Jimmy Butler & Zach LaVine Trade Rumors, The All-Star Game, & The State of the NBA

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The holiday season is here, and I hope you've had
a blessed, healthy, and joyous one thus far. While many
of us are looking ahead towards the new year, this
is the time where the NBA season usually hits the
big drop of the proverbial roller coaster that it tends
to be. All Star voting has kicked off now, trade
rumors are heating up, and front offices are either starting

(00:22):
to look forward towards their ideal playoff run or their
ideal draft lottery suit. So given the circumstances, I have
some hot topics to talk about today, like the potential
trades of Zach Levine and Jimmy Butler, the NBA's new
All Star game format, and then with seemingly questionable TV ratings,

(00:44):
I kind of want to give my NBA State of
the Union, if you will, which to me goes way
beyond the TV ratings discussion. So after some hip hop
heavy episodes on Hip to the Games, it was only
right that I matched the heat of this NBA season
for today's show with some hot topics. All right, so
as always, get your popcorn ready for another hefty episode

(01:06):
of H two DG. Welcome to Hip to the Games
the podcast for you the basketball junkie and the hip
hop hit. I'm your host, Desmond and I too have
had hoop dreams and enjoy the beautiful genre of hip
hop and its history. Together we will enjoy some of
the greatest albums, songs, artists, players, moments, teams, and so
much more, while even mixing the two on occasion. All

(01:28):
in my hope that you remember why you love both
or either of these to begin with. You'll soon understand
that Hip to the Games is more than just a podcast.
It's a lifestyle. And if you were looking for a
platform that combines both basketball and hip hop, you've come
to the right place. Welcome to a new episode of

(01:59):
Hip Tie the Games. Shout out to you if you
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(02:21):
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I gotta give my pregame shoutouts out the way. The

(03:04):
first one always going to the creative director of Jesus
Christ for another HUDG episode, as it's always a blessing
to get in front of this microphone and do what
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(03:49):
and appreciated. And speaking of which, if you follow me
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(04:10):
Hip to the Games, and I am incredibly grateful to
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While Hip to the Games merges the love of basketball
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I sincerely thank you for all your support. All Right,
so transitioning right into today's show. If you are a

(05:14):
returning listener, you already know how I do. But if
you are new to the show, this episode is going
to be organized by the format that pays homage to
the classic hip hop song structure. All Right, I got
three verses for you today, which represents three topics for
the show. The first verse always has to set the tone.
The middle verse brings the climax or the rising action
if you will, and then that last verse. Your last

(05:36):
verse has to be the Haymaker, the best verse for
last And since we always got to start verse one
off with a bang, I gotta start with some pretty
intense trade rumors surrounding two all star caliber players, but
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slash bball H two DG is working in affiliation with
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the link provided. Tipping off with verse one, I had
to touch on the recent trade rumors surrounding two of
the NBA's best wings, and that is the rumors surrounding
Jimmy Butler and Zach Levine all right now, being that

(07:43):
I record early in the week to promote the episode
before Friday, I'm sure that news will break for one
of these guys, if not both of these guys, and
throw my timing all the way off. So I'm gonna
try my best to share my thoughts on the potential
scenarios we might see. It is the holiday week, though,
so maybe they'll be a little nice and be like,
you know, we'll cool out on the rumors, let them

(08:05):
spend time with the family, you know what I'm saying,
and then we can get right back to it. But
we'll see, you know, you never know what the NBA,
and I'm really hoping and praying right now as I'm
talking that nothing is breaking. But I do want to
start with Jimmy Butler because honestly, I was a bit
shocked at how he opened himself up to trades mid season.
You know, sure with one of year left on his deal.

(08:26):
You know, it's the classic case of you know, trade
him for a return and value as opposed to watching
him leaving free agency with nothing in return. Right, I
get that. I also understand with Jimmy being thirty five
years old. Now, you know how the Miami Heat, they're
pretty much showing signs that it's time for Tyler Hero
and Bam Autebayo to lead the franchise into what they
hope is a new era of success. So that's cool,

(08:48):
that's also very understandable. But I was just surprised that Jimmy,
as much as he's loved being in Miami and been
vocal about that, he felt it was time for a
change of scenery. Like I can't lie, I was a
little put off by that because you know, again, I
know it's a new era, right, guys want to play elsewhere,
you know, and and you know, the the whole loyalty

(09:09):
thing is is, you know, some of these teams start
to show their true colors, right, and then I think
the rest of the NBA is waking up. I think
even a guy like Daron Fox, like he's been very
vocal of saying like, hey, I want to be a
Sacramento King, but I also know how y'all do, and
I could be in a new uniform, and if y'all
not cooperating and we're not trying to win games, I
will gladly go somewhere else, you know. So I think
that's like the NBA that we're in now. But yeah,

(09:32):
I think it was the the minute that Jimmy Butler
that this news came out, and I saw that Jimmy
Butler was looking at Golden State, Dallas and Houston specifically
that at this stage in his career, he wants to
play the Andre Iguodala Warriors role right, focus strictly on defense,
make the right passes, and score when you're open. Some

(09:53):
people don't understand his fit with Golden State specifically, but
I'm telling you that is exactly what Jimmy Butler has
in mind. That is a exactly why he's interested in
that team because they have shooting. Steph Curry is still
an All Star caliber player. Draymond is still the glue
of that team. If they get Jimmy Butler, it'll be
like when they had Andre Goodala, who they won championships with.

(10:13):
That's where Jimmy Butler has in mind. So, you know,
like I said, I think that's why he's interested in them.
And then you look at the Mavericks, right, I think
it's a very similar thing. The Dallas Mavericks they have Lukadancis,
Kyrie Irving, they just made the finals last year, got
a lot of nice role players there. They acquired Klay Thompson,
he could do the same thing there. And then even

(10:34):
the Phoenix Suns, you know, they've emerged as a suitor
for him as well. You know, all of these teams
have established superstar players scorers in particular to the point
where Jimmy can just chill. You know, Jimmy has always
been that kind of player. I've seen the Heat win
games where Jimmy scored just eight points, but he played
great defense, he got his teammates involved. And of course

(10:55):
there's the other side of that, right. We've also seen
Jimmy Butler turn on that switch and drop fifty five
the way he did versus Milwaukee in the playoffs, right,
and it just looked like he couldn't miss, you know,
So he's on to me, he's on the very short list,
very short list of players who can have that kind
of effect on a franchise, to where you can score
single digit points and still find a way to win,

(11:17):
and you can drop almost sixty and lead your team
to win. So in this potential potential newer role for him,
he doesn't have to put that wear and tear on
his body the way he did from Miami because there
were some games, you remember, Jimmy Butler was genuinely limping
after games because he put his heart and soul on
the line. You know, he had an incredible underdog esque

(11:37):
run with the Miami Heat, and you know, outside of
his time in Chicago, you know, a lot of those
moments are my favorite moments of Jimmy's career. You know,
I think many people are gonna remember what he did
in the Heat Jersey for a long time, you know,
leading them to two finals appearances when in years that
people didn't really expect them to get there. But but
Jimmy knows the clock is taken for him to win
a championship in this league. You know, He's always been

(12:00):
vocal about his desire to, you know, win something in
the NBA because he's never won on any level he's
played at. So it makes sense why Jimmy is looking
at these contending teams who are just one piece, one
glue guy, one experienced leader away from a championship. Now,
if you ask me, I believe the Phoenix Suns need

(12:22):
him the most and Again, people, what I said. It's
not that I want him to go there or anything
like that, or I believe that they'll automatically win a
championship if he goes there. But I'm just saying that
the Phoenix Suns where they are right now, I think
as far as need and desperation, they need him the
most out of all these teams that are interested in
Jimmy Butler, because, in my opinion, the Sons are missing

(12:44):
a Russell Westbrook, a Draymond Green, a Jimmy Butler kind
of guy, someone who is gonna take pride in the
dirty work, bring fiery leadership, and control the game when
the going gets tough. I think the Sons have slipped
into a funk recently because they've been expecting a guy
like Devin Booker to do that. Right, But that's just
adding more food that he probably doesn't want to eat

(13:04):
to his already large plate. Right. And I think the
same exact thing with what Kevin Durant's like, the same age,
thirty six years old, something like that, Like he comes
back from injury and everybody wants me to put the
Superman cap on immediately, which he's great at. You know,
don't get me wrong, He's still great at But you know,
I thought they started off really well. I thought Tyas
Jones being a part of a winning group, you know,

(13:25):
that was working well being around talented players coming from
the wizard situation. But it's clear that they still very
much so need a glue guy, you know, and that
can play with different lineups and play different roles on
the floor. And to me, there's no better option at
this point than Jimmy Butler. You know, I think Mike
Budenholzer can play him with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker

(13:46):
just fine, obviously. You know, he can keep one of
them out there and let Jimmy work his own points
in or even play him in in a few minutes.
You know, he can kind of play him as a
lone star with a lot of the bench guys, and
it'll be like micro minutes of his Miami situation. You know,
I believe it would be a win win for everybody.
You know, Jimmy would go back to a similar role
he had in his loan season in Philadelphia, I think

(14:08):
where all the pressure isn't on him, but at the
perfect times he can just pick and choose his attack.
You know, I think the same about his fit with
Kyrie and Luca in Dallas, you know, which again would
be even more intriguing considering they are the reigning Western
Conference champions and Jimmy is from tom Ball, Texas right
Golden State. Again I touched on that earlier. You know,
there would be shooters surrounding Jimmy, which would free up

(14:30):
those driving lanes for him. You know. And while a
bit more puzzling in my opinion, aside from the home
cooking again, I think Jimmy would be a part of
a younger, gritty group with the Houston Rocket situation, and
I think he would fit there simply for the simple
fact that that's a team that succeeds as a unit.
Jimmy has always you know, played well on teams like that.

(14:52):
That that quality, that selfless nature is right up Jimmy's alley.
So if you think about it, Jimmy fits. You can
make an argument for Jimmy's fitting all those situation and
I wouldn't. I wouldn't see anything wrong with that. But
I just don't think that that Rocket situation is as
ideal as some of those other contenders in the running.
But and like I said, While I think all three
teams would be great, I do believe that the Phoenix

(15:14):
Suns need him the most. I will say that, Like
I said, not sure if that would result in the
championship instantly, but you know, I do think that is
that is the kind of player of the Phoenix Suns need,
and you know, hopefully they can get them for their sake.
But you know, like I said, I'm I'm cool with
any of those situations for Jimmy Butler because at this
stage in his career, you know, let him get a

(15:35):
little i don't know, twelve points, six rebound, six assists,
you know what I'm saying, Let him play lockdown defense.
He'll be perfect for your team if you already have
established scorers. And a lot of these teams that are
interested in Jimmy and the ones that he threw out
there are gonna benefit from his play for show. And
then there's the Zach Lavine situation in Chicago, where after
an injury riddled season this year, he spiked up his

(15:57):
trade value once again with impressive shoe clutch shots, skilled
shot creation while still being very entertaining in the open court.
Right and the Bulls have been in a weird spot.
You know again, you're talking to the guy from you know,
the Chicago land area. The Bulls is my team. I'm
very aware that they are in a weird spot. Their

(16:18):
Chicago passion and pride won't let them tank. But they
also recognize their inevitable youth movement on the horizon. And
I've been very vocal about this from the jump. Okay,
as somebody who once wanted to be in these very
NBA players shoes, I wouldn't want to lose on purpose either.
I will never be mad at any Chicago Bulls player

(16:40):
for not tanking in that regard. At the same time,
that has only kept us wading in the water of mediocrity.
So but thankfully though, there has been a window of opportunity,
you know, with the possibility of a trade centered around
Zach Lavine and the Denver Nuggets and their forward Michael
Porter Junior, a player that the Bulls, if you remember,

(17:01):
had a chance to draft in twenty eight eighteen, probably
should have drafted him, but he slipped. I believe he
was the fourteen pick that year. He slipped either tenth
or fourteenth. One of those he slipped due to injury concerns. Right.
He had a lot of injury struggles as a youngin
so a lot of teams they were nervous about that.
But fast forward though, MPJ has proven to be a
very valuable piece for the Denver Nuggets as a young

(17:23):
NBA champion. You know, he's six ' ten, tall enough
to hang with power forwards, yet mobile enough to play
the small forward spot. You know, he generally flirts with
around forty percent from three and fifty percent from the field,
so he's efficient. You know, there was even a point
in twenty twenty twenty one, I remember he drew a
lot of comparisons to Kevin Durant. You know, he had
a hot few weeks of basketball and they were comparing

(17:44):
him to Kevin Durant. You know, he's been more of
a catch and shoot guy in Denver. You know, he
hasn't been able to show his full package all the time.
So I think that's why this situation in Chicago would
be perfect for him. You know, he's still young at
twenty six. You know, he has the experience again as
an NBA champion coming from a contending organization, you know,
and he'll get plenty of opportunities, you know, to to

(18:06):
to be the go to guy essentially right to to
kind of emerge as a go to guy alongside Kobe White.
You know, I think he just gives the Bulls again
much needed size and versatility, youth, experience, you know, all
those things and of course talent, right he checks all
the boxes in my opinion, and likewise, the Nuggets would
They would get Zach Lavine's shot creation, catching, shoot ability,

(18:29):
and especially with Russell Westbrook doing his thing now, it's
gonna bring extra fast break opportunities for the team. You know,
Russell Westbrook needs a guy like Zach Lavine to run
in the open court and and and start those get
those transition Buggets Personally, like I said, I would love
this for Zach Lavine as he only has one playoff
appearance in the ten seasons after starting his career with

(18:51):
the rebuilding Timberwolves and now most of his prime with
the rebuilding slash mediocre Chicago Bulls. So ten seasons one
playoff of parents, it would be great for Zach to
get in a winning situation. You know, again, I know
the Nuggets are sitting in like middle of the pack
in the Western Conference right now, but again playing with
the cold, the Yolkic. They're always gonna make sure they
surround him with good pieces, and obviously Zach's still fairly

(19:14):
young athletic like that, dude, you know, this is a
great time for him to try to get some more
wins under his belt for his career and get more
opportunities to play in the playoffs. So I would love
it for him, you know. And I think even the
idea of Denver potentially having Jamal Murray and now Zach
Levine to take that pressure off Jokic come playoff time
sounds very exciting. You know, this trade to me would

(19:37):
be a match made in heaven for both sides. You know,
you always hear talk of oh who won this trade,
who lost that trade. I think this would be a
win for both sides. You know, it surely helps the
Bulls rebuild and kind of reunite, reignites that Nuggets, you know,
their chances to contend. You know, it reignites their journey
as they seek to be NBA champions once again. And
you know, I think, like I said, it'd be a

(19:57):
match made in heaven. I am definitely a fan of
both the potential scenarios surrounding Jimmy Butler and Zach Levine.
But I gotta know what are your thoughts? You know,
where does Jimmy fit best? Do both the Bulls and
the Nuggets win this trade in a potential Levine MPJ swap.
Be sure to share your thoughts with me down below
if you are watching on YouTube or at me on

(20:18):
the socials, at Hip to the Games or does Empower
underscore to highlight at me as I would love to
know what you think as well. I Verse one is
definitely off to a great start, but I'm just getting
started as we transition to verse two, where I'm gonna
start getting a bit further into some interesting conversations around
the latest innovation of the NBA. But first, if you

(20:39):
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(21:01):
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the H two DG lifestyle. All right, welcome back to
Hip to the Games. And as we get into our
second verse here, I wanted to take a minute to
share my thoughts on the NBA recently announcing their newest
changes to the NBA All Star Game in order to
make it more competitive and entertaining the way it once was.

(21:23):
After trying a pickup style format with team captains from
twenty eighteen to twenty twenty three, this year, they announced
a four team tournament, splitting up the rosters into three
teams of eight players, with the fourth team featuring winners
of the Rising Stars Tournament, which is the new version
of what used to be the Rookie Verse Sophomore Game, right,
and then that eventually turned into the Rising Stars Challenge.

(21:45):
But if you know me, you know I get passionate
in general, but definitely when it comes to the NBA
making these kind of changes, because the All Star Game
features some of my earliest memories as a basketball fan,
you know. And I gotta say straight up, I am
not a fan of this at all at all. I
mean First off, it used to be an honor to

(22:08):
play in the big game on Sunday, right, Getting invited
to All Star Weekend was an was an honor in general,
but the culmination of that weekend being the best players,
the best twenty four players playing on Sunday was a
big deal. Let the rookies and sophomores kick it off
on Friday night with their own little All Star Game,

(22:28):
which in turn that motivates them to make the real
deal All Star Game on Sunday in the future. Right.
We've heard, for example, a guy like Chris Paul who said,
like he went to All Star Weekend when he was
a younger, I think his rookie year or something like that,
and then just sitting in the crowd, he told himself, like,
I'm not coming back here unless I'm an All Star,
and boom here he is, what twelve time All Star
throughout his career, one of the best NBA players we've seen.

(22:50):
Like again, it was a motivating factor. Right. So, I
think what Adam Silver doesn't realize is that with this tournament,
including the winners of the Rising Stars Challenge, aside from
Victor Webin Yama, is gonna feature guys who didn't even
get voted, if even close into the All Star Game
to begin with, And that just waters down the honor

(23:13):
of what it means to be an NBA All Star
even more because as if the competitive problem didn't exist already,
now you'll have young guys essentially saying, oh, well, technically
I don't have to get voted in to play in
the All Star Game. If I just make sure I
make the Rising Stars Game and you know my team wins,
I could essentially be an NBA All Star quote unquote.
Right Yet, And even with all that said, the only

(23:36):
aspect I do like about it is the simple fact
that the veterans are now gonna have to play with
some extra pride because they won't want to lose to
the young guys on that stage. Right. So I do
see what the NBA is was thinking in that regard.
But overall, for the most part, while I respect the
NBA's efforts to improve the game for this era, I
think including the Rising Stars winners in this little thing,

(24:00):
I think it just watered down the honor a bit.
Like I would much rather them find a way to
include All Star snubs on that fourth team. And I
get like the other side, the bad side about that
would just be like, oh, is it like a slap
in the face, right, because you know, I'm an All
Star snub, you know, so I didn't get voted and
the coaches didn't vote me in. But at the same time,

(24:20):
I was good enough to be included in the game,
you know, as a snub, you know, for this fourth team.
But at the same time, all this talk about expanding
the rosters, and I felt like the opportunity was right there.
Just make that fourth team a team of eight guys
who feel like they were snubbed, right, Let Adam Silver
pick those guys or whatever, you know what I mean.
I felt like that opportunity was there. But now you're

(24:41):
including these young guys who haven't even earned like legit
All Star appearances yet to essentially play in the Sunday Game.
Like I said, it just waters down the honor of
being an All Star, you know. Again, in some way,
I hate to say it, but in some ways, it's
like if the NBA already struggled with the All Star
Game meaning something, well, congratulations, it's gonna mean even less
now because you've made it a little bit easier for

(25:02):
guys who aren't all stars to get into the All
Star Game somehow, some way. So that's how I see it.
But moreover, that's not even the full issue of this.
I think in general, the NBA simply doesn't realize that
the way to revive the All Star Game cannot be
fixed with format changes. Sure, this year, it might turn

(25:22):
out to be a competitive and fun idea, you know,
much like what we saw with the team Captain concept.
You know, obviously with recent ideas like to play in
tournament and then the Ncason Tournament again, things we kind
of went like this at first, but then they ended
up being these fun things. So you know, if this
could very well be another one of those ideas. And
you know, like I said, the team Captain concept, contrary

(25:44):
to popular belief, those first few All Star games were
really fun. They were competitive, they weren't like crazy competitive, right. Obviously,
twenty twenty was awesome. Twenty nineteen was actually really good.
If you remember it was Team Lebron that came back
in that game. Kevin Durant won MVP. That was a
good game. You know. But I think, like I said,
the NBA tends to do well with the with these

(26:05):
new ideas. But that said, the NBA they cannot fix pride,
they cannot fix passion. The NBA cannot fix a lack
of genuine love for the game and respect for its predecessors.
I've seen opinions out there of well, the modern NBA
star generally comes from a well off family as opposed

(26:27):
to a family as opposed to a family, and an
upbringing that came from nothing, so their passion is noticeably lower.
And you know, you hear things like, oh, these kids
get everything in AAU and now college with nil deal.
So by the time they get to the pros, there's
nothing to look forward to. You know, they already got
the car, the chain, the money, the clothes. You know,

(26:47):
what's the point? And I think those are very valid statements.
You know, those are great points in this conversation, But
what is the underlying issue there? Genuine love for the
game period. Grant Hill coming from a well off family
didn't stop him from crossing up Scottie Pippen and dunking

(27:07):
on the lines all morning. Kobe Bryant was the son
of an NBA player. He had all the access that
he needed, right he was able to get close to
guys like Penny hardaway. He was able to get in
these locker rooms as a teenager. You know, he even
practiced against the seventy six ers whenever he wanted as
a teenager. And none of that, none of that privilege,

(27:28):
none of that extra you know, the little boost that
he had compared to his peers that were also trying
to get to the league, none of that stopped him
from going at everybody like his last meal was on
the line. You know, lebron Man, they gifted my boy
Brin with a fly hummer, you know what I'm saying,
When it was against the rules. He got that fat

(27:51):
Nike deal before he even stepped foot on the NBA floor,
and that didn't stop him from creating a resume that
rivals literally the greatest of all time in Michael Jordan.
It was the love of the game that kept these
guys going and to do what they did, and really
not just the love of the game, but the love
of the NBA. So when those guys made it to

(28:11):
the All Star Games and the legends are in the
building right and they look across the court and they
realize it's all the best players that season set to
play in a pickup game for forty eight minutes. They
recognize they're part of history. They recognize that this is
the one time they get, you know, they really get
to match up with their rivals for a whole game. Right.
You hear the story of guys like Dirt Novinsky and
Dwayne Wade didn't even shake hands in seven because again

(28:35):
it went that deep, right, losing to d Wade in
the finals, they didn't, you know, they wasn't even looking
at each other in an all star game, like you know,
and even like, like I said, that competitive part of it, right, Oh,
they said in the paper that you were ranked better
than me. Oh okay, So today, on the brightest stage,
I'm gonna show them they were wrong. You know, the
love for the game, that's an inward passion that a

(28:58):
player has to do and inner pride and in some
ways you could say it inner crazy slash toxicity, right
that that that brings that out of a player. The
pride of this game makes me want to go out
and do that. So it bothers me. It bothers me
nowadays that there's all this talk about incentives and bringing

(29:20):
in extra dough to guys who are already making millions
or you know, home court advantage in the finals and stuff,
and it's like, for what we gotta do all that?
Since when did the NBA need additives for guys to compete?
You know? The sad reality is that these guys just
don't have it in them anymore. Like can we just

(29:41):
be real and say that these guys don't have it
in them like that? You know, the guys who were
young All Stars when when the All Star Game was
still competitive are older now, so they're just trying to
make sure that they're healthy for the playoff run, right.
The guys my age, literally, the guys my despite growing

(30:01):
up and being fans of that era. I'm telling you,
we watched these All Star games of the two thousands,
of the twenty tens. You know what I'm saying. It
was that competition that made me love the NBA. So
these guys my age, we grew up in that era,
yet somehow they don't want to carry that torch. And
because of the intensity of this uptempo modern game putting

(30:24):
stress on these guys' bodies, they would rather make a
few dunks and chill out the rest of the game.
Because even even in their mid twenties, they too are
cautious of injuries. And then the younger guys like they
literally a lot of these younger stars again pretty much
younger than if you're younger than probably twenty four, they
never they never played in the NBA, or I should

(30:46):
just say younger than twenty six. Then they never played
in an NBA that was slower paced, tighter defenses, tighter lanes,
less ticky tag files, ultra competitive. So the All Star
Game is essentially the same stuff they did in AAU.
Play with the homies, get some highlights and go home.
It doesn't bring a fresh experience for them. They literally
never got to play in an NBA that was grimy

(31:10):
like that, you know what I'm saying, where everything was
earned and there was pride and passion. They didn't. They
genuinely have not. They don't know what NBA that is.
That they only got to see it when they were
kids and probably weren't even they probably didn't even care
at that point. So it makes sense all three of
those things in mind, it makes sense why we're seeing

(31:30):
the results that we're seeing nowadays over the last few seasons.
And see I feel like it's telling when a guy
like Kevin Durant and Lebron. You know, those guys are
asked about it and Katie straight up says he hates it, right,
or Lebron makes the point that the issue is much
bigger than the All Star Game itself. Like you can
see those guys as veterans, superstars in this league, but

(31:51):
even as just fans of the NBA. They want to
see a better product and they're the ones playing in
the game. But they understand it's something that one human,
you know, it's not something one human can change, you know.
And I think again, part of it stems from the
uptempo game we see nowadays. Uh. Part of it is
just a sign of the times, you know, and how
it's simply a new generation coming in. But ultimately, I

(32:14):
believe it comes down to a love and respect for
the game, simple and playing because I gotta say it, man,
you know, if you really love basketball and you relish
in the experience that is getting to play in the NBA,
and you understand what the All Star Game has always been,
you'd play with some pride and you play with some
passion for what this game has meant to players and
fans all these years. You know, it makes my butt

(32:37):
itch to see that everybody just glosses over All Star
Weekend nowadays because it used to be such a big
deal right on and off the court. You know, it
used to be such a big deal, and now it's
like nothing. And you know that's something Adam Silver can't
do anything about. You know, he, like I said, he
cannot fix that inner. He can't reach here. There's no
rule change or nothing that can bring out the competitive

(33:01):
drive that's in here. You know, despite his respectable efforts,
that's just something he can't change, you know. And and
with all that that, that's really all I got. You know,
I don't like it. You know, I'm hoping that that
things can change and whatnot. And those are just my
very passionate thoughts. But you know, I would love to
hear what your thoughts are on this new All Star

(33:22):
format and the game itself. You know, I know there's
a lot of mixed opinions. I know there's a lot
of people who again probably are talking to the people
like me who you know, I'll admit I tend to
get a little more nostalgia based, you know, But at
the same time, there's a lot within that nostalgia that
made me love the game, you know what I'm saying.
So that's where like mine comes from. But you know,

(33:42):
do you believe it can change for the better? Is
there something that I'm missing? You know, I would love
to like genuinely hear you know, other opinions on this,
So hit me up on the socials and talk to me.
You know that this can be a dope conversation. You
know this podcast spans all generations too, right, so I
would love to see and read what you think, no
matter that age. But in the meantime, that's two verses

(34:03):
down now and one more to go, as I actually
want to continue with similar NBA thoughts. Like I said,
it was a hefty episode today, But in the meantime,
with the NBA action heating up, here's how you can
make sure that you don't miss a single second of it.
If you're hip to the games, that means you yearn
for NonStop NBA action, and thankfully, NBA League Pass serves

(34:24):
as your ticket to the ultimate basketball experience. Enjoy live games,
on demand replays, and exclusive behind the scenes content across
a variety of devices just at the tap of a finger.
With NBA League Pass, you'll get more, more games and
that's regular season and playoffs, more features including multiview angles,
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(34:45):
Of course, catch your favorite teams and players anytime anywhere.
League Passes for fans like us who live the game,
sign up now at NBA dot com slash LP nineteen MG.
That's NBA dot Com slash LP nine. Team MG. H
U DG is working in affiliation with NBA League Pass
and will be compensated for your patronage by utilizing the

(35:08):
link provided. All right, welcome back to H two d G.
And for the final verse of today's episode. With all
the NBA TV ratings and the quality of the game
talk in the recent days, I figured out he use
this opportunity to share my thoughts on it all. So
I do want to shout out Lakers coach JJ Reddick
because I think he had he really had the most

(35:28):
balanced perspective of it all. As it came out the
other day that he essentially said, you know how, streaming
definitely plays a role. You know, he's in a household
that mainly streams, and unless the Lakers are on national TV,
it's harder to catch the games, you know, and I
think many of US are struggling with that now, you know.
And I would add too to this that I think

(35:48):
streaming only has become the more affordable option for families
as opposed to paying higher prices for cable. You know,
so a lot of us aren't catching as many local
games as we used to, you know. And I think
he also stressed how, you know, the amount of parody
in this league is as big as it's ever been,
which I definitely agree with in the sense of, you know,

(36:09):
uh depth, right, So, I think, like I've said this before,
every team has at least one go to guy, and
teams are deeper than ever ever before. Now you know, again,
even a team like the Wizards, worst team in the league, right,
but they got guys Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, uh Kulibaly,
He's looked great this season. You know. They got a
shooter in Corey kisperg like young a veteran big, and

(36:32):
Valentiunis young rookie Alex Sard like they have pieces, you know,
and and or or the example JJ Reddick gave right
like he pointed out how good teams on paper, uh
he he gave a specific example of the Sacramento Kings, right,
he said that that team is good on paper and
even good on the eye test, but the West is

(36:55):
so stacked that that the Sacramento Kings have a losing record.
You know, the NBA has been that competitive. So I
thought those were great points, ones that I agree with.
But I do have some other thoughts as well, as
we kind of do our NBA State of the Union here.
First off, I believe outright that the game just needs
to slow down. I think it would help with all

(37:16):
the injuries that we're seeing drastically. You know, again, there
are times where you know, in the last minute, you
might find out that the star player isn't playing, or
maybe dare I say, two or even three players aren't playing,
and it's it almost like makes you not want to
watch the game anymore, because it's like, well, Dave, like
you know, I got off work and I got my
meal ready and I wanted to sit down and enjoy

(37:38):
the game. But nobody's playing today, you know, or this
guy's load managing and things of that nature. Like, So
I think the game needs to slow down, you know,
it would help with the injuries that we've been seeing.
For example, this is the big example, I give seven
foot two eighty pound Jolin b just averaged thirty plus
points for three consecutive seasons as a post player who

(37:59):
draws a lot of file right, is getting beat up
every game, and he'd be doing some flailing. Sometimes he'd
be falling on the floor and stuff like that. So
some of that is on him, but you know, and
this is also a guy who all of that and
he likes to play on the perimeter, similar to Carmelo
Anthony jab step, fade away, spin, moved one leg a

(38:20):
fade away at that size seven foot two eighty imagine
the amount of stress he's putting on his body, you know,
combining those two play styles in such a fast paced
game up and down. He's got to do all that
and then run on the other end of the court
and run back because they just shot a shot within
seven seconds of the shot clock. I'm sure he wouldn't

(38:43):
have as many of the issues that we're seeing him
have today if the Sixers enforced his back to the
basket game more and if the NBA game was at
a general slower pace. Because he's a very skilled dude.
But just because he can do all those things doesn't mean,
he should do all the those things, especially in a
game as fast as today's game. You know, Homie can

(39:04):
barely play one game without missing the next few. That
is a terrible sign. You know. Another example, according to
longtime assistant coach Phil Handy twenty nineteen, Kawhi Leonard, he
played that whole Raptor season hurt. He essentially played that
season on one leg and still led them to a
championship and went on to put up some great performances.
Even the next two years as a Clipper, he put

(39:25):
on some great performances. And yet we wonder why his
body hasn't held up all that high octane You're playing
on one leg and now you're playing in a high
octane NBA, and we wonder why his body keeps breaking
down on him. So, yes, I believe the game needs
to slow down. Not just for physical reasons though, but
I think mental reasons as well, because much of today's

(39:47):
NBA is random basketball. Again. I know that clip of
Kobe Bryant saying that got viral again recently because it's facts.
Like he said, you know, the NBA used to be
about playing with purpose and and don't get me wrong,
today's game they do play with purpose in a different way,

(40:07):
but every possession was valuable, right that That's what that's
what I miss about the NBA of the past. Again,
people are gonna point out fans like me who tend
to get a little bit more nostalgic, But I want
people to understand it's not just the feeling and the
nostalgia and the and the the the memories. It's genuinely
I can see the difference of today's game compared to

(40:30):
that that era. Teams don't play with as much purpose
as they did. And again, that's why regular seasons used
to be relished, because every possession was played with purpose
and then so imagine how much more intense it got
come playoff time. But nowadays we when when when plays

(40:51):
break down or teams are trying to come back, we
see a lot of random basketball. So for example, I'll
even I'll even give this example. Say a team has
two scoring point guards, one starting and one off the bench.
But because they both have a score first mindset in
a fast paced game, they both struggle to control the
game when it needs to slow down. Their brains immediately

(41:13):
just say take over, get a bucket. So they're gonna
do the quickest thing they can do, because again it's
a fast paced game. Shoot quick, shoot, often more possessions,
So we end up seeing a lot of pick and rolls, isolations,
or driving kick. You are gonna see one of those
three things. Pick and roll, isolation, driver kick, driving kick.
They won't slow it down and get the big man involved,

(41:35):
right because again, no, no, no, don't slow the game down.
You're supposed to play fast. Throwing it to the big
man is gonna make us play slow. Getting a mid
range of getting a pin down for a mid range
curl or something like that. That's gonna slow the game down.
We need to play fast, you know, they don't use
one of the wings as a decoy to hit an
off ball cutter. Like I just feel like with the

(41:59):
skill sets and evolve talent that we have nowadays, the
game should look even better. And with the depth we
see now, the game should look even better. But everybody
essentially plays the same. And again, you know, I always say,
you know, once upon a time, the Lakers play different
from the Spurs, who play differently than Dallas, who play

(42:21):
differently than Phoenix, who played differently than the Grizzlies. Right,
the Grizzlies have all star post players. Let's force faster
teams to play at our pace. The Spurs don't want
to play isoball. Let's use ball movement to our advantage.
The Suns don't have. The Suns have a lot of shooting.
Let's emphasize that the Lakers have three and D players

(42:41):
surrounding Kobe and Powell, and then they have that versatile
ball handler lamar odum Oh. The try and gole be perfect.
This can be our bread and butter. Players had to
plan for every game differently because you can't. You couldn't
game plan for the Lakers the same way you game
plan for the Grizzlies. You might be able to use
similar concepts and similar principles, but you would prepare totally different.

(43:06):
They had to know different terminology and concepts. The NBA
was hard. It was hard. It was a lot to grasp,
especially if you're a point guard coming in the league.
It was a lot to grasp. And even with that
in mind, you know, it's funny. Imagine if in two
thousand and five everybody played like the Phoenix Suns, if
everybody adapted to that seven seconds or less offense because
of the success that they were having. That's essentially what

(43:28):
happened with the Warriors and Rockets influence around twenty seventeen.
You know, the entire league decided to copy that style
and then arrange their personnel to fit that style, even
if their rosters were nowhere near as talented as those
two teams. And that's where the NBA messed up. So again,
it became a lot like AAU. If we're hitting threes,

(43:50):
we'll win by thirty, but if we're missing threes, will
lose by thirty. And then it becomes this again. I
know the topic has been, oh, it's too many threes.
Get it in the sense that, again, we have a
lot of shooters, a lot more talent in this game,
a lot of guys who can shoot off dribble. I
get it. But if the average NBA team takes eighty
seven to ninety shots a game, sixty of them gotta

(44:13):
be threes. Sixty of them have to be threes. I
don't know about that. I don't know about that. And
you know, I think we're just in a very live
by the randomness, die by the randomness game, and it
bothers me. This is what bothers me. The most when
a game is close late in the fourth quarter and

(44:34):
guys are just speeding up the floor just to hit
a corner shooter who breaks a three. Imagine if you
slowed it down ate some clock, ran up a good
play or or whatever, and got a patient bucket. Not
only did you score like you wanted to, but you
also gave the opposing team less time in their comeback effort.

(44:55):
But we don't see teams do that nowadays. Everybody's running
because I gotta beat you by fifteen. I gotta beat
you by fifteen, so you don't come back. Like the
offense becomes the defense, you know, Like I said, what
happened to slowing the game down, eating the clock, making
sure you get a good shot, Like I truly believe
the fast pace of this game has watered down the

(45:18):
IQ of a lot of guys because now they only
know quick decisions. It's not concepts. It's more so oh
h pick and roll, pick and roll or inverted pick
and roll, inverted pick and roll like a dribble handoff,
let me come around, like they just think so fast.
And some of these guys turn the ball over and
things that nature like it's dangerous, it's dangerous. You know,

(45:41):
I think, like I said that that fast pace has really,
I think watered down the IQ of a lot of guys.
And I think if we're talking point guard specifically, you know,
I think that's why we have very few, if at all,
we have very few Rajon Rondos and Steve Nash's and
Jason kids in the league, because all these guys is
pick and roll or driving kick. You know, we have

(46:03):
a lot of guys that know how to get a
lot of assists, but we have very few floor generals. Right,
there's a difference. We have a lot of guys that
know how to get a lot of assists, but there
are very few floor generals. And I feel like that's
the thing people don't realize. Yes, a slower game means
less points. However, if the depth is as good as

(46:24):
we believe it is, scoring shouldn't take that much of
a hit. And a lot of the reason why many
of us enjoy the NBA is because, like I said earlier,
the regular seasons were tough and the playoffs were even tougher. Nowadays,
it's like the regular season is a breeze and the
playoffs are tough, so everybody just looks forward to the
playoffs even in the regular season. You know, I think
slowing the game down, bringing back patient offense, bringing back

(46:49):
the value of having a different system to your team, right,
because everybody's running the same things. Everybody's running picking rolls, right.
I think slowing the game down and forcing people to
think like and force that, especially these young guys man
allowing them to learn and think the game and not

(47:09):
be in such a mental rush. You know, I think
it would fix a lot of that randomness that we're seeing,
and it would keep guys healthier in my opinion. But
of course Adam Silver can't slow the game down. The
coaches slash executives. They would have to stop mathing basketball
and simply let players play their game. I think the

(47:32):
one thing Adam Silver can do is bring back hand
checking on defense, in my opinion. Again, if these players
are so talented and skilled, make them go against that
tougher defense. When they realize that they don't have as
much space and freedom to work with, they're gonna have
to pass, which might even revive the value of the
low post game, which again creates less one on one

(47:52):
situations and enforces more team play, right, which would shine
because of the amount of depth that exists. It's not
the team player in two thousand and five when you
were watching Tracy McGrady and Yaoming was hurt and he
had nobody to pass it to. This is, for example,
a team like OKC and you. They have Shaye, they

(48:13):
have Jalen, they have Hartenstein, they have lou Dort who
can do some things off the dribble, like I think
it would be better, you know, to me, it only
makes sense to do it that way. But see, and
then there's that thing too though. The coolest thing you
can do in a basketball game right now is shoot
a three pointer. No longer is it hanging on the
rim like Shack or fading like Jordan. It's the shot

(48:36):
that not only excites fans but brings the team more points.
And that's the battle of the NBA is facing. You know,
at some point again, math can't overpower skill set. Right now,
the most valuable thing is the three point shot. Because
offense is the new defense in today's era. It's so passive,
fast paced. Guys don't even want to get in their stands.
They're already thinking about the next position, what they're gonna

(48:57):
do when they get the ball. But you know, like
I said, I believe that what I said about defense
can help a little bit in this area too, because
if guys can be more physical off ball on ball,
you know, if executives realize that volume shooting alone isn't
gonna work, and that shot creators and low post bigs
are just as important as shooters, then the game will

(49:17):
become more balanced. I don't have all the answers clearly,
like I said, I know I am definitely not like
the only voice in this conversation. I know there's a
lot of people that have also said some really great
things about this topic. But just to me and my
thought process, the mathification of basketball is the reason behind
the volume of threes that we're seeing because there is

(49:39):
a difference between good shots and bad shots. Right, you
can take a lot of threes and a lot of
those shots can be good, But you can also take
a lot of threes and a lot of them can
be bad. So I also, teams also got to figure
out what kind of shots they want to take. But again,
I just think, also, like I said, if I'm talking
about the volume overall, we're in an era two where

(50:01):
a lot of people have a shooter's mentality even if
they can't shoot, because if you don't shoot, you won't play.
So the guy that shoots twenty nine percent from three
is gonna feel like nothing if he doesn't shoot the three,
or he's gonna feel like his spot is on the
line if he doesn't shoot a three. So he shoots
it anyway, even though he's probably not supposed to. But
somebody in that in the front office is happy about
that because as long as we're getting up threes, we're

(50:25):
gonna have a chance to win. It doesn't make sense
to me. That doesn't make sense to me, you know.
And I imagine a player. I imagine a player who
grew up molding their mid range game. Yet they get
to the NBA and they are encouraged to take less
of those shots in favor of threes. So they struggle
to find their rhythm as a pro because they were

(50:46):
influenced to stray away from what worked for them. That
is how you kill a young player's confidence and their game.
That's why basketball in general, in its wide variety of
skill sets, has to supersted the analytics. We have to
get back to the beauty of the game. Once we
gain value for the overall game. Once we gain value

(51:08):
for what the great James Natesmith created as a whole, again,
maybe things will change, But right now it's not looking
good in that regard. Like I totally agree with the
people who say it doesn't look like anytime soon, this
whole three point thing is gonna stop. Like, somehow, some way,
we gotta get back to what this game was about,
the uniqueness that this game can bring, you know. So

(51:31):
in a nutshell, those are some of my thoughts on
the state of the NBA. I'm sure I'm gonna think
of something else and wish I said it, but I'm
just one man, like I said, and I definitely don't
have all the answers, you know, but I do got
a lot of passionate thoughts as a fan of this league,
as a fan of this game. So again, what are
your thoughts on this hefty conversation? You know, Hit me
up on the socials, comment on YouTube, tag me with

(51:52):
your thoughts, whatever you feel like doing, let me know
so I can see them and I can see what
you're thinking and if we're on the right track to
what would be solutions to the mixed reviews of the
NBA's product right now, because you know it's it's definitely
a discussion that's gonna be had for for a while now.
You know this is this isn't the last time we're
gonna have this conversation. So I would love to just see,

(52:14):
you know what everybody's throwing in the pot right now.
But with that third verse, we have made it to
the end of another Hip to the Games episode. From
trade rumors to new All Star experiments, mixed reviews on
the current state of the NBA. There is a lot
to say around the NBA nowadays, but as always, these
were just my thoughts, so I want to hear from you.

(52:34):
You can tweet the show at Hip to the Games
or tag me directly on Twitter and ig at dezim
Pal underscore and share your thoughts on any of the
topics discussed today, as I would love to hear or
read your thoughts. And I simply want to say thank
you for listening to another episode of H two d
G all for the love of the best combo there
is all right. I know I was a little passionate today,

(52:55):
but of course it's all in good nature. It's all
in good fun all. Like I said, all for the
love of the best combo there is. And of course
here's a huge shout out to you for being Hip
to the Games and continuing to tune in. Hope the
holiday continues to treat you well and it is blessed
and joyous. And that's it. I'll see you in twenty
twenty five. Peace out, Hey God, blessed. Hope you enjoyed

(53:17):
this episode of Hip to the Games. And if you
enjoyed this episode, be sure to hit up the socials
at Desmond Powell Underscore and at Hip to the Games
on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok so you don't miss out
on the fund and please follow or subscribe to the
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.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

All Episodes

Jimmy Butler & Zach LaVine Trade Rumors, The All-Star Game, & The State of the NBA

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist