February 10, 2024 • 42 mins
Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison and Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers are the exclusive guests on a special edition of The Saturday Stein Line devoted to extensive coverage of the NBA Trade Deadline
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Kg L FM, Dallas Fort Worth, the official home of the Dallas Mavericks.
This is durkn Wwitzky and you're listeningto ninety seven to one The Freak.
Welcome to the Saturday Steinline with MarkStein, presented by Panini Trading Cards
and Collectibles. On ninety seven toone The Freak, the official homes all
(00:24):
Dallas Mavericks games, hosted by legendaryNBA reporter and publisher of his substack,
the Steinline. Here's Mark Stein.Everyone welcome in the Saturday Steinline, presented
(00:45):
by Panini Trading Cards and Collectibles.After what I would say unequivocally is a
pretty wild closing kick to NBA Tradeseason, No, we did not see
a superstar or even an all starlevel talent move before the nd season buzzer
(01:11):
that sounded Thursday at two pm localtime. But seriously, I'm gonna go
on a bit of a rant herebecause this has bothered me over the last
twenty four forty eight seventy two hours. We saw fourteen trades this week.
When all the moves were added upand some deals were combined into multi team
deals, we saw twelve trades.On deadline day. We saw the Knicks
(01:36):
acquire two really good players, BoyonBogdanovic and Alec Burks. We saw Philly
bring in Buddy Heald to try tohelp the Sixers get through the presumed six
to eight week absence that they facedwith Joel Embiid brought in Buddy heel to
try to help the offense survive that. We saw Patrick Beverly break the news
(01:57):
of his own trade to Milwaukee.That doesn't help happen so often. We
saw Oklahoma City take its usual stealthyswing and acquire Gordon Hayward and his thirty
one point five million expiring contract withliterally no advanced warning of such a move.
(02:22):
And of course we saw the Mavericksof Dallas. Look, I can't
sit here and tell you that Ithink they had the best trade deadline,
but the boldest am I allowed tosay ballsyest on the radio. I hope
so because I just did the mostopinion generating trade deadline. For sure,
(02:47):
it emanates from Dallas, the Mavericksof Dallas. And look, I keep
hearing people say a relatively quiet tradedeadline. My good friend Bill Simmons has
thrown out the word dud to describethe action we saw this week, and
I'm like, are you serious,Like we can't just have infinite trades all
(03:14):
the time. But this season.There were six trades in the NBA during
the season before this week, andthose trades included James Harden to the Clippers
on Halloween, og Ananobi to theKnicks, Pascal Siakam to the Pacers,
Siakam Harden. These are former AllStars, if not current All Stars.
(03:38):
Terry Roseier to the Heat right beforethe season, Damian Lillard gets traded from
Portland to Milwaukee. Drew Holliday isa centerpiece of that trade, and Portland
turns right around in trade Drew Hollidayto Boston. All of that happened as
(03:59):
a precurb search to this week.And I did think Thursday was action filled
and surprising. This wasn't just seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth men getting
moved around for salary cap purposes.So if fans of the transaction game came
away from the past four, five, six months feeling like they didn't get
(04:25):
enough, I don't know that theywill ever be satisfied. All right,
ran over, let's laser in onthe Mavericks because again they were super active.
We're gonna be talking about them forthe next hour, about the moves
we've seen this week, and it'sreally the next two hours because the MAVs
(04:46):
have an early tip off this afternoontwo PM at the AAC playing host to
Oklahoma City. So here at theFreak, we've arranged for two straight hours
of build up to that game.The Saturday Steinline will roll on through one
pm as usual, Kevin Gray andthe MAVs pregame show has been expanded to
(05:08):
a full hour from one to two. I'm gonna stick around for the beginning
of that. You'll hear from ChuckCooperstein as well as Kevin Gray. He
takes you from one to two untiltip off. MAVs GM Nico Harrison he
is scheduled to join us here joinme here at roughly twelve twenty five to
(05:31):
talk about the Mavericks business this week. And I have to say, the
MAVs have the whole league talking withwhat they did because Nico Harrison has undeniably
upgraded the roster. We've been tellingyou on this show for weeks now.
I've written it on my substack forweeks now. How many times do we
(06:00):
say it? The Mavericks want.The Mavericks wanted a four man You were
advised many many times. Kyle Kuzmaand PJ. Washington were the primary targets.
They were the two guys at thetop of the list. The Mavericks
tried very hard to get Kyle Kuzma. They ultimately could not convince Washington to
(06:23):
part with Kuzma. And I asI found out Wednesday night and reported it
Wednesday night, and I want tounderline it again because I don't know that
it got as much notice as itshould have. A key factor here is
that Kyle Kuzma urged the Wizards notto trade him. He wanted to stay
in DC. I think Kuzma isvery aware he has a contract that a
(06:46):
lot of teams like, and itmakes him a player that Washington is going
to keep getting calls on at thedraft into the offseason if the Wizards keep
him again. But as I understandit, Kyle Kuzma went to the Wizards
and urged them to let him finishout the season to stay there, and
that was a factor in this.That was part of this. The Wizards
(07:09):
also had a very high price tag. They wanted at least two first round
picks. The Mavericks did not havetwo first round picks to furnish them.
You saw what Dallas had to doto get a second first round pick to
be able to acquire Daniel Gafford.But all those talks with Washington about Kuzma
set the Mavericks up well to beable to pivot and go get Daniel Gafford.
(07:33):
Daniel Gafford is a player along withDenny Avdia. You're gonna see those
guys here Monday when the Wizards arehere. The Mavericks have been inquiring about
these players well before this deadline andbefore this season, and so the Mavericks
are able to get Gafford. Andwhen the Kuzma stuff went away, they
(07:54):
lasered in focused on PJ. Washingtonand got him from Charlotte as well.
However, the price was steep,the outlay is risky. These moves have
to click now for the Dallas Mavericksbecause both of these trades required some big
(08:15):
league quality draft capital. Remember again, the Mavericks entered this trade line trade
deadline with only one first round pickthat they could legally trade a first rounder
in twenty twenty seven. That picknow only top two protected. That's about
as lightly protected as a pick canbe. Twenty twenty seven just went out
(08:39):
the door to Charlotte along with GrantWilliams and Seth Curry to secure a trade
for PJ. Washington. The MAVsalso had to manufacture that first rounder to
get gaffered, and the way theyfound the pathway to do that was a
(09:01):
twenty twenty eight pick swap with OklahomaCity Thunder send a late first in this
June draft to Dallas. Dallas routesthat late first to Washington along with Rashaun
Holmes to get Gafford. So thatmeans in twenty twenty eight, if Dallas's
(09:22):
pick is way better than Oklahoma City'sin the first round, the Thunder will
snatch it away and Dallas will pickwhere Oklahoma City lands in the first round
in twenty twenty eight. So rememberagain, the Mavericks still have to convey
one more first round pick to NewYork to finally complete the obligations that the
(09:43):
Mavericks face on the original Christops Porzingisdeal. In February twenty nineteen, their
twenty twenty seven first rounder now belongsto the Charlotte Hornets. Their twenty twenty
eight first is going to have tobe swapped with Oklahoma City. Their twenty
twenty nine first, fully unprotected,belongs to Brooklyn as part of the Kyrie
(10:09):
Irving deal. Their first round pickin twenty thirty is controlled by san Antonio.
The Mavericks had to do a swapdeal with san Antonio in the summer
to create the needed cap space tobring in Grant Williams, the same Grant
Williams who the Mavericks. Let's faceit, no sugarcoating this. They were
(10:31):
desperate to ship Grant Williams out thisweek and replace him with PJ. Washington.
The Grant Williams experiment did not work. It more than did not work.
So guys, everybody listen. Risksabound here. I was on Benin's
skin earlier this week, the worldfamous Ben and Skin show. Ben Rodgers
(10:52):
asked me Wednesday, even the tradedeadline, Stein, how much pressure are
the Mavericks feeling to do something,something significant to show Luka Doncic how serious
they are about winning. A yearago, I would say Dallas was literally
dripping with desperation because Jalen Brunson hadleft them in free agency, went to
(11:15):
New York and became a legit star. Jalen Brunson was snubbed from the East
All Stars last year. He's anEast All Star now and he should be
a starter. And so in Julyof twenty two, the Mavericks did not
have interest in Kyrie Irving. ByFebruary of twenty three, the Mavericks were
trading an unprotected first and two secondsand Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney Smith to
(11:41):
get Kyrie Irving. Fast forward toFebruary twenty twenty four. I don't think
the Mavericks were as desperate as wesaw them a year ago. But if
you are a Seinfeld fan and youare familiar with the Kenny Rodgers Roasters episode
ode, as Jerry Seinfeld said inthat episode, the difference was negligible,
(12:05):
negligible. The Mavericks were pretty desperatehere, and they they gave up a
lot to make these moves. Solook, when I was on Ben and
Skin, I also said, noteam in the West wants to see the
(12:26):
Mavericks in the playoffs because of Kyrieand Luca, and a lot of that
is Luca. They are a nightmareto deal with for a defense. When
they're at full throttle. But thereality is, as much as I believed
that statement when I made it toBen and Skin when the Mavericks went to
(12:52):
bed Wednesday night, that's all theywere. They were a puncher's chance team,
a team that you don't want tosee in the first round. But
that ain't good enough in year sixof Luka Dancic, and that's why you
saw the moves that you saw thisweek. There have been missteps along the
(13:15):
way. Brunson's departure is the obviousone. There have been significant prices paid
to try to undo the errors ofthe Porzingis deal, which was done by
the previous regime. Now, afterall that cold hearted reality talk, you
(13:39):
do have to say, this rosterlooks much more well rounded than it did
just seventy two hours ago. IfI'm gonna be as candid as I can,
I would have preferred Kuzma to PJ. Washington. But Kuzma simply wasn't
available to the Mavericks now and theyneeded to act right now and they knew
(14:03):
it. My concerns with PJ.Washington has not been a robust rebounder in
the NBA, has not been aplus defender to this point in his career,
and he's another player who's basically thesame size as Luca, the former
(14:26):
Frisco lone Star high Star has muchto prove here and let's see if he
can. Let's see if he canhush the naysayers. The good news for
him, Luka Doncic is a ceilingrazor unlike any other in this league.
And you have to think we aregonna see PJ. Washington and Daniel Gafford
(14:48):
play at a level that we've neverseen before from either guy. And they
both had their moments. They areboth now freshly liberated from NBA bottom feeders
in Charlotte and Washington, they shouldbe better than ever. Nico Harrison,
who is soon to join us hereon the Freak, he spoke at a
(15:11):
press conference earlier this morning and heeven challenged PJ Washington to be an impact
player on the defensive end, because, okay, PJ. Washington is only
six to seven, but he doeshave a considerable wingspan, He has the
ability his three point shot this seasonthirty two ish, thirty three, thirty
(15:33):
three ish percent. That's got tocome up. But you have to think
PJ. Washington is gonna get thebest looks he's ever gotten once he starts
playing for his hometown. Maps andPJ spoke about how he lived in this
area from the first grade through thetenth grade, and he is beyond sight,
(15:54):
beyond pumped to come home and getthis opportunity. Spencer Dinwittie is not
coming to Dallas via the buy outmarket. He chose to sign with the
Laker. Spencer Dinwittie clears Waivers today. We will talk more about that as
the show goes on. But theMavericks are hoping Washington gafford infusion of youth
(16:18):
size athleticism, the addition by subtractionof moving off Grant Williams, who was
not working here and he was frustratingsome key stakeholders in the organization with his
play let's call it a noisy approachto the job. Can all of that
vault the MAVs into the West topsix to stay? More importantly, can
(16:45):
all that convince Luka Doncic that thiscast around him has the ability the potential
to help him get where he wantsto go? Is obviously championship contention.
The rest of this Mavericks season.It starts with this matinee tip off against
(17:07):
the Wizards in about an hour anda half early tip off because the Harlem
Globetrotters, the legendary Harlem Globetrotters areat the AAC tonight, by the way,
But what happens from here so muchmore interesting. Must see Lots more
(17:30):
discussion about the Mavericks and their tradebusiness to come. As stated after the
break, MAVs GM Nico Harrison doto join us here Trader Nico for the
third deadline in a row. Sincehe took the job, he has made
significant moves, moves with an s. This time Nico Harrison joins me next
(17:56):
to talk about the three trades hemade Thursday Day with us here for Nico's
visit, his maiden visit to theSaturday Steinline. Next only on ninety seven
to one the Freak. This isthe Saturday Steinline with Mark Stein, presented
by Panini Trading Cards and Collectibles onyour official home to all Dallas Mavericks Gags
(18:18):
the Freak. Thanks everyone for rollingwith us as the Saturday Steinline dribbles on,
presented as always by Panini Trading Cardsand Collectibles. I think we have
him now we are connecting. We'regonna go right to the guest line because
(18:40):
we have quite the newsmaker on theline with us, Nico Harrison, general
manager of the Mavericks, joining usnow here on ninety seven to one.
The freak mister Harrison trader, Nico, your third trade deadline in the books.
(19:00):
You traded Christops Porzingis to Washington atyour first deadline, you traded for
Kyrie Irving at your second deadline,and now three moves really yesterday because the
trade with Oklahoma City was a separatemove to get that first round pick.
(19:21):
Now that you've had forty eight hoursto kind of digest it all, walk
us through what you were hoping todo, and just how you feel about
the MAVs business this week. Thisweek? Yeah, hey, hey,
how you doing Stein, Thanks thanksfor inviting me on the line. Yeah,
we really really felt like we accomplishedall our goals coming into the week.
(19:42):
You know, you never know ifyou're able to accomplish it. You
know what you want to do,but you have to have somebody willing to
participate, and so we felt wefeel really good about it. One thing
I want to spend a little timeaddressing is Grant Williams is getting a little
bit of negative publicity, and Ithink it's kind of unfair. Uh.
(20:03):
So I want to spend a littletime. You know, Grant Grant one
is an amazing human being, agood dude. Uh. You know,
we targeted him and free agency.We know who he is. We knew
who he was. Uh and GrantGrant didn't play up to the expectations that
he wanted to or we did.But but he's a good person, like
(20:25):
he's he's a he's a good,good dude. So there's no way we
would just get off of Grant fromnothing. But when you have opportunity to
upgrade your roster, you got togive something to get something, and and
that's what we were able to do. But I just think it's important to
know that Grant doesn't deserve the negativitythat he's kind of been getting on social
(20:45):
media. He was he was sucha good person, spent a lot of
time in the community and and hewas he was a good teammate. The
floor is yours, sir, SoI'm glad you Uh, I'm glad you
addressed that. I think we allknew the MAVs were going to be active,
but kind of the rumbles the signalslate Wednesday night was that it wasn't
(21:06):
going to be easy. When youwoke up Thursday morning, how confident were
you that you were going to beable to make the moves that ended up
happening. Well, I didn't wakeup. I didn't sleep. Yeah,
I heard you guys had quite thewar room set up in New York,
So I guess you guys just livedit, lived it, lived at your
makeshift trade headquarters. Yeah, no, we didn't. We didn't sleep at
(21:27):
all because you know, you're cominginto the last day of the trade deadline
and you haven't accomplished your goals yet. So you know, we were we
were We weren't sure if we weregoing to be able to accomplish it,
So we didn't sleep, but wekept grinding, we kept calling, we
kept you know, working it andworking it. And then next time,
you know, we were able toget both uh PJ. Washington and Daniel
(21:51):
Gafford, and both of them solvedthe problems that we wanted to solve.
We got bigger, we created alot more depth, which we needed on
the front line, and then wegot more scoring on the front line,
which was which much needed. MavericksGM, Nico Harrison joining us here on
the Saturday Steinline on ninety seven toone. The freak. The cost,
(22:12):
of course, to make moves likethis, it is significant. How do
you feel going forward with just theway the roster is shaping up? And
maybe like, how much are youlooking forward to a deadline that you don't
have to make such a drastic movebecause now you are you're three for three.
(22:33):
Yeah. I think in an idealsituation, you come into the deadline,
you're playing the way you anticipated playing, and you're rolling, and you
you know, you can look forthings on the fringes. You don't really
have to be as aggressive, butyou know, at the end of the
day, the job is to getthe roster better. And when you're not
playing up to the expectations that youhad coming into the season, then you
(22:56):
have to you have to make thosetypes of changes and moves. I'm sure
you saw footage of Spencer Dinwittie sittingwith your Lakers counterpart Rob Polinki yesterday.
Obviously we've gotten word that Spencer isgoing to sign with the Lakers when he
clears waivers. How likely is itthat the MAVs might be able to turn
their attention and focus to someone elseon the buyout market. We're still talking
(23:22):
about it. We like our teamas it is. We're not we don't
feel pressure to have to add anotherroster spot. If somebody comes along and
we think can add add in tous and make us better, we'll do
it. If not, we're notgoing to do something just for the sake
of doing it. Like we reallylike our roster couple more here our last
few moments with MAVs GM Nico Harrison. So we're a year removed from the
(23:48):
Kyrie Irving trade. We just sawLuca and Kyrie reunited again after Kyrie's thumbspring,
just went three and her on anEastern conference trip. But it's like
wise true that you know they've onlybeen in uniform basically half together as a
duo, half the time since thetrade was made. When you reflect on
the Kyrie deal one year later,how do you assess it? One.
(24:15):
I think it was the right move. We believe in Kyrie. It's been
unfortunate that he's had you know,some some you know, little nagging injuries,
but when they've played together, you'veseen what those two can do together
when you have that that dynamic ofa of a backcourt it. You know,
(24:36):
we have a chance not in andnot out for every game. As
we said right off the top,this was your third deadline, but it
was the first with Mark Cuban asthe alternate governor. Patrick Dumont is now
the new owner in charge. Howdid that make this deadline different in any
way? Good question. I gottwo bosses. Now, now you know
(25:04):
what the good thing is? Youknow, throughout every trade deadline, like
we're so prepared and we're so doubtinto what we want to do, Like
we're not throwing grenades over the fence, and like we're very detailed. So
I'm able to walk everybody through theplan. You don't know what the who
the player is going to be,but you know what the plan is,
and you know the group of playersthat that we're trying to target. So
(25:27):
because we're so we're so disciplined,and we're so we planned so so far
in the future, like we knowwhat we want to accomplish. So I
think that I think that it justdoesn't change it at all. Well,
look, you guys, as Isaid in our first make you guys have
the whole league talking. I thinkthe MAVs were as aggressive as anyone in
(25:48):
the league with the moves that weremade, and now we will see how
it unfolds on the floor. Congratson a very productive week. Thank you.
I appreciate it all right, everyonethere, he goes MAVs GM Nico
Harrison joining us here for less thanninety minutes away from tip off. I
(26:10):
told you we have a massive jampacked two hours of build up to tip
off for this game against the Thunderat two pm. Kevin Gray is already
in studio with me, getting ready, getting prepared for the hour long pregame
show, and we were really excitedto be able to have Nico Harrison join
(26:33):
us live here to talk about everythingthat just went down. We've still got
a full segment of the Saturday steinlineto go, as I said, an
hour long pregame with Kevin Gray atthe controls, and I'll stay with him
for some of that to keep thediscussion going about the Mavericks trade deadline.
(26:53):
And remember everyone, as always,you can get to us via text two
to one four or seven eight sevenone nine seven one or eight one seven
seven eight seven one nine seven one. Text me your thoughts, text me
your questions. If you got goodstuff, it might get on the air,
(27:14):
and if you want to hear yourvoice on this show, remember ninety
seven to one the Freak. Ifyou've got the iHeartRadio app, there's a
microphone icon very visible on the app. Click that you can leave me a
thirty second message. You can aska question that we might answer on this
show. All those routes available toyou to get directly in touch with us.
(27:42):
Lots more of the Saturday Steinline tocome, and lots more NBA talk
on the way to set you upfor MAVs Thunder at two pm. Don't
go anywhere. This is durk Lwitzkyand you're listening to the Saturday Steinline with
my guys Steiny. You know ninetyseven won the Freak. Thanks for sticking
(28:02):
with us on the Saturday Steinline,presented by my dear friends from Panini Trading
Cards and Collectibles. Cannot wait tohook up with the whole Panini squad this
coming week in Indianapolis All Star Weekend. I still haven't figured out exactly how
(28:23):
I'm going to assemble next Saturday showbecause I'm going to be in Indie for
All Star Weekend. Luka Doncic ofcourse, representing the Dallas Mavericks. Derek
Lively, of course, representing theDallas Mavericks. Lively still not able to
play because of the broken nose thatrequired surgery. To my I mean,
(28:47):
I don't have this on I probablyshouldn't even be saying this because I'm somewhat
out of school here. I havenot one bazillion percent confirmed this, but
I would have to think that DerekLively, even if for some reason he
was unable to play in the PaniniNext Gen Stars game on Friday Night,
I have to think he will stillbe part of All Star festivities because it's
(29:08):
a big deal for a rookie tobe able to be there and soak up
that whole All Star atmosphere. OfCourse, the way they do the Friday
Night extravaganza at All Star now tenor eleven rookies, ten or eleven second
(29:29):
year guys, six or seven guysfrom the G League, twenty eight players
total. They divide it up intofour teams of seven. Again, I
don't know. I do not haveit confirmed if Derek Lively would be able
to play in that, but hopefullyfor him, he at least gets to
be in Indianapolis and partake in allthe festivities, and like I said,
I will be there and I knowPanini will have a huge presence, so
(29:53):
I will hopefully that means a surpriseor two that will have a good impact
on this show. Greatly appreciate youguys sticking with us. We I mean,
look, it's We've even had newstoday the Oklahoma City Thunder. There
was so much anticipation about what OklahomaCity might do. Would they add size
(30:17):
because size is something they they likeDallas needed. The Thunder make a trade
for Gordon Hayward. Hayward's still workinghis way through injury. Gordon Hayward's not
going to play until after the AllStar break, but a nice pickup by
the Thunder within the last hour.They've signed Bismack Biambo to a rest of
(30:37):
the season deal. Smart move bythe Thunder Byambo had some very nice moments
this season in Memphis, and youknow he is a quality backup center,
so the Thunder. You know,obviously there's a ton of focus locally on
what the Mavericks are doing. Ithink nationally, the Knicks were the big
headliners this week because they were ableto get Bojan Bogdanovian and Alec Burks without
(31:02):
surrendering a first round pick. ButOklahoma City very quietly had quite a week
in terms of the buyout market.The big news this morning, Spencer Dinwittie
has committed to sign with the Lakerswhen he clears waivers later today. He
did not call me to ask foradvice. I think that was not the
(31:26):
wisest choice that he could have made, because I think Spencer Dinwittie played the
best basketball of his life in Dallas, and he already knows he can play
well playing off Luka Doncic, andthe Mavericks wanted him, and Spencer Dinwittie
has taken some hits this season aftera very uneven season in Brooklyn. To
(31:49):
put it charitably, if you're SpencerDinwittie and you're entering free agency this summer,
from my perspective, I think comingback to Dallas where you already know,
oh, you can flourish in athird guard role, I think that
would have been good for him ashe seeks to build his value back up
before going into free agency this summer. But obviously, Spencer Dinwitty look,
(32:14):
he's a Southern California native. Heplayed his high school ball in the Valley
in La and the chance to gohome and sign with the Lakers. The
Lakers, frankly much more desperate thanDallas at this point. Because the Lakers
did not make any moves at thetrade deadline, the Lakers had to hit
(32:34):
in the buy out market. Sothe Lakers have won the Spencer Dinwitty sweepstakes.
Is Dallas going to pivot now andsign another guard? I know there
have been some questions about Marcus Morris. When I checked earlier today, the
word that was whispered to me wasthe Mavericks will not rush into this.
I think when you heard Nico Harrisonin the last segment that he backed that
(32:58):
up. The Mavericks don't feel likethey absolutely have to make a move in
the buyout market, but they willkeep their eyes open. And you know
players are being waived. It's beenhappening since the deadline Thursday Friday today.
The buy out market is still kindof populating at this point, so all
(33:20):
the options aren't necessarily known yet.I think Kyle Lowry, Look, Kyle
Lowry has not yet secured his buyoutfrom Charlotte, but that's expected, and
the league wide expectation is that KyleLowry is going to end up in Philly.
It's a big reason why Philly waswilling to trade Patrick Beverley to the
Bucks in one of the more surprisingmoves of the week. Reminders again,
(33:46):
if you want to get to usduring the show, text line the steinline,
text line two one four seven,eight seven one nine seven to one
or eight one seven seven eight sevenone nine. Please guys, go to
the app, use the microphone feature. Leave me a message. We'll put
(34:06):
your voice on the air. I'vebeen calling for these for weeks and I'm
not getting a response. I cannotbelieve it. We'll put your voice on
the air. Ask me a question, I'll answer it. Maddie is behind
the glass looking at me quizically puzzledwhy we're not getting these submissions that we've
asked for. I've asked for iton my substack, I've asked for it
(34:28):
on the show. Talk to us. We'll put your voice on the air.
All right. I'm gonna shift gearsnow because a week ago, the
Milwaukee Bucks were in Dallas and Ihad a chance to visit with Doc Rivers,
and I want to run that interview. But first I want to tell
(34:50):
a little bit of the backstory.Do some story time because there's an unexpected
Dallas tie to the whole saga thatlanded Doc River back in coaching and as
the Bucks coach. Doc Rivers wasactually in Dallas when this all happened.
On January twenty fourth, the Maverickshad an ABC Wednesday night game against Phoenix.
(35:15):
Doc that was on a Wednesday.Doc comes to Dallas on a Tuesday
because he is scheduled to be partof the broadcast team with Mike Breen and
Doris Burke. So on the nightof January twenty third, the ABC crew
is out on the town having dinnerdining at the original Bob Steak and Chophouse
(35:37):
on Lemon so peerlessly operated by mydear friend Bob Samble, And that night
is when the deal started materializing toensure that the Bucks were going to hire
Doc Rivers to replace Adrian griffining,Doc abruptly had to leave town fly to
(36:04):
Milwaukee to embark on this new coachingadventure. Mike Breen and Doris Burke end
up calling that game on their own, and then a week and change later,
Doc Rivers is back in Dallas nowcoaching the Bucks. They started zero
to two the Bucks come back fromall the They were down twenty five at
(36:28):
the AAC. The Bucks come allthe way back that first win, and
the Bucks are only two and fiveunder Doc Rivers. That first win,
it clinches an All Star spot forthe Bucks coaching staff, an All Star
trip that they truthfully do not want. But remember the way it works in
the NBA because of the Riley Rule, Doc Rivers's staff has to coach the
(36:53):
East in next weekend's All Star Gamebecause the Boston coaching staff coach the All
Star Game last year and the samecoaching staff cannot coach two years in a
row. So was that win inDallas that clinched this awkward situation? Before
(37:15):
the game, I had a chanceto throw a few questions at Doc about
the All Star situation, but moreimportantly, we got into the big picture
pressures that come with taking over ateam that stars Gianna Santetokumpo and Damian Lillard
(37:37):
and the Bucks that are on thatshort list of teams. They're judged solely
on the basis of did you winit all or not? Did you win
the championship? If not, Withapologies to Jannis, the season is going
to go down as a failure.This is the fit coaching stop of Doc
(38:00):
rivers career Orlando, Boston, LAClippers, Philly and now Milwaukee. But
this is the first time that DocRivers has taken over a team in midstream.
He's had to start with the seasonalready underway. So let's go now
(38:21):
to my conversation with Doc Rivers aswe discuss this new challenge taking on a
title or bust team in the middleof the eighty two game schedule and no
training camp. So you've talked alot about the challenges of trying to do
this midstream, which is something new. What are you trying to achieve your
(38:44):
first one, two, three weekswith a team that you really don't know?
Yeah, we know. It's funny, getting them organized, getting them
organized on defense, getting them organizedon offense, and painting a picture that
they need to see for us tobe a better That doesn't mean we can
paint the picture, but at leastthey can see what it looks like.
(39:05):
I am not smart enough to doall the math. But I'm sure you've
heard the talk that you could endup being the All Star coach. What
are you going to do if that'swhat happened. Well, the two things
I'm going to do and what Ishould do, and I'm going to do
that. Adrian's going to get themoney, and I hope we win it
so he can get the double moneyand obviously he gets the All star ring
and honestly, I wish he washere, to be honest, but it's
(39:29):
quirky, man. I'm gonna doit because I don't think I can get
out, which I on record hashave fouled and asked if I don't have
to do the game. But youknow what the answer was. I know
what happened faster than you were anticipating, but you were always coming back at
some point, right, Philadelphia wasnot going to be your last coaching stop,
was it. I didn't want itto be because the way it ended,
(39:51):
you know, honestly, getting fired, losing to the favorite. It's
a hard way of going out whenyou thought you really did a pretty good
job with that group. But Idon't know, Mark, Honestly, I
was not going to take a jobunless it fit me and fit what I
wanted to do, and I wasprepared not to, but I was hoping
that the right opportunity presented itself.You've obviously won a championship as a coach.
(40:15):
I know you want to win anotherone. How big? How much
is that part of doing this becauseanywhere you go at this point in your
career, the expectations are championship orbust any team you coach. Yeah,
that's a good thing, man.That means you've done a pretty good job
as a coach. Where you go, people expect that that team to win.
That's been good for me and badfor me. You know, teams
(40:37):
that haven't won, then you getto blame for that, and that's okay,
Like you got to be willing toput yourself into that. Winning is
important to me, you know.Obviously, once you win one, it
becomes a drug. And especially youlose one where you're in a Game seven
in the NBA Finals and that alwayshaunts you and stays with you as well.
You want to win one again.Good luck for the rest of the
(40:58):
season. Thank you, Doc Rivers. It did make me chuckle. I
love that he admitted that he spoketo the league and tried to not go,
and the league, of course toldhim, Doc, there is no
escape. You will be the EasternConference coach in Indianapolis. Are we ready,
(41:22):
by the way, to go backto the East versus West format.
Remember the NBA or the player draftis over. Back to traditional East and
West. Luka Doncic representing the MAVson the Western Conference squad, Scottie Barnes
(41:45):
and Trey Young earlier this week namedthe injury replacements for the injured joe El
Embiid and Dallas's own Julius Randall.Both Randall and Jalen Brunson voted in by
the coach for the Knicks, butJalen Brunson dueling with Luka Doncic on the
(42:06):
All Star stage. I know there'sa supposedly big game tomorrow in sports,
but next Sunday far more intriguing forthe purposes of the Saturday Steinline. All
right, everyone that is going todo it for this edition of the Saturday
Steinline, presented by Panini Trading Cardsand Collectibles,
Kg L FM, Dallas Fort Worth, the official home of the Dallas Mavericks.
This is durkn Wwitzky and you're listeningto ninety seven to one The Freak.
Welcome to the Saturday Steinline with MarkStein, presented by Panini Trading Cards
and Collectibles. On ninety seven toone The Freak, the official homes all
(00:24):
Dallas Mavericks games, hosted by legendaryNBA reporter and publisher of his substack,
the Steinline. Here's Mark Stein.Everyone welcome in the Saturday Steinline, presented
(00:45):
by Panini Trading Cards and Collectibles.After what I would say unequivocally is a
pretty wild closing kick to NBA Tradeseason, No, we did not see
a superstar or even an all starlevel talent move before the nd season buzzer
(01:11):
that sounded Thursday at two pm localtime. But seriously, I'm gonna go
on a bit of a rant herebecause this has bothered me over the last
twenty four forty eight seventy two hours. We saw fourteen trades this week.
When all the moves were added upand some deals were combined into multi team
deals, we saw twelve trades.On deadline day. We saw the Knicks
(01:36):
acquire two really good players, BoyonBogdanovic and Alec Burks. We saw Philly
bring in Buddy Heald to try tohelp the Sixers get through the presumed six
to eight week absence that they facedwith Joel Embiid brought in Buddy heel to
try to help the offense survive that. We saw Patrick Beverly break the news
(01:57):
of his own trade to Milwaukee.That doesn't help happen so often. We
saw Oklahoma City take its usual stealthyswing and acquire Gordon Hayward and his thirty
one point five million expiring contract withliterally no advanced warning of such a move.
(02:22):
And of course we saw the Mavericksof Dallas. Look, I can't
sit here and tell you that Ithink they had the best trade deadline,
but the boldest am I allowed tosay ballsyest on the radio. I hope
so because I just did the mostopinion generating trade deadline. For sure,
(02:47):
it emanates from Dallas, the Mavericksof Dallas. And look, I keep
hearing people say a relatively quiet tradedeadline. My good friend Bill Simmons has
thrown out the word dud to describethe action we saw this week, and
I'm like, are you serious,Like we can't just have infinite trades all
(03:14):
the time. But this season.There were six trades in the NBA during
the season before this week, andthose trades included James Harden to the Clippers
on Halloween, og Ananobi to theKnicks, Pascal Siakam to the Pacers,
Siakam Harden. These are former AllStars, if not current All Stars.
(03:38):
Terry Roseier to the Heat right beforethe season, Damian Lillard gets traded from
Portland to Milwaukee. Drew Holliday isa centerpiece of that trade, and Portland
turns right around in trade Drew Hollidayto Boston. All of that happened as
(03:59):
a precurb search to this week.And I did think Thursday was action filled
and surprising. This wasn't just seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth men getting
moved around for salary cap purposes.So if fans of the transaction game came
away from the past four, five, six months feeling like they didn't get
(04:25):
enough, I don't know that theywill ever be satisfied. All right,
ran over, let's laser in onthe Mavericks because again they were super active.
We're gonna be talking about them forthe next hour, about the moves
we've seen this week, and it'sreally the next two hours because the MAVs
(04:46):
have an early tip off this afternoontwo PM at the AAC playing host to
Oklahoma City. So here at theFreak, we've arranged for two straight hours
of build up to that game.The Saturday Steinline will roll on through one
pm as usual, Kevin Gray andthe MAVs pregame show has been expanded to
(05:08):
a full hour from one to two. I'm gonna stick around for the beginning
of that. You'll hear from ChuckCooperstein as well as Kevin Gray. He
takes you from one to two untiltip off. MAVs GM Nico Harrison he
is scheduled to join us here joinme here at roughly twelve twenty five to
(05:31):
talk about the Mavericks business this week. And I have to say, the
MAVs have the whole league talking withwhat they did because Nico Harrison has undeniably
upgraded the roster. We've been tellingyou on this show for weeks now.
I've written it on my substack forweeks now. How many times do we
(06:00):
say it? The Mavericks want.The Mavericks wanted a four man You were
advised many many times. Kyle Kuzmaand PJ. Washington were the primary targets.
They were the two guys at thetop of the list. The Mavericks
tried very hard to get Kyle Kuzma. They ultimately could not convince Washington to
(06:23):
part with Kuzma. And I asI found out Wednesday night and reported it
Wednesday night, and I want tounderline it again because I don't know that
it got as much notice as itshould have. A key factor here is
that Kyle Kuzma urged the Wizards notto trade him. He wanted to stay
in DC. I think Kuzma isvery aware he has a contract that a
(06:46):
lot of teams like, and itmakes him a player that Washington is going
to keep getting calls on at thedraft into the offseason if the Wizards keep
him again. But as I understandit, Kyle Kuzma went to the Wizards
and urged them to let him finishout the season to stay there, and
that was a factor in this.That was part of this. The Wizards
(07:09):
also had a very high price tag. They wanted at least two first round
picks. The Mavericks did not havetwo first round picks to furnish them.
You saw what Dallas had to doto get a second first round pick to
be able to acquire Daniel Gafford.But all those talks with Washington about Kuzma
set the Mavericks up well to beable to pivot and go get Daniel Gafford.
(07:33):
Daniel Gafford is a player along withDenny Avdia. You're gonna see those
guys here Monday when the Wizards arehere. The Mavericks have been inquiring about
these players well before this deadline andbefore this season, and so the Mavericks
are able to get Gafford. Andwhen the Kuzma stuff went away, they
(07:54):
lasered in focused on PJ. Washingtonand got him from Charlotte as well.
However, the price was steep,the outlay is risky. These moves have
to click now for the Dallas Mavericksbecause both of these trades required some big
(08:15):
league quality draft capital. Remember again, the Mavericks entered this trade line trade
deadline with only one first round pickthat they could legally trade a first rounder
in twenty twenty seven. That picknow only top two protected. That's about
as lightly protected as a pick canbe. Twenty twenty seven just went out
(08:39):
the door to Charlotte along with GrantWilliams and Seth Curry to secure a trade
for PJ. Washington. The MAVsalso had to manufacture that first rounder to
get gaffered, and the way theyfound the pathway to do that was a
(09:01):
twenty twenty eight pick swap with OklahomaCity Thunder send a late first in this
June draft to Dallas. Dallas routesthat late first to Washington along with Rashaun
Holmes to get Gafford. So thatmeans in twenty twenty eight, if Dallas's
(09:22):
pick is way better than Oklahoma City'sin the first round, the Thunder will
snatch it away and Dallas will pickwhere Oklahoma City lands in the first round
in twenty twenty eight. So rememberagain, the Mavericks still have to convey
one more first round pick to NewYork to finally complete the obligations that the
(09:43):
Mavericks face on the original Christops Porzingisdeal. In February twenty nineteen, their
twenty twenty seven first rounder now belongsto the Charlotte Hornets. Their twenty twenty
eight first is going to have tobe swapped with Oklahoma City. Their twenty
twenty nine first, fully unprotected,belongs to Brooklyn as part of the Kyrie
(10:09):
Irving deal. Their first round pickin twenty thirty is controlled by san Antonio.
The Mavericks had to do a swapdeal with san Antonio in the summer
to create the needed cap space tobring in Grant Williams, the same Grant
Williams who the Mavericks. Let's faceit, no sugarcoating this. They were
(10:31):
desperate to ship Grant Williams out thisweek and replace him with PJ. Washington.
The Grant Williams experiment did not work. It more than did not work.
So guys, everybody listen. Risksabound here. I was on Benin's
skin earlier this week, the worldfamous Ben and Skin show. Ben Rodgers
(10:52):
asked me Wednesday, even the tradedeadline, Stein, how much pressure are
the Mavericks feeling to do something,something significant to show Luka Doncic how serious
they are about winning. A yearago, I would say Dallas was literally
dripping with desperation because Jalen Brunson hadleft them in free agency, went to
(11:15):
New York and became a legit star. Jalen Brunson was snubbed from the East
All Stars last year. He's anEast All Star now and he should be
a starter. And so in Julyof twenty two, the Mavericks did not
have interest in Kyrie Irving. ByFebruary of twenty three, the Mavericks were
trading an unprotected first and two secondsand Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney Smith to
(11:41):
get Kyrie Irving. Fast forward toFebruary twenty twenty four. I don't think
the Mavericks were as desperate as wesaw them a year ago. But if
you are a Seinfeld fan and youare familiar with the Kenny Rodgers Roasters episode
ode, as Jerry Seinfeld said inthat episode, the difference was negligible,
(12:05):
negligible. The Mavericks were pretty desperatehere, and they they gave up a
lot to make these moves. Solook, when I was on Ben and
Skin, I also said, noteam in the West wants to see the
(12:26):
Mavericks in the playoffs because of Kyrieand Luca, and a lot of that
is Luca. They are a nightmareto deal with for a defense. When
they're at full throttle. But thereality is, as much as I believed
that statement when I made it toBen and Skin when the Mavericks went to
(12:52):
bed Wednesday night, that's all theywere. They were a puncher's chance team,
a team that you don't want tosee in the first round. But
that ain't good enough in year sixof Luka Dancic, and that's why you
saw the moves that you saw thisweek. There have been missteps along the
(13:15):
way. Brunson's departure is the obviousone. There have been significant prices paid
to try to undo the errors ofthe Porzingis deal, which was done by
the previous regime. Now, afterall that cold hearted reality talk, you
(13:39):
do have to say, this rosterlooks much more well rounded than it did
just seventy two hours ago. IfI'm gonna be as candid as I can,
I would have preferred Kuzma to PJ. Washington. But Kuzma simply wasn't
available to the Mavericks now and theyneeded to act right now and they knew
(14:03):
it. My concerns with PJ.Washington has not been a robust rebounder in
the NBA, has not been aplus defender to this point in his career,
and he's another player who's basically thesame size as Luca, the former
(14:26):
Frisco lone Star high Star has muchto prove here and let's see if he
can. Let's see if he canhush the naysayers. The good news for
him, Luka Doncic is a ceilingrazor unlike any other in this league.
And you have to think we aregonna see PJ. Washington and Daniel Gafford
(14:48):
play at a level that we've neverseen before from either guy. And they
both had their moments. They areboth now freshly liberated from NBA bottom feeders
in Charlotte and Washington, they shouldbe better than ever. Nico Harrison,
who is soon to join us hereon the Freak, he spoke at a
(15:11):
press conference earlier this morning and heeven challenged PJ Washington to be an impact
player on the defensive end, because, okay, PJ. Washington is only
six to seven, but he doeshave a considerable wingspan, He has the
ability his three point shot this seasonthirty two ish, thirty three, thirty
(15:33):
three ish percent. That's got tocome up. But you have to think
PJ. Washington is gonna get thebest looks he's ever gotten once he starts
playing for his hometown. Maps andPJ spoke about how he lived in this
area from the first grade through thetenth grade, and he is beyond sight,
(15:54):
beyond pumped to come home and getthis opportunity. Spencer Dinwittie is not
coming to Dallas via the buy outmarket. He chose to sign with the
Laker. Spencer Dinwittie clears Waivers today. We will talk more about that as
the show goes on. But theMavericks are hoping Washington gafford infusion of youth
(16:18):
size athleticism, the addition by subtractionof moving off Grant Williams, who was
not working here and he was frustratingsome key stakeholders in the organization with his
play let's call it a noisy approachto the job. Can all of that
vault the MAVs into the West topsix to stay? More importantly, can
(16:45):
all that convince Luka Doncic that thiscast around him has the ability the potential
to help him get where he wantsto go? Is obviously championship contention.
The rest of this Mavericks season.It starts with this matinee tip off against
(17:07):
the Wizards in about an hour anda half early tip off because the Harlem
Globetrotters, the legendary Harlem Globetrotters areat the AAC tonight, by the way,
But what happens from here so muchmore interesting. Must see Lots more
(17:30):
discussion about the Mavericks and their tradebusiness to come. As stated after the
break, MAVs GM Nico Harrison doto join us here Trader Nico for the
third deadline in a row. Sincehe took the job, he has made
significant moves, moves with an s. This time Nico Harrison joins me next
(17:56):
to talk about the three trades hemade Thursday Day with us here for Nico's
visit, his maiden visit to theSaturday Steinline. Next only on ninety seven
to one the Freak. This isthe Saturday Steinline with Mark Stein, presented
by Panini Trading Cards and Collectibles onyour official home to all Dallas Mavericks Gags
(18:18):
the Freak. Thanks everyone for rollingwith us as the Saturday Steinline dribbles on,
presented as always by Panini Trading Cardsand Collectibles. I think we have
him now we are connecting. We'regonna go right to the guest line because
(18:40):
we have quite the newsmaker on theline with us, Nico Harrison, general
manager of the Mavericks, joining usnow here on ninety seven to one.
The freak mister Harrison trader, Nico, your third trade deadline in the books.
(19:00):
You traded Christops Porzingis to Washington atyour first deadline, you traded for
Kyrie Irving at your second deadline,and now three moves really yesterday because the
trade with Oklahoma City was a separatemove to get that first round pick.
(19:21):
Now that you've had forty eight hoursto kind of digest it all, walk
us through what you were hoping todo, and just how you feel about
the MAVs business this week. Thisweek? Yeah, hey, hey,
how you doing Stein, Thanks thanksfor inviting me on the line. Yeah,
we really really felt like we accomplishedall our goals coming into the week.
(19:42):
You know, you never know ifyou're able to accomplish it. You
know what you want to do,but you have to have somebody willing to
participate, and so we felt wefeel really good about it. One thing
I want to spend a little timeaddressing is Grant Williams is getting a little
bit of negative publicity, and Ithink it's kind of unfair. Uh.
(20:03):
So I want to spend a littletime. You know, Grant Grant one
is an amazing human being, agood dude. Uh. You know,
we targeted him and free agency.We know who he is. We knew
who he was. Uh and GrantGrant didn't play up to the expectations that
he wanted to or we did.But but he's a good person, like
(20:25):
he's he's a he's a good,good dude. So there's no way we
would just get off of Grant fromnothing. But when you have opportunity to
upgrade your roster, you got togive something to get something, and and
that's what we were able to do. But I just think it's important to
know that Grant doesn't deserve the negativitythat he's kind of been getting on social
(20:45):
media. He was he was sucha good person, spent a lot of
time in the community and and hewas he was a good teammate. The
floor is yours, sir, SoI'm glad you Uh, I'm glad you
addressed that. I think we allknew the MAVs were going to be active,
but kind of the rumbles the signalslate Wednesday night was that it wasn't
(21:06):
going to be easy. When youwoke up Thursday morning, how confident were
you that you were going to beable to make the moves that ended up
happening. Well, I didn't wakeup. I didn't sleep. Yeah,
I heard you guys had quite thewar room set up in New York,
So I guess you guys just livedit, lived it, lived at your
makeshift trade headquarters. Yeah, no, we didn't. We didn't sleep at
(21:27):
all because you know, you're cominginto the last day of the trade deadline
and you haven't accomplished your goals yet. So you know, we were we
were We weren't sure if we weregoing to be able to accomplish it,
So we didn't sleep, but wekept grinding, we kept calling, we
kept you know, working it andworking it. And then next time,
you know, we were able toget both uh PJ. Washington and Daniel
(21:51):
Gafford, and both of them solvedthe problems that we wanted to solve.
We got bigger, we created alot more depth, which we needed on
the front line, and then wegot more scoring on the front line,
which was which much needed. MavericksGM, Nico Harrison joining us here on
the Saturday Steinline on ninety seven toone. The freak. The cost,
(22:12):
of course, to make moves likethis, it is significant. How do
you feel going forward with just theway the roster is shaping up? And
maybe like, how much are youlooking forward to a deadline that you don't
have to make such a drastic movebecause now you are you're three for three.
(22:33):
Yeah. I think in an idealsituation, you come into the deadline,
you're playing the way you anticipated playing, and you're rolling, and you
you know, you can look forthings on the fringes. You don't really
have to be as aggressive, butyou know, at the end of the
day, the job is to getthe roster better. And when you're not
playing up to the expectations that youhad coming into the season, then you
(22:56):
have to you have to make thosetypes of changes and moves. I'm sure
you saw footage of Spencer Dinwittie sittingwith your Lakers counterpart Rob Polinki yesterday.
Obviously we've gotten word that Spencer isgoing to sign with the Lakers when he
clears waivers. How likely is itthat the MAVs might be able to turn
their attention and focus to someone elseon the buyout market. We're still talking
(23:22):
about it. We like our teamas it is. We're not we don't
feel pressure to have to add anotherroster spot. If somebody comes along and
we think can add add in tous and make us better, we'll do
it. If not, we're notgoing to do something just for the sake
of doing it. Like we reallylike our roster couple more here our last
few moments with MAVs GM Nico Harrison. So we're a year removed from the
(23:48):
Kyrie Irving trade. We just sawLuca and Kyrie reunited again after Kyrie's thumbspring,
just went three and her on anEastern conference trip. But it's like
wise true that you know they've onlybeen in uniform basically half together as a
duo, half the time since thetrade was made. When you reflect on
the Kyrie deal one year later,how do you assess it? One.
(24:15):
I think it was the right move. We believe in Kyrie. It's been
unfortunate that he's had you know,some some you know, little nagging injuries,
but when they've played together, you'veseen what those two can do together
when you have that that dynamic ofa of a backcourt it. You know,
(24:36):
we have a chance not in andnot out for every game. As
we said right off the top,this was your third deadline, but it
was the first with Mark Cuban asthe alternate governor. Patrick Dumont is now
the new owner in charge. Howdid that make this deadline different in any
way? Good question. I gottwo bosses. Now, now you know
(25:04):
what the good thing is? Youknow, throughout every trade deadline, like
we're so prepared and we're so doubtinto what we want to do, Like
we're not throwing grenades over the fence, and like we're very detailed. So
I'm able to walk everybody through theplan. You don't know what the who
the player is going to be,but you know what the plan is,
and you know the group of playersthat that we're trying to target. So
(25:27):
because we're so we're so disciplined,and we're so we planned so so far
in the future, like we knowwhat we want to accomplish. So I
think that I think that it justdoesn't change it at all. Well,
look, you guys, as Isaid in our first make you guys have
the whole league talking. I thinkthe MAVs were as aggressive as anyone in
(25:48):
the league with the moves that weremade, and now we will see how
it unfolds on the floor. Congratson a very productive week. Thank you.
I appreciate it all right, everyonethere, he goes MAVs GM Nico
Harrison joining us here for less thanninety minutes away from tip off. I
(26:10):
told you we have a massive jampacked two hours of build up to tip
off for this game against the Thunderat two pm. Kevin Gray is already
in studio with me, getting ready, getting prepared for the hour long pregame
show, and we were really excitedto be able to have Nico Harrison join
(26:33):
us live here to talk about everythingthat just went down. We've still got
a full segment of the Saturday steinlineto go, as I said, an
hour long pregame with Kevin Gray atthe controls, and I'll stay with him
for some of that to keep thediscussion going about the Mavericks trade deadline.
(26:53):
And remember everyone, as always,you can get to us via text two
to one four or seven eight sevenone nine seven one or eight one seven
seven eight seven one nine seven one. Text me your thoughts, text me
your questions. If you got goodstuff, it might get on the air,
(27:14):
and if you want to hear yourvoice on this show, remember ninety
seven to one the Freak. Ifyou've got the iHeartRadio app, there's a
microphone icon very visible on the app. Click that you can leave me a
thirty second message. You can aska question that we might answer on this
show. All those routes available toyou to get directly in touch with us.
(27:42):
Lots more of the Saturday Steinline tocome, and lots more NBA talk
on the way to set you upfor MAVs Thunder at two pm. Don't
go anywhere. This is durk Lwitzkyand you're listening to the Saturday Steinline with
my guys Steiny. You know ninetyseven won the Freak. Thanks for sticking
(28:02):
with us on the Saturday Steinline,presented by my dear friends from Panini Trading
Cards and Collectibles. Cannot wait tohook up with the whole Panini squad this
coming week in Indianapolis All Star Weekend. I still haven't figured out exactly how
(28:23):
I'm going to assemble next Saturday showbecause I'm going to be in Indie for
All Star Weekend. Luka Doncic ofcourse, representing the Dallas Mavericks. Derek
Lively, of course, representing theDallas Mavericks. Lively still not able to
play because of the broken nose thatrequired surgery. To my I mean,
(28:47):
I don't have this on I probablyshouldn't even be saying this because I'm somewhat
out of school here. I havenot one bazillion percent confirmed this, but
I would have to think that DerekLively, even if for some reason he
was unable to play in the PaniniNext Gen Stars game on Friday Night,
I have to think he will stillbe part of All Star festivities because it's
(29:08):
a big deal for a rookie tobe able to be there and soak up
that whole All Star atmosphere. OfCourse, the way they do the Friday
Night extravaganza at All Star now tenor eleven rookies, ten or eleven second
(29:29):
year guys, six or seven guysfrom the G League, twenty eight players
total. They divide it up intofour teams of seven. Again, I
don't know. I do not haveit confirmed if Derek Lively would be able
to play in that, but hopefullyfor him, he at least gets to
be in Indianapolis and partake in allthe festivities, and like I said,
I will be there and I knowPanini will have a huge presence, so
(29:53):
I will hopefully that means a surpriseor two that will have a good impact
on this show. Greatly appreciate youguys sticking with us. We I mean,
look, it's We've even had newstoday the Oklahoma City Thunder. There
was so much anticipation about what OklahomaCity might do. Would they add size
(30:17):
because size is something they they likeDallas needed. The Thunder make a trade
for Gordon Hayward. Hayward's still workinghis way through injury. Gordon Hayward's not
going to play until after the AllStar break, but a nice pickup by
the Thunder within the last hour.They've signed Bismack Biambo to a rest of
(30:37):
the season deal. Smart move bythe Thunder Byambo had some very nice moments
this season in Memphis, and youknow he is a quality backup center,
so the Thunder. You know,obviously there's a ton of focus locally on
what the Mavericks are doing. Ithink nationally, the Knicks were the big
headliners this week because they were ableto get Bojan Bogdanovian and Alec Burks without
(31:02):
surrendering a first round pick. ButOklahoma City very quietly had quite a week
in terms of the buyout market.The big news this morning, Spencer Dinwittie
has committed to sign with the Lakerswhen he clears waivers later today. He
did not call me to ask foradvice. I think that was not the
(31:26):
wisest choice that he could have made, because I think Spencer Dinwittie played the
best basketball of his life in Dallas, and he already knows he can play
well playing off Luka Doncic, andthe Mavericks wanted him, and Spencer Dinwittie
has taken some hits this season aftera very uneven season in Brooklyn. To
(31:49):
put it charitably, if you're SpencerDinwittie and you're entering free agency this summer,
from my perspective, I think comingback to Dallas where you already know,
oh, you can flourish in athird guard role, I think that
would have been good for him ashe seeks to build his value back up
before going into free agency this summer. But obviously, Spencer Dinwitty look,
(32:14):
he's a Southern California native. Heplayed his high school ball in the Valley
in La and the chance to gohome and sign with the Lakers. The
Lakers, frankly much more desperate thanDallas at this point. Because the Lakers
did not make any moves at thetrade deadline, the Lakers had to hit
(32:34):
in the buy out market. Sothe Lakers have won the Spencer Dinwitty sweepstakes.
Is Dallas going to pivot now andsign another guard? I know there
have been some questions about Marcus Morris. When I checked earlier today, the
word that was whispered to me wasthe Mavericks will not rush into this.
I think when you heard Nico Harrisonin the last segment that he backed that
(32:58):
up. The Mavericks don't feel likethey absolutely have to make a move in
the buyout market, but they willkeep their eyes open. And you know
players are being waived. It's beenhappening since the deadline Thursday Friday today.
The buy out market is still kindof populating at this point, so all
(33:20):
the options aren't necessarily known yet.I think Kyle Lowry, Look, Kyle
Lowry has not yet secured his buyoutfrom Charlotte, but that's expected, and
the league wide expectation is that KyleLowry is going to end up in Philly.
It's a big reason why Philly waswilling to trade Patrick Beverley to the
Bucks in one of the more surprisingmoves of the week. Reminders again,
(33:46):
if you want to get to usduring the show, text line the steinline,
text line two one four seven,eight seven one nine seven to one
or eight one seven seven eight sevenone nine. Please guys, go to
the app, use the microphone feature. Leave me a message. We'll put
(34:06):
your voice on the air. I'vebeen calling for these for weeks and I'm
not getting a response. I cannotbelieve it. We'll put your voice on
the air. Ask me a question, I'll answer it. Maddie is behind
the glass looking at me quizically puzzledwhy we're not getting these submissions that we've
asked for. I've asked for iton my substack, I've asked for it
(34:28):
on the show. Talk to us. We'll put your voice on the air.
All right. I'm gonna shift gearsnow because a week ago, the
Milwaukee Bucks were in Dallas and Ihad a chance to visit with Doc Rivers,
and I want to run that interview. But first I want to tell
(34:50):
a little bit of the backstory.Do some story time because there's an unexpected
Dallas tie to the whole saga thatlanded Doc River back in coaching and as
the Bucks coach. Doc Rivers wasactually in Dallas when this all happened.
On January twenty fourth, the Maverickshad an ABC Wednesday night game against Phoenix.
(35:15):
Doc that was on a Wednesday.Doc comes to Dallas on a Tuesday
because he is scheduled to be partof the broadcast team with Mike Breen and
Doris Burke. So on the nightof January twenty third, the ABC crew
is out on the town having dinnerdining at the original Bob Steak and Chophouse
(35:37):
on Lemon so peerlessly operated by mydear friend Bob Samble, And that night
is when the deal started materializing toensure that the Bucks were going to hire
Doc Rivers to replace Adrian griffining,Doc abruptly had to leave town fly to
(36:04):
Milwaukee to embark on this new coachingadventure. Mike Breen and Doris Burke end
up calling that game on their own, and then a week and change later,
Doc Rivers is back in Dallas nowcoaching the Bucks. They started zero
to two the Bucks come back fromall the They were down twenty five at
(36:28):
the AAC. The Bucks come allthe way back that first win, and
the Bucks are only two and fiveunder Doc Rivers. That first win,
it clinches an All Star spot forthe Bucks coaching staff, an All Star
trip that they truthfully do not want. But remember the way it works in
the NBA because of the Riley Rule, Doc Rivers's staff has to coach the
(36:53):
East in next weekend's All Star Gamebecause the Boston coaching staff coach the All
Star Game last year and the samecoaching staff cannot coach two years in a
row. So was that win inDallas that clinched this awkward situation? Before
(37:15):
the game, I had a chanceto throw a few questions at Doc about
the All Star situation, but moreimportantly, we got into the big picture
pressures that come with taking over ateam that stars Gianna Santetokumpo and Damian Lillard
(37:37):
and the Bucks that are on thatshort list of teams. They're judged solely
on the basis of did you winit all or not? Did you win
the championship? If not, Withapologies to Jannis, the season is going
to go down as a failure.This is the fit coaching stop of Doc
(38:00):
rivers career Orlando, Boston, LAClippers, Philly and now Milwaukee. But
this is the first time that DocRivers has taken over a team in midstream.
He's had to start with the seasonalready underway. So let's go now
(38:21):
to my conversation with Doc Rivers aswe discuss this new challenge taking on a
title or bust team in the middleof the eighty two game schedule and no
training camp. So you've talked alot about the challenges of trying to do
this midstream, which is something new. What are you trying to achieve your
(38:44):
first one, two, three weekswith a team that you really don't know?
Yeah, we know. It's funny, getting them organized, getting them
organized on defense, getting them organizedon offense, and painting a picture that
they need to see for us tobe a better That doesn't mean we can
paint the picture, but at leastthey can see what it looks like.
(39:05):
I am not smart enough to doall the math. But I'm sure you've
heard the talk that you could endup being the All Star coach. What
are you going to do if that'swhat happened. Well, the two things
I'm going to do and what Ishould do, and I'm going to do
that. Adrian's going to get themoney, and I hope we win it
so he can get the double moneyand obviously he gets the All star ring
and honestly, I wish he washere, to be honest, but it's
(39:29):
quirky, man. I'm gonna doit because I don't think I can get
out, which I on record hashave fouled and asked if I don't have
to do the game. But youknow what the answer was. I know
what happened faster than you were anticipating, but you were always coming back at
some point, right, Philadelphia wasnot going to be your last coaching stop,
was it. I didn't want itto be because the way it ended,
(39:51):
you know, honestly, getting fired, losing to the favorite. It's
a hard way of going out whenyou thought you really did a pretty good
job with that group. But Idon't know, Mark, Honestly, I
was not going to take a jobunless it fit me and fit what I
wanted to do, and I wasprepared not to, but I was hoping
that the right opportunity presented itself.You've obviously won a championship as a coach.
(40:15):
I know you want to win anotherone. How big? How much
is that part of doing this becauseanywhere you go at this point in your
career, the expectations are championship orbust any team you coach. Yeah,
that's a good thing, man.That means you've done a pretty good job
as a coach. Where you go, people expect that that team to win.
That's been good for me and badfor me. You know, teams
(40:37):
that haven't won, then you getto blame for that, and that's okay,
Like you got to be willing toput yourself into that. Winning is
important to me, you know.Obviously, once you win one, it
becomes a drug. And especially youlose one where you're in a Game seven
in the NBA Finals and that alwayshaunts you and stays with you as well.
You want to win one again.Good luck for the rest of the
(40:58):
season. Thank you, Doc Rivers. It did make me chuckle. I
love that he admitted that he spoketo the league and tried to not go,
and the league, of course toldhim, Doc, there is no
escape. You will be the EasternConference coach in Indianapolis. Are we ready,
(41:22):
by the way, to go backto the East versus West format.
Remember the NBA or the player draftis over. Back to traditional East and
West. Luka Doncic representing the MAVson the Western Conference squad, Scottie Barnes
(41:45):
and Trey Young earlier this week namedthe injury replacements for the injured joe El
Embiid and Dallas's own Julius Randall.Both Randall and Jalen Brunson voted in by
the coach for the Knicks, butJalen Brunson dueling with Luka Doncic on the
(42:06):
All Star stage. I know there'sa supposedly big game tomorrow in sports,
but next Sunday far more intriguing forthe purposes of the Saturday Steinline. All
right, everyone that is going todo it for this edition of the Saturday
Steinline, presented by Panini Trading Cardsand Collectibles,
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
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