June 23, 2023 • 49 mins
Namath hosts The Pittstop on News Radio 101.9 Big Wax. The NBA draft is officially in the books and 2 Alabama players were drafted in the 1st Round. Ronald Acuna Jr was the lead vote getter and officially named an MLB All-Star Starter. Lots of trades took place in the NBA. Join Namath for all the up to date information in the sports world.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
You're listening to one O one nineBig Wax. This is the Pits Stop
and I'm your host, Nameth Pitts. Can you believe it's the third edition
of the Pit Stop. Well,I gotta tell you if you're a basketball
fan, you're gonna love this morningshow because the NBA Draft is in the
books, in free agencies approaching astrades have started stirring up. So we're
gonna talk a lot of basketball.But first, let's start the show with
(00:38):
congrats and condolences, as we doevery single week, and this week's congratulations
goes to the Atlanta Braves Ronald o'cunaJunior and the Angels Shohei Otani, who
were elected as All Star starters.That's right, Ronald Acuna Junior. He's
a front runner for National League MVP, and after leading all players in total
votes in the first phase of theAll Star voting, he'll be headed to
(00:59):
his four All Star Game as astarting outfielder, and there's a good chance
they'll be joined by some of hisAtlanta Braves teammates. The first phase of
voting narrows each position to two finalists, with the recipient with the most votes
in each league rewarded an automatic startingposition. Akunya tally three point eight million
votes to lead all players, whileShohail Tany led American League with two point
(01:19):
six million. The Braves, whoowned the best record in the National League,
led all teams with seven finalists.It included obviously wrong with Kuna Junior,
but it also included catcher Sean Murphy, shortstopper landa Arcia, matt Olsen,
Ozzie Albie's, Austin Riley, andoutfider Michael Harris. The second they
all move on to the second phaseof voting that starts on Monday. The
(01:42):
Texas Rangers in Toronto Blue Jays willthey both have five finalists in the American
League. The second phase will determinethe remaining sixteen positional starters for the All
Star Game, which will take placeJuly eleventh in Seattle. And that'll start
Monday and run until June twenty ninth, So make sure you vote starting Monday,
and you have until June twenty ninth. I gotta tell you, guys.
Akunya Ronald Kunjer Junior has had aphenomenal season, recovering from an ACL
(02:07):
injury that affected him last season.He's hitting over three twenty, He's got
fifteen home runs, forty six RBIsand thirty one stolen bases. He leads
the NL and run steals in totalbases. Now Otani, we all know
Otani one of the best players inthe game. Pitches and hits. He's
been on an offensive tear of laidas well. Hitting two ninety two,
(02:28):
he leads the majors and home runswith twenty four as a point nine nine
three ops and oh yeah, Iremember I say he's a pitcher. He's
got a three point one three er A with one hundred and seventeen strikehouse
in eighty nine innings. So Igotta tell you the surprise guy was not
a surprise to me, but toothers was Orlando Rcia. That's right.
After Dansby Swatson signed with the ChicagoCubs as a free agent, Von Grissom
(02:50):
was the guy expected to take overat shortstop, but veteran Orlando Arcia won
the job out in spring training.And not only dad. He's hitting three
forty one, he has six homeruns, twenty five RPIs, and his
OPS is off the chains. That'sright, You've got all stars like Tree
Turner X under Bogarts. I mean, all these different guys who got big
money in Philadelphia and San Diego.You got Francisco Lindor, the Mets,
(03:10):
all these different guys, and youknow who's the leading candidate, or Lando
RCI getting paid seven millions on atwo year deal after this year. Another
noticeable person moved on to the nextphase was Corbyn Carroll, who's a diamondback,
rookie outfitter. He's a tie witha CUNIA among all MLB position players,
and he looks like the guy thatcould give him a run for MVP
because the Couna is the front runnerfor MVP again. You can vote starting
(03:36):
Monday to elect who moves on tothe next phase. And I gotta tell
you, I can't wait to watchthe All Star Game in Seattle. That's
going to be an electric atmosphere forthe city of Seattle. With a congrats
comes a condolence, and this week'scondolence goes out to Dion Sanders. Dion
Sanders underwent emergency surgery yesterday after bloodclots were found in his legs. He
(03:58):
had two clots in his leg,one in his right and one on his
left, and Sanders said in avideo posted on Instagram that he would hope
to recovers fast and strong. TheColorado football head coach said he will have
the same surgery in order to restoreproper blood flows so that doctors can perform
a surgery to repair hammertoes in oneof his feet. He says there's no
(04:18):
talk of amputating. There's no talkof that whatsoever. So he tried to
clear up recent stories that said Coloradoteam doctors had told him he was in
danger of having his foot amputated.But he said that the doctor was just
telling me worse come to worst,Amputating the foot was going to happen.
But I believe in staying right,we never have to take that left.
(04:38):
This was a very hush hush situation. A lot of people did not know
that Dion Sanders was having surgery,but Pat McAfee first announced the news of
the surgery on his show The PatMcAfee Show, as former NFL cornerback Adam
pac Man Jones talked about it,and of course, you know, Deon's
been battling this since he was thecoach at Jackson Stay. He's had blood
(05:00):
clots in his legs, same thingin his foot. I mean, he
was even thinking about cutting the footoff, but he didn't. You know,
Don is fifty five. He's hadbloodcought issues for many years, and
he's even had toes that are amputatedon his left foot. And this all
started really back in twenty twenty one. He used a motorized wheelchair to get
around after he sustained complications from hisfoot surgery. But yeah, sad news.
(05:25):
We sent our condolences to Don Senators, who was hired in December of
this past year to try to reviveColorado's program, which has plummeted into being
one of the worst Pack twelve teamsever. So Deon Senators, we sent
our condolences to him. Last weekwe talked about rick Woodfield. There was
rumors reporting that they were going tobe hosting the MLB Field Dreams Game in
(05:46):
twenty twenty four. Well, thatis now official. The Birmingham, Alabama
Stadium, which was home to WillieMays and his Negro League days, will
host a game between the San FranciscoGiants in the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rick Woodfield is believed to be theoldest professional baseball stadium in the United States.
It's played host to some of thebest greatest players ever and it's one
(06:09):
hundred and thirteen year run. We'veseen Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, who's
expected to be an attendance in manyor who grew up just a short distance
from the park. So next year, the stadium will shine once again when
it hosts the Major League Baseball gamebetween the Sancisco Giants and the Saint Louis
Cardinals, which will take place Junetwenty four. Interesting thing to know about
(06:30):
rick Woodfield, guys, is thatit's older than both Fenway Park and Wrigley
Field. Rick would open in nineteenten. It's been home to several teams
over its many decades. You've seenthe Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American
League. You have the Birmingham Barons, which is of course a minor league
team. But yeah, I'm soexcited about this. But I gotta tell
you, if you want a ticketto watch this game, these tickets are
(06:53):
running nine hundred plus dollars right now, which is crazy, Like I wouldn't
even pay a thousand dollars to watchthe Atlanta Braves in the World Series.
Better at nine hundred dollars, forthis. Now, I would be willing
to pay two hundred and two fifty, but a nine hundred dollars that's a
little steep. So it's got aseating capacity of about eleven thousand. It
(07:14):
was built by Harvey Woodward, whowas known as Rick, So you know
there's gonna be some different construction thingsthat go on to Rick Woodfield. And
I'm excited to see that MLB hasa partnership that they're going to send a
game to Birmingham, and I thinkit's a great opportunity for the city of
Birmingham to make a statement that wedeserve a professional team of some sort right
now. The best team in Birmingham'sno question, Birmingham Legion FC. Dominique
(07:39):
Wilkins just joined in as an investorin the Birmingham Legion. This is a
team that defeated a professional MLS teamand it's a team that's I'm telling you
the city of Birmingham is craving sometype professional team. Like I love the
Barons and I love, you know, watching minor league baseball, but there's
nothing like a professional sports game.That's why I go to Atlanta a lot
(08:01):
more than I do in Birmingham becauseI like to see the Atlanta Braves.
Speaking of baseball, though, DavidFreeze, Yeah, I remember David Freeze
played for the Saint Louis Cardinals.Great player, had a great career.
Well, they want to induct himinto the Cardinal's Hall of Fame, but
there's a problem. He rejected it. Now why would someone reject an invitation
(08:26):
into the hall of fame? Well, former major league David Freeze decline his
election into the St. Louis CardinalsHall of Fame. He was forty top
choice by the fans, and theclub even granted his request of rejection,
which they chose to other people.Freeze released the following statement, this is
something that I have given an extremeamount of thought to humbly, even before
(08:50):
the voting process began. I'm awareof the impact I had helping the team
bring great memories to the city Igrew up in, including the eleventh championship,
but his honor means more to me. I look at who I was
during my tenure, and that weighsheavily with me. The Cardinals in the
entire city have always had my backin every way. I'm forever grateful to
(09:11):
be part of such an amazing organizationand fan base then, now and in
the future. I'm especially sorry tothe fans that took time to cast their
votes. Cardinal Nation is basically thereason why I've unfortunately waited so long for
this decision, and it made itmore of a headache for so many people.
I feel strongly about my decision andunderstand how many people might feel about
(09:33):
this or how people might feel aboutthis. I get it, I'll wear
it. Thank you for always beingthere for me, and I'm excited to
be around the Cardinals as we moveforward. In that same statement, Cardinal's
owner Bill DeWitt Junior, said,although we are disappointed that David has declined
to be inducted into our Hall ofFame, we respect his decision and look
(09:54):
forward to celebrating his great Cardinal's careerin other ways going forward. He has
always welcome at Bush Stadium. Ijust am baffled that someone would declining invitation
into the Hall of Fame like this. Is Freeze, who grew up and
went to high school in the SaintLouis area. He spent the first five
seasons of his big league career withthe Cardinals. Over those five seasons,
(10:16):
he batted two eighty six with fortyfour home runs and eighty one doubles in
four hundred and sixty six games asa third baseman. He's best remembered for
his legendary performance in Game six tothe two thousand and eleven World Series.
I remember where I was at Gamesixty, two thousand eleven World Series,
in my bedroom with my brother.It was the ninth inning and the Cardinals
were down three to two in theseries, was down to the final strike.
(10:39):
And what did he do? Hetied the game with a two run
triple. And then in the eleventhinning, when the game was on the
line, what did David Freeze do? He won the dang game on a
walk off home run, and theCardinals ended up prevailing in Game seven and
winning the World Series for the eleventhtime in franchise history. But then twenty
(11:01):
thirteen came, Freeze was traded tothe Angels, and he ended up retiring
after spending the twenty nineteen season withthe Dodgers. Rejecting Hall of Fame,
I just have to say, ifsomebody thinks enough of me to pick me
for the Hall of Fame, Iain't turning it. Down, I'm gonna
say thank you, and I'm gonnamove on speaking of baseball, because we've
(11:22):
talked about Rick Woodfield, Ronald Juniorjunior, and David Freese. Well,
college baseball is still going on inthe National Championship starts tonight in a rematch
of Florida's lone National Championship victory,the number two Gators Florida Gators will take
on the number five LSU Tigers inthe Championship of the Men's College World Series.
(11:45):
Florida was the first team to clinchtheir spot in the World Series.
It was Michael Robertson who made animpressive grab at the wall for the final
out, and it sealed the FloridaGators ticket to the College World Series Final.
In their three two victory over theTCU Horned Frogs O two pitch Taylor
polls it right center fields, Robertsins Back makes the Floridas send it to
(12:16):
the final. LSU's Tommy White hehit the game winning walk off home run
in the eleventh inning over Wake Forestis Elsie beat them two games in a
road to advance to the College WorldSeries Finals against the Florida Gators. Hey
home one did he get it?Did he get it? Yes? He
did it? Tommy takes looks itoff. Hey, The LSU Tigers will
(12:41):
face the Gators in the finals.That's right. Florida and LSU will play
tonight at seven pm Eastern Time,that's six pm Central Time, and a
best of three playoff series. Gametwo is set for Tomorrow, June twenty
fifth, at three pm Eastern Time, which is two pm Central Time,
and if they split those games andif necessary, game three would be Monday,
(13:01):
June twenty sixth at seven pm EasternTime six pm Central time. Each
game will be broadcast on the ESPNwhile Pressed by Virginia ORL robertson TCU.
Florida exit the bracket one of theWorld Series undefeated after defeating each program by
one run. They had to rallyin the nineteening to go past the Cavaliers
in Game one. Took four runsscored in the late thirteen at bat stretch
(13:22):
against ORL Roberts and then it wasthe ninth thing against TCU. But needless
to say, Florida's got the jobdone and their pitching has been wonderful.
LSU well. They advanced from Bracketttwo following two rematches will Wake Forrest.
They met in the first round andwake Forrest took it and then it was
Thursday's game necessary due to the doubleelimination structure, and that's when the LSU
(13:43):
Tigers walked it off in the eleventhinning. The twenty twenty three Men's National
Championship will mark Florida's fourth appearance inprogram history. The Gators long win twenty
seventeen. Who did they beat theLSU Tigers. Now learning gets opponent for
the national Championship game was not onlythe good news that Florida received this week.
On Thursday, Florida's day began witha transfer acquisition of Alabama and fielder
(14:07):
in twenty twenty two Freshmen All AmericanColby Shelton. He's a third base shortstop
prospect from Florida who hit twenty fivehome runs in twenty twenty two, which
was a single season record for AlabamaCrimson Tide. He entered the transfer portal
after they hired a new coach,Rob Vaughan, and he's now headed to
Florida. So we wished Colby Sheltonthe best as he heads to Florida.
(14:28):
And I think this is a trendguys that we're going to see for quite
a while. Players have really goodseasons at schools that are not the top
school, and they go and getthat inmail money at the top school.
So I think we're going to seethis a lot more now. I told
you guys that we were going totalk a lot of basketball, and the
first thing I want to talk aboutis college basketball. McNeese State head coach
(14:48):
Will Wade, who was the formercoach at LSU, has received a ten
game suspension. That's right. FormerLSU and current McNee State men's basketball coach
Will Wade was given a two yearshow cause order and a ten game suspension
for three Level one violations. Wadewas found to have made payments to the
former fiance of a player, whilealso failing to cooperate in an investigation and
(15:09):
failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance. LSU football was also hit with one
Level one violation for failing to monitora representative athletics interest, which resulted in
benefits being paid to the father ofa former player. The football program and
the basketball program each received a Leveltwo violation for failure to monitor. I
gotta tell you LSU has been inthe eyes of the media for a while
(15:31):
for these violations, people were callingfor Will Wade to be fired. He
was. Then, of course,everybody talked about the other allegations with the
football program, But obviously there's notgoing to be as impactful of a suspension
because Brian Kelly was not included inthat. But McNeese state. The biggest
one that takes the hit right hereis Will Wade again, who's suspended ten
(15:52):
games. In college basketball. JaredStevenson, who's a North Carolina Legacy player,
taught Crew number one power forward inthe class of twenty twenty four.
We had to make a decision thispast week on where he won to play
college basketball. Alabama's basketball future frontcourt added a significant piece by getting him.
That's right, the Crimson Tide landeda commitment from Jared Stevenson, who's
(16:15):
a six foot ten, two hundredand ten pound power forward from Pittsburgh,
North Carolina. He was a fivestar prospect, the number one power forward
in the twenty twenty fourth class.Alabama Coachnado's landed him over in state North
Carolina and nearby Virginia. He's goingto reclassify to the twenty twenty three class
and join Alabama immediately this summer inJuly. That will make him immediately available
(16:38):
to play this season. He bringsmuch added size to the front court that
Oates had the challenge of retooling onceCharles Bettiaco surprised the staff and decided to
stay in the NBA Draft. Stevensonjoins Nick Pringle on the front court.
North Dakota State big Grant Nelson,who's listed six foot eleven, two hundred
and thirty five pounds, is alsoexpected to commit to Alabama, but he
(17:02):
is not publicly announced anything yet.I believe he's trying to get some academic
stuff in order. Along with Stevenson, Pringle, and likely Nelson, Alabama
did add two freshmen who have length, Sam Walters six eight and Muhammad six
seven. Again, with the incorporationof Stevenson and likely Nelson, that will
leave one scholarship open for Natots.It's possible he decides to fill it,
(17:23):
but we've also seen him choose toleave it open in the past. The
NBA Draft is over. It tookplace Thursday night, and the first pick
in the NBA Draft was with thefirst pick in the two and twenty three
NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spursselect Victor wm Banyama, the non five
(17:45):
Priss. Victor Wimbanyama probably said thatwrong, but he was selected number one
overall by the San Antonio Spurs.It's official. He's joining Hall of Fame
head coach Gregg Popovich in the SanAntonio Spurs. He said, eleven foot
four, he's a French phenomen He'sthe best prospect to hit the NBA since
Lebron James. The Spurs have beenplanning on Wimbanyama's arrival since May sixteenth,
(18:11):
when it was revealed they would getthe first pick in the twenty twenty three
NBA Draft for the third time infranchise history. He was poised and joyous
all throughout the week, but afterhe was selected number one, it was
a slew of emotions that overcame Victor. He says, he can't really describe
it. It's still fresh. Oneof the best feelings of his life,
he says, probably the best nightof his life. That he's been dreaming
(18:33):
about this for so long, andit's incredible. Congratulations Victor, the last
number one picked the Spurs selected broughttremendous success and he'll look to do the
same because the last one was TimDuncan and we've seen how that played out,
and the first one was David Robinsonin nineteen eighty seven. All five
of the franchise's NBA championships were onewith either Robinson or Duncan, with the
(18:56):
duo winning two together. Both areHall of famers, and we're even a
part of the league's seventy fifth anniversaryteam. When Binyama is the first number
one picked to ever come out ofFrance, and he's the first European player
who didn't play NCUBA college basketball tobe selected first overall since two thousand and
six, when the Toronto Raptors pickedAndre Bargainani out of Italy. Probably said
(19:18):
that name wrong. Women Yama ledall players in the French LNB PROA league
in points, rebounds and blocks pergame. He was named MVP and his
team they were swept in the finals. They didn't win it, but they
were swept, so he made thefinals. Though he said he got the
call from the Spurs front office informinghim that he'd be selected number one,
it was very, very casual andhe's not intimidated. He says he's looking
(19:41):
forward to the breakfast tacos. Igotta tell you, Victor, I've never
had a San Antonio breakfast taco butit sounds really good and I know I'd
look forward to having one. Yeah. But congratulations again to Victor win Banyama
for going number one overall in theNBA draft to the San Antonio Spurs.
Now number two was the second pickin the twenty twenty three NBA Draft,
(20:03):
the Charlotte Hornets select Brandon Miller fromthe University of Alabama for only the fifth
time in school history, Alabama hasa top ten NBA draft pick. That's
right. Brandon Miller was picked numbertwo overall Thursday night by the Charlotte Hornets
to tie the highest draft selection inschool history. He joins Antonio mcdias,
(20:27):
the number two pick in the nineteenninety five draft, going to the Los
Angeles Clippers. Brandon Miller was thethird lottery pick of the Nate Oates era,
as he joined Kyra Loos and JoshPrimo. He was the number two
overall picked behind Victor weinbon Yama ofFrance, again, who we just talked
about. But the night wasn't over. We're gonna talk more about that in
(20:48):
a little bit about another album andplayer who was also drafted in the first
round. There was a lot ofbuzz would Charlotte take Scoot Henderson or would
they take Brandon Miller, And therewas late intrigue over who the Charlotte Hornets
would pick, but they ultimately choseBrandon Miller. Now, there was mixed
feelings from Charlotte Hornets fans who piledinside the arena to watch the draft party
(21:11):
as Psalm chaired and others boot.But I've got to tell you, as
they get to know Brandon Miller,I think they're gonna love the Antioch,
Tennessee prodigy who came to Alabama andbecame the best player in college basketball,
became one of the most explosive playersin basketball, and he is going to
have a great season. He's gonnabe paired next to LaMelo Ball, who
is the centerpiece of this Charlotte Hornet'steam. So congratulations to Alabama's Brendan Miller
(21:34):
on being picked number two in theNBA draft. And I gotta tell you,
I'm a big Alabama fan. Ijust want to hear that one more
time. Who was the number twopick in the NBA Draft. With the
second pick in the two twenty threeNBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select Brandon
Miller from the University of Alabama.It's gonna be hard to replace Brendon Miller
(21:57):
if you're the University of album butI'm sure Nado's has something of his sleeve.
We talked about another player who wasdrafted in the first round of the
NBA Draft who was an Alabama player, and we're going to talk about more
of that whenever we get back fromthe break. But before we go to
the break, I just want totalk a little bit about what we can
expect moving forward. Now that theNBA Draft is over, we're going to
(22:18):
get into that time a free agencythat's going to start June thirtieth. Of
course, you're going to see tradestart ramping up between teams. All talks
are centered around Portland Trailblazers Damian Lillard. Will he choose to stay in Portland
and try to win or is hegonna win out Because a lot of people
question do the Portland Trailblazers really wantto win a championship? Do they really
want to put Damian Lillard in aposition to win a championship or do they
(22:41):
want to rebuild. The pick ofScoot Henderson indicates that he's the future of
Portland and that maybe it is timeto move on from Damian Lillard. But
the question is and becomes who wouldtrade for Damian Lillard? Who would give
up assets for Damian Lillard? BecauseDamian Lillard is Lillard is one of the
best players in basketball, and ifyou're gonna trade for him, you're gonna
(23:03):
have to give up some valuable pieces. Now. Of course, he has
been linked to the Miami Heat,one of the first teams, and I
personally have never been a fan ofthe Miami Heat trading for him. It
would be a great move for them, but not for the Portland Trailblazers.
I just think that you really needsome big pieces coming back, and I
don't think the Miami Heat have that. You have Tyler Hero, but they've
(23:23):
said they don't really want to getrid of him, while others say they
do. I don't think they do. You're not gonna get rid of Bam,
You're not gonna get rid of Jimmy, You're gonna give what. You're
gonna get rid of Kyle Lowry,Duncan Robinson. I mean, who would
want those two players? I personallywouldn't. I'm not giving Damian Lillard up
for those and some draft picks.I mean I need Like we're gonna talk
(23:45):
more about the Chris Paul trade toWashington and then flipped a Golden State.
But what got the Phoenix Suns BradleyBill and eventually got the Washington Wizards.
Jordan pull Like, that's the typeof trade. If I'm Portland I'm looking
for. I'm looking for somebody thatcan be an impact player that is young.
Like I think about it like this, like you're gonna want like a
Now, the Houston Rockets are myfavorite team, so I'm using them as
(24:07):
an example. They would never tradefor him. But you need a player
like Jalen Greene coming back. Imean, you need somebody that's going to
be an impact player for the future. I mean you're gonna get what Duncan
Robinson and Kyle Rowery on expiring contractsand some draft picks that Miter might not
pan out and may or may notbe a good position depending on which team
(24:27):
does better. I just think DamianLillard has to get You have to get
something back that's valuable. That's justtoo good to not take. I just
don't know that anybody can offer thatto the Portland Trailblazers. And for those
reasons, if I was Portland,just like they sound, Shark Tank,
I would say I'm out, butnot my choice. Hey, we do
(24:48):
have to take a break for newsand weathers on news Radio one on one
nine, Big Whax. I'm yourhost name of Pitts, and you are
listening to the pit Stop. Welcomeback in from the break. You're listening
to the pit Stop on news Radioone nine, Big Wax. I'm your
(25:11):
host's name of Pitts. And beforethe break we were talking basketball. We're
going to continue. The NBA Draftis in the books and with the twenty
first pick of the NBA Draft,the Brooklyn Nets selected the first pick in
the twenty twenty three NBA Draft.The Brooklyn Nets select Noah Clowney from the
(25:32):
University of Alabama. That's right,Noah Clowney was drafted in the first round
of the NBA Draft, joining histeammate Brandon Miller as a first round pick.
The Brooklyn Nets that's where the draftwas held, selected Noah Clowney would
pick number twenty one. Again,this becomes the first Alabama duo taken in
the opening round since nineteen ninety five. Clowney and Miller of the six and
(25:56):
seventh Alabama players drafted since Colin Sextonwent eight overall in twenty eighteen. Before
that, the program had a teenyear drought for any draft pick with a
first round drift spelt, dating backto two thousand and one and Gerald Wallace.
Brendon Miller went to the Charlotte Horntswith pick number two. Noah Clowney
went to Brooklyn. The Nets pickednumber twenty one for Clowney. Guys,
(26:17):
he was not a well I guessyou could say guy, well known guy
coming out of high school. Hedidn't have a lot of people recruiting him.
He wasn't well known. But hisrise to first round status was somewhat
different than Brendan Miller's. You say, Noah Clowney was the ninety ninth best
recruit last year coming into college.He's from South Carolina and he didn't have
(26:38):
the height that Brendan Miller had.But it was that twenty two point night
on a December third win over SouthDakota State that people started realizing this guy
might be for real. Then hewent a little streaky, but had a
really good game against Arkansas before missinghis next twenty in the five game span
that followed. Clowney ended up finishinghis freshman year with nine point eight points
(26:59):
per game with seven point nine rebounds. His biggest performance sixteen point performance against
number one Houston on a day thatBrandon Miller went oh for eight. Alabama
would beat Houston on the road,who was the number one team at the
time, and what was a bigwin that propelled them to be the number
one seat in the NC Double ATournament. So congratulations to Noah Clowney on
joining Brandon Miller as a round onepick in the NBA draft. Cool story
(27:23):
about the NBA draft. There wastwo guys from Alabama who were drafted.
Former LEEH Huntsville standout Kobe Brown waschosen in the NBA Draft and Guys,
I gotta be honest with you,Kobe Brown was chosen a lot higher than
I expected him to be chosen.Like, I knew Kobe Brown was going
to be, you know, areally good player, but I didn't expect
him to go in the first round. He was projected as the forty fourth
(27:45):
best prospect in the draft, andhe ended up going pick number thirty.
After twenty one seasons leading the boysbasketball program at Lee High School in Huntsville,
Greg Brown is sending one of hisplayers into the NBA. His eldest
son, named after Los Angeles LakersHall of Fame Kobe Bryant. Kobe Brown
joined the Los Angeles Clippers as thethirtieth selection in the seventy seventh NBA Draft.
(28:07):
Kobe Brown shared his father as theyplayed together with the Generals. He
was the state's Class five A Playerof the Year as a junior, and
he was the six A All Stateselection as a senior. At six foot
seven and two hundred and fifty twopounds, Brown shares a phacique with Draymond
Greene and said he tries to playlike the Golden State Warriors All star.
He layed at Missouri for four seasons. He raised his scoring average annually.
(28:32):
He became better every single season,and he finished fifth in points, in
tenth and rebounds in the SEC lastseason as Missouri won an nc DOUBA A
tournament game for the first time sincetwo ten. Not only that, but
Brown was All SEC All academic asan All American, and as the final
pick in the opening round of thetwenty twenty three draft. Brown as the
twenty ninth player from Alabama High schoolselected in the first round of the NBA
(28:56):
Draft, although he's only the secondin the past thirteen years. And I
got to look at this list ofnotable people from Alabama who have been drafted.
We've seen Reggie King, who wasat Jackson Oland High School in Birmingham.
He went number eighteen from Alabama.He was drafted by the Kansas City
Kings back in nineteen seventy nine.Everybody knows Charles Barkley Leeds High School standout
(29:18):
number five overall from Auburn by thePhiladelphia seventy six Ers back in nineteen eighty
four. You have Gerald Wallace fromChildersburg High School who was number twenty five
from Alabama by the Sacramento Kings backin two thousand and one. Cool story
about Gerald Wallace. He actually wasan assistant coach in my county a few
years ago. DeMarcus Cousins from LafloraHigh School in Mobile. He went number
(29:40):
five from Kentucky by the Sacramento Kingsback in two thousand and ten Eric Bledsoe
from Parker High School in Birmingham,he went number eighteen from Kentucky by the
Oklahoma City Thunder in twenty ten.And the latest being Kira Lewis, junior
of Hazel Green High School, whowent number thirteen from Alabama by the New
Orleans Pelicans back in two thousand.In twenty and we actually seen him recovering
(30:02):
last year, played a little bitin Birmingham with the Squadrons. And it's
interesting because you have two Alabama guysand Herb Jones and Carl Lewis who are
now teammates in New Orleans. Coolstory. Another cool story is former Mountain
Brooks standout Colby Jones, who wasalso selected in the NBA draft. Colby
Jones joined Trennon Watford to help MountainBrook win its third consecutive ALBUMA High School
(30:26):
Athletic Association Class seven eight Boys Basketballchampionship in twenty nineteen. Well, this
past Thursday night, Colby Jones joinedTrennon Watford in the NBA. The Charlotte
Hornets selected Colby Jones with a thirtyfourth choice of the seventy seventh NBA Draft
in Brooklyn, New York. Itwas the fourth pick in the second round,
but ESPN reported that the Sacramento Kingshad executed a draft night trade with
(30:49):
Charlotte to obtain Jones. So he'sreally going to go to Sacramento Watford.
Well, He's spent the past twoseasons with the Portland Trail Blazers after a
good career at LSU and after apre draft workout for the Trailblazers, Jones
was asked about the skills he couldbring to a team. He would go
on to say that he's a connectoron offense, He's a hustler, high
motor, and he likes to makeplays and that it's going to translate.
(31:12):
Kobe Jones played college basketball at Xavierfor three seasons. The Musketeers posted two
victories in the twenty twenty three NCUBATournament after winning the twenty twenty two ni
Tournament. Jones earned the most outsendingplayer for his performances in Xaviers five victories
in the NIL Tournament. He's asix foot six guard average fifteen points,
(31:32):
five point seven rebounds, four assistsat one point three steals, and he
earned second team All Big East,which is a tough conference. So congratulations
to him. He comes from abasketball family, as father Chad Jones played
for UAB his brother c J.Jones played for Arkansas, a Middle Tennessee.
So we love when local guys goon to have great careers, and
(31:52):
I know that this will be nodifferent for Kolby Jones. So congratulations Kobe
Jones and Kobe Brown for one tothe NBA. Big news this week in
NBA sad news, but also atime to celebrate. Lou Williams, who's
a three time sixth Man of theYear, is retiring from the NBA.
I remember Lou Williams when he playedfor my Houston Rockets, but that wasn't
(32:15):
originally the team he played for.He was also known for making his mark
off the bench. He did thisover his seventeen years in the NBA.
Well, this past week, heannounced his retirement. He revealed this decision
in a YouTube video that his daughternarrated that covered his journey to the NBA
and his time in the league.He's thirty six years old. He won
six Man of the Year in twentyfifteen, twenty eighteen, and twenty nineteen.
(32:38):
That's tied with Jamal Crawford for themost in NBA history. He appeared
in over a thousand career games,only one hundred and twenty two starts,
but he scored an NBA record thirteenthousand, three hundred and ninety six points
off the bench, which is twothousand and one hundred and seventeen more than
Crawford. Williams averaged thirteen point ninepoints in three point four excuse me,
(33:00):
he averaged thirteen point nine points andthree point four assist per game while playing
for six teams. He started withthe Philadelphia seventy six ers, moved on
to the Atlanta Hawks, the TorontoRaptors, the Los Angeles Lakers. He
was then traded to my Houston Rockets, where he had an incredible run in
Houston off the bench, played withJames Harden and some of the other greatest
(33:22):
as they made the push for anNBA championship but fell short to the Golden
State Warriors, and then he wastraded to the LA Clippers. His final
game came back in twenty twenty two, back with the Hawks, and now
he is retiring. So congratulations toLou Williams. Three times six men in
the year. It's crazy to thinkhow long Lou has been in the league
(33:45):
like he got drafted back in twothousand and five. He was the forty
fifth pig. I was five yearsold. As the sixty players taking that
year, only Chris Paul scored morepoints in the NBA than Williams, who
went straight to the league out ofhigh school. He's gonna finish his career
top two hundred in points fifteen thousand, five hundred and ninety three. Lou
(34:06):
Williams, you deserve and applause,my friend, because you had a heck
of a career. And I gottatell you what, Lou, this is
for you. That's right. Comeon, keep them going, keep them
going. There we go, therewe go. But I'll tell you what
we don't like. Ro ro roro ro roo. Yep. Grizzlies.
(34:31):
John Morant, he's been in somelegal trouble, that's right. He suspended
twenty five games by the NBA,and it's because well, he didn't learn
his lesson. Needless to say,he did not learn his lesson. You
would think once did you hear athat would tell you that something's wrong.
Well, John Morant has been suspendedfor twenty five games because of conduct that
(34:55):
was well unnecessary. We talked aboutthis before. It's stoopid to carry a
gun around flashing it on social media. Well, John Morant learned his lesson,
I hope now because he's been suspendedafter a video circulated on May fourteenth
that was showing him brandishing a firearm. The NBA suspending Morant for eight games
(35:15):
following a similar incident back in March, when he was seen on Instagram live
holding up a handgun while intoxicated ata Denver area club. Why does handguns
intoxication and all this seemed to happenin Denver anyway, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
said John Morant's decision and once againwill to firearm on social media's alarming.
He says, it's not necessary,but John Morant continues to, for some
(35:39):
reason go around and post videos ofhim holding guns and whatnot. But you
know, for job, basketball isgoing to need to take a backseat at
this time. I mean, he'sgonna have to figure out how to get
his mental health in a better position. So Moran will be ineligible to participate
in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, and he was
(36:00):
due to make a round thirty threepoint five million this season, but now
he stands to lose about three hundredthousand per game, which is approximately seven
point five million dollars. So JohnMortt, because if you're dumb decisions to
flash a gun on social media,he's gonna lose seven million dollars. And
that's sad. Not for John Mortt. It's sad that he didn't learn his
(36:23):
lesson. And you know what,the Memphis Grizzlies, while they weren't that
good last season when John Moratt wassuspended, they went eleven and ten in
games that he didn't play. Theygot to figure out how to navigate the
first twenty five of this season withouthim. Now, they did make a
trade for Marcus Smart. We're gonnatalk a little bit more about that in
a bit. But John did takefull responsibility to this mistake, saying,
(36:46):
hey, I realized, I've heardthe ones that I've loved. I've realized
that I've made a mistake, andI'll be better when he plays guys,
when he does the right things,he's a great player. When the best
point guards in the league twenty sixpoint two points. Okay, he helped
them secure the number two seed inthe playoffs, they end up did get
upset by the Los Angeles Lakers,but it's because they ran their mouth too
(37:07):
much. But I gotta tell you, you gotta make smarter decisions. Drum
Rent, I hope you've learned yourlesson. All right, guys, we've
got some news. I tried.Somebody's at the door, and it's the
Washington Wizards seeking get trade with thePhoenix Suns. Well, that mission was
completed, but Washington Wizards rebuilt hasofficially begun. I gotta tell you,
(37:30):
the Washington Wizards have been a programI guess you should say franchise more so
that has had some big time playersJohn Wall, Bradley Bill, and they
just have not been able to reallywin. And I don't understand why Washington
didn't make this trade sooner, likea year or two ago when it was
(37:52):
linked in the off season. Butthe rebuild, I guess you can say,
has officially begun because Washington did tradeBradley Build to the Phoenix Suns.
It was finalized as past Thursday.Now they did get some big gassets in
exchange. The Suns are sending sixsecond round draft picks and four first round
picks swaps, so the Wizards aspart of the trade for Bill. The
(38:13):
first round pick swaps are in twentytwenty four, twenty twenty six, twenty
twenty eight, and twenty thirty.So here's the full breakdown of the move.
The Washington Wizards got second round picksin twenty twenty four, twenty twenty
five, twenty twenty six, twentytwenty seven, twenty twenty eight, and
twenty thirty. They got first roundpick swaps like we just talked about in
(38:34):
twenty twenty four, twenty twenty six, twenty twenty eight, and twenty thirty.
They got Landry Shammitt, They gotsome cash, and they got Chris
Paul, who was reportedly flipped toGolden State for Jordan pull. But first,
before we talk about that, let'stalk about Chris Paul. He found
out that he was traded while hewas on an airplane. That's right,
(38:55):
on an airplane. Chris Paul toldGood Morning America that he found out that
he was traded while on the planefor his interview with them. I was
surprised. What are your first thoughtson that? I was surprised too.
I found out on the plane yesterdayflying here for this. You know,
in this league, anything can happen, so you just figure out what's next.
(39:19):
I get you, Chris, butyou're one of the best point guards
ever. Like they couldn't have atleast told you, you know, face
to face before they made the trade. Like they could have not done it
by text. I mean, atleast called you on a cell phone,
like, hey, call you onmy cell phone. They couldn't even do
that. He has to figure outvia Twitter. It's a cruel world.
We live in Phoenix, Suns.They got Bradley Bill, Isaiah Todd,
(39:42):
and Jordan Goodwin. Bradley Bill spenteleven seasons in Washington, which found little
to no success, and you know, playing for a potential title contender,
that's gonna be a big step forBill. Chris Paul meanwhile, well he
got flipped and his been traded again, this time to a much more pleasant
(40:04):
destination, Golden State. That's right, Chris Paul's pursuit of an NBA championship,
which he has not accomplished yet,is taking him to the Golden State
Warriors after a trade was agreed tosend him to Golden State, and it
would send Jordan pull to the WashingtonWizards. The trade also includes a package
of draft capital and a lot moreso. Chris, Paul, what was
(40:25):
that again? You found out?How I was surprised. What are your
first thoughts on that? I wassurprised too. I found out on the
plane yesterday flying here for this.You know, in this league, anything
can happen. So you just figureout what's next. Guess what, Chris,
I know what's next. A chanceto win an NBA championship next to
(40:46):
Steph Curry, the greatest shooter ofall time, and Clay Thompson. Paul
says that he's excited about going toGolden State. He's on a book tour
currently, but he says he's reallyexcited. He says he's already talked to
Steph Curry and it was good.The Wizards agreed again to send him from
Phoenix that's where he was, toWashington, That's where he was for a
(41:08):
few seconds, and now to GoldenState. Paul had two of his title
Hope seasons thwarted by the Warriors,the team he now joins. And I
told you as a Houston Rockets fan, it was the od for twenty seven
from the three point line. Itwas the miss injuries and the Houston Rockets
had a three two series lead overthe Warriors in the Western Conference Finals,
(41:29):
but then Chris Paul got hurt andhe missed the final two games, and
Golden State prevailed on the way toanother NBA championship. Now, trades happened
all across the league, and thatcontinued for not just the Wizards and all
of them, but the Celtics andthe Grizzlies and the Wizards. The Washington
Wizards not only sent Bradley Bill toPhoenix, not only sent Chris Paul to
(41:53):
Golden State, but they sent ChrisStops Prosingis to Boston. The Washington Wizards
kept chugging along as another key playeris on his way out. Yep,
Chris Stops Prezingis. He was dealtto the Boston Celtics on a three team
deal. Prezingis did agree to optinto his deal before being dealt to Boston.
(42:15):
As part of the deal, theWashington Wizards would receive Thias Jones from
the Memphis Grizzlies, Gallinari and MikeMascala from the Celtics. The Grizzlies,
who I think we're a winner inthis case, I actually would receive Marcus
Smart from the Celtics while sending theirtwenty fifth pick in this year's draft that
just finished in a twenty twenty fourthfirst round pick via Golden State to the
(42:35):
Celtics. So here's how this allgoes down. Three team trade. Chris
stops prezingis who was with the Wizardsis now with the Celtics. What was
the number twenty five pick ended upbeing with the Celtics. Twenty twenty fourth
first round pick protected goes to theCeltics. The Grizzlies get Marcus Smart via
Boston, and the Wizards get TiasJones via Memphis, Gallinari via Boston,
(43:00):
and Mike Muscala via Boston. Theyalso received the number thirty five pick in
this year's draft that just finished viaBoston. So to close the show out,
I want to talk about now thatthe draft is over, we're gonna
start seeing trade ramp up. We'regonna start seeing free agency ramp up as
teams are trying to get big timeplayers to come play for their franchise.
(43:22):
All eyes are on James Harden.Now that the draft is over, free
agency is gonna kick up on Junethirty. So we love to talk about
rumors that start ramping up like wherethe top players gonna land. Now.
I'm a big James Harden fan,have been. He's the first player I
fell in love with when he wasat Arizona State. Then he played for
(43:43):
the Houston Rockets. Now I takethat back. I was a Carmelo Anthony
fan when I was a kid whenhe played for the Denver Nuggets. But
like true fan that actually watched theguy like every night. That was me
with James Harden. Now, assuminghe opts out of the final year of
his contract, which is expected,ten time All Star guard, James will
arguably be the crown jewel free agency, but he will be far from alone
(44:05):
because you've got Fred Van Vleet,Kyrie Irving, Draymond Greene, Chris Middleton,
Brook Lopez, and Kyle Kuzma,which are just a few of the
other big time names that are expectedto be available as free agency draws closer.
I want to look at again someof these trades and free agent acquisations
that could happen. Now there isa growing sense that James Harden could return
(44:28):
to the seventy six ers. Youknow, it's not often that a three
well's see what is he threetimes scoring champion former NBA MVP becomes available
in free agency. But here weare, for the second straight offseason,
James Harden could hit the open market. Now, this guy took a discount
for Philly. He took two yearssixty eight million to remain with him last
(44:51):
offseason, with the second year beinga player option because he wanted to win
a championship. Now, if I'mJames Harden, I took a discount for
you last year, you better payme this year. And even if Harden
intends on resigning with the seventy sixers, it would behoove him to not
opt out and test the market.Although opting in it is a possibility,
I just don't see that happening.Speaking Monday on The Low Post podcast,
(45:16):
Zach Lowe said, I bet ifyou pull fifty front office executives, the
majority of them with guests, he'sgoing back to Philly. Well, I
gotta tell you what, I disagree. Oh, there was a lot of
rumors that he's expected back in Houston. Well, I gotta tell you.
If Harden stays with the Sixers,he will get to continue to play alongside
the reigning NBA NBA MVP and Joelembiide indifferent, but Philly also likely presents
(45:42):
him with the best opportunity to wina championship, which is thirty three.
I'm gonna tell you this, Idon't think he's gonna play for Philly next
year. But I don't think he'sgonna play with Houston either. They just
drafted Aman Thompson, They've got JalenGreen, Kevin Porter junior. Unless they're
gonna trade some of those guys awayfor another big player like Jaylen Brown.
(46:04):
I don't see James Harden coming toHouston. I say he goes somewhere other
than Philly. I think things getinteresting. Kyle Kuzma, Well they say
him returning to Washington the Wizards isa possibility. Well, I don't not
after all them trades. Yeah,he had a career year last year,
he really did. And he's inline to earn some cash. And they
report that he declined his thirteen milliondollars option, which is a little surprise.
(46:29):
And you know, I gotta tellyou, the jury is still out
on what's going to happen with him, but I think the trades have made
it pretty clear that he's gonna besomewhere else. You know, he isn't
likely to win much the next fewyears if he resigns with Washington. But
I mean, I guess he couldbe the face of the team. I
guess he could have a chance toput up All Star caliber numbers. But
(46:51):
you gotta think this is a guythat's already won a championship he won with
the Lakers, so like it wouldbehoove him to build up his credibility and
not go pursue another championship like he'salready won one. So I guess I
see where he's chasing money now,and I just think he could get more
money elsewhere. My prediction, KyleKuzma he signed somewhere else. I don't
(47:15):
think he signs with the Washington Wizardsagain, especially not after the trades they
have made. Well my Houston Rocketsor among the teams in on Fred van
Vleet now, given the fact thathe's won an NBA championship, earned an
All Star selection, and established himselfas one of the NBA's grittiest players,
Van Vleet could potentially be the mosthighly sought after player in free agency this
(47:37):
offseason. Now he's twenty nine yearsold, he's spent his entire seven year
NBA career with the Toronto Raptors.He went undrafted and he became a key
cog in a championship team. He'stwo seasons removed from his first and only
Our All Star nod and he hada good year that year, by the
way, twenty points, which wasvery productive. But a lot of people
(47:59):
are mentioning the Houston Rockets is thefront runner to sign him. Other teams
that are included are the Los AngelesLakers, the Phoenix Suns, in Orlando
Magic. During an appearance on theHoops Hype podcast, Kelly Iko of The
Athletic, who is a big HoustonRockets guy, says he believes the Rockets
are targeting VanVleet, doing parts tothe fact that new head coach convects him.
(48:20):
The Rockets figure to have significant competition, but one thing that does work
in their favor is that they areonly one of a few teams with salary
cap space. I will say thatabout the Rockets. If they want somebody
this year veteran, they got themoney, like they got over forty seven
million dollars in cap space. Thenext closest team is the Pacers at twelve
and if new coach really wants VanVleetbadly, the Rockets have the money to
(48:43):
outbid everyone, unless the Raptors tryto bring him back. Houston presents an
intriguing situation since it has a coachwho reached the NBA Finals in his only
season as an NBA head coach.They've got young talent Jalen Green, Jabari
Smith, Kevin Porter Jr. Justgot Almond Thompson. My prediction is that
Van Vleet does not sign with theHouston Rockets. As a Houston Rockets fan,
(49:05):
again, I don't see us doinga lot this year when it comes
to signing a veteran. I hopeI'm wrong. I see us taking the
young talent and seeing how we cando under new head coach. I mean
Udaka probably said that name all wrong. I'm from the South. I apologize.
Draymond Greene. I think he endsup with Miami Heat. I think
Chris middlesh stays in Milwaukee. Ithink Brook Lopez stays in Milwaukee. I
(49:30):
think Kyrie Irving stays in Dallas.And I think Kyle Kuzma is on the
move to where that's to be determined. But I don't think he's gonna stay
in Washington a lot of basketball.Next week we'll talk about who won the
Ncuba Baseball World Series and a lotmore of Braves baseball. Thank you for
listening to the pit Stop on NewsRadioone on one nine Big Wax
You're listening to one O one nineBig Wax. This is the Pits Stop
and I'm your host, Nameth Pitts. Can you believe it's the third edition
of the Pit Stop. Well,I gotta tell you if you're a basketball
fan, you're gonna love this morningshow because the NBA Draft is in the
books, in free agencies approaching astrades have started stirring up. So we're
gonna talk a lot of basketball.But first, let's start the show with
(00:38):
congrats and condolences, as we doevery single week, and this week's congratulations
goes to the Atlanta Braves Ronald o'cunaJunior and the Angels Shohei Otani, who
were elected as All Star starters.That's right, Ronald Acuna Junior. He's
a front runner for National League MVP, and after leading all players in total
votes in the first phase of theAll Star voting, he'll be headed to
(00:59):
his four All Star Game as astarting outfielder, and there's a good chance
they'll be joined by some of hisAtlanta Braves teammates. The first phase of
voting narrows each position to two finalists, with the recipient with the most votes
in each league rewarded an automatic startingposition. Akunya tally three point eight million
votes to lead all players, whileShohail Tany led American League with two point
(01:19):
six million. The Braves, whoowned the best record in the National League,
led all teams with seven finalists.It included obviously wrong with Kuna Junior,
but it also included catcher Sean Murphy, shortstopper landa Arcia, matt Olsen,
Ozzie Albie's, Austin Riley, andoutfider Michael Harris. The second they
all move on to the second phaseof voting that starts on Monday. The
(01:42):
Texas Rangers in Toronto Blue Jays willthey both have five finalists in the American
League. The second phase will determinethe remaining sixteen positional starters for the All
Star Game, which will take placeJuly eleventh in Seattle. And that'll start
Monday and run until June twenty ninth, So make sure you vote starting Monday,
and you have until June twenty ninth. I gotta tell you, guys.
Akunya Ronald Kunjer Junior has had aphenomenal season, recovering from an ACL
(02:07):
injury that affected him last season.He's hitting over three twenty, He's got
fifteen home runs, forty six RBIsand thirty one stolen bases. He leads
the NL and run steals in totalbases. Now Otani, we all know
Otani one of the best players inthe game. Pitches and hits. He's
been on an offensive tear of laidas well. Hitting two ninety two,
(02:28):
he leads the majors and home runswith twenty four as a point nine nine
three ops and oh yeah, Iremember I say he's a pitcher. He's
got a three point one three er A with one hundred and seventeen strikehouse
in eighty nine innings. So Igotta tell you the surprise guy was not
a surprise to me, but toothers was Orlando Rcia. That's right.
After Dansby Swatson signed with the ChicagoCubs as a free agent, Von Grissom
(02:50):
was the guy expected to take overat shortstop, but veteran Orlando Arcia won
the job out in spring training.And not only dad. He's hitting three
forty one, he has six homeruns, twenty five RPIs, and his
OPS is off the chains. That'sright, You've got all stars like Tree
Turner X under Bogarts. I mean, all these different guys who got big
money in Philadelphia and San Diego.You got Francisco Lindor, the Mets,
(03:10):
all these different guys, and youknow who's the leading candidate, or Lando
RCI getting paid seven millions on atwo year deal after this year. Another
noticeable person moved on to the nextphase was Corbyn Carroll, who's a diamondback,
rookie outfitter. He's a tie witha CUNIA among all MLB position players,
and he looks like the guy thatcould give him a run for MVP
because the Couna is the front runnerfor MVP again. You can vote starting
(03:36):
Monday to elect who moves on tothe next phase. And I gotta tell
you, I can't wait to watchthe All Star Game in Seattle. That's
going to be an electric atmosphere forthe city of Seattle. With a congrats
comes a condolence, and this week'scondolence goes out to Dion Sanders. Dion
Sanders underwent emergency surgery yesterday after bloodclots were found in his legs. He
(03:58):
had two clots in his leg,one in his right and one on his
left, and Sanders said in avideo posted on Instagram that he would hope
to recovers fast and strong. TheColorado football head coach said he will have
the same surgery in order to restoreproper blood flows so that doctors can perform
a surgery to repair hammertoes in oneof his feet. He says there's no
(04:18):
talk of amputating. There's no talkof that whatsoever. So he tried to
clear up recent stories that said Coloradoteam doctors had told him he was in
danger of having his foot amputated.But he said that the doctor was just
telling me worse come to worst,Amputating the foot was going to happen.
But I believe in staying right,we never have to take that left.
(04:38):
This was a very hush hush situation. A lot of people did not know
that Dion Sanders was having surgery,but Pat McAfee first announced the news of
the surgery on his show The PatMcAfee Show, as former NFL cornerback Adam
pac Man Jones talked about it,and of course, you know, Deon's
been battling this since he was thecoach at Jackson Stay. He's had blood
(05:00):
clots in his legs, same thingin his foot. I mean, he
was even thinking about cutting the footoff, but he didn't. You know,
Don is fifty five. He's hadbloodcought issues for many years, and
he's even had toes that are amputatedon his left foot. And this all
started really back in twenty twenty one. He used a motorized wheelchair to get
around after he sustained complications from hisfoot surgery. But yeah, sad news.
(05:25):
We sent our condolences to Don Senators, who was hired in December of
this past year to try to reviveColorado's program, which has plummeted into being
one of the worst Pack twelve teamsever. So Deon Senators, we sent
our condolences to him. Last weekwe talked about rick Woodfield. There was
rumors reporting that they were going tobe hosting the MLB Field Dreams Game in
(05:46):
twenty twenty four. Well, thatis now official. The Birmingham, Alabama
Stadium, which was home to WillieMays and his Negro League days, will
host a game between the San FranciscoGiants in the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rick Woodfield is believed to be theoldest professional baseball stadium in the United States.
It's played host to some of thebest greatest players ever and it's one
(06:09):
hundred and thirteen year run. We'veseen Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, who's
expected to be an attendance in manyor who grew up just a short distance
from the park. So next year, the stadium will shine once again when
it hosts the Major League Baseball gamebetween the Sancisco Giants and the Saint Louis
Cardinals, which will take place Junetwenty four. Interesting thing to know about
(06:30):
rick Woodfield, guys, is thatit's older than both Fenway Park and Wrigley
Field. Rick would open in nineteenten. It's been home to several teams
over its many decades. You've seenthe Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American
League. You have the Birmingham Barons, which is of course a minor league
team. But yeah, I'm soexcited about this. But I gotta tell
you, if you want a ticketto watch this game, these tickets are
(06:53):
running nine hundred plus dollars right now, which is crazy, Like I wouldn't
even pay a thousand dollars to watchthe Atlanta Braves in the World Series.
Better at nine hundred dollars, forthis. Now, I would be willing
to pay two hundred and two fifty, but a nine hundred dollars that's a
little steep. So it's got aseating capacity of about eleven thousand. It
(07:14):
was built by Harvey Woodward, whowas known as Rick, So you know
there's gonna be some different construction thingsthat go on to Rick Woodfield. And
I'm excited to see that MLB hasa partnership that they're going to send a
game to Birmingham, and I thinkit's a great opportunity for the city of
Birmingham to make a statement that wedeserve a professional team of some sort right
now. The best team in Birmingham'sno question, Birmingham Legion FC. Dominique
(07:39):
Wilkins just joined in as an investorin the Birmingham Legion. This is a
team that defeated a professional MLS teamand it's a team that's I'm telling you
the city of Birmingham is craving sometype professional team. Like I love the
Barons and I love, you know, watching minor league baseball, but there's
nothing like a professional sports game.That's why I go to Atlanta a lot
(08:01):
more than I do in Birmingham becauseI like to see the Atlanta Braves.
Speaking of baseball, though, DavidFreeze, Yeah, I remember David Freeze
played for the Saint Louis Cardinals.Great player, had a great career.
Well, they want to induct himinto the Cardinal's Hall of Fame, but
there's a problem. He rejected it. Now why would someone reject an invitation
(08:26):
into the hall of fame? Well, former major league David Freeze decline his
election into the St. Louis CardinalsHall of Fame. He was forty top
choice by the fans, and theclub even granted his request of rejection,
which they chose to other people.Freeze released the following statement, this is
something that I have given an extremeamount of thought to humbly, even before
(08:50):
the voting process began. I'm awareof the impact I had helping the team
bring great memories to the city Igrew up in, including the eleventh championship,
but his honor means more to me. I look at who I was
during my tenure, and that weighsheavily with me. The Cardinals in the
entire city have always had my backin every way. I'm forever grateful to
(09:11):
be part of such an amazing organizationand fan base then, now and in
the future. I'm especially sorry tothe fans that took time to cast their
votes. Cardinal Nation is basically thereason why I've unfortunately waited so long for
this decision, and it made itmore of a headache for so many people.
I feel strongly about my decision andunderstand how many people might feel about
(09:33):
this or how people might feel aboutthis. I get it, I'll wear
it. Thank you for always beingthere for me, and I'm excited to
be around the Cardinals as we moveforward. In that same statement, Cardinal's
owner Bill DeWitt Junior, said,although we are disappointed that David has declined
to be inducted into our Hall ofFame, we respect his decision and look
(09:54):
forward to celebrating his great Cardinal's careerin other ways going forward. He has
always welcome at Bush Stadium. Ijust am baffled that someone would declining invitation
into the Hall of Fame like this. Is Freeze, who grew up and
went to high school in the SaintLouis area. He spent the first five
seasons of his big league career withthe Cardinals. Over those five seasons,
(10:16):
he batted two eighty six with fortyfour home runs and eighty one doubles in
four hundred and sixty six games asa third baseman. He's best remembered for
his legendary performance in Game six tothe two thousand and eleven World Series.
I remember where I was at Gamesixty, two thousand eleven World Series,
in my bedroom with my brother.It was the ninth inning and the Cardinals
were down three to two in theseries, was down to the final strike.
(10:39):
And what did he do? Hetied the game with a two run
triple. And then in the eleventhinning, when the game was on the
line, what did David Freeze do? He won the dang game on a
walk off home run, and theCardinals ended up prevailing in Game seven and
winning the World Series for the eleventhtime in franchise history. But then twenty
(11:01):
thirteen came, Freeze was traded tothe Angels, and he ended up retiring
after spending the twenty nineteen season withthe Dodgers. Rejecting Hall of Fame,
I just have to say, ifsomebody thinks enough of me to pick me
for the Hall of Fame, Iain't turning it. Down, I'm gonna
say thank you, and I'm gonnamove on speaking of baseball, because we've
(11:22):
talked about Rick Woodfield, Ronald Juniorjunior, and David Freese. Well,
college baseball is still going on inthe National Championship starts tonight in a rematch
of Florida's lone National Championship victory,the number two Gators Florida Gators will take
on the number five LSU Tigers inthe Championship of the Men's College World Series.
(11:45):
Florida was the first team to clinchtheir spot in the World Series.
It was Michael Robertson who made animpressive grab at the wall for the final
out, and it sealed the FloridaGators ticket to the College World Series Final.
In their three two victory over theTCU Horned Frogs O two pitch Taylor
polls it right center fields, Robertsins Back makes the Floridas send it to
(12:16):
the final. LSU's Tommy White hehit the game winning walk off home run
in the eleventh inning over Wake Forestis Elsie beat them two games in a
road to advance to the College WorldSeries Finals against the Florida Gators. Hey
home one did he get it?Did he get it? Yes? He
did it? Tommy takes looks itoff. Hey, The LSU Tigers will
(12:41):
face the Gators in the finals.That's right. Florida and LSU will play
tonight at seven pm Eastern Time,that's six pm Central Time, and a
best of three playoff series. Gametwo is set for Tomorrow, June twenty
fifth, at three pm Eastern Time, which is two pm Central Time,
and if they split those games andif necessary, game three would be Monday,
(13:01):
June twenty sixth at seven pm EasternTime six pm Central time. Each
game will be broadcast on the ESPNwhile Pressed by Virginia ORL robertson TCU.
Florida exit the bracket one of theWorld Series undefeated after defeating each program by
one run. They had to rallyin the nineteening to go past the Cavaliers
in Game one. Took four runsscored in the late thirteen at bat stretch
(13:22):
against ORL Roberts and then it wasthe ninth thing against TCU. But needless
to say, Florida's got the jobdone and their pitching has been wonderful.
LSU well. They advanced from Bracketttwo following two rematches will Wake Forrest.
They met in the first round andwake Forrest took it and then it was
Thursday's game necessary due to the doubleelimination structure, and that's when the LSU
(13:43):
Tigers walked it off in the eleventhinning. The twenty twenty three Men's National
Championship will mark Florida's fourth appearance inprogram history. The Gators long win twenty
seventeen. Who did they beat theLSU Tigers. Now learning gets opponent for
the national Championship game was not onlythe good news that Florida received this week.
On Thursday, Florida's day began witha transfer acquisition of Alabama and fielder
(14:07):
in twenty twenty two Freshmen All AmericanColby Shelton. He's a third base shortstop
prospect from Florida who hit twenty fivehome runs in twenty twenty two, which
was a single season record for AlabamaCrimson Tide. He entered the transfer portal
after they hired a new coach,Rob Vaughan, and he's now headed to
Florida. So we wished Colby Sheltonthe best as he heads to Florida.
(14:28):
And I think this is a trendguys that we're going to see for quite
a while. Players have really goodseasons at schools that are not the top
school, and they go and getthat inmail money at the top school.
So I think we're going to seethis a lot more now. I told
you guys that we were going totalk a lot of basketball, and the
first thing I want to talk aboutis college basketball. McNeese State head coach
(14:48):
Will Wade, who was the formercoach at LSU, has received a ten
game suspension. That's right. FormerLSU and current McNee State men's basketball coach
Will Wade was given a two yearshow cause order and a ten game suspension
for three Level one violations. Wadewas found to have made payments to the
former fiance of a player, whilealso failing to cooperate in an investigation and
(15:09):
failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance. LSU football was also hit with one
Level one violation for failing to monitora representative athletics interest, which resulted in
benefits being paid to the father ofa former player. The football program and
the basketball program each received a Leveltwo violation for failure to monitor. I
gotta tell you LSU has been inthe eyes of the media for a while
(15:31):
for these violations, people were callingfor Will Wade to be fired. He
was. Then, of course,everybody talked about the other allegations with the
football program, But obviously there's notgoing to be as impactful of a suspension
because Brian Kelly was not included inthat. But McNeese state. The biggest
one that takes the hit right hereis Will Wade again, who's suspended ten
(15:52):
games. In college basketball. JaredStevenson, who's a North Carolina Legacy player,
taught Crew number one power forward inthe class of twenty twenty four.
We had to make a decision thispast week on where he won to play
college basketball. Alabama's basketball future frontcourt added a significant piece by getting him.
That's right, the Crimson Tide landeda commitment from Jared Stevenson, who's
(16:15):
a six foot ten, two hundredand ten pound power forward from Pittsburgh,
North Carolina. He was a fivestar prospect, the number one power forward
in the twenty twenty fourth class.Alabama Coachnado's landed him over in state North
Carolina and nearby Virginia. He's goingto reclassify to the twenty twenty three class
and join Alabama immediately this summer inJuly. That will make him immediately available
(16:38):
to play this season. He bringsmuch added size to the front court that
Oates had the challenge of retooling onceCharles Bettiaco surprised the staff and decided to
stay in the NBA Draft. Stevensonjoins Nick Pringle on the front court.
North Dakota State big Grant Nelson,who's listed six foot eleven, two hundred
and thirty five pounds, is alsoexpected to commit to Alabama, but he
(17:02):
is not publicly announced anything yet.I believe he's trying to get some academic
stuff in order. Along with Stevenson, Pringle, and likely Nelson, Alabama
did add two freshmen who have length, Sam Walters six eight and Muhammad six
seven. Again, with the incorporationof Stevenson and likely Nelson, that will
leave one scholarship open for Natots.It's possible he decides to fill it,
(17:23):
but we've also seen him choose toleave it open in the past. The
NBA Draft is over. It tookplace Thursday night, and the first pick
in the NBA Draft was with thefirst pick in the two and twenty three
NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spursselect Victor wm Banyama, the non five
(17:45):
Priss. Victor Wimbanyama probably said thatwrong, but he was selected number one
overall by the San Antonio Spurs.It's official. He's joining Hall of Fame
head coach Gregg Popovich in the SanAntonio Spurs. He said, eleven foot
four, he's a French phenomen He'sthe best prospect to hit the NBA since
Lebron James. The Spurs have beenplanning on Wimbanyama's arrival since May sixteenth,
(18:11):
when it was revealed they would getthe first pick in the twenty twenty three
NBA Draft for the third time infranchise history. He was poised and joyous
all throughout the week, but afterhe was selected number one, it was
a slew of emotions that overcame Victor. He says, he can't really describe
it. It's still fresh. Oneof the best feelings of his life,
he says, probably the best nightof his life. That he's been dreaming
(18:33):
about this for so long, andit's incredible. Congratulations Victor, the last
number one picked the Spurs selected broughttremendous success and he'll look to do the
same because the last one was TimDuncan and we've seen how that played out,
and the first one was David Robinsonin nineteen eighty seven. All five
of the franchise's NBA championships were onewith either Robinson or Duncan, with the
(18:56):
duo winning two together. Both areHall of famers, and we're even a
part of the league's seventy fifth anniversaryteam. When Binyama is the first number
one picked to ever come out ofFrance, and he's the first European player
who didn't play NCUBA college basketball tobe selected first overall since two thousand and
six, when the Toronto Raptors pickedAndre Bargainani out of Italy. Probably said
(19:18):
that name wrong. Women Yama ledall players in the French LNB PROA league
in points, rebounds and blocks pergame. He was named MVP and his
team they were swept in the finals. They didn't win it, but they
were swept, so he made thefinals. Though he said he got the
call from the Spurs front office informinghim that he'd be selected number one,
it was very, very casual andhe's not intimidated. He says he's looking
(19:41):
forward to the breakfast tacos. Igotta tell you, Victor, I've never
had a San Antonio breakfast taco butit sounds really good and I know I'd
look forward to having one. Yeah. But congratulations again to Victor win Banyama
for going number one overall in theNBA draft to the San Antonio Spurs.
Now number two was the second pickin the twenty twenty three NBA Draft,
(20:03):
the Charlotte Hornets select Brandon Miller fromthe University of Alabama for only the fifth
time in school history, Alabama hasa top ten NBA draft pick. That's
right. Brandon Miller was picked numbertwo overall Thursday night by the Charlotte Hornets
to tie the highest draft selection inschool history. He joins Antonio mcdias,
(20:27):
the number two pick in the nineteenninety five draft, going to the Los
Angeles Clippers. Brandon Miller was thethird lottery pick of the Nate Oates era,
as he joined Kyra Loos and JoshPrimo. He was the number two
overall picked behind Victor weinbon Yama ofFrance, again, who we just talked
about. But the night wasn't over. We're gonna talk more about that in
(20:48):
a little bit about another album andplayer who was also drafted in the first
round. There was a lot ofbuzz would Charlotte take Scoot Henderson or would
they take Brandon Miller, And therewas late intrigue over who the Charlotte Hornets
would pick, but they ultimately choseBrandon Miller. Now, there was mixed
feelings from Charlotte Hornets fans who piledinside the arena to watch the draft party
(21:11):
as Psalm chaired and others boot.But I've got to tell you, as
they get to know Brandon Miller,I think they're gonna love the Antioch,
Tennessee prodigy who came to Alabama andbecame the best player in college basketball,
became one of the most explosive playersin basketball, and he is going to
have a great season. He's gonnabe paired next to LaMelo Ball, who
is the centerpiece of this Charlotte Hornet'steam. So congratulations to Alabama's Brendan Miller
(21:34):
on being picked number two in theNBA draft. And I gotta tell you,
I'm a big Alabama fan. Ijust want to hear that one more
time. Who was the number twopick in the NBA Draft. With the
second pick in the two twenty threeNBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select Brandon
Miller from the University of Alabama.It's gonna be hard to replace Brendon Miller
(21:57):
if you're the University of album butI'm sure Nado's has something of his sleeve.
We talked about another player who wasdrafted in the first round of the
NBA Draft who was an Alabama player, and we're going to talk about more
of that whenever we get back fromthe break. But before we go to
the break, I just want totalk a little bit about what we can
expect moving forward. Now that theNBA Draft is over, we're going to
(22:18):
get into that time a free agencythat's going to start June thirtieth. Of
course, you're going to see tradestart ramping up between teams. All talks
are centered around Portland Trailblazers Damian Lillard. Will he choose to stay in Portland
and try to win or is hegonna win out Because a lot of people
question do the Portland Trailblazers really wantto win a championship? Do they really
want to put Damian Lillard in aposition to win a championship or do they
(22:41):
want to rebuild. The pick ofScoot Henderson indicates that he's the future of
Portland and that maybe it is timeto move on from Damian Lillard. But
the question is and becomes who wouldtrade for Damian Lillard? Who would give
up assets for Damian Lillard? BecauseDamian Lillard is Lillard is one of the
best players in basketball, and ifyou're gonna trade for him, you're gonna
(23:03):
have to give up some valuable pieces. Now. Of course, he has
been linked to the Miami Heat,one of the first teams, and I
personally have never been a fan ofthe Miami Heat trading for him. It
would be a great move for them, but not for the Portland Trailblazers.
I just think that you really needsome big pieces coming back, and I
don't think the Miami Heat have that. You have Tyler Hero, but they've
(23:23):
said they don't really want to getrid of him, while others say they
do. I don't think they do. You're not gonna get rid of Bam,
You're not gonna get rid of Jimmy, You're gonna give what. You're
gonna get rid of Kyle Lowry,Duncan Robinson. I mean, who would
want those two players? I personallywouldn't. I'm not giving Damian Lillard up
for those and some draft picks.I mean I need Like we're gonna talk
(23:45):
more about the Chris Paul trade toWashington and then flipped a Golden State.
But what got the Phoenix Suns BradleyBill and eventually got the Washington Wizards.
Jordan pull Like, that's the typeof trade. If I'm Portland I'm looking
for. I'm looking for somebody thatcan be an impact player that is young.
Like I think about it like this, like you're gonna want like a
Now, the Houston Rockets are myfavorite team, so I'm using them as
(24:07):
an example. They would never tradefor him. But you need a player
like Jalen Greene coming back. Imean, you need somebody that's going to
be an impact player for the future. I mean you're gonna get what Duncan
Robinson and Kyle Rowery on expiring contractsand some draft picks that Miter might not
pan out and may or may notbe a good position depending on which team
(24:27):
does better. I just think DamianLillard has to get You have to get
something back that's valuable. That's justtoo good to not take. I just
don't know that anybody can offer thatto the Portland Trailblazers. And for those
reasons, if I was Portland,just like they sound, Shark Tank,
I would say I'm out, butnot my choice. Hey, we do
(24:48):
have to take a break for newsand weathers on news Radio one on one
nine, Big Whax. I'm yourhost name of Pitts, and you are
listening to the pit Stop. Welcomeback in from the break. You're listening
to the pit Stop on news Radioone nine, Big Wax. I'm your
(25:11):
host's name of Pitts. And beforethe break we were talking basketball. We're
going to continue. The NBA Draftis in the books and with the twenty
first pick of the NBA Draft,the Brooklyn Nets selected the first pick in
the twenty twenty three NBA Draft.The Brooklyn Nets select Noah Clowney from the
(25:32):
University of Alabama. That's right,Noah Clowney was drafted in the first round
of the NBA Draft, joining histeammate Brandon Miller as a first round pick.
The Brooklyn Nets that's where the draftwas held, selected Noah Clowney would
pick number twenty one. Again,this becomes the first Alabama duo taken in
the opening round since nineteen ninety five. Clowney and Miller of the six and
(25:56):
seventh Alabama players drafted since Colin Sextonwent eight overall in twenty eighteen. Before
that, the program had a teenyear drought for any draft pick with a
first round drift spelt, dating backto two thousand and one and Gerald Wallace.
Brendon Miller went to the Charlotte Horntswith pick number two. Noah Clowney
went to Brooklyn. The Nets pickednumber twenty one for Clowney. Guys,
(26:17):
he was not a well I guessyou could say guy, well known guy
coming out of high school. Hedidn't have a lot of people recruiting him.
He wasn't well known. But hisrise to first round status was somewhat
different than Brendan Miller's. You say, Noah Clowney was the ninety ninth best
recruit last year coming into college.He's from South Carolina and he didn't have
(26:38):
the height that Brendan Miller had.But it was that twenty two point night
on a December third win over SouthDakota State that people started realizing this guy
might be for real. Then hewent a little streaky, but had a
really good game against Arkansas before missinghis next twenty in the five game span
that followed. Clowney ended up finishinghis freshman year with nine point eight points
(26:59):
per game with seven point nine rebounds. His biggest performance sixteen point performance against
number one Houston on a day thatBrandon Miller went oh for eight. Alabama
would beat Houston on the road,who was the number one team at the
time, and what was a bigwin that propelled them to be the number
one seat in the NC Double ATournament. So congratulations to Noah Clowney on
joining Brandon Miller as a round onepick in the NBA draft. Cool story
(27:23):
about the NBA draft. There wastwo guys from Alabama who were drafted.
Former LEEH Huntsville standout Kobe Brown waschosen in the NBA Draft and Guys,
I gotta be honest with you,Kobe Brown was chosen a lot higher than
I expected him to be chosen.Like, I knew Kobe Brown was going
to be, you know, areally good player, but I didn't expect
him to go in the first round. He was projected as the forty fourth
(27:45):
best prospect in the draft, andhe ended up going pick number thirty.
After twenty one seasons leading the boysbasketball program at Lee High School in Huntsville,
Greg Brown is sending one of hisplayers into the NBA. His eldest
son, named after Los Angeles LakersHall of Fame Kobe Bryant. Kobe Brown
joined the Los Angeles Clippers as thethirtieth selection in the seventy seventh NBA Draft.
(28:07):
Kobe Brown shared his father as theyplayed together with the Generals. He
was the state's Class five A Playerof the Year as a junior, and
he was the six A All Stateselection as a senior. At six foot
seven and two hundred and fifty twopounds, Brown shares a phacique with Draymond
Greene and said he tries to playlike the Golden State Warriors All star.
He layed at Missouri for four seasons. He raised his scoring average annually.
(28:32):
He became better every single season,and he finished fifth in points, in
tenth and rebounds in the SEC lastseason as Missouri won an nc DOUBA A
tournament game for the first time sincetwo ten. Not only that, but
Brown was All SEC All academic asan All American, and as the final
pick in the opening round of thetwenty twenty three draft. Brown as the
twenty ninth player from Alabama High schoolselected in the first round of the NBA
(28:56):
Draft, although he's only the secondin the past thirteen years. And I
got to look at this list ofnotable people from Alabama who have been drafted.
We've seen Reggie King, who wasat Jackson Oland High School in Birmingham.
He went number eighteen from Alabama.He was drafted by the Kansas City
Kings back in nineteen seventy nine.Everybody knows Charles Barkley Leeds High School standout
(29:18):
number five overall from Auburn by thePhiladelphia seventy six Ers back in nineteen eighty
four. You have Gerald Wallace fromChildersburg High School who was number twenty five
from Alabama by the Sacramento Kings backin two thousand and one. Cool story
about Gerald Wallace. He actually wasan assistant coach in my county a few
years ago. DeMarcus Cousins from LafloraHigh School in Mobile. He went number
(29:40):
five from Kentucky by the Sacramento Kingsback in two thousand and ten Eric Bledsoe
from Parker High School in Birmingham,he went number eighteen from Kentucky by the
Oklahoma City Thunder in twenty ten.And the latest being Kira Lewis, junior
of Hazel Green High School, whowent number thirteen from Alabama by the New
Orleans Pelicans back in two thousand.In twenty and we actually seen him recovering
(30:02):
last year, played a little bitin Birmingham with the Squadrons. And it's
interesting because you have two Alabama guysand Herb Jones and Carl Lewis who are
now teammates in New Orleans. Coolstory. Another cool story is former Mountain
Brooks standout Colby Jones, who wasalso selected in the NBA draft. Colby
Jones joined Trennon Watford to help MountainBrook win its third consecutive ALBUMA High School
(30:26):
Athletic Association Class seven eight Boys Basketballchampionship in twenty nineteen. Well, this
past Thursday night, Colby Jones joinedTrennon Watford in the NBA. The Charlotte
Hornets selected Colby Jones with a thirtyfourth choice of the seventy seventh NBA Draft
in Brooklyn, New York. Itwas the fourth pick in the second round,
but ESPN reported that the Sacramento Kingshad executed a draft night trade with
(30:49):
Charlotte to obtain Jones. So he'sreally going to go to Sacramento Watford.
Well, He's spent the past twoseasons with the Portland Trail Blazers after a
good career at LSU and after apre draft workout for the Trailblazers, Jones
was asked about the skills he couldbring to a team. He would go
on to say that he's a connectoron offense, He's a hustler, high
motor, and he likes to makeplays and that it's going to translate.
(31:12):
Kobe Jones played college basketball at Xavierfor three seasons. The Musketeers posted two
victories in the twenty twenty three NCUBATournament after winning the twenty twenty two ni
Tournament. Jones earned the most outsendingplayer for his performances in Xaviers five victories
in the NIL Tournament. He's asix foot six guard average fifteen points,
(31:32):
five point seven rebounds, four assistsat one point three steals, and he
earned second team All Big East,which is a tough conference. So congratulations
to him. He comes from abasketball family, as father Chad Jones played
for UAB his brother c J.Jones played for Arkansas, a Middle Tennessee.
So we love when local guys goon to have great careers, and
(31:52):
I know that this will be nodifferent for Kolby Jones. So congratulations Kobe
Jones and Kobe Brown for one tothe NBA. Big news this week in
NBA sad news, but also atime to celebrate. Lou Williams, who's
a three time sixth Man of theYear, is retiring from the NBA.
I remember Lou Williams when he playedfor my Houston Rockets, but that wasn't
(32:15):
originally the team he played for.He was also known for making his mark
off the bench. He did thisover his seventeen years in the NBA.
Well, this past week, heannounced his retirement. He revealed this decision
in a YouTube video that his daughternarrated that covered his journey to the NBA
and his time in the league.He's thirty six years old. He won
six Man of the Year in twentyfifteen, twenty eighteen, and twenty nineteen.
(32:38):
That's tied with Jamal Crawford for themost in NBA history. He appeared
in over a thousand career games,only one hundred and twenty two starts,
but he scored an NBA record thirteenthousand, three hundred and ninety six points
off the bench, which is twothousand and one hundred and seventeen more than
Crawford. Williams averaged thirteen point ninepoints in three point four excuse me,
(33:00):
he averaged thirteen point nine points andthree point four assist per game while playing
for six teams. He started withthe Philadelphia seventy six ers, moved on
to the Atlanta Hawks, the TorontoRaptors, the Los Angeles Lakers. He
was then traded to my Houston Rockets, where he had an incredible run in
Houston off the bench, played withJames Harden and some of the other greatest
(33:22):
as they made the push for anNBA championship but fell short to the Golden
State Warriors, and then he wastraded to the LA Clippers. His final
game came back in twenty twenty two, back with the Hawks, and now
he is retiring. So congratulations toLou Williams. Three times six men in
the year. It's crazy to thinkhow long Lou has been in the league
(33:45):
like he got drafted back in twothousand and five. He was the forty
fifth pig. I was five yearsold. As the sixty players taking that
year, only Chris Paul scored morepoints in the NBA than Williams, who
went straight to the league out ofhigh school. He's gonna finish his career
top two hundred in points fifteen thousand, five hundred and ninety three. Lou
(34:06):
Williams, you deserve and applause,my friend, because you had a heck
of a career. And I gottatell you what, Lou, this is
for you. That's right. Comeon, keep them going, keep them
going. There we go, therewe go. But I'll tell you what
we don't like. Ro ro roro ro roo. Yep. Grizzlies.
(34:31):
John Morant, he's been in somelegal trouble, that's right. He suspended
twenty five games by the NBA,and it's because well, he didn't learn
his lesson. Needless to say,he did not learn his lesson. You
would think once did you hear athat would tell you that something's wrong.
Well, John Morant has been suspendedfor twenty five games because of conduct that
(34:55):
was well unnecessary. We talked aboutthis before. It's stoopid to carry a
gun around flashing it on social media. Well, John Morant learned his lesson,
I hope now because he's been suspendedafter a video circulated on May fourteenth
that was showing him brandishing a firearm. The NBA suspending Morant for eight games
(35:15):
following a similar incident back in March, when he was seen on Instagram live
holding up a handgun while intoxicated ata Denver area club. Why does handguns
intoxication and all this seemed to happenin Denver anyway, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
said John Morant's decision and once againwill to firearm on social media's alarming.
He says, it's not necessary,but John Morant continues to, for some
(35:39):
reason go around and post videos ofhim holding guns and whatnot. But you
know, for job, basketball isgoing to need to take a backseat at
this time. I mean, he'sgonna have to figure out how to get
his mental health in a better position. So Moran will be ineligible to participate
in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, and he was
(36:00):
due to make a round thirty threepoint five million this season, but now
he stands to lose about three hundredthousand per game, which is approximately seven
point five million dollars. So JohnMortt, because if you're dumb decisions to
flash a gun on social media,he's gonna lose seven million dollars. And
that's sad. Not for John Mortt. It's sad that he didn't learn his
(36:23):
lesson. And you know what,the Memphis Grizzlies, while they weren't that
good last season when John Moratt wassuspended, they went eleven and ten in
games that he didn't play. Theygot to figure out how to navigate the
first twenty five of this season withouthim. Now, they did make a
trade for Marcus Smart. We're gonnatalk a little bit more about that in
a bit. But John did takefull responsibility to this mistake, saying,
(36:46):
hey, I realized, I've heardthe ones that I've loved. I've realized
that I've made a mistake, andI'll be better when he plays guys,
when he does the right things,he's a great player. When the best
point guards in the league twenty sixpoint two points. Okay, he helped
them secure the number two seed inthe playoffs, they end up did get
upset by the Los Angeles Lakers,but it's because they ran their mouth too
(37:07):
much. But I gotta tell you, you gotta make smarter decisions. Drum
Rent, I hope you've learned yourlesson. All right, guys, we've
got some news. I tried.Somebody's at the door, and it's the
Washington Wizards seeking get trade with thePhoenix Suns. Well, that mission was
completed, but Washington Wizards rebuilt hasofficially begun. I gotta tell you,
(37:30):
the Washington Wizards have been a programI guess you should say franchise more so
that has had some big time playersJohn Wall, Bradley Bill, and they
just have not been able to reallywin. And I don't understand why Washington
didn't make this trade sooner, likea year or two ago when it was
(37:52):
linked in the off season. Butthe rebuild, I guess you can say,
has officially begun because Washington did tradeBradley Build to the Phoenix Suns.
It was finalized as past Thursday.Now they did get some big gassets in
exchange. The Suns are sending sixsecond round draft picks and four first round
picks swaps, so the Wizards aspart of the trade for Bill. The
(38:13):
first round pick swaps are in twentytwenty four, twenty twenty six, twenty
twenty eight, and twenty thirty.So here's the full breakdown of the move.
The Washington Wizards got second round picksin twenty twenty four, twenty twenty
five, twenty twenty six, twentytwenty seven, twenty twenty eight, and
twenty thirty. They got first roundpick swaps like we just talked about in
(38:34):
twenty twenty four, twenty twenty six, twenty twenty eight, and twenty thirty.
They got Landry Shammitt, They gotsome cash, and they got Chris
Paul, who was reportedly flipped toGolden State for Jordan pull. But first,
before we talk about that, let'stalk about Chris Paul. He found
out that he was traded while hewas on an airplane. That's right,
(38:55):
on an airplane. Chris Paul toldGood Morning America that he found out that
he was traded while on the planefor his interview with them. I was
surprised. What are your first thoughtson that? I was surprised too.
I found out on the plane yesterdayflying here for this. You know,
in this league, anything can happen, so you just figure out what's next.
(39:19):
I get you, Chris, butyou're one of the best point guards
ever. Like they couldn't have atleast told you, you know, face
to face before they made the trade. Like they could have not done it
by text. I mean, atleast called you on a cell phone,
like, hey, call you onmy cell phone. They couldn't even do
that. He has to figure outvia Twitter. It's a cruel world.
We live in Phoenix, Suns.They got Bradley Bill, Isaiah Todd,
(39:42):
and Jordan Goodwin. Bradley Bill spenteleven seasons in Washington, which found little
to no success, and you know, playing for a potential title contender,
that's gonna be a big step forBill. Chris Paul meanwhile, well he
got flipped and his been traded again, this time to a much more pleasant
(40:04):
destination, Golden State. That's right, Chris Paul's pursuit of an NBA championship,
which he has not accomplished yet,is taking him to the Golden State
Warriors after a trade was agreed tosend him to Golden State, and it
would send Jordan pull to the WashingtonWizards. The trade also includes a package
of draft capital and a lot moreso. Chris, Paul, what was
(40:25):
that again? You found out?How I was surprised. What are your
first thoughts on that? I wassurprised too. I found out on the
plane yesterday flying here for this.You know, in this league, anything
can happen. So you just figureout what's next. Guess what, Chris,
I know what's next. A chanceto win an NBA championship next to
(40:46):
Steph Curry, the greatest shooter ofall time, and Clay Thompson. Paul
says that he's excited about going toGolden State. He's on a book tour
currently, but he says he's reallyexcited. He says he's already talked to
Steph Curry and it was good.The Wizards agreed again to send him from
Phoenix that's where he was, toWashington, That's where he was for a
(41:08):
few seconds, and now to GoldenState. Paul had two of his title
Hope seasons thwarted by the Warriors,the team he now joins. And I
told you as a Houston Rockets fan, it was the od for twenty seven
from the three point line. Itwas the miss injuries and the Houston Rockets
had a three two series lead overthe Warriors in the Western Conference Finals,
(41:29):
but then Chris Paul got hurt andhe missed the final two games, and
Golden State prevailed on the way toanother NBA championship. Now, trades happened
all across the league, and thatcontinued for not just the Wizards and all
of them, but the Celtics andthe Grizzlies and the Wizards. The Washington
Wizards not only sent Bradley Bill toPhoenix, not only sent Chris Paul to
(41:53):
Golden State, but they sent ChrisStops Prosingis to Boston. The Washington Wizards
kept chugging along as another key playeris on his way out. Yep,
Chris Stops Prezingis. He was dealtto the Boston Celtics on a three team
deal. Prezingis did agree to optinto his deal before being dealt to Boston.
(42:15):
As part of the deal, theWashington Wizards would receive Thias Jones from
the Memphis Grizzlies, Gallinari and MikeMascala from the Celtics. The Grizzlies,
who I think we're a winner inthis case, I actually would receive Marcus
Smart from the Celtics while sending theirtwenty fifth pick in this year's draft that
just finished in a twenty twenty fourthfirst round pick via Golden State to the
(42:35):
Celtics. So here's how this allgoes down. Three team trade. Chris
stops prezingis who was with the Wizardsis now with the Celtics. What was
the number twenty five pick ended upbeing with the Celtics. Twenty twenty fourth
first round pick protected goes to theCeltics. The Grizzlies get Marcus Smart via
Boston, and the Wizards get TiasJones via Memphis, Gallinari via Boston,
(43:00):
and Mike Muscala via Boston. Theyalso received the number thirty five pick in
this year's draft that just finished viaBoston. So to close the show out,
I want to talk about now thatthe draft is over, we're gonna
start seeing trade ramp up. We'regonna start seeing free agency ramp up as
teams are trying to get big timeplayers to come play for their franchise.
(43:22):
All eyes are on James Harden.Now that the draft is over, free
agency is gonna kick up on Junethirty. So we love to talk about
rumors that start ramping up like wherethe top players gonna land. Now.
I'm a big James Harden fan,have been. He's the first player I
fell in love with when he wasat Arizona State. Then he played for
(43:43):
the Houston Rockets. Now I takethat back. I was a Carmelo Anthony
fan when I was a kid whenhe played for the Denver Nuggets. But
like true fan that actually watched theguy like every night. That was me
with James Harden. Now, assuminghe opts out of the final year of
his contract, which is expected,ten time All Star guard, James will
arguably be the crown jewel free agency, but he will be far from alone
(44:05):
because you've got Fred Van Vleet,Kyrie Irving, Draymond Greene, Chris Middleton,
Brook Lopez, and Kyle Kuzma,which are just a few of the
other big time names that are expectedto be available as free agency draws closer.
I want to look at again someof these trades and free agent acquisations
that could happen. Now there isa growing sense that James Harden could return
(44:28):
to the seventy six ers. Youknow, it's not often that a three
well's see what is he threetimes scoring champion former NBA MVP becomes available
in free agency. But here weare, for the second straight offseason,
James Harden could hit the open market. Now, this guy took a discount
for Philly. He took two yearssixty eight million to remain with him last
(44:51):
offseason, with the second year beinga player option because he wanted to win
a championship. Now, if I'mJames Harden, I took a discount for
you last year, you better payme this year. And even if Harden
intends on resigning with the seventy sixers, it would behoove him to not
opt out and test the market.Although opting in it is a possibility,
I just don't see that happening.Speaking Monday on The Low Post podcast,
(45:16):
Zach Lowe said, I bet ifyou pull fifty front office executives, the
majority of them with guests, he'sgoing back to Philly. Well, I
gotta tell you what, I disagree. Oh, there was a lot of
rumors that he's expected back in Houston. Well, I gotta tell you.
If Harden stays with the Sixers,he will get to continue to play alongside
the reigning NBA NBA MVP and Joelembiide indifferent, but Philly also likely presents
(45:42):
him with the best opportunity to wina championship, which is thirty three.
I'm gonna tell you this, Idon't think he's gonna play for Philly next
year. But I don't think he'sgonna play with Houston either. They just
drafted Aman Thompson, They've got JalenGreen, Kevin Porter junior. Unless they're
gonna trade some of those guys awayfor another big player like Jaylen Brown.
(46:04):
I don't see James Harden coming toHouston. I say he goes somewhere other
than Philly. I think things getinteresting. Kyle Kuzma, Well they say
him returning to Washington the Wizards isa possibility. Well, I don't not
after all them trades. Yeah,he had a career year last year,
he really did. And he's inline to earn some cash. And they
report that he declined his thirteen milliondollars option, which is a little surprise.
(46:29):
And you know, I gotta tellyou, the jury is still out
on what's going to happen with him, but I think the trades have made
it pretty clear that he's gonna besomewhere else. You know, he isn't
likely to win much the next fewyears if he resigns with Washington. But
I mean, I guess he couldbe the face of the team. I
guess he could have a chance toput up All Star caliber numbers. But
(46:51):
you gotta think this is a guythat's already won a championship he won with
the Lakers, so like it wouldbehoove him to build up his credibility and
not go pursue another championship like he'salready won one. So I guess I
see where he's chasing money now,and I just think he could get more
money elsewhere. My prediction, KyleKuzma he signed somewhere else. I don't
(47:15):
think he signs with the Washington Wizardsagain, especially not after the trades they
have made. Well my Houston Rocketsor among the teams in on Fred van
Vleet now, given the fact thathe's won an NBA championship, earned an
All Star selection, and established himselfas one of the NBA's grittiest players,
Van Vleet could potentially be the mosthighly sought after player in free agency this
(47:37):
offseason. Now he's twenty nine yearsold, he's spent his entire seven year
NBA career with the Toronto Raptors.He went undrafted and he became a key
cog in a championship team. He'stwo seasons removed from his first and only
Our All Star nod and he hada good year that year, by the
way, twenty points, which wasvery productive. But a lot of people
(47:59):
are mentioning the Houston Rockets is thefront runner to sign him. Other teams
that are included are the Los AngelesLakers, the Phoenix Suns, in Orlando
Magic. During an appearance on theHoops Hype podcast, Kelly Iko of The
Athletic, who is a big HoustonRockets guy, says he believes the Rockets
are targeting VanVleet, doing parts tothe fact that new head coach convects him.
(48:20):
The Rockets figure to have significant competition, but one thing that does work
in their favor is that they areonly one of a few teams with salary
cap space. I will say thatabout the Rockets. If they want somebody
this year veteran, they got themoney, like they got over forty seven
million dollars in cap space. Thenext closest team is the Pacers at twelve
and if new coach really wants VanVleetbadly, the Rockets have the money to
(48:43):
outbid everyone, unless the Raptors tryto bring him back. Houston presents an
intriguing situation since it has a coachwho reached the NBA Finals in his only
season as an NBA head coach.They've got young talent Jalen Green, Jabari
Smith, Kevin Porter Jr. Justgot Almond Thompson. My prediction is that
Van Vleet does not sign with theHouston Rockets. As a Houston Rockets fan,
(49:05):
again, I don't see us doinga lot this year when it comes
to signing a veteran. I hopeI'm wrong. I see us taking the
young talent and seeing how we cando under new head coach. I mean
Udaka probably said that name all wrong. I'm from the South. I apologize.
Draymond Greene. I think he endsup with Miami Heat. I think
Chris middlesh stays in Milwaukee. Ithink Brook Lopez stays in Milwaukee. I
(49:30):
think Kyrie Irving stays in Dallas.And I think Kyle Kuzma is on the
move to where that's to be determined. But I don't think he's gonna stay
in Washington a lot of basketball.Next week we'll talk about who won the
Ncuba Baseball World Series and a lotmore of Braves baseball. Thank you for
listening to the pit Stop on NewsRadioone on one nine Big Wax
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com