Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
🏆 NBA Finals Recap
- Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder win the 2024–2025 NBA Championship in Game 7 over the Indiana Pacers.
- MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA)
- 29 points, 12 assists, 1 turnover in Game 7
- Joins elite company as MVP, scoring champ, and NBA champion in the same season
- Thunder’s Core:
- Jalen Williams (J-Dub), Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein
- Deep bench with Wiggins and Wallace
- Second-youngest championship team in NBA history
💔 Tyrese Haliburton Injury
- Suffered an Achilles injury in Game 7
- Was off to a hot start before going down
- Emotional moment as he greeted teammates on crutches post-game
- His absence shifted the momentum of the game and series
🏀 Indiana Pacers’ Future
- Despite the loss, the Pacers showed promise:
- Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner, and others showed flashes
- TJ McConnell praised for his gritty performance—nearly MVP-worthy if Pacers had won
- Haliburton’s injury likely sidelines him for the 2025–2026 season
🚑 Injury Crisis in the NBA
- Major stars out for next season:
- Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles)
- Jayson Tatum (Achilles)
- Damian Lillard (Achilles)
- Kyrie Irving (ACL)
- Raises concerns about the toll of modern pace-of-play on players’ bodies
- JJ Redick’s comments on modern wear-and-tear vs. old-school physicality are echoed
🔁 Blockbuster Trade: Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets
- Trade Details:
- KD to Houston
- Phoenix receives: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, 2025 #10 pick, five second-round picks
- Houston’s New Core:
- KD joins Fred VanVleet, Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr.
- Rockets now seen as legit contenders in the West
🔥 Phoenix Suns Fallout
- KD’s age (36) and contract limited trade return
- Suns now focused on offloading Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause
- Beal’s value has plummeted—team may pay him to stay home
🧠 Stephen A’s Takeaways
- OKC is the team to beat, but Houston is coming
- KD still elite: 27 PPG, 50/39/88 shooting splits
- Miami Heat missed a huge opportunity by not pursuing KD harder
- Pat Riley may need to step back and let Erik Spoelstra take over full control
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
We're gonna get started with the NBA Finals that concluded
last night with Game seven in Oklahoma City, with the
Thunder crowned as champions for the twenty twenty four to
twenty twenty five season. The game featured a devastating injury
to pay the star Tyreez Halliburton. I'll get to that
in a moment, but I first want to give props
to the Thunder who completed the season having the best
record and the best player in the entire NBA Shay
(00:25):
Gilgess Alexander or as my colleague Malika Andrews from ESPN
so affectionately calls him, Shay Butter, capped his historic season
with twenty nine points and twelve assists in Game seven.
By the way, forty minutes just one turnover. He's just
a fourth player in NBA history to win the regular
season MVP and scoring title while becoming an NBA champion.
(00:47):
The Thunder victory is also the culmination of longtime general
manager Sam Presty.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Presty, who has been in charge since.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
The two thousand and seven two thousand and eight season,
has led Oklahoma City to the second most regular season
victories in that span or in the league during that span.
I like to start there first and foremost. I'm gonna
start off giving some love to Sam Presty, because here's
the reason why nobody was calling him out more than me.
I respect the hell out of him. I think that
(01:15):
over the years he's accumulated Hall of Fame talent, and
he's been in charge since two thousand and seven. My
issue with him is that they didn't close.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
One of my.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Favorite movies is really the opening monologue by Alec Baldwin.
Always be closing, Always be closing, and that was something
that we could never say about the Oklahoma City Thunder,
and it got on my last damn nerves because throughout
the years, I remember when Sam Presty had a team
and I looked at players, the players that he's had
(01:44):
on the squad, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James hard And,
Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Victor Oladipo, Paul George, still having
Russell Westbrook, Okay, Carmelo Anthony. The list just goes on
and on and on, but no championship show for it.
Anybody else, somebody would be asking when we're gonna get
the chip? When are we gonna get the championship. Well,
(02:06):
finally Oklahoma City answered the call, courtesy of Shay Gilgess,
Alexander and Sam Presty.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Deserves a boatload of credit.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
They've got about anywhere from thirteen to fifteen first round
picks in the very near future, and they got a
championship squad. Now, that's the second youngest squad in NBA
history to have captured such a feat. Only the Portland
Trailblazers from the nineteen seventy six seventy seven season, led
by Bill Waltson, was considered younger, averaging a little over
twenty five years of age, whereas Oklahoma City averaged twenty.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Five and a half years of age. This is who
they are. This is what Oklahoma City brings to the table.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Shay Gilgers is a superstar in this league, all right,
averaging thirty four in game sevens. I'm looking at what
this brother has done, and you guess you just gotta
stand down. He's one of the best players in the world.
And there's no way around it. It's just that simple.
Right now, if you're telling me a top five in
the NBA, you could make a legitimate argument that he's
(03:02):
top two easily him and Nicola Jokich in the Denver Nuggets.
That's what you could do. I give you my top
five a little bit later if you want me to.
But that's where I'm at with it right now. Got
to give love to Jay Dubb, Jaylen Williams showing himself
to be that sidekick that any championship squad needs that
Oklahoma City has with Jay gilges Alexander needing that sidekick.
(03:23):
The only thing missing from Jay Dubb's game is consistency
everything else. He's a legit six six sixty seven. He's
got a j He's got ball handling skills. He could
finish at the basket, he can finish in the open court.
He can hit free throws, He's got a mid range game. Plus,
he defends. One of only two players in the entire NBA.
Him and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers made an
All NBA Team and an All NBA Defensive Team. Can't
(03:48):
deny what Alex Caruso, you know, the elder statesman of
this crew, meant to this team this year. Can't deny
what Isaiah Hartenstein, who came over from the New York
Knicks last year meant to this team this year. Ched
Holmgren is just in the third year. Look at what
he's been able to do this year. You got cats
coming off the bench like Wiggins and Wallace and these cats.
Oklahoma City is loaded and they're not going away, and
(04:11):
they deserve a boatload of credit for it. They really
really do. My hat's off to them. My hat's off
to coach Dagnault, who I thought. Listen, had they lost
Game seven last night.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
We all know what we would have been talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
We've been talking about what happened in Game one, how
he changed the starting lineup before tip off for the
NBA Finals even arrived, and.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
We would have said, Yo, what the hell are you thinking?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
But turns out they ended up getting it done, and
props to them for doing so. It didn't come easy.
It came hard because the Indiana Pacers were valiant and
defeat they pushed this series to seven games, and if
certain things had gone their way, who knows, we might
be sitting here talking about them as NBA champions. But
it was not to be. And that's where we go
(04:50):
with the second subject.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
We get to.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Tyrese Halliburn, the Pacers point guard got off to a
hot start, scoring nine points on three or five shooting,
but it all came to and with just under five
minutes left in the first quarter, that's what Haliburton tried
to drive left and his right leg gave out and
he crashed to the floor in pain. He was carried
off the court, and his father, John Halliburton, later revealed
(05:16):
what many suspected an appearent Achilles' injury. When it was over,
Tyrese Halliburton stood on crutches outside the pace's locker room,
welcoming teammates with an embrace as each one came off
the floor following Indiana's one O three ninety one loss
to the thunder. I know y'all have seen me on
many occasions talking about Tyrese Haliburton and how he's no superstar.
(05:44):
But it doesn't mean that he didn't have the impact
of a superstar. It doesn't mean that he's not a
damn good player. As I reminded his father when he
and I were talking followed in their Game six winning
Indianapolis the other night, I said, I was clamoring for
(06:05):
the Knicks to draft your son, and the fairness his
father was a class act, very pleasant to talk to
in the whole bit, and to see him crying last
night was not a good sight to see, because boy
does he love his son and he believes in his son.
And it's a damn shame that Tyre's Halliburton had to
go out like that, because I'm here to tell y'all.
If Tyree's Halliburton the way that he was rolling, we
(06:28):
all know when he starts off strong, he usually has
a very very good game. And last night he shot.
He had three of his first four shots, all three
with three point shots. And when you look at what
he brought to the table, I mean, the Pacers looked
like they were gonna have Okac in some trouble because
we all know that Okac's weakness is the half court offense,
and sometimes it goes a bit stale, and they engage
(06:48):
in iso ball by getting the ball to Shay gilges
Alexander to come and rescue today and we know, listen,
that might not have been enough. So I look at
it from that standpoint and give love and respont where
is due. The Pacers them hard, Nie Smith, they got
a future Benedict Mathren. I know he had some bad games,
(07:08):
but he had some good moments. I believe in that kid.
Miles Turner and Nie Smith seemed a bit like they
the moment was too big for them in a game seven,
But they weren't horrible.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
They got some skills.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
You could keep this Indiana team attack and they could
still make some noise within the Eastern Conference. The problem
is is that you're not playing next season with Halliburton.
And don't get me started on TJ McConnell. Obie Topping
had an awful game, no points, four shots, clearly rattled
at the departure of Tyre's Halliburton, which he openly confessed
after the game. But when you look at TJ McConnell,
(07:44):
ladies and gentlemen, let me put it in perspective, if
the Indiana Pacers had won the game last night, I
might have named TJ McConnell on MVP Game five the
way he exploded in the third quarter Game seven. Twelve
points in the third quarter, Yeah, both fourth quarters the
only scored and scored zero points, had one shot but
(08:05):
partially being taken out and having this rhythm disrupted by
Rick Carlile, who is gonna rely on others because the
size and et cetera. You might take him out, but
TJ McConnell was big time for the Pacers in this
NBA Final Series, big time for them.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I got nothing belove for this kid.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I've known him since his days in Philly, that little either,
little engine, that could, little rough rider.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
He could be on my team any day.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Got nothing belove for TJ McConnell, and he warranted MVP
consideration if the Pacers had won.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
That's the truth.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
But it wasn't to be because Doklahoma City Thunder was
the best team in basketball all year long, and they
showed it. And so it is what it is. They
are the champions. Here's the thing to be concerned about
next season. Look at this right here, y'all. Tyre's Halliburt
and Achilles, Jason Tatum, Achilles, Damian Lilla, Kyrie, Irvin acl
(09:02):
That's where I mean. These guys are gonna those three,
those first three, Haliburton, Tatum, and lill Adre gonna be
out probably for the whole season. Kyrie gonna be out
for most of the season. We're starting next NBA season
twenty five to twenty sixth season.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Without those four guys. That is not good.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
And the NBA a global iconic brand. Don't doubt it
for one second. The NBA, you need them players. People
love the NBA the world over, but we need those players.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's a damn shame.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And I'm just telling you right now when you look
at them, gotta tell you it's paying for to watch
those injuries. I mean, Kyrie is a spectacular talent. This
is a superstar player and the champion. We want to
see him. Damian Lillard, we know what a closer he is.
We want to see him. Jason Tatum is a champion
(09:57):
of the twenty seven point per game scorer who's made
all the NBA t the last four years.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
We want to see him. And all three of them
are out. Them and Halliburton are out for most, if
not all, of.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Next season, which brings into question what Lakers coach former
ESPN and ABC analyst JJ Reddick said when he was
comparing old school to today's game and how pace of
play wears and tears on the body just as much,
(10:30):
if not more than the physicality from the seventies to eighties,
the nineties, and right now it's looking like he's having
a point because look at the injuries that we're witnessing.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Look at that.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Damn it was sad when I saw Haliburton go down.
Broke my heart because I wanted to see a healthy
Haliburton on the court making noise, and I originally he
was playing so well, he played so well in Game six,
I said to myself, I don't want to hear anything
about injuries.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I ain't seen.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Somebody with a CAF injury move like that. And then
sure enough he goes down in Game seven, and the
injury was very, very earily reminiscent of how Kevin Durant
went down against Toronto in that Game five where cav
just rolled up the way that it did and Achilles
tour painful, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Wishing nothing but the best.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
The tyres Haliburton, props to him, Congrats to him for
the season and particularly the playoffs that he had, wishing
him a speedy recovery.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
God bless him, his dad and his family.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Hope they get I hope he gets healthy much much
sooner than later, because he's a bright spot for this league.
I ain't call him a superstar, but he can have
superstar impact from Tom to tom. He's a damn good
player and I wish him nothing but the best.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Now, let's get to.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
The trade news earlier in the day that may shake
up the Western Conference. The Phoenix Suns agreed on a
deal to send Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets in
exchange for Jalen Green Dylan Brooks. The number ten picking
this year is draft along with five second round picks.
The fifteen time NBA All Star now elevates the Rockets
positioning for championship contention within the Western Conference. Durant joins
(12:11):
the lineup that includes Alperin Chagoon, i'm In Thompson, and
veteran Guardfred Van Vliet. Houston won fifty two games under
coach email Udoka this past season. The trade can be
formally completed when the new league year begins July sixth.
You see those odds right there, OKAC is still a
plus two to twenty, still about four nearly four times
(12:34):
better than the Houston Rockets. But that doesn't mean that
the Houston Rockets are unentitled contender. As you see then
the top four in terms of Vegas odds right there
or ESPN bet odds, because they should be. When you
look at the Phoenix Suns. First things first, for those
looking at them as saying five second round picks, the
(12:56):
tenth overall pick, Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You know, couldn't they have gotten more?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Well, Kevin Durant, there's like thirty six turns thirty seven
at the end of September if I remember correctly, and
he's in a position to sign a two year deal,
which means he'd be playing and making over sixty plus
million dollars, you know, approaching his thirty ninth birthday. My
attitude is so what he's Kevin Durant. He's that dude
(13:23):
you couldn't get, but so much for him because of
his age and the fact that he gave you those
choices that he wanted to go to. You wanted to
go to Miami, San Antonio or Houston. I'm still trying
to figure out how the hell of Miami heat then
prioritize getting him.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
I know you don't want to give up Tyler Hero
because you want Kevin Durant to play with somebody. So
you want him to play with a Tyler Hero and
a band out of Bio. I get that. But as
long as you got those two, I don't give a
damn what you got to give up to get Kevin Durant.
You do it if you're the Miami Heat, because you
got to be able to get something.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
You got to be able to get something. You can't
be in South to be squeezing.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
And playing for the play and then you're going home
the second game of a plan or the.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
First round of the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It's pat Riley, it's Mickey Arrison, it's Eric Spostra, it's
the Miami Heat. We expect better, and you got to
go out there and get those stars. And the fact
that you can't or you haven't been able to close
deals in it. It's just a reminder of what I've
said to all of y'all when it comes to pat Riley.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I love him.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I revere him. He is the winner within. He's a
champion as a players the champions a coach, he's a
champion as an executive.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I get it. He's pat Riley.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
But that doesn't mean you don't need to step upstairs.
Sometimes I just say step down. I said step up,
meaning having ameritis status, mingling with the owner, vibing, talking, conjoling, etc.
And talking to the coach of the president of basketball operations,
but leaving the actual responsibility to somebody else.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I think it's time to give that to Eric Spostra,
I really really do.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
But back to the KD deal, Phoenix one could argue
they could have gotten better.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I'm not so sure that.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
So they had to take the trade that they could
get five second round picks, a first round of number
ten overall and Dylan Brooks, who's a starter, and Jalen Green,
who's a starter and twenty two years of age, if
very athletic, if very capable.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
He just needs his.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Skills honed in a bit better, no doubt, no doubt.
And if you're the Phoenix Sons, this has to make
you happy. Because Jalen Green could play, Dylan Brooks can play,
the tenth overall pick is going to be a good player.
You can matriculate, you can materialize something out of those
second round picks into something worthwhile, okay, and in a way,
and now you've got to prioritize getting rid of Bradley Beal.
(15:36):
Him and Lebron James are only two people in the
entire league that have a no trade clause, and Phoenix
wants him going in the worst way. To the point
where I'm being told that if they can't get rid
of him. They might sit his ass down or pay
him to stay home, but they don't want Bradley Beal
on the Phoenix Suns any longer. And if you're Bradley Beal,
(15:57):
you got to think about how good that looks for
you or how bad that looks for you. They paying
you over fifty million, they don't want you, and they
can't give you away for a box of cookies. What
the hell is going on? What are you doing that
they got them questioning that about you? How this is
not Stephen A talking. I'm just saying to you. This
is what they're saying in Phoenix about Bradley Beal. There's
(16:20):
no way around us.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So if you know.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
That's your circumstances in your situation, you're not in much
of a position to play hardball with anybody about Kevin Durant.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Now to Houston and Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
With Chagoon and Van Vliet and I'm and Thompson, who
I think is an absolute stud. This brother's gonna be it.
He's got star written all over him. To Barbie Smith,
I think the Houston Rockets are in position to compete
for the championship. I really, really do when ladies and
(16:57):
gentlemen their issues was perimeter shooting, half court set, three
point shooting, et cetera. These are problems Kevin Durant single
handedly resolves. He's KD. He's KD. I know he's gotten
on me, he's criticized me. Man, Please, I ain't gotten
up of love for that brother. Kevin Durant's a good brother.
(17:19):
Heart's in the right place. He just gets sensitive some time,
that's all. But this brother's all world player. Don't wish
harm or nobody, and will bust your living ass anytime
he on the basketball court and the balls in. He
can do what he wants offensively. Nobody can stop him.
He's unguardable. Ladies, gentlemen, let me throw.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
You these stats up here because I want you to
see what.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Kevin Durant did in the earlier part of his career
and what he's doing now.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Throughout his career.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Twenty seven points, fifty percent shooting, thirty nine percent from
three point range, eighty eight percent shooting for the free
throw line, seven rebounds for sister. Look at his number
was last season at age thirty six, twenty six shooting
better from the field, shooting better from three point range
might have done a little less for the free throw line, But.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
This is Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Remember the years ago when Patrick Beverly was knowing at
him and stuff like that, and people were getting on
him for not being aggressive, and he says, I could
do this and I could do that, but I don't
want to because that's not playing within the Florida game.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
But I'm Kevin Durant. You know who I am. You
know who I am? Yes, the hell we do.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
He's Kevin Durant, and aged Town has got him. It's
one of the places he wanted to go. He earned
the right to pick his destiny. He's pulled it off,
and now Kevin Durant is going to Houston. To me,
that solidifies him as one of the top two seeds
in the Western Conference.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And one of the top three seeds in the entire NBA.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I applaud the fact that man Anthony Edwards in Minnesota or,
upon hearing that Kevin Durant didn't want to go there,
refuse to give him a call to try to coax
him in the coming I applaud that because guess what
if the brother don't want to be there, it ain't
gonna be nothing but problems if he ends up coming there.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
So you got to make sure he wants to be there.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
And if he didn't want to be in Minnesota, he
didn't want to be in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
He want to be in h Town. Cool. It's Kevin Durant.
You know who he is. You know who he is.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
But despite what we've known, we haven't seen him coached
by an email Eudoka.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It's got roots with him back in Brooklyn. They know
each other.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Email Udoka wanted this to happen, no matter what reservations
everybody else had. Email Udoka wanted this to happen, and
that is why it happened. Kevin Durant knows this. I
anticipate he'll responding con to be the electrifying basketball superstar
we all know him to be, and for Houston to
(20:00):
threaten to take.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
The west O case. Ain't got nothing to worry about
right now.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
They're champions, but that don't mean they ain't got something
to look out for come October.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
You feel me, You feel me
We're gonna get started with the NBA Finals that concluded
last night with Game seven in Oklahoma City, with the
Thunder crowned as champions for the twenty twenty four to
twenty twenty five season. The game featured a devastating injury
to pay the star Tyreez Halliburton. I'll get to that
in a moment, but I first want to give props
to the Thunder who completed the season having the best
record and the best player in the entire NBA Shay
(00:25):
Gilgess Alexander or as my colleague Malika Andrews from ESPN
so affectionately calls him, Shay Butter, capped his historic season
with twenty nine points and twelve assists in Game seven.
By the way, forty minutes just one turnover. He's just
a fourth player in NBA history to win the regular
season MVP and scoring title while becoming an NBA champion.
(00:47):
The Thunder victory is also the culmination of longtime general
manager Sam Presty.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Presty, who has been in charge since.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
The two thousand and seven two thousand and eight season,
has led Oklahoma City to the second most regular season
victories in that span or in the league during that span.
I like to start there first and foremost. I'm gonna
start off giving some love to Sam Presty, because here's
the reason why nobody was calling him out more than me.
I respect the hell out of him. I think that
(01:15):
over the years he's accumulated Hall of Fame talent, and
he's been in charge since two thousand and seven. My
issue with him is that they didn't close.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
One of my.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Favorite movies is really the opening monologue by Alec Baldwin.
Always be closing, Always be closing, and that was something
that we could never say about the Oklahoma City Thunder,
and it got on my last damn nerves because throughout
the years, I remember when Sam Presty had a team
and I looked at players, the players that he's had
(01:44):
on the squad, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James hard And,
Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Victor Oladipo, Paul George, still having
Russell Westbrook, Okay, Carmelo Anthony. The list just goes on
and on and on, but no championship show for it.
Anybody else, somebody would be asking when we're gonna get
the chip? When are we gonna get the championship. Well,
(02:06):
finally Oklahoma City answered the call, courtesy of Shay Gilgess,
Alexander and Sam Presty.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Deserves a boatload of credit.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
They've got about anywhere from thirteen to fifteen first round
picks in the very near future, and they got a
championship squad. Now, that's the second youngest squad in NBA
history to have captured such a feat. Only the Portland
Trailblazers from the nineteen seventy six seventy seven season, led
by Bill Waltson, was considered younger, averaging a little over
twenty five years of age, whereas Oklahoma City averaged twenty.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Five and a half years of age. This is who
they are. This is what Oklahoma City brings to the table.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Shay Gilgers is a superstar in this league, all right,
averaging thirty four in game sevens. I'm looking at what
this brother has done, and you guess you just gotta
stand down. He's one of the best players in the world.
And there's no way around it. It's just that simple.
Right now, if you're telling me a top five in
the NBA, you could make a legitimate argument that he's
(03:02):
top two easily him and Nicola Jokich in the Denver Nuggets.
That's what you could do. I give you my top
five a little bit later if you want me to.
But that's where I'm at with it right now. Got
to give love to Jay Dubb, Jaylen Williams showing himself
to be that sidekick that any championship squad needs that
Oklahoma City has with Jay gilges Alexander needing that sidekick.
(03:23):
The only thing missing from Jay Dubb's game is consistency
everything else. He's a legit six six sixty seven. He's
got a j He's got ball handling skills. He could
finish at the basket, he can finish in the open court.
He can hit free throws, He's got a mid range game. Plus,
he defends. One of only two players in the entire NBA.
Him and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers made an
All NBA Team and an All NBA Defensive Team. Can't
(03:48):
deny what Alex Caruso, you know, the elder statesman of
this crew, meant to this team this year. Can't deny
what Isaiah Hartenstein, who came over from the New York
Knicks last year meant to this team this year. Ched
Holmgren is just in the third year. Look at what
he's been able to do this year. You got cats
coming off the bench like Wiggins and Wallace and these cats.
Oklahoma City is loaded and they're not going away, and
(04:11):
they deserve a boatload of credit for it. They really
really do. My hat's off to them. My hat's off
to coach Dagnault, who I thought. Listen, had they lost
Game seven last night.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
We all know what we would have been talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
We've been talking about what happened in Game one, how
he changed the starting lineup before tip off for the
NBA Finals even arrived, and.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
We would have said, Yo, what the hell are you thinking?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
But turns out they ended up getting it done, and
props to them for doing so. It didn't come easy.
It came hard because the Indiana Pacers were valiant and
defeat they pushed this series to seven games, and if
certain things had gone their way, who knows, we might
be sitting here talking about them as NBA champions. But
it was not to be. And that's where we go
(04:50):
with the second subject.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
We get to.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Tyrese Halliburn, the Pacers point guard got off to a
hot start, scoring nine points on three or five shooting,
but it all came to and with just under five
minutes left in the first quarter, that's what Haliburton tried
to drive left and his right leg gave out and
he crashed to the floor in pain. He was carried
off the court, and his father, John Halliburton, later revealed
(05:16):
what many suspected an appearent Achilles' injury. When it was over,
Tyrese Halliburton stood on crutches outside the pace's locker room,
welcoming teammates with an embrace as each one came off
the floor following Indiana's one O three ninety one loss
to the thunder. I know y'all have seen me on
many occasions talking about Tyrese Haliburton and how he's no superstar.
(05:44):
But it doesn't mean that he didn't have the impact
of a superstar. It doesn't mean that he's not a
damn good player. As I reminded his father when he
and I were talking followed in their Game six winning
Indianapolis the other night, I said, I was clamoring for
(06:05):
the Knicks to draft your son, and the fairness his
father was a class act, very pleasant to talk to
in the whole bit, and to see him crying last
night was not a good sight to see, because boy
does he love his son and he believes in his son.
And it's a damn shame that Tyre's Halliburton had to
go out like that, because I'm here to tell y'all.
If Tyree's Halliburton the way that he was rolling, we
(06:28):
all know when he starts off strong, he usually has
a very very good game. And last night he shot.
He had three of his first four shots, all three
with three point shots. And when you look at what
he brought to the table, I mean, the Pacers looked
like they were gonna have Okac in some trouble because
we all know that Okac's weakness is the half court offense,
and sometimes it goes a bit stale, and they engage
(06:48):
in iso ball by getting the ball to Shay gilges
Alexander to come and rescue today and we know, listen,
that might not have been enough. So I look at
it from that standpoint and give love and respont where
is due. The Pacers them hard, Nie Smith, they got
a future Benedict Mathren. I know he had some bad games,
(07:08):
but he had some good moments. I believe in that kid.
Miles Turner and Nie Smith seemed a bit like they
the moment was too big for them in a game seven,
But they weren't horrible.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
They got some skills.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
You could keep this Indiana team attack and they could
still make some noise within the Eastern Conference. The problem
is is that you're not playing next season with Halliburton.
And don't get me started on TJ McConnell. Obie Topping
had an awful game, no points, four shots, clearly rattled
at the departure of Tyre's Halliburton, which he openly confessed
after the game. But when you look at TJ McConnell,
(07:44):
ladies and gentlemen, let me put it in perspective, if
the Indiana Pacers had won the game last night, I
might have named TJ McConnell on MVP Game five the
way he exploded in the third quarter Game seven. Twelve
points in the third quarter, Yeah, both fourth quarters the
only scored and scored zero points, had one shot but
(08:05):
partially being taken out and having this rhythm disrupted by
Rick Carlile, who is gonna rely on others because the
size and et cetera. You might take him out, but
TJ McConnell was big time for the Pacers in this
NBA Final Series, big time for them.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I got nothing belove for this kid.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I've known him since his days in Philly, that little either,
little engine, that could, little rough rider.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
He could be on my team any day.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Got nothing belove for TJ McConnell, and he warranted MVP
consideration if the Pacers had won.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
That's the truth.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
But it wasn't to be because Doklahoma City Thunder was
the best team in basketball all year long, and they
showed it. And so it is what it is. They
are the champions. Here's the thing to be concerned about
next season. Look at this right here, y'all. Tyre's Halliburt
and Achilles, Jason Tatum, Achilles, Damian Lilla, Kyrie, Irvin acl
(09:02):
That's where I mean. These guys are gonna those three,
those first three, Haliburton, Tatum, and lill Adre gonna be
out probably for the whole season. Kyrie gonna be out
for most of the season. We're starting next NBA season
twenty five to twenty sixth season.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Without those four guys. That is not good.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
And the NBA a global iconic brand. Don't doubt it
for one second. The NBA, you need them players. People
love the NBA the world over, but we need those players.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's a damn shame.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And I'm just telling you right now when you look
at them, gotta tell you it's paying for to watch
those injuries. I mean, Kyrie is a spectacular talent. This
is a superstar player and the champion. We want to
see him. Damian Lillard, we know what a closer he is.
We want to see him. Jason Tatum is a champion
(09:57):
of the twenty seven point per game scorer who's made
all the NBA t the last four years.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
We want to see him. And all three of them
are out. Them and Halliburton are out for most, if
not all, of.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Next season, which brings into question what Lakers coach former
ESPN and ABC analyst JJ Reddick said when he was
comparing old school to today's game and how pace of
play wears and tears on the body just as much,
(10:30):
if not more than the physicality from the seventies to eighties,
the nineties, and right now it's looking like he's having
a point because look at the injuries that we're witnessing.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Look at that.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Damn it was sad when I saw Haliburton go down.
Broke my heart because I wanted to see a healthy
Haliburton on the court making noise, and I originally he
was playing so well, he played so well in Game six,
I said to myself, I don't want to hear anything
about injuries.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I ain't seen.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Somebody with a CAF injury move like that. And then
sure enough he goes down in Game seven, and the
injury was very, very earily reminiscent of how Kevin Durant
went down against Toronto in that Game five where cav
just rolled up the way that it did and Achilles
tour painful, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Wishing nothing but the best.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
The tyres Haliburton, props to him, Congrats to him for
the season and particularly the playoffs that he had, wishing
him a speedy recovery.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
God bless him, his dad and his family.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Hope they get I hope he gets healthy much much
sooner than later, because he's a bright spot for this league.
I ain't call him a superstar, but he can have
superstar impact from Tom to tom. He's a damn good
player and I wish him nothing but the best.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Now, let's get to.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
The trade news earlier in the day that may shake
up the Western Conference. The Phoenix Suns agreed on a
deal to send Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets in
exchange for Jalen Green Dylan Brooks. The number ten picking
this year is draft along with five second round picks.
The fifteen time NBA All Star now elevates the Rockets
positioning for championship contention within the Western Conference. Durant joins
(12:11):
the lineup that includes Alperin Chagoon, i'm In Thompson, and
veteran Guardfred Van Vliet. Houston won fifty two games under
coach email Udoka this past season. The trade can be
formally completed when the new league year begins July sixth.
You see those odds right there, OKAC is still a
plus two to twenty, still about four nearly four times
(12:34):
better than the Houston Rockets. But that doesn't mean that
the Houston Rockets are unentitled contender. As you see then
the top four in terms of Vegas odds right there
or ESPN bet odds, because they should be. When you
look at the Phoenix Suns. First things first, for those
looking at them as saying five second round picks, the
(12:56):
tenth overall pick, Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You know, couldn't they have gotten more?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Well, Kevin Durant, there's like thirty six turns thirty seven
at the end of September if I remember correctly, and
he's in a position to sign a two year deal,
which means he'd be playing and making over sixty plus
million dollars, you know, approaching his thirty ninth birthday. My
attitude is so what he's Kevin Durant. He's that dude
(13:23):
you couldn't get, but so much for him because of
his age and the fact that he gave you those
choices that he wanted to go to. You wanted to
go to Miami, San Antonio or Houston. I'm still trying
to figure out how the hell of Miami heat then
prioritize getting him.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
I know you don't want to give up Tyler Hero
because you want Kevin Durant to play with somebody. So
you want him to play with a Tyler Hero and
a band out of Bio. I get that. But as
long as you got those two, I don't give a
damn what you got to give up to get Kevin Durant.
You do it if you're the Miami Heat, because you
got to be able to get something.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
You got to be able to get something. You can't
be in South to be squeezing.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
And playing for the play and then you're going home
the second game of a plan or the.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
First round of the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It's pat Riley, it's Mickey Arrison, it's Eric Spostra, it's
the Miami Heat. We expect better, and you got to
go out there and get those stars. And the fact
that you can't or you haven't been able to close
deals in it. It's just a reminder of what I've
said to all of y'all when it comes to pat Riley.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I love him.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I revere him. He is the winner within. He's a
champion as a players the champions a coach, he's a
champion as an executive.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I get it. He's pat Riley.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
But that doesn't mean you don't need to step upstairs.
Sometimes I just say step down. I said step up,
meaning having ameritis status, mingling with the owner, vibing, talking, conjoling, etc.
And talking to the coach of the president of basketball operations,
but leaving the actual responsibility to somebody else.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I think it's time to give that to Eric Spostra,
I really really do.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
But back to the KD deal, Phoenix one could argue
they could have gotten better.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I'm not so sure that.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
So they had to take the trade that they could
get five second round picks, a first round of number
ten overall and Dylan Brooks, who's a starter, and Jalen Green,
who's a starter and twenty two years of age, if
very athletic, if very capable.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
He just needs his.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Skills honed in a bit better, no doubt, no doubt.
And if you're the Phoenix Sons, this has to make
you happy. Because Jalen Green could play, Dylan Brooks can play,
the tenth overall pick is going to be a good player.
You can matriculate, you can materialize something out of those
second round picks into something worthwhile, okay, and in a way,
and now you've got to prioritize getting rid of Bradley Beal.
(15:36):
Him and Lebron James are only two people in the
entire league that have a no trade clause, and Phoenix
wants him going in the worst way. To the point
where I'm being told that if they can't get rid
of him. They might sit his ass down or pay
him to stay home, but they don't want Bradley Beal
on the Phoenix Suns any longer. And if you're Bradley Beal,
(15:57):
you got to think about how good that looks for
you or how bad that looks for you. They paying
you over fifty million, they don't want you, and they
can't give you away for a box of cookies. What
the hell is going on? What are you doing that
they got them questioning that about you? How this is
not Stephen A talking. I'm just saying to you. This
is what they're saying in Phoenix about Bradley Beal. There's
(16:20):
no way around us.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So if you know.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
That's your circumstances in your situation, you're not in much
of a position to play hardball with anybody about Kevin Durant.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Now to Houston and Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
With Chagoon and Van Vliet and I'm and Thompson, who
I think is an absolute stud. This brother's gonna be it.
He's got star written all over him. To Barbie Smith,
I think the Houston Rockets are in position to compete
for the championship. I really, really do when ladies and
(16:57):
gentlemen their issues was perimeter shooting, half court set, three
point shooting, et cetera. These are problems Kevin Durant single
handedly resolves. He's KD. He's KD. I know he's gotten
on me, he's criticized me. Man, Please, I ain't gotten
up of love for that brother. Kevin Durant's a good brother.
(17:19):
Heart's in the right place. He just gets sensitive some time,
that's all. But this brother's all world player. Don't wish
harm or nobody, and will bust your living ass anytime
he on the basketball court and the balls in. He
can do what he wants offensively. Nobody can stop him.
He's unguardable. Ladies, gentlemen, let me throw.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
You these stats up here because I want you to
see what.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Kevin Durant did in the earlier part of his career
and what he's doing now.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Throughout his career.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Twenty seven points, fifty percent shooting, thirty nine percent from
three point range, eighty eight percent shooting for the free
throw line, seven rebounds for sister. Look at his number
was last season at age thirty six, twenty six shooting
better from the field, shooting better from three point range
might have done a little less for the free throw line, But.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
This is Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Remember the years ago when Patrick Beverly was knowing at
him and stuff like that, and people were getting on
him for not being aggressive, and he says, I could
do this and I could do that, but I don't
want to because that's not playing within the Florida game.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
But I'm Kevin Durant. You know who I am. You
know who I am? Yes, the hell we do.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
He's Kevin Durant, and aged Town has got him. It's
one of the places he wanted to go. He earned
the right to pick his destiny. He's pulled it off,
and now Kevin Durant is going to Houston. To me,
that solidifies him as one of the top two seeds
in the Western Conference.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And one of the top three seeds in the entire NBA.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I applaud the fact that man Anthony Edwards in Minnesota or,
upon hearing that Kevin Durant didn't want to go there,
refuse to give him a call to try to coax
him in the coming I applaud that because guess what
if the brother don't want to be there, it ain't
gonna be nothing but problems if he ends up coming there.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
So you got to make sure he wants to be there.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
And if he didn't want to be in Minnesota, he
didn't want to be in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
He want to be in h Town. Cool. It's Kevin Durant.
You know who he is. You know who he is.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
But despite what we've known, we haven't seen him coached
by an email Eudoka.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It's got roots with him back in Brooklyn. They know
each other.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Email Udoka wanted this to happen, no matter what reservations
everybody else had. Email Udoka wanted this to happen, and
that is why it happened. Kevin Durant knows this. I
anticipate he'll responding con to be the electrifying basketball superstar
we all know him to be, and for Houston to
(20:00):
threaten to take.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
The west O case. Ain't got nothing to worry about
right now.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
They're champions, but that don't mean they ain't got something
to look out for come October.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
You feel me, You feel me
Host
Stephen A. Smith
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