June 19, 2023 • 32 mins
FOX Sports Radio Weekend host Veejay Huskey is in for Rob, and he and Chris discuss what they like – and what they don’t – about the Phoenix Suns trading for Bradley Beal, share their thoughts on the report that people in Ja Morant’s camp think the NBA is ‘out to get him’ and tell us how much pressure Kevin Durant is under to win a championship now that Beal is in Phoenix.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple with
Chris Brusson and Rob Harker.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Big huge trade yesterday on Father'sday, Chris Paul Landry Shammitt
a gang of second round picks going to the Washington
Wizards for Bradley Beale, who will team with Kevin Durant,
Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton campaign and we don't know who else.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
But here's that.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
I'm gonna let you have the first go at it, right.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
What do you think.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
About the trade?
Speaker 5 (00:59):
How do you like it or not like it? I
like the trade, but I like it for two different reasons.
And there's a small reason why I wouldn't like it.
I like the trade because when you get Kevin Durant
and you realize the way that they got Mollywoping got
waxed by the Denver Nuggets, especially in game six, the
way he showed up and the way Devin Booker only
dropped twelve points. You need more firepower, and Bradley Bill
(01:20):
is that it's more firepower. But I said on Saturday
on Martin VJ, I don't like the move for a
small point that if you have to give up so
much that you can't absorb, like giving up the bitch,
like what they did with Durant when they made the
Durant deal. They had to give up so much they
didn't have enough there on the bench and defensively to
absorb that type of move. So you knew it was
a move for the future. I believe. I saw you
say the same thing on First Things First, So I
(01:42):
like the move for firepower, but you still now have
to load this bench up. You have Vogelism Ahead coaches
a defensive minded guy, so you got to get veterans
that could just not only play, they can play defense.
They need to be able to guard and defend in
the Western Conference. Now, when I first saw this deal,
the first name I looked for that believing was DeAndre
a And I didn't see that name, and that made
(02:04):
me like the deal even more because I like him
more than it seems like most people do. A eighteen
nineteen twenty to ten guy Big. He's improved this game.
He's got the mid range jumper gone, he's got the
little floridal one hand going out. Yeah, he played well
in the playoffs, so he had a game or two
where he probably could have done a little more. But
every player does, right. But I thought that him being
still there after this deal was done made me like
(02:25):
it a whole lot more. But then today you hear
he could be in trade move. They could be moved exactly,
they could be moving, any.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Question will he stay?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Now?
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Look, I feel somewhat similar to you.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I think that from a basketball standpoint, I don't mind
the trade for Phoenix.
Speaker 5 (02:43):
I actually like it because, and here's the thing.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
People have to understand, even if they had not made
this trade, they still were in a position financially where
they would have had trouble filling out.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Their roster with quality players anyway.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Okay, so now you still will have that problem, but
you also got a guy like Bradley Beal, who.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
To your point, will give you more firepower. And let's
start with this.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
People have to remember, and I know it's not always
this cutting dried and this academic. However, the Phoenix Suns
gave Denver more trouble than anybody else in the playoffs, right,
they got two games.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Again, it doesn't always work out this way.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
It doesn't mean they're necessarily the best, better than the Lakers,
better than the Timberwolves, better than the Heat, but it's.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Something to look at.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
They played eight games together in the regular season, Devin
Booker and Kevin Durant, they lost Chris Paul and they
came out there and got two games off the World champions.
Lakers couldn't do it, Timberwolves couldn't do it. Heat couldn't
do it. So there's that. Now, to your point, from
a basketball standpoint.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
They got Devin Booker who showed he can play point.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Now he's not a true point guard, but he showed
he can handle the ball, he can dish it, He
scored and he passed it tremendously in the playoffs, average
thirty and almost eight assists.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
And then Bradley Beal at times can bring it up
as well.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So they those two will probably alternate handling the point
guard duties. We know what KD does. He doesn't have
to dominate the Ball. I'm with you on Ayton. I
mean Ayton. Look, his motor's always been in question at times,
right even in college.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Is he gonna bring it every night?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Is he gonna be you know, have that aggressive attitude
every night, And that's an issue yep.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And but as a fourth.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Option, he'll get you seventeen and ten with just by
being out there, and you're going to need size. He's
not gonna shut down Nikola Jokic, but he's big enough
to at least getting his way be athletic contest shots,
so on and so forth. They the two questions I
have about Phoenix VJ are not necessarily about their quality
(05:06):
of play that they'll get from their big four, but
it is their health. Yeah, because Kevin Durant's averaged thirty
four games a year for the last four seasons and
Bradley Bill's average like fifty two. So the health is
a question and the depths. But you notice role players
(05:27):
should play better around four other guys that are like
that three stars that the defense has to be ready for.
Tory Craig, all you have to do next year this summer,
work on your three shoot threes all day every day
and come in ready to defend.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
So look, here's the issue. Is it gonna work?
Speaker 4 (05:53):
By work?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I mean this win a championship exactly. That's the only
out into the finals.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
You've been there.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
It's not about being a contender. You are that already.
You have to win a ring. And I will say this,
whether it's health, whether it's lack of depth, I doubt.
I don't think they're gonna win the ring. They can,
They're capable. But I if you put a gun to
my hand said are they gonna win the championship?
Speaker 5 (06:21):
I would likely say no. Yeah, I would take the field.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I hope I'm wrong kind of to be honest.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
Well, here's the thing. If you ask me to take
the field right now, I'll take the field. But we
haven't had the draft. I think there's gonna be a
lot of movement between now and Thursday, even draft, and
I think there's gonna be a lot of movement. You see,
the Western Conference is almost in reshuffle, panic mode. We
don't know what everybody's gonna be trying to do something.
You got the hometown Lakers out here while I'm in LA.
What are you gonna do with ad with the extension?
(06:47):
Lebron floated at the retirement, think, well, you know that's
not real. He's gonna come back and play. He still
can put up twenty seven a night, seven and eight,
and you know Lebron's still doing him.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
What's it gonna really lean on? Is Kevin Durant?
Speaker 5 (06:58):
Now, we a lot of people bang on Lebron for
playing with all these other great players.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Okay, and I'm a KD guy. I'm from the DNV.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
I saw him play a fifteen years old at Montres
Christian Academy in high school. It's time to show up now.
Like you said, you gotta go get a chip now,
brou because the two chips you got are with that
Golden State squad and then they won one before you
and won after you. You did the super team thing
at Brooklyn didn't work out. You and Kyrie and Harden
didn't play enough together. And now you have Booker and
(07:25):
you have built and if they keep eighting like you said,
and if they added you know, a supporting cast, Bruh,
you gotta go get this ring this year. The finals
ain't gonna cut it, and the Western Conference finals is
not and he can't.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Well, look, he's gonna be thirty five in September. Yeah,
so you don't generally get healthier as you ate. And
like I said, he's already been injury prone. Heck, he
got hurt in the layup line for goodness. So yeah,
they have to their Their chances of winning a championship
are going to decrease every year. The best chance to
(08:02):
win it will be next year. And so look, Frank,
you mentioned Frank Vogel, He's a good defensive coach. Look,
defense in the NBA is about scheme. So you have
a coach who can put together a proper scheme, and
it's about heart and technique and desire. If you have
(08:24):
the requisite athleticism, size and strength, and they do. They
have enough to be a They're not gonna be the
number one defensive team in the league, but they have enough.
If Bill and Devin and Ayton and Durant and whoever
the fifth started is Tory Craig, whoever, if they put
forth the effort, then they should be able to be
(08:47):
adequate defensively, all right.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
And then we saw it with Miami.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
It's a lot of undrafted players out there that can ball.
So this is gonna be on their scouting department to
fill out that roster with vat minimum, guys that might
not be great individually from an NBA level context, but
with superstars like that drawing attention, they can hit the
(09:16):
open three, they can make smart plays. They hustle defensively.
Nobody thought Bruce Brown had this right.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Yeah, he was with the Pistons. He was with my Pistons,
So I saw that.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Right.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
So they need to go out and find guys like that,
and you can find them.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
They're all over the place, man, you definitely can find them.
Also to a defense you say hard, desire to me
is simple. You have to get stops in the NBA
when you need stops. I understand if you have a
little defensive mishaps in December and January and every now
and then in like a March, but by April, Bro,
you have to get stops when you need them. You
don't have to be a great defensive team. You just
(09:55):
need to have the one I call it the one
to the wanna get this stop off this guy who's
been cooking you for three quarters and it's time to
slow this guy down or shut this guy down so
you can go get this dub. So I think Vogel
is important. It is, but also shift to the main player.
We haven't mentioned Bill. I always felt Bill was a
two to three guy. I never felt Bill was a
Batman or Superman. He's more like Flash. He's more like Aquaman, right,
(10:18):
Like he can do some stuff. He can talk to
the fish, but you can shoot Jill. He's a great
you know what I'm saying. But this is perfect. He's
Bradley Bill. You talk about a guy that just kind
of stand over there and wait to get the ball
to shoot. So many eyes are gonna be on Booker
and Durant. Oh, Bill Man, and he can.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Create his own exactly great for us, like offensively, come.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
On, yeah, he should be like it should be nice.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
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hell Yeah.
Speaker 8 (11:32):
Tim McMahon was on the latest edition of Brian Windhorst
and the Hoops Collective podcast. It's a great pot if
you like NBA talk, but buried at the very end
of the podcast, you got to put it at the front.
They're talking about the John Moran suspension and Tim McMahon
says that the people in and are always heard indirectly
that Jaw and the people who are in or formerly
(11:52):
in his camp feel that the NBA is quote out
to get him, as is the NBA media talking on
John rant.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Now, I gotta say this, VJ.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
The NBA wants nothing more than the success of John Marin.
I was actually talking to a person that works in
the league for a team, UH and he's been in
the league for a while now, and he was lamenting
the fact that there really isn't that clear cut American
(12:25):
superstar who's going to become the face of the league,
the next face of the league.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Obviously you have Lebron and you have Steph, but.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
All of the the guys that are really in position
to be the face of the league, Nikola Jokic, Yannis
Luca and who knows what Victor Winbayama's gonna be. They're all,
of course international, and obviously we love the international players.
But it was just saying, man, where it's never been
a time where an American hasn't been one of the
(12:55):
big key for the faces of the game, and is
that gonna be good for the lead league? And we
both were saying it was supposed to be Joh. It
really ideally would have been John Anzion, but Jah is
the guy. Of all the American young players, Jason Tatum,
(13:15):
Donovan Mitchell, whoever else.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
You want to throw out there, because there's plenty of
good American players.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
John mored is the one out.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
You know, take away the off the court stuff. He
has the game. His team was a contender. He is
arguably the most electrifying and exciting player in the league
like and he had a kind of a rags to
richest story, right freaking Murray State. So the league, look
John Mord's success.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
If he does come.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Back from this and you know, resurrect his career and
continue to play great, if not even better basketball, then
he will become one of the faces of the league,
and the league will love that because the more successful
he is, the more successful the NBA is gonna be.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
So this notion that the NBA has it in fora
job more what.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Like that, that seems utterly ridiculous to me to even contemplate. Well,
it's not.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
It's not ridiculous for me to contemplate because when this
whole this is suspension thing came.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Out, I was hot. I was heated, and I let
it be known on our show Saturday and you know,
through my social media. But when I saw this, I
come at it from two ways. I get why you're
saying exactly what you're saying. Everything you just said perfectly.
I get exactly why you're saying that, And I don't
have a lot of pushback against it. What I will say, though,
and you guys always your phrase here on the odd couple,
(14:43):
we keep it real. We keep it real. So I'm
gonna keep it real. The reason why this comes out
like this is because it's the gun. And in America,
in our society, in today's world, when black athlete has gun,
there's a certain picture painted. There's a thug criminal. You're
supposed the fear that, and when anybody else does it,
it's he's defending his home. They're a hunter. They have
(15:05):
all rights the Second Amendment. He's not the only NBA
player that's posed with guns before. Chris Caman posted with
post with guns right after the Aarar movie theater shootings
with two ar fifteens, and there wasn't this type of
reaction with it. Now went waving it around or holding
it like Joall was older. But there wasn't this type
of reaction to it because for for him, it's, well,
that's his Amendment, that's his right. He has the right
to own a gun. He has a right to post
(15:26):
and hold up his gun. That's where I think it
was viewed.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
And I hear you because I made some of the
same point that you know early on in this. Yeah,
but I also think it was he's he was a
null hunter.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
I'm just saying I get, and that's fine. I get,
and that's what I'm kind of playing with it, like
you know, but I feel you that that's a valid point.
And I'll go just so far. Community period, just real talk.
Black celebrities are our our people, our community. We flashed things,
we flashed our mind, we flash our clothes, we flash
our jury, flashed our lady.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Well that's the stereotype.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
I know it's a stereotype. But in that community that
he comes from, that he's showing are he represent or
doesn't represent? A why have you? That is what they do.
So I can see where his camp is coming from,
because what they want to say is, well, you didn't
do it to this guy, or he's being treated unfairly.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
If you do that, now your guys light and now
it's a whole big thing.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
But you have to put the answer, you know, what
the statement would have been should have been? Then if
that's how they felt it should have been.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
Like why are you viewing this black man with the
gun differently than you view Chris Cayman or you would
view a white athlete.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
I brought it up if Rice Harper with the phillies,
would it have been as much an issue and so.
But but don't single out JA if you want to say, oh,
you guys are said you're looking at black athletes, young
black athletes differently because and I get where you say,
but I'm just.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Don't come at like it's just JA.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
And they did meet with him and say, obviously, look,
don't you know you can't do you can't be flashing
guns on your social media, and he went out and
did it anyway, And I feel you, Look, I think
there is a lot of hypocrisy within this country.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Period.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
You mentioned we talked about politicians, Republican politicians with their
kids holding assault weapons in hip hop. Obviously it's very
prominent where young black men are glorifying gunplay and killing
and things like that.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
But yet he does it. That's actually where he what
he's trying to copy.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
And so I feel you on all that.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
But the NBA is a private league and they can
make the rules that they want to make, and so
they were within their rights to you know, suspend them
and things like that. But my conserve VJ for more
of this was for Jah Morant safety. And I've said
that from the get go, I am most concerned about
(17:59):
his own safety because he's playing like he's a gangster,
and we all know his upbringing. That doesn't mean he
couldn't be tough, that doesn't mean he couldn't have certain
things he's into, but he wasn't brought up like that.
And so you're putting yourself out there where some people
that really lived that life might come at you in
(18:20):
a certain way because you're portraying that this is what
you're about.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
And so I'm more concerned about his own.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Safety, whether he would hurt somebody with a gun or
get hurt himself with a gun. And so hopefully, I
think I think this suspension hopefully serves as a wake
up call for him.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Because he needs it.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
A lot of what you're saying was true, but that
does not negate the fact that he needs a wake
up call because he's putting himself he could put put
himself in a bad position. I will push back a
little bit on the upbringing, and I think that's actually
a stereotype because when kids are from a certain from
the hood or from the ghetto, they're expected to be something,
(19:00):
expected to act a certain way. But if you come
from a two parent home, both his dad's at home
is from the suburbs. I'll just speak from my own experience.
I was raising the suburbs. My mom got remarried and
had a staid that I had two parents in my home.
I lived in the suburbs. I went to a suburban
type high school. Go google gangs of Northern Virginia where
I would grow where I grew up from. Just because
you're from the suburbs or just because you had a
certain type of upbringing doesn't mean that things do not
(19:22):
influence young men and things that they want to be.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
That's one of the reasons people criticize hip hop because
it is influencing young kids who aren't in that environment.
And we know enough about his environment. You're right, it
could be dudes from the suburbs rolling like that. Yeah,
but we know enough about his upbringing that he wasn't
rolling like that.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Now he might have.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
We've seen even pictures on Instagram when he was a kid,
posing like he's this and that. So he's clearly held
these fantasies about that life. But that doesn't mean he
came from that life.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
I get that. But also to one thing I do
want to speak on as we're using the term that life.
Once you are ingrained in that life. I've seen guys
that I was cool with in middle school and at
the beginning of high school who weren't in that life.
And then once they became and joined and got down
and joined again and got in that life and started
running through that is who they became.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Now they didn't come from it.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
But anything Joah was down like that. No, no, no, okay,
that's the example I'm using it. I don't think he was.
I think though that being in Memphis, which is a
heavy area fit out of the city, I frequently a
lot of times in my life, and I just pushed
back on, oh man, you being something you not.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
You don't know what that man is. He may be
that right now and.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
You know he's a basketball player. Well there anybody au
and he went to Murray State.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I mean, come on, man, real to I'm not saying again,
I'm not saying he can't be tough and he can't
be you know, like like that life.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
But that's not what.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
He was doing.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
That's not what he was doing. But I just I
tread lately and I get it, but I do tread
lightly on man can make a decision to change who
he is and what he want to do. I'm with you,
something could happen to him. But if Joah feels like
I'm down like this and I've been I've been indoctrinated
into this life by these people around me that other
pi'an don't know that, like this is what this is
what I am dead. It's like I can't. I can't
(21:15):
go against that. And if something you gets it, if
it's putting him in in harm's way, because any because
the last.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Thing we want to see is another young black man.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Absolutely absolutely, but he also is making a decision to
be part of that life, Chris. And that's why I
can't tell another grown man.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
You're either gonna be a part of that life or
you're gonna be a part of the NBA.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
True. I mean, that's what the league.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Melo Anthony said, come out and said.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
The David's third total sat him down and said, you're
either gonna be part of the NBA or you're gonna
be part of the street.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
So yeah, you're right, you're right. And so you're right.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
If John says, yo, i'll give up the two hundred million,
I'll give up, right, Is he gonna do all that?
Speaker 1 (21:54):
No?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
So that's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
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Speaker 4 (22:09):
How much pressure.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Do you think is on Kevin Durant to win a
title following this trade because.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
A lot of you saw it.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
I'm sure you saw it all weekend or once the
trade happened, everybody talking about may.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Kd stay on the super team?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
You know?
Speaker 3 (22:31):
I mean he had Harden and Westbrook and himself early
on in his career, and I know that wasn't really
a superteam because they were all so young. And then
but once he left Oklahoma City and then because they
traded hard and so they just had him in Westbrook.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
He obviously went to Golden State and stuff was just unfair. Uh.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
And then he went to Brooklyn.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
With Kyrie and they got James Harden and that was
a super team, but they just really never had a
chance to play together for the more part because of.
Speaker 5 (23:01):
Health or you know, the vaccine and things like that.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
And now he has.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Devin Booker and Bradley Beale and he obviously didn't win
a ring in Brooklyn and so if he doesn't win
one here.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
You know, will that be a knock on his legacy?
So your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (23:21):
How much pressure VJ is on Kevin Durant to win
another ring with this crew in Phoenix?
Speaker 4 (23:28):
What's the scale? A one to what? What do I
get here? One to one to ten? One to ten?
Speaker 5 (23:33):
Okay, that's great. I love one to ten, So I
will say it's a one thousand, one hundred and seventeen.
That's how so you're sure.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
To say it one to one hundred.
Speaker 5 (23:42):
Use had a time for I just wanted to know
what your range was. Yeah, one seventeen. This is this
is it? Yes, yes, this is it and I'm gonna
bang on this. Like I said, Durant's my guy. I've
always messed hard with Durrant. It doesn't sound like no, no, no,
no no. I'm just a tough I'm just a tough fan.
You can't you don't get it easy with me. I'm
(24:02):
a tough fan. I gotta go to the barber shop
and defend you. You know what I'm saying. You gotta
make me look good. I can get on RADEO time.
Well we're sorry. Yes, it's high man, this is high
as it's ever been in his career. This is it.
This is it. You mentioned he's gonna be thirty five
in September. This is it. Bruh, you gotta go. I
think it's I think it's this year. I'm not even
saying a two year win. I think you gotta go
(24:23):
get it this year because you don't get healthier, as
you mentioned earlier, as you get older. I think this
is the biggest pressure he will ever feel in his
career will be this upcoming season because here you are,
you got weapons galore again. And let's say Chris, let's
say they get Dylan Brooks, and let's say they get
another Okay, Mayson Pony was another name I thought there.
(24:45):
Let's just say they landose two guys. You'll really look
at this team and go, hey, all right, now, you
gotta you gotta you got a big guy that can
that low maintenance in Pumley, that can crash the boards,
play defense, gotta back to the basket, Got some atude, Yeah,
got a little got a little moxie to I mean,
then you're gonna bring in Dylan Brooks to play with
some veterans, and you know what he's gonna get. Ay, yo, KD.
(25:05):
It's on you, bro, Like it ain't on a Booker,
it ain't on Bill, it ain't on Vogel. It's on you.
This is the highest pressure in his career my opinion
coming up this season, Cruise. I hear you, and a
lot of what you said is good.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Like it's hard to disagree with all that, but I'm
coming at it a little differently.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
It took a breath.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I My days of expecting a lot from Kevin Durant
are over.
Speaker 5 (25:36):
Oh. I don't mean that he's still not still a
great player.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I do expect him to go out there and give
me twenty six, twenty seven points, could give me twenty
nine if.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
He had to, right, Yeah, probably won't have to with
that squad.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
I expect him to have a great individual season, but
team wise.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Expected anymore. It's interesting.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
I don't yeah, I mean it's interesting because the last
two playoff series, I've been stunned at what I've seen
from Kevin Durant. He hasn't been bad, but he ain't
been Kevin Durant either, like Boston. You know, remember all
the talk people used to talk about, Oh, they couldn't
(26:24):
do nothing with Durant in the nineties. What would they
do with him back in the day? Come on the
seventh for the year. Then you know what they would
have done. They would have did what Jason Tatum and
the Celtics did to me. They'd have got physical with
him and he'd have had trouble. He turned the ball
over left and the right, having trouble bringing it up
court against the pressure.
Speaker 5 (26:42):
Get physical with him. He was a different player. He
looked bad right and then Denver.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
He played better in these playoffs, but still the Denver.
He shot twenty two percent from three in the playoffs
this year.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Aaron Gordon bothered, cuz I mean.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Physical play, just you know, when Durant ain't even got
the ball, just a little elbow, little something to the gut,
you know, you.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Know I'm there, just a little something. Yeah, you know
I all night, baby, I ain't going nowhere all night
in series.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
You gonna feel me and that bothers Kevin Durant. And
here's my thing. The question is not can Kevin Durant
win a championship. He's got two and he was the
best player on those teams, even though it wasn't his team.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
The question is.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Can he lead a team to the championship and where
it's kind of I mean, this is gonna probably be
Devin Booker's team. But I'm just saying, like, can he
be the leader on the championship. That's what we all
want to see. Can you lead that team? And I
(27:52):
would say this VJ. And my correction, Durant shot twenty
two against den River. He shot thirty two from three
overall in the playoffs, but twenty two in the series
with Denver. But my point is this, if they win it,
I want your opinion on this. If they win it
this year, Let's just say they win it this year, Okay.
(28:15):
I would bet now Durant would obviously play great, and
it wouldn't take anything from the ring, but I would
bet that Devin Booker would be the leader.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
I would bet that Devin Booker plays better.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I'm not necessarily saying he's better than Durrant, but I
would bet that he would be the one because he
was certainly the one in these playoffs that carried him
for the most part. And I just I feel like
he's a stronger personality. I feel like he is more
of a leader than Durant. And if they win the championship,
this upcoming season. I look Durant, I'm sure he'll play great,
(28:52):
but I feel like deep book would be the one
that led him first.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
The expecting much from Durant, I like that, that's interesting
that that's a team wise, you know, I know, I know,
trust me, I know exactly what you're saying. You're looking
at it now and like, hey, can this guy. I
don't even I don't expect him to carry a team
because I have not seen him do it. Like you
said when he was in Golden State, it was unfair.
But I think for them to win with this team,
(29:20):
he's got to be the better player, not Booker, because
let's get real. Booker has some scoring outburst in the
playoffs this year, but when the money was on the table,
when the dice was being rolled, it was game six
in your building, he had twelve points, so he ain't
so he ain't show up that night. So I got it.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
I need you, and I think ran like fifteen or sixteenth.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Bro that I know I want you, But neither that's
the point. Neither one of them did. But I am
still of the side that if you're gonna win a
championship with this Phoenix Suns, team, it's gotta be Durantla,
it's got to be Kevin Durant. Book gonna do him.
But Book doesn't defend when like ke We've seen Durrant
(30:00):
get better defensively Kevin Durant. I mean they're both solid.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
They're not great defenders, they're both I think Durant's are
better defender, though I'll give you okay, they're both solid.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
But if you told me, if you ask me who
is the better defender, I would say Durant is the
better defender. I think Durant Golden State was exactly. Durant
is also the bigger mismatch, you know what I'm saying.
No matter who you play, who can you put on Durant?
You know, we know the elbow left, the right side,
that elbow, that mid range jumpy for for Durrant. That
(30:32):
who's guarding that. I think you can do things defensively
wise to disrupt Booker. It's hard to do things to
disrupt Durrant other than be physical with him. But I
don't see a lot of that.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
But that's what everybody that's then, But it's not a
secret anymore.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
But tell me, tell me the physical Western Conference team
other than the Nuggets, and that's the team they're probably
judges gonna have to get over and get passed to
win a championship. I know, I I disagree. I think
it has to be Durant that would be the better player.
I think if Booker is their best player in the playoffs,
next year they're home by the conference finals, they don't
make it to the finals, it's got to be Durant.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
If Booker was their best player. And that don't mean
Durant is bad, he was the best player. Less gave
him twenty six, and Booker gave him thirty and more
assists obviously because he's handling the ball. You don't think
they and and and obviously Bill giving you his twenty three.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
Like I think that could get it done. I need
I need to ran more more Dan for them to
have to get to a finals, win championship. Durrant's got
average more than twenty six. I need the if Durant
if on that team. Yeah, you got three scores, I know,
but still you still need this. You got score in
the NBA, you got scoring the end, but you got
to defend. You got to be able to stop. But
(31:51):
you better be able to you better be able to
put up some points some of these games too, especially
in the playoffs. You know, everybody doesn't owe people to
one O one one o two, one oh eight, you
know sometimes some one.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
So they're gonna have to score.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
They're gonna have to score from Durana Knight for them
to win the championship. If Booker's their leading score, Booker
was their best player this year. Chris, and they lost
in six in the second round. And I know they
didn't have the time, but they look, they gave Denver
more than anybody else. Yeah, they want to. Yeah, it
is very it is a fact. But that's because Denver
swept and be there. Like Eddie said, you know, he
(32:26):
made a good point. You remember I was watching that game.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
They were, they were up games and they were out
playing Denver in game two.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
In dinner, Denver they were You're right, they were, and
so you know, but that also leads you to think, man.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Should they have just kept Chris?
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Oh wow, you know what I'm saying. No good.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
I mean, I look, I get it, the injury concerns.
I would have been down on it because you know,
you just can't really count on Chris to be healthy.
Speaker 5 (32:53):
But maybe he would have been healthy
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
pm to ten pm Eastern four to seventh Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd
Couple at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple with
Chris Brusson and Rob Harker.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Big huge trade yesterday on Father'sday, Chris Paul Landry Shammitt
a gang of second round picks going to the Washington
Wizards for Bradley Beale, who will team with Kevin Durant,
Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton campaign and we don't know who else.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
But here's that.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
I'm gonna let you have the first go at it, right.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
What do you think.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
About the trade?
Speaker 5 (00:59):
How do you like it or not like it? I
like the trade, but I like it for two different reasons.
And there's a small reason why I wouldn't like it.
I like the trade because when you get Kevin Durant
and you realize the way that they got Mollywoping got
waxed by the Denver Nuggets, especially in game six, the
way he showed up and the way Devin Booker only
dropped twelve points. You need more firepower, and Bradley Bill
(01:20):
is that it's more firepower. But I said on Saturday
on Martin VJ, I don't like the move for a
small point that if you have to give up so
much that you can't absorb, like giving up the bitch,
like what they did with Durant when they made the
Durant deal. They had to give up so much they
didn't have enough there on the bench and defensively to
absorb that type of move. So you knew it was
a move for the future. I believe. I saw you
say the same thing on First Things First, So I
(01:42):
like the move for firepower, but you still now have
to load this bench up. You have Vogelism Ahead coaches
a defensive minded guy, so you got to get veterans
that could just not only play, they can play defense.
They need to be able to guard and defend in
the Western Conference. Now, when I first saw this deal,
the first name I looked for that believing was DeAndre
a And I didn't see that name, and that made
(02:04):
me like the deal even more because I like him
more than it seems like most people do. A eighteen
nineteen twenty to ten guy Big. He's improved this game.
He's got the mid range jumper gone, he's got the
little floridal one hand going out. Yeah, he played well
in the playoffs, so he had a game or two
where he probably could have done a little more. But
every player does, right. But I thought that him being
still there after this deal was done made me like
(02:25):
it a whole lot more. But then today you hear
he could be in trade move. They could be moved exactly,
they could be moving, any.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Question will he stay?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Now?
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Look, I feel somewhat similar to you.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I think that from a basketball standpoint, I don't mind
the trade for Phoenix.
Speaker 5 (02:43):
I actually like it because, and here's the thing.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
People have to understand, even if they had not made
this trade, they still were in a position financially where
they would have had trouble filling out.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Their roster with quality players anyway.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Okay, so now you still will have that problem, but
you also got a guy like Bradley Beal, who.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
To your point, will give you more firepower. And let's
start with this.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
People have to remember, and I know it's not always
this cutting dried and this academic. However, the Phoenix Suns
gave Denver more trouble than anybody else in the playoffs, right,
they got two games.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Again, it doesn't always work out this way.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
It doesn't mean they're necessarily the best, better than the Lakers,
better than the Timberwolves, better than the Heat, but it's.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Something to look at.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
They played eight games together in the regular season, Devin
Booker and Kevin Durant, they lost Chris Paul and they
came out there and got two games off the World champions.
Lakers couldn't do it, Timberwolves couldn't do it. Heat couldn't
do it. So there's that. Now, to your point, from
a basketball standpoint.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
They got Devin Booker who showed he can play point.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Now he's not a true point guard, but he showed
he can handle the ball, he can dish it, He
scored and he passed it tremendously in the playoffs, average
thirty and almost eight assists.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
And then Bradley Beal at times can bring it up
as well.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So they those two will probably alternate handling the point
guard duties. We know what KD does. He doesn't have
to dominate the Ball. I'm with you on Ayton. I
mean Ayton. Look, his motor's always been in question at times,
right even in college.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Is he gonna bring it every night?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Is he gonna be you know, have that aggressive attitude
every night, And that's an issue yep.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And but as a fourth.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Option, he'll get you seventeen and ten with just by
being out there, and you're going to need size. He's
not gonna shut down Nikola Jokic, but he's big enough
to at least getting his way be athletic contest shots,
so on and so forth. They the two questions I
have about Phoenix VJ are not necessarily about their quality
(05:06):
of play that they'll get from their big four, but
it is their health. Yeah, because Kevin Durant's averaged thirty
four games a year for the last four seasons and
Bradley Bill's average like fifty two. So the health is
a question and the depths. But you notice role players
(05:27):
should play better around four other guys that are like
that three stars that the defense has to be ready for.
Tory Craig, all you have to do next year this summer,
work on your three shoot threes all day every day
and come in ready to defend.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
So look, here's the issue. Is it gonna work?
Speaker 4 (05:53):
By work?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I mean this win a championship exactly. That's the only
out into the finals.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
You've been there.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
It's not about being a contender. You are that already.
You have to win a ring. And I will say this,
whether it's health, whether it's lack of depth, I doubt.
I don't think they're gonna win the ring. They can,
They're capable. But I if you put a gun to
my hand said are they gonna win the championship?
Speaker 5 (06:21):
I would likely say no. Yeah, I would take the field.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I hope I'm wrong kind of to be honest.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
Well, here's the thing. If you ask me to take
the field right now, I'll take the field. But we
haven't had the draft. I think there's gonna be a
lot of movement between now and Thursday, even draft, and
I think there's gonna be a lot of movement. You see,
the Western Conference is almost in reshuffle, panic mode. We
don't know what everybody's gonna be trying to do something.
You got the hometown Lakers out here while I'm in LA.
What are you gonna do with ad with the extension?
(06:47):
Lebron floated at the retirement, think, well, you know that's
not real. He's gonna come back and play. He still
can put up twenty seven a night, seven and eight,
and you know Lebron's still doing him.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
What's it gonna really lean on? Is Kevin Durant?
Speaker 5 (06:58):
Now, we a lot of people bang on Lebron for
playing with all these other great players.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Okay, and I'm a KD guy. I'm from the DNV.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
I saw him play a fifteen years old at Montres
Christian Academy in high school. It's time to show up now.
Like you said, you gotta go get a chip now,
brou because the two chips you got are with that
Golden State squad and then they won one before you
and won after you. You did the super team thing
at Brooklyn didn't work out. You and Kyrie and Harden
didn't play enough together. And now you have Booker and
(07:25):
you have built and if they keep eighting like you said,
and if they added you know, a supporting cast, Bruh,
you gotta go get this ring this year. The finals
ain't gonna cut it, and the Western Conference finals is
not and he can't.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Well, look, he's gonna be thirty five in September. Yeah,
so you don't generally get healthier as you ate. And
like I said, he's already been injury prone. Heck, he
got hurt in the layup line for goodness. So yeah,
they have to their Their chances of winning a championship
are going to decrease every year. The best chance to
(08:02):
win it will be next year. And so look, Frank,
you mentioned Frank Vogel, He's a good defensive coach. Look,
defense in the NBA is about scheme. So you have
a coach who can put together a proper scheme, and
it's about heart and technique and desire. If you have
(08:24):
the requisite athleticism, size and strength, and they do. They
have enough to be a They're not gonna be the
number one defensive team in the league, but they have enough.
If Bill and Devin and Ayton and Durant and whoever
the fifth started is Tory Craig, whoever, if they put
forth the effort, then they should be able to be
(08:47):
adequate defensively, all right.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
And then we saw it with Miami.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
It's a lot of undrafted players out there that can ball.
So this is gonna be on their scouting department to
fill out that roster with vat minimum, guys that might
not be great individually from an NBA level context, but
with superstars like that drawing attention, they can hit the
(09:16):
open three, they can make smart plays. They hustle defensively.
Nobody thought Bruce Brown had this right.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Yeah, he was with the Pistons. He was with my Pistons,
So I saw that.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Right.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
So they need to go out and find guys like that,
and you can find them.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
They're all over the place, man, you definitely can find them.
Also to a defense you say hard, desire to me
is simple. You have to get stops in the NBA
when you need stops. I understand if you have a
little defensive mishaps in December and January and every now
and then in like a March, but by April, Bro,
you have to get stops when you need them. You
don't have to be a great defensive team. You just
(09:55):
need to have the one I call it the one
to the wanna get this stop off this guy who's
been cooking you for three quarters and it's time to
slow this guy down or shut this guy down so
you can go get this dub. So I think Vogel
is important. It is, but also shift to the main player.
We haven't mentioned Bill. I always felt Bill was a
two to three guy. I never felt Bill was a
Batman or Superman. He's more like Flash. He's more like Aquaman, right,
(10:18):
Like he can do some stuff. He can talk to
the fish, but you can shoot Jill. He's a great
you know what I'm saying. But this is perfect. He's
Bradley Bill. You talk about a guy that just kind
of stand over there and wait to get the ball
to shoot. So many eyes are gonna be on Booker
and Durant. Oh, Bill Man, and he can.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Create his own exactly great for us, like offensively, come.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
On, yeah, he should be like it should be nice.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
with Chris Brussard and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm
Eastern four pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
This is Steve Covino and Rich Davis, and together we
are Covino and Rich Coveno and Rich.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
Thanks buddy, that's right.
Speaker 7 (11:00):
Covino on Rich, Fox Sports Radio's newest hit show, heard
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on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
Every Coveno in Rich show's available as a podcasts. Just
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Speaker 7 (11:17):
The show features our unique take on sports injected with
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or wherever you get your podcasts. Rich give me the
hell Yeah.
Speaker 8 (11:32):
Tim McMahon was on the latest edition of Brian Windhorst
and the Hoops Collective podcast. It's a great pot if
you like NBA talk, but buried at the very end
of the podcast, you got to put it at the front.
They're talking about the John Moran suspension and Tim McMahon
says that the people in and are always heard indirectly
that Jaw and the people who are in or formerly
(11:52):
in his camp feel that the NBA is quote out
to get him, as is the NBA media talking on
John rant.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Now, I gotta say this, VJ.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
The NBA wants nothing more than the success of John Marin.
I was actually talking to a person that works in
the league for a team, UH and he's been in
the league for a while now, and he was lamenting
the fact that there really isn't that clear cut American
(12:25):
superstar who's going to become the face of the league,
the next face of the league.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Obviously you have Lebron and you have Steph, but.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
All of the the guys that are really in position
to be the face of the league, Nikola Jokic, Yannis
Luca and who knows what Victor Winbayama's gonna be. They're all,
of course international, and obviously we love the international players.
But it was just saying, man, where it's never been
a time where an American hasn't been one of the
(12:55):
big key for the faces of the game, and is
that gonna be good for the lead league? And we
both were saying it was supposed to be Joh. It
really ideally would have been John Anzion, but Jah is
the guy. Of all the American young players, Jason Tatum,
(13:15):
Donovan Mitchell, whoever else.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
You want to throw out there, because there's plenty of
good American players.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
John mored is the one out.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
You know, take away the off the court stuff. He
has the game. His team was a contender. He is
arguably the most electrifying and exciting player in the league
like and he had a kind of a rags to
richest story, right freaking Murray State. So the league, look
John Mord's success.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
If he does come.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Back from this and you know, resurrect his career and
continue to play great, if not even better basketball, then
he will become one of the faces of the league,
and the league will love that because the more successful
he is, the more successful the NBA is gonna be.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
So this notion that the NBA has it in fora
job more what.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Like that, that seems utterly ridiculous to me to even contemplate. Well,
it's not.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
It's not ridiculous for me to contemplate because when this
whole this is suspension thing came.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Out, I was hot. I was heated, and I let
it be known on our show Saturday and you know,
through my social media. But when I saw this, I
come at it from two ways. I get why you're
saying exactly what you're saying. Everything you just said perfectly.
I get exactly why you're saying that, And I don't
have a lot of pushback against it. What I will say, though,
and you guys always your phrase here on the odd couple,
(14:43):
we keep it real. We keep it real. So I'm
gonna keep it real. The reason why this comes out
like this is because it's the gun. And in America,
in our society, in today's world, when black athlete has gun,
there's a certain picture painted. There's a thug criminal. You're
supposed the fear that, and when anybody else does it,
it's he's defending his home. They're a hunter. They have
(15:05):
all rights the Second Amendment. He's not the only NBA
player that's posed with guns before. Chris Caman posted with
post with guns right after the Aarar movie theater shootings
with two ar fifteens, and there wasn't this type of
reaction with it. Now went waving it around or holding
it like Joall was older. But there wasn't this type
of reaction to it because for for him, it's, well,
that's his Amendment, that's his right. He has the right
to own a gun. He has a right to post
(15:26):
and hold up his gun. That's where I think it
was viewed.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
And I hear you because I made some of the
same point that you know early on in this. Yeah,
but I also think it was he's he was a
null hunter.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
I'm just saying I get, and that's fine. I get,
and that's what I'm kind of playing with it, like
you know, but I feel you that that's a valid point.
And I'll go just so far. Community period, just real talk.
Black celebrities are our our people, our community. We flashed things,
we flashed our mind, we flash our clothes, we flash
our jury, flashed our lady.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Well that's the stereotype.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
I know it's a stereotype. But in that community that
he comes from, that he's showing are he represent or
doesn't represent? A why have you? That is what they do.
So I can see where his camp is coming from,
because what they want to say is, well, you didn't
do it to this guy, or he's being treated unfairly.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
If you do that, now your guys light and now
it's a whole big thing.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
But you have to put the answer, you know, what
the statement would have been should have been? Then if
that's how they felt it should have been.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
Like why are you viewing this black man with the
gun differently than you view Chris Cayman or you would
view a white athlete.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
I brought it up if Rice Harper with the phillies,
would it have been as much an issue and so.
But but don't single out JA if you want to say, oh,
you guys are said you're looking at black athletes, young
black athletes differently because and I get where you say,
but I'm just.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Don't come at like it's just JA.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
And they did meet with him and say, obviously, look,
don't you know you can't do you can't be flashing
guns on your social media, and he went out and
did it anyway, And I feel you, Look, I think
there is a lot of hypocrisy within this country.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Period.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
You mentioned we talked about politicians, Republican politicians with their
kids holding assault weapons in hip hop. Obviously it's very
prominent where young black men are glorifying gunplay and killing
and things like that.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
But yet he does it. That's actually where he what
he's trying to copy.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
And so I feel you on all that.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
But the NBA is a private league and they can
make the rules that they want to make, and so
they were within their rights to you know, suspend them
and things like that. But my conserve VJ for more
of this was for Jah Morant safety. And I've said
that from the get go, I am most concerned about
(17:59):
his own safety because he's playing like he's a gangster,
and we all know his upbringing. That doesn't mean he
couldn't be tough, that doesn't mean he couldn't have certain
things he's into, but he wasn't brought up like that.
And so you're putting yourself out there where some people
that really lived that life might come at you in
(18:20):
a certain way because you're portraying that this is what
you're about.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
And so I'm more concerned about his own.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Safety, whether he would hurt somebody with a gun or
get hurt himself with a gun. And so hopefully, I
think I think this suspension hopefully serves as a wake
up call for him.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Because he needs it.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
A lot of what you're saying was true, but that
does not negate the fact that he needs a wake
up call because he's putting himself he could put put
himself in a bad position. I will push back a
little bit on the upbringing, and I think that's actually
a stereotype because when kids are from a certain from
the hood or from the ghetto, they're expected to be something,
(19:00):
expected to act a certain way. But if you come
from a two parent home, both his dad's at home
is from the suburbs. I'll just speak from my own experience.
I was raising the suburbs. My mom got remarried and
had a staid that I had two parents in my home.
I lived in the suburbs. I went to a suburban
type high school. Go google gangs of Northern Virginia where
I would grow where I grew up from. Just because
you're from the suburbs or just because you had a
certain type of upbringing doesn't mean that things do not
(19:22):
influence young men and things that they want to be.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
That's one of the reasons people criticize hip hop because
it is influencing young kids who aren't in that environment.
And we know enough about his environment. You're right, it
could be dudes from the suburbs rolling like that. Yeah,
but we know enough about his upbringing that he wasn't
rolling like that.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Now he might have.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
We've seen even pictures on Instagram when he was a kid,
posing like he's this and that. So he's clearly held
these fantasies about that life. But that doesn't mean he
came from that life.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
I get that. But also to one thing I do
want to speak on as we're using the term that life.
Once you are ingrained in that life. I've seen guys
that I was cool with in middle school and at
the beginning of high school who weren't in that life.
And then once they became and joined and got down
and joined again and got in that life and started
running through that is who they became.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Now they didn't come from it.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
But anything Joah was down like that. No, no, no, okay,
that's the example I'm using it. I don't think he was.
I think though that being in Memphis, which is a
heavy area fit out of the city, I frequently a
lot of times in my life, and I just pushed
back on, oh man, you being something you not.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
You don't know what that man is. He may be
that right now and.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
You know he's a basketball player. Well there anybody au
and he went to Murray State.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I mean, come on, man, real to I'm not saying again,
I'm not saying he can't be tough and he can't
be you know, like like that life.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
But that's not what.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
He was doing.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
That's not what he was doing. But I just I
tread lately and I get it, but I do tread
lightly on man can make a decision to change who
he is and what he want to do. I'm with you,
something could happen to him. But if Joah feels like
I'm down like this and I've been I've been indoctrinated
into this life by these people around me that other
pi'an don't know that, like this is what this is
what I am dead. It's like I can't. I can't
(21:15):
go against that. And if something you gets it, if
it's putting him in in harm's way, because any because
the last.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Thing we want to see is another young black man.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Absolutely absolutely, but he also is making a decision to
be part of that life, Chris. And that's why I
can't tell another grown man.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
You're either gonna be a part of that life or
you're gonna be a part of the NBA.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
True. I mean, that's what the league.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Melo Anthony said, come out and said.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
The David's third total sat him down and said, you're
either gonna be part of the NBA or you're gonna
be part of the street.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
So yeah, you're right, you're right. And so you're right.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
If John says, yo, i'll give up the two hundred million,
I'll give up, right, Is he gonna do all that?
Speaker 1 (21:54):
No?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
So that's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
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Speaker 4 (22:09):
How much pressure.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Do you think is on Kevin Durant to win a
title following this trade because.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
A lot of you saw it.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
I'm sure you saw it all weekend or once the
trade happened, everybody talking about may.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Kd stay on the super team?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
You know?
Speaker 3 (22:31):
I mean he had Harden and Westbrook and himself early
on in his career, and I know that wasn't really
a superteam because they were all so young. And then
but once he left Oklahoma City and then because they
traded hard and so they just had him in Westbrook.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
He obviously went to Golden State and stuff was just unfair. Uh.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
And then he went to Brooklyn.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
With Kyrie and they got James Harden and that was
a super team, but they just really never had a
chance to play together for the more part because of.
Speaker 5 (23:01):
Health or you know, the vaccine and things like that.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
And now he has.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Devin Booker and Bradley Beale and he obviously didn't win
a ring in Brooklyn and so if he doesn't win
one here.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
You know, will that be a knock on his legacy?
So your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (23:21):
How much pressure VJ is on Kevin Durant to win
another ring with this crew in Phoenix?
Speaker 4 (23:28):
What's the scale? A one to what? What do I
get here? One to one to ten? One to ten?
Speaker 5 (23:33):
Okay, that's great. I love one to ten, So I
will say it's a one thousand, one hundred and seventeen.
That's how so you're sure.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
To say it one to one hundred.
Speaker 5 (23:42):
Use had a time for I just wanted to know
what your range was. Yeah, one seventeen. This is this
is it? Yes, yes, this is it and I'm gonna
bang on this. Like I said, Durant's my guy. I've
always messed hard with Durrant. It doesn't sound like no, no, no,
no no. I'm just a tough I'm just a tough fan.
You can't you don't get it easy with me. I'm
(24:02):
a tough fan. I gotta go to the barber shop
and defend you. You know what I'm saying. You gotta
make me look good. I can get on RADEO time.
Well we're sorry. Yes, it's high man, this is high
as it's ever been in his career. This is it.
This is it. You mentioned he's gonna be thirty five
in September. This is it. Bruh, you gotta go. I
think it's I think it's this year. I'm not even
saying a two year win. I think you gotta go
(24:23):
get it this year because you don't get healthier, as
you mentioned earlier, as you get older. I think this
is the biggest pressure he will ever feel in his
career will be this upcoming season because here you are,
you got weapons galore again. And let's say Chris, let's
say they get Dylan Brooks, and let's say they get
another Okay, Mayson Pony was another name I thought there.
(24:45):
Let's just say they landose two guys. You'll really look
at this team and go, hey, all right, now, you
gotta you gotta you got a big guy that can
that low maintenance in Pumley, that can crash the boards,
play defense, gotta back to the basket, Got some atude, Yeah,
got a little got a little moxie to I mean,
then you're gonna bring in Dylan Brooks to play with
some veterans, and you know what he's gonna get. Ay, yo, KD.
(25:05):
It's on you, bro, Like it ain't on a Booker,
it ain't on Bill, it ain't on Vogel. It's on you.
This is the highest pressure in his career my opinion
coming up this season, Cruise. I hear you, and a
lot of what you said is good.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Like it's hard to disagree with all that, but I'm
coming at it a little differently.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
It took a breath.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I My days of expecting a lot from Kevin Durant
are over.
Speaker 5 (25:36):
Oh. I don't mean that he's still not still a
great player.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I do expect him to go out there and give
me twenty six, twenty seven points, could give me twenty
nine if.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
He had to, right, Yeah, probably won't have to with
that squad.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
I expect him to have a great individual season, but
team wise.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Expected anymore. It's interesting.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
I don't yeah, I mean it's interesting because the last
two playoff series, I've been stunned at what I've seen
from Kevin Durant. He hasn't been bad, but he ain't
been Kevin Durant either, like Boston. You know, remember all
the talk people used to talk about, Oh, they couldn't
(26:24):
do nothing with Durant in the nineties. What would they
do with him back in the day? Come on the
seventh for the year. Then you know what they would
have done. They would have did what Jason Tatum and
the Celtics did to me. They'd have got physical with
him and he'd have had trouble. He turned the ball
over left and the right, having trouble bringing it up
court against the pressure.
Speaker 5 (26:42):
Get physical with him. He was a different player. He
looked bad right and then Denver.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
He played better in these playoffs, but still the Denver.
He shot twenty two percent from three in the playoffs
this year.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Aaron Gordon bothered, cuz I mean.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Physical play, just you know, when Durant ain't even got
the ball, just a little elbow, little something to the gut,
you know, you.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Know I'm there, just a little something. Yeah, you know
I all night, baby, I ain't going nowhere all night
in series.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
You gonna feel me and that bothers Kevin Durant. And
here's my thing. The question is not can Kevin Durant
win a championship. He's got two and he was the
best player on those teams, even though it wasn't his team.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
The question is.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Can he lead a team to the championship and where
it's kind of I mean, this is gonna probably be
Devin Booker's team. But I'm just saying, like, can he
be the leader on the championship. That's what we all
want to see. Can you lead that team? And I
(27:52):
would say this VJ. And my correction, Durant shot twenty
two against den River. He shot thirty two from three
overall in the playoffs, but twenty two in the series
with Denver. But my point is this, if they win it,
I want your opinion on this. If they win it
this year, Let's just say they win it this year, Okay.
(28:15):
I would bet now Durant would obviously play great, and
it wouldn't take anything from the ring, but I would
bet that Devin Booker would be the leader.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
I would bet that Devin Booker plays better.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I'm not necessarily saying he's better than Durrant, but I
would bet that he would be the one because he
was certainly the one in these playoffs that carried him
for the most part. And I just I feel like
he's a stronger personality. I feel like he is more
of a leader than Durant. And if they win the championship,
this upcoming season. I look Durant, I'm sure he'll play great,
(28:52):
but I feel like deep book would be the one
that led him first.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
The expecting much from Durant, I like that, that's interesting
that that's a team wise, you know, I know, I know,
trust me, I know exactly what you're saying. You're looking
at it now and like, hey, can this guy. I
don't even I don't expect him to carry a team
because I have not seen him do it. Like you
said when he was in Golden State, it was unfair.
But I think for them to win with this team,
(29:20):
he's got to be the better player, not Booker, because
let's get real. Booker has some scoring outburst in the
playoffs this year, but when the money was on the table,
when the dice was being rolled, it was game six
in your building, he had twelve points, so he ain't
so he ain't show up that night. So I got it.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
I need you, and I think ran like fifteen or sixteenth.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Bro that I know I want you, But neither that's
the point. Neither one of them did. But I am
still of the side that if you're gonna win a
championship with this Phoenix Suns, team, it's gotta be Durantla,
it's got to be Kevin Durant. Book gonna do him.
But Book doesn't defend when like ke We've seen Durrant
(30:00):
get better defensively Kevin Durant. I mean they're both solid.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
They're not great defenders, they're both I think Durant's are
better defender, though I'll give you okay, they're both solid.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
But if you told me, if you ask me who
is the better defender, I would say Durant is the
better defender. I think Durant Golden State was exactly. Durant
is also the bigger mismatch, you know what I'm saying.
No matter who you play, who can you put on Durant?
You know, we know the elbow left, the right side,
that elbow, that mid range jumpy for for Durrant. That
(30:32):
who's guarding that. I think you can do things defensively
wise to disrupt Booker. It's hard to do things to
disrupt Durrant other than be physical with him. But I
don't see a lot of that.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
But that's what everybody that's then, But it's not a
secret anymore.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
But tell me, tell me the physical Western Conference team
other than the Nuggets, and that's the team they're probably
judges gonna have to get over and get passed to
win a championship. I know, I I disagree. I think
it has to be Durant that would be the better player.
I think if Booker is their best player in the playoffs,
next year they're home by the conference finals, they don't
make it to the finals, it's got to be Durant.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
If Booker was their best player. And that don't mean
Durant is bad, he was the best player. Less gave
him twenty six, and Booker gave him thirty and more
assists obviously because he's handling the ball. You don't think
they and and and obviously Bill giving you his twenty three.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
Like I think that could get it done. I need
I need to ran more more Dan for them to
have to get to a finals, win championship. Durrant's got
average more than twenty six. I need the if Durant
if on that team. Yeah, you got three scores, I know,
but still you still need this. You got score in
the NBA, you got scoring the end, but you got
to defend. You got to be able to stop. But
(31:51):
you better be able to you better be able to
put up some points some of these games too, especially
in the playoffs. You know, everybody doesn't owe people to
one O one one o two, one oh eight, you
know sometimes some one.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
So they're gonna have to score.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
They're gonna have to score from Durana Knight for them
to win the championship. If Booker's their leading score, Booker
was their best player this year. Chris, and they lost
in six in the second round. And I know they
didn't have the time, but they look, they gave Denver
more than anybody else. Yeah, they want to. Yeah, it
is very it is a fact. But that's because Denver
swept and be there. Like Eddie said, you know, he
(32:26):
made a good point. You remember I was watching that game.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
They were, they were up games and they were out
playing Denver in game two.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
In dinner, Denver they were You're right, they were, and
so you know, but that also leads you to think, man.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Should they have just kept Chris?
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Oh wow, you know what I'm saying. No good.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
I mean, I look, I get it, the injury concerns.
I would have been down on it because you know,
you just can't really count on Chris to be healthy.
Speaker 5 (32:53):
But maybe he would have been healthy
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