now Pacers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, which.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
Is funny, am I.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
So I know that we're having like a Carlisle renaissance
right now, and you know, deservedly.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
So he's been awesome. I'm like, I'm old enough to remember.
Speaker 6 (23:31):
Last year when he made some like horrible coaching blenders
in the playoffs and we were like.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
What are you doing?
Speaker 6 (23:37):
Like the it was they were on the other end
of some like comebacks and like unlikely things last year.
So obviously he you know, they grew from that. And
I'm not putting that all on Carlisle because it was
a young team and you make mistakes as a young team.
But I remember having conversations like as a guest.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
On podcasts passed him by, yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
Yeah, being like, oh, he's like messing up like kind
of a lot, Like this is atle embarrassing, like does
Carlisle still have his fastball?
Speaker 5 (24:02):
Like what's going on?
Speaker 6 (24:04):
So it's kind of interesting that now the narrative it's
like we're as such a recency bias like economy of media,
but like now every conversation is like he's a bonafide
Hall of Fame NBA coach.
Speaker 5 (24:15):
Is he one of the top four coaches in the league.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
Like the conversation just hinges so much on this run
they've been on, which is understandable. But it's just like
he he got out coached in a couple of series,
like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, last season, the people were coming back on them,
and he was like, we should do that, and also
like people when he saw those people like making shots
to come back, he was like, we should like do
better shot making. I think being even older than you
and being able to remember like a decade ago, he
does seem to be the only coach that I can
(24:51):
remember where it was like, oh, I think they won,
Like you know, the team won because like they didn't
have as much talent, but they won because like they
had like schemed in a way like that in Dallas
when they beat Len where they just like broke Lebron's brain.
And I don't think that was all him necessarily at all.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
But he's a really good coach.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Just yeah, that, but like going into the playoffs every year,
I'm always like, well, and they do have Carlisle, which
is you know, that's that could be an advantage. He's
also just such just knowing people in the coaching world. Uh,
my dad worked for him one time. He's like a
nash Or. I guess he's like in Texas, one of
(25:34):
the top table tennis players for his age, A classically
trained pianist. He's like a scratch golfer who makes his
own golf clubs. He's just like this, Like he was
just like, yeah, he just never sleeps, and it's just
like a weird genius.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Looks like Jim Carrey.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And also my other friend who's a coach, told me
that one time they were getting lunch and he ordered
a graveyard.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Do what that is?
Speaker 1 (26:00):
No, It's like when you get you ask somebody to
go to the soda fountain and just put every different
type of soda in it like a child. It's a
child's drig and he has a grown up was like, yeah,
give me the graveyard. Anyways, Okay, see, I mean what
do we think is It's like there's been a lot
of talk about you know, ANT isn't showing up. I
(26:22):
feel like I feel for anybody who has to go
against that, okay, see perimeter defense. And I feel like
what we've seen from Aunt again, who is like so
much younger than I feel like people remember, yeah, has
been a step forward, like compared to what he did
in the Western Conference Finals last year, which again he's
(26:43):
in the Western Conference Finals again with probably less talent
around him. I've been impressed with what I see in places,
and then there's definitely been some rough spots too, But yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
I think the thunder of to answer your first question,
like kind of like they've answered every question that people
had to them going into this postseason, myself included. It
was just like they are it's so rare for the
youngest team in the league to be the best team
in the league, Like that is just really hard to compute.
So it was sort of like I'll believe it when
I see it, you know, with them, even though they
(27:14):
had shown us all regular season that they were the
best team in basketball, like with a bullet really. And
I think we've kind of, like not to sound too
like Saccer, but I think we've kind of watched them
grow up over the course of these playoffs. Like I
do feel like they look like a different team, different
caliber of team now than they did in Round one
and even for the majority of Round two, Like, I
(27:36):
think that test from Denver really brought out their maturity,
and it was the first time all season that they
had really been sort of rattled, and I think you
kind of watched them grow up from that, and they
just look so mature and poised and different in this
Minnesota series, partially, I think because Denver was like a
little bit worse of a matchup for them than Minnesota,
(27:58):
but partially because they've been now, they've gone through, They've
gotten further in the playoffs at this point than they
ever have before, and they just look ready to me,
Like I wasn't sure if they were, but at this
point I would be really surprised if either team from
the East beats them in the finals.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
Like I think, I think they're ready.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
One of my favorite things is watching a young team
developing the way that you just described.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Because like, I love watching how a team responds to
getting punched in the mouth. You know, they go.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
If I'm not mistaken, they went down to one to Denver?
Did they not in that series?
Speaker 6 (28:33):
I think they they lost game one, but I think
did they not then win the next two?
Speaker 5 (28:40):
I might be remembering incorrectly.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
But I could be off, but they were obviously challenged
along the way, and seeing them get off the mat
each time and seeing them not just do that, but
respond and say like, Okay, yeah, we got this. Seeing
Jalen Williams, who's found his offensive groove again over the
course of this postseason, it's inspiring.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
But you're exactly right, they have been the best team.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
It was really just upon us, with us sitting back
saying like, oh, you have to show us, and clearly
they were ready to do that.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I think it was mainly me challenging them that did it.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
You were alone in your concerns.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
No one else still still don't see it.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
But with Minnesota, I think, yeah, I'm actually writing on
that right now, and like, I think we have this
sort of tendency to project expectations on a team or
a player and then when they don't meet those expectations,
the sky is falling. And it's like everyone was like,
you know, making comparisons to Michael Jordan and like saying
(29:35):
it was the next face of the league. And the
truth is he's still twenty three years old and he's just.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Not there yet.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
But the fact that he's already been the best player
on a Western Conference finals team two years running is
like a legit accomplishment. And I have no doubt that
he will at some point make the NBA Finals and
win a championship, like he's that good, But I do
I think he's had a subpar supporting cast both times.
Like I just like, I know they're deep with you know,
(30:04):
as far as like role player talent, but his like
number two in both cases I don't think was a
like good enough and be like the ideal fit next
to him in either case. And then I think Rudy
Gobert is like a really clunky fit with Anthony Edwards.
And I've always felt that way, and I never was,
you know, in favor of that trade. I think it's
(30:28):
really really there's like the floor spacing is obviously lacking,
and it's especially lacking when Julius Randall is a no show,
which has happened to out of the four games in
the series.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
But I just this is not the ideal.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Team build around Anthony Edwards, I don't think, and I
don't know how long it's going to take them to
get there, but I think it's a little bit like
unfair to expect a championship when the team is still
like quite a clunky fit, even though they are deep
and they are good and you know whatnot and they're
is a great regular season defensive player, but like he's
(31:03):
just proven that in the playoffs there is a minimum
of one series per year where he is basically unplayable,
Like it has been true his entire career, Like, regardless
of how far his team goes in the playoffs, there's
a series where Rudy gober gets played off the floor.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
And like Misther, what is either a second highest paid
player or third highest paid. So it's just that's just
tough to overcome, I.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Think, all right, from one player that's openly disliked by
players around the league to another. I do just want
to talk about Halliburton and specifically, I actually just want
to ask this question broadly. Is it a coincidence that
three of the four final teams that in a playoffs
(31:51):
that has felt like a sort of changing of the guard,
where like I feel like a lot you know, these
are a lot of young teams, a lot of people
who you know, haven't done it before. Three of the
four final teams are led by like scoring point guards
or you know, like Halliburton is scoring a lot right now.
(32:13):
It feels like point guards have suddenly like it I
remember two years ago watching the Suns be like, we
don't need a point guard, Like we're just like Devin Booker,
our shooting guard will bring the ball to the court
and we're just you know, And that didn't go well.
The Lakers kind of tried like a similar thing at
various points this year, and I just feel like we're
(32:38):
seeing a thing happen where like point guard is suddenly
incredibly important at a time when it was supposed to
be becoming less and less important.
Speaker 6 (32:47):
I mean, I would say, like the point guards that
are left are so different that I don't know if
like you could take it as a referendum on the position,
like the version of a point guard that Jalen Brunson
is and the version of a point guard that Tyre's
Halliburton is, or like universe a part I would say,
like Tyreus Halliburton in and of himself might be a
referendum on the importance of the point guard position, because
(33:07):
he is like a true blue old school run the offense,
like getting myself looks and scoring is like bottom of
the totem pole of importance type of point guard. Like
he's like a quarterback out there, like he's quarterbacking their offense.
He's dictating the pace, he's dictating the style, he's getting
people involved.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
That is like a dying breed.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
I would say in the NBA, like there aren't many
point guards like that left, Whereas I would say like
Jalen Brunson is more of like a new school point
guard where it's like well by de facto because he's
the shortest player on the floor, like he kind of
falls into the position of the one. But his facilitation
is not why he's there. He's there to score. He's
a score first player. So I don't really think it's
(33:47):
almost like in name only, they're the same type of players.
So I really think it can serve as like this
is the future of the league. But I will say
that like Tyre's Halliburton has shown that, like we don't
need to kill off the old school version of a
point guard so fast. It just needs to evolve because
to your point, he can score at a high clip
(34:09):
if he needs to, he just doesn't choose to do
that first because that's not his priority on the floor.
And I think we kind of like threw the baby
out with the bathwater with the point guard position, and
we're like, well, we don't need someone to orchestrate the
offense because we just need one through five like spaced out.
Everyone needs to be able to score, where it's like
the more evolved version of that thinking is like everyone
(34:30):
needs to be able to score, but it's still really
really valuable to have like a super high level offensive
you know, creator, facilitator orchestrator on the floor for sure.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
So Claire just really quickly, we were talking beforehand, how
do you think Sacramento feels about getting.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Rid of right they feel?
Speaker 6 (34:49):
I mean, it's crazy because now they're talking about, you know,
moving off of Sibonis, like that's those are the rumblings
I'm hearing, and that's who they got back in that
because they had they it's sort of like Sophie's choice.
They had to like in their estimation, like equally high
level point guard prototypes of Deer and Fox and Terrys
Haliburn or guard prototypes, I guess, because I don't think
(35:09):
Fox is even playing the point guard in San Antonio,
and they chose Fox. And now not only is dearon
Fox not on those Kings anymore, but the guy they
got back for, Tyreus Haliburton, is probably about to not
be on the Kings anymore, so they didn't choose very well.
I would say glass half full for the Kings. They've
taken so much flak for their drafting over the years,
(35:33):
and like the problem isn't the drafting, I think is
what history is telling us, Like they can pick them,
it's just knowing who to keep and how to keep
them build around them.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
But it does probably make them feel better, that's more.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Well.
Speaker 6 (35:46):
I just remember, like every NBA draft I've been like
cognizant of it's like the Kings again, like they messed
up the draft again or whatever, and it's like, I
don't they're drafting fine, It's it's definitely more like then.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
They're like, yeah, we.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
Actually but no, I'm sure.
Speaker 6 (36:04):
I mean, I'm so glad that Tyre's Haliburton ended up
where he did because the Pacers obviously saw something in him,
and Rick Carlisle saw something in him where they're like
this guy's style of play and the way he plays basketball,
like let's just go with that, let's just build around that.
And and I think, you know him happening Like I've
heard people like wish casting like like what if he
(36:26):
had gotten drafted into Golden.
Speaker 5 (36:27):
State or whatever.
Speaker 6 (36:28):
But and he might have fit in nicely to the
Steve Kurse style of play, you know, of the sort
of egalitarian like the beautiful game, like whatever. But I'm
just glad that he basically got handed the keys to
his own franchise to play like Tyre's Haliburton basketball, because
I don't think there were that many teams in the
league that would have done that. And obviously it's paying
(36:48):
dividends absolutely.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
All right, let's take one more break and when we
come back, it's time for the rabbit fire around of questioning.
We'll be right back, and we're back, and it is
(37:11):
the rapid fire round of questioning, Claire. We're going to
fire some questions that you you are just going to
give us your first answer. We're trying to keep this moving.
It is known far and wide as the fastest segment
in podcasting, so we've got a reputation to uphold.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Don't mess us up.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Don't mess this up for us, please, Brian, could you
do me a favor? Actually, could you start the clock? Okay? Cool,
thank you, thank you, Brian.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Ops the world.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
All right, do you want to start off, Jabari or
would you like me to go first?
Speaker 3 (37:49):
We can bounce on these.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Okay to mine?
Speaker 3 (37:51):
All right? So clear here we go. This player or
that player?
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Which would you rather see Shay playing back in the
nineties or Rime in healthy Penny hard way into Day's game.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
Shane the nineties would be fun.
Speaker 6 (38:04):
I feel like he would fit in really nicely in
his play style and it's just like a more evolved
version of that game.
Speaker 5 (38:10):
So I'd like to see.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
It Halliburton on those nineties Pacers teams or Prime Reggie
joining this current squad. And keep in mind, you do
if he's on the squad, he can't be doing the game.
Speaker 6 (38:22):
Essentially, my answer, I would pick I would pick Reggie.
It's the same reason I was excited when Jeff and
Gundy got a coaching job. I was like, yeah, like,
keep these guys busy. It's like handing a toddler, like
a Nintendo switch or whatever.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
You're just like just go sit over there.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
I feel like this has to be hard for Pacers
because it's like you're you're like watching your team's finally
making it, and it's just hard for people to root
for them.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
Keep it a going.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Jalen Jalen Bunch Jalen Brunson Berner.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
The Bunsen Burner exactly, Jalen Brunson transported back to join
peak Ewing in ninety four, or Prime past jumping into
DeLorean and being available for this current series.
Speaker 6 (39:03):
Oh, Prime, Pat would be pretty freaking handy right now.
For the New York next, I would have sure, I'm
going to go.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
With that one two minutes to I bet tips just
doesn't play. Yeah, it just doesn't play.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
You'd be older.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Forty minutes a game, all right, and finally Aunt alongside
KG for that two thousand and four run, or KG
lining up beside Colbert for the current team, or maybe
in place of Cobert.
Speaker 6 (39:37):
I mean in place of Gobert, like ten times out
of time, what give me that one? Give me give
me the Kevin Garnette instead of Rudio, a bear option,
like on any team at anytime.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
Like that's great, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
That is fair. Give us your prediction on these following
players and where they are.
Speaker 5 (39:53):
Next, be honest, San Antonio, wow.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
Zion Williamson, The New Orleans Pelicans, John maritt Man, I
think I think he says it grizzly for now.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Kevin Durant, who did make these ryn kd with the rockets.
That would be so fun.
Speaker 6 (40:21):
It would be so fun. He's exactly what they need.
It's like it's a beautiful fit.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
And Lebron James.
Speaker 5 (40:29):
Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Yeah, he's your face, Jabbari, it happens. It happens. Sorry,
the best player of all time stays on your team
sometimes it happened, all right. And finally, we want to
tap into your musical knowledge and expertise with the Kendrick
and this is a co headlining tour currently taking place.
(40:52):
We want to hear your choice for a tour that
blends genres and like has two headliners just tray on
and off. Who are you going with?
Speaker 6 (41:04):
Well, the thing about this is in Kendrick tours, they
have a lot of songs together.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
So that's it?
Speaker 6 (41:08):
Does that is that a prerequisite? Like do they have
to have shared songs?
Speaker 3 (41:12):
They could?
Speaker 1 (41:12):
They could record songs for this tour together based on
your direction. We have a ton of power in this scenario.
Speaker 5 (41:21):
Man.
Speaker 6 (41:21):
Well, Beach House is like my favorite band of all time,
so I want that to be one of the artists.
I mean, it feels like a cop out to use Kendrick,
but like Beach House and Kendrick be like on Fire Tour.
I would love that so much, and they would be
really cool collab. I think like they could make some
really cool songs together. And I mean Kendrick has sampled
them before, he sampled them on Money Trees, So I do.
Speaker 5 (41:43):
A good start.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
I give you so much bready.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
I didn't realice that was then.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
I can tell you right now.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
I absolutely thought, okay, so tiny this, and I.
Speaker 6 (41:54):
Mean I would love that, but like, yeah, I feel
like it's like the what are they isn't it? With
awards voting, It's like you have to like leave yourself.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Recute yourself.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
Yeah that's fair.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
Nah on that, not on this sved, not on this
show where crooked as.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
Hell, myself, me and jay z Onto worlds do that.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yeah, the fans have been asking.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
That's the answer.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
That is the answer.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
It is correct.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Thank you Jobori for leading her to the right answer.
That just checking our scorecard and yes, every single one
of those was the correct answer. Congratulations returning champion Claire Dulon.
Thank you so much for joining us. Where can people
find you? Follow you, hear you, listen to you all
that good stuff?
Speaker 6 (42:35):
Well, basketball wise, you can find my stuff at the
guardiantheguardian dot com and also I tweet about basketball and
like post about across all social media at Claire Mpls
music wise, you can find me under tiny Deaths wherever
you stream music.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah, yoh, you can give us a follow on Twitter.
I'm at Jack Underscore. O'Brian Miles is at Miles of Gray.
I'm at Jack ob one on Blue Sky and Miles
as also at Miles of Gray. He has good social
media continuity. I have the opposite, Jabari, where can people
find you?
Speaker 3 (43:10):
Easy A? Davis on both?
Speaker 1 (43:14):
All right, and that's going to do it. Another one
in the books, swish we did it. We did it
back next week, Kobe Lebron knuckle come on,
Well, well, well, the Thunder the Pacers exactly as we predicted,
exactly exactly as I predicted, like thirty minutes ago. They
appear to be on a finals collision. Course, we'll discuss
whether wolves or Knicks can extend things, even make an
(00:21):
unprecedented comeback, I guess not unprecedented. But also some news
from around the NBA with NBA writer and musician Claire
de Loon on today's episode.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm Jack O'Brien and I'm Borian from Miles and this
is Miles on Jack.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I read boom ste.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Dongitj three guy it, I look at dongjit h.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
T o kymb driving spinning by. I don't number nine two.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Secure the selfis or NBA Champions to.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
The double t yon us to tell.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
What'd you go? Honest? Claire, Yes, NBA writer for The Guardian,
lead vocalist and songwriter for Tiny Deaths. Just to remind you,
because I don't know. Sometimes it's helpful. I forget who
I am. Sometimes I do all the time. Yeah, what's good?
How are you doing? How are you enjoying your NBA
(01:27):
postseason thus far?
Speaker 5 (01:29):
I'm good, I'm uh.
Speaker 6 (01:32):
I guess there's been some controversy among the NBA fans
about like if it's cool or not if that we're
heading towards like a PACER's Thunder Finals. And I would
just like to put my two cents in and say
that the basketball aside as a media member, I would
say this.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Is like a zero tier.
Speaker 6 (01:50):
Travel finals for those of us to travel, right, So
that that would be my two cents is that, Like
I think the basketball would be hypothetically phenomenal, but from
a travel perspective, Indianapolis and Oklahoma City are like pretty
low on the power rankings of NBA cities to travel
to for work.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Like even San Antonio has the River Walk, you know,
like you can even pretty.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Much every other NBA city has.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
A little bit more has a little something. Indianapolis has
that one steakhouse that has cocktail with very spicy, clear
your nostrils all the way out. So that's something there,
you go.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
Cocktail.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Was it just for like the Final four or something
like that, or does Indy, if I'm not mistaken, to
have a basketball court at their airport?
Speaker 1 (02:44):
They did?
Speaker 5 (02:44):
That was just when they hosted All Star weekend.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Yeah, got it didn't even look forward to that. Got it.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Do they just have like a giant Papa shot thing
and there was that just just for the Final four?
Is there Convention Center always filled up with like basketball
trivia games. Yeah, you know, it's a great play. I mean,
they love hosting things that they're enthusiastic hosts. And imagine
(03:12):
I feel like the fans of both sides will be
so revved up for this that maybe you can at
least like bask in the secondhand serotonin, all the good
brain chemicals that'll be sloshing around.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
In our cities arenas. It'll be awesome.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. And the basketball is good. We'll
get to that. But the basketball, I feel like the
two coolest things I've seen so far in the postseason
are the Pacers coming back, just like making incredible, unprecedented
like comebacks. It's like just starting from the Bucks series,
Like I remember that was I think that might be
the only thing that I live texted you guys about Jamar.
(03:50):
I was like, yo, just see how Milwaukee went out.
And then also Oklahoma City's defense. It's to the two
kind of strongest weapons that seem like they're going to
actually be in the finals, which is exciting, but of
course we have to talk about the Lakers. Of course,
(04:10):
because we got Claire here, who you know, great Lakers coverage.
Lebron rumored to be planning to opt in this summer. Yes,
I feel like Lebron currently is underrated once again because
one thousand, Yeah, because of how the season ended, by
the way by Lakers fans full disclosure clear.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So I feel like Jack is going here, I'm going
to tell him myself, I am not underrating Lebron. I
merely stated that in the event that he wanted to
move on for his final season and go back to Cleveland,
I would support him in his dreams.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
That's all I agree with that.
Speaker 6 (04:49):
I'm I'm currently like tempering my rage because I was
listening to Bill Simmons this morning and he was ranking
his top fifteen players heading into next season, and he
didn't even have Lebron in the top fifteen, not.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
In the top fifteen, and I was like, it's death.
At like eight or seven.
Speaker 6 (05:06):
I was like, can we make the math math the
fact that this man was second team All NBA, which
just by definition theoretically makes you a top ten player
in the NBA if you're just going by the numbers,
of all NBA as theoretically the best fifteen players in
the league, and then he doesn't even make your top fifteen,
even with a spot vacated by Jason Tatum, who he
(05:29):
left off due to injury. Yeah, because he'll be out
for all of next season. Yeah, so I'm like, make
make the math math that Lebron is somehow now a
worse NBA player than Jalen Williams and Karl Anthony Towns
and like.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
In his top fIF like Iron James.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I saw. I saw people saying Kat has like had
a great season. I've seen him play really well in
the playoffs. I've seen him play not so well in
the playoffs, and I'm here to tell you that I
would take Lebron James over that.
Speaker 6 (06:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That that was that was interesting. I feel like in
intense recency bias, well it was about.
Speaker 6 (06:07):
Kingd of recency bias, which is what I tried to
tell myself as I was like going into a blind rage.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
But but yeah, No, I do think Lebron is just
sort of like the last few years he's just been
there's been this rhythm of like he is consistently underrated
in the off season due to his age. Yeah, then
he spends an entire NBA season showing that his age
is like not nearly as much of a factor as
the like theoretical narrative would have you.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Believe, because people are like, surely not this time.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Surely sure They're like, like Bill's reasoning was like, well,
he's going to be forty one.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
I'm like, well he was forty and he just made second.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
You know how you know how old he was last season?
Is cravity.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I have a theory to that it's all the lost
guys like me that are like, well, I know how
I feel in my forties way that I can.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Almost as if Lebron James is a unique physical specimen
that is not a direct one for one representation of
other people who are forty plus.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But I'm just going to need to see him do
it more, you know, like he did it as a
forty year old one years. Yeah, so defying expectations.
Speaker 6 (07:12):
But I agree with you that if the Cleveland thing happens,
I think you know it would be there's plenty of
reasons for him to want to play for Cleveland versus
LA like not, the least of which is that the
Eastern Conference looks like it's going to be as weak
as it's ever been next year.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
So fun. Yeah, I think I think I support that
on the mainly on the basis that it would be
so cute if you actually it would be so.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Actually, I think that you're onto something there, even though
I know it's sort of tongue in cheap because I think,
you know, people have asked me like, where would Lebron
go and whatever, and what I've said to them every time,
and this isn't like reporting, this is just conjecture based
on you know, following him very closely.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Is that I think he's.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
So preoccupied with narrative and I think that's super important
to him. And I really don't see him ending his
career anywhere besides LA unless it fits like the narrative
arc of his career that he's trying to create. And
I could really see like a end it where I
started it and it where it all began, just a
kid from Akron, you know, type narrative arc. So I
(08:16):
think if he's gonna leave LA, which I haven't really
heard anything to make me believe that that's the case,
I think it would be cleveland if I if I
had to guess, But I haven't heard, honestly, anything that
makes me believe that he would be leaving. The only
thing is just like if you're watching the Lakers and
watching the sort of trajectory of the team, if he
(08:36):
wants to win a ring next year in his theoretical
potential last year in the league, Like I just based
on the moves the Lakers can make right now, like
and how good the West is and how much even
better it's potentially going to be next season, Like it's
an uphill it's going to be an uphill climb for
them to become contenders with what they have to work
with right now.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I think, and I feel like he's best served right now.
But he did defensively towards the end of this season
where he just suddenly became a stopper and like was
just awesome all over the boards and stuff. Was like,
it's amazing to see that he can do that. But
I feel like he might be better served on a
team like Cleveland where he's just like there's an offensive
(09:16):
weapon and you know Mobile is backing him up. Yeahs
oppose time have.
Speaker 6 (09:22):
To be the defense at forty one years old, It's
like that you're sick.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
I would imagine you had an idea.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, big news. Though, there's a picture of Luca where
he's looking slim and trim, so that's the other big
Lakers news. Are you guys buying it? He did look slim,
he looked trim A hell great.
Speaker 6 (09:40):
Yeah, I mean that additive free European food can do
the body good. He's back home for a while, I think, Yeah,
I don't think he's to my knowledge, he spends his
off season not in the United States. But yeah, I
mean I think, you know, he's got to be on
a mish at least a revenge mission like whatever however
that manifest for him, whether that's like, you know, putting
(10:02):
the time and energy into getting in better shape or
whatever it is. But like, there's no way he's going
to be going into his first full season having been
traded from the Mavericks without being on like a violent
mission to prove Neco Harrison wrong. You know, like that
just seems inevitable. So I wouldn't be surprised at all
if he got in really great shape this summer.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
People need to just start seeding like being like Cooper Flag.
A lot of people are calling him the new Luca.
People are saying that that trade actually makes a lot
of sense.
Speaker 6 (10:33):
Now, Mavericks have been doing that for freaking six months,
just like dragging his name through the mud and leaking
every like besmirching story that you could possibly imagine, Like
he has all the fodder that he needs.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Do you remember, you know what it feels like.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Do you remember that one Kobe commercial from back in
the day when it was like it shows him in
training and it was like all of the different articles,
all of the different headlines, all of the different you know,
like rebuddle to you know, his greatness or whatever, and
it was essentially him saying, like, you know, like I'm
going to use this as motivation, just basically just put
up all of Nico's in all of Dallas's you know,
(11:10):
comments and leaks over the last six months to your point,
and yeah, I can't see how he's not going to
be ready.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
Yeah, no, for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Do they have moves? I don't. I refuse to learn
do the homework of like learning about the yeah, the
apron all that stuff.
Speaker 6 (11:26):
How do we feel I would debunk one thing that
I've heard Lakers fans say, which is like, oh, well,
if Lebron walks and we'll have all this cap space
to like go sign whoever. There's two things to that
that to debunk that myth thing. Number one, the way
that the collective bargaining agreement it's et cetera.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Work.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
It's not like they just have access to all the
money of Lebron's that was on the books if he
were to walk, like, oh, he left, so now we
have fifty million dollars to play with. Like, I think
what it actually ends up being if Lebron and Dorian
Phiney Smith both decided not to opt in, is I
think they have total as far as like tax pit
to stay under the taxpayer limit. It's like sixteen million
(12:06):
or twenty million or something like that. It's very little
to work with. So it would not be to the
Laker's benefit for Lebron not to opt into his contract.
Like if you're trying to say, like, oh, that money
could be better used elsewhere and he decides he wants
to be traded because he does have a no trade clause,
then that money could be used for something else, but
not just if he ops out. And then the other
(12:28):
thing is I think there's been a lot of people
being like, oh, like go get this and go get that.
They don't have a ton of like movable assets that
are desirable or have like positive trade value, even like
they have one first round pick left, but that first
round pick is now of course worth a lot less
than it was before Luca was there, because theoretically they're
(12:48):
going to be good for a while with such a
young superstar. But yeah, so I think the average fan
things they don't might maybe don't know. A Lebron has
no trade clause, so he's only gonna if he opts in.
He can only get traded if he wants to, and
he has to sign off on wherever.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
That is.
Speaker 6 (13:03):
Number two, they don't have access to that salary if
he does opt out. That's not how the aprons work.
I'm not going to get too far into the weeds there.
And number three is like they probably have to get
pretty much anything that they're going to want to get
because of the aprons via trade and they don't have
a ton of super valuable trade assets ipso facto like dramatic,
(13:25):
huge seismic moves this summer probably not in the cards.
But I would have said that a Lukadn's trade mid
season wasn't.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
In the cards either.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
So Lakers fans love making a shopping list for you.
They're like, let's go get me proof.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
So we're going to respond as a Lakers fan and say, so,
what you're saying is Austin Reeves is gone?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Now, okay, got it all right? What can we get?
Speaker 6 (13:48):
So I guess that's also another good Maybe I'm just
here to debunk Lakers things. The other thing I would
mention as because there's been so much talk about I've
heard talking heads be like he's for sure gone this summer.
Like I haven't heard that at all. What I would
say about Austin is like what makes a lot more?
He's on one of the best.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Value contracts in the ABA right now.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
He's if he think he's making like sub fourteen million
dollars at the moment. So for what he provides as
like a bonifide third option, like that is crazy value.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Obviously, that crazy value.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
Makes him a more desirable trade candidate, except that he's
up for an extension, which he's almost certainly going to decline.
He's going to become a free agent. He's going to
want to get paid. He's going to command upwards of
thirty million dollars. A year, and anyone who trades for
him would know that, So it'd have to be a
team first of all that's willing to pay him, so
that eliminates some people. Second of all, the Lakers could actually,
(14:40):
in my opinion, benefit way more for the reasons I
said about the Lebron salary thing. From keeping Austin, giving
him whatever money he commands as a free agent next summer,
and then if they want to make a trade, then
they can get thirty to forty million dollars worth of
player back for him, versus if they trade him right now.
Because of the salary cap and how close they are
(15:01):
to that will be to that second apron, they can't
take back more salary than they give out. So they're
going to have to get fourteen million dollars worth of
NBA player back for Austin Reeves. And if you you know,
survey the market, even if you're just looking for a center,
the caliber of player you're going to get back for
fourteen million dollars is just not what Austin Reeves is
bringing to your roster. So it's in the Lakers' best
(15:23):
interest in all likelihood to keep him, give him whatever.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
Money he wants.
Speaker 6 (15:27):
Next summer when he's a free agent, and then at
that point, if they want to move on for him
for a fit that they think is better next to Luca,
it'll give them more salary flexibility to do so.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I'd like fourteen million dollars worth of NBA player please,
thank you very much. I get that tick sliced.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
And it's a nice empathetic way to discuss human beings.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Love it it's I mean, it is the It does
feel like the Laker fan way where they're just like,
all right, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And get Rea and that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Fifteen million dollars of small forwards, get me, thirty million
dollars of backup center and point guard. You guys need
a dang point guard. It turns out. Let's uh, let's
take a quick break and we'll be right back and
talk about the remaining teams and why point guards are
suddenly so valuable and we're back, and yeah, I mean
(16:26):
it's three to one. Both series I wish it wasn't.
The Next Pacers series has been super fun. I wish
it was going going the distance. Maybe, I mean maybe
the next turn a corner, but it certainly didn't look
like it in Game four, it looked that that felt
like a pretty definitive win for the For the Pacers,
(16:46):
it doesn't feel I don't know, I just don't feel
great about where the Knicks are at right now, especially
like the feels like even though Brunson is a bucket
when you most need a bucket, and he has scored
forty three thirty six twenty three thirty one in the series,
the game where he scored twenty three and was in
(17:08):
foul trouble was the game where they like made a run.
They seem to have like made more runs when he's out.
I think it's because like the Pacers seem to match
Haliburton with him, and so like Haliburton might not be
in as much when he's out. But it just, I
don't know, like there's something about this matchup where in
just the speed with which the Pacers moved the ball
(17:30):
around and you know, Brunson's defensive limitations that it just
like I feel like it's a riddle that the Knicks
still haven't quite solved and nobody has really I mean,
the Pacers feel like they're about to go to the finals,
and it's I'm convinced, like I don't I don't feel
it doesn't feel fluky to me, like they feel like
(17:51):
the best team I've seen in the East.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
I mean their path was bonified, like they got through Giannis,
and also all of this has been in five games,
Like they've gotten decisively through all of these rounds. You know,
they got through honest, they got through the Calves, which
were ostensibly the best team in the East all year long.
And then the Knicks, you know, who just took down
the defending champs and were kind of on fire and
(18:14):
on a roll. They seemed to be making like relatively
quick work of them as well. So like that's kind
of hard to argue with. I would push back on
you saying that Game four seemed super definitive, like I
think all these games have been, you know, like I
don't feel super convinced about either team in any win.
I mean, if you look at it, like the Knicks
(18:35):
should have won Game one, Like were it not for
Andrew Neasmith, absolute heroics the likes of which we've almost
never seen I think in the NBA playoffs, like they
would have won Game one.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, I thought it was just because his great grandfather
invented the game.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
You know advantage, you know, I think this could easily
be a two to two series. And that's kind of
how Game four felt to me, Like there were so
many moments where the Knicks just weren't able to capitalize
on the momentum. Like it felt like every time they
were kind of taking control of the game, they let
go of the rope in one way or another. But
(19:13):
I didn't feel like, Oh, the Pacers are definitively the
better team here. I just felt like, Oh, the Pacers
are playing just better enough tonight to eg out this win.
And I feel like every single game has been like
a coin flip really, which is what's made this series
so fun. But I don't think I don't think the
Knicks should overreact to this series and be like, Oh,
we need to tear this all.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Down, we need to get this whole project.
Speaker 6 (19:36):
I think there's a universe where, you know, the Pacers
aren't the team of destiny that it feels like they
are this year, where every bounce goes their way, every
you know, every shot that needs to go in goes in,
where all those variance elements are not you know, not
in their favor, where the Knicks are going to the
NBA Finals, like they are right there. They were so close,
and I think we have sort of like a tendency
(19:58):
to overthink the playoffs sometimes when like a bounce doesn't
go our way, when like the controllables are what you
can control obviously, and then there's like the luck, fate,
destinies and a siquah of the playoffs, and like certain
teams just kind of feel like they have that, and
I feel like that's how the Pacers feel right now.
Like I don't think the Knicks are far away, I
(20:19):
do feel like their weaknesses have been exposed specifically in
this Pacers series, which is that because Brunson isn't like
a defensive minded Garden, he kind of needs to be
on the floor for them to be at their best.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
It is like a little bit of a.
Speaker 6 (20:34):
Liability to have another offensive first player like Kat on
the floor with him, and your top two players are
basically like offense first, like defensively lacking, and that's made
their starting lineup have a horrible plus minus and that's
made it kind of hard for Tips to juggle lineups.
So that would be where I think they could address
(20:57):
in this offseason, Like we need to surround Brunson should
be the priority, like with more defense. But besides that,
I mean, I think they're right there, and like the
Celtics are a non issue for the next year, Johannis
might be leaving the conference. So I wouldn't like overreact
to this Pacers series, would I would be this is
the farthest they've gotten in you know, my lifetime, so
(21:22):
I think they should. They're on the right track. There's
just tweaks that need to be made.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Of the two teams between the Knicks and the Wolves.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Obviously the two teams that are both down, you have
three one which do you feel more confidently in at
least extending.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
This series? It's sending this year.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
This year, I think the next time a better chance
than the Wolves, just because I think the Wolves have
looked relatively outclassed in most of these games, except for
that one game where they absolutely blew them out and
it was just.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
Like the upside down.
Speaker 6 (21:54):
But I would say for the most part in these games,
it's more what you were kind of referencing, where it's like, oh,
one of these teams is clearly better than the other,
And I just personally feel like these the Eastern Conference finals.
The reason they've been so fun is because it really
does feel like a coin flip series. It feels like
two teams that are both really good in very opposite
ways and like play very different styles, and the clash
(22:18):
of the styles has just sort of been like the
Pacers have been able to impose their style on the
series more than the Knicks have been able to do so,
and you know, at the end of the day, their
best handful of players have played better than the knicks
handful of players in that series. But it does feel
like a more closely matched series. And if the Knicks
were able to, like, for example, command the boards like
(22:40):
they should be doing because that's more fundamental to their
identity than the Pacers, like, it could be a different series.
So to be fair, I don't honestly really think either
of these series or going in the distance, But if
I had to guess, I would take the Knicks over
the Wolves in that scenario.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
That's fair.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, I guess, not definitive necessarily, but just like it.
They do seem to have like more bullets, They seem
to have like more ways to win for sure.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Deeper, I feel like they're like they have the better
coaching going right now Pacers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, which.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
Is funny, am I.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
So I know that we're having like a Carlisle renaissance
right now, and you know, deservedly.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
So he's been awesome. I'm like, I'm old enough to remember.
Speaker 6 (23:31):
Last year when he made some like horrible coaching blenders
in the playoffs and we were like.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
What are you doing?
Speaker 6 (23:37):
Like the it was they were on the other end
of some like comebacks and like unlikely things last year.
So obviously he you know, they grew from that. And
I'm not putting that all on Carlisle because it was
a young team and you make mistakes as a young team.
But I remember having conversations like as a guest.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
On podcasts passed him by, yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
Yeah, being like, oh, he's like messing up like kind
of a lot, Like this is atle embarrassing, like does
Carlisle still have his fastball?
Speaker 5 (24:02):
Like what's going on?
Speaker 6 (24:04):
So it's kind of interesting that now the narrative it's
like we're as such a recency bias like economy of media,
but like now every conversation is like he's a bonafide
Hall of Fame NBA coach.
Speaker 5 (24:15):
Is he one of the top four coaches in the league.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
Like the conversation just hinges so much on this run
they've been on, which is understandable. But it's just like
he he got out coached in a couple of series,
like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, last season, the people were coming back on them,
and he was like, we should do that, and also
like people when he saw those people like making shots
to come back, he was like, we should like do
better shot making. I think being even older than you
and being able to remember like a decade ago, he
does seem to be the only coach that I can
(24:51):
remember where it was like, oh, I think they won,
Like you know, the team won because like they didn't
have as much talent, but they won because like they
had like schemed in a way like that in Dallas
when they beat Len where they just like broke Lebron's brain.
And I don't think that was all him necessarily at all.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
But he's a really good coach.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Just yeah, that, but like going into the playoffs every year,
I'm always like, well, and they do have Carlisle, which
is you know, that's that could be an advantage. He's
also just such just knowing people in the coaching world. Uh,
my dad worked for him one time. He's like a
nash Or. I guess he's like in Texas, one of
(25:34):
the top table tennis players for his age, A classically
trained pianist. He's like a scratch golfer who makes his
own golf clubs. He's just like this, Like he was
just like, yeah, he just never sleeps, and it's just
like a weird genius.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Looks like Jim Carrey.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And also my other friend who's a coach, told me
that one time they were getting lunch and he ordered
a graveyard.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Do what that is?
Speaker 1 (26:00):
No, It's like when you get you ask somebody to
go to the soda fountain and just put every different
type of soda in it like a child. It's a
child's drig and he has a grown up was like, yeah,
give me the graveyard. Anyways, Okay, see, I mean what
do we think is It's like there's been a lot
of talk about you know, ANT isn't showing up. I
(26:22):
feel like I feel for anybody who has to go
against that, okay, see perimeter defense. And I feel like
what we've seen from Aunt again, who is like so
much younger than I feel like people remember, yeah, has
been a step forward, like compared to what he did
in the Western Conference Finals last year, which again he's
(26:43):
in the Western Conference Finals again with probably less talent
around him. I've been impressed with what I see in places,
and then there's definitely been some rough spots too, But yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
I think the thunder of to answer your first question,
like kind of like they've answered every question that people
had to them going into this postseason, myself included. It
was just like they are it's so rare for the
youngest team in the league to be the best team
in the league, Like that is just really hard to compute.
So it was sort of like I'll believe it when
I see it, you know, with them, even though they
(27:14):
had shown us all regular season that they were the
best team in basketball, like with a bullet really. And
I think we've kind of, like not to sound too
like Saccer, but I think we've kind of watched them
grow up over the course of these playoffs. Like I
do feel like they look like a different team, different
caliber of team now than they did in Round one
and even for the majority of Round two, Like, I
(27:36):
think that test from Denver really brought out their maturity,
and it was the first time all season that they
had really been sort of rattled, and I think you
kind of watched them grow up from that, and they
just look so mature and poised and different in this
Minnesota series, partially, I think because Denver was like a
little bit worse of a matchup for them than Minnesota,
(27:58):
but partially because they've been now, they've gone through, They've
gotten further in the playoffs at this point than they
ever have before, and they just look ready to me,
Like I wasn't sure if they were, but at this
point I would be really surprised if either team from
the East beats them in the finals.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
Like I think, I think they're ready.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
One of my favorite things is watching a young team
developing the way that you just described.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Because like, I love watching how a team responds to
getting punched in the mouth. You know, they go.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
If I'm not mistaken, they went down to one to Denver?
Did they not in that series?
Speaker 6 (28:33):
I think they they lost game one, but I think
did they not then win the next two?
Speaker 5 (28:40):
I might be remembering incorrectly.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
But I could be off, but they were obviously challenged
along the way, and seeing them get off the mat
each time and seeing them not just do that, but
respond and say like, Okay, yeah, we got this. Seeing
Jalen Williams, who's found his offensive groove again over the
course of this postseason, it's inspiring.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
But you're exactly right, they have been the best team.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
It was really just upon us, with us sitting back
saying like, oh, you have to show us, and clearly
they were ready to do that.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I think it was mainly me challenging them that did it.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
You were alone in your concerns.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
No one else still still don't see it.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
But with Minnesota, I think, yeah, I'm actually writing on
that right now, and like, I think we have this
sort of tendency to project expectations on a team or
a player and then when they don't meet those expectations,
the sky is falling. And it's like everyone was like,
you know, making comparisons to Michael Jordan and like saying
(29:35):
it was the next face of the league. And the
truth is he's still twenty three years old and he's just.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Not there yet.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
But the fact that he's already been the best player
on a Western Conference finals team two years running is
like a legit accomplishment. And I have no doubt that
he will at some point make the NBA Finals and
win a championship, like he's that good, But I do
I think he's had a subpar supporting cast both times.
Like I just like, I know they're deep with you know,
(30:04):
as far as like role player talent, but his like
number two in both cases I don't think was a
like good enough and be like the ideal fit next
to him in either case. And then I think Rudy
Gobert is like a really clunky fit with Anthony Edwards.
And I've always felt that way, and I never was,
you know, in favor of that trade. I think it's
(30:28):
really really there's like the floor spacing is obviously lacking,
and it's especially lacking when Julius Randall is a no show,
which has happened to out of the four games in
the series.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
But I just this is not the ideal.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Team build around Anthony Edwards, I don't think, and I
don't know how long it's going to take them to
get there, but I think it's a little bit like
unfair to expect a championship when the team is still
like quite a clunky fit, even though they are deep
and they are good and you know whatnot and they're
is a great regular season defensive player, but like he's
(31:03):
just proven that in the playoffs there is a minimum
of one series per year where he is basically unplayable,
Like it has been true his entire career, Like, regardless
of how far his team goes in the playoffs, there's
a series where Rudy gober gets played off the floor.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
And like Misther, what is either a second highest paid
player or third highest paid. So it's just that's just
tough to overcome, I.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Think, all right, from one player that's openly disliked by
players around the league to another. I do just want
to talk about Halliburton and specifically, I actually just want
to ask this question broadly. Is it a coincidence that
three of the four final teams that in a playoffs
(31:51):
that has felt like a sort of changing of the guard,
where like I feel like a lot you know, these
are a lot of young teams, a lot of people
who you know, haven't done it before. Three of the
four final teams are led by like scoring point guards
or you know, like Halliburton is scoring a lot right now.
(32:13):
It feels like point guards have suddenly like it I
remember two years ago watching the Suns be like, we
don't need a point guard, Like we're just like Devin Booker,
our shooting guard will bring the ball to the court
and we're just you know, And that didn't go well.
The Lakers kind of tried like a similar thing at
various points this year, and I just feel like we're
(32:38):
seeing a thing happen where like point guard is suddenly
incredibly important at a time when it was supposed to
be becoming less and less important.
Speaker 6 (32:47):
I mean, I would say, like the point guards that
are left are so different that I don't know if
like you could take it as a referendum on the position,
like the version of a point guard that Jalen Brunson
is and the version of a point guard that Tyre's
Halliburton is, or like universe a part I would say,
like Tyreus Halliburton in and of himself might be a
referendum on the importance of the point guard position, because
(33:07):
he is like a true blue old school run the offense,
like getting myself looks and scoring is like bottom of
the totem pole of importance type of point guard. Like
he's like a quarterback out there, like he's quarterbacking their offense.
He's dictating the pace, he's dictating the style, he's getting
people involved.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
That is like a dying breed.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
I would say in the NBA, like there aren't many
point guards like that left, Whereas I would say like
Jalen Brunson is more of like a new school point
guard where it's like well by de facto because he's
the shortest player on the floor, like he kind of
falls into the position of the one. But his facilitation
is not why he's there. He's there to score. He's
a score first player. So I don't really think it's
(33:47):
almost like in name only, they're the same type of players.
So I really think it can serve as like this
is the future of the league. But I will say
that like Tyre's Halliburton has shown that, like we don't
need to kill off the old school version of a
point guard so fast. It just needs to evolve because
to your point, he can score at a high clip
(34:09):
if he needs to, he just doesn't choose to do
that first because that's not his priority on the floor.
And I think we kind of like threw the baby
out with the bathwater with the point guard position, and
we're like, well, we don't need someone to orchestrate the
offense because we just need one through five like spaced out.
Everyone needs to be able to score, where it's like
the more evolved version of that thinking is like everyone
(34:30):
needs to be able to score, but it's still really
really valuable to have like a super high level offensive
you know, creator, facilitator orchestrator on the floor for sure.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
So Claire just really quickly, we were talking beforehand, how
do you think Sacramento feels about getting.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Rid of right they feel?
Speaker 6 (34:49):
I mean, it's crazy because now they're talking about, you know,
moving off of Sibonis, like that's those are the rumblings
I'm hearing, and that's who they got back in that
because they had they it's sort of like Sophie's choice.
They had to like in their estimation, like equally high
level point guard prototypes of Deer and Fox and Terrys
Haliburn or guard prototypes, I guess, because I don't think
(35:09):
Fox is even playing the point guard in San Antonio,
and they chose Fox. And now not only is dearon
Fox not on those Kings anymore, but the guy they
got back for, Tyreus Haliburton, is probably about to not
be on the Kings anymore, so they didn't choose very well.
I would say glass half full for the Kings. They've
taken so much flak for their drafting over the years,
(35:33):
and like the problem isn't the drafting, I think is
what history is telling us, Like they can pick them,
it's just knowing who to keep and how to keep
them build around them.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
But it does probably make them feel better, that's more.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Well.
Speaker 6 (35:46):
I just remember, like every NBA draft I've been like
cognizant of it's like the Kings again, like they messed
up the draft again or whatever, and it's like, I
don't they're drafting fine, It's it's definitely more like then.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
They're like, yeah, we.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
Actually but no, I'm sure.
Speaker 6 (36:04):
I mean, I'm so glad that Tyre's Haliburton ended up
where he did because the Pacers obviously saw something in him,
and Rick Carlisle saw something in him where they're like
this guy's style of play and the way he plays basketball,
like let's just go with that, let's just build around that.
And and I think, you know him happening Like I've
heard people like wish casting like like what if he
(36:26):
had gotten drafted into Golden.
Speaker 5 (36:27):
State or whatever.
Speaker 6 (36:28):
But and he might have fit in nicely to the
Steve Kurse style of play, you know, of the sort
of egalitarian like the beautiful game, like whatever. But I'm
just glad that he basically got handed the keys to
his own franchise to play like Tyre's Haliburton basketball, because
I don't think there were that many teams in the
league that would have done that. And obviously it's paying
(36:48):
dividends absolutely.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
All right, let's take one more break and when we
come back, it's time for the rabbit fire around of questioning.
We'll be right back, and we're back, and it is
(37:11):
the rapid fire round of questioning, Claire. We're going to
fire some questions that you you are just going to
give us your first answer. We're trying to keep this moving.
It is known far and wide as the fastest segment
in podcasting, so we've got a reputation to uphold.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Don't mess us up.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Don't mess this up for us, please, Brian, could you
do me a favor? Actually, could you start the clock? Okay? Cool,
thank you, thank you, Brian.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Ops the world.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
All right, do you want to start off, Jabari or
would you like me to go first?
Speaker 3 (37:49):
We can bounce on these.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Okay to mine?
Speaker 3 (37:51):
All right? So clear here we go. This player or
that player?
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Which would you rather see Shay playing back in the
nineties or Rime in healthy Penny hard way into Day's game.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
Shane the nineties would be fun.
Speaker 6 (38:04):
I feel like he would fit in really nicely in
his play style and it's just like a more evolved
version of that game.
Speaker 5 (38:10):
So I'd like to see.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
It Halliburton on those nineties Pacers teams or Prime Reggie
joining this current squad. And keep in mind, you do
if he's on the squad, he can't be doing the game.
Speaker 6 (38:22):
Essentially, my answer, I would pick I would pick Reggie.
It's the same reason I was excited when Jeff and
Gundy got a coaching job. I was like, yeah, like,
keep these guys busy. It's like handing a toddler, like
a Nintendo switch or whatever.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
You're just like just go sit over there.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
I feel like this has to be hard for Pacers
because it's like you're you're like watching your team's finally
making it, and it's just hard for people to root
for them.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
Keep it a going.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Jalen Jalen Bunch Jalen Brunson Berner.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
The Bunsen Burner exactly, Jalen Brunson transported back to join
peak Ewing in ninety four, or Prime past jumping into
DeLorean and being available for this current series.
Speaker 6 (39:03):
Oh, Prime, Pat would be pretty freaking handy right now.
For the New York next, I would have sure, I'm
going to go.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
With that one two minutes to I bet tips just
doesn't play. Yeah, it just doesn't play.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
You'd be older.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Forty minutes a game, all right, and finally Aunt alongside
KG for that two thousand and four run, or KG
lining up beside Colbert for the current team, or maybe
in place of Cobert.
Speaker 6 (39:37):
I mean in place of Gobert, like ten times out
of time, what give me that one? Give me give
me the Kevin Garnette instead of Rudio, a bear option,
like on any team at anytime.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
Like that's great, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
That is fair. Give us your prediction on these following
players and where they are.
Speaker 5 (39:53):
Next, be honest, San Antonio, wow.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
Zion Williamson, The New Orleans Pelicans, John maritt Man, I
think I think he says it grizzly for now.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Kevin Durant, who did make these ryn kd with the rockets.
That would be so fun.
Speaker 6 (40:21):
It would be so fun. He's exactly what they need.
It's like it's a beautiful fit.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
And Lebron James.
Speaker 5 (40:29):
Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Yeah, he's your face, Jabbari, it happens. It happens. Sorry,
the best player of all time stays on your team
sometimes it happened, all right. And finally, we want to
tap into your musical knowledge and expertise with the Kendrick
and this is a co headlining tour currently taking place.
(40:52):
We want to hear your choice for a tour that
blends genres and like has two headliners just tray on
and off. Who are you going with?
Speaker 6 (41:04):
Well, the thing about this is in Kendrick tours, they
have a lot of songs together.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
So that's it?
Speaker 6 (41:08):
Does that is that a prerequisite? Like do they have
to have shared songs?
Speaker 3 (41:12):
They could?
Speaker 1 (41:12):
They could record songs for this tour together based on
your direction. We have a ton of power in this scenario.
Speaker 5 (41:21):
Man.
Speaker 6 (41:21):
Well, Beach House is like my favorite band of all time,
so I want that to be one of the artists.
I mean, it feels like a cop out to use Kendrick,
but like Beach House and Kendrick be like on Fire Tour.
I would love that so much, and they would be
really cool collab. I think like they could make some
really cool songs together. And I mean Kendrick has sampled
them before, he sampled them on Money Trees, So I do.
Speaker 5 (41:43):
A good start.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
I give you so much bready.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
I didn't realice that was then.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
I can tell you right now.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
I absolutely thought, okay, so tiny this, and I.
Speaker 6 (41:54):
Mean I would love that, but like, yeah, I feel
like it's like the what are they isn't it? With
awards voting, It's like you have to like leave yourself.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Recute yourself.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
Yeah that's fair.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
Nah on that, not on this sved, not on this
show where crooked as.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
Hell, myself, me and jay z Onto worlds do that.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yeah, the fans have been asking.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
That's the answer.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
That is the answer.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
It is correct.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Thank you Jobori for leading her to the right answer.
That just checking our scorecard and yes, every single one
of those was the correct answer. Congratulations returning champion Claire Dulon.
Thank you so much for joining us. Where can people
find you? Follow you, hear you, listen to you all
that good stuff?
Speaker 6 (42:35):
Well, basketball wise, you can find my stuff at the
guardiantheguardian dot com and also I tweet about basketball and
like post about across all social media at Claire Mpls
music wise, you can find me under tiny Deaths wherever
you stream music.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah, yoh, you can give us a follow on Twitter.
I'm at Jack Underscore. O'Brian Miles is at Miles of Gray.
I'm at Jack ob one on Blue Sky and Miles
as also at Miles of Gray. He has good social
media continuity. I have the opposite, Jabari, where can people
find you?
Speaker 3 (43:10):
Easy A? Davis on both?
Speaker 1 (43:14):
All right, and that's going to do it. Another one
in the books, swish we did it. We did it
back next week, Kobe Lebron knuckle come on,
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