July 8, 2025 • 6 mins
“Can you build a championship team around two of the most talented—but fragile—players in the NBA?”That’s the burning question segment of The Ben and Skin Show, where hosts Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray dive deep into the swirling uncertainty surrounding the Dallas Mavericks—and the NBA at large.From Anthony Davis’ detached retina (yes, you read that right) to the Mavericks’ roster logjam and the tantalizing possibility of Damian Lillard in Dallas, this episode is packed with insider insight, bold predictions, and the kind of off-the-cuff comedy that only this crew can deliver.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ben and Skin Show ninety seven point one The Eagle.
A lot of people asking, and we've got the answer.
If you would like to donate to a reputable place
that is helping what's going on in Kerr County right now,
you can donate to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund
at Community Foundation dot net. That's Community Foundation dot net.
(00:21):
I heard encourages you if you want to make a
donation to donate there. It goes to all the right places.
We very much support what they are doing. The Today
game coming up here in half an hour. It's the
only segment we never under any circumstance podcast, so you
got to listen live. But right now it's time for this.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Now it's around the sports ktd FU tways as all
the sports.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yes, I'm breaking MAVs news this afternoon. As many are reporting,
Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a attached retina that
he suffered during the season he played through multiple hits
to the face last year.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
He's expected to be healthy for training camp. Yeah, so
that's the good news.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Uh yeah, it's concerning the minute I looked it up
on the internet, it said recovery from retina surgery could
take several weeks two months, and then you can look down.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
It says.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
While some return to normal activities within a week or two,
it could take three to six months for vision to
fully recover.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
All right, let me throw this out there while we panic.
His season ended in mid April. They probably determined, hey, man,
you can go away, go do whatever you want, get
the surgery here and be fine.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Yeah, I'm sure it's fine.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Otherwise he would have done it back in May or whatever. Right,
you hope it's that and not that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Okay, I just realized this is not getting better on
its own. Okay, I have worried about that with his
abductor or whatever it is. I just worry about him
in general because he's made of porcelain.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
It's fair, man.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
The track record does not support a guy being available
a lot, but when he's available, he is one of
the best on the planet.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Same with Kyrie.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I mean, Kyrie's got a track record that suggests he's
not going to be available as much as you want.
But to Ben's point, when he's on the floor, he's
the top borderline top ten guy in the league for sure,
top twenty. Both of those guys are definitive top twenty guys,
maybe both our top ten guys. That's the caliber of player.
(02:29):
They just miss a lot of time. And you just,
you know, there's just so much uncertainty around the average
right now because of the Luca situation, Because of all
these situations, there's just a lot of uncertainty. So there's
not confidence in anything. And so with what's going.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
On with the trainers and how that all has transpired,
and it's probably not fair to them because it's just
they've lost our trust. So I don't I don't know,
I don't look at it's probably exactly like you said.
They gave him some time off, they're not worried about it.
He's gonna be ready for camp, nothing to worry about.
But this is why I was worried they were gonna
trade Cooper flag Like at first, you know, I'm like,
(03:06):
oh my god, maybe they won't draft him because they've
destroyed our trust.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And the other thing too is that you know, there's
a new ownership group and we don't know a lot
about him, but they're very successful, yes, and so I
would imagine that the what they experienced in the new community,
that they're in and the back law backlash over the
Luca trade. Regardless of how they feel about their business
(03:34):
or their arrogance level or any of these things that
we can debate on the outside, I would be surprised
if they didn't consider what the public had to say.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
And you can learn right.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, Yeah, we've been talking about this with We'll talk
about it here in a second with Bradley Beal. Like
pretty much every new ownership group that comes into the NBA,
Boy do they make a big splash and then two
years later they're walking every bit of it back, which
is what the Phoenix Suns are doing right now.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Anyways, Fleet, he's back for camp, ready to go. Okay,
So and hopefully that other injury, the abduct is that
what it is? A ductor Mussell. They weren't gonna they
weren't gonna do surgery. It was just like, let's heal
it over top. I mean, I hope it's healed.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So the other thing you just mentioned Bradley Beale who
could get bought out by the Suns. Damian Lillard just
got bought out. Still gonna need some people to play guard. Obviously,
Damian Lillard can't play guard. Next year because he can't
play it all next year.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
He'll sit out a year. But a team could conceivably
give him a contract now.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Front catch pain for the first year of him not
doing anything. Yeah, for what you're getting in year two. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Could the Mavericks they don't have space, right, so they can't.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
They don't have space safe.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
But so they signed Dante Exum, which means they have
sixteen guaranteed contracts. So someone's getting waived or traded and
so usually what happens in those scenarios you can start
looking at the end of the bench and start looking
at the usual suspects and going, all right, are they
gonna trade Dwight Powell in a second round pick into
someone's cap space to clear out that well one you
(05:00):
start doing that stuff, then you you know create You
can move around and get under what they call aprons
and different things, and then certain things are available to you.
I think Damian Lillard just I just want to remind
everybody Damian Lillard is a big Nico guy. Now, if
Damian Lillard came here, though, he wouldn't be a starter,
(05:21):
and so he's going to be sitting out a year.
He might want to go somewhere and be a starter
still at the age I even though I think he's
thirty six when he gets back, I might be wrong
on that.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Can you look up Dame's age with.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
This is why I never questioned Nico because these great relationships.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
So I'm not worried about it. We're getting Dame.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The thing is is that where is you know, he's
never won a championship.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
He's thirty five. A week from today, he's.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Thirty five, so he'll be essentially thirty six when he
plays again, and he's never won a championship. And so
what I would say is he may be at you know,
when you're that age coming back from an Achilles, you
may accept where you are at that point in your career.
And offering Dame twenty minutes a night off the bench
on a team competing for a championship maybe exactly what
(06:05):
he wants, or maybe he sees that in Miami, which
is where he originally wanted to go and wants to
stay in the East. But anyways, it's just something interesting
to watch. A lot of people think Bradley Beal will
end up with the Clippers as you keep an eye.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
On Lillard, Austin has a lot of steam right now
to you.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
All right, well, we're talking about players coming to town.
Coming up next, let's talk about a new burger coming
to town. It could be the new best burger in town.
Let's discuss coming up right after this.
Ben and Skin Show ninety seven point one The Eagle.
A lot of people asking, and we've got the answer.
If you would like to donate to a reputable place
that is helping what's going on in Kerr County right now,
you can donate to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund
at Community Foundation dot net. That's Community Foundation dot net.
(00:21):
I heard encourages you if you want to make a
donation to donate there. It goes to all the right places.
We very much support what they are doing. The Today
game coming up here in half an hour. It's the
only segment we never under any circumstance podcast, so you
got to listen live. But right now it's time for this.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Now it's around the sports ktd FU tways as all
the sports.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yes, I'm breaking MAVs news this afternoon. As many are reporting,
Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a attached retina that
he suffered during the season he played through multiple hits
to the face last year.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
He's expected to be healthy for training camp. Yeah, so
that's the good news.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Uh yeah, it's concerning the minute I looked it up
on the internet, it said recovery from retina surgery could
take several weeks two months, and then you can look down.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
It says.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
While some return to normal activities within a week or two,
it could take three to six months for vision to
fully recover.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
All right, let me throw this out there while we panic.
His season ended in mid April. They probably determined, hey, man,
you can go away, go do whatever you want, get
the surgery here and be fine.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Yeah, I'm sure it's fine.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Otherwise he would have done it back in May or whatever. Right,
you hope it's that and not that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Okay, I just realized this is not getting better on
its own. Okay, I have worried about that with his
abductor or whatever it is. I just worry about him
in general because he's made of porcelain.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
It's fair, man.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
The track record does not support a guy being available
a lot, but when he's available, he is one of
the best on the planet.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Same with Kyrie.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I mean, Kyrie's got a track record that suggests he's
not going to be available as much as you want.
But to Ben's point, when he's on the floor, he's
the top borderline top ten guy in the league for sure,
top twenty. Both of those guys are definitive top twenty guys,
maybe both our top ten guys. That's the caliber of player.
(02:29):
They just miss a lot of time. And you just,
you know, there's just so much uncertainty around the average
right now because of the Luca situation, Because of all
these situations, there's just a lot of uncertainty. So there's
not confidence in anything. And so with what's going.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
On with the trainers and how that all has transpired,
and it's probably not fair to them because it's just
they've lost our trust. So I don't I don't know,
I don't look at it's probably exactly like you said.
They gave him some time off, they're not worried about it.
He's gonna be ready for camp, nothing to worry about.
But this is why I was worried they were gonna
trade Cooper flag Like at first, you know, I'm like,
(03:06):
oh my god, maybe they won't draft him because they've
destroyed our trust.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And the other thing too is that you know, there's
a new ownership group and we don't know a lot
about him, but they're very successful, yes, and so I
would imagine that the what they experienced in the new community,
that they're in and the back law backlash over the
Luca trade. Regardless of how they feel about their business
(03:34):
or their arrogance level or any of these things that
we can debate on the outside, I would be surprised
if they didn't consider what the public had to say.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
And you can learn right.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, Yeah, we've been talking about this with We'll talk
about it here in a second with Bradley Beal. Like
pretty much every new ownership group that comes into the NBA,
Boy do they make a big splash and then two
years later they're walking every bit of it back, which
is what the Phoenix Suns are doing right now.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Anyways, Fleet, he's back for camp, ready to go. Okay,
So and hopefully that other injury, the abduct is that
what it is? A ductor Mussell. They weren't gonna they
weren't gonna do surgery. It was just like, let's heal
it over top. I mean, I hope it's healed.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So the other thing you just mentioned Bradley Beale who
could get bought out by the Suns. Damian Lillard just
got bought out. Still gonna need some people to play guard. Obviously,
Damian Lillard can't play guard. Next year because he can't
play it all next year.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
He'll sit out a year. But a team could conceivably
give him a contract now.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Front catch pain for the first year of him not
doing anything. Yeah, for what you're getting in year two. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Could the Mavericks they don't have space, right, so they can't.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
They don't have space safe.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
But so they signed Dante Exum, which means they have
sixteen guaranteed contracts. So someone's getting waived or traded and
so usually what happens in those scenarios you can start
looking at the end of the bench and start looking
at the usual suspects and going, all right, are they
gonna trade Dwight Powell in a second round pick into
someone's cap space to clear out that well one you
(05:00):
start doing that stuff, then you you know create You
can move around and get under what they call aprons
and different things, and then certain things are available to you.
I think Damian Lillard just I just want to remind
everybody Damian Lillard is a big Nico guy. Now, if
Damian Lillard came here, though, he wouldn't be a starter,
(05:21):
and so he's going to be sitting out a year.
He might want to go somewhere and be a starter
still at the age I even though I think he's
thirty six when he gets back, I might be wrong
on that.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Can you look up Dame's age with.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
This is why I never questioned Nico because these great relationships.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
So I'm not worried about it. We're getting Dame.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The thing is is that where is you know, he's
never won a championship.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
He's thirty five. A week from today, he's.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Thirty five, so he'll be essentially thirty six when he
plays again, and he's never won a championship. And so
what I would say is he may be at you know,
when you're that age coming back from an Achilles, you
may accept where you are at that point in your career.
And offering Dame twenty minutes a night off the bench
on a team competing for a championship maybe exactly what
(06:05):
he wants, or maybe he sees that in Miami, which
is where he originally wanted to go and wants to
stay in the East. But anyways, it's just something interesting
to watch. A lot of people think Bradley Beal will
end up with the Clippers as you keep an eye.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
On Lillard, Austin has a lot of steam right now
to you.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
All right, well, we're talking about players coming to town.
Coming up next, let's talk about a new burger coming
to town. It could be the new best burger in town.
Let's discuss coming up right after this.
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