April 29, 2024 • 45 mins
This week on BULLY BALL, Rachel and Boogie react to a crazy weekend of playoff games. What's next for Phoenix after getting swept? Will they trade KD or Beal? Plus, the 76ers lose a heartbreaker, what happens this summer if they bow out in round 1? How good is Jalen Brunson compared to other past Knicks stars. Also, the Lakers avoid being swept but are they in just as much future trouble as the Suns seem to be in?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Bullyball, presented by DraftKings. I'm Rachel Nichols, as
is my partner crime mister DeMarcus Cousins. Boogie, you are
still over in Taiwan. There have been an increased earthquake activity,
but I think it's actually you because you dropped twenty
five and fourteen in a win the other night. How
is it going over there? The playoffs are startting.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Right, Yeah, we just finished up our last regular season game.
Things are going good. I'm enjoying my time. This has
been an amazing experience for me. I'm happy to be
playing basketball compete, you know, being a part of a
team and joining a camaraderie with the guys. So it's
been a pleasure so far. So like I said, we
(00:48):
finished up regular season, we're now booting up for the playoffs,
so things are about to start getting interested.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
So I'm excited for that.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And if you're interested in Taiwanese food culture, check out
Boogie's recent ig because something on there I wouldn't need.
So that's all I'm saying. I'm saying, let's talk NBA playoffs.
We are deep in the first round. My friend, I
want to start in the East because that New York
Philadelphia game. Every single game of this series. I know
(01:17):
Sixers fans don't feel this way because it's the outcome,
but every single game has been so fun. It has
been old fashioned, hard fought basketball in a way that
just reminds me of so many of the games I
watch growing up that I love. New York, of course,
is now up three to one in the series. Jalen
Brunson forty seven points most ever for New York Nick
(01:37):
in the playoffs, which you know, we've had an explosion
in scoring. That's not necessarily means he's the best Nick ever,
But I do want to ask you, is he the
best Nick since? Who? Who? Would you say Jalen Brunson
is the best Knicks since who?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Carmelo Anthony? And that's without a doubt. This kid is
a star. I believe at the end of his career
he will have his jerseys in the rafts of the
New York Knicks. I think everything has been put in
place for this kid to be successful, from you know,
his father being a part of the organization to bring
in his college championship teammates, to the organization.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Just everything is being.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Set up for him to be successful, and you can
tell that this organization supports him from top to bottom.
So yeah, I think he's I think he's that piece
for this team and this organization. You know, New York
was searching for a savior and I finally think they
found their guy in Jalen Bronson.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
He's a star.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
He's he's dominated in these playoffs, he's dominated in regular season.
I believe me and Big Perk are probably the only
guys that are pushing for him to have, you know,
some credit in his MVP race because he's he's more
than deserving of that to be playing one of the
biggest markets and playing at the level he's been playing
that likes it's not even up with debate. He's been
(03:02):
you know, obviously he's Their team has dealt with injuries
throughout the year. They lost one of their big pieces
in Julius Randall. You know, o G went down some
throughout the year, and you know this kid is he's
he's carried this organization on his shoulders all year and
he's continued to do that throughout these playoffs.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
So he is a star.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
He is legit everything that comes with it. He's a star,
and he's perfect for this Knicks organization. So I think
he's the best since Carmelo Anthony. I won't say he's
better right now. I think, you know, him finishing out
this series, possibly getting past the second round, I think
(03:42):
that validates him at that point. And you know, like
I said, this kid's jersey will be in the rafters
when he's when he's said and done.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
I mean, if he gets this team to a conference finals, uh,
which there's certainly a path for that right now. I mean, man,
I can't even imagine the roof being blown off MSG.
You know, I worked in that market for two decades
and it is out of control. And look, we might
be having the Brunson Mellow conversation at that point. So
(04:12):
we'll have to see. But I love what you said
about the organization because who knew we would be talking
about the Knicks as one of the most well run
organizations in the league. Nobody could have predicted that. And
I think that bringing Leon Rose in, James Donlan finally
final Lee taking his hands off of this team and
just basically being like great, and then Leon bringing Tibbs
(04:34):
in and then being so smart in a way that
frankly hasn't happened with some of Tibbs's past teams. They
drafted and have acquired and traded for Tibbs type of players.
This team is so relentless. They get seven offensive rebounds
in the fourth quarter last night, despite the fact that Philly,
(04:54):
by the way, running out of gas. I think that
Philly missed their final eleven shots, didn't score in the
final five minutes. Meanwhile, the Nick just kept coming and
coming and coming and coming. And by the way, Jalen Brunson,
it's not like he had the most incredible shooting night.
He just kept going and he kept finding these little
cracks to shoot from and be in. And just this
entire team moves no matter what is going on. They
(05:17):
keep playing. Even in Game three that Philly won, New
York almost came back and won that one because they
just kept coming. And I think that that is the
kind of thing that is going to propel this team forward,
even when they're playing opponents that maybe are a little
bit better on paper than them. I am fascinated to
see how far this group can go this year. And
we're talking about all this without Julius Randall. So I
(05:39):
kudos to the entire group Brunson has been amazing every
single other guy on that roster who has just kept
going in a way that has been so impressive to me.
But I really got to give Leon Rose just a
tremendous amount of credit for the way that he has
come in changed that organization. Doesn't hurt if your godson
is someone that you can acquire from Dallas spring Over
(06:00):
and then become one of the best players in the league.
He is on my MVP ballot for sure. But you know,
it all worked out and I'm just thrilling a great story.
And by the way, we've got a lot of quote
smaller market teams also doing really well in these playoffs, right.
You know, Denver's not a glamor glamour team in this
league in terms of cities and everything, and yet they're
(06:22):
obviously a monster Minnesota, you know, Oklahoma City. You've got
teams that aren't necessarily the coastal elites doing well. So
we've got that going on. And then at the same time,
to having New York City in the playoffs doing as
well as they're doing is great for the NBA. It
is the largest fan base in the NBA, and you
have the largest fan base engaged and excited. It's just
(06:42):
great all the way around. It's nice to see both
things happening at once. So it's not just big market
versus small market. It's all different kinds of markets are
doing it really well right now. That is cool for
me to watch as well. The Sixers not doing as
well right now. Down three to one, series can still go.
We've seen teams down three one win. But you know,
right now, it certainly seems that New York has the
(07:03):
momentum and b does not look completely himself. Game two,
of course, is going to haunt them for a long
time if they do go home after this first round.
What do you think they do this summer? Because they
have assets, They've also got a ton of salary room.
They could get a huge free agent if they wanted to.
The only guys, the only guys who are absolutely locked
(07:23):
in going forward are MAXI and embiid, so they can
remake this roster however they want. And there's been a
lot of Paul George rumblings book. What do you think
about them?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Well, when it comes to Philly situation, I think they're
happy where they are. You know, they have their their
two foundational pieces set and locked in. They have plenty
of money to play with, they have plenty of assets
to use. I think they're in a perfect situation as
far as it with the Paul George rumlins. On paper,
(07:54):
it obviously makes sense. But you know, Paul George being
a West Coast kid, being home, getting closer to the
end of his career, not saying, you know, he's ready
to retire anything, but he's in the later stages of
his career. Just from that standpoint, Alon, I don't really
see him wanting to make a move like that, you know,
(08:17):
going from Cali being home, being comfortable, being around family too,
you know, jumping all the way across the map to
the East Coast. It's a weather change, it's a different environment,
it's a different type of fan base. Philly is a
rough fan base to play in front of. You know,
PG has received a lot of backlash with being in
(08:38):
this softer market, so I couldn't really imagine him wanting
to go to even more difficult market at the later
stages of his career. But like I said, on paper,
it makes sense, and I could you know, I could
be totally wrong, but for me kind of knowing how
comfortable peach is being home and how much you know
family and being you know, representing la and all of
(08:59):
the those things matter to him. I just don't see
that that being the move for him. But like I said,
I could be completely wrong, and if it was to
be made, then you know, the East might have a
new top dog in town. So on paper it makes sense,
but you know, from a comfort standpoint, it just doesn't
(09:20):
make sense.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
For me, and so interesting. We're going to talk about
the Mavericks Clipper series later and obviously how that plays
out could be a part of his decision, but just
in a vacuum, the idea that he could be the
perfect guy to fit in with Maxi and Embeed. I
know Daryl moriy is going to be on his doorstep
at twelve oh one. I think it's interesting that Paul
George has not re upped with the Clippers. Right he
(09:42):
had the opportunity to extend Kauwai did it, and the
fact that he didn't do it around the same time,
I thought was telling. He's clearly waiting for something, and
he's either waiting just for other bidders to come in
to up his price, or he's waiting for the decision
about whether he should move on or not. And I
don't know what were offering him to begin with. Maybe
there was wiggle room there. I'd have to think they'd
(10:03):
be offering him the maximum amount of money, but who knows.
I just wonder if there's a little bit there, because
I agree with you, he is a guy who coming
home to LA was really important to him, right. I mean,
he flirted with the idea back when Magic Johnson was
on TV talk shows talking about acquiring him for the Lakers, right, Like,
He's just the idea of coming home was very important
(10:25):
to him. You know, his parents, who are great, by
the way, great people at their courtside at most games.
And his mom had a stroke years ago and it's
very important to him to be around her. She's not
as ambulatory as one might hope. And I think that
all of that stuff contributes. You know, his kids are here,
his families here, They're getting to be with their cousins
(10:45):
and grandparents and everything. The weather is not a small thing,
you know. The fan base, as you say, is not
a small thing. But I got to say, at some point,
some of these guys have to decide, do I want
to win a title? And I don't know if he
is as set up well here in LA to win
a title as he would be if he went to
the East, which is a different conference with different teams
(11:08):
you're competing against, and paired with the Joel Embiid and
Tyrese Maxi. So's it's a really interesting question. I don't
know if Philly has a plan B. If you know,
Paul George doesn't decide to come because some of the
targets that they had, the two guys in Toronto got
traded to other teams where they are expected to both resign. Well,
(11:29):
we'll just have to see. But it is an unfortunate
break for Philly in the series and beats health, you know,
just hasn't been one hundred percent. And frankly, they can
learn a little bit from the guys across the court
about just how relentless you have to be to win
these hard fought playoff series. I'm fascinated. I'm fascinated by
the way the series has turned out. I wish it
was thirteen games. What we'll have to say, I don't know.
(11:51):
All right, let's get to the West. Wolves swept the
Sun's Boogie while you were sleeping over there in Taiwan,
the Wolves slept swept the Sun. Big games from Anthony
Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns, who had got into foul
trouble at times throughout the series, he came through big time.
I want to give him a lot of credit. And
we usually say the team with the best player in
(12:12):
the series wins, right, and going in to this series,
some people would have told you the best player on
the floor would have been Devin Booker. You know, if
you got Kevin Durant in that series. There's no question
that Anthony Edwards turned out to be the best player
of these four games. I mean that second half he
had thirty. One of his forty came in the second half.
But are you ready to say overall that ant is
(12:34):
a better player than Booker or KD. Book had forty
nine last night?
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Am I ready to say? Yes?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
It's not far off. I mean, obviously Booker is an
amazing player this year. He's shown at time and time
again season after season. So this is no knock the
book but it's honestly just praise for Anthony Edwards. I
think he elevated his game to a level higher. In
on Phoenix side, he led this team to a sweep.
(13:06):
He's a star. He's one of the faces of the league.
His energy, his charisma, his personality, everything was on display
in this series. And I think it's bigger than just being,
you know, the best two guard in the league. He's
one of the biggest stars in our league.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
I think you think he's the best two guard in
the league hands down, right.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
You don't even think it's close as of this season.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Absolutely, hell yeah, absolutely. And like I said, he put
it on display. Is young Jordan Vibes. It has been
spoken on before. The athleticism, just the leadership. I don't
even think that gets talked about enough. And it is
the fact that this kid is twenty two years old
doing all of these things. This isn't a twenty eight
(13:48):
year old. This isn't a thirty year old. This is
a twenty two year old kid, twenty two doing these things. So,
like I said, this is no knock to book, It's
no knocked to any two guard in the league. This
is just given the young kid, his flowers and the
prayers that he deserves in his moment. And you know,
he did his thing this series. And you could tell
(14:08):
from the words of Kevin Duran. It's no bitterness, it's
no anger towards his kid. You have to get his
kid his flowers. He went out there and performed at
an incredible level. He outplayed his one of his idols,
growing up, which is a story within itself. So just
everything about this series was in this kid's favor, and
(14:28):
like I said, he went out there and he took
that shit, and you know, he deserves all the credit that's.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Coming this way.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I mean, look, it's incredible. Even going into this series.
I put Anthony Edwards on my second team All NBA
and Den Booker on my third team All NBA, so
that's the order I had them in. But he just exploded.
And you mentioned the ris there. I mean, he is
just jumps off the court emotionally, you know, magnetically, he
is just such an incredible presence. And then the leadership,
(14:58):
You're absolutely right, that's underrated. I watched a press conference
after the game where he's sitting there, he and Carly
Towns are up there together and he just kept going
to carl and being like, yeah, I told you to
stop fucking failing, and you finally stop fucking fouling, and
there we go. He's twenty two, and he's telling the
former number one overall pick, who was definitely the star
(15:20):
of this team when Aunt came through, Hey, you over there,
stop fucking fouling and guess what. Kat, to his credit,
has completely accepted and respected it. And I think that's
an underrated story too, because that's not easy if you're
Karl Anthony Towns to sit there and have someone else
come in who's not you know, yes, he's younger, and
(15:41):
he's definitely younger enough to feel younger, but he's not like,
it's not like Kat's thirty five, right, So sometimes if
you're a much older player and the young kid comes in,
you can be like, great, that's how it's supposed to be.
This is an age difference where it's just enough to
be awkward if it was going to be awkward, and
Kat is just enough and is still in his prime
that it's sort of like, oh, and Kat has been
(16:01):
a dream about it, and Ant has been amazing about it,
and I think it's just Ants so undeniable, and yeah,
I'm with you. I think Tmosa this summer we're going
to see him just eat against those international players a
lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Hopefully he's put in the right position to do.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
So let's put it so that's your other thing, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Let's not let's not make the same mistake twice. Let's
let's let this kid shine because he deserves it.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Well, look, it's easier when you dismiss Devin Booker in
a playoff series. It's easier than for coach Kerr to
sit there and make those kinds of decisions, right, Like
like it's kind of like coming in with kat right then,
everyone on that TMOSA team, you know talent when you
see it, and players, I give all y'all credit Book, Like,
y'all recognize when someone is who they who they are,
(16:52):
and like I think, I think we'll see what you're
looking for on Team USA this summer. And then Phoenix
is a huge thing. And look, you were the first
person on the national media to be pounding the drum
of it's a problem they don't have a point guard.
You did it from October on and they played well
enough that a lot of people were like, no, Book's
(17:13):
doing fine. And I even sat here on the pod
and I was like, well, Books, Books playing okay in
that role, and you're like, come playoff time, it is
going to matter, you were one hundred percent right. My
thing from the beginning of the season was they made
a huge mistake with Bradley Beal. I feel vindicated in
that take as well. Bradley Beal, who is a very
good guy by the way, however not a good fit
(17:34):
on that team. Four of thirteen in the final game,
nine points total, six turnovers, five of which came in
the fourth quarter, and then he fouled out. I mean
it was just a disaster. And to me, this is
a new owner syndrome problem. We have seen this over
and over. Matt Ishbia may become one of the NBA's
best owners. I am not saying this is long term. However,
(17:56):
we see it over and over again when a new
owner comes into the league, especially a younger guy who's
had great success in his field, he knows better, right,
he just knows better than everyone else in the way
it's been done. I would have made the Kevin Durant deal,
and he made that deal just I think sixty seconds
after acquiring the team. I would have done it. He's
Kevin Durant, I get it. I would never have made
(18:16):
the Bradley Beale deal, and they would have been better
off just keeping Chris Paul this past year because at
least to organized their offense, and he has a trainable
contract that would have given them options going forward. They
don't have options, And that's what I wanted to ask you.
Bradley Beale has a no trade clause, so if you
want to get rid of him to make salary room,
(18:38):
you've got to be sending him to a place he
wants to go to, and you've got to convince someone
to take him, and you barely have any picks to attach.
I guess they've got a first round pick, what now?
And then that's it before twenty thirty. No second round picks,
So it's just bonkers. What would you do? Would you
try to convince someone to take him? KD? Is is
(19:00):
he sticking around this team? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (19:03):
This is definitely gonna be a difficult offseason for the
Phoenix Suns. It's a lot of things to iron out.
It's a lot of tough decisions to make. But just
based off you know, balance and looking at this team
on paper, Bradley Bill is the black sheep to this problem.
Outside of them being their number one priority is obviously
(19:24):
gonna get a point guard John Wall is fucking sitting
at home.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Go get John Wall Who cares.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
If this dude likes to go to the club, whatever,
whatever fucking bullshit excuse you want to come up with
as to why you don't want to sign, Go get
you a fucking point guard.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
That's the first thing. The second thing when it.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Comes to Bradley Beil, I absolutely think he's a he's
a tradable piece. I think I think Bradley Beil will
be open to being traded. You can tell about a
body language, you can tell by his demeanor, you can
tell and obviously you can tell about the performance that
he's not a good fit there. He probably, deep down
the side doesn't really want to be there. And on
(20:06):
any good championship team, Bradley Bil is the second option.
Brad Bil in no way, shape or for him, will
ever be a third option on the team. And if
he is, it is not putting him in a situation
to be successful. And that's exactly what Phoenix did in
this situation. So obviously brad Bil is the guy that
I think you can go, you know, do some things,
(20:28):
You can make something happen with Bradley Beal and bring
in some pieces what pieces. I don't necessarily have those answers.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Oh, point guard, you've got that answer, we.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Got that start, But what you can get back for
Bradley Bil, I don't know that exact answer. I wouldn't
be mad at of brad Bil. Jimmy Butler. Move Jimmy
Butler thirty four to thirty five coming up. He's on
a way different timeline than those young guys in Miami.
You got Terry Rozier, you have a Bam down there.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Those are two younger guys.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Jimmy a heat player, though, Is he a heat culture guy?
Speaker 3 (21:04):
I think so?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, so it makes sense. It makes sense
for both sides. Obviously, Jimmy Butler's you know, he's getting
to the later, later stages of his career.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
We all know he.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Wants to compete for a championship. I think that's a
good third piece to go with the Phoenix signs. You
get you a point guard, you move book back to
the two. You can put Jimmy at your three and
have Kevin Durant at the four, and you can figure
out the rest when it comes to the roster.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
So well, look, they don't need Jimmy Butler to score
the basketball in that situation right with with Kevin Durant
and book there. So that plays into the fact that
he's not the shooter that those guys are. I get it.
I just don't think I think they're going to have
trouble finding someone to take Bradley Beal. They'd have to
attach definitely. I think the first round pick, just because
(21:51):
of the contract, that's going to be a thing. And
then there's the Kevin Durant question. Does Kevin want to
stay there? He is not had the best last five years.
You know, some of it was bad luck, some of
it was a toe over the line, some of it
was injury stuff. But here's a guy who is on
one of my lists, is you know, on that top
(22:13):
twenty players of all time kind of situation, and I
just don't know if he wants this to be the
way his career ends. There's a lot of romantics out
there who want him to go back to Oklahoma City.
If you're Kevin Durant, do you ask for another trade
or do you feel like you can't do that again?
What do you think? If you're Kevin Durant.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
If I'm Kevin Durant, I'll write it out okay, And
like I said, I think your best bet when it
comes to improving his team is using Bradley Beal as
a piece and also attaching that first round pick. But
when it comes to Kevin Durant, it doesn't make sense
to go back to Okay. See that's a I think
(22:54):
what's the average age for Okay? See twenty three, twenty three?
Speaker 3 (22:58):
It just doesn't make that too.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
That team has created a vibe, it's a fun, loving environment.
They've they've created something to match that group that they
have there. It just doesn't make sense to try to put,
you know, a thirty six, thirty seven year old guy.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Into the mix of that. So it on paper, it
doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Now, if you want to, you know, a fairy tale story,
and you know the media have something to run with,
then absolutely it makes sense. But I think that story
will be short lived. If I'm Kevin Durant, I'm sticking
it out, you know. I think this will be his
last stop hopefully, So I don't want to see k
move anymore. I want to see him make a situation work,
(23:44):
and I think this is the place he can make
it work. It's just some things they have to iron out.
With that roster, and they have to start making things
make sense for their team. They have to put their
stars in a position to be successful. Like I said,
go get you a fucking point guard one and I
think everything else is fixable. So I say, Kevin Uran
(24:05):
sticks this out, absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
They're already trying to blame the coach. It was literally
it took. It took two minutes after the final buzzer
sound for stories to leak and tweets to leak about Oh,
players aren't happy with the coach. Bradley Buil didn't shake
Frank Vogel's hand. Frank Vogel doesn't have a you know,
a handle on the team. He doesn't have their confidence.
Guess what, Frank Vogel is not the problem. He's not
(24:31):
the problem. The roster is the problem. And that's not
even James Jones's fault. The owner made those two big traits. Okay,
he got He wanted the credit for it when he
came in, so now you got to stick with it.
It is the fault of the roster, the roster that
the new ownership put together. And as I said, matt
Eshpia may go on to be one of our best owners.
(24:52):
Mark Cuban didn't always make the best decisions when he
came into the league, right, and then he became one
of the owners that has been the most before he
sold his ownership stake in the team, so Matt could
have a great future in Phoenix. But this past year
or so, what he's done, you have to look in
the mirror. You cannot start leaking things about the coach.
(25:12):
Frank Vogel got this team which had no business being
in the top half of the league defensively, into the
top half of the league defensively. It is not his fault, right,
I mean, it's just seem.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
To me I agree, But we know how this thing goes.
Whenever it's a it's a fail season, the coach is
the first guy to blame, and you know that's unfortunate
for Frank. I'm a huge I'm a huge fan of
coach Vogel. You know, I had the luxury of being
on a roster with the Lakers the championship year. I
(25:45):
saw how he coached that team. I saw how he
connected with his stars. I saw how the guys respected
him in the locker room. So I know his ability
of coaching and how he managed the team isn't the problem,
but in this situation, he going to be the scapegoat.
There's always a scapeboat when shit goes wrong, and you
know it's unfortunately that you know he'll be that guy
(26:07):
this offseason. So you know, we'll see what this team does,
and you know, obviously they're going to have a tough
decision and who they decide to bring in. Hopefully it's
a guy that you know, the stars will respect and
hopefully have a say so and who they want, and
you know, hopefully things get ironed out and it's not
(26:27):
another year of making an excuse or blaming the coach.
So we'll have to see what plays out for this
son's organization.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Look, man, there's another team we got to talk about.
That's that's kind of in the same boat here. The
Lakers at least save themselves from getting swept right Monday night.
As we tape this Monday morning game five back in Denver,
I did want to ask you about Jamal Murray because
he's questionable with the strained calf. You have also been
inside that locker room book, You've been on that team.
If Jamal can't in fact go, how big of a
(26:58):
window does that open? For LA Or do you just
feel Denver at home even if Jamal doesn't play. They
didn't have him for the last couple of weeks of
the season because he was hurt. Then they didn't have
him for stretches when you were there with them. You know,
do you feel like Denver at home even if Jamal
is not there, they're still the favorite? Or do you
think the window for LA opens?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
But you can't overlook that piece. Jamal Murray is a
huge piece to the success of this Denver Nuggets team. Obviously,
you know Jokis gets all the shine, but when they
came to this team being a championship team, it's when
Jamal Murray became healthy. If I'm the Lakers, I'm excited
(27:36):
and obviously we don't wish you know, injury or harm
or any player. But in this situation, the Lakers being
down in this series and they're missing their number two
option in Jamal Murray, I think the Lakers are now.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
We'll see, we'll see. He's questionable.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
A calf strang A calf strain could be tricky, it
could be very.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
And you don't want to mess with that because achilles.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
I'm just a calf strength easily turn into an achilles injury,
so you have to be very you know, fragile and
sensitive with dealing with that injury. But and if I
feel like, if Denver feel like they can buy time
and you know, kind of let him sit and rest,
I think they will take that route. So, like I said,
I think the Lakers, if that is the situation, I
(28:22):
think they're excited. I think they can see a small
glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel and
it might be a little more life in this series.
But if Jamal does play, I think it's curtains for
the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Look, even if they win this game tonight, and as
we said here, we don't know, but I will say this,
I can't see LA winning four out of five against Denver,
which is what they would have to do starting with
that win over the weekend. But still like it's just
they lost ten straight or sorry, eleven straight to them.
I mean, the most likely scenario. No team has ever
(28:55):
come back from three to zero. The most likely scenario
is that LA gets sent home. So let's just have
that conversation now because we won't be together again until
next Monday. What do you think the Lakers should do
next and how much does that depend on what Lebron
wants to do.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
I put it like this, it's only one team with
a shittier situation than Phoenix, and it's the fucking Lakers.
We know what this all season to bring. Obviously Lebron
has Lebron has this organization by the balls, that's it's
well noted.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
We know that.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Obviously, he has this contract situation. We know about the
scenario and him wanting to play with his sign So
it's a lot of things looming when it comes to
you know what this Laker team has to do when
it comes to Lebron. But my question is, at what
point does Lebron decide to take, you know, that pay
(29:52):
cut if it's about still winning championships. Lebron is an
an I'm not in the pocket watch and I don't
count the next man's money or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
This is just what's well known and what's facts.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Lebron is an active NB player and he's a billionaire.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
So obviously money isn't an issue for Lebron.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
So at what point do you take that cut to
bring in more talentent to compete for a championship?
Speaker 3 (30:22):
And if that's not the case.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Then what is your goal with being a Laker and
moving forward with the you know, the rest of your career.
That's my question to Lebron because at this point, if
Lebron goes and signs for sixty million a year, obviously
it's not much room to add talent to this roster.
It's not much room to improve the roster. But the
(30:46):
current team they have now obviously is not enough. So
if you do take on this new contract, you know,
what is your goal with being a Laker and moving forward?
So I think that's the question that needs to be
asked in the off season when it comes to, you know,
fixing this Lakers situation. Obviously, you have your your counter partner,
Anthony Davis. He still has a lot of life left
(31:09):
in his league. I think if I'm ad and I'm
in his shoes, that's my question of Lebron, like what's
your goal? Like what are we trying to do moving forward?
And regardless of whatever his answer is, I think you
based your decision off of that.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
But that's a great point because look, here's the thing.
There's people speculating, would he jump somewhere else? I would
be laid down in shock if Lebron James leaves Los Angeles.
He wanted to come here so badly that he basically
committed to Magic Johnson before Magic even gotten to the
door of that free agency meeting. He didn't unlike Kawhi Leonard,
(31:45):
who said, you got to bring Paul George for me
to come here. He made no stipulations. He signed multi
year deals in ways that he never did in Cleveland
or Miami. He wants to live in Los Angeles, and
by the way, I live in Los Angeles. It is
lovely here. I get it. However, that means to me
that he is not going to another city. His business
is here, his kids are here, his life is here.
(32:06):
I just don't see him moving in and for his legacy. Also,
by the way, three teams is already a lot for
a player of his caliber, right, we don't see that
that often. But he's won a championship in everyone. If
he then goes to a fourth theme and they don't
win and he's away from his family, I don't see it.
So then the question is if he stays here and
he stays a Laker, what does he want? Does he
(32:26):
want to ride off into the sunset and just have
a nice year, make a lot of money. Maybe they
do bring Bronnie in, which, by the way, I think
would be great.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Do it.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
I'm all for that. By the way, he's not taking
up a spot on the roster that other people like.
You can have a guy who is a two way
contract or, end of the bench player, who is a
developing youngster in the NBA, who has Brownie skill set.
He's got an NBA body, he's obviously got great basketball IQ.
His reputation both in high school and college so far
(32:58):
as that, he's a team guy. He's not too big
for He's not like going Lebron James soon. You know,
he seems like he is. He is a good team
chemistry guy. And it's a great story. And I watched
I covered the NHL a long time ago. I watched
Bobby Hall and Brett Hall play together. It's awesome, man
like do it and if anyone deserves it, it's Lebron.
(33:18):
So I'm all for that. If that happens. I know
people are gonna whine and bitch and complain, but I
think it'd be great, and maybe that's all he wants.
But to your point, Anthony Davis, I don't think that's
all he wants. And I understand the logistics of Lebron
taking a big pay cut. I was having this conversation
at the game the other day with someone who knows
that organization and knows Lebron super well, and and his
(33:40):
take was, Oh, I don't know if if he's gonna,
like how that looks that he's got to like take
a big pay cut to bring someone else in. And
what is that going to say about him? I don't know,
he's thirty nine years old, biggie. What do you think
the sort of ego factor of that is if he
decided he's if he opts in, he's getting fifty one million,
As you point out, that number goes up if he
opts out but wants to stay. If he just was like,
(34:01):
you know what, I'm gonna play for twenty million this year,
what do you think the ego factor is there? And
then having someone else come in.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
I think it adds to his legend. It then adds
another layer to you know, this goat status. He's so unselfish,
he's he's a team guy. He's about winning championships. I
think that's the narrative that goes with a decision like that.
I don't think anybody would ever look at Lebron in
(34:29):
a negative way if he was to take a pay cut.
I don't think. I don't think it lowers his value.
I don't think, you know, it lowers his legend any
of those things. It actually increases it. In my opinion.
It shows that he's about, you know, winning championships. It
shows that he wants to increase.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
You know, he's.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Already incredible, incredible resume, so and obviously adding a fifth
championship to his already crazy resume puts him at another status.
It then changes a lot of conversations when it comes
to who is the goal of this back of basketball?
So that's where it kind of goes for me when
(35:12):
it comes to figuring out this off season. What are
you looking for? What are your goals moving forward with
being a Laker. Is it still about competing for championships
or is it about making sure boot business is booming?
Which I don't think changes in any way, shape or form.
No matter where this is the fucking Lebron James, It's
not going to change right right, So him taking twenty
(35:35):
million this year is not going to change anything. That's
going on with clutch or anything that you know what
I'm saying. So life right, So I think that's the
important question. What is your goal moving forward? As simple
as that.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
And look, it's funny we were talking about Paul George
earlier in this conversation. Paul George and Lebron were supposed
to play together in Cleveland. There was a deal done
to trade Paul from Indiana to Cleveland. It got messed
up at the end. I would say, I'm blaming some
upper management enfranchises for some of what happened there. And
that was going to be the thing after Kyrie left,
(36:11):
was that Paul George was going to come in and
them playing together just makes so much sense in terms
of the way their games are styled and everything. This is,
I guess this is a far flowing possibility. But what
if Lebron took a serious pay cut and they said
to Paul George, you don't have to move to Philly
if it's not working in the Clippers and Kawai just
(36:33):
can't stay healthy the way we'd all want him to,
And what would you think about just coming across the
hallway there. I don't know, man, I mean, Paul has
said that he's wanted to be a Laker in the past.
I know it kind of changed a tune when he
became a Clipper, but he and Lebron have talked about
playing together in the past. I know they certainly need
a player who can defend like that. When I look
(36:54):
at the Lakers other options, even if they come through
trade right and they will have trade assets starting on drafted,
I thought three first round picks. You're talking about Trey Young,
who obviously is a huge offensive talent, but is not
going to help them defensively. He obviously comes with his
own set of personality that would have to get melded
into that team. Dejante Murray, who I don't think is
(37:16):
turning them into a championship contender in my opinion. And
then Donovan Mitchell, I know is spicy for Lakers fans
to be talking about. Oh, especially if the Magic eliminate
the Calves, we could go after Donovan Mitchell. Guess what,
I don't care if Donovan Mitchell specifically marches into the
Calves front office and says I would like a trade
to Los Angeles. I do not see the Cleveland Cavaliers
and the Gilbert family helping Lebron win another title in
(37:40):
LA by trading the player that they thought was going
to be their franchise player going forward. I don't see it.
I don't see it happening. They could get just as
good a deal somewhere else. I know we've been talking
about Trey Young to the Spurs, but can you imagine
Donovan Mitchell on the Spurs with Victor webin Yama. I
mean that to me is just a match made in
heaven right there. And if I am an NBA player today,
(38:03):
I am doing everything I can to get to San Antonio,
which is an incredible sentence, but I would. I think
that kid we talked about aunt and he's incredible. I
think Victor Webbin Yama is going to be when it's
all over. Obviously, I don't know what happens injury wise
and everything else, but everything he has shown us so
far tells me he's going to be a top five
of all time player. And we will see. But that
that is my prediction sitting here, and I would do
(38:25):
everything I could to get to my ass to San Antonio.
I just don't see Donovan Mitchell coming to Los Angeles,
no matter what happens. Maybe he'll be in Cleveland. I
don't see the Cavs ever trading him to a Lebron
Lakers team. And then I just to your point, who
are you getting this summer that's going to make a difference.
I just I don't know. Man. I take the pay cut,
(38:45):
and I take the pay cut.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Yeah, take the pay cut, and let's see what we
can make fake. Absolutely, I agree with you, right.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
I agree?
Speaker 1 (38:54):
There you go, all right, Producer Nate's favorite segment. Three
stats at you. Two of them are true, one is
a lie, two truths and a lie. Let's go. Jalen
Brunson leads the league in postseason scoring. That is stat
number one. Stat number two. Anthony Davis leads in postseason
rebounding stat number three. The Timberwolves are number one and
(39:16):
scoring overall this postseason. Which is a lie? And which
two are the truth? Oh?
Speaker 3 (39:22):
Man, this is gonna be a tough one today.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
I'm gonna say Anthony Davis leads the lead Lee's in
postseason rebound I'm gonna say that's true. And I'm gonna
go with j in postseason scoring and t Wolves and
number one.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
And scoring is a lie?
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Okay, all right? I My only question is Jalen Brunson
did not have, like, I mean, an amazing game obviously yesterday,
but he's not had a little more up and down
in this series. I don't know, though, I couldn't say
which one the Jalen one I'm a little dubious of,
but I'm not doing obvious enough to say it. Timberwolves,
some of those games, how high scoring have they been?
(40:06):
That's a tough one. Band all right, Producer Nate, come in,
I can't make a decision, he says, Timberwolves is a lie?
What do you got, Producer Nate, I gotta give one,
all right, fine, Producer eight, I'm trying to get out
of it. And Producer eight's in my years saying, I
gotta make a decision.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
All right.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
If I'm making a decision, Jalen Brunston is a lie. Oh,
Producer Na says, I'm correct. That was a total toss up.
Though that was a fifty to fifty on Joel Embiid
(40:50):
has never won in postseason scoring since Producer eight. Okay,
all right, all right, that was a total guess on
my part. Though I don't know. We need Brondo back
because he's probably got the best leader in the clubhouse
scoring on this one for us. We're hurting book, all right,
I'll take that bet. Presented by DraftKings. This is fascinating
(41:11):
question to me. The Dallas series against the Clippers tied
to two to two. Even though the Mavericks are going
to be the road team for two of the next
three games, they are favored by Vegas. Dallas is at
minus one sixty five the Clippers are at plus one forty.
Which bet are you taking? Book? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (41:35):
Man, I'm all about safety. Okay, I wouldn't bet on
this series at all.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Man.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
This is an incredible series. I felt like this series
would go this way. Definitely going to a game seven.
In my opinion, this series can go either way. I mean,
both teams are playing out a high level, and both
teams have found a way to kind of be inconsistent
at the same time. So it's tough to say. But
(42:09):
I'm gonna go out on a limb. I'm I'm gonna
roll with Dallas. The fact that Kawhi is dealing with
some healthy issues.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Yeah, I don't know if we'll see him back in
this series.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Bug And obviously with the way history is, you know,
played for this Clippers team, they are never healthy around
this time, which always results in them kind of getting.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
The short end of the stick.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
So I'm gonna go with Dallas, you know, finishing out
and winning this series.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
It would be interesting. I couldn't call it. I think
I think this is going to be the best. It's
gonna come down to be ending up six or seven games,
best series of the playoffs, I mean of the first
round of the playoffs, playoffs so far, and it is.
You know, we were talking about Paul George all throughout
this podcast, like, I don't know if they get thumped
in the first round, and he is looking at another
(42:59):
time where Kawhi Leonard and I know they really those
dudes like each other by the way. They have good chemistry,
and you've been in that locker room. I think it
would be hard for him to turn his back on
that team. But I also think that at some point
you got to look at your own legacy, and Paul
George is a borderline Hall of Fame player, right with
sort of some of the things that he's done. If
you look at the numbers, and people are going to
(43:21):
go crazy when I say that, but look at his numbers,
versus numbers of guys who have gotten into the Hall
of Fame, and a lot of the numbers are there.
What's missing is the playoff success, right, What's missing is
a title. And if you want a title, I guarantee
you that man is in the Hall of Fame. So
the question for him is how important is it for
him to reach that height? Does he think that the
(43:42):
Clippers can do that? Does he think he can do
that in the West? Does he have to go to
a place like Philadelphia? Would Lebron take a big pay cut,
as I've been advocating, and bring him across the hallway?
I don't know who knows. I don't know if Paul
George's decision is going to rest on whether the Mavericks
or Clippers win a series. But it's got to be
a factor, and I series is a toss up, and Boog,
(44:05):
you might be right to save your money. We'll see,
We'll see what happens here. I don't know, all right,
Thank you so much for hanging with us today. This
is so much fun. I love when we play GM
That's one of my favorite things. We've now, I wouldn't
say that we've solved the suns and Lakers problems because
who can. But you know, we've got some ideas for them,
(44:25):
and the first one is apparently, what should the Suns do?
Book get a fucking point, Cauard. There we go. Thank you.
You can catch all episodes of Bullyball on the DraftKings
Network and all the Smoking Productions YouTube channel, and you
can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts. So
rate us, review us, give us those thumbs up on YouTube.
(44:47):
We appreciate it. But you cousins starting the playoffs over
in Taiwan, good luck to you, sir. We will be
following and I'm gonna just keep calling them the beer Leopards.
I know they're technically the Taiwan Beer Space Leopards, but
to me they are the Taiwan Space Spear Leopards. And
I'm going to be following along as you go, So
catch you next week.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
Ap precides h
Welcome to Bullyball, presented by DraftKings. I'm Rachel Nichols, as
is my partner crime mister DeMarcus Cousins. Boogie, you are
still over in Taiwan. There have been an increased earthquake activity,
but I think it's actually you because you dropped twenty
five and fourteen in a win the other night. How
is it going over there? The playoffs are startting.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Right, Yeah, we just finished up our last regular season game.
Things are going good. I'm enjoying my time. This has
been an amazing experience for me. I'm happy to be
playing basketball compete, you know, being a part of a
team and joining a camaraderie with the guys. So it's
been a pleasure so far. So like I said, we
(00:48):
finished up regular season, we're now booting up for the playoffs,
so things are about to start getting interested.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
So I'm excited for that.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And if you're interested in Taiwanese food culture, check out
Boogie's recent ig because something on there I wouldn't need.
So that's all I'm saying. I'm saying, let's talk NBA playoffs.
We are deep in the first round. My friend, I
want to start in the East because that New York
Philadelphia game. Every single game of this series. I know
(01:17):
Sixers fans don't feel this way because it's the outcome,
but every single game has been so fun. It has
been old fashioned, hard fought basketball in a way that
just reminds me of so many of the games I
watch growing up that I love. New York, of course,
is now up three to one in the series. Jalen
Brunson forty seven points most ever for New York Nick
(01:37):
in the playoffs, which you know, we've had an explosion
in scoring. That's not necessarily means he's the best Nick ever,
But I do want to ask you, is he the
best Nick since? Who? Who? Would you say Jalen Brunson
is the best Knicks since who?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Carmelo Anthony? And that's without a doubt. This kid is
a star. I believe at the end of his career
he will have his jerseys in the rafts of the
New York Knicks. I think everything has been put in
place for this kid to be successful, from you know,
his father being a part of the organization to bring
in his college championship teammates, to the organization.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Just everything is being.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Set up for him to be successful, and you can
tell that this organization supports him from top to bottom.
So yeah, I think he's I think he's that piece
for this team and this organization. You know, New York
was searching for a savior and I finally think they
found their guy in Jalen Bronson.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
He's a star.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
He's he's dominated in these playoffs, he's dominated in regular season.
I believe me and Big Perk are probably the only
guys that are pushing for him to have, you know,
some credit in his MVP race because he's he's more
than deserving of that to be playing one of the
biggest markets and playing at the level he's been playing
that likes it's not even up with debate. He's been
(03:02):
you know, obviously he's Their team has dealt with injuries
throughout the year. They lost one of their big pieces
in Julius Randall. You know, o G went down some
throughout the year, and you know this kid is he's
he's carried this organization on his shoulders all year and
he's continued to do that throughout these playoffs.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
So he is a star.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
He is legit everything that comes with it. He's a star,
and he's perfect for this Knicks organization. So I think
he's the best since Carmelo Anthony. I won't say he's
better right now. I think, you know, him finishing out
this series, possibly getting past the second round, I think
(03:42):
that validates him at that point. And you know, like
I said, this kid's jersey will be in the rafters
when he's when he's said and done.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
I mean, if he gets this team to a conference finals, uh,
which there's certainly a path for that right now. I mean, man,
I can't even imagine the roof being blown off MSG.
You know, I worked in that market for two decades
and it is out of control. And look, we might
be having the Brunson Mellow conversation at that point. So
(04:12):
we'll have to see. But I love what you said
about the organization because who knew we would be talking
about the Knicks as one of the most well run
organizations in the league. Nobody could have predicted that. And
I think that bringing Leon Rose in, James Donlan finally
final Lee taking his hands off of this team and
just basically being like great, and then Leon bringing Tibbs
(04:34):
in and then being so smart in a way that
frankly hasn't happened with some of Tibbs's past teams. They
drafted and have acquired and traded for Tibbs type of players.
This team is so relentless. They get seven offensive rebounds
in the fourth quarter last night, despite the fact that Philly,
(04:54):
by the way, running out of gas. I think that
Philly missed their final eleven shots, didn't score in the
final five minutes. Meanwhile, the Nick just kept coming and
coming and coming and coming. And by the way, Jalen Brunson,
it's not like he had the most incredible shooting night.
He just kept going and he kept finding these little
cracks to shoot from and be in. And just this
entire team moves no matter what is going on. They
(05:17):
keep playing. Even in Game three that Philly won, New
York almost came back and won that one because they
just kept coming. And I think that that is the
kind of thing that is going to propel this team forward,
even when they're playing opponents that maybe are a little
bit better on paper than them. I am fascinated to
see how far this group can go this year. And
we're talking about all this without Julius Randall. So I
(05:39):
kudos to the entire group Brunson has been amazing every
single other guy on that roster who has just kept
going in a way that has been so impressive to me.
But I really got to give Leon Rose just a
tremendous amount of credit for the way that he has
come in changed that organization. Doesn't hurt if your godson
is someone that you can acquire from Dallas spring Over
(06:00):
and then become one of the best players in the league.
He is on my MVP ballot for sure. But you know,
it all worked out and I'm just thrilling a great story.
And by the way, we've got a lot of quote
smaller market teams also doing really well in these playoffs, right.
You know, Denver's not a glamor glamour team in this
league in terms of cities and everything, and yet they're
(06:22):
obviously a monster Minnesota, you know, Oklahoma City. You've got
teams that aren't necessarily the coastal elites doing well. So
we've got that going on. And then at the same time,
to having New York City in the playoffs doing as
well as they're doing is great for the NBA. It
is the largest fan base in the NBA, and you
have the largest fan base engaged and excited. It's just
(06:42):
great all the way around. It's nice to see both
things happening at once. So it's not just big market
versus small market. It's all different kinds of markets are
doing it really well right now. That is cool for
me to watch as well. The Sixers not doing as
well right now. Down three to one, series can still go.
We've seen teams down three one win. But you know,
right now, it certainly seems that New York has the
(07:03):
momentum and b does not look completely himself. Game two,
of course, is going to haunt them for a long
time if they do go home after this first round.
What do you think they do this summer? Because they
have assets, They've also got a ton of salary room.
They could get a huge free agent if they wanted to.
The only guys, the only guys who are absolutely locked
(07:23):
in going forward are MAXI and embiid, so they can
remake this roster however they want. And there's been a
lot of Paul George rumblings book. What do you think
about them?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Well, when it comes to Philly situation, I think they're
happy where they are. You know, they have their their
two foundational pieces set and locked in. They have plenty
of money to play with, they have plenty of assets
to use. I think they're in a perfect situation as
far as it with the Paul George rumlins. On paper,
(07:54):
it obviously makes sense. But you know, Paul George being
a West Coast kid, being home, getting closer to the
end of his career, not saying, you know, he's ready
to retire anything, but he's in the later stages of
his career. Just from that standpoint, Alon, I don't really
see him wanting to make a move like that, you know,
(08:17):
going from Cali being home, being comfortable, being around family too,
you know, jumping all the way across the map to
the East Coast. It's a weather change, it's a different environment,
it's a different type of fan base. Philly is a
rough fan base to play in front of. You know,
PG has received a lot of backlash with being in
(08:38):
this softer market, so I couldn't really imagine him wanting
to go to even more difficult market at the later
stages of his career. But like I said, on paper,
it makes sense, and I could you know, I could
be totally wrong, but for me kind of knowing how
comfortable peach is being home and how much you know
family and being you know, representing la and all of
(08:59):
the those things matter to him. I just don't see
that that being the move for him. But like I said,
I could be completely wrong, and if it was to
be made, then you know, the East might have a
new top dog in town. So on paper it makes sense,
but you know, from a comfort standpoint, it just doesn't
(09:20):
make sense.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
For me, and so interesting. We're going to talk about
the Mavericks Clipper series later and obviously how that plays
out could be a part of his decision, but just
in a vacuum, the idea that he could be the
perfect guy to fit in with Maxi and Embeed. I
know Daryl moriy is going to be on his doorstep
at twelve oh one. I think it's interesting that Paul
George has not re upped with the Clippers. Right he
(09:42):
had the opportunity to extend Kauwai did it, and the
fact that he didn't do it around the same time,
I thought was telling. He's clearly waiting for something, and
he's either waiting just for other bidders to come in
to up his price, or he's waiting for the decision
about whether he should move on or not. And I
don't know what were offering him to begin with. Maybe
there was wiggle room there. I'd have to think they'd
(10:03):
be offering him the maximum amount of money, but who knows.
I just wonder if there's a little bit there, because
I agree with you, he is a guy who coming
home to LA was really important to him, right. I mean,
he flirted with the idea back when Magic Johnson was
on TV talk shows talking about acquiring him for the Lakers, right, Like,
He's just the idea of coming home was very important
(10:25):
to him. You know, his parents, who are great, by
the way, great people at their courtside at most games.
And his mom had a stroke years ago and it's
very important to him to be around her. She's not
as ambulatory as one might hope. And I think that
all of that stuff contributes. You know, his kids are here,
his families here, They're getting to be with their cousins
(10:45):
and grandparents and everything. The weather is not a small thing,
you know. The fan base, as you say, is not
a small thing. But I got to say, at some point,
some of these guys have to decide, do I want
to win a title? And I don't know if he
is as set up well here in LA to win
a title as he would be if he went to
the East, which is a different conference with different teams
(11:08):
you're competing against, and paired with the Joel Embiid and
Tyrese Maxi. So's it's a really interesting question. I don't
know if Philly has a plan B. If you know,
Paul George doesn't decide to come because some of the
targets that they had, the two guys in Toronto got
traded to other teams where they are expected to both resign. Well,
(11:29):
we'll just have to see. But it is an unfortunate
break for Philly in the series and beats health, you know,
just hasn't been one hundred percent. And frankly, they can
learn a little bit from the guys across the court
about just how relentless you have to be to win
these hard fought playoff series. I'm fascinated. I'm fascinated by
the way the series has turned out. I wish it
was thirteen games. What we'll have to say, I don't know.
(11:51):
All right, let's get to the West. Wolves swept the
Sun's Boogie while you were sleeping over there in Taiwan,
the Wolves slept swept the Sun. Big games from Anthony
Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns, who had got into foul
trouble at times throughout the series, he came through big time.
I want to give him a lot of credit. And
we usually say the team with the best player in
(12:12):
the series wins, right, and going in to this series,
some people would have told you the best player on
the floor would have been Devin Booker. You know, if
you got Kevin Durant in that series. There's no question
that Anthony Edwards turned out to be the best player
of these four games. I mean that second half he
had thirty. One of his forty came in the second half.
But are you ready to say overall that ant is
(12:34):
a better player than Booker or KD. Book had forty
nine last night?
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Am I ready to say? Yes?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
It's not far off. I mean, obviously Booker is an
amazing player this year. He's shown at time and time
again season after season. So this is no knock the
book but it's honestly just praise for Anthony Edwards. I
think he elevated his game to a level higher. In
on Phoenix side, he led this team to a sweep.
(13:06):
He's a star. He's one of the faces of the league.
His energy, his charisma, his personality, everything was on display
in this series. And I think it's bigger than just being,
you know, the best two guard in the league. He's
one of the biggest stars in our league.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
I think you think he's the best two guard in
the league hands down, right.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
You don't even think it's close as of this season.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Absolutely, hell yeah, absolutely. And like I said, he put
it on display. Is young Jordan Vibes. It has been
spoken on before. The athleticism, just the leadership. I don't
even think that gets talked about enough. And it is
the fact that this kid is twenty two years old
doing all of these things. This isn't a twenty eight
(13:48):
year old. This isn't a thirty year old. This is
a twenty two year old kid, twenty two doing these things. So,
like I said, this is no knock to book, It's
no knocked to any two guard in the league. This
is just given the young kid, his flowers and the
prayers that he deserves in his moment. And you know,
he did his thing this series. And you could tell
(14:08):
from the words of Kevin Duran. It's no bitterness, it's
no anger towards his kid. You have to get his
kid his flowers. He went out there and performed at
an incredible level. He outplayed his one of his idols,
growing up, which is a story within itself. So just
everything about this series was in this kid's favor, and
(14:28):
like I said, he went out there and he took
that shit, and you know, he deserves all the credit that's.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Coming this way.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I mean, look, it's incredible. Even going into this series.
I put Anthony Edwards on my second team All NBA
and Den Booker on my third team All NBA, so
that's the order I had them in. But he just exploded.
And you mentioned the ris there. I mean, he is
just jumps off the court emotionally, you know, magnetically, he
is just such an incredible presence. And then the leadership,
(14:58):
You're absolutely right, that's underrated. I watched a press conference
after the game where he's sitting there, he and Carly
Towns are up there together and he just kept going
to carl and being like, yeah, I told you to
stop fucking failing, and you finally stop fucking fouling, and
there we go. He's twenty two, and he's telling the
former number one overall pick, who was definitely the star
(15:20):
of this team when Aunt came through, Hey, you over there,
stop fucking fouling and guess what. Kat, to his credit,
has completely accepted and respected it. And I think that's
an underrated story too, because that's not easy if you're
Karl Anthony Towns to sit there and have someone else
come in who's not you know, yes, he's younger, and
(15:41):
he's definitely younger enough to feel younger, but he's not like,
it's not like Kat's thirty five, right, So sometimes if
you're a much older player and the young kid comes in,
you can be like, great, that's how it's supposed to be.
This is an age difference where it's just enough to
be awkward if it was going to be awkward, and
Kat is just enough and is still in his prime
that it's sort of like, oh, and Kat has been
(16:01):
a dream about it, and Ant has been amazing about it,
and I think it's just Ants so undeniable, and yeah,
I'm with you. I think Tmosa this summer we're going
to see him just eat against those international players a
lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Hopefully he's put in the right position to do.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
So let's put it so that's your other thing, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Let's not let's not make the same mistake twice. Let's
let's let this kid shine because he deserves it.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Well, look, it's easier when you dismiss Devin Booker in
a playoff series. It's easier than for coach Kerr to
sit there and make those kinds of decisions, right, Like
like it's kind of like coming in with kat right then,
everyone on that TMOSA team, you know talent when you
see it, and players, I give all y'all credit Book, Like,
y'all recognize when someone is who they who they are,
(16:52):
and like I think, I think we'll see what you're
looking for on Team USA this summer. And then Phoenix
is a huge thing. And look, you were the first
person on the national media to be pounding the drum
of it's a problem they don't have a point guard.
You did it from October on and they played well
enough that a lot of people were like, no, Book's
(17:13):
doing fine. And I even sat here on the pod
and I was like, well, Books, Books playing okay in
that role, and you're like, come playoff time, it is
going to matter, you were one hundred percent right. My
thing from the beginning of the season was they made
a huge mistake with Bradley Beal. I feel vindicated in
that take as well. Bradley Beal, who is a very
good guy by the way, however not a good fit
(17:34):
on that team. Four of thirteen in the final game,
nine points total, six turnovers, five of which came in
the fourth quarter, and then he fouled out. I mean
it was just a disaster. And to me, this is
a new owner syndrome problem. We have seen this over
and over. Matt Ishbia may become one of the NBA's
best owners. I am not saying this is long term. However,
(17:56):
we see it over and over again when a new
owner comes into the league, especially a younger guy who's
had great success in his field, he knows better, right,
he just knows better than everyone else in the way
it's been done. I would have made the Kevin Durant deal,
and he made that deal just I think sixty seconds
after acquiring the team. I would have done it. He's
Kevin Durant, I get it. I would never have made
(18:16):
the Bradley Beale deal, and they would have been better
off just keeping Chris Paul this past year because at
least to organized their offense, and he has a trainable
contract that would have given them options going forward. They
don't have options, And that's what I wanted to ask you.
Bradley Beale has a no trade clause, so if you
want to get rid of him to make salary room,
(18:38):
you've got to be sending him to a place he
wants to go to, and you've got to convince someone
to take him, and you barely have any picks to attach.
I guess they've got a first round pick, what now?
And then that's it before twenty thirty. No second round picks,
So it's just bonkers. What would you do? Would you
try to convince someone to take him? KD? Is is
(19:00):
he sticking around this team? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (19:03):
This is definitely gonna be a difficult offseason for the
Phoenix Suns. It's a lot of things to iron out.
It's a lot of tough decisions to make. But just
based off you know, balance and looking at this team
on paper, Bradley Bill is the black sheep to this problem.
Outside of them being their number one priority is obviously
(19:24):
gonna get a point guard John Wall is fucking sitting
at home.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Go get John Wall Who cares.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
If this dude likes to go to the club, whatever,
whatever fucking bullshit excuse you want to come up with
as to why you don't want to sign, Go get
you a fucking point guard.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
That's the first thing. The second thing when it.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Comes to Bradley Beil, I absolutely think he's a he's
a tradable piece. I think I think Bradley Beil will
be open to being traded. You can tell about a
body language, you can tell by his demeanor, you can
tell and obviously you can tell about the performance that
he's not a good fit there. He probably, deep down
the side doesn't really want to be there. And on
(20:06):
any good championship team, Bradley Bil is the second option.
Brad Bil in no way, shape or for him, will
ever be a third option on the team. And if
he is, it is not putting him in a situation
to be successful. And that's exactly what Phoenix did in
this situation. So obviously brad Bil is the guy that
I think you can go, you know, do some things,
(20:28):
You can make something happen with Bradley Beal and bring
in some pieces what pieces. I don't necessarily have those answers.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Oh, point guard, you've got that answer, we.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Got that start, But what you can get back for
Bradley Bil, I don't know that exact answer. I wouldn't
be mad at of brad Bil. Jimmy Butler. Move Jimmy
Butler thirty four to thirty five coming up. He's on
a way different timeline than those young guys in Miami.
You got Terry Rozier, you have a Bam down there.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Those are two younger guys.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Jimmy a heat player, though, Is he a heat culture guy?
Speaker 3 (21:04):
I think so?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, so it makes sense. It makes sense
for both sides. Obviously, Jimmy Butler's you know, he's getting
to the later, later stages of his career.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
We all know he.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Wants to compete for a championship. I think that's a
good third piece to go with the Phoenix signs. You
get you a point guard, you move book back to
the two. You can put Jimmy at your three and
have Kevin Durant at the four, and you can figure
out the rest when it comes to the roster.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
So well, look, they don't need Jimmy Butler to score
the basketball in that situation right with with Kevin Durant
and book there. So that plays into the fact that
he's not the shooter that those guys are. I get it.
I just don't think I think they're going to have
trouble finding someone to take Bradley Beal. They'd have to
attach definitely. I think the first round pick, just because
(21:51):
of the contract, that's going to be a thing. And
then there's the Kevin Durant question. Does Kevin want to
stay there? He is not had the best last five years.
You know, some of it was bad luck, some of
it was a toe over the line, some of it
was injury stuff. But here's a guy who is on
one of my lists, is you know, on that top
(22:13):
twenty players of all time kind of situation, and I
just don't know if he wants this to be the
way his career ends. There's a lot of romantics out
there who want him to go back to Oklahoma City.
If you're Kevin Durant, do you ask for another trade
or do you feel like you can't do that again?
What do you think? If you're Kevin Durant.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
If I'm Kevin Durant, I'll write it out okay, And
like I said, I think your best bet when it
comes to improving his team is using Bradley Beal as
a piece and also attaching that first round pick. But
when it comes to Kevin Durant, it doesn't make sense
to go back to Okay. See that's a I think
(22:54):
what's the average age for Okay? See twenty three, twenty three?
Speaker 3 (22:58):
It just doesn't make that too.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
That team has created a vibe, it's a fun, loving environment.
They've they've created something to match that group that they
have there. It just doesn't make sense to try to put,
you know, a thirty six, thirty seven year old guy.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Into the mix of that. So it on paper, it
doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Now, if you want to, you know, a fairy tale story,
and you know the media have something to run with,
then absolutely it makes sense. But I think that story
will be short lived. If I'm Kevin Durant, I'm sticking
it out, you know. I think this will be his
last stop hopefully, So I don't want to see k
move anymore. I want to see him make a situation work,
(23:44):
and I think this is the place he can make
it work. It's just some things they have to iron out.
With that roster, and they have to start making things
make sense for their team. They have to put their
stars in a position to be successful. Like I said,
go get you a fucking point guard one and I
think everything else is fixable. So I say, Kevin Uran
(24:05):
sticks this out, absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
They're already trying to blame the coach. It was literally
it took. It took two minutes after the final buzzer
sound for stories to leak and tweets to leak about Oh,
players aren't happy with the coach. Bradley Buil didn't shake
Frank Vogel's hand. Frank Vogel doesn't have a you know,
a handle on the team. He doesn't have their confidence.
Guess what, Frank Vogel is not the problem. He's not
(24:31):
the problem. The roster is the problem. And that's not
even James Jones's fault. The owner made those two big traits. Okay,
he got He wanted the credit for it when he
came in, so now you got to stick with it.
It is the fault of the roster, the roster that
the new ownership put together. And as I said, matt
Eshpia may go on to be one of our best owners.
(24:52):
Mark Cuban didn't always make the best decisions when he
came into the league, right, and then he became one
of the owners that has been the most before he
sold his ownership stake in the team, so Matt could
have a great future in Phoenix. But this past year
or so, what he's done, you have to look in
the mirror. You cannot start leaking things about the coach.
(25:12):
Frank Vogel got this team which had no business being
in the top half of the league defensively, into the
top half of the league defensively. It is not his fault, right,
I mean, it's just seem.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
To me I agree, But we know how this thing goes.
Whenever it's a it's a fail season, the coach is
the first guy to blame, and you know that's unfortunate
for Frank. I'm a huge I'm a huge fan of
coach Vogel. You know, I had the luxury of being
on a roster with the Lakers the championship year. I
(25:45):
saw how he coached that team. I saw how he
connected with his stars. I saw how the guys respected
him in the locker room. So I know his ability
of coaching and how he managed the team isn't the problem,
but in this situation, he going to be the scapegoat.
There's always a scapeboat when shit goes wrong, and you
know it's unfortunately that you know he'll be that guy
(26:07):
this offseason. So you know, we'll see what this team does,
and you know, obviously they're going to have a tough
decision and who they decide to bring in. Hopefully it's
a guy that you know, the stars will respect and
hopefully have a say so and who they want, and
you know, hopefully things get ironed out and it's not
(26:27):
another year of making an excuse or blaming the coach.
So we'll have to see what plays out for this
son's organization.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Look, man, there's another team we got to talk about.
That's that's kind of in the same boat here. The
Lakers at least save themselves from getting swept right Monday night.
As we tape this Monday morning game five back in Denver,
I did want to ask you about Jamal Murray because
he's questionable with the strained calf. You have also been
inside that locker room book, You've been on that team.
If Jamal can't in fact go, how big of a
(26:58):
window does that open? For LA Or do you just
feel Denver at home even if Jamal doesn't play. They
didn't have him for the last couple of weeks of
the season because he was hurt. Then they didn't have
him for stretches when you were there with them. You know,
do you feel like Denver at home even if Jamal
is not there, they're still the favorite? Or do you
think the window for LA opens?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
But you can't overlook that piece. Jamal Murray is a
huge piece to the success of this Denver Nuggets team. Obviously,
you know Jokis gets all the shine, but when they
came to this team being a championship team, it's when
Jamal Murray became healthy. If I'm the Lakers, I'm excited
(27:36):
and obviously we don't wish you know, injury or harm
or any player. But in this situation, the Lakers being
down in this series and they're missing their number two
option in Jamal Murray, I think the Lakers are now.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
We'll see, we'll see. He's questionable.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
A calf strang A calf strain could be tricky, it
could be very.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
And you don't want to mess with that because achilles.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
I'm just a calf strength easily turn into an achilles injury,
so you have to be very you know, fragile and
sensitive with dealing with that injury. But and if I
feel like, if Denver feel like they can buy time
and you know, kind of let him sit and rest,
I think they will take that route. So, like I said,
I think the Lakers, if that is the situation, I
(28:22):
think they're excited. I think they can see a small
glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel and
it might be a little more life in this series.
But if Jamal does play, I think it's curtains for
the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Look, even if they win this game tonight, and as
we said here, we don't know, but I will say this,
I can't see LA winning four out of five against Denver,
which is what they would have to do starting with
that win over the weekend. But still like it's just
they lost ten straight or sorry, eleven straight to them.
I mean, the most likely scenario. No team has ever
(28:55):
come back from three to zero. The most likely scenario
is that LA gets sent home. So let's just have
that conversation now because we won't be together again until
next Monday. What do you think the Lakers should do
next and how much does that depend on what Lebron
wants to do.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
I put it like this, it's only one team with
a shittier situation than Phoenix, and it's the fucking Lakers.
We know what this all season to bring. Obviously Lebron
has Lebron has this organization by the balls, that's it's
well noted.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
We know that.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Obviously, he has this contract situation. We know about the
scenario and him wanting to play with his sign So
it's a lot of things looming when it comes to
you know what this Laker team has to do when
it comes to Lebron. But my question is, at what
point does Lebron decide to take, you know, that pay
(29:52):
cut if it's about still winning championships. Lebron is an
an I'm not in the pocket watch and I don't
count the next man's money or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
This is just what's well known and what's facts.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Lebron is an active NB player and he's a billionaire.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
So obviously money isn't an issue for Lebron.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
So at what point do you take that cut to
bring in more talentent to compete for a championship?
Speaker 3 (30:22):
And if that's not the case.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Then what is your goal with being a Laker and
moving forward with the you know, the rest of your career.
That's my question to Lebron because at this point, if
Lebron goes and signs for sixty million a year, obviously
it's not much room to add talent to this roster.
It's not much room to improve the roster. But the
(30:46):
current team they have now obviously is not enough. So
if you do take on this new contract, you know,
what is your goal with being a Laker and moving forward?
So I think that's the question that needs to be
asked in the off season when it comes to, you know,
fixing this Lakers situation. Obviously, you have your your counter partner,
Anthony Davis. He still has a lot of life left
(31:09):
in his league. I think if I'm ad and I'm
in his shoes, that's my question of Lebron, like what's
your goal? Like what are we trying to do moving forward?
And regardless of whatever his answer is, I think you
based your decision off of that.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
But that's a great point because look, here's the thing.
There's people speculating, would he jump somewhere else? I would
be laid down in shock if Lebron James leaves Los Angeles.
He wanted to come here so badly that he basically
committed to Magic Johnson before Magic even gotten to the
door of that free agency meeting. He didn't unlike Kawhi Leonard,
(31:45):
who said, you got to bring Paul George for me
to come here. He made no stipulations. He signed multi
year deals in ways that he never did in Cleveland
or Miami. He wants to live in Los Angeles, and
by the way, I live in Los Angeles. It is
lovely here. I get it. However, that means to me
that he is not going to another city. His business
is here, his kids are here, his life is here.
(32:06):
I just don't see him moving in and for his legacy. Also,
by the way, three teams is already a lot for
a player of his caliber, right, we don't see that
that often. But he's won a championship in everyone. If
he then goes to a fourth theme and they don't
win and he's away from his family, I don't see it.
So then the question is if he stays here and
he stays a Laker, what does he want? Does he
(32:26):
want to ride off into the sunset and just have
a nice year, make a lot of money. Maybe they
do bring Bronnie in, which, by the way, I think
would be great.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Do it.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
I'm all for that. By the way, he's not taking
up a spot on the roster that other people like.
You can have a guy who is a two way
contract or, end of the bench player, who is a
developing youngster in the NBA, who has Brownie skill set.
He's got an NBA body, he's obviously got great basketball IQ.
His reputation both in high school and college so far
(32:58):
as that, he's a team guy. He's not too big
for He's not like going Lebron James soon. You know,
he seems like he is. He is a good team
chemistry guy. And it's a great story. And I watched
I covered the NHL a long time ago. I watched
Bobby Hall and Brett Hall play together. It's awesome, man
like do it and if anyone deserves it, it's Lebron.
(33:18):
So I'm all for that. If that happens. I know
people are gonna whine and bitch and complain, but I
think it'd be great, and maybe that's all he wants.
But to your point, Anthony Davis, I don't think that's
all he wants. And I understand the logistics of Lebron
taking a big pay cut. I was having this conversation
at the game the other day with someone who knows
that organization and knows Lebron super well, and and his
(33:40):
take was, Oh, I don't know if if he's gonna,
like how that looks that he's got to like take
a big pay cut to bring someone else in. And
what is that going to say about him? I don't know,
he's thirty nine years old, biggie. What do you think
the sort of ego factor of that is if he
decided he's if he opts in, he's getting fifty one million,
As you point out, that number goes up if he
opts out but wants to stay. If he just was like,
(34:01):
you know what, I'm gonna play for twenty million this year,
what do you think the ego factor is there? And
then having someone else come in.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
I think it adds to his legend. It then adds
another layer to you know, this goat status. He's so unselfish,
he's he's a team guy. He's about winning championships. I
think that's the narrative that goes with a decision like that.
I don't think anybody would ever look at Lebron in
(34:29):
a negative way if he was to take a pay cut.
I don't think. I don't think it lowers his value.
I don't think, you know, it lowers his legend any
of those things. It actually increases it. In my opinion.
It shows that he's about, you know, winning championships. It
shows that he wants to increase.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
You know, he's.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Already incredible, incredible resume, so and obviously adding a fifth
championship to his already crazy resume puts him at another status.
It then changes a lot of conversations when it comes
to who is the goal of this back of basketball?
So that's where it kind of goes for me when
(35:12):
it comes to figuring out this off season. What are
you looking for? What are your goals moving forward with
being a Laker. Is it still about competing for championships
or is it about making sure boot business is booming?
Which I don't think changes in any way, shape or form.
No matter where this is the fucking Lebron James, It's
not going to change right right, So him taking twenty
(35:35):
million this year is not going to change anything. That's
going on with clutch or anything that you know what
I'm saying. So life right, So I think that's the
important question. What is your goal moving forward? As simple
as that.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
And look, it's funny we were talking about Paul George
earlier in this conversation. Paul George and Lebron were supposed
to play together in Cleveland. There was a deal done
to trade Paul from Indiana to Cleveland. It got messed
up at the end. I would say, I'm blaming some
upper management enfranchises for some of what happened there. And
that was going to be the thing after Kyrie left,
(36:11):
was that Paul George was going to come in and
them playing together just makes so much sense in terms
of the way their games are styled and everything. This is,
I guess this is a far flowing possibility. But what
if Lebron took a serious pay cut and they said
to Paul George, you don't have to move to Philly
if it's not working in the Clippers and Kawai just
(36:33):
can't stay healthy the way we'd all want him to,
And what would you think about just coming across the
hallway there. I don't know, man, I mean, Paul has
said that he's wanted to be a Laker in the past.
I know it kind of changed a tune when he
became a Clipper, but he and Lebron have talked about
playing together in the past. I know they certainly need
a player who can defend like that. When I look
(36:54):
at the Lakers other options, even if they come through
trade right and they will have trade assets starting on drafted,
I thought three first round picks. You're talking about Trey Young,
who obviously is a huge offensive talent, but is not
going to help them defensively. He obviously comes with his
own set of personality that would have to get melded
into that team. Dejante Murray, who I don't think is
(37:16):
turning them into a championship contender in my opinion. And
then Donovan Mitchell, I know is spicy for Lakers fans
to be talking about. Oh, especially if the Magic eliminate
the Calves, we could go after Donovan Mitchell. Guess what,
I don't care if Donovan Mitchell specifically marches into the
Calves front office and says I would like a trade
to Los Angeles. I do not see the Cleveland Cavaliers
and the Gilbert family helping Lebron win another title in
(37:40):
LA by trading the player that they thought was going
to be their franchise player going forward. I don't see it.
I don't see it happening. They could get just as
good a deal somewhere else. I know we've been talking
about Trey Young to the Spurs, but can you imagine
Donovan Mitchell on the Spurs with Victor webin Yama. I
mean that to me is just a match made in
heaven right there. And if I am an NBA player today,
(38:03):
I am doing everything I can to get to San Antonio,
which is an incredible sentence, but I would. I think
that kid we talked about aunt and he's incredible. I
think Victor Webbin Yama is going to be when it's
all over. Obviously, I don't know what happens injury wise
and everything else, but everything he has shown us so
far tells me he's going to be a top five
of all time player. And we will see. But that
that is my prediction sitting here, and I would do
(38:25):
everything I could to get to my ass to San Antonio.
I just don't see Donovan Mitchell coming to Los Angeles,
no matter what happens. Maybe he'll be in Cleveland. I
don't see the Cavs ever trading him to a Lebron
Lakers team. And then I just to your point, who
are you getting this summer that's going to make a difference.
I just I don't know. Man. I take the pay cut,
(38:45):
and I take the pay cut.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Yeah, take the pay cut, and let's see what we
can make fake. Absolutely, I agree with you, right.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
I agree?
Speaker 1 (38:54):
There you go, all right, Producer Nate's favorite segment. Three
stats at you. Two of them are true, one is
a lie, two truths and a lie. Let's go. Jalen
Brunson leads the league in postseason scoring. That is stat
number one. Stat number two. Anthony Davis leads in postseason
rebounding stat number three. The Timberwolves are number one and
(39:16):
scoring overall this postseason. Which is a lie? And which
two are the truth? Oh?
Speaker 3 (39:22):
Man, this is gonna be a tough one today.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
I'm gonna say Anthony Davis leads the lead Lee's in
postseason rebound I'm gonna say that's true. And I'm gonna
go with j in postseason scoring and t Wolves and
number one.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
And scoring is a lie?
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Okay, all right? I My only question is Jalen Brunson
did not have, like, I mean, an amazing game obviously yesterday,
but he's not had a little more up and down
in this series. I don't know, though, I couldn't say
which one the Jalen one I'm a little dubious of,
but I'm not doing obvious enough to say it. Timberwolves,
some of those games, how high scoring have they been?
(40:06):
That's a tough one. Band all right, Producer Nate, come in,
I can't make a decision, he says, Timberwolves is a lie?
What do you got, Producer Nate, I gotta give one,
all right, fine, Producer eight, I'm trying to get out
of it. And Producer eight's in my years saying, I
gotta make a decision.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
All right.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
If I'm making a decision, Jalen Brunston is a lie. Oh,
Producer Na says, I'm correct. That was a total toss up.
Though that was a fifty to fifty on Joel Embiid
(40:50):
has never won in postseason scoring since Producer eight. Okay,
all right, all right, that was a total guess on
my part. Though I don't know. We need Brondo back
because he's probably got the best leader in the clubhouse
scoring on this one for us. We're hurting book, all right,
I'll take that bet. Presented by DraftKings. This is fascinating
(41:11):
question to me. The Dallas series against the Clippers tied
to two to two. Even though the Mavericks are going
to be the road team for two of the next
three games, they are favored by Vegas. Dallas is at
minus one sixty five the Clippers are at plus one forty.
Which bet are you taking? Book? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (41:35):
Man, I'm all about safety. Okay, I wouldn't bet on
this series at all.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Man.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
This is an incredible series. I felt like this series
would go this way. Definitely going to a game seven.
In my opinion, this series can go either way. I mean,
both teams are playing out a high level, and both
teams have found a way to kind of be inconsistent
at the same time. So it's tough to say. But
(42:09):
I'm gonna go out on a limb. I'm I'm gonna
roll with Dallas. The fact that Kawhi is dealing with
some healthy issues.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Yeah, I don't know if we'll see him back in
this series.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Bug And obviously with the way history is, you know,
played for this Clippers team, they are never healthy around
this time, which always results in them kind of getting.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
The short end of the stick.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
So I'm gonna go with Dallas, you know, finishing out
and winning this series.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
It would be interesting. I couldn't call it. I think
I think this is going to be the best. It's
gonna come down to be ending up six or seven games,
best series of the playoffs, I mean of the first
round of the playoffs, playoffs so far, and it is.
You know, we were talking about Paul George all throughout
this podcast, like, I don't know if they get thumped
in the first round, and he is looking at another
(42:59):
time where Kawhi Leonard and I know they really those
dudes like each other by the way. They have good chemistry,
and you've been in that locker room. I think it
would be hard for him to turn his back on
that team. But I also think that at some point
you got to look at your own legacy, and Paul
George is a borderline Hall of Fame player, right with
sort of some of the things that he's done. If
you look at the numbers, and people are going to
(43:21):
go crazy when I say that, but look at his numbers,
versus numbers of guys who have gotten into the Hall
of Fame, and a lot of the numbers are there.
What's missing is the playoff success, right, What's missing is
a title. And if you want a title, I guarantee
you that man is in the Hall of Fame. So
the question for him is how important is it for
him to reach that height? Does he think that the
(43:42):
Clippers can do that? Does he think he can do
that in the West? Does he have to go to
a place like Philadelphia? Would Lebron take a big pay cut,
as I've been advocating, and bring him across the hallway?
I don't know who knows. I don't know if Paul
George's decision is going to rest on whether the Mavericks
or Clippers win a series. But it's got to be
a factor, and I series is a toss up, and Boog,
(44:05):
you might be right to save your money. We'll see,
We'll see what happens here. I don't know, all right,
Thank you so much for hanging with us today. This
is so much fun. I love when we play GM
That's one of my favorite things. We've now, I wouldn't
say that we've solved the suns and Lakers problems because
who can. But you know, we've got some ideas for them,
(44:25):
and the first one is apparently, what should the Suns do?
Book get a fucking point, Cauard. There we go. Thank you.
You can catch all episodes of Bullyball on the DraftKings
Network and all the Smoking Productions YouTube channel, and you
can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts. So
rate us, review us, give us those thumbs up on YouTube.
(44:47):
We appreciate it. But you cousins starting the playoffs over
in Taiwan, good luck to you, sir. We will be
following and I'm gonna just keep calling them the beer Leopards.
I know they're technically the Taiwan Beer Space Leopards, but
to me they are the Taiwan Space Spear Leopards. And
I'm going to be following along as you go, So
catch you next week.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
Ap precides h
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