February 22, 2023 • 16 mins
Sarah talks with NBA.com Senior Writer Steve Aschburner about the latest news in the NBA including Nate McMillan getting fired by the Hawks, Giannis dealing with an injury, Russell Westbrook's fit with the Clippers and Pat Bev to the Bulls. We also discuss Asch's NBA Top 100 players of all-time.
NBA Pulse is a production of iHeartMedia and the NBA.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Book com into NBA Pulse to production of iHeartRadio in
the NBA. I'm Sarah Kustack, NBA analyst for the y
S Network, and today is Wednesday, February twenty second, and
from our terrific core group of NBA journalists, we are
joined by NBA dot Com senior writer Steve Ashburner. Ash
we are thrilled to have you here. You're fresh off
(00:21):
of All Star weekend. But as we move forward in
this final stretch of the season, a lot to get
to and some news that just broke on Tuesday, as
the Atlanta Hawks announced that they fired Nate McMillan, obviously
with the Hawks for two plus seasons and making a change.
There's been reports that at the top of the list,
(00:42):
no doubt, is former Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder,
some others Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson.
But first and foremost, what was your reaction upon hearing
this news about McMillan, Hawks, currently sitting eighth in the
Eastern Ofference. Yeah, Hi, Sarah, thanks for thanks for having
(01:04):
me here today. I was surprised, um primarily because I
think Nate McMillan is such a voice of stability that
it surprises me anytime he um uh. You know, he
sort of hits some turmoil as a as a coach
when he got you know, fired previously and now this time.
(01:26):
You know, I get it from the standpoint that Atlanta's
expectations were greater. They're they're really eager to avoid a
play in situation and that is you know, has not
been looking great. Um you know, so you know, I
guess the sense of um Nate not known for his
(01:47):
offensive uh side of the ball, um the work there
and even developing young players. You know, that's a concern
I think with the Hawks management, or at least that
was you know, I think in part of their thinking
how valid or not so okay, you can maybe build
a case for that, but I think ultimately it comes
(02:07):
down to um looking for a way to shake up
the roster in terms of the players themselves and accountability
and inject a little of that into their locker room.
So this kind of thing kind of does it. But
it's it's sort of you know, shooting left while you're
(02:29):
aiming right or something like that. It's it's a little
bit off to only go for the coach, So we'll
see what else they have in store if whomever they
put in, I know Joe Prunty is interim, and we'll
see if anything changes actually on the floor with rotations
or roles. That to me would be more telling than
(02:51):
simply removing Nate McMillan. Yeah, interesting to watch, and as
you mentioned about player development accountability. Currently they sit sixteenth
in offensive rating, twenty first and defensive rating. They are
just three and a half games though out of that
sixth spot, behind both Miami and where the New York
Knicks sit, So still still sometime to be able to
(03:13):
make up a little bit around see how that all
plays out. And speaking of the Eastern Conference, it feels
like there's been a bit of a clear delineation of
some of those teams at the top, namely Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia,
Cleveland right behind there. But you're looking at Milwaukee and
Jannis with that sprained wrist. The Bucks currently on a
(03:35):
twelve game win streak, they're just a half game out
of first behind the Celtics. But how would you put
into context, not knowing necessarily the timeline of this injury
for Yannis, but the context of what that means with
this Eastern Conference race, well, there's a little less than
two months left. The news he got from the expert
(03:56):
a diagnosis in New York after also weekend was encouraging
from the standpoint that there's nothing particularly serious with the
with the wrist. It's it's going to be a matter
of what I have heard is the swelling needs to
go down. He just needs to be able to play
with confidence and with dexterity in that in that wrist. Um.
(04:17):
So that doesn't suggest a long layoff. I would think
that he would maybe get a few games here um
and we'll see what happens at that point. I think
they will be very careful obviously, if you're going to
manage anybody's minutes and appearances between now and the playoffs.
I would think the honest is is, you know, he's
somebody you would want to do that with Milwaukee Without him,
(04:41):
you know, there are no fact or whatsoever. So if
if they can stay afloat, I mean, the thing is
is the way they've been playing, they had a chance
to maybe you know, grab that number one seed. That
might be a little more difficult, you know, with with
Yannis not being one hundred percent available, so m we'll see.
I mean they sacrifice that previous years, you know, last
(05:04):
year it costs them in a Game seven with Boston,
so you know, you can read things into it. I
think they'd rather have healthy, honest than home court advantage,
you know, and not a healthy Do you think that
matters or do you think it matters more so for
one team as opposed to the other home court advantage
in the postseason. I think it does matter. I think
(05:25):
it matters when you're at a high level like that
and teams are are fairly equal, they match up well,
and you're looking for that one thing because I mean,
now that said, Milwaukee lost Game six at home, Jason
Tatum when when crazy in Game six had had the
game of his life and at least till the All
(05:46):
Star Game, and um, you know, so then they had
to drag themselves back to a Boston the Bucks and
they lost there. So but I do think it matters.
I think that even even from a confidence standpoint of
knowing you have that your hip pocket, that makes a
difference starting the series at home, That makes a difference
to open up a lead, you know. So yeah, I
(06:07):
do think it matters, you know, We've seen champions obviously
went on on the road and not be bothered by
that sort of thing, but I think those are are
more rare. Yeah, Well, speaking of Utita, sup, let's go
to the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Clippers still in
position to have home court advantage there in the first round,
(06:29):
sitting in that fourth spot in the West, but it's
still really bunched up between three and ten at this point,
as four games separating those teams. And on the buyout market,
Russell Westbrook, after being brought out from Utah, signed with
the Los Angeles Clippers. Off with the left hand. What
(06:50):
is your take on the impact that he could have
on this Clippers team that hopes to be a Western
Conference finalist, a title contender. I think it could be interesting.
It's certainly going to be good theater to to see
how Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, you know, sort of
coalesce around what Russell Westbrook. I think had Russell gone
(07:11):
to Washington or Chicago, those were two teams that had
been mentioned, Um, it would have been intriguing, like a
like a car wreck, you know, from from the standpoint
of well, you know, this is going to create some drama,
and we'll see what the existing stars think of this guy.
I think with the Clippers they're going to get the
(07:32):
best of what Russell has left. It won't be as disruptive.
It shouldn't be as disruptive. Um. You know, those guys
haven't been able to take the Clippers beyond a certain
point anyway, So I think it's worth rolling the dice.
I also am a little surprised. Um, I don't know
(07:55):
if emotionally, but psychologically, I am now feeling that Russell
Westbrook is a little bit of a victim. He has
been scapegoaded, He's been kicked around. This is a great player. Look,
they're legitimate reasons. His game has not translated, you know,
as he has aged. He hasn't done enough to adapt,
you know, the style of play to suit a loss
(08:18):
of physicality or athleticism. And he accepted the bench role
with the Lakers. But I just think that that he's
been sort of kicked to the curb here. And I
would love to see Russell Westbrook haven't, you know, a
boost on the Clippers performance. So I'll be watching that
very closely. I think it's a you know, a fascinating move,
(08:39):
and I give the Clippers credit. I mean, they know
their team and they know where they haven't gotten and
they might as well give it a shot. Another buyout
move that I think will be interested to watch or
ties to Chicago, there's cargo. Bulls had announced that Lonzo
Ball will be out for the rest of the season
having not played this year, so in to a point guard,
(09:00):
and they picked up off the buyout market, Patrick Beverly,
who returns back home to Chicago where he is originally from.
What is your feel on Beverly and the signing with
the Bulls here that just occurred. I guess to sum
it up, I would say too little, too late. I mean,
you know, it had this feel when he had Kevin
(09:21):
Love and Westbrook and Reggie Jackson and others on the
buyout market and the Bulls come home with Patrick Beverly.
You know, I think a lot of Bulls fans would
have rather ended up with a lousy T shirt, as
the saying goes, because Patrick Beverly at age thirty four,
to me, he seems like he is more troubled than
he's he's worth. He's an irritant to other teams, and
(09:45):
that's on the plus side. He can be an irritant
to his own team at times. That's not good. I
don't think he has enough game left. And frankly, if
they're looking for him to put some teeth into the
Bulls performance the rest of the way, that's an indictment
of the players that are in that locker room already.
(10:07):
I mean, those guys are getting paid issued when you
open up your paycheck, that ought to be enough to
put some teeth into your game. And if you need
Patrick Beverlely, you know, to rah ry you to, hey,
we can do more, we can do better. I'm not
that impressed by the Chicago roots. I think it's good
for Beverley, I'm not sure it's so good for the Bulls.
Bulls looking for something coming out of the All Star
(10:27):
Break on a six game losing streak, two games behind
even a play in spot. We though, are going to
take a quick break. You have got a tremendous article
talking about the next the NBA one hundred hopeful, so
we'll get to that right after the break. Welcome back
(10:47):
to and Be a Pulse Saracoustack joined by Steve Ashburner
and ash I loved reading through this, Although I want
to slow down time. You have an article on NBA
dot com NBA one hundred hopeful ten active players building
cases to join the legends, and you started by setting
the table of us being at All Star Weekend in
(11:07):
twenty forty seven in Cleveland, as we're just one year
removed from the top seventy five being announced. But you
look at the top one hundred, dig into your thoughts
behind this article a little bit more in some of
these players who are already making a case for being
a part of that top one hundred. Yeah, some of
this was done. I mean not the analysis, but the
(11:29):
idea was sort of tongue in cheek. I mean, we're
one year removed from the top seventy five, so what
better time than to project twenty four years into We
always love those projections. Oh I know, Well, I think
there's certain outlets that they spend a half their time
trying to predict the future, whether it's tonight game, tonight's game,
or the end of the season or whatever it is.
That's fine, but yeah, I choose not to think much
(11:52):
about twenty forty seven. I hope I'm sitting on a
beach retired. Then there you go. Yeah, I hope I'm
sitting anywhere at but it just seemed like, okay, well,
let's look at how they got from fifty to seventy five.
And when you do that, I mean, what I realized
was many of the guys that were on the top
(12:13):
seventy five that were the new editions, they weren't even
active in when the top fifty were announced. So that
would presume that similarly, a bunch of guys that aren't
active right now or last season would be candidates for
the top one hundred. So that means you're not going
to just had twenty five more guys that we're familiar
(12:35):
with right now for being good players. You're only going
to get about ten spots and the other fifteen or
fourteen if the NBA wants to clean up that untidy
seventy six situation and make it a real one hundred,
fourteen of those spots are going to be guys that
we their games haven't developed yet, they might not be
in the league, and frankly, somebody might not even be
(12:58):
born yet. I mean, if you an eighteen year entry
rule and then you have four great seasons like Shack
did when he made the top fifty, you could be
born in twenty twenty four or twenty twenty five and
still be on the top one hundred. So we're sort of,
you know, throwing out, you know, a big guest. But
(13:18):
what we did is we narrowed it down to ten players,
guys who have shown enough already, and you might, I
guess the first test would be, hey, why weren't they
on the top seventy five? Now, a guy like Kyrie Irving,
I know some people thought he should be on there. Well,
I think the way he has gone even in you know,
now we're talking on the court, but you know, when
(13:40):
you look at his body of work in retrospect, he
will be a guy that looks like he should be
one of the top one hundred players in the NBA
history by the time we get to the hundredth anniversary
of the league. You know, Clay Thompson, similarly, you could
have made a case for Nicola Yokich, just like for
Shack Uh. You know twenty six years ago that he
(14:04):
already was among those elite. I mean, when you have
back to back MVPs, um Jannis made the team, Uh,
Yoki didn't. Yeah, he got his second MVP after that
team was announced, but but you know where he was headed.
But then you've got other guys, I mean Jason Tatum,
who we mentioned earlier. Um, he seems to be on track.
He's with a he's with a you know, a cornerstone
(14:25):
franchise of the League one team guy presumably UM. And
you know an elite player who's who's just heading toward
his prime. So I look at those kind of guys
John Morant um. Uh, you know, Devin Booker, he's a
he's a young talent. Joel Embiid obviously. So it's a
(14:46):
it's a story where we you know, throughout names pretty
reliable picks. I wanted to generate some um barroom debate,
I suppose. And um, It's funny because the first email
I got in response to this story was somebody complaining
that David Thompson has been ignored at the fiftieth team,
(15:07):
the seventy five team, and now in my article for
the hundred team, and unfortunately, in my view, uh, and
I didn't have votes. I didn't have a vote on
the fifty team, but I did for seventy five. David
Thompson just he had too short of a career. He
flamed out and as as brilliantly as he shined. It
just wasn't that long enough. But you know, people will
(15:27):
have their views. I mean there are young stars that
aren't on my list and and people say, well, why
didn't you project you know so and so and um,
Trey Young. I mean, you know, you name it a
lot of a lot of young players. Um, but we
gotta we have to save space for Victor Wembannana. I
was just our great producer, Peter Cotter already said we
gotta add a little add a little uh pencil in
(15:50):
for Yama at this point already. But it is such
a tremendous read I think to even remember in back
to so many of these individual signature moments that you
bring to the tables. So a must go to Ash.
As always, we appreciate your time and you're joining me.
We have got Michael C. Wright coming back to talk
his new MVP Ladder on Friday. NBA Pulse with Sara
(16:13):
Kustock is a production of the NBA and iHeartRadio. Please rate, review,
and subscribe on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get
your podcast
Book com into NBA Pulse to production of iHeartRadio in
the NBA. I'm Sarah Kustack, NBA analyst for the y
S Network, and today is Wednesday, February twenty second, and
from our terrific core group of NBA journalists, we are
joined by NBA dot Com senior writer Steve Ashburner. Ash
we are thrilled to have you here. You're fresh off
(00:21):
of All Star weekend. But as we move forward in
this final stretch of the season, a lot to get
to and some news that just broke on Tuesday, as
the Atlanta Hawks announced that they fired Nate McMillan, obviously
with the Hawks for two plus seasons and making a change.
There's been reports that at the top of the list,
(00:42):
no doubt, is former Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder,
some others Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson.
But first and foremost, what was your reaction upon hearing
this news about McMillan, Hawks, currently sitting eighth in the
Eastern Ofference. Yeah, Hi, Sarah, thanks for thanks for having
(01:04):
me here today. I was surprised, um primarily because I
think Nate McMillan is such a voice of stability that
it surprises me anytime he um uh. You know, he
sort of hits some turmoil as a as a coach
when he got you know, fired previously and now this time.
(01:26):
You know, I get it from the standpoint that Atlanta's
expectations were greater. They're they're really eager to avoid a
play in situation and that is you know, has not
been looking great. Um you know, so you know, I
guess the sense of um Nate not known for his
(01:47):
offensive uh side of the ball, um the work there
and even developing young players. You know, that's a concern
I think with the Hawks management, or at least that
was you know, I think in part of their thinking
how valid or not so okay, you can maybe build
a case for that, but I think ultimately it comes
(02:07):
down to um looking for a way to shake up
the roster in terms of the players themselves and accountability
and inject a little of that into their locker room.
So this kind of thing kind of does it. But
it's it's sort of you know, shooting left while you're
(02:29):
aiming right or something like that. It's it's a little
bit off to only go for the coach, So we'll
see what else they have in store if whomever they
put in, I know Joe Prunty is interim, and we'll
see if anything changes actually on the floor with rotations
or roles. That to me would be more telling than
(02:51):
simply removing Nate McMillan. Yeah, interesting to watch, and as
you mentioned about player development accountability. Currently they sit sixteenth
in offensive rating, twenty first and defensive rating. They are
just three and a half games though out of that
sixth spot, behind both Miami and where the New York
Knicks sit, So still still sometime to be able to
(03:13):
make up a little bit around see how that all
plays out. And speaking of the Eastern Conference, it feels
like there's been a bit of a clear delineation of
some of those teams at the top, namely Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia,
Cleveland right behind there. But you're looking at Milwaukee and
Jannis with that sprained wrist. The Bucks currently on a
(03:35):
twelve game win streak, they're just a half game out
of first behind the Celtics. But how would you put
into context, not knowing necessarily the timeline of this injury
for Yannis, but the context of what that means with
this Eastern Conference race, well, there's a little less than
two months left. The news he got from the expert
(03:56):
a diagnosis in New York after also weekend was encouraging
from the standpoint that there's nothing particularly serious with the
with the wrist. It's it's going to be a matter
of what I have heard is the swelling needs to
go down. He just needs to be able to play
with confidence and with dexterity in that in that wrist. Um.
(04:17):
So that doesn't suggest a long layoff. I would think
that he would maybe get a few games here um
and we'll see what happens at that point. I think
they will be very careful obviously, if you're going to
manage anybody's minutes and appearances between now and the playoffs.
I would think the honest is is, you know, he's
somebody you would want to do that with Milwaukee Without him,
(04:41):
you know, there are no fact or whatsoever. So if
if they can stay afloat, I mean, the thing is
is the way they've been playing, they had a chance
to maybe you know, grab that number one seed. That
might be a little more difficult, you know, with with
Yannis not being one hundred percent available, so m we'll see.
I mean they sacrifice that previous years, you know, last
(05:04):
year it costs them in a Game seven with Boston,
so you know, you can read things into it. I
think they'd rather have healthy, honest than home court advantage,
you know, and not a healthy Do you think that
matters or do you think it matters more so for
one team as opposed to the other home court advantage
in the postseason. I think it does matter. I think
(05:25):
it matters when you're at a high level like that
and teams are are fairly equal, they match up well,
and you're looking for that one thing because I mean,
now that said, Milwaukee lost Game six at home, Jason
Tatum when when crazy in Game six had had the
game of his life and at least till the All
(05:46):
Star Game, and um, you know, so then they had
to drag themselves back to a Boston the Bucks and
they lost there. So but I do think it matters.
I think that even even from a confidence standpoint of
knowing you have that your hip pocket, that makes a
difference starting the series at home, That makes a difference
to open up a lead, you know. So yeah, I
(06:07):
do think it matters, you know, We've seen champions obviously
went on on the road and not be bothered by
that sort of thing, but I think those are are
more rare. Yeah, Well, speaking of Utita, sup, let's go
to the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Clippers still in
position to have home court advantage there in the first round,
(06:29):
sitting in that fourth spot in the West, but it's
still really bunched up between three and ten at this point,
as four games separating those teams. And on the buyout market,
Russell Westbrook, after being brought out from Utah, signed with
the Los Angeles Clippers. Off with the left hand. What
(06:50):
is your take on the impact that he could have
on this Clippers team that hopes to be a Western
Conference finalist, a title contender. I think it could be interesting.
It's certainly going to be good theater to to see
how Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, you know, sort of
coalesce around what Russell Westbrook. I think had Russell gone
(07:11):
to Washington or Chicago, those were two teams that had
been mentioned, Um, it would have been intriguing, like a
like a car wreck, you know, from from the standpoint
of well, you know, this is going to create some drama,
and we'll see what the existing stars think of this guy.
I think with the Clippers they're going to get the
(07:32):
best of what Russell has left. It won't be as disruptive.
It shouldn't be as disruptive. Um. You know, those guys
haven't been able to take the Clippers beyond a certain
point anyway, So I think it's worth rolling the dice.
I also am a little surprised. Um, I don't know
(07:55):
if emotionally, but psychologically, I am now feeling that Russell
Westbrook is a little bit of a victim. He has
been scapegoaded, He's been kicked around. This is a great player. Look,
they're legitimate reasons. His game has not translated, you know,
as he has aged. He hasn't done enough to adapt,
you know, the style of play to suit a loss
(08:18):
of physicality or athleticism. And he accepted the bench role
with the Lakers. But I just think that that he's
been sort of kicked to the curb here. And I
would love to see Russell Westbrook haven't, you know, a
boost on the Clippers performance. So I'll be watching that
very closely. I think it's a you know, a fascinating move,
(08:39):
and I give the Clippers credit. I mean, they know
their team and they know where they haven't gotten and
they might as well give it a shot. Another buyout
move that I think will be interested to watch or
ties to Chicago, there's cargo. Bulls had announced that Lonzo
Ball will be out for the rest of the season
having not played this year, so in to a point guard,
(09:00):
and they picked up off the buyout market, Patrick Beverly,
who returns back home to Chicago where he is originally from.
What is your feel on Beverly and the signing with
the Bulls here that just occurred. I guess to sum
it up, I would say too little, too late. I mean,
you know, it had this feel when he had Kevin
(09:21):
Love and Westbrook and Reggie Jackson and others on the
buyout market and the Bulls come home with Patrick Beverly.
You know, I think a lot of Bulls fans would
have rather ended up with a lousy T shirt, as
the saying goes, because Patrick Beverly at age thirty four,
to me, he seems like he is more troubled than
he's he's worth. He's an irritant to other teams, and
(09:45):
that's on the plus side. He can be an irritant
to his own team at times. That's not good. I
don't think he has enough game left. And frankly, if
they're looking for him to put some teeth into the
Bulls performance the rest of the way, that's an indictment
of the players that are in that locker room already.
(10:07):
I mean, those guys are getting paid issued when you
open up your paycheck, that ought to be enough to
put some teeth into your game. And if you need
Patrick Beverlely, you know, to rah ry you to, hey,
we can do more, we can do better. I'm not
that impressed by the Chicago roots. I think it's good
for Beverley, I'm not sure it's so good for the Bulls.
Bulls looking for something coming out of the All Star
(10:27):
Break on a six game losing streak, two games behind
even a play in spot. We though, are going to
take a quick break. You have got a tremendous article
talking about the next the NBA one hundred hopeful, so
we'll get to that right after the break. Welcome back
(10:47):
to and Be a Pulse Saracoustack joined by Steve Ashburner
and ash I loved reading through this, Although I want
to slow down time. You have an article on NBA
dot com NBA one hundred hopeful ten active players building
cases to join the legends, and you started by setting
the table of us being at All Star Weekend in
(11:07):
twenty forty seven in Cleveland, as we're just one year
removed from the top seventy five being announced. But you
look at the top one hundred, dig into your thoughts
behind this article a little bit more in some of
these players who are already making a case for being
a part of that top one hundred. Yeah, some of
this was done. I mean not the analysis, but the
(11:29):
idea was sort of tongue in cheek. I mean, we're
one year removed from the top seventy five, so what
better time than to project twenty four years into We
always love those projections. Oh I know, Well, I think
there's certain outlets that they spend a half their time
trying to predict the future, whether it's tonight game, tonight's game,
or the end of the season or whatever it is.
That's fine, but yeah, I choose not to think much
(11:52):
about twenty forty seven. I hope I'm sitting on a
beach retired. Then there you go. Yeah, I hope I'm
sitting anywhere at but it just seemed like, okay, well,
let's look at how they got from fifty to seventy five.
And when you do that, I mean, what I realized
was many of the guys that were on the top
(12:13):
seventy five that were the new editions, they weren't even
active in when the top fifty were announced. So that
would presume that similarly, a bunch of guys that aren't
active right now or last season would be candidates for
the top one hundred. So that means you're not going
to just had twenty five more guys that we're familiar
(12:35):
with right now for being good players. You're only going
to get about ten spots and the other fifteen or
fourteen if the NBA wants to clean up that untidy
seventy six situation and make it a real one hundred,
fourteen of those spots are going to be guys that
we their games haven't developed yet, they might not be
in the league, and frankly, somebody might not even be
(12:58):
born yet. I mean, if you an eighteen year entry
rule and then you have four great seasons like Shack
did when he made the top fifty, you could be
born in twenty twenty four or twenty twenty five and
still be on the top one hundred. So we're sort of,
you know, throwing out, you know, a big guest. But
(13:18):
what we did is we narrowed it down to ten players,
guys who have shown enough already, and you might, I
guess the first test would be, hey, why weren't they
on the top seventy five? Now, a guy like Kyrie Irving,
I know some people thought he should be on there. Well,
I think the way he has gone even in you know,
now we're talking on the court, but you know, when
(13:40):
you look at his body of work in retrospect, he
will be a guy that looks like he should be
one of the top one hundred players in the NBA
history by the time we get to the hundredth anniversary
of the league. You know, Clay Thompson, similarly, you could
have made a case for Nicola Yokich, just like for
Shack Uh. You know twenty six years ago that he
(14:04):
already was among those elite. I mean, when you have
back to back MVPs, um Jannis made the team, Uh,
Yoki didn't. Yeah, he got his second MVP after that
team was announced, but but you know where he was headed.
But then you've got other guys, I mean Jason Tatum,
who we mentioned earlier. Um, he seems to be on track.
He's with a he's with a you know, a cornerstone
(14:25):
franchise of the League one team guy presumably UM. And
you know an elite player who's who's just heading toward
his prime. So I look at those kind of guys
John Morant um. Uh, you know, Devin Booker, he's a
he's a young talent. Joel Embiid obviously. So it's a
(14:46):
it's a story where we you know, throughout names pretty
reliable picks. I wanted to generate some um barroom debate,
I suppose. And um, It's funny because the first email
I got in response to this story was somebody complaining
that David Thompson has been ignored at the fiftieth team,
(15:07):
the seventy five team, and now in my article for
the hundred team, and unfortunately, in my view, uh, and
I didn't have votes. I didn't have a vote on
the fifty team, but I did for seventy five. David
Thompson just he had too short of a career. He
flamed out and as as brilliantly as he shined. It
just wasn't that long enough. But you know, people will
(15:27):
have their views. I mean there are young stars that
aren't on my list and and people say, well, why
didn't you project you know so and so and um,
Trey Young. I mean, you know, you name it a
lot of a lot of young players. Um, but we
gotta we have to save space for Victor Wembannana. I
was just our great producer, Peter Cotter already said we
gotta add a little add a little uh pencil in
(15:50):
for Yama at this point already. But it is such
a tremendous read I think to even remember in back
to so many of these individual signature moments that you
bring to the tables. So a must go to Ash.
As always, we appreciate your time and you're joining me.
We have got Michael C. Wright coming back to talk
his new MVP Ladder on Friday. NBA Pulse with Sara
(16:13):
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