July 1, 2026 • 38 mins
Dan gives the latest Ode to Mike Conley with the news that one of our favorite guests and a very effective Timberwolf is on his way to the Boston Celtics as a free agent.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Summer long. Come grab yours at KFA and events throughout
the summer. Wherever you see our KFA and Street team,
then make sure to redeem them in mall of America
for fun, prizes and big discounts. Full list of events
at kfan dot com keyword Calendar.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
On February ninth, twenty twenty three, Mike Conley was traded
to the timberwol in what was a three team trade
also involving the Los Angeles Lakers and the of course
Utah Jazz. The Jazz get Russell Westbrook, Juan Tuscano Anderson,
(01:16):
one of your favorites, Amian Jones, the Lakers acquiring Jared Vanderbilt,
Malik Beasley There's a Name for You, and Di'angelo Russell,
the Wolves acquiring Conley and Nikhil Alexander Walker. The trade,
of course, then was meant the reuniting of Conley with
(01:38):
really two former teammates. Kyle Anderson was a teammate in
Memphis with the Grizzlies and Rudy Gobert, a teammate of
course with the Utah Jazz. His first game nine points,
three assists, two steals in a twenty one point loss
to Memphis. But that's probably about the last time that
(02:02):
anybody in minnesot Tember, if related, was disappointed in Mike
Conley's time here. He ends up spending three and a
half years here, and now it's over. I can't say
it's over for good, because you know, we traded him
away once only to get him back late this season
into the postseason. But he is signing, according to several
(02:24):
reports with the Boston Celtics. The Wolves, I am told
wanted him back. We can get into all those permutations later.
And look, we all know that Mike Conley, by the way,
I think twenty twenty six, twenty seventh season coming up
will be his twentieth if I'm not mistaken. In the NBA.
(02:49):
We all know he's not the same player he was right,
There's no question about that when he was at his best,
providing exactly the kind of maturity from the point guard
position that D'Angelo Russell was incapable of. Not as talented
as D'Angelo, although Mike Connelly and his prime was a
pre damn talented player too, a very good player. We
all know he's past that. We're thinking. We're thinking today
(03:12):
about the larger picture and the larger picture is a
remarkably effective contributor to the Wolves success in recent years,
including back to back Final four appearances in the NBA
Playoffs Western Conference Finals on both occasions, and his contribution
to this show intermittently but pretty you know, steadily over
(03:38):
many seasons that will very much be lost and we
learned early with Mike he wasn't necessarily going to prove
there are players who appear on the radio who can
be more bombastic, who can be more I don't want
to say say this in a pejoraty of way over
(03:58):
the top, because I mean, just a little bit more
in your face, But what I think we learned also
with Mike is if you really paid attention to what
he was saying, there was a lot there a lot
of times that that gave us pretty good insight more
than anything else into the way the team operated, right
and the role he tried to play in that operation.
(04:21):
He was very, very honest in his own way. And
so it's we, I mean, obviously on this show, leaving
aside the Wolves contribution, just for the show, we we.
I can't thank him enough. I know you enjoyed talking
to him and helping to set these things up over
the years about is and you know, one of the
(04:44):
hazards which we've also learned over the years, Bernard variant,
if you have a regular athlete on and whatever the sport,
the danger in announcing it as a like I said,
a you know, a weekly thing is is that the
player will lose interest about four weeks in, or won't
(05:05):
be available on time, or will say he fell asleep
or he had frozen pipes or whatever the case may be.
Sure with Conley, he didn't do it every week, but
when he did it, he did it right. He was
pretty much always there with a very little exception. And
so which is exactly the kind of player. He was,
dependable player, adult in the room, the whole bit. So
(05:27):
A I hope, you know, I say, tremendous loss. I
hope at some point down the road we can get
him on again. I would love to, even if it's
when the Celtics come to town, to try to see
if there's a way to get the day before ten
or fifteen minutes. That of course depends on our ability
to get through. But a absolutely absolute professional, not just
(05:50):
as a player but as to a certain extent a
broadcast partner for us. He was tremendous.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
I love listening to him. I go back to just
watching him in college. He was on that greg Oden
team that lost in the championship game to Florida to
the Billy Donovan team. Good point, and he actually we
talked about that one time. He said, I think that's
the one game he's never watched back of anything, which
is interesting. And he was a one and done there.
(06:17):
That was greg Oden's team, right, the Kevin Durant greg
Oden team, So he probably got overshadowed then too, but man,
he was good on that team.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Obviously they go to the national championship game, and.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I know that, like I always, I'm like, you have
a soft spot for point guards. I love just how
good point guards play, making the right pass, the extra pass,
pushing the temple when he needed to, hitting the shots
when you need to. And for those two years I
didn't even say, certainly the Denver year when they beat
Denver in seven games and ended up playing Luca, he
(06:50):
was good the entire way, Like people can say that. Well,
things fell off quickly and there was the hand injury,
and he was always dealing with stuff. I imagine when
you get to his age, you're always dealing with something.
But they don't make that Western Conference Finals run without
him on that team. And he wasn't a ceremonial bit
at the time. He was an important, effective contributor, huge shots,
(07:13):
huge passes. He had, you know, the big flourish that
we all still watched the Nas reed offensive rebound dunk
and then I think it's Jamal Murray bringing it up
the floor, Jade mcdaniels's guarden him and Condy makes the
decision to do just kind of the quick double team,
try to get the steal at half court does gets
(07:34):
it to nas, Nas gets it to ant Ant, hits
the three, Harlan goes crazy, a Rod's on the court
and the game's over. That's Mike con That to me
is my favorite. There's a million Mike Conley plays, but
if I'm gonna remember one, it's gonna be that.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
It's not he didn't hit the shot.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, he didn't have the dunk, sequence, the sequence, the
play that the being heads up making the steal. That
was the dagger, and that's a highlight. That is top
two maybe of all time. I think about KG He's
dunek Ad get Sacramento in Game seven, That to me
will be Mike. That's Mike Conley, just a heady player
(08:13):
right place, takes the right chances, and that's why I'll
always love him.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
There's no question. And it's a reminder what he represented
again of the importance of what can be done at
that position that you know they now they're replacing him
with a more talented player, much younger player, almost half
his age, basically in La mellow ball. But it's there
(08:41):
is still. I don't care how much the game has changed,
and whether you want to consider him a pure point
guard or a combat whatever you want to all the
we all get hung up on these labels, but what
matters is it's indicates the person who's got the ball
in his hands a lot can make a difference in
(09:02):
terms of the message that's delivered. He can't make the
rest of the team smart, right, but he can try
to bring his own intelligence to it, his own restraint
to it, and hopefully that guidance. It absolutely was crucial
to those two runs. I don't care what. I don't
(09:23):
know what the analytics say, but I know they absolutely were.
Because teams generally need to have exactly what he represents.
So he's out of town here and won't be forgotten
around here, you know, for a long long time, and
certainly on this show for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And audience would even say the last few years they
were a better team when he was out here. He
had a good plus minus actually right, like, and I
get the shooting is what really fell off for him
the last few years. It used to be when he
had an open three. I thought it was going in
every time. Yep, because it did for you know, basically
the first two to two half years that he was here.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Is Mike Conley signing with the Celtics part of the
bumper to bumper curse. I guess that's the other elephant
in the room, part of the story. That's generally speaking,
people we've had on don't last in town. Yeah, For
some reason, I want to think this is different, that
he wasn't going to be here here forever, right, you know,
he's he's towards the end of his run, right, And
(10:21):
so I don't I don't. I like to think this
isn't part of the curse. Maybe that's convenient thinking on
my part. Plus I've tended to associate the curses with
guys who are with us one year and then they're
gone right, right, because that's happened a lot. Yep, they
one year and then the next year. Funny they're gone right,
including several vikings if I'm not mistaken, like the last
(10:42):
five vikings we've had. Yeah, that's sad, but unfortunately very
very true. Davey brat Seawn Brian Kafan text line is
open at six four six eighty six. By the way,
for the record, approaching the sixty minute mark, Senegal has
increased its lean just that to two nil over Belgium.
Now most of the insiders, including Brett Blakemore, says, I
(11:06):
guess we should back up and say if the US wins,
they'll play the winner of this game, and the betting
money was Belgium would be a tougher opponent. Now maybe
Senegal would say, okay, I think whatever you want or
for real, But an interesting development that's in Seattle, Washington,
where I see no low clouds for the moment, maybe
(11:27):
in a little bit of sunshine. I'm not sure, but
I guess it's chill that chili, but it's cool there.
By July standards, Senegal two, Belgium nil, and then of course,
the US game is tonight, and I think you said
Santa Clara correct, Yes, where the forty nine ers play.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, people are getting set for it now. I was
watching during halftime of this game. They are matched. They
were doing. Yes, the stuff from inside Santa Clara Levi Stadium,
I think is what they call it. And Ian Leonard
mentioned it to us, just the security, how everything's kind
of blocked off the lines that you get thrown in,
but everybody's just rolling right through and looks very festive,
very festive.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Interesting text listening to this conversation that we should probably address.
Wolves will have the lowest IQ and most professionally immature
starting backward in the NBA, and now the adult rooms
flit the Boston should be a fun season at the playground. Well,
this is the very polarizing debate, right, This is the
essence of it, quite frankly, is who is LaMelo ball?
(12:31):
And by the way, I I don't I reject the
notion is Anthony Edwards a finished mature, ultra mature product. No,
but I reject the notion that he could have accomplished
the things he has if he were quite as immature
(12:53):
as that Texter suggests and there are some people who
are in that camp too. On Anthony, let's leave Anthony
aside for a moment. The ball thing is interesting because
for me, the immaturity is about potentially two things to watch.
One is there's no analytic for this. This is really
(13:17):
more eye test and observation. Is he serious enough to
take the next step which he needs to hear if
he's going to make a difference, And can he clean
up a little bit of a shot selection. Those are
to me the maturity issues. But here's where I'm different
(13:37):
than seven to sixty three guy and some others. I
guess I should say as a pure passer, there's nothing
immature about his ability to see people open and to
get and to get the ball to open people on
the court. That vision, there's there's no immaturity in that vision.
(13:58):
That's actually a very I mean, if you're talking about maturity,
it's seeing the court and taking advantage of your skills
to get people better shots than the otherwise would have,
which analytically has kind of been proven in Charlotte when
he was not on the court. Now, defensively he's not
a great defender, but then again, has he ever played
(14:21):
with a center like Rudy, and even a versatile defender
like Jayden who can guard out high. He can guard guards,
he can guard any pretty much any position right. But
on the offensive side, there's nothing immature about his ability
to see the court and get people open. That is
(14:42):
a skill that is to the positive and it's what
intrigues me the most about what he has to offer.
In general. Though we've said it a hundred times, Conley
was I think a little bit of a buffer there
and maybe a guy beyond the coaches who could remind
the talented youngsters about what they needed to try to
(15:05):
adhere to more often. But Anthony Edwards is so much better.
Well again say, part of the reason I was for
this deal is I think Edwards. I've said this from
the beginning of the season. I remember we talked about
the day that the big announcement came that Conley was
going to be benched and we're going to put Dante
(15:27):
in the starting lineup, and in effect they were saying
Anthony ever was going to be a point our point guard.
It won't work long term, it doesn't disservice the entire team,
even if in the short term, and perhaps they felt
like they did not have an alternative. If you want
to talk about maturity or getting to the next place,
this is what this move in theory can do that
(15:47):
because of what the pressure it takes off of him
from a ball handling standpoint. Also, Anthony Edwards is so
much better in his shot selection than he was two
or three years ago. It's not close. His variety of
ways to score has improved. He needs to keep doing it.
But I I think it's it sounds good around the
water cooler. Oh he's a child, you know, he's just
(16:09):
so he's so immature. He's too good a player for
me to be reduced to that description, don't you think, Yes, totally,
come on. And notwithstanding the fact that and this is
a pretty mature thing to do that a lot of
players who are called mature don't do. He kept playing
through injury. I mean he kept trying to plug, you know,
(16:29):
plug through it, move through it and say I'm going
to be trying to be out there as much as
I can. He did not take the easy route out
at all. No, when other players.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Would have done the same thing or have done the
same thing, and no one would have blamed him if
he would have taken a start right right, even all
the injuries we've seen in the NBA for the last
few years. I also think some of that goes the
maturity and the fast forwardness. It also makes me defend
the Rooty trade even more so because LaMelo ball is
coming in here. There's questions about a million different things
about him. Game has approached the whole deal. He's never
(17:02):
had close to the team around him that Anthony Edwards
has had, and that goes back to the Rudy trade
of everybody that's around the team.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Johnny says this all the time. What do they want
to do?
Speaker 1 (17:12):
They wanted Anton as many playoff games as possible as actually,
right and the kids get been in zero zero. He's
been in two playings right correct was great and one
a disaster. In the other correct and Ant has played.
I mean, we could do the math, but he's won
the five Series and the year before that they went
they lost to Memphis. So he's been in a million
which is huge, which is I think helped him improve
(17:33):
because he knows what he has to work on every
single day. So hopefully Lamela can do the same thing.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Six or six eighty six. That's the Bradshaw and Bryant
k FA and text line. As many of you know
by now, short week this week to be best of
on the legal holiday, uh Friday at least iHeart Friday,
June July three. Inbox, I'm assuming we're getting to tomorrow,
(18:24):
are you? Are you out early? Are you this week?
You're here? Yeah? We can do in.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Tomorrow inbox tomorrow we're moving level up a day. I
hope russo tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
I think I worry Levell might be dodging us tomorrow though,
because I think he knows he's on the run regarding Mexico.
Interesting and because you know, a couple of people are saying, well, yeah,
but they did have that reputation in the past, like
well he's supposed to be mister soccer. Obviously some things
have changed with them at some point. He also, I
don't think gets the fall and hist bit on the athletics.
(18:55):
Did you see that tweet exchange? I just I certainly did. Yeah,
I got a kick out of For sure, dilling Hand's
lack of development caused a lot. Yes, we have certainly
that's undeniable. It It is an example of how one
move can have a chain reaction effect. That has ramifications
(19:21):
in terms of more than anything else, assets that you
might have had otherwise to use in other ways, right,
that had to be used to try to patch this
thing up and fix it. Now, on the other hand,
you can say, well, if you come out of that
deal acquiring Desumu and you're able to re sign him,
(19:44):
that's a decent save. You know, that's at least you're getting.
It's still not as good as Dillingham being the guy,
because Dillingham was meant to be the guy who was
going to start at point guard the air apparent YEP
for commonly as a starter. I think Desumu was still
used as a considered a quasi starter who can absolutely
start in an injury situation. But that on a great team,
(20:06):
you say, probably off the bench. Now let's see where
he goes. I mean, he's still young enough where maybe
there's another gear that we're going to see this time around.
I don't know, but yeah, there's no question at that move.
I mean, it speaks for itself. We certainly have it
does run away from it.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And it is one of the nagging things I have
just about the Wolves in general is a lot of
the things they have had to do. I'm sure they're
forward thinking and what they're trying to do and the
different plans that they have, but they're also chasing some stuff, right,
They're chasing, you know, in a way, they're chasing the
Rooty deal even though it's successful, and they're chasing the
Cat deal, very true, even though they had chasing, and
(20:46):
I still think they had to do it. The Randall thing,
you're just getting off of a contract, which isn't ideal,
but if it sets you up to get other things,
I get it.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
But you're still, in a way chasing.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
And the Dillingham one is a big one because you
traded the first round pick to get him, yes, and
then you had to trade a first round pick to
move him, if I remember, right, So that's correct. You're
just that's always tough. Do I think they're making good decisions,
you know, I guess defensible decisions out of it. I do,
But you also have to start really hitting on pretty
(21:19):
much all of them for this whole thing to work out.
And I think the LaMelo thing, I mean, it's not
just for next season obviously.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
That's where I'm glad you reminded me of that because
I mentioned I wanted to get back to that with you,
maybe yesterday, the day before, and because it's I may
have addressed it a little bit on Sunday. I'm not
going to call this next year a gap year. I
certainly don't think the Wolves want to think of it
that way. But if you look at this thing logically,
(21:51):
isn't it more likely let's say LaMelo works to a
large degree, even if he does, isn't it more likely
that the season after and the season after that is
when the Wolves are going to be better equipped to
try to take another more serious run Because the assumption
(22:14):
is right, maybe that gives you a little bit more
time to figure out who you can play in the
front court, the assets that you have you know already
on the team that may be developing, or you're able
to pull off another move to add somebody else. And again,
in theory, the beauty of this move, if it works,
is you're saying, basically, we've got four or five, maybe
(22:39):
four core players that are all twenty four, twenty five,
and twenty six years old. And that means you're looking
at this as an opportunity, as you say, to be
a factor for a while. Right that, if it goes
well with those players and continues to and you build
around those players that you're gonna have a number of
(23:01):
bites at the apple. That's what in theory this is
supposed to mean. Obviously, with Anthony, with LaMelo, with Jayden,
and even Desumu, you're want to add him to the mix.
They're all basically around the same age. Shannon is around
the same age, maybe slightly younger. Shannon's old. Well, Shannon's older,
you're right, because he played like nine years of college basketball.
(23:22):
Shannon's older than ant. So, but they're all in that,
they're all in their twenties. They're all in their mid
twenties basically. So that to me is if you're a
Wolves fan, you can hold on to the hope that
even if it doesn't go great next year. So I
don't think they're gonna fall to the end of the table.
But even doesn't go great, all right, you still got
a core young guys that you like. And then you
(23:43):
you have to then then you gotta work your magic,
find some way to add somebody. Find out that the shooter,
the Duke shooter we got in around two Yeah, better
than you think right now. Again, at some point you
know you're you're perimeter oriented. You know you're wing oriented
and dominant, and you have to add you have to
(24:03):
find somebody who can play up front one way or another.
That that's an issue there, there's no point in hiding
from that.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
The other thing I think about is at some point
in the next couple of years, Rudy's money and Rudy
is He's gone.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Baron Jay theoretically is going to slide into that spot.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
All indications are on him. The baton can be passed
and he can be not maybe quite as good as Rudy,
but represent some of the same thing exactly, Yes, and
so hopefully with a little better touch, which it seems
like he has. He hasn't developed as much of a
shot yet. Yeah, Johnny, but there's a chance, I think.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
But he can catch it, yes, consistently, And that's still
Rudy's biggest person. True, Like I'm not asking. Although Game
seven he hit that turnaround shot. It was incredible. That's
how you knew it was going to be the Wolve's
night against the Nuggets.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
So that's the other part, because I do think a
lot of people are just looking at well, how are
you going to beat the Spurs and the Thunder next
year with this team, you probably won't.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Probably won't.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yeah, a lot would have to go right Again, I
think we also have to factor in unless Lebron gets here.
Lebron would be a good, you know, one year project
for this team. I do think you have to kind
of go year to year, but also see the bigger
picture that at some point in Oklahoma City is going
to look a little bit different because of their second
Apron stuff. Same deal with the Spurs eventually. Injuries are
(25:19):
always a thing in the NBA, like you just never
know what. You know, four months ago, nobody had the
Knicks winning the title. You know, It's just you never
know what the playoffs are actually going to look like.
Who's going to be there, Who's going to be healthy,
who's going to be injured. You just have to give
yourself the best shot at it year after year after year.
And I think what they've done now with a great
(25:39):
deal of guys that are twenty six and under, I
think is the magic number because I think Shannon is
twenty six.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Yeah, so all basically the same age or you know,
right right close to each other. Besides Rudy besides Rudy
talking about yeah, your your core offensive players, I guess
you could say. And so I would urge people to
not look at it as what are they got to
twenty six, twenty seventh, because that's not what it is.
It's not an all we're all in for the upcoming season,
because that would be a disappointment. Now, the fault might
(26:06):
be harder than you think. If you can't figure something
out at the forward position. I don't deny that. And
then you say, well, how good is this core going
to get even two or three years down the road
if you can't add another front court piece. The balance
of this team has changed pretty dramatically in that sense.
There's no I mean there's no. Whatever we think of Randall,
(26:27):
whatever we think of nas Reid, you got to replace
him or some fact simile of what they represent. Let's
get caught up. I've got a done as item I
want to get to, and we got an update on
the latest Caitlin Clark controversy.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Have you heard about this? I've seen the head coach
has fired another shot. I have not read it, so
I'm interested.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Do you happen to follow a Twitter handle, an x
handle called norm McDonald joke of the day.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
I don't know if I follow it, but I see
it quite a bit. I watch him quite a bit.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
I want to read you this one because I don't
know if somebody I follow reposted. I think that's how
I sit so it because I'm not sure I follow it,
but I like you, I see them from time to time.
This was Norm McDonald. This obviously goes back a long time.
The play Hiroshima, a tribute to the victims of the
(27:33):
first atomic bomb, with music and singing by Yoko Ono,
open to New York City this week. One tearful Japanese
survivor of the attack who attended the premiere called the
play quote the most horrifying experience of my life. Now,
the question on the table is could that joke would
(27:54):
would would the writers or Norm MacDonald be given the
opportunity in twenty twenty six to offer up that that line.
I'm not sure. Probably not, because there's so many of
the Norm McDonald ones, especially where I go he said what.
(28:15):
I'm not sure. By the way, it's to the good
that it's less likely that some of these, many of
them tasteless, some of them off color. The whole bit
the shot there is obviously Yoko Ono, right, But every
once in a while when I read these, I go,
oh god, this was his heyday then? Was that pre
(28:38):
x pre online? Oh yeah, yeah, big time right, Yeah,
he was mid to late nineties. So that's a lot
of what's changed there. There may have been a debate
at the time that broke out publicly, but it wouldn't
have been as intense or as sustained because we didn't
have that particular public square in our faces where we're
(29:01):
all kind of reinforcing each other's either outrage or whatever
word did you want to use. Correct, That's what's different.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, people were frequently outraged by Norm MacDonald. Now, yeah,
that's true, but he a couple of things he loved.
He reveled in the uncomfortable reaction. Yes, when he would
say a joke like that, he loved just sitting in
it and letting people process it in real time laughing,
(29:29):
maybe not laughing, groaning, moaning whatever.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
There were I remember, you know, my first college, University
of Iowa. This is before my time, but he was
hired to play at their Hancher Auditorium and they still
talk about it. It was one of the worst nights
in the history of the school because he was so
inappropriate and so out of bounds, and his defense was
did you not know who you were bringing? Like, oh,
(29:54):
he's not wrong exactly. Yeah. I guess the point is
there was always pushback to norm but yeah, nothing like
there wasn't a thing sonl culture.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Wasn't a thing back.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
That's it, and it was more understood like, look, comedians
are going to say stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
People are going to say stuff. It doesn't have to
be the end of the world. We were actually more
adult about it at the time. But cancel culture for
that overused term exists in part because of the Internet totally,
because right, I mean, that's what got That's what fuels
the momentum that otherwise would not exist on the same level,
even if individually there were people similarly outraged in some
(30:32):
cases to what he had to say. Alyssa Thomas. This
is via The New York Times. Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa
Thomas called out to the WNB for its failure to
protect players in the fallout of her one game suspension
for committing a flagrant file in Indiana fever guard Caitlin
Clark last week. Thomas said she had been sent death
(30:54):
threats received threats against her family was called racial source
online in the day since the incident. She also said
addresses have been leaked. Here's what I would say to
the way this is this story is characterized. We can
all agree that whatever those online death threats, racial slurs
(31:18):
that are out there, it's unacceptable, egregious, pathetic, sad pick
whatever outrage you know, adverb or adjective you want. That's
I should be a given. But I'm explode. How does
this make any sense? Called out the w A NBA
for its failure to protect players in the fallout. How
(31:43):
exactly is the WNBA? What is the WNB supposed to
do to eradicate online hatred? I don't it's it sounds dramatic,
but it's the way it's characterized makes no. It's not
real world. W NBA has a lot of leadership issues.
We've talked about some of them. But the notion that
(32:07):
somehow you're able to well, you should have done more
to protect players from this online hatred. How that's the
world we all live in. Believe me, we get them
here every every every day, of various sorts. Some of
them you wouldn't believe how over the lie they can be.
It's the nature of all of this stuff. You call
(32:27):
it out, you you do your best to savage it.
But WNBA is how's it supposed to protect? Now Later
in the story they get into her beef is that
she didn't hear from the commissioners. She didn't think soon
enough after she had mentioned to other people that this
is what she was dealing with. And again that might
(32:51):
well be true. I don't know. She's an easy your gal,
Kathy Engelbert is an easy mark. She brings on a
lot of herself. But I don't know if she didn't
react soon enough or et cetera. She ended up there
was a statement eventually, but because when we went through
(33:11):
this with no FISA right the the the the grievance
was badly injured at the end of the playoff run
right last year, and and she was upset that she
hadn't heard from the w n b A about it
soon enough, which I found curious at the very least, like, well,
what's what's the obligation of a commissioner? And and by
(33:34):
the way, I think the commissioner did say she did
contact her, but then it was the semantic you know
she said, she said game this is happening right now?
Speaker 1 (33:41):
By the way, with did Ingelbert reach out Thomas about
the security?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yes, yes, all of that. They're they're doing that again.
But there is I mean, there is no there's there's
only so much that there can't there is no protection
against online hate. Sadly enough, Now, if the implication is well,
there should have been, like I should have received a
security detail. I don't know what the answer to that is. However,
(34:07):
I also did find it curious. Let me see if
I can find it here. Let me scroll through this story.
Oh here, tell me this makes sense. A lot of us,
myself included, didn't even know the plate took place until
(34:27):
after the game? Right? Is that the one she was?
How diestingen? I mean, in all seriousness, we're not idiots
out here, man, I mean, would the commissioner also have
a right to say, well, we clearly felt you crossed
a line, and we felt like we had to respond.
(34:56):
Come on, Alyssa, you're gonna tell me with a straight
face you didn't even know the plate took place. You're
in the play, you committed the act. I thought all
along one game was fine, I didn't think there was
any Some people said too, I think I mentioned it.
Chris Brennan thought ten games. I think that would have
been very excessive. That would have come off to me
(35:18):
a little bit too much of if it was that
you're doing it only because it happened to Kaitlin Clark.
Because we've had all that discussion, we can argue and
debate that, but come on, man, how disingenuous? Almost like
what I had idea, I don't know really was there
now you can't know during the game because the whistle
didn't blow. I get that, But at no place do
(35:44):
I see anything from Lissa saying, yeah, it's probably a
move I shouldn't do. It's probably a step too far.
Even if it's not a punch, it's just a hand
of the throat on jackasses being jackasses. Yeah, it's got
to be called out every single time. Can't imagine what
that that because that's the added venom here when race
gets involved. It's destructive, there's no place for it. It's
(36:09):
where unfortunately people decide to go. But there were also
and I think this was who's the uh the fever
coach Stephanie White. Yes, she basically and to her credit,
called out the threats that Thomas received. And I think
(36:31):
that I think you, even though I know she feels
like her own player is being abused, I think you
gain a little bit of credibility, maybe a lot of credibility,
if you are still able to separate that outrage from
what has followed here to say, yeah, I called out
(36:54):
the play. I'm bothered by what I think is happening
to my player, Aitlan Clark. But if you think that
means I'm giving you permission to offer up, you know,
violent threats or racist threats or homophobic threats, I ain't
playing there. That's got nothing to do with it. I
give her credit for that because I think to me
(37:15):
it raises her credibility in terms of saying.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
You can do two things at once. Does that make
sense totally? Yeah, Well, because it's the right thing to
do also, you know what I mean. And people would
like to think that's a low barrier for entry, Yes,
But how often do we not have people just do
the right thing because of well maybe, yeah, you know
what I mean. It's my it's not my team, it's
(37:39):
not my player, it's not my business. No do it,
says a lot about Stephanie White. I think that she
has no problem doing the right thing. As silly as
that sounds, we don't often see that from people in
leadership positions.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
No, very rarely.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Top five Zucks Conley or Bite, Bite, and get ready
for Friday because the Feasta Collier practicing.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
You're listening to Berrero on the fan from the one
eight hundred ask
Summer long. Come grab yours at KFA and events throughout
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then make sure to redeem them in mall of America
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at kfan dot com keyword Calendar.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
On February ninth, twenty twenty three, Mike Conley was traded
to the timberwol in what was a three team trade
also involving the Los Angeles Lakers and the of course
Utah Jazz. The Jazz get Russell Westbrook, Juan Tuscano Anderson,
(01:16):
one of your favorites, Amian Jones, the Lakers acquiring Jared Vanderbilt,
Malik Beasley There's a Name for You, and Di'angelo Russell,
the Wolves acquiring Conley and Nikhil Alexander Walker. The trade,
of course, then was meant the reuniting of Conley with
(01:38):
really two former teammates. Kyle Anderson was a teammate in
Memphis with the Grizzlies and Rudy Gobert, a teammate of
course with the Utah Jazz. His first game nine points,
three assists, two steals in a twenty one point loss
to Memphis. But that's probably about the last time that
(02:02):
anybody in minnesot Tember, if related, was disappointed in Mike
Conley's time here. He ends up spending three and a
half years here, and now it's over. I can't say
it's over for good, because you know, we traded him
away once only to get him back late this season
into the postseason. But he is signing, according to several
(02:24):
reports with the Boston Celtics. The Wolves, I am told
wanted him back. We can get into all those permutations later.
And look, we all know that Mike Conley, by the way,
I think twenty twenty six, twenty seventh season coming up
will be his twentieth if I'm not mistaken. In the NBA.
(02:49):
We all know he's not the same player he was right,
There's no question about that when he was at his best,
providing exactly the kind of maturity from the point guard
position that D'Angelo Russell was incapable of. Not as talented
as D'Angelo, although Mike Connelly and his prime was a
pre damn talented player too, a very good player. We
all know he's past that. We're thinking. We're thinking today
(03:12):
about the larger picture and the larger picture is a
remarkably effective contributor to the Wolves success in recent years,
including back to back Final four appearances in the NBA
Playoffs Western Conference Finals on both occasions, and his contribution
to this show intermittently but pretty you know, steadily over
(03:38):
many seasons that will very much be lost and we
learned early with Mike he wasn't necessarily going to prove
there are players who appear on the radio who can
be more bombastic, who can be more I don't want
to say say this in a pejoraty of way over
(03:58):
the top, because I mean, just a little bit more
in your face, But what I think we learned also
with Mike is if you really paid attention to what
he was saying, there was a lot there a lot
of times that that gave us pretty good insight more
than anything else into the way the team operated, right
and the role he tried to play in that operation.
(04:21):
He was very, very honest in his own way. And
so it's we, I mean, obviously on this show, leaving
aside the Wolves contribution, just for the show, we we.
I can't thank him enough. I know you enjoyed talking
to him and helping to set these things up over
the years about is and you know, one of the
(04:44):
hazards which we've also learned over the years, Bernard variant,
if you have a regular athlete on and whatever the sport,
the danger in announcing it as a like I said,
a you know, a weekly thing is is that the
player will lose interest about four weeks in, or won't
(05:05):
be available on time, or will say he fell asleep
or he had frozen pipes or whatever the case may be.
Sure with Conley, he didn't do it every week, but
when he did it, he did it right. He was
pretty much always there with a very little exception. And
so which is exactly the kind of player. He was,
dependable player, adult in the room, the whole bit. So
(05:27):
A I hope, you know, I say, tremendous loss. I
hope at some point down the road we can get
him on again. I would love to, even if it's
when the Celtics come to town, to try to see
if there's a way to get the day before ten
or fifteen minutes. That of course depends on our ability
to get through. But a absolutely absolute professional, not just
(05:50):
as a player but as to a certain extent a
broadcast partner for us. He was tremendous.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
I love listening to him. I go back to just
watching him in college. He was on that greg Oden
team that lost in the championship game to Florida to
the Billy Donovan team. Good point, and he actually we
talked about that one time. He said, I think that's
the one game he's never watched back of anything, which
is interesting. And he was a one and done there.
(06:17):
That was greg Oden's team, right, the Kevin Durant greg
Oden team, So he probably got overshadowed then too, but man,
he was good on that team.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Obviously they go to the national championship game, and.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I know that, like I always, I'm like, you have
a soft spot for point guards. I love just how
good point guards play, making the right pass, the extra pass,
pushing the temple when he needed to, hitting the shots
when you need to. And for those two years I
didn't even say, certainly the Denver year when they beat
Denver in seven games and ended up playing Luca, he
(06:50):
was good the entire way, Like people can say that. Well,
things fell off quickly and there was the hand injury,
and he was always dealing with stuff. I imagine when
you get to his age, you're always dealing with something.
But they don't make that Western Conference Finals run without
him on that team. And he wasn't a ceremonial bit
at the time. He was an important, effective contributor, huge shots,
(07:13):
huge passes. He had, you know, the big flourish that
we all still watched the Nas reed offensive rebound dunk
and then I think it's Jamal Murray bringing it up
the floor, Jade mcdaniels's guarden him and Condy makes the
decision to do just kind of the quick double team,
try to get the steal at half court does gets
(07:34):
it to nas, Nas gets it to ant Ant, hits
the three, Harlan goes crazy, a Rod's on the court
and the game's over. That's Mike con That to me
is my favorite. There's a million Mike Conley plays, but
if I'm gonna remember one, it's gonna be that.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
It's not he didn't hit the shot.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, he didn't have the dunk, sequence, the sequence, the
play that the being heads up making the steal. That
was the dagger, and that's a highlight. That is top
two maybe of all time. I think about KG He's
dunek Ad get Sacramento in Game seven, That to me
will be Mike. That's Mike Conley, just a heady player
(08:13):
right place, takes the right chances, and that's why I'll
always love him.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
There's no question. And it's a reminder what he represented
again of the importance of what can be done at
that position that you know they now they're replacing him
with a more talented player, much younger player, almost half
his age, basically in La mellow ball. But it's there
(08:41):
is still. I don't care how much the game has changed,
and whether you want to consider him a pure point
guard or a combat whatever you want to all the
we all get hung up on these labels, but what
matters is it's indicates the person who's got the ball
in his hands a lot can make a difference in
(09:02):
terms of the message that's delivered. He can't make the
rest of the team smart, right, but he can try
to bring his own intelligence to it, his own restraint
to it, and hopefully that guidance. It absolutely was crucial
to those two runs. I don't care what. I don't
(09:23):
know what the analytics say, but I know they absolutely were.
Because teams generally need to have exactly what he represents.
So he's out of town here and won't be forgotten
around here, you know, for a long long time, and
certainly on this show for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And audience would even say the last few years they
were a better team when he was out here. He
had a good plus minus actually right, like, and I
get the shooting is what really fell off for him
the last few years. It used to be when he
had an open three. I thought it was going in
every time. Yep, because it did for you know, basically
the first two to two half years that he was here.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Is Mike Conley signing with the Celtics part of the
bumper to bumper curse. I guess that's the other elephant
in the room, part of the story. That's generally speaking,
people we've had on don't last in town. Yeah, For
some reason, I want to think this is different, that
he wasn't going to be here here forever, right, you know,
he's he's towards the end of his run, right, And
(10:21):
so I don't I don't. I like to think this
isn't part of the curse. Maybe that's convenient thinking on
my part. Plus I've tended to associate the curses with
guys who are with us one year and then they're
gone right, right, because that's happened a lot. Yep, they
one year and then the next year. Funny they're gone right,
including several vikings if I'm not mistaken, like the last
(10:42):
five vikings we've had. Yeah, that's sad, but unfortunately very
very true. Davey brat Seawn Brian Kafan text line is
open at six four six eighty six. By the way,
for the record, approaching the sixty minute mark, Senegal has
increased its lean just that to two nil over Belgium.
Now most of the insiders, including Brett Blakemore, says, I
(11:06):
guess we should back up and say if the US wins,
they'll play the winner of this game, and the betting
money was Belgium would be a tougher opponent. Now maybe
Senegal would say, okay, I think whatever you want or
for real, But an interesting development that's in Seattle, Washington,
where I see no low clouds for the moment, maybe
(11:27):
in a little bit of sunshine. I'm not sure, but
I guess it's chill that chili, but it's cool there.
By July standards, Senegal two, Belgium nil, and then of course,
the US game is tonight, and I think you said
Santa Clara correct, Yes, where the forty nine ers play.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, people are getting set for it now. I was
watching during halftime of this game. They are matched. They
were doing. Yes, the stuff from inside Santa Clara Levi Stadium,
I think is what they call it. And Ian Leonard
mentioned it to us, just the security, how everything's kind
of blocked off the lines that you get thrown in,
but everybody's just rolling right through and looks very festive,
very festive.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Interesting text listening to this conversation that we should probably address.
Wolves will have the lowest IQ and most professionally immature
starting backward in the NBA, and now the adult rooms
flit the Boston should be a fun season at the playground. Well,
this is the very polarizing debate, right, This is the
essence of it, quite frankly, is who is LaMelo ball?
(12:31):
And by the way, I I don't I reject the
notion is Anthony Edwards a finished mature, ultra mature product. No,
but I reject the notion that he could have accomplished
the things he has if he were quite as immature
(12:53):
as that Texter suggests and there are some people who
are in that camp too. On Anthony, let's leave Anthony
aside for a moment. The ball thing is interesting because
for me, the immaturity is about potentially two things to watch.
One is there's no analytic for this. This is really
(13:17):
more eye test and observation. Is he serious enough to
take the next step which he needs to hear if
he's going to make a difference, And can he clean
up a little bit of a shot selection. Those are
to me the maturity issues. But here's where I'm different
(13:37):
than seven to sixty three guy and some others. I
guess I should say as a pure passer, there's nothing
immature about his ability to see people open and to
get and to get the ball to open people on
the court. That vision, there's there's no immaturity in that vision.
(13:58):
That's actually a very I mean, if you're talking about maturity,
it's seeing the court and taking advantage of your skills
to get people better shots than the otherwise would have,
which analytically has kind of been proven in Charlotte when
he was not on the court. Now, defensively he's not
a great defender, but then again, has he ever played
(14:21):
with a center like Rudy, and even a versatile defender
like Jayden who can guard out high. He can guard guards,
he can guard any pretty much any position right. But
on the offensive side, there's nothing immature about his ability
to see the court and get people open. That is
(14:42):
a skill that is to the positive and it's what
intrigues me the most about what he has to offer.
In general. Though we've said it a hundred times, Conley
was I think a little bit of a buffer there
and maybe a guy beyond the coaches who could remind
the talented youngsters about what they needed to try to
(15:05):
adhere to more often. But Anthony Edwards is so much better.
Well again say, part of the reason I was for
this deal is I think Edwards. I've said this from
the beginning of the season. I remember we talked about
the day that the big announcement came that Conley was
going to be benched and we're going to put Dante
(15:27):
in the starting lineup, and in effect they were saying
Anthony ever was going to be a point our point guard.
It won't work long term, it doesn't disservice the entire team,
even if in the short term, and perhaps they felt
like they did not have an alternative. If you want
to talk about maturity or getting to the next place,
this is what this move in theory can do that
(15:47):
because of what the pressure it takes off of him
from a ball handling standpoint. Also, Anthony Edwards is so
much better in his shot selection than he was two
or three years ago. It's not close. His variety of
ways to score has improved. He needs to keep doing it.
But I I think it's it sounds good around the
water cooler. Oh he's a child, you know, he's just
(16:09):
so he's so immature. He's too good a player for
me to be reduced to that description, don't you think, Yes, totally,
come on. And notwithstanding the fact that and this is
a pretty mature thing to do that a lot of
players who are called mature don't do. He kept playing
through injury. I mean he kept trying to plug, you know,
(16:29):
plug through it, move through it and say I'm going
to be trying to be out there as much as
I can. He did not take the easy route out
at all. No, when other players.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Would have done the same thing or have done the
same thing, and no one would have blamed him if
he would have taken a start right right, even all
the injuries we've seen in the NBA for the last
few years. I also think some of that goes the
maturity and the fast forwardness. It also makes me defend
the Rooty trade even more so because LaMelo ball is
coming in here. There's questions about a million different things
about him. Game has approached the whole deal. He's never
(17:02):
had close to the team around him that Anthony Edwards
has had, and that goes back to the Rudy trade
of everybody that's around the team.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Johnny says this all the time. What do they want
to do?
Speaker 1 (17:12):
They wanted Anton as many playoff games as possible as actually,
right and the kids get been in zero zero. He's
been in two playings right correct was great and one
a disaster. In the other correct and Ant has played.
I mean, we could do the math, but he's won
the five Series and the year before that they went
they lost to Memphis. So he's been in a million
which is huge, which is I think helped him improve
(17:33):
because he knows what he has to work on every
single day. So hopefully Lamela can do the same thing.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Six or six eighty six. That's the Bradshaw and Bryant
k FA and text line. As many of you know
by now, short week this week to be best of
on the legal holiday, uh Friday at least iHeart Friday,
June July three. Inbox, I'm assuming we're getting to tomorrow,
(18:24):
are you? Are you out early? Are you this week?
You're here? Yeah? We can do in.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Tomorrow inbox tomorrow we're moving level up a day. I
hope russo tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
I think I worry Levell might be dodging us tomorrow though,
because I think he knows he's on the run regarding Mexico.
Interesting and because you know, a couple of people are saying, well, yeah,
but they did have that reputation in the past, like
well he's supposed to be mister soccer. Obviously some things
have changed with them at some point. He also, I
don't think gets the fall and hist bit on the athletics.
(18:55):
Did you see that tweet exchange? I just I certainly did. Yeah,
I got a kick out of For sure, dilling Hand's
lack of development caused a lot. Yes, we have certainly
that's undeniable. It It is an example of how one
move can have a chain reaction effect. That has ramifications
(19:21):
in terms of more than anything else, assets that you
might have had otherwise to use in other ways, right,
that had to be used to try to patch this
thing up and fix it. Now, on the other hand,
you can say, well, if you come out of that
deal acquiring Desumu and you're able to re sign him,
(19:44):
that's a decent save. You know, that's at least you're getting.
It's still not as good as Dillingham being the guy,
because Dillingham was meant to be the guy who was
going to start at point guard the air apparent YEP
for commonly as a starter. I think Desumu was still
used as a considered a quasi starter who can absolutely
start in an injury situation. But that on a great team,
(20:06):
you say, probably off the bench. Now let's see where
he goes. I mean, he's still young enough where maybe
there's another gear that we're going to see this time around.
I don't know, but yeah, there's no question at that move.
I mean, it speaks for itself. We certainly have it
does run away from it.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And it is one of the nagging things I have
just about the Wolves in general is a lot of
the things they have had to do. I'm sure they're
forward thinking and what they're trying to do and the
different plans that they have, but they're also chasing some stuff, right,
They're chasing, you know, in a way, they're chasing the
Rooty deal even though it's successful, and they're chasing the
Cat deal, very true, even though they had chasing, and
(20:46):
I still think they had to do it. The Randall thing,
you're just getting off of a contract, which isn't ideal,
but if it sets you up to get other things,
I get it.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
But you're still, in a way chasing.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
And the Dillingham one is a big one because you
traded the first round pick to get him, yes, and
then you had to trade a first round pick to
move him, if I remember, right, So that's correct. You're
just that's always tough. Do I think they're making good decisions,
you know, I guess defensible decisions out of it. I do,
But you also have to start really hitting on pretty
(21:19):
much all of them for this whole thing to work out.
And I think the LaMelo thing, I mean, it's not
just for next season obviously.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
That's where I'm glad you reminded me of that because
I mentioned I wanted to get back to that with you,
maybe yesterday, the day before, and because it's I may
have addressed it a little bit on Sunday. I'm not
going to call this next year a gap year. I
certainly don't think the Wolves want to think of it
that way. But if you look at this thing logically,
(21:51):
isn't it more likely let's say LaMelo works to a
large degree, even if he does, isn't it more likely
that the season after and the season after that is
when the Wolves are going to be better equipped to
try to take another more serious run Because the assumption
(22:14):
is right, maybe that gives you a little bit more
time to figure out who you can play in the
front court, the assets that you have you know already
on the team that may be developing, or you're able
to pull off another move to add somebody else. And again,
in theory, the beauty of this move, if it works,
is you're saying, basically, we've got four or five, maybe
(22:39):
four core players that are all twenty four, twenty five,
and twenty six years old. And that means you're looking
at this as an opportunity, as you say, to be
a factor for a while. Right that, if it goes
well with those players and continues to and you build
around those players that you're gonna have a number of
(23:01):
bites at the apple. That's what in theory this is
supposed to mean. Obviously, with Anthony, with LaMelo, with Jayden,
and even Desumu, you're want to add him to the mix.
They're all basically around the same age. Shannon is around
the same age, maybe slightly younger. Shannon's old. Well, Shannon's older,
you're right, because he played like nine years of college basketball.
(23:22):
Shannon's older than ant. So, but they're all in that,
they're all in their twenties. They're all in their mid
twenties basically. So that to me is if you're a
Wolves fan, you can hold on to the hope that
even if it doesn't go great next year. So I
don't think they're gonna fall to the end of the table.
But even doesn't go great, all right, you still got
a core young guys that you like. And then you
(23:43):
you have to then then you gotta work your magic,
find some way to add somebody. Find out that the shooter,
the Duke shooter we got in around two Yeah, better
than you think right now. Again, at some point you
know you're you're perimeter oriented. You know you're wing oriented
and dominant, and you have to add you have to
(24:03):
find somebody who can play up front one way or another.
That that's an issue there, there's no point in hiding
from that.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
The other thing I think about is at some point
in the next couple of years, Rudy's money and Rudy
is He's gone.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Baron Jay theoretically is going to slide into that spot.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
All indications are on him. The baton can be passed
and he can be not maybe quite as good as Rudy,
but represent some of the same thing exactly, Yes, and
so hopefully with a little better touch, which it seems
like he has. He hasn't developed as much of a
shot yet. Yeah, Johnny, but there's a chance, I think.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
But he can catch it, yes, consistently, And that's still
Rudy's biggest person. True, Like I'm not asking. Although Game
seven he hit that turnaround shot. It was incredible. That's
how you knew it was going to be the Wolve's
night against the Nuggets.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
So that's the other part, because I do think a
lot of people are just looking at well, how are
you going to beat the Spurs and the Thunder next
year with this team, you probably won't.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Probably won't.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yeah, a lot would have to go right Again, I
think we also have to factor in unless Lebron gets here.
Lebron would be a good, you know, one year project
for this team. I do think you have to kind
of go year to year, but also see the bigger
picture that at some point in Oklahoma City is going
to look a little bit different because of their second
Apron stuff. Same deal with the Spurs eventually. Injuries are
(25:19):
always a thing in the NBA, like you just never
know what. You know, four months ago, nobody had the
Knicks winning the title. You know, It's just you never
know what the playoffs are actually going to look like.
Who's going to be there, Who's going to be healthy,
who's going to be injured. You just have to give
yourself the best shot at it year after year after year.
And I think what they've done now with a great
(25:39):
deal of guys that are twenty six and under, I
think is the magic number because I think Shannon is
twenty six.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Yeah, so all basically the same age or you know,
right right close to each other. Besides Rudy besides Rudy
talking about yeah, your your core offensive players, I guess
you could say. And so I would urge people to
not look at it as what are they got to
twenty six, twenty seventh, because that's not what it is.
It's not an all we're all in for the upcoming season,
because that would be a disappointment. Now, the fault might
(26:06):
be harder than you think. If you can't figure something
out at the forward position. I don't deny that. And
then you say, well, how good is this core going
to get even two or three years down the road
if you can't add another front court piece. The balance
of this team has changed pretty dramatically in that sense.
There's no I mean there's no. Whatever we think of Randall,
(26:27):
whatever we think of nas Reid, you got to replace
him or some fact simile of what they represent. Let's
get caught up. I've got a done as item I
want to get to, and we got an update on
the latest Caitlin Clark controversy.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Have you heard about this? I've seen the head coach
has fired another shot. I have not read it, so
I'm interested.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Do you happen to follow a Twitter handle, an x
handle called norm McDonald joke of the day.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
I don't know if I follow it, but I see
it quite a bit. I watch him quite a bit.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
I want to read you this one because I don't
know if somebody I follow reposted. I think that's how
I sit so it because I'm not sure I follow it,
but I like you, I see them from time to time.
This was Norm McDonald. This obviously goes back a long time.
The play Hiroshima, a tribute to the victims of the
(27:33):
first atomic bomb, with music and singing by Yoko Ono,
open to New York City this week. One tearful Japanese
survivor of the attack who attended the premiere called the
play quote the most horrifying experience of my life. Now,
the question on the table is could that joke would
(27:54):
would would the writers or Norm MacDonald be given the
opportunity in twenty twenty six to offer up that that line.
I'm not sure. Probably not, because there's so many of
the Norm McDonald ones, especially where I go he said what.
(28:15):
I'm not sure. By the way, it's to the good
that it's less likely that some of these, many of
them tasteless, some of them off color. The whole bit
the shot there is obviously Yoko Ono, right, But every
once in a while when I read these, I go,
oh god, this was his heyday then? Was that pre
(28:38):
x pre online? Oh yeah, yeah, big time right, Yeah,
he was mid to late nineties. So that's a lot
of what's changed there. There may have been a debate
at the time that broke out publicly, but it wouldn't
have been as intense or as sustained because we didn't
have that particular public square in our faces where we're
(29:01):
all kind of reinforcing each other's either outrage or whatever
word did you want to use. Correct, That's what's different.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, people were frequently outraged by Norm MacDonald. Now, yeah,
that's true, but he a couple of things he loved.
He reveled in the uncomfortable reaction. Yes, when he would
say a joke like that, he loved just sitting in
it and letting people process it in real time laughing,
(29:29):
maybe not laughing, groaning, moaning whatever.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
There were I remember, you know, my first college, University
of Iowa. This is before my time, but he was
hired to play at their Hancher Auditorium and they still
talk about it. It was one of the worst nights
in the history of the school because he was so
inappropriate and so out of bounds, and his defense was
did you not know who you were bringing? Like, oh,
(29:54):
he's not wrong exactly. Yeah. I guess the point is
there was always pushback to norm but yeah, nothing like
there wasn't a thing sonl culture.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Wasn't a thing back.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
That's it, and it was more understood like, look, comedians
are going to say stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
People are going to say stuff. It doesn't have to
be the end of the world. We were actually more
adult about it at the time. But cancel culture for
that overused term exists in part because of the Internet totally,
because right, I mean, that's what got That's what fuels
the momentum that otherwise would not exist on the same level,
even if individually there were people similarly outraged in some
(30:32):
cases to what he had to say. Alyssa Thomas. This
is via The New York Times. Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa
Thomas called out to the WNB for its failure to
protect players in the fallout of her one game suspension
for committing a flagrant file in Indiana fever guard Caitlin
Clark last week. Thomas said she had been sent death
(30:54):
threats received threats against her family was called racial source
online in the day since the incident. She also said
addresses have been leaked. Here's what I would say to
the way this is this story is characterized. We can
all agree that whatever those online death threats, racial slurs
(31:18):
that are out there, it's unacceptable, egregious, pathetic, sad pick
whatever outrage you know, adverb or adjective you want. That's
I should be a given. But I'm explode. How does
this make any sense? Called out the w A NBA
for its failure to protect players in the fallout. How
(31:43):
exactly is the WNBA? What is the WNB supposed to
do to eradicate online hatred? I don't it's it sounds dramatic,
but it's the way it's characterized makes no. It's not
real world. W NBA has a lot of leadership issues.
We've talked about some of them. But the notion that
(32:07):
somehow you're able to well, you should have done more
to protect players from this online hatred. How that's the
world we all live in. Believe me, we get them
here every every every day, of various sorts. Some of
them you wouldn't believe how over the lie they can be.
It's the nature of all of this stuff. You call
(32:27):
it out, you you do your best to savage it.
But WNBA is how's it supposed to protect? Now Later
in the story they get into her beef is that
she didn't hear from the commissioners. She didn't think soon
enough after she had mentioned to other people that this
is what she was dealing with. And again that might
(32:51):
well be true. I don't know. She's an easy your gal,
Kathy Engelbert is an easy mark. She brings on a
lot of herself. But I don't know if she didn't
react soon enough or et cetera. She ended up there
was a statement eventually, but because when we went through
(33:11):
this with no FISA right the the the the grievance
was badly injured at the end of the playoff run
right last year, and and she was upset that she
hadn't heard from the w n b A about it
soon enough, which I found curious at the very least, like, well,
what's what's the obligation of a commissioner? And and by
(33:34):
the way, I think the commissioner did say she did
contact her, but then it was the semantic you know
she said, she said game this is happening right now?
Speaker 1 (33:41):
By the way, with did Ingelbert reach out Thomas about
the security?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yes, yes, all of that. They're they're doing that again.
But there is I mean, there is no there's there's
only so much that there can't there is no protection
against online hate. Sadly enough, Now, if the implication is well,
there should have been, like I should have received a
security detail. I don't know what the answer to that is. However,
(34:07):
I also did find it curious. Let me see if
I can find it here. Let me scroll through this story.
Oh here, tell me this makes sense. A lot of us,
myself included, didn't even know the plate took place until
(34:27):
after the game? Right? Is that the one she was?
How diestingen? I mean, in all seriousness, we're not idiots
out here, man, I mean, would the commissioner also have
a right to say, well, we clearly felt you crossed
a line, and we felt like we had to respond.
(34:56):
Come on, Alyssa, you're gonna tell me with a straight
face you didn't even know the plate took place. You're
in the play, you committed the act. I thought all
along one game was fine, I didn't think there was
any Some people said too, I think I mentioned it.
Chris Brennan thought ten games. I think that would have
been very excessive. That would have come off to me
(35:18):
a little bit too much of if it was that
you're doing it only because it happened to Kaitlin Clark.
Because we've had all that discussion, we can argue and
debate that, but come on, man, how disingenuous? Almost like
what I had idea, I don't know really was there
now you can't know during the game because the whistle
didn't blow. I get that, But at no place do
(35:44):
I see anything from Lissa saying, yeah, it's probably a
move I shouldn't do. It's probably a step too far.
Even if it's not a punch, it's just a hand
of the throat on jackasses being jackasses. Yeah, it's got
to be called out every single time. Can't imagine what
that that because that's the added venom here when race
gets involved. It's destructive, there's no place for it. It's
(36:09):
where unfortunately people decide to go. But there were also
and I think this was who's the uh the fever
coach Stephanie White. Yes, she basically and to her credit,
called out the threats that Thomas received. And I think
(36:31):
that I think you, even though I know she feels
like her own player is being abused, I think you
gain a little bit of credibility, maybe a lot of credibility,
if you are still able to separate that outrage from
what has followed here to say, yeah, I called out
(36:54):
the play. I'm bothered by what I think is happening
to my player, Aitlan Clark. But if you think that
means I'm giving you permission to offer up, you know,
violent threats or racist threats or homophobic threats, I ain't
playing there. That's got nothing to do with it. I
give her credit for that because I think to me
(37:15):
it raises her credibility in terms of saying.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
You can do two things at once. Does that make
sense totally? Yeah, Well, because it's the right thing to
do also, you know what I mean. And people would
like to think that's a low barrier for entry, Yes,
But how often do we not have people just do
the right thing because of well maybe, yeah, you know
what I mean. It's my it's not my team, it's
(37:39):
not my player, it's not my business. No do it,
says a lot about Stephanie White. I think that she
has no problem doing the right thing. As silly as
that sounds, we don't often see that from people in
leadership positions.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
No, very rarely.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Top five Zucks Conley or Bite, Bite, and get ready
for Friday because the Feasta Collier practicing.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
You're listening to Berrero on the fan from the one
eight hundred ask
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