February 7, 2019 • 32 mins
Doug tells you why he understands where Kevin Durant is coming from with his criticisms of the media, even though he brings it upon himself. He also reacts to the latest trades from around the NBA with insider Chris Broussard.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Farmers dot com. Are Farmers all right? The trade deadline
(00:46):
has come and gone, it appears, although look, there can
be some things that get in underneath the wire. But
it appears that Anthony Davis remains a New Orleans Pelican,
and though the Lakers made one or two trades, none
of the them landed them star players. Although they may
have a roster spot. Some people think that will belong
to Carmelo Anthony. Some people like me think I feel
(01:10):
like the Lakers will go Wayne Ellington where somebody like
somebody else who gets bought out. But I could be wrong.
Christmers Are is gonna join us in fifteen minutes. We'll
get his take, will kind of run through the league
as many of the deal as we can to get
our immediate reaction, and we'll react to if, in fact,
Anthony Davis is still a member of the Pelicans. What
that What that means for the upcoming off season. But
last night, the whole world was reacting not to the
(01:32):
fact that the Warriors eviscerated the Spurs right like they want,
basically by forty No one's even reacting to that. Instead,
they're reacting to Kevin Durant after the game at the
press conference. There has been about what was it, three
days where he refused to speak to the media. He
decided to speak to the media after the game last night.
(01:52):
Here's what he had to say. I have nothing to
do with the Knicks. I don't know who tradedis. They
got nothing to do with me. I'm trying to play
bad basketball. Yeah, come in here every day. Asked me
about free agency, asked my teammates, my coaches who riled
up the fans about it. Let us play basketball. That's
all I'm saying. And now when I want to talk
to you all as a problem with me, Come on, man,
(02:14):
grow up. Uh. He called out ethan Strous, who apparently
he is writing a book about the Warriors, but did
have a piece in the Athletics saying that everybody around
the Warriors thinks Kevin Durant has gone. He's obviously bothered
by it. And you know what, there's there's a couple
of things here. Um, what we're getting onto Kevin Durant
for when he says grow up because he had burner accounts.
(02:37):
Arguing with nameless, faceless fourteen year old people on social
media is fair and unfair all at the same time. Right, Like,
let me just let me just ask you this. If
you ask Kevin Durant, are you staying with the Golden
State Warriors next season? What answer can he give that
(03:01):
works out for him? Now he may at this point
think one thing or the other, but one he's you're
actually allowed to change your mind. You're actually let me
give you an example here, okay, and my personalizing this, yes,
this is seven years ago seven years ago in the spring,
so like six and three quarters years ago. UM. I
(03:23):
had been at ESPN for nine years ten years total,
nine years up in Connecticut, and I I had written
down a number that I felt like I was worth
and my agent at the time had said, you'll never
get that number. And at the time, I also I
wanted stability, and I wanted a a four or five
(03:45):
year deal. And after a little bit of wrangling, after
being low balled the first month, it started to get
close and then wouldn't you know what, they hit the
number and it was a five year deal. I wouldn't
have to move do the same gig get dug in
dig Roots, I lived in what I still consider to
(04:06):
be my uh. It was a favorite house that I
lived lived in, favorite house, incredible neighborhood, cost of living
was good. The weather didn't bother me as much as
it bothered maybe my wife at the time because we
had little kids. UM, there were a couple of things
that I wanted to I wanted to put in a pool,
I wanted to put in a little court and this
contract would allow me to do so. And I remember
(04:31):
getting the offer and it was on a Friday night
and uh, A bunch of the dudes in town, A
bunch of the dudes in town, and our wives. We
were all going down to um one of the two casinos,
and so we went to miss the area Mystic is Mtic, Connecticut,
and we had dinner, a great dinner down there. And
(04:52):
I hadn't even really talked to my wife about it.
I just kind of told her the number and the years.
But I remember announced into the dinner table, Hey, I
know you guys didn't ask, but we talked about a
little bit. Looks like I'm staying and they were like
gr and we toasted everybody and it was awesome. We
kind of all went around and made like some personal
announcements about our families. It was like five couples. And
(05:16):
I mean at at that moment, I wasn't even considering
fielding on other offers because they had gotten to a point.
I was like, that's a good number. And the only
thing I had kind of come up with was, hey,
I asked for five different things. Could you if you
get back to me you hit all those five different things,
I will, I will sign the contract tomorrow. This We'll
get back to your Monday. And so we went to
(05:39):
the casino, and it was like, I'm gonna say, like
Melissa Ethridge or somebody like that that I had not
None of the guys had any desire to go see.
And so what we decided to do, and this is
a good thing you should. This is a good like guys,
you know, date night type deal. The women went to
the concert and the guys we went and gambled. It's
a good deal. Right. So we're shooting ice, you know,
(06:00):
we're playing cards, we're having a good time, having a
couple of drinks, and I'm walking around with a buddy
and he's like, man, he's talking about my girls and
I was like, wow, you really know them. It's like, yeah,
I coached them in soccer. It was awesome. It's a
shame that you have to work right then, because it's
so much fun to coach them. At the time, my
son was like two and my daughters are like five.
(06:26):
And at that very moment, I changed my mind. I look,
I had I had said I love where I live,
I love the people I live, I like where I work,
I like everything about and then I realized that the
same show and I've been doing this this time slot
for years now. There it was four to seven Eastern time,
(06:48):
and though my commune wasn't arduous, you get home with
seven thirty maybe seven, But when your kids are two
and you have three kids that are five and under,
you get home at seven. There a sleep, and then
when they get to school age, you know, you literally
never see him. Plus I work weekends, weekend nights, and
(07:08):
I travel a lot. At that very moment, I changed
my mind, like, man, I gotta find a way to
get a different timeslot, of different time zone, which is
what I did. So I asked, So, I asked you
in regards to Kevin Durant, like, what can he say
if he says I'm staying, Maybe he is staying, or
maybe he changes his mind. If he says, hey, guys,
(07:29):
I don't know. I don't I have no idea, Well
I do, I have no idea, means he must be leaving.
And if he says he's leaving, because that's how he feels,
one he could change his mind and to now the
sudden it becomes, why is he leaving? This is unfair.
You can't even you can't tell the truth because one
the truth, uh may may harm your current team and
(07:53):
to the truth today might not be the truth next week,
might not be the truth in five hours. So I
understand end that he's that that he has come across
terse and he has he has not made it easy
on himself personally trying to defend himself. But you also
(08:14):
have to take into the account his mentality. His mentality was, hey,
everyone said Kevin Rant. But you know, he's in everything
but win a championship, and he thinks of himself as
the best player on Earth. And you know what, I
kind of agree with him. I play both ends. I play.
I can play all five positions, I can shoot, I
(08:34):
can score. I'm basically a walking bucket, and I become
a really good defensive player. And oh yeah, by the way,
if you want to argue my clutchedness, how come I
was better than Lebron when Lebron was guarding me and
I was guarding him in each of the last two
NBA finals. It's a strong argument. And so right now
he's in this kind of he's in this this space
(08:55):
where he's not really a warrior, but he is a champion.
And if he stays easy and keep winning championships, but
does will he ever win over people who think he
joined a seventy three win team that already won one
out of two titles ran and so he doesn't actually
know if you were that good, but you didn't feel
(09:16):
like you got the respect that you deserved, and you
thought about going elsewhere, Like this is what happens in business.
But we're really going to ask guys again and again
what they're doing in July in February. I don't know
what I'm doing next week. So yeah, I'm kind of
on team Durant sort of side. He just wants to
(09:36):
play basketball. I understand what the media is asking, but
at some point the answer becomes enough. It just becomes enough.
So I listened to Kevin Durant, and I'm not offended
by it. People talking about what he's thinking, what he's saying,
what he's doing, because he's not saying it, and they
(09:56):
don't know what he's gonna do. And we may be
all intrigued by it, but the fact is, if you've
ever switched jobs, or you've ever had a contract set
to expire, you start thinking and exploring about it. You
can't lose track of the actual job that you have
during the time in which you have it. So I
(10:17):
listened to Grant. I'm actually gonna defend him. Has he
done immature things in the past, Yeah, he hasn't helped himself.
I would also say that if he doesn't like negativity
coming from the media, which he didn't like in Oklahoma
City when they put Mr. Unreliable and then the team
made the newspaper apologize for the headline, you might want
(10:41):
to reconsider the idea of New York City. But in
terms of general fairness from the media, I don't think
it's fair that we continue to pound and pound and
hawk after an answer that we want that he doesn't
(11:02):
know that there isn't sort of clarity for because we're
not in July, and while it is your job to
get what people are saying at some point, Okay, we
understand people have said that they think he might go
to New York. The Nicks have told everybody he's coming
to New York. But I look at Kevin Durant, I
(11:24):
see a little bit of myself. What he thought last
week might not be what he thought yesterday, might not
be what he thinks today. And the last thing that
he really really wants or deserves even is to constantly
be asked about a decision he doesn't have to make today.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Doug Dot
Leap Show weekdays in noon eastern three pm Pacific on
(11:45):
Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. As
you check out the Odd Couple. It's a seven Eastern time,
four o'clock Pacific time Monday through Friday right here on
Fox Sports Radio. He and I got a chance to
co host the Dan Patrick Show was that Tuesday this
week at Tuesday of this week where we we argued
back and forth the Lakers package, to value the players
(12:06):
that they have, etcetera. Um, unless something has changed, I'm
watching TV, I'm on the internet. I haven't seen anything
in regards to the Pelicans trading Anthony Davis, so it
looks like he's going to remain. Uh, Chris, Let's start
with the Pelicans perspective. Was that the right move? Unquestionably?
I mean uh, I think it would have been foolish
(12:27):
of them to trade him before the deadline. The only
way I could have seen a deal happening with the
Lakers would have been if the Lakers had gotten a
third or fourth team involved and gotten the start to
New Orleans in that deal. So maybe I'm just throwing
out a name, like if they could have got Portland
involved and Damian Lillard would have went to New Orleans
(12:48):
or something like that. Other than that, it just didn't
make sense to me why New Orleans would make this
move when Boston, who you know mayor not be able
to make a better offer, couldn't even do it until
June or July. When the Nicks, who you know may
or may not be willing to give up the first
(13:09):
or second pick, can't do that until May or June
or July. You know, So like other teams couldn't even
put their best foots forward on the trade market. So
why would I do it now? And I think they
can get a good package from the Lakers this summer. Um, yeah,
if if that package still still exists, what about the
(13:29):
Lakers that they made one trade? They got Mike Muscala,
and they made a cross town trade where uh, where
Beasley was gonna They traded Beasley and they traded uh,
what's the big kid who's Actually I'm surprised they let
Zubatch go because I think he's their best offensive big um.
(13:50):
You know, I think Javelle McGhee and Tyson Chandler or
some similar and that they're both kind of limited offensively. Uh,
you know, they're decent rim protector. But I would I
was very surprised that they let Duboch go because I
think he's a pretty good player. Well, with this, this
admits that they made a mistake in the offseason not
resigning brook Lopez. They need to stretch. They need somebody
(14:12):
who's got a reputation as a stretch big and that's
what they got. And I think they overpay. You know,
they easily contract. They'll just Clippers to buy out right
and Subach is only one years old. I think the
Clippers won the deal because the Lakers admitting a mistake
in the offseason. They've They've added two shooters. They have
one open roster spot. Will that be Carmen Anthony's all
(14:32):
The speculation is that it's gonna be Mellow, which I
I look at this point, what's the what's the harm?
You know what I mean? I mean this this season
has really turned upside down for the Lakers, So what's
the problem in bringing in Mellow? Do I think it
will work? Not really. I don't think it will be
anything great. Um, but you know, I've always said it's
(14:54):
about Mellow since you know, he's been out of the league.
He's better than most of the players in the league.
This is not that he's not still an NBA quality player.
It's just that there's really no fit for him anywhere,
you know, And um, I don't think this is a
great fit. We've seen Lebron do this before. He brought
Dwayne Way back to Cleveland, Derek Roses in Cleveland. You know,
(15:19):
all these things he wants to make happen. But I
just don't see this being a great fit between with
with Mellow with the Lakers. Um. And it'll be interesting
if you know, it's Mellow's not getting a lot of
playing time. He's obviously not gonna be happy. And what's
that going to you know, what will come of that?
(15:40):
If indeed that's okay, then they could he didn't make
it too things giving in Houston, Alright, all right, Well,
Houston is a team that's playing for something at this point,
what are the Lake is playing for? But my my
my point is like, look, Houston wasn't even willing willing
to see. There's something about how he purports himself, what
(16:01):
he does. What it is is that he still thinks
he's a star. He still thinks he's a star if
he were to exit gracefully like a Paul Pierce, even
a Gary Payton of Vince Carter. You know, guys that understood.
I'm no longer a star, but i just want to
be a part of the team. I'll play a role.
(16:22):
Even Dwayne Wade's done that, then he would be fun.
But he's He's going out like Alan Iverson where I
still think I'm the twenty point scorer. I still still
think I should get at least fifteen shots tonight. I
still think I should start. And the one thing he
has going in this whole thing, Doug is Lebron. That's
his boy, and we know Lebron is running the franchise,
(16:44):
so that's about all he has going for you. But
I look, I'm with you. I mean, Houston was never
a good fit because he completely is the opposite of
their style of play. They want to shoot threes all
the time. Um, that's not his game. They want to move,
you know. So I just think I never would have
I would not bring Mellow to l A if I
(17:06):
were the Lakers. But at this point, they've had so
much go wrong I'm just like, well, what, what's what's
what's one more problem there? Correct? Yet that's a month
ago I would have told you no way that ruins
the chemistry on the team. Now they have no chemistry
on the team. So at least at least I know
someone will talk to Lebron, since no one else did you.
(17:29):
I don't know if you heard this. Lebron just said
that he's the shoot around today at the Boston Guarden,
get ready to take on the Celtics. He said he
has He's not there's nothing more he has to play for.
He's not chasing anything. Why would he say that? You know,
I think that too lower. I don't know if I
could say lower expectations if that's the right phrase. But
(17:50):
it's if he doesn't win another title, which I if
I had to bet, gun to my head, I don't
think Lebron James was another championship, and I and I
might say that even if they Anthony Davis um, but
I look talking to Lebron's guys all this has been
going on for really since he's been in l ah
(18:11):
since last summer there they were. This is not new.
I've heard this plenty of times from them. That Hey,
Lebron has proved everything. You know, he's got his three championships,
he won Cleveland Championship. He's one of the best season.
You know, they didn't use this phrase, but you know
he's on the mount rushmore of NBA players, some of them.
Some people think he's the greatest of all time. You
(18:34):
and I don't agree, don't believe that, but obviously a
lot of these millennials do. So that's kind of been
in the rallying cry for his you know, his group
for a while now. Um, and I think this is
the first time we've heard he said publicly. This. This
actually too Doug. I think this You could even relate
this to when he said remember when he said in
(18:55):
that episode of I think more than an athlete, I'm
the greatest player of all time. Now, you know, after
he beat Golden State, this, you know, all kind of
goes together. If he starts, if he truly feels he's
the greatest player of all times, then he certainly doesn't
feel like he has anything left to prove. And I think, uh,
that could be you know, if he doesn't win another ring,
(19:19):
he can he can go with the narrative of hey,
I did everything I needed to do. Don't look down
at me because I couldn't get the Lakers. The Ring
Christopers are our guest. You can hear him on The
Odd Couple every day at seven o'clock Eastern, four o'clock Pacific,
alongside his uh everyone's crazy uncle Rob Parker on the
(19:39):
Odd Couple Doug Olive show here on Fox Sports Radio.
All right, since the Lakers did nothing and appeared to
be a bit of a dumpster fire, right now, let's
get to stuff that does in fact matter. The East,
with the exception of the Celtics, all three of the
other top teams in the East added a big piece.
Um who made the best acquisition for people are just
catching up. Marc Gasol is now member of the Toronto Raptors. UM.
(20:03):
Let's see here. The Sixers added Tobias Tobias Harrison and
could still add some other pieces. They had some other
pieces well, and they traded away Marquel Folds. We'll get
to that in UM. And then they got Jonathan Simmons,
who I like. I like him a lot, and and
the and the Bucks added. The Bucks added Nicola Meritach,
who obviously had a great playoff series last year with
(20:25):
the gives them more shooting around Janice. Who got who
got better? Well, I think they all got better. I'm
not trying to avoid the question, but I mean Mirritage
is a great shooter, and you see, you know how
Milwaukee plays. I mean they spread the floor around Janice
and and they pick you apart on the perimeter or
he's gonna get to the basket at will. So I
(20:47):
think he'll be a great fit for them. Just gives
him another weapon for the postseason Toronto. You know how
great of a passer Mark Gasol is. That's despite having
Kauai as a high score. That's the team that moves
the ball pretty well. And I think his passing will
fit in really well with that team. So they got better.
(21:07):
And then Philadelphia Tobias Harris, who I think is not
only a good health this year, but he's insurance in
case they decide they don't want to resign Jimmy Butler.
I know there's talk right now that they're gonna try
to have a big four with MBA, Simmons, Butler, and Tobias.
I tend to think that they may let Butler walk
(21:28):
um and I think Tobias, though he's not as good
as Butler. He's he's a better fit because he's he
can handle being the third guy. He doesn't have a
huge ego. He's a great guy, and he's a shooter.
He's a twenty point scer who can shoot better than Butler,
so I think he helps in flora spacing um. And
then Jonathan Simmons is athletic. I think he can defend.
(21:50):
He's you know, he played in the San Antonio system,
so he knows Brett Brown, and I think he's got
some winning, uh intangibles coming from San Antonio. So I
think they got better. My problem with Philadelphia and I
love Simmons and m B but I don't think that
team right now, Doug has the intangibles to win the East.
I don't think they execute particularly well. I don't think
(22:13):
Simmons and Embiid are mature enough yet to win the East.
I think whenever they play Boston, Brett Brown is a
good coach, but Brass Stevens just he out coaches and
when they meet, and like that series last year could
have went four one Philly, but down the stretch of
every game pretty much Philly made mistakes and Boston didn't,
(22:35):
and Boston we drew up the right plays out of
time out and executed properly, and they beat them. If
Philly can avoid Boston, they could go pretty far. But
if they meet Boston, they're not. There's no way I
see them beating Boston, even though they probably have more talent.
So um, But to answer your question, I think all
(22:57):
four of these teams, all these three teams better. Um.
It's hard. It's really hard for me to pick the
best team in the East right now because I think Milwaukee, Toronto,
and Boston are all very close, pretty much neck and
neck in the East. Let me ask you about what
Kevin Durant had to say last night they bled San
Antonio Spurs. He hadn't spoken to the meeting a couple
(23:18):
of days. Here's what he said afterwards. To do with
the Knicks, I don't know who traded porzingis. They got
nothing to do with me. I'm trying to play basketball.
Y'all come in here every day. Asked me about free agency,
Ask my teammates, my coaches, who riled up the fans
about it. So let us play basketball. That's all I'm saying.
(23:40):
And now, when I don't want to talk to y'all,
as a problem with me. Come on, man, grow up
now now now, first let me I'll say this about
whether it's it's Lebron's instagram last night about Harrison Barnes
being traded in game even though Harrison Barnes apparently had
been told about the trade before the game, right, or
or it's KD like, Look, if you guys signed long
term deals and you didn't try and blow up your
(24:03):
team the way that that Lebron has, like, maybe we
wouldn't ask as many questions. On the other hand, he
doesn't have a point, like, look the decision until July.
It's only February. They're still figuring out how to play together.
What's your take on Kevin Durant and what he said
about how he's being kind of well, I get it
from a human perspective, and I think you can relate
(24:25):
to it too. Um, it's tough when you're being psychoanalyzed
and speculated about all the time, and and some of
the speculation and psycho analysis is just wrong. But here's
the problem, and what Kevin is not recognized. This is
what comes with any job in the public sphere, whether
(24:45):
you're a politician and actor, actress, entertainer, whatever. If you
do it in the public realm, you're going to get
scrutinized and critique beyond measurement. I mean, the most powerful
person in the world, President of the United States, whether
we're Trump, whether it was Obama before, you get criticized
and scrutinized all day every day. Kevin Durant happens to
(25:08):
be one of the best players we've ever seen on
the one of the best teams we've ever seen. And
like you said, add into that that you're you're gonna
be a free agent um or you can be a
free agent. Added to that that, all of a sudden,
you've been you've been, You've been available for every podcast
all season long, and then all of a sudden, as
soon as the Knicks make a trade where they can
(25:30):
get you in another star, you go dark on the media.
I mean, this just comes with the territory. And so
if you don't want public scrutiny, then don't be prolific
in a public job. It's as simple as that. And you, Doug,
you you're criticized. I'm criticized, Skip Baylens, you're Stephen A. Smith.
They're all criticized. If you can't take it, then don't
(25:53):
be in that profession. You just want to play basketball
us now how it works. You want to be a
guy at the y and open Jim that nobody cares about.
You know, you want to play ball. You want to
get the millions you want to get. You want to get, uh,
you know, all the fame and all the perks that
go with that. Um that this is part of what
(26:13):
comes with the territory. Yeah, but what is he what
is he supposed to answer? Right? Like, what is he
if he says he's not getting anything that Lebron James
isn't getting and that Kyrie Irvan isn't getting or hasn't
gotten and they've been able to handle it, you know,
I mean it's you don't He could have easily been
(26:33):
like you know, the I don't want to talk about
free agency. And again, it's not only the media either.
It's his own teammate Draymond brought it up in the
heat of a game, so he can't he's putting it
on the media. It's not just the media. And I
think Durrant has to recognize his personality type, which is fine,
he's not a criticism, but his personality type cannot handle
(26:55):
constantly seeing social media criticism, speculation. Should I think you
should get off social media? I agree, I agree, I
actually think that. Look, I think I recognized that when
when after the Dallas series where he couldn't uh you know,
he stopped being on social media during the playoffs because
(27:16):
he couldn't stand seeing that stuff and you get voices
in your head, and I think he has to realize
that that's the type of person he is, and he
should get off of it. I agree with you. Like, listen,
we've all gone through I've at least gone through a
period of time. I don't know what you were like
when you when you left your your last job, like
where you feel like, am I still relevant if I'm
not on there or whatever? You know, and you'll be
(27:39):
you you, you will be. It's like and it's like, well,
this is a necessary evil? Uh what it is? Because
because I mean, any human being can relate to not
wanting to be criticized and scrutinized and and and psychoanalyzed.
I mean, and I know it because I've read articles
about me where people speculated out who was a source
(28:01):
of minor who said this and gave me that and
they were completely wrong, and I was like, dude, what
are they doing? And you know, I get why Durant
might feel that way, but it's, like you said, it's
just kind of a necessary evil with the job. And
you know, you're you're paid handsomely to deal with it.
And I know money doesn't answer all problems, but it's
(28:22):
a handle of a consolation. Doug out the show here
on Fox Sports Radio Christmas. Sorry, check out The Odd
Couple every day seven o'clock Eastern, four o'clock Pacific. Chris,
great stuff, Thanks so much for joining us. All right,
be sure to catch live editions. So the Doug dot
Leaps show weekdays at noon Eastern, three pm Pacific. There
was a lot of discussion over the past couple off
seasons and hey, maybe they should go to one through
(28:42):
six team, Maybe they should do away with the Eastern
and Western Conference playoffs because the East was so down. Today,
the Milwaukee Bucks added Nicolamritas. This is the Bucks are
already forty and thirteen. The Toronto Raptors added Marcresol. This
is the Raptors who went to the been to the
Eastern Conference finals. Couldn't get over Lebron and last year
(29:04):
they pulled off a trade where they upgraded right DeMar
de Rosen and Kawai Leonard Kawhiet Leonards the top five
player in the NBA. DeMar de Rosen is not. That's
an upgrade for Toronto granted one year rental, that's an upgrade.
The Boston Celtics, who have had the best record in
the East in in the East two years ago. Last year,
(29:24):
for the second straight year, went to the Eastern Conference finals.
And then the Philadelphia seventies six ers, who everybody thinks
of super talented, they added to Bias Harris. So you
think about it, Yes, the teams at the bottom of
the East are tanking, much like they're tanking in the
in the West. But there's more tanking teams in the
East Nick's Calves, Bulls, Hawks than there are in the West.
(29:46):
There's a Sons, the Grizzlies appeared and now decide, oh,
now we'll tank mid season. And while there's better depth
of good teams in the West. Look, I think the
Lakers are good. The Clippers appear to be playing for
next year. They they so you don't want to make
the playoffs. The Mavericks kind of same thing right, Presenis
is not gonna play this year. The fact is that
(30:08):
those four teams in the East, they're better than the Nuggets,
the Thunder, the Blazers, the Rockets, the Lakers, like the
East is the East is good. And four teams all
being capable of winning the Eastern Conference. That's called depth.
That that that doesn't happen often in in in either
(30:31):
the East or the West. That's four like legit teams,
and in a seven game series, I would guess they
be favored. You know, all four of those teams, or
at least three of them, would be favored probably over
everybody in the West not named the Golden State Warriors. Now, look,
there's other reasons why East and West would never be
torn down, you know, Like, are you really gonna make
(30:53):
Celtic fans stay up till ten o'clock just to watch
a first round series playing out in Portland? No, are
you gonna really tear apart historic rivalries of Eastern Conference
teams against Eastern Conference team Pacers Knicks Celtics Knicks in
the playoffs, Like, no, you're not doing that. The time
zones are a problem and and oh yeah, by the way, um,
(31:17):
all of this thing eventually levels out. It just does.
Eventually the East will become as good, or better or
deeper than the West. Is how do I know this
Because that's how it used to be until there was
a shift and it became all the teams in the West.
That massive freak out that we had at the end
(31:38):
of last season. Maybe we should tear this down so
that the best teams actually play the best teams. Like
I told you then, I'll tell you now that's a mistake.
And look at the teams now as they're comprised, not
just the records, because the records aren't telling because they
don't play even schedules, but and and because there's more
teams they're taking the East than we're in the west.
Look at the rosters of those teams. They're all legit
(32:00):
t
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlip
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
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(00:22):
the Doug Gotlive Show on Fox Sports Radio Boom, What
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gotlie Show is brought to you by Farmers. That Farmers,
we've seen almost everything, so we don't cover almost anything.
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of the game. Put their experience in and play at
Farmers dot com. Are Farmers all right? The trade deadline
(00:46):
has come and gone, it appears, although look, there can
be some things that get in underneath the wire. But
it appears that Anthony Davis remains a New Orleans Pelican,
and though the Lakers made one or two trades, none
of the them landed them star players. Although they may
have a roster spot. Some people think that will belong
to Carmelo Anthony. Some people like me think I feel
(01:10):
like the Lakers will go Wayne Ellington where somebody like
somebody else who gets bought out. But I could be wrong.
Christmers Are is gonna join us in fifteen minutes. We'll
get his take, will kind of run through the league
as many of the deal as we can to get
our immediate reaction, and we'll react to if, in fact,
Anthony Davis is still a member of the Pelicans. What
that What that means for the upcoming off season. But
last night, the whole world was reacting not to the
(01:32):
fact that the Warriors eviscerated the Spurs right like they want,
basically by forty No one's even reacting to that. Instead,
they're reacting to Kevin Durant after the game at the
press conference. There has been about what was it, three
days where he refused to speak to the media. He
decided to speak to the media after the game last night.
(01:52):
Here's what he had to say. I have nothing to
do with the Knicks. I don't know who tradedis. They
got nothing to do with me. I'm trying to play
bad basketball. Yeah, come in here every day. Asked me
about free agency, asked my teammates, my coaches who riled
up the fans about it. Let us play basketball. That's
all I'm saying. And now when I want to talk
to you all as a problem with me, Come on, man,
(02:14):
grow up. Uh. He called out ethan Strous, who apparently
he is writing a book about the Warriors, but did
have a piece in the Athletics saying that everybody around
the Warriors thinks Kevin Durant has gone. He's obviously bothered
by it. And you know what, there's there's a couple
of things here. Um, what we're getting onto Kevin Durant
for when he says grow up because he had burner accounts.
(02:37):
Arguing with nameless, faceless fourteen year old people on social
media is fair and unfair all at the same time. Right, Like,
let me just let me just ask you this. If
you ask Kevin Durant, are you staying with the Golden
State Warriors next season? What answer can he give that
(03:01):
works out for him? Now he may at this point
think one thing or the other, but one he's you're
actually allowed to change your mind. You're actually let me
give you an example here, okay, and my personalizing this, yes,
this is seven years ago seven years ago in the spring,
so like six and three quarters years ago. UM. I
(03:23):
had been at ESPN for nine years ten years total,
nine years up in Connecticut, and I I had written
down a number that I felt like I was worth
and my agent at the time had said, you'll never
get that number. And at the time, I also I
wanted stability, and I wanted a a four or five
(03:45):
year deal. And after a little bit of wrangling, after
being low balled the first month, it started to get
close and then wouldn't you know what, they hit the
number and it was a five year deal. I wouldn't
have to move do the same gig get dug in
dig Roots, I lived in what I still consider to
(04:06):
be my uh. It was a favorite house that I
lived lived in, favorite house, incredible neighborhood, cost of living
was good. The weather didn't bother me as much as
it bothered maybe my wife at the time because we
had little kids. UM, there were a couple of things
that I wanted to I wanted to put in a pool,
I wanted to put in a little court and this
contract would allow me to do so. And I remember
(04:31):
getting the offer and it was on a Friday night
and uh, A bunch of the dudes in town, A
bunch of the dudes in town, and our wives. We
were all going down to um one of the two casinos,
and so we went to miss the area Mystic is Mtic, Connecticut,
and we had dinner, a great dinner down there. And
(04:52):
I hadn't even really talked to my wife about it.
I just kind of told her the number and the years.
But I remember announced into the dinner table, Hey, I
know you guys didn't ask, but we talked about a
little bit. Looks like I'm staying and they were like
gr and we toasted everybody and it was awesome. We
kind of all went around and made like some personal
announcements about our families. It was like five couples. And
(05:16):
I mean at at that moment, I wasn't even considering
fielding on other offers because they had gotten to a point.
I was like, that's a good number. And the only
thing I had kind of come up with was, hey,
I asked for five different things. Could you if you
get back to me you hit all those five different things,
I will, I will sign the contract tomorrow. This We'll
get back to your Monday. And so we went to
(05:39):
the casino, and it was like, I'm gonna say, like
Melissa Ethridge or somebody like that that I had not
None of the guys had any desire to go see.
And so what we decided to do, and this is
a good thing you should. This is a good like guys,
you know, date night type deal. The women went to
the concert and the guys we went and gambled. It's
a good deal. Right. So we're shooting ice, you know,
(06:00):
we're playing cards, we're having a good time, having a
couple of drinks, and I'm walking around with a buddy
and he's like, man, he's talking about my girls and
I was like, wow, you really know them. It's like, yeah,
I coached them in soccer. It was awesome. It's a
shame that you have to work right then, because it's
so much fun to coach them. At the time, my
son was like two and my daughters are like five.
(06:26):
And at that very moment, I changed my mind. I look,
I had I had said I love where I live,
I love the people I live, I like where I work,
I like everything about and then I realized that the
same show and I've been doing this this time slot
for years now. There it was four to seven Eastern time,
(06:48):
and though my commune wasn't arduous, you get home with
seven thirty maybe seven, But when your kids are two
and you have three kids that are five and under,
you get home at seven. There a sleep, and then
when they get to school age, you know, you literally
never see him. Plus I work weekends, weekend nights, and
(07:08):
I travel a lot. At that very moment, I changed
my mind, like, man, I gotta find a way to
get a different timeslot, of different time zone, which is
what I did. So I asked, So, I asked you
in regards to Kevin Durant, like, what can he say
if he says I'm staying, Maybe he is staying, or
maybe he changes his mind. If he says, hey, guys,
(07:29):
I don't know. I don't I have no idea, Well
I do, I have no idea, means he must be leaving.
And if he says he's leaving, because that's how he feels,
one he could change his mind and to now the
sudden it becomes, why is he leaving? This is unfair.
You can't even you can't tell the truth because one
the truth, uh may may harm your current team and
(07:53):
to the truth today might not be the truth next week,
might not be the truth in five hours. So I
understand end that he's that that he has come across
terse and he has he has not made it easy
on himself personally trying to defend himself. But you also
(08:14):
have to take into the account his mentality. His mentality was, hey,
everyone said Kevin Rant. But you know, he's in everything
but win a championship, and he thinks of himself as
the best player on Earth. And you know what, I
kind of agree with him. I play both ends. I play.
I can play all five positions, I can shoot, I
(08:34):
can score. I'm basically a walking bucket, and I become
a really good defensive player. And oh yeah, by the way,
if you want to argue my clutchedness, how come I
was better than Lebron when Lebron was guarding me and
I was guarding him in each of the last two
NBA finals. It's a strong argument. And so right now
he's in this kind of he's in this this space
(08:55):
where he's not really a warrior, but he is a champion.
And if he stays easy and keep winning championships, but
does will he ever win over people who think he
joined a seventy three win team that already won one
out of two titles ran and so he doesn't actually
know if you were that good, but you didn't feel
(09:16):
like you got the respect that you deserved, and you
thought about going elsewhere, Like this is what happens in business.
But we're really going to ask guys again and again
what they're doing in July in February. I don't know
what I'm doing next week. So yeah, I'm kind of
on team Durant sort of side. He just wants to
(09:36):
play basketball. I understand what the media is asking, but
at some point the answer becomes enough. It just becomes enough.
So I listened to Kevin Durant, and I'm not offended
by it. People talking about what he's thinking, what he's saying,
what he's doing, because he's not saying it, and they
(09:56):
don't know what he's gonna do. And we may be
all intrigued by it, but the fact is, if you've
ever switched jobs, or you've ever had a contract set
to expire, you start thinking and exploring about it. You
can't lose track of the actual job that you have
during the time in which you have it. So I
(10:17):
listened to Grant. I'm actually gonna defend him. Has he
done immature things in the past, Yeah, he hasn't helped himself.
I would also say that if he doesn't like negativity
coming from the media, which he didn't like in Oklahoma
City when they put Mr. Unreliable and then the team
made the newspaper apologize for the headline, you might want
(10:41):
to reconsider the idea of New York City. But in
terms of general fairness from the media, I don't think
it's fair that we continue to pound and pound and
hawk after an answer that we want that he doesn't
(11:02):
know that there isn't sort of clarity for because we're
not in July, and while it is your job to
get what people are saying at some point, Okay, we
understand people have said that they think he might go
to New York. The Nicks have told everybody he's coming
to New York. But I look at Kevin Durant, I
(11:24):
see a little bit of myself. What he thought last
week might not be what he thought yesterday, might not
be what he thinks today. And the last thing that
he really really wants or deserves even is to constantly
be asked about a decision he doesn't have to make today.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Doug Dot
Leap Show weekdays in noon eastern three pm Pacific on
(11:45):
Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. As
you check out the Odd Couple. It's a seven Eastern time,
four o'clock Pacific time Monday through Friday right here on
Fox Sports Radio. He and I got a chance to
co host the Dan Patrick Show was that Tuesday this
week at Tuesday of this week where we we argued
back and forth the Lakers package, to value the players
(12:06):
that they have, etcetera. Um, unless something has changed, I'm
watching TV, I'm on the internet. I haven't seen anything
in regards to the Pelicans trading Anthony Davis, so it
looks like he's going to remain. Uh, Chris, Let's start
with the Pelicans perspective. Was that the right move? Unquestionably?
I mean uh, I think it would have been foolish
(12:27):
of them to trade him before the deadline. The only
way I could have seen a deal happening with the
Lakers would have been if the Lakers had gotten a
third or fourth team involved and gotten the start to
New Orleans in that deal. So maybe I'm just throwing
out a name, like if they could have got Portland
involved and Damian Lillard would have went to New Orleans
(12:48):
or something like that. Other than that, it just didn't
make sense to me why New Orleans would make this
move when Boston, who you know mayor not be able
to make a better offer, couldn't even do it until
June or July. When the Nicks, who you know may
or may not be willing to give up the first
(13:09):
or second pick, can't do that until May or June
or July. You know, So like other teams couldn't even
put their best foots forward on the trade market. So
why would I do it now? And I think they
can get a good package from the Lakers this summer. Um, yeah,
if if that package still still exists, what about the
(13:29):
Lakers that they made one trade? They got Mike Muscala,
and they made a cross town trade where uh, where
Beasley was gonna They traded Beasley and they traded uh,
what's the big kid who's Actually I'm surprised they let
Zubatch go because I think he's their best offensive big um.
(13:50):
You know, I think Javelle McGhee and Tyson Chandler or
some similar and that they're both kind of limited offensively. Uh,
you know, they're decent rim protector. But I would I
was very surprised that they let Duboch go because I
think he's a pretty good player. Well, with this, this
admits that they made a mistake in the offseason not
resigning brook Lopez. They need to stretch. They need somebody
(14:12):
who's got a reputation as a stretch big and that's
what they got. And I think they overpay. You know,
they easily contract. They'll just Clippers to buy out right
and Subach is only one years old. I think the
Clippers won the deal because the Lakers admitting a mistake
in the offseason. They've They've added two shooters. They have
one open roster spot. Will that be Carmen Anthony's all
(14:32):
The speculation is that it's gonna be Mellow, which I
I look at this point, what's the what's the harm?
You know what I mean? I mean this this season
has really turned upside down for the Lakers, So what's
the problem in bringing in Mellow? Do I think it
will work? Not really. I don't think it will be
anything great. Um, but you know, I've always said it's
(14:54):
about Mellow since you know, he's been out of the league.
He's better than most of the players in the league.
This is not that he's not still an NBA quality player.
It's just that there's really no fit for him anywhere,
you know, And um, I don't think this is a
great fit. We've seen Lebron do this before. He brought
Dwayne Way back to Cleveland, Derek Roses in Cleveland. You know,
(15:19):
all these things he wants to make happen. But I
just don't see this being a great fit between with
with Mellow with the Lakers. Um. And it'll be interesting
if you know, it's Mellow's not getting a lot of
playing time. He's obviously not gonna be happy. And what's
that going to you know, what will come of that?
(15:40):
If indeed that's okay, then they could he didn't make
it too things giving in Houston, Alright, all right, Well,
Houston is a team that's playing for something at this point,
what are the Lake is playing for? But my my
my point is like, look, Houston wasn't even willing willing
to see. There's something about how he purports himself, what
(16:01):
he does. What it is is that he still thinks
he's a star. He still thinks he's a star if
he were to exit gracefully like a Paul Pierce, even
a Gary Payton of Vince Carter. You know, guys that understood.
I'm no longer a star, but i just want to
be a part of the team. I'll play a role.
(16:22):
Even Dwayne Wade's done that, then he would be fun.
But he's He's going out like Alan Iverson where I
still think I'm the twenty point scorer. I still still
think I should get at least fifteen shots tonight. I
still think I should start. And the one thing he
has going in this whole thing, Doug is Lebron. That's
his boy, and we know Lebron is running the franchise,
(16:44):
so that's about all he has going for you. But
I look, I'm with you. I mean, Houston was never
a good fit because he completely is the opposite of
their style of play. They want to shoot threes all
the time. Um, that's not his game. They want to move,
you know. So I just think I never would have
I would not bring Mellow to l A if I
(17:06):
were the Lakers. But at this point, they've had so
much go wrong I'm just like, well, what, what's what's
what's one more problem there? Correct? Yet that's a month
ago I would have told you no way that ruins
the chemistry on the team. Now they have no chemistry
on the team. So at least at least I know
someone will talk to Lebron, since no one else did you.
(17:29):
I don't know if you heard this. Lebron just said
that he's the shoot around today at the Boston Guarden,
get ready to take on the Celtics. He said he
has He's not there's nothing more he has to play for.
He's not chasing anything. Why would he say that? You know,
I think that too lower. I don't know if I
could say lower expectations if that's the right phrase. But
(17:50):
it's if he doesn't win another title, which I if
I had to bet, gun to my head, I don't
think Lebron James was another championship, and I and I
might say that even if they Anthony Davis um, but
I look talking to Lebron's guys all this has been
going on for really since he's been in l ah
(18:11):
since last summer there they were. This is not new.
I've heard this plenty of times from them. That Hey,
Lebron has proved everything. You know, he's got his three championships,
he won Cleveland Championship. He's one of the best season.
You know, they didn't use this phrase, but you know
he's on the mount rushmore of NBA players, some of them.
Some people think he's the greatest of all time. You
(18:34):
and I don't agree, don't believe that, but obviously a
lot of these millennials do. So that's kind of been
in the rallying cry for his you know, his group
for a while now. Um, and I think this is
the first time we've heard he said publicly. This. This
actually too Doug. I think this You could even relate
this to when he said remember when he said in
(18:55):
that episode of I think more than an athlete, I'm
the greatest player of all time. Now, you know, after
he beat Golden State, this, you know, all kind of
goes together. If he starts, if he truly feels he's
the greatest player of all times, then he certainly doesn't
feel like he has anything left to prove. And I think, uh,
that could be you know, if he doesn't win another ring,
(19:19):
he can he can go with the narrative of hey,
I did everything I needed to do. Don't look down
at me because I couldn't get the Lakers. The Ring
Christopers are our guest. You can hear him on The
Odd Couple every day at seven o'clock Eastern, four o'clock Pacific,
alongside his uh everyone's crazy uncle Rob Parker on the
(19:39):
Odd Couple Doug Olive show here on Fox Sports Radio.
All right, since the Lakers did nothing and appeared to
be a bit of a dumpster fire, right now, let's
get to stuff that does in fact matter. The East,
with the exception of the Celtics, all three of the
other top teams in the East added a big piece.
Um who made the best acquisition for people are just
catching up. Marc Gasol is now member of the Toronto Raptors. UM.
(20:03):
Let's see here. The Sixers added Tobias Tobias Harrison and
could still add some other pieces. They had some other
pieces well, and they traded away Marquel Folds. We'll get
to that in UM. And then they got Jonathan Simmons,
who I like. I like him a lot, and and
the and the Bucks added. The Bucks added Nicola Meritach,
who obviously had a great playoff series last year with
(20:25):
the gives them more shooting around Janice. Who got who
got better? Well, I think they all got better. I'm
not trying to avoid the question, but I mean Mirritage
is a great shooter, and you see, you know how
Milwaukee plays. I mean they spread the floor around Janice
and and they pick you apart on the perimeter or
he's gonna get to the basket at will. So I
(20:47):
think he'll be a great fit for them. Just gives
him another weapon for the postseason Toronto. You know how
great of a passer Mark Gasol is. That's despite having
Kauai as a high score. That's the team that moves
the ball pretty well. And I think his passing will
fit in really well with that team. So they got better.
(21:07):
And then Philadelphia Tobias Harris, who I think is not
only a good health this year, but he's insurance in
case they decide they don't want to resign Jimmy Butler.
I know there's talk right now that they're gonna try
to have a big four with MBA, Simmons, Butler, and Tobias.
I tend to think that they may let Butler walk
(21:28):
um and I think Tobias, though he's not as good
as Butler. He's he's a better fit because he's he
can handle being the third guy. He doesn't have a
huge ego. He's a great guy, and he's a shooter.
He's a twenty point scer who can shoot better than Butler,
so I think he helps in flora spacing um. And
then Jonathan Simmons is athletic. I think he can defend.
(21:50):
He's you know, he played in the San Antonio system,
so he knows Brett Brown, and I think he's got
some winning, uh intangibles coming from San Antonio. So I
think they got better. My problem with Philadelphia and I
love Simmons and m B but I don't think that
team right now, Doug has the intangibles to win the East.
I don't think they execute particularly well. I don't think
(22:13):
Simmons and Embiid are mature enough yet to win the East.
I think whenever they play Boston, Brett Brown is a
good coach, but Brass Stevens just he out coaches and
when they meet, and like that series last year could
have went four one Philly, but down the stretch of
every game pretty much Philly made mistakes and Boston didn't,
(22:35):
and Boston we drew up the right plays out of
time out and executed properly, and they beat them. If
Philly can avoid Boston, they could go pretty far. But
if they meet Boston, they're not. There's no way I
see them beating Boston, even though they probably have more talent.
So um, But to answer your question, I think all
(22:57):
four of these teams, all these three teams better. Um.
It's hard. It's really hard for me to pick the
best team in the East right now because I think Milwaukee, Toronto,
and Boston are all very close, pretty much neck and
neck in the East. Let me ask you about what
Kevin Durant had to say last night they bled San
Antonio Spurs. He hadn't spoken to the meeting a couple
(23:18):
of days. Here's what he said afterwards. To do with
the Knicks, I don't know who traded porzingis. They got
nothing to do with me. I'm trying to play basketball.
Y'all come in here every day. Asked me about free agency,
Ask my teammates, my coaches, who riled up the fans
about it. So let us play basketball. That's all I'm saying.
(23:40):
And now, when I don't want to talk to y'all,
as a problem with me. Come on, man, grow up
now now now, first let me I'll say this about
whether it's it's Lebron's instagram last night about Harrison Barnes
being traded in game even though Harrison Barnes apparently had
been told about the trade before the game, right, or
or it's KD like, Look, if you guys signed long
term deals and you didn't try and blow up your
(24:03):
team the way that that Lebron has, like, maybe we
wouldn't ask as many questions. On the other hand, he
doesn't have a point, like, look the decision until July.
It's only February. They're still figuring out how to play together.
What's your take on Kevin Durant and what he said
about how he's being kind of well, I get it
from a human perspective, and I think you can relate
(24:25):
to it too. Um, it's tough when you're being psychoanalyzed
and speculated about all the time, and and some of
the speculation and psycho analysis is just wrong. But here's
the problem, and what Kevin is not recognized. This is
what comes with any job in the public sphere, whether
(24:45):
you're a politician and actor, actress, entertainer, whatever. If you
do it in the public realm, you're going to get
scrutinized and critique beyond measurement. I mean, the most powerful
person in the world, President of the United States, whether
we're Trump, whether it was Obama before, you get criticized
and scrutinized all day every day. Kevin Durant happens to
(25:08):
be one of the best players we've ever seen on
the one of the best teams we've ever seen. And
like you said, add into that that you're you're gonna
be a free agent um or you can be a
free agent. Added to that that, all of a sudden,
you've been you've been, You've been available for every podcast
all season long, and then all of a sudden, as
soon as the Knicks make a trade where they can
(25:30):
get you in another star, you go dark on the media.
I mean, this just comes with the territory. And so
if you don't want public scrutiny, then don't be prolific
in a public job. It's as simple as that. And you, Doug,
you you're criticized. I'm criticized, Skip Baylens, you're Stephen A. Smith.
They're all criticized. If you can't take it, then don't
(25:53):
be in that profession. You just want to play basketball
us now how it works. You want to be a
guy at the y and open Jim that nobody cares about.
You know, you want to play ball. You want to
get the millions you want to get. You want to get, uh,
you know, all the fame and all the perks that
go with that. Um that this is part of what
(26:13):
comes with the territory. Yeah, but what is he what
is he supposed to answer? Right? Like, what is he
if he says he's not getting anything that Lebron James
isn't getting and that Kyrie Irvan isn't getting or hasn't
gotten and they've been able to handle it, you know,
I mean it's you don't He could have easily been
(26:33):
like you know, the I don't want to talk about
free agency. And again, it's not only the media either.
It's his own teammate Draymond brought it up in the
heat of a game, so he can't he's putting it
on the media. It's not just the media. And I
think Durrant has to recognize his personality type, which is fine,
he's not a criticism, but his personality type cannot handle
(26:55):
constantly seeing social media criticism, speculation. Should I think you
should get off social media? I agree, I agree, I
actually think that. Look, I think I recognized that when
when after the Dallas series where he couldn't uh you know,
he stopped being on social media during the playoffs because
(27:16):
he couldn't stand seeing that stuff and you get voices
in your head, and I think he has to realize
that that's the type of person he is, and he
should get off of it. I agree with you. Like, listen,
we've all gone through I've at least gone through a
period of time. I don't know what you were like
when you when you left your your last job, like
where you feel like, am I still relevant if I'm
not on there or whatever? You know, and you'll be
(27:39):
you you, you will be. It's like and it's like, well,
this is a necessary evil? Uh what it is? Because
because I mean, any human being can relate to not
wanting to be criticized and scrutinized and and and psychoanalyzed.
I mean, and I know it because I've read articles
about me where people speculated out who was a source
(28:01):
of minor who said this and gave me that and
they were completely wrong, and I was like, dude, what
are they doing? And you know, I get why Durant
might feel that way, but it's, like you said, it's
just kind of a necessary evil with the job. And
you know, you're you're paid handsomely to deal with it.
And I know money doesn't answer all problems, but it's
(28:22):
a handle of a consolation. Doug out the show here
on Fox Sports Radio Christmas. Sorry, check out The Odd
Couple every day seven o'clock Eastern, four o'clock Pacific. Chris,
great stuff, Thanks so much for joining us. All right,
be sure to catch live editions. So the Doug dot
Leaps show weekdays at noon Eastern, three pm Pacific. There
was a lot of discussion over the past couple off
seasons and hey, maybe they should go to one through
(28:42):
six team, Maybe they should do away with the Eastern
and Western Conference playoffs because the East was so down. Today,
the Milwaukee Bucks added Nicolamritas. This is the Bucks are
already forty and thirteen. The Toronto Raptors added Marcresol. This
is the Raptors who went to the been to the
Eastern Conference finals. Couldn't get over Lebron and last year
(29:04):
they pulled off a trade where they upgraded right DeMar
de Rosen and Kawai Leonard Kawhiet Leonards the top five
player in the NBA. DeMar de Rosen is not. That's
an upgrade for Toronto granted one year rental, that's an upgrade.
The Boston Celtics, who have had the best record in
the East in in the East two years ago. Last year,
(29:24):
for the second straight year, went to the Eastern Conference finals.
And then the Philadelphia seventies six ers, who everybody thinks
of super talented, they added to Bias Harris. So you
think about it, Yes, the teams at the bottom of
the East are tanking, much like they're tanking in the
in the West. But there's more tanking teams in the
East Nick's Calves, Bulls, Hawks than there are in the West.
(29:46):
There's a Sons, the Grizzlies appeared and now decide, oh,
now we'll tank mid season. And while there's better depth
of good teams in the West. Look, I think the
Lakers are good. The Clippers appear to be playing for
next year. They they so you don't want to make
the playoffs. The Mavericks kind of same thing right, Presenis
is not gonna play this year. The fact is that
(30:08):
those four teams in the East, they're better than the Nuggets,
the Thunder, the Blazers, the Rockets, the Lakers, like the
East is the East is good. And four teams all
being capable of winning the Eastern Conference. That's called depth.
That that that doesn't happen often in in in either
(30:31):
the East or the West. That's four like legit teams,
and in a seven game series, I would guess they
be favored. You know, all four of those teams, or
at least three of them, would be favored probably over
everybody in the West not named the Golden State Warriors. Now, look,
there's other reasons why East and West would never be
torn down, you know, Like, are you really gonna make
(30:53):
Celtic fans stay up till ten o'clock just to watch
a first round series playing out in Portland? No, are
you gonna really tear apart historic rivalries of Eastern Conference
teams against Eastern Conference team Pacers Knicks Celtics Knicks in
the playoffs, Like, no, you're not doing that. The time
zones are a problem and and oh yeah, by the way, um,
(31:17):
all of this thing eventually levels out. It just does.
Eventually the East will become as good, or better or
deeper than the West. Is how do I know this
Because that's how it used to be until there was
a shift and it became all the teams in the West.
That massive freak out that we had at the end
(31:38):
of last season. Maybe we should tear this down so
that the best teams actually play the best teams. Like
I told you then, I'll tell you now that's a mistake.
And look at the teams now as they're comprised, not
just the records, because the records aren't telling because they
don't play even schedules, but and and because there's more
teams they're taking the East than we're in the west.
Look at the rosters of those teams. They're all legit
(32:00):
t
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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