On today’s episode, Jason and Super Producer Rob G (Robert Guerra) kick things off by using the incredible postseason run by the Denver Nuggets tandem of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as a backdrop to debate the top-10 dynamic duos in the NBA right now. Are LeBron James and Anthony Davis still the best in the business? Have Kevin Durant and Devin Booker been together long enough to crack the top-5? How much did the Boston Celtics’ playoff flameout cost Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Later, the guys discuss the report that Chris Paul will wind up either in Phoenix or Los Angeles next season. If CP3 ends up with a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, could the Suns replace him with another disgruntled point guard like James Harden? Interesting. Finally, J-Mac and Rob close the show by discussing whether or not they’d consider trading Jokic for the first overall pick and the rights to draft French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
What is up.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Straight Fire, Fam, It's me Jason McIntyre, Straight Fire for
for Friday, June ninth. We are recording this in advance
of the massive Game four the NBA Finals. Obviously we'll
have best bets at the end. Nuggets. He must win
for Miami. If you lose this game, season over, you're
not winning the final three games against the Denver Broncos
(00:39):
after being down Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets after being down
three to one. They probably couldn't do it against the
Broncos either. Yo Kitchen Murray pretty pretty incredible in Game three.
Will they be able to do that again? But in
advance of that, kind of a slow news day, no
no juicy Zion Williamson news popping from the CD corners
of the Internet. I'm sure the investigative reporters are digging deep.
(01:01):
But you know, producer legend Rob g has a couple
of interesting topics. We got some of it we've covered
in passing before, but all this love for Yokichen Murray
totally dominating the finals both with the thirty point triple doubles.
First time that's been done. In NBA history. It led
(01:23):
us to the topic of the best duos in the league.
And it's weird because these aren't the duos of your
older brother or maybe your dad or your uncle. This
isn't Magic and Jabbar or Scottie and Michael. Hell, it's
not even Kobe and Shack. I don't think now in
terms of greatness the number one is for sure. But
(01:44):
after that we've got positionless basketball taking over. And as such,
you don't have the big guard and the center, the
magic Johnson feeding Jabbar. You don't have Isaiah Thomas and
I guess Isaiah Thomas and Dumars were the duo right
on NBA JAM back in the day. But you just
don't have the traditional duo. This is kind of a
(02:05):
new duo. And you know, Rob and I there's some
strong disagreement. Shall we say I have ten, he's got five.
I'll count down from ten to one. Best duos in
the league. And again, is this for who would win
in a two on two tournament? Absolutely not. We know
that's crazy. I'm talking about in terms of the two
best players leading your team. There is gonna be some
(02:28):
your turn, my turn. Unfortunately, Kyrie Irving and Luca Dantis
did not make the cut. I had them in late
and I had to bump them. I'm sorry, not enough
of a sample size. If it were two on two,
they would not be able to defend anybody, but then
you could counter, well, nobody could defend them. It's just
I don't know how those two are going to fit together.
I'm hopeful that it works for Luca's sake, but they
(02:50):
just missed the cut. Also missing the cut my guy
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randall. Again small sample size of
them together. They did win a playoff series barely missing
the cut. Just because I want to mention him again,
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. If you notice those faithful
watchers of the Herd Thursday tried to tried to crowbar
Zion in there that nobody was having it. They're like,
(03:11):
this is way too risky, we can't touch it. I
got Zion mentioned in there. I think two or three times.
Cowhard knew what was up. He was in on the plane.
Also missing the cut, and this is narrowly but John
Morant and Jaron Jackson. We don't know what's up with
Ja Morant going forward, carl Anthony Townsend, Kat Sorry and
Anthony Edwards. They narrowly missed the cut, and finally underrated
(03:32):
backcourt Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, they just missed the cut.
So best duos in the league starting at number ten.
I know some people are gonna say disrespectful out of
the gate, but Clay Thompson and Steph Curry checking in
at ten. Now, this is four years ago, pre Clay
back to back injuries. Heck yeah, they're number one, but
we're talking about twenty twenty three and going forward, Clay
(03:55):
just just looks like a shell of himself. Guys, we
know he can't defend. He's just not the knockdown shooter.
He was proved that in the Lakers series. Where was he?
Steph Curry obviously an Mvpkennate, But I've got them as
the tenth best duo in the league. I don't think
Clay can be the second best player on your team
if you're gunning to win a title anymore. We already
showed in twenty twenty two he wasn't the second best.
(04:15):
That was Andrew Wiggins. You could argue Clay was third
or fourth. So number nine Jannis at Nakumpo and Drew Holliday.
I'm sure there's gonna be some people pushing for Middleton Overdrew.
That's just not the case anymore. When they won the
title two years ago, sure Middleton was outstanding, Holiday a
really good defender. At this point, with the injuries, I
think Middleton comes back a little bit. We don't know
(04:36):
what his future is. By the way, in Milwaukee, so
I have Giannis and Drew Holliday checking in at nine
number eight. They're currently starring in the finals. Bam at
a Baio and James Butler himmy Buckets, as they like
to call him. You could argue that this duo should
be higher promised. They don't really do it in the
regular season. They're just a playoff one two punch and
at times Bam has struggled in the first couple of rounds.
(05:00):
Maybe it was defending Embiid I'm not I'm sorry, not
in bid. Maybe it was defending Giannison company in the
first round. And then in the third round he's doing
a lot of rotation, trying to switch and cut off
the drives. Against Boston, he just didn't have a great
offensive series. He's played great through three games against Denver,
they're down two to one. Jimmy Butler needs no introduction.
One of my favorite players in the league. Eighth best
(05:20):
duo in the league checking in at seven. They never
play in the postseason. They're always hurt, but damn if
they're ever healthy, lookout league. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
checking in seventh best duo. Essentially they are Brown and
Tatum in the West. But these two always get hurt
and always come up short. That's the problem with Kawhi
(05:42):
and Paul George. I'm the only time they were healthy,
I believe, in the playoffs, fully healthy. They get to
the Eastern Conference Western Conference Semifinals against the Nuggets, lead
three to one. Yeah, it lead three to one, and
then they just melted down. Kawhi Leonard nowhere to be found.
Jamal Murray just roasted every one pandemic Paul George off
the side of the backboard. Sorry, guys, you can't do
(06:04):
better than seven, number six Embiid and Harden one of
the most dynamic pick and roll duos in the league.
If Harden leaves, this group falls out obviously. Just my guess,
my guess. No insider knowledge don't aggregate me ugh. I
think James Harden stays. I think he's trying to use
Houston as leverage to get all the money he can
(06:25):
from his guy, Darryl Mory. I think Harden stays with
him Bead and Dick listen in Miami does an upgrade
and we'll see what Boston does around the fringe is
we don't know about Milwaukee. I'm not totally ruling out
Philadelphia now that they've bounced Doc Rivers and upgraded. With
Nick Nurse checking in at number five, this is a
nod to my Kings, Sabonis and Fox. I mean, listen,
(06:47):
dearon Fox proved his worth in the postseason. If he
doesn't get that injured finger. Steph Curry doesn't have fifty Kings.
Who know how far they go. They probably they would
have been a problem for Rob G's Lakers. You can
bet your bottom dollar that Sabonis obvious superstar in the making,
well maybe super star strong, but all NBA player. How's that?
I think as a duo pick and roll they work
perfectly together. I think Sacramento's onto something. Fifth best duel
(07:10):
in the league. Number four Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, this
is where your turn, my turn comes in. I didn't
love what I saw in the playoffs, to be honest, guys.
It was just a lot of Okay, you score and
now I'm gonna get off my shot, and they when
you talk duo working together, I didn't see that the
way I do with Fox and Sabonis or yokichin Murray.
So I have Durant and Booker down at four. By
(07:33):
the way, we'll get to Chris Paul in a moment.
But they had a big four like eight minutes ago
of Chris Paul eight and Booker and Durant that was
supposed to be favorites in the West, and it was
just Choke City in the postseason against Denver. And now
it's like Dewey trade Ayton, Chris Paul might get waived,
and it's like, wow, a lot happening in Phoenix. Remember
(07:54):
when I called it toxic and you got angry? Feels
good to be right, doesn't it all?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Right?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Checking at number three, Lebron and ad strong case for two,
decent case for one, except what's happened in the finals
and in the Western Conference finals. But yes, Lebron and
eighty obviously the asterisks when healthy. Come on, Lebron's a
top five player when he's healthy. Anthony Davis healthy and motivated.
He was dominant in the postseason until he had to
go up against Jokic checking in at two. Tatum and Brown.
(08:22):
I know a lot of people are out on Jason Tatum.
I'm not. We had his trainer on here last year,
and I mean I've been a fan way before then.
But everything about Tatum works for me. Everything about Brown works.
He's got to work on the left hand a little bit,
but don't we all. I know, I got to work
on my left. Nobody cares, but I've got to work
on my left. For the men's league, Tatum and Brown
number two and number one. Jokich and Murray need no introduction.
(08:45):
They are dominating the finals. Jokic will win MVP. Jamal
Murray no time All Star, looks like truly one of
the best guards in the league, which just says a
lot about the All Star process. Sorry, rob G, you've
had some time to let that marinate. I'm sure you're
waiting to just knock Lebron and Ad down a peg
(09:05):
and bump up your your love affair with Kevin Durant.
I don't know if you're calling him future Laker anymore.
But what do you hate about my top ten?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
No, First off, Kevin Durant is not a future Laker.
That ship has sailed. There's only a very exclusive list
of guys. And I must say I'm still shooting like
seventy percent from the field on my future Laker predictions.
The one that's coming down the pike keep an eye
out Jason Tatum in maybe two or three years. But
as far as your your top ten dynamic deal is,
(09:32):
we're only agreement in one, which is surprising. I mean, now,
we're in similar ranges for a lot of these guys,
but the only one that I think you and I
are totally agreement on is Jokichi Murray at the top.
And the reason being, and that you allude to this
is that their games fit together better than I think
everybody else in the league. And just to illustrate this point,
(09:55):
NBA dot com published something on Thursday that said, in
three games versus Miami in the NBA Finals, Yoki Jim
Murray have a total of twenty seven assists to each other.
By comparison, Jalen Jalen Brown Jason Tatum had six total
(10:17):
assists to each other in seven games. So the symbiotic
relationship between Yoki Jim Murray is as unmatched.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Maybe that's got Maybe that's all the coach drop. Uh
do we see a lot of Brown and Tatum picking rolls?
Should we? Honest?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Are they are capable of running those kind of paper?
Because if you switch it, you have the same size
guy either way, it doesn't really you don't really get
a finish.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I mean, not a lot of team switches have two
wings of that caliber. It's it's all fair questions. But
so you do you even have Brown and Tatum top five?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I do, but I have them exactly at number five, okay?
For that exact reason is because as great as they
are individually, which I think they are. I think Jason
Tatum is fantastic, Jalen Brown is very good. Their games
do not compliment each other as well as you would
expect two guys of that level of talent to do so.
And it's why I have the number five. And right
above them is number four. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker
(11:09):
very similar to those two where they don't compliment each other.
The difference is is that I think we saw in
a very very limited sample sized key thing here those two,
even if it was your turn, my turn in Phoenix,
they were absolutely devastating. I mean, there was a reason
why the games that they won against Denver, like they
had to score seventy five points and they're capable of
(11:29):
scoring seventy five points together. They are that good. Both
of them can score from anywhere. Both of them can
handle the ball, which is something that you know Jalen
Brown struggles with, to put it lightly, especially going left,
as you mentioned, And that's why I have them number four.
The two and three was kind of a confusing and
not confusing, a difficult decision for me, because on one hand,
(11:52):
they both have championships. On the other hand, your version
of a dynamic duo is not the version that I
picked for my dynamic duo. And you picked Jannis and Middleton.
I think you had them at nine, Okay. I also, okay,
said I have wrote that down wrong. I have Jannison
Holiday as well, and I have them at number three.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And it's it's because their games fit together number one,
but also because I think Jannis on his lonesome pick
if it's him in Holiday, him and Middleton. If you
want to be saucy and throwing him in Brook Lopez,
they might even be a top ten duo there, because
Jannis is so good and so devastating that I think
him by himself, coupled with any number of guys is
(12:38):
a great dynamic duo. The only reason why I have
Lebron and a D ahead of them is because Lebron
and a D when healthy are just right there behind
Yokichi Murray in terms of being able to work together
in tandem and unison. These other guys can't.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I mean, let me on something, hold up, hold ahead.
So you had Giannis and Middleton at three, no Holiday
Holiday Okay, Yeah, we saw Holiday as the wingman to
ad in New Orleans as the number two as the duo,
and they capped out at the second round. You go
to Milwaukee and it was Jannis and Middleton were the
(13:17):
top two horses. Holiday was the third and they won
a title. So are you saying, with Middleton out, Holiday
is the number two in Milwaukee and that duo is
third best in the league.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yes, but I think even if you were to replace
Holiday with Middleton, they'd probably still be top five because
I think Jannis is that good. He doesn't really need
the ball to be effective. He can score cutting to
the basket and just overpowering guys at the rim, and
both Holiday and Middleton at they're off ball. Giannis is
a good enough passer and a good enough creator where
they can both hit open shots. So that's why I
(13:52):
think whatever guy you picked to be his second player,
that person with Giannis is one of the best dynamic
duos in the NBA.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Guy can't make a free throw, but he's that's a
good point.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
That's a good point. By the way, Lebron in Ad,
I don't know if you know this. Points rebounds assists
for any dynamic duo in the NBA number one, not
a shocker. It's all Lakers exceptionalism here, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Lakers exceptionalism. So we kind of talked a little bit
about this earlier, a little bit yesterday, actually, this Chris
Paul situation, and now Brian Windhorst has kind of advanced
a little to say Chris Paul, who none of us
have any more as like an elite superstar. I know
he was all NBA what two or three years ago,
(14:36):
but he's very limited. He gets hurt every postseason. So
Brian Windhorst, who hasn't been on this pod in a while,
I gotta get on his case. I saw he did
another pod recently. I'm like, bro, what's going on. He
has said that CP three will stay in Phoenix or
go to LA but he did not specify Lakers or Clippers.
That rules out the idea of being a mentor of
(14:56):
sorts to Ja Morant, rules out cowherds idea to Boston,
rules out the potential of going to Milwaukee, rules out
made Dallas in any way, shape or form. If Kyrie
doesn't end up there, I gotta say, I'm not surprised,
but I guess my thing is Chris Paul seems like
(15:17):
a prideful dude. Rob. I don't know him personally, but
everything you've read and the trash talk and the ego
and the being a leader and grinding on people wearing
them down, it kind of sort of makes me wonder,
is Chris Paul built to say, Okay, I'm willing to
play on the Lakers in a small role for five
(15:37):
million dollars a year. And I gotta be honest, I
don't see that to be the case. Even though he's
made I think over three hundred million according to Basketball
Reference in his career, and that doesn't include the state farm,
the sprite, whatever else, and I know also taxes. Blah
blah blah. He's made a lot of money, hasn't won
a title. But Lebron has said he'll never play for
(15:57):
less than the max, which is why the Dallas stuff insane.
You just have to wonder if is he gonna pull
like a Rondo. I don't know if you guys remember this,
but Rondo after winning the title with the Lakers was like,
you know what, I gotta go out and get paid.
And I'm almost certain Robid you could check this. I
think he signed with the Atlanta Hawks, who thought, oh,
(16:19):
there's our great backup point guard. There's our locker room leader.
What happened by the deadline, Rondo was shipped and I'm
pretty sure he went back to the Lakers. So there
is a world Clippers there you go. Yeah, there is
a world where Chris Paul just says, no, I'm gonna
go get paid. He kind of hopes or forces let's
just use him because everybody uses them, Orlando to pay
(16:40):
him because they need veteran They got to get to
the playoffs with Ben Carrow and then by the deadline. Obviously,
this team's a mess. They're not going anywhere. Hey guys,
I'm not doing anything here. You could ship me out,
maybe get a pick or who knows what, send me
to a contender, and that way he gets paid and
then gets to hopefully play in the postseason with a contender.
(17:01):
I just I don't see him playing for like the
veteran minimum with the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Do you not?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Realistically?
Speaker 3 (17:08):
No, I think if they are going to get him,
it's got to be for like the taxpayer mid level,
which I think around five million. But it's also why
I think the Lakers seem like the most likely destination,
not only because his family's here, and it was funny
I didn't even know this that his families at stayed
in LA when he was in Phoenix. I thought they
went with him, but according to reports that they lived separately.
(17:33):
I think it's going to be the Lakers, not only
because they can offer that five million, but they can
even offer upwards of almost twelve million by giving him
the full mid level, which would basically offset anything he
lost from the thirty million from Phoenix.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Well, what does that mean for Lakers cap space. Does
that mean if they give him the full they've got
to sacrifice another player that could have slided.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah, it means that de'angelo Russell would absolutely not be
coming back, and it means that any other improvements they'd
be making would have to come via trade because they
would be hard capped.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So you'd be locking in as Chris Paul as your
starting point guard, Austin Reeves is your combo, and like,
maybe Austin's the backup. I don't I don't like that
at all.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Right, Yeah, if you did that, you'd have to be
able to make some kind of deal. I kind of
floated out on Twitter. Maybe you can flip Malik Beasley
to Brooklyn for like, you know, Roy O'Neill and Patty Mills. Right,
so you have a backup small forward and a backup
point guard. You're older, you're you can shoot better. And
so in an ideal world wherever Chris Paul ends up,
(18:35):
he's not going to be more than like a twenty
five twenty seven minute night guy just because he's old.
He's breaking down in the playoffs. And then you know
what's funny is to bring it back full circle to
Phoenix Ramona Shelbourne reported on Wednesday, But even before that,
about a month ago, Brian Geltzeiler from Serious XMNBA Radio
reported that keep an eye on James Harden to the
(18:57):
Phoenix Suns. Now. I don't know how realistic that is,
just because of the salary cap he has mentioned with
Chris Paul. They're going to cut rid of Chris Paul
because he makes too much money. I don't know how
you replace him with a guy who makes even more money.
But I'd have to imagine that Phoenix doesn't make this
move with Chris Paul unless they know somebody else is
coming to replace him.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Well, Rob, the issue there is do you have enough
basketballs to go around for Harden, Durant and Booker. That's insane,
but the NBA is largely insane. All right, Let's wrap
up with an interesting topic. So a few months back,
we had on Preston Johnson, the sports Cheetah, and he
asked an interesting question about which players would you not
(19:41):
trade for? Victor one Minyama. So the Spurs come to
you and say, Rob, you got Steph Curry on your roster.
We want him. We'll give you the number one pick.
And obviously the salaries to match. Would you trade Steph
Curry for Victor Woman Yama and earlier in the season, Rob,
I'm pretty sure both of I agreed. You would not
trade Luca, Jannis, Curry and Tatum. I'm pretty sure those
(20:05):
were the four. Obviously, the way Nikola Jokic is playing,
we have to have a discussion about him. So he's
twenty eight years old. I think he turned twenty eight
in February, so twenty eight and four or five months.
Women Yama's ninety, has his entire future ahead of him.
We don't know what it's gonna be. Would you and
I asked this on Twitter and people were like, how
(20:26):
could you even ask this question? And this is where
the recency biace comes into play. Would you trade Jokic
for the number one pick? And you would then elongate
your window of championships. Now, the problem is guessing the
window on championships. That's difficult. Warriors won last year, Oh
the windows there, they could do so much more, and
(20:47):
then you know, Draymond punches out Jordan Poole and they
lose in the second round. This is I think a
little tougher than everybody, and it was overwhelmingly you do
not trade Jokic the body type that Shack had. Now,
Shaq was never in shape. But rob would you say
that Jokic is in shape. I mean, he does run
(21:09):
well and plays heavy minutes, but he doesn't look like
the kind of guy who is, you know, rocked up
and in super shape, and in the offseason he's grinding.
When Shaq was in LA, he maxed out around age
twenty nine, at like twenty seven a game. At thirty,
you see, he's still twenty seven and eleven thirty one,
(21:31):
he drops a little bit to twenty one and eleven.
The next year he shipped to Miami and yet listen,
he had good numbers twenty two to ten. But from
there into his early thirties, it starts, you know, missing
more games. He's seventeen and seven, and centers don't always
age gracefully. I don't. I mean, Jokic already can barely
(21:51):
jump over a piece of paper, and we're trying to
project what he's gonna be like in four years. I
don't know the answer. Nobody does. Nobody knows what's gonna
happen with one Minyama. I think if you ask around
the league now, you probably you probably hold onto Jokic
and you don't do the deal, right.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Yeah, I wouldn't make the deal because I think even
though Jokic is not the model of fitness right in
the NBA, his game is not built on athleticism physicality
in the same way like Shaq was, because as soon
as Shaq's you know, speed, power combination dwindled, he didn't
(22:30):
have the requisite skill level to make up for it
in a way that you'd want him to. Jokic has
never been strong, well you know, shack like strong. He's
never been explosive. He's never been quick and fast. He
plays off of skill, the same thing as Luka Doncic,
and I think it's because of that that his game
(22:51):
is going to age much more gracefully than a lot
of other guys like a Yannis or even like an Embiid.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
So maybe the better comp is our Vetus Sabonis. The
I think seven foot two let's see, I uh Lithuanian. Yeah,
it looks like seven three two eighty a cerebral player.
Passer now didn't play in the NBA until thirty one,
but at.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Age thirty five, he put up eleven and seven, shooting
fifty percent hit thirty six percent from three eighty four
percent from the line.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Now, his assist numbers weren't as big as they were,
but he was a cerebral player. You knew what you
were getting. You think jokicch at thirty five is going
to be better than our Vinas Sabonis was at thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Five, assuming health Absolutely Well, that's the reason why the
Sabonis like everyone talks about before the injuries got to
him and when he before he even got to the NBA,
he was like a mythical creature. Yeah, being seven plus
almost three hundred pounds. Then he was so highly skilled.
By the time he got to the NBA, he had
already been ravaged with injuries overseas, so we never got
(24:04):
to see peaks of Bonas.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
So the other thing, Rob is is it fair? And
again we always say when you get more new information,
you can change your mind. Five months ago, we didn't
have Jokic on the do not trade for one big
Yama list. Now, after a glorious postseason run, he's probably
gonna win the finals MVP. He's an overwhelming favorite. We've
(24:26):
changed our minds. Are we reading too much into this
sample size where they beat Minnesota, Phoenix with KD Lakers
and Lebron and ad and Miami and Denver would have
been a dog against the Bucks and the Celtics. I
think because they were Yeah, they were both favored. I
(24:47):
don't know. Are we doing that thing that we did
with Giannis where he won the title? He's the best
player in the world and oh would you look at that?
They haven't been back to the finals. I think they're
gonna come back. But Jokich is twenty eight. Wembin Yama
have more or less than one finals appearance by twenty eight,
I would probably.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Say yes, if he's as good as they say he is,
he should have like three or four by the.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Okay, So then why aren't you doing the deal?
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Because history tells us that big man especially have to
fight an injury bug that the young the smaller guys
don't have to.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
It's not fair, it's it sucks. And even the worst
part is, and I hate this, we're setting up wembn
Yama where he's never going to meet the expectations. There's
just no chance he's gonna be good enough. Chris Bussard
going on on either A Odd Couple or his show,
a TV show, saying that if he has a career
(25:42):
of Kevin Durant, he's a failure. Like I mean, and
now you listen, listen to me pumping up we Mayama.
Would you trade the two time MVP who's about to
win a finals MVP and a title for when Yama?
And like, we're doing this and I don't know, it
feels unseemly, does it not a little?
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Though?
Speaker 3 (25:59):
The thing is like, and Draymond Green did this on
the you know, his podcast where he mentioned there's probably
only like seven or eight guys you would not trade
for wim Minyama. And I think the I think I
think it's he said seven or eight. And then the
biggest thing though, and I think that he gets lost
in this conversation is it's not like you or Broussard
or Windhorst or Draymond or whoever are coming out and saying,
(26:20):
you know, based on what I've seen from when Manyama,
I think he's the greatest thing since slic spread. No,
what you're going off of is a Woes report where
he says anonymous executives say he's going to be the
best player in the NBA by year three. Well, we
could see like no, but like this is. This isn't
pundits and media personalities that are pumping him up. This
(26:40):
is executives, This is scouts. This is even current players
like Draymond Green who are saying this. So I think
it's kind of unfair for you to take it as
want putting too much pressure on him when you're only
really reacting to what the smartest guys in the room
are already saying.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
You could see the dude, he's never seen anything like it.
I hope he's successful. I don't seven or eight seems
like a lot. We'll wrap up with a quick best bet.
I am gonna lay it with Denver three and a
half in Game four. I think they put this series
on ice. I know Miami's gonna give it a valued effort,
but Denver's just too good.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Now.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Miami could come out and make all the shots. I
haven't bet a side since Game one, but I'm gonna
go with Denver favored by three and a half. No
Quaer pops yet. I'm very curious as to the mindset
of Michael Porter Junior. It's either gonna continue to go
south or it's gonna spike up. Could be a good
bi Loo opportunity on him. I think I've maxed out
on my BAM out of bio wagers, but uh, game four. Listen, Honestly,
(27:36):
I mean, if series ends next week, we're going NBA
Draft and then it's wacky guestless time. The powers that
be have asked for a guest list of potential guests
and I sent in I think thirteen names that are
moderately interesting, in some a little off the reservation. But anyways, everybody,
have a great fun weekend, enjoy Game four. We'll talk
(27:57):
to you Monday.
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
What is up.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Straight Fire, Fam, It's me Jason McIntyre, Straight Fire for
for Friday, June ninth. We are recording this in advance
of the massive Game four the NBA Finals. Obviously we'll
have best bets at the end. Nuggets. He must win
for Miami. If you lose this game, season over, you're
not winning the final three games against the Denver Broncos
(00:39):
after being down Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets after being down
three to one. They probably couldn't do it against the
Broncos either. Yo Kitchen Murray pretty pretty incredible in Game three.
Will they be able to do that again? But in
advance of that, kind of a slow news day, no
no juicy Zion Williamson news popping from the CD corners
of the Internet. I'm sure the investigative reporters are digging deep.
(01:01):
But you know, producer legend Rob g has a couple
of interesting topics. We got some of it we've covered
in passing before, but all this love for Yokichen Murray
totally dominating the finals both with the thirty point triple doubles.
First time that's been done. In NBA history. It led
(01:23):
us to the topic of the best duos in the league.
And it's weird because these aren't the duos of your
older brother or maybe your dad or your uncle. This
isn't Magic and Jabbar or Scottie and Michael. Hell, it's
not even Kobe and Shack. I don't think now in
terms of greatness the number one is for sure. But
(01:44):
after that we've got positionless basketball taking over. And as such,
you don't have the big guard and the center, the
magic Johnson feeding Jabbar. You don't have Isaiah Thomas and
I guess Isaiah Thomas and Dumars were the duo right
on NBA JAM back in the day. But you just
don't have the traditional duo. This is kind of a
(02:05):
new duo. And you know, Rob and I there's some
strong disagreement. Shall we say I have ten, he's got five.
I'll count down from ten to one. Best duos in
the league. And again, is this for who would win
in a two on two tournament? Absolutely not. We know
that's crazy. I'm talking about in terms of the two
best players leading your team. There is gonna be some
(02:28):
your turn, my turn. Unfortunately, Kyrie Irving and Luca Dantis
did not make the cut. I had them in late
and I had to bump them. I'm sorry, not enough
of a sample size. If it were two on two,
they would not be able to defend anybody, but then
you could counter, well, nobody could defend them. It's just
I don't know how those two are going to fit together.
I'm hopeful that it works for Luca's sake, but they
(02:50):
just missed the cut. Also missing the cut my guy
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randall. Again small sample size of
them together. They did win a playoff series barely missing
the cut. Just because I want to mention him again,
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. If you notice those faithful
watchers of the Herd Thursday tried to tried to crowbar
Zion in there that nobody was having it. They're like,
(03:11):
this is way too risky, we can't touch it. I
got Zion mentioned in there. I think two or three times.
Cowhard knew what was up. He was in on the plane.
Also missing the cut, and this is narrowly but John
Morant and Jaron Jackson. We don't know what's up with
Ja Morant going forward, carl Anthony Townsend, Kat Sorry and
Anthony Edwards. They narrowly missed the cut, and finally underrated
(03:32):
backcourt Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, they just missed the cut.
So best duos in the league starting at number ten.
I know some people are gonna say disrespectful out of
the gate, but Clay Thompson and Steph Curry checking in
at ten. Now, this is four years ago, pre Clay
back to back injuries. Heck yeah, they're number one, but
we're talking about twenty twenty three and going forward, Clay
(03:55):
just just looks like a shell of himself. Guys, we
know he can't defend. He's just not the knockdown shooter.
He was proved that in the Lakers series. Where was he?
Steph Curry obviously an Mvpkennate, But I've got them as
the tenth best duo in the league. I don't think
Clay can be the second best player on your team
if you're gunning to win a title anymore. We already
showed in twenty twenty two he wasn't the second best.
(04:15):
That was Andrew Wiggins. You could argue Clay was third
or fourth. So number nine Jannis at Nakumpo and Drew Holliday.
I'm sure there's gonna be some people pushing for Middleton Overdrew.
That's just not the case anymore. When they won the
title two years ago, sure Middleton was outstanding, Holiday a
really good defender. At this point, with the injuries, I
think Middleton comes back a little bit. We don't know
(04:36):
what his future is. By the way, in Milwaukee, so
I have Giannis and Drew Holliday checking in at nine
number eight. They're currently starring in the finals. Bam at
a Baio and James Butler himmy Buckets, as they like
to call him. You could argue that this duo should
be higher promised. They don't really do it in the
regular season. They're just a playoff one two punch and
at times Bam has struggled in the first couple of rounds.
(05:00):
Maybe it was defending Embiid I'm not I'm sorry, not
in bid. Maybe it was defending Giannison company in the
first round. And then in the third round he's doing
a lot of rotation, trying to switch and cut off
the drives. Against Boston, he just didn't have a great
offensive series. He's played great through three games against Denver,
they're down two to one. Jimmy Butler needs no introduction.
One of my favorite players in the league. Eighth best
(05:20):
duo in the league checking in at seven. They never
play in the postseason. They're always hurt, but damn if
they're ever healthy, lookout league. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
checking in seventh best duo. Essentially they are Brown and
Tatum in the West. But these two always get hurt
and always come up short. That's the problem with Kawhi
(05:42):
and Paul George. I'm the only time they were healthy,
I believe, in the playoffs, fully healthy. They get to
the Eastern Conference Western Conference Semifinals against the Nuggets, lead
three to one. Yeah, it lead three to one, and
then they just melted down. Kawhi Leonard nowhere to be found.
Jamal Murray just roasted every one pandemic Paul George off
the side of the backboard. Sorry, guys, you can't do
(06:04):
better than seven, number six Embiid and Harden one of
the most dynamic pick and roll duos in the league.
If Harden leaves, this group falls out obviously. Just my guess,
my guess. No insider knowledge don't aggregate me ugh. I
think James Harden stays. I think he's trying to use
Houston as leverage to get all the money he can
(06:25):
from his guy, Darryl Mory. I think Harden stays with
him Bead and Dick listen in Miami does an upgrade
and we'll see what Boston does around the fringe is
we don't know about Milwaukee. I'm not totally ruling out
Philadelphia now that they've bounced Doc Rivers and upgraded. With
Nick Nurse checking in at number five, this is a
nod to my Kings, Sabonis and Fox. I mean, listen,
(06:47):
dearon Fox proved his worth in the postseason. If he
doesn't get that injured finger. Steph Curry doesn't have fifty Kings.
Who know how far they go. They probably they would
have been a problem for Rob G's Lakers. You can
bet your bottom dollar that Sabonis obvious superstar in the making,
well maybe super star strong, but all NBA player. How's that?
I think as a duo pick and roll they work
perfectly together. I think Sacramento's onto something. Fifth best duel
(07:10):
in the league. Number four Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, this
is where your turn, my turn comes in. I didn't
love what I saw in the playoffs, to be honest, guys.
It was just a lot of Okay, you score and
now I'm gonna get off my shot, and they when
you talk duo working together, I didn't see that the
way I do with Fox and Sabonis or yokichin Murray.
So I have Durant and Booker down at four. By
(07:33):
the way, we'll get to Chris Paul in a moment.
But they had a big four like eight minutes ago
of Chris Paul eight and Booker and Durant that was
supposed to be favorites in the West, and it was
just Choke City in the postseason against Denver. And now
it's like Dewey trade Ayton, Chris Paul might get waived,
and it's like, wow, a lot happening in Phoenix. Remember
(07:54):
when I called it toxic and you got angry? Feels
good to be right, doesn't it all?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Right?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Checking at number three, Lebron and ad strong case for two,
decent case for one, except what's happened in the finals
and in the Western Conference finals. But yes, Lebron and
eighty obviously the asterisks when healthy. Come on, Lebron's a
top five player when he's healthy. Anthony Davis healthy and motivated.
He was dominant in the postseason until he had to
go up against Jokic checking in at two. Tatum and Brown.
(08:22):
I know a lot of people are out on Jason Tatum.
I'm not. We had his trainer on here last year,
and I mean I've been a fan way before then.
But everything about Tatum works for me. Everything about Brown works.
He's got to work on the left hand a little bit,
but don't we all. I know, I got to work
on my left. Nobody cares, but I've got to work
on my left. For the men's league, Tatum and Brown
number two and number one. Jokich and Murray need no introduction.
(08:45):
They are dominating the finals. Jokic will win MVP. Jamal
Murray no time All Star, looks like truly one of
the best guards in the league, which just says a
lot about the All Star process. Sorry, rob G, you've
had some time to let that marinate. I'm sure you're
waiting to just knock Lebron and Ad down a peg
(09:05):
and bump up your your love affair with Kevin Durant.
I don't know if you're calling him future Laker anymore.
But what do you hate about my top ten?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
No, First off, Kevin Durant is not a future Laker.
That ship has sailed. There's only a very exclusive list
of guys. And I must say I'm still shooting like
seventy percent from the field on my future Laker predictions.
The one that's coming down the pike keep an eye
out Jason Tatum in maybe two or three years. But
as far as your your top ten dynamic deal is,
(09:32):
we're only agreement in one, which is surprising. I mean, now,
we're in similar ranges for a lot of these guys,
but the only one that I think you and I
are totally agreement on is Jokichi Murray at the top.
And the reason being, and that you allude to this
is that their games fit together better than I think
everybody else in the league. And just to illustrate this point,
(09:55):
NBA dot com published something on Thursday that said, in
three games versus Miami in the NBA Finals, Yoki Jim
Murray have a total of twenty seven assists to each other.
By comparison, Jalen Jalen Brown Jason Tatum had six total
(10:17):
assists to each other in seven games. So the symbiotic
relationship between Yoki Jim Murray is as unmatched.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Maybe that's got Maybe that's all the coach drop. Uh
do we see a lot of Brown and Tatum picking rolls?
Should we? Honest?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Are they are capable of running those kind of paper?
Because if you switch it, you have the same size
guy either way, it doesn't really you don't really get
a finish.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I mean, not a lot of team switches have two
wings of that caliber. It's it's all fair questions. But
so you do you even have Brown and Tatum top five?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I do, but I have them exactly at number five, okay?
For that exact reason is because as great as they
are individually, which I think they are. I think Jason
Tatum is fantastic, Jalen Brown is very good. Their games
do not compliment each other as well as you would
expect two guys of that level of talent to do so.
And it's why I have the number five. And right
above them is number four. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker
(11:09):
very similar to those two where they don't compliment each other.
The difference is is that I think we saw in
a very very limited sample sized key thing here those two,
even if it was your turn, my turn in Phoenix,
they were absolutely devastating. I mean, there was a reason
why the games that they won against Denver, like they
had to score seventy five points and they're capable of
(11:29):
scoring seventy five points together. They are that good. Both
of them can score from anywhere. Both of them can
handle the ball, which is something that you know Jalen
Brown struggles with, to put it lightly, especially going left,
as you mentioned, And that's why I have them number four.
The two and three was kind of a confusing and
not confusing, a difficult decision for me, because on one hand,
(11:52):
they both have championships. On the other hand, your version
of a dynamic duo is not the version that I
picked for my dynamic duo. And you picked Jannis and Middleton.
I think you had them at nine, Okay. I also, okay,
said I have wrote that down wrong. I have Jannison
Holiday as well, and I have them at number three.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And it's it's because their games fit together number one,
but also because I think Jannis on his lonesome pick
if it's him in Holiday, him and Middleton. If you
want to be saucy and throwing him in Brook Lopez,
they might even be a top ten duo there, because
Jannis is so good and so devastating that I think
him by himself, coupled with any number of guys is
(12:38):
a great dynamic duo. The only reason why I have
Lebron and a D ahead of them is because Lebron
and a D when healthy are just right there behind
Yokichi Murray in terms of being able to work together
in tandem and unison. These other guys can't.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I mean, let me on something, hold up, hold ahead.
So you had Giannis and Middleton at three, no Holiday
Holiday Okay, Yeah, we saw Holiday as the wingman to
ad in New Orleans as the number two as the duo,
and they capped out at the second round. You go
to Milwaukee and it was Jannis and Middleton were the
(13:17):
top two horses. Holiday was the third and they won
a title. So are you saying, with Middleton out, Holiday
is the number two in Milwaukee and that duo is
third best in the league.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yes, but I think even if you were to replace
Holiday with Middleton, they'd probably still be top five because
I think Jannis is that good. He doesn't really need
the ball to be effective. He can score cutting to
the basket and just overpowering guys at the rim, and
both Holiday and Middleton at they're off ball. Giannis is
a good enough passer and a good enough creator where
they can both hit open shots. So that's why I
(13:52):
think whatever guy you picked to be his second player,
that person with Giannis is one of the best dynamic
duos in the NBA.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Guy can't make a free throw, but he's that's a
good point.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
That's a good point. By the way, Lebron in Ad,
I don't know if you know this. Points rebounds assists
for any dynamic duo in the NBA number one, not
a shocker. It's all Lakers exceptionalism here, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Lakers exceptionalism. So we kind of talked a little bit
about this earlier, a little bit yesterday, actually, this Chris
Paul situation, and now Brian Windhorst has kind of advanced
a little to say Chris Paul, who none of us
have any more as like an elite superstar. I know
he was all NBA what two or three years ago,
(14:36):
but he's very limited. He gets hurt every postseason. So
Brian Windhorst, who hasn't been on this pod in a while,
I gotta get on his case. I saw he did
another pod recently. I'm like, bro, what's going on. He
has said that CP three will stay in Phoenix or
go to LA but he did not specify Lakers or Clippers.
That rules out the idea of being a mentor of
(14:56):
sorts to Ja Morant, rules out cowherds idea to Boston,
rules out the potential of going to Milwaukee, rules out
made Dallas in any way, shape or form. If Kyrie
doesn't end up there, I gotta say, I'm not surprised,
but I guess my thing is Chris Paul seems like
(15:17):
a prideful dude. Rob. I don't know him personally, but
everything you've read and the trash talk and the ego
and the being a leader and grinding on people wearing
them down, it kind of sort of makes me wonder,
is Chris Paul built to say, Okay, I'm willing to
play on the Lakers in a small role for five
(15:37):
million dollars a year. And I gotta be honest, I
don't see that to be the case. Even though he's
made I think over three hundred million according to Basketball
Reference in his career, and that doesn't include the state farm,
the sprite, whatever else, and I know also taxes. Blah
blah blah. He's made a lot of money, hasn't won
a title. But Lebron has said he'll never play for
(15:57):
less than the max, which is why the Dallas stuff insane.
You just have to wonder if is he gonna pull
like a Rondo. I don't know if you guys remember this,
but Rondo after winning the title with the Lakers was like,
you know what, I gotta go out and get paid.
And I'm almost certain Robid you could check this. I
think he signed with the Atlanta Hawks, who thought, oh,
(16:19):
there's our great backup point guard. There's our locker room leader.
What happened by the deadline, Rondo was shipped and I'm
pretty sure he went back to the Lakers. So there
is a world Clippers there you go. Yeah, there is
a world where Chris Paul just says, no, I'm gonna
go get paid. He kind of hopes or forces let's
just use him because everybody uses them, Orlando to pay
(16:40):
him because they need veteran They got to get to
the playoffs with Ben Carrow and then by the deadline. Obviously,
this team's a mess. They're not going anywhere. Hey guys,
I'm not doing anything here. You could ship me out,
maybe get a pick or who knows what, send me
to a contender, and that way he gets paid and
then gets to hopefully play in the postseason with a contender.
(17:01):
I just I don't see him playing for like the
veteran minimum with the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Do you not?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Realistically?
Speaker 3 (17:08):
No, I think if they are going to get him,
it's got to be for like the taxpayer mid level,
which I think around five million. But it's also why
I think the Lakers seem like the most likely destination,
not only because his family's here, and it was funny
I didn't even know this that his families at stayed
in LA when he was in Phoenix. I thought they
went with him, but according to reports that they lived separately.
(17:33):
I think it's going to be the Lakers, not only
because they can offer that five million, but they can
even offer upwards of almost twelve million by giving him
the full mid level, which would basically offset anything he
lost from the thirty million from Phoenix.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Well, what does that mean for Lakers cap space. Does
that mean if they give him the full they've got
to sacrifice another player that could have slided.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah, it means that de'angelo Russell would absolutely not be
coming back, and it means that any other improvements they'd
be making would have to come via trade because they
would be hard capped.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So you'd be locking in as Chris Paul as your
starting point guard, Austin Reeves is your combo, and like,
maybe Austin's the backup. I don't I don't like that
at all.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Right, Yeah, if you did that, you'd have to be
able to make some kind of deal. I kind of
floated out on Twitter. Maybe you can flip Malik Beasley
to Brooklyn for like, you know, Roy O'Neill and Patty Mills. Right,
so you have a backup small forward and a backup
point guard. You're older, you're you can shoot better. And
so in an ideal world wherever Chris Paul ends up,
(18:35):
he's not going to be more than like a twenty
five twenty seven minute night guy just because he's old.
He's breaking down in the playoffs. And then you know
what's funny is to bring it back full circle to
Phoenix Ramona Shelbourne reported on Wednesday, But even before that,
about a month ago, Brian Geltzeiler from Serious XMNBA Radio
reported that keep an eye on James Harden to the
(18:57):
Phoenix Suns. Now. I don't know how realistic that is,
just because of the salary cap he has mentioned with
Chris Paul. They're going to cut rid of Chris Paul
because he makes too much money. I don't know how
you replace him with a guy who makes even more money.
But I'd have to imagine that Phoenix doesn't make this
move with Chris Paul unless they know somebody else is
coming to replace him.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Well, Rob, the issue there is do you have enough
basketballs to go around for Harden, Durant and Booker. That's insane,
but the NBA is largely insane. All right, Let's wrap
up with an interesting topic. So a few months back,
we had on Preston Johnson, the sports Cheetah, and he
asked an interesting question about which players would you not
(19:41):
trade for? Victor one Minyama. So the Spurs come to
you and say, Rob, you got Steph Curry on your roster.
We want him. We'll give you the number one pick.
And obviously the salaries to match. Would you trade Steph
Curry for Victor Woman Yama and earlier in the season, Rob,
I'm pretty sure both of I agreed. You would not
trade Luca, Jannis, Curry and Tatum. I'm pretty sure those
(20:05):
were the four. Obviously, the way Nikola Jokic is playing,
we have to have a discussion about him. So he's
twenty eight years old. I think he turned twenty eight
in February, so twenty eight and four or five months.
Women Yama's ninety, has his entire future ahead of him.
We don't know what it's gonna be. Would you and
I asked this on Twitter and people were like, how
(20:26):
could you even ask this question? And this is where
the recency biace comes into play. Would you trade Jokic
for the number one pick? And you would then elongate
your window of championships. Now, the problem is guessing the
window on championships. That's difficult. Warriors won last year, Oh
the windows there, they could do so much more, and
(20:47):
then you know, Draymond punches out Jordan Poole and they
lose in the second round. This is I think a
little tougher than everybody, and it was overwhelmingly you do
not trade Jokic the body type that Shack had. Now,
Shaq was never in shape. But rob would you say
that Jokic is in shape. I mean, he does run
(21:09):
well and plays heavy minutes, but he doesn't look like
the kind of guy who is, you know, rocked up
and in super shape, and in the offseason he's grinding.
When Shaq was in LA, he maxed out around age
twenty nine, at like twenty seven a game. At thirty,
you see, he's still twenty seven and eleven thirty one,
(21:31):
he drops a little bit to twenty one and eleven.
The next year he shipped to Miami and yet listen,
he had good numbers twenty two to ten. But from
there into his early thirties, it starts, you know, missing
more games. He's seventeen and seven, and centers don't always
age gracefully. I don't. I mean, Jokic already can barely
(21:51):
jump over a piece of paper, and we're trying to
project what he's gonna be like in four years. I
don't know the answer. Nobody does. Nobody knows what's gonna
happen with one Minyama. I think if you ask around
the league now, you probably you probably hold onto Jokic
and you don't do the deal, right.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Yeah, I wouldn't make the deal because I think even
though Jokic is not the model of fitness right in
the NBA, his game is not built on athleticism physicality
in the same way like Shaq was, because as soon
as Shaq's you know, speed, power combination dwindled, he didn't
(22:30):
have the requisite skill level to make up for it
in a way that you'd want him to. Jokic has
never been strong, well you know, shack like strong. He's
never been explosive. He's never been quick and fast. He
plays off of skill, the same thing as Luka Doncic,
and I think it's because of that that his game
(22:51):
is going to age much more gracefully than a lot
of other guys like a Yannis or even like an Embiid.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
So maybe the better comp is our Vetus Sabonis. The
I think seven foot two let's see, I uh Lithuanian. Yeah,
it looks like seven three two eighty a cerebral player.
Passer now didn't play in the NBA until thirty one,
but at.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Age thirty five, he put up eleven and seven, shooting
fifty percent hit thirty six percent from three eighty four
percent from the line.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Now, his assist numbers weren't as big as they were,
but he was a cerebral player. You knew what you
were getting. You think jokicch at thirty five is going
to be better than our Vinas Sabonis was at thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Five, assuming health Absolutely Well, that's the reason why the
Sabonis like everyone talks about before the injuries got to
him and when he before he even got to the NBA,
he was like a mythical creature. Yeah, being seven plus
almost three hundred pounds. Then he was so highly skilled.
By the time he got to the NBA, he had
already been ravaged with injuries overseas, so we never got
(24:04):
to see peaks of Bonas.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
So the other thing, Rob is is it fair? And
again we always say when you get more new information,
you can change your mind. Five months ago, we didn't
have Jokic on the do not trade for one big
Yama list. Now, after a glorious postseason run, he's probably
gonna win the finals MVP. He's an overwhelming favorite. We've
(24:26):
changed our minds. Are we reading too much into this
sample size where they beat Minnesota, Phoenix with KD Lakers
and Lebron and ad and Miami and Denver would have
been a dog against the Bucks and the Celtics. I
think because they were Yeah, they were both favored. I
(24:47):
don't know. Are we doing that thing that we did
with Giannis where he won the title? He's the best
player in the world and oh would you look at that?
They haven't been back to the finals. I think they're
gonna come back. But Jokich is twenty eight. Wembin Yama
have more or less than one finals appearance by twenty eight,
I would probably.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Say yes, if he's as good as they say he is,
he should have like three or four by the.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Okay, So then why aren't you doing the deal?
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Because history tells us that big man especially have to
fight an injury bug that the young the smaller guys
don't have to.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
It's not fair, it's it sucks. And even the worst
part is, and I hate this, we're setting up wembn
Yama where he's never going to meet the expectations. There's
just no chance he's gonna be good enough. Chris Bussard
going on on either A Odd Couple or his show,
a TV show, saying that if he has a career
(25:42):
of Kevin Durant, he's a failure. Like I mean, and
now you listen, listen to me pumping up we Mayama.
Would you trade the two time MVP who's about to
win a finals MVP and a title for when Yama?
And like, we're doing this and I don't know, it
feels unseemly, does it not a little?
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Though?
Speaker 3 (25:59):
The thing is like, and Draymond Green did this on
the you know, his podcast where he mentioned there's probably
only like seven or eight guys you would not trade
for wim Minyama. And I think the I think I
think it's he said seven or eight. And then the
biggest thing though, and I think that he gets lost
in this conversation is it's not like you or Broussard
or Windhorst or Draymond or whoever are coming out and saying,
(26:20):
you know, based on what I've seen from when Manyama,
I think he's the greatest thing since slic spread. No,
what you're going off of is a Woes report where
he says anonymous executives say he's going to be the
best player in the NBA by year three. Well, we
could see like no, but like this is. This isn't
pundits and media personalities that are pumping him up. This
(26:40):
is executives, This is scouts. This is even current players
like Draymond Green who are saying this. So I think
it's kind of unfair for you to take it as
want putting too much pressure on him when you're only
really reacting to what the smartest guys in the room
are already saying.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
You could see the dude, he's never seen anything like it.
I hope he's successful. I don't seven or eight seems
like a lot. We'll wrap up with a quick best bet.
I am gonna lay it with Denver three and a
half in Game four. I think they put this series
on ice. I know Miami's gonna give it a valued effort,
but Denver's just too good.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Now.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Miami could come out and make all the shots. I
haven't bet a side since Game one, but I'm gonna
go with Denver favored by three and a half. No
Quaer pops yet. I'm very curious as to the mindset
of Michael Porter Junior. It's either gonna continue to go
south or it's gonna spike up. Could be a good
bi Loo opportunity on him. I think I've maxed out
on my BAM out of bio wagers, but uh, game four. Listen, Honestly,
(27:36):
I mean, if series ends next week, we're going NBA
Draft and then it's wacky guestless time. The powers that
be have asked for a guest list of potential guests
and I sent in I think thirteen names that are
moderately interesting, in some a little off the reservation. But anyways, everybody,
have a great fun weekend, enjoy Game four. We'll talk
(27:57):
to you Monday.
Host
Jason McIntyre
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