August 29, 2025 âą 54 mins
đ„ The wait is over! Pro Basketball's Biggest Stories Get an Expert Breakdown on Duke Loves Rasslin! đ„
Mateo Mayorga, the highly respected sports analyst from FiveReasonsSports.Com, returns to the Duke Loves Rasslin podcast for his must-hear 2025 WNBA & NBA Special Report! He's not just talking headlinesâhe's got the facts, the numbers, and the bold predictions you won't hear anywhere else.
Get ready for a deep dive into the stories dominating the hardwood, with exclusive insights and no-nonsense analysis:
WNBA Lockout Incoming? Is the WNBA headed for a historic work stoppage? Mateo breaks down the facts on the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, and reveals how the new Unrivaled League is influencing this developing mega-story.
The MVP & ROY Race! Who will take home the WNBA's top honors? Mateo has crunched the numbers and reveals his picks for WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year, and he's ready to explain exactly why he chose them.
Malik Beasley's Legal Status: Get the real story on the Malik Beasley gambling investigation. Mateo clears up the inaccurate reporting that has been swirling around this story and gives a critical update on the case.
LeBron's Last Dance? Will LeBron James finally retire? Does another championship even matter to "The King"? Mateo breaks down LeBron's future and what it means for the Lakers and the NBA.
What's Next for Angel Reese? The "Chi-Town Barbie" is a force on and off the court. Mateo looks at the next chapter for Angel Reese, including her hinted-at roster moves and her future in the WNBA.
Don't miss a single second of this essential episode!
** Visit MateoMayorga.Substack.com **
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
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(01:59):
You're locked in. Listen.
What we have here. Folks to the only show that
matters, the queen of the crop do gloves wrestling and there is
no one that does it better than your house.
I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass.
And I'm all out of bubble. This is Mateo Majorga of Five
(02:27):
Reason Sports, and you're listening to the Duke Loves
Wrestling podcast. Brothers and sisters, you know,
with the WNBA heating up, all the things happening in the NBA
on the horizon here, the Duke has to bring in his main man,
Mateo Mayorka, to let me know and let you know what's really
(02:50):
going on in professional basketball today.
So without further ado, welcome back to the Duke Loves Wrestling
podcast, Legitimately our favorite NBA analyst, WNBA
analyst and international man ofmystery, Mateo Mayorka.
What's going on there, bro? I'm.
Good man. It's great to be here.
(03:10):
It's been too long. How are you?
You know, I I am doing fantasticbecause you and I are are back
together again. We got the band back together
again. So, you know, can't go wrong
here, man. Every time you come on, I'm
always amazed at the response because, you know, do close
wrestling is primarily a pro wrestling and MMA show.
(03:32):
It's a combat sports show for the most part.
But when I do these basketball specials, you, you knock it out
of the park every time, bro. Well, thank you, ma'am.
I'm very glad to be coming on and to giving your audience to
goods. Absolutely so.
So let's just jump right into itbecause what the heck is going
on in the WNBA right now? Are are are we heading to a
(03:54):
lockout? Well, reporting Duke indicates
that the October 31st deadline will pass and there will be no
resolution from the WNBA PlayersAssociation and from the league
office. And this is very dangerous for
all sides involved because rightnow the WNBA is on a hot streak,
seeing exponential growth in such a short amount of time that
(04:17):
they've never seen and closing the doors could do tremendous
damage to that type of continuity.
What we know right now is that the players want a greater
revenue split than 12% shares that they are getting because,
listen, they are in full understanding that the league
has never been profitable. It is not now, but it will
presumably in the very short future that will change.
(04:37):
And they want to be on top of making more money while the
league is making more money so that they want their number to
grow when the WNBA's number grows.
And one of the latest proposals was the NBA offered to raise Max
contracts from the $250,000 range to the $1,000,000 range.
That is quadrupling it. But this would was not
acceptable to the players association because they want a
(05:00):
greater split. They they they want to grow as
the league grows. And last month at the All Star
game in Indianapolis there was ameeting between the players
association bigwigs and the league's higher ups to try to
get the ball moving. This was a big dud because
nothing materialized here. And this cannot be ignored.
This next .2 of the players on the players union side Nafisa
(05:25):
Collier and Brianna Stewart. They are a big threat to the
WNBA because they are the founders of unrivalled the
women's 3 versus 3 domestic league headquartered in Miami,
FL which competes in the offseason.
This is we created an Ave. for other NBA WNBA players to get
(05:46):
notice and get get more money and listen.
When you start threatening the dollars of a league, you become
their enemy and listen. This is a little bit of a
different example, but the same principle applies.
In the early and mid 70s there was the Oscar Robertson suit in
the NBA. Oscar Robertson, the head of the
players association, sued the NBA and its owners for better
(06:08):
workplace conditions, better payfor more, also pensions as well,
all of that stuff and they won. But that suit was not settled
until Oscar Robertson a year after he retired and he was
working at CVS, but the league still viewed him as the enemy.
You're looking at Nafisa Collierand Brianna Stewart, what they
have done, getting unrivaled on TNT Sports and on Max streaming,
(06:31):
which now Max's HBO Max. Again, this is some big time
stuff. And they are now a big threat to
the WNBA. But listen, the players, they,
they have that in their pocket, but they are no idiots.
They know that within the next five years, up to 2030, the WNBA
wants to add five teams through expansion and the expansion fee
(06:53):
is $250 million per club. There is money coming in.
And when you look at that, asidefrom the current attractions in
the league now like the Super rookie page, Becker's with the
right type of promotion from league partners and her team,
she could be the face of the league.
You look at someone like Angel Reese, close to 6,000,000
followers on Instagram. She is a superstar not just in
(07:13):
name but in game. And then someone like Caitlin
Clark, who's got like this MagicJohnson, Larry Bird type effect
where she's bringing a lot of casuals and making them hardcore
fans there. This is going to be growing.
And the WNBA players are not going to give the league and
ownership a pass when their number starts growing because
they need their numbers to startgrowing.
(07:34):
And another thing that's a very big sticking point for the
players that they will not relent on to my understanding is
they need more roster spots because the WNBA does a poor job
of managing for attrition late in the WNBA season.
And they take a little consideration knowing that these
ladies are playing overseas and now domestically and unrivaled
(07:55):
because the pay is not good in the WNBA or what it should be.
And what a surprise, you're seeing the most amount of
injuries up to this point you'veever seen in history of the
WNBA. So right now there doesn't look
like there's going to be any agreement before October 31st.
So it looks like there will be astoppage, Duke.
But from where I'm standing, theladies should not relent.
They should not cave. You know, it's interesting that
(08:16):
you bring up Unrivaled because that is a three on three women's
league that is based in the United States.
So traditionally these female players would have to go all
around the world, Europe mostly,but you know, some folks go to
Asia, the whole 9 yards there just to continue to make money
(08:38):
because the WNBA has paid so little compared to the, the, the
output that these ladies, these incredible athletes that
provide. So now with unrivaled, they can
stay in the United States, they can make more money and
basically stay in game shape forthe WNBA season.
So I think unrivaled as has turned out to be a asset, you
(09:04):
know, for the WNBA, even though they're separate entities.
But like you said, they are a threat at the same time because
if they're treating the players better, if they can continue to
to get big time television contracts, distribution, you
know, obviously the advertising money and what have you, they're
going to start competing in, in terms of how they're
compensating the players. And some players may leave the
(09:26):
WNBA and stick with unrivalled if they get paid well enough.
So it it's, it's that's an interesting little caveat there.
But overall, in your opinion, Mateo, you're, you're a guy that
pays attention to WNBA. You know the history, you report
on what's going on. Do these players have a point?
Do they deserve to get paid at the scale that they're asking
(09:51):
for? With without a doubt, they they
they should be get as close to possible as what they're asking
for. I would prefer they they get
everything they want. But when you when you're looking
at the quality, the product of the regular season and it's down
outstanding. These players are passionate,
you know, ferocious and listen, there's less games right now.
The the season added four more to 44 and with it being less
(10:14):
games, you know, it's not like 82 in the in the men's league.
Each one has a greater level of importance.
And right now it's, it's still relatively a baby league.
We're still the, the league's first year of operation was
1997. This hasn't been going on that
long. So right now we're only at 13
teams. There's a lot of concentrated
talent and you, you have a lot of high quality basketball every
(10:36):
night. You know, the one thing that I
didn't like about what the players did that, you know,
maybe minuscule hurt their casesat the All Star game.
You know, they, they wore those shirts that said pay us what you
owe us. And you know, they absolutely
should get paid what they but then they went out in the game
and they laid that stinker. You know, that didn't make any
(10:57):
sense because it was it's disrespectful to the fans who,
you know, pay to go there, you know, the ones who scheduled
their whole day around that event.
And it looks weird because the WNBA All Star game should be one
of those things that, you know, the players have as a as a
selling point be like, hey, we got this.
We got a high level exhibition that other leagues don't have.
(11:18):
The NBA doesn't have that anymore.
The NBA All Star game went to crap after the players got
spoiled, but it used to be something that David Stern could
say, hey, I have this and I can sell to the league partners.
But the WNBA players made a mistake in the last All Star
game, you know, treating the event like it was some rinky
dink game. And it wasn't like they did it
with bad intentions. A lot of them are tired.
(11:40):
They're they're they're beaten down from the regular season
because they didn't get much rest.
And again, a lot of them are areplaying overseas and unrivaled.
But that that'd be the only negative I would say that
they've had when you're talking about the regular season.
These are the best women's basketball players in the world
and there is a storyline every night.
Every night you will see something spectacular.
One night it was last week, Sonia Citron just going crazy on
(12:03):
opponent. Then the next night it was Paige
Becker's dropping a historic 40 point game.
Yeah, absolutely. And and I'm telling you, I'm all
in on Paige Becker's. I think she's fantastic, Love,
love her game and and she's justgetting started.
So she's going to be even betterthan what she is now, which is
scary. Everybody better be on notice
there. Speaking of which, I mean, when
(12:26):
we start talking about the people who are going to win the
awards at the end of the season here in the WNBAI mean, let's go
down the list here. Who's your rookie of the year?
Who's your MVP and why? Well, first I was starting with
the rookie of the year. It's without a doubt Page
Becker's I I know a lot of people are are gassing up Sonia
(12:48):
lately and she's been terrific. She's a player I would want on
my team every day, but that argument just seems like you're
trying to be cute there. There really isn't much of a
case. Paige Becker's scores more with
less help of her teammates. She creates more overreactions.
And the biggest difference makerfor me is that she has a greater
impact on her teammates than Sonia because she has doubled
(13:11):
her assist total. And another one that's big is
she has doubled her assist to turnover ratio.
She's very safe with the ball. And we're talking about Paige
Becker's, who plays on a on a team, the Dallas Wings, which
are an inferior group in the Washington Mystics.
And for parts of the season, like they've been Enrique
Gunbowale, who is supposed to bethe second most powerful weapon
(13:31):
on that team. And Paige has been catching more
schemes than usual. And again, last week she had a
40 point game, working 44 pointson 81% shooting.
That has never happened in the history of the league.
And she is a rookie. And she was doing it with the
other team loading up on her like crazy.
We're we're there is levels to this business.
(13:53):
Sonia Citron is an All Star, butPaige Becker's is someone who
could is likely going to be a Hall of Famer and could very
well be the face of the league. Oh, and you said a moment ago,
MVP. Excuse me?
Well, this one is this 1 is where it gets really a lot
closer. Duke, because I know you follow
my sub steps so this might seem crazy.
Nafisa Collier was the the lady I was gassing up at the
(14:14):
beginning of the year and her level of play is comparable to
Asia Wilson. But now I have Asia Wilson in
the lead because attendance is abig factor in this.
And listen, if Nafisa were to play the rest of the season, she
will have played 77%. If Asia doesn't miss any more
games, she will have played about 10% more.
When we're talking about a nip and tuck race, you know these
(14:37):
type of things matter. But lately, Mafisa, she's missed
10 games, but lately she missed seven in a row.
Her team won five without her. That is a very good percentage
without someone who I thought was the best player in the
world, and it's because her teamis so loaded.
That doesn't help her case because when you look at someone
like Courtney Williams, she doesn't get or she doesn't,
excuse me, she doesn't attempt many shots in the lane, but she
(14:57):
gets in the lane a lot to draw the dribble penetration and kick
outs to her teammates. She is someone who can create
those type of breakdowns. Asia Wilson doesn't really have
too much of that on her team, maybe aside from Jackie Young
and on a maybe a very good night, Chelsea Gray.
But another thing, the rest of the the Minnesota Lynx team, the
big rotation, Kornikova, Smith, Shepherd, and then you have such
(15:19):
a second high level weapon and Caleb McBride, who's just always
moving in such a fierce weapon when she's curling around
screens. Asia Wilson for the most part
does not have all of this. And right now, the Las Vegas
Aces are the hottest team in theleague, having won eleven
straight games. And the main reason is Asia
Wilson has elevated her play. She is playing at the level of
(15:41):
last year where she was the first player in league history
to be the to score 1000 points in a season.
You're seeing that player right now.
And the other big thing, she scores more with less help than
Nafisa as well. So to wrap this up, MVP Asia
Wilson right now and Rookie of the Year is Paige Becker's.
Wow, coming in with the hot takes here.
(16:02):
Mateo, he's not playing around here.
Oh, no, never. I I tend to agree with you,
though. I, I agree with you on on both
fronts there. Asia Wilson is, is playing the
type of ball that boy, if you could choose a WNBA player from
the past. I mean, who do you even compare
Asia to, you know? That's that's that's really,
(16:26):
that's really hard. You know she's got you're going
to think because Asia's a big. Yeah, so she's not hard.
She's not mine because she's a big.
But she, she's a big, but she's got a lot of guard qualities.
So like maybe like a combinationof like Lauren Jackson and Lisa
Leslie getting the best of both worlds here.
Like it's just one thing I'm super impressed by her is again,
(16:48):
like playing her like a guard. They will have her curl around
down screens, uh, pin downs backscreens and then and she'll pull
up for a jumper or they will runpick and roll with her.
No, she, she, she's ultra versatile.
And that jump shot once it gets to between 3 and 10 feet is
money. And that's what's really
interesting about Asia Wilson too.
(17:10):
That area between 3 and 10 feet is 1 of the hardest areas to
score. It's what's known as the short
mid range. And the reason why it's so
difficult to score is that is the area that gets clogged very
quickly when the defense is figured out who they want to
slow down in the lane, and it's usually her.
So the fact that she's able to be such a monster right now,
(17:32):
she's averaging 27 a game. And if she were to keep just
that up, she is going to get very close to 1000 points again.
And that's if she gets 27 pointsevery game the rest of the way,
which is about 6 or 7 more. But listen, like she is, she's
got a little bit of all of the greats in her.
And from what from what I understand, she's a she's a
(17:54):
studious, she's a studious player.
She watches a lot of film and she's always trying to get
better at practice. So her her work ethic is perhaps
not exceeded by anyone in the league.
Yeah, well said. I mean, you know, for folks
listening, the WNBA of 2025 essentially is the NBA right
(18:15):
before Michael Jordan. So, so we're, we're basically at
the beginning of Bird versus Magic.
So we got a long way to go. You know, if we're if we're
going to compare where the leagues are AT and where they
can go and just the talent, the skill level of the talent
(18:36):
continues to improve by so much.I mean, I, I said it, you know,
last time you were on the show, man, I remember watching the
first WNBA games. I think they they aired two or
three games on the same day whenit, when the league first
started. And Jackie Johanna Kersey was
one of the players. Now this is a Olympic track and
(18:59):
field legend, Jackie Johanna Kersey, who had played some
basketball when she was younger,but there were so few female
professional basketball players who at the time would be good
enough to be in the league. So they pulled people like
Jackie, which was crazy. Fast forward to today and there
(19:20):
were so many players who are notactively on a roster right now
who were excellent. So that just tells you
everything you need to know, man.
It's a competitive league. Everybody is is has improved in
terms of skill and athleticism, what have you.
We're literally at bird and magic right in the beginning.
(19:40):
So we're we're we're about 1979 nineteen 80 right now.
If we were to date what the WNBAquality is.
So you know what that means? We got a long way to go, folks.
And when you see somebody like Angel Reese, when you see
somebody you know, like Paige, it's like, whoa.
(20:01):
This, this thing is going to keep going And, and who's the
young lady in college right now?Juju, right the the the young
lady in college there who's tearing it up.
Yeah, and she, she, she's recovering from an ACL.
The other one is Lauren Betts, UCLA.
She she's particularly the top pick.
Yeah. And they're going to, they're
going to come in, they're going to, they're going to be some
stars. But the one that's really the
(20:22):
the attraction is Juju Watkins, because from my estimation,
Duke, she's well, well, well before she tore her ACL.
And I have no reason to believe she won't be the same player.
She was one of those type of players that who could get open
without a screen whenever she wanted.
And she's one of those bigger builds.
So she she looked like she had aWNBA ready body.
(20:44):
So, you know, one of the things that young players struggle with
is physicality. I don't think she will deal with
any of that problems like when she enters the WNBA, because
she's got an explosive first step and she's got power.
You're going to see bodies actually fly off her like on a
pinball machine. The other one is bets she's the
center at out of UCLA. She she's she's a close range
(21:08):
monster. One of the things I'd say she
needs to get better is on on on defense to be able to play in
more coverages. But we're talking about someone
who's only 21 years old. Those those things will come in
time. I know off the arrow about a
week ago we we talked about improving coverages with someone
like Li Yuru, who is now on the Dallas Wings, who spraying her
MCL and will no longer play thisyear.
(21:28):
At the beginning of the year, her drop coverage or her her
defense was not very good. She is now playing in more than
one coverage and she's very good.
So, you know, players get better, but those are the two to
keep your eye on in the future. Yeah, agreed.
Agreed 100%. So again, I mean, the, the
quality is just going to continue to improve, especially
as this next generation comes inand that older generation that
(21:52):
has really been running the league for the past, you know,
10-15 years starts to age out. I mean, we, we lost Sue Bird, we
lost Ayana Tarazi. I don't know how much longer
Stewie Stewie is going to be in the league, especially now that.
She has Tina Charles. Yeah, Tina Charles, you know, we
start going like this. These folks are aging out at
(22:15):
least out of the WNBA and that that next level.
These are people who have not had the same struggle as those
before them had. So there is more of a freedom.
They can just literally focus ontheir skills and and focus on
getting the job done as athletesas opposed to everybody else who
(22:36):
really had to be pioneers, You know, and and and once they get
this, this next level straightened out with the the
contract, I mean, Sky's the limit for whoever comes in the
league after that. So it's it's it's an exciting
time and it's an interesting time for sure for the league.
Real quick. This thing with the Connecticut
Sun, now, you know, I'm in Boston.
(22:59):
There's a lot of buzz out here. We have an ownership.
Well, we have some investors, let's say led by Steve Pagluca,
who, you know, intend on purchasing the Connecticut Sun
and they want to take that franchise and move them here to
Boston, MA. Now the league has stepped up
(23:22):
and they've said, whoa, whoa, pump your brakes here.
We did. We never approved that.
We just had an expansion. Boston wasn't part of it.
You can't just buy a team and put them wherever you want.
What's the real story here, Mateo, from from what you've
been able to gather here, what'sreally going on?
Duke The problem is Boston, not that like the league has
(23:42):
anything against the people or the city.
No, that place is too good for its own good.
The league knows it. Like right right now an
expansion fee is $250 million. And but the league is saying is
Boston wasn't asked for in the proposals for this round of
expansion. As if it matters.
You know, Paluca wants to buy anestablished team and and move it
(24:05):
over there. Listen, what the WNBA wants to
do is hold the the city of Boston to the side for the next
round of expansion in 2033 because they know the price of
the brick is going up, to borrowa term from the wire.
They know that they can get a lot more money.
And this is the league unethically sticking their
business in in something that should be a sale.
(24:26):
Because when you're looking at what Palliucca and his group can
offer right now, helping the league grow immediately and
helping improve A-Team immediately, let's go with the
former. First.
Last year, the Indiana Fever were the number one sellout
crowd in the league. And Caitlin Clark's not a lot to
do with that. But check this out.
The Golden State Valkyries this year are #1 in attendance.
(24:48):
They don't got that type of star.
And they probably may not for a while because they're not going
to be in that position to draft that high because they're
actually a good team. So the league is pretty much
sabotaging Palliucca because what, what he his proposal was
$325 million. The to my understanding, Kathy
(25:09):
Engelbert did not show that to the other owners.
And you know, you're you're not helping the situation here
because when you're don't, you know, when you don't provide
A-Team like Boston or you know, when there isn't A-Team like The
Sun that moves to Boston, You'renot getting the type of sellout
crowds that you saw with the Indiana Fever last year and what
(25:30):
you're seeing with the Golden State Valkyries this year.
They're they're number one in attendance.
For goodness sake. We're talking about Boston.
These are the fans of the Celtics and the people who bleed
for the Red Sox and Patriots. You're talking about things that
will be a sellout every night when they've had a few games
there already this year. They've been sellouts.
So there is already a history ora short history of it working in
(25:53):
this area because of Boston's rabid crazy fan base that is so
sick for in a good way for this stuff And the way that it's
really, you know, the the leagueis really hurting the what could
be the Sun is listen, Palliucca has said he would commit $100
million to a practice facility that the right now now the
(26:13):
Connecticut Sun do not have and they they would be moving from
Uncasville to Boston, MA right now.
The Sun are one of the few rinkydink organizations left in the
league and playing a state-of-the-art facility like
that not just doesn't just tell the players, Hey, man, you know,
doesn't just earn their trust. You know, they're investing in
all of us. But those type of things help
(26:34):
players get better and other people start noticing like, you
know, the the veterans, like, you know, the Brianna Stewart's
or, you know, the the Asia Wilson's, like, man, you know,
such a place is making moves andthey really invest in their
people. So there's that lost opportunity
there because there is no doubt then Boston would have sell out
crowds like you are seeing rightnow with the Golden State
(26:56):
Valkyries and you saw last year with the Indiana Fever.
Yeah, no doubt at all. No doubt at all.
And I'm going to put it out there right now my my old friend
Steve Palliuka. I need you to connect with Mateo
because you guys have a lot to talk about.
I mean, we got to figure this thing out, man, because here in
Boston, the business owners wantit.
(27:18):
So the business owners that are around the the garden, they want
that team. There's no question about it.
The fans want, OK, our elected officials want it.
We, we have a governor who's thefirst woman elected governor of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Maura Healey.
And then in Boston, we have the mayor, Michelle Wu.
(27:41):
She's the first woman elected mayor of Boston and she's the
first Chinese American elected mayor of Boston.
They are very serious about women empowerment.
They're very serious about women's sports.
We got a soccer team that we're building a stadium in
conjunction with and what have you.
There's a lot going on. Invicta FC, which is an all
(28:05):
female MMA promotion, they've put on a show here and they're
going to be coming back. Like there is a lot of of
movement and interest in women'ssports in the city of Boston, in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in general.
We have it, we have the infrastructure, we, we, we have
the people who are ready to spend the money, give us the
(28:27):
team, simple as that. So you know.
Here's another problem. Here's another problem the the
WNBA has a hard on for their owners being dual, for example,
like them owning an NBA team andAWNB A-Team, which critics of
this thought process, which theyhave merit to say that's really
stupid because you're you're implying that the WNBA can't
(28:48):
survive on its own. And I kind of agree with them on
that point. Well, not only that, you put
yourself in a position where youlimit how many women and people
of color are going to be owners because the NBA still has a
problem with that. I mean, they they've gotten a
lot better, but still, that's a challenge.
So the WNBA has no business playing that game.
(29:11):
That's a that's a losing game right there.
So you know, we're going to keepbeating the drum on that.
Again, Steve Palliuka, you know,let's let's figure this out,
man. We got to get you, get you and
Mateo together here, do an interview and and figure this
out because we got to get the word out.
We got to update people on what's going on.
We want that team. It's as simple as that.
We want that team, brother. So let's let's inform everybody
(29:34):
out there about what they can do.
Should they be writing or emailing or social media you?
Should they be bringing science,WNBA games, like what can be
done to continue to put the pressure on the league to do the
right thing on this. So I'm putting that out there.
Those are my words. So you hold me accountable for
it, folks. But I'm standing firm on it.
(29:57):
And for very selfish reasons, I want a WNB A-Team in Boston.
I won it yesterday, so figure itout.
That's right. Moving on here.
Let's go to NBA. Let's talk some NBA talk here.
Malik Beas Beasley, NBA player, one of the top NBA players,
excellent shooter. He he he's on a contract year.
(30:19):
So he he's renegotiating a new deal.
Very attractive a person that you know, damn near every team
in the league would pick up because he's that good.
He it is discovered that he has financial issues and he gets
investigated for essentially point shaving, for lack of a
(30:40):
better term. And, and, and Mattel in in a
minute here. You'll be able to correct me if,
if I'm, if I'm misspeaking on anything here.
But Malik Beasley was investigated for that and
everybody just kind of left themalone because they figured it
must be true. Well, lo and behold, Malik
Beasley's cleared of the investigation, no charges,
(31:03):
nothing. And now he looks like damaged
goods and, and it's not looking like he's going to get picked up
anytime soon. And if and if he does get picked
up, he certainly is not going tobe making the money that he
should have been making. So Matteo, first and foremost,
correct? Anything that I that I misspoke
about. But then also, what are your
thoughts from a general standpoint that should Malik
(31:26):
Beasley be gearing up for a lawsuit?
It's a big one, but listen, First things first.
The this investigation stemmed around allegations surrounding
prop bets made when Malik Beasley was still a member of
the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 season.
He was recently a Detroit Pistonand he was one of the best and
(31:49):
most accurate 3 point shooters in the league.
Because of just the attention that Kate Cunningham created and
Malik Beasley being a high levelrelease valve.
Here's the deal. The reporting that he is cleared
is not true our our friends in Detroit.
But put the spotlight on this first.
Malik's own attorney does not know if he will be charged down
(32:11):
the line. He may not be a target of the
investigation, but he's probablya subject still right now that
this, this is not the investigation, is not over that
we know. But listen, it's true.
He has not been charged. There isn't any, any of that.
There's no, there's no hint of acrime right now.
It's just still a very serious allegation.
(32:32):
And you, you look at that type of stuff hanging over a player's
head. Listen, you could sign him last
year. He was only making $6 million.
Considering what kind of situation he's in, I can't
imagine he would be signing for for more than that.
You could get a good player. He was compartmentalizing very
well last year because these problems were have been going on
for a long time. But here's the thing, it's not
(32:56):
just this investigation. You're talking about someone who
has composed himself, like Antonio Brown recently, like
there has been multiple parties who he has owed big money,
civilians in the five figures and he's just run out on them
and not paid them. Let's listen.
Only lowlifes act like that. And listen, you know, he could
(33:19):
be very well liked in the lockerroom.
But if you're a team, you're a coach, you're an executive, do
you want that type of influence around your young players?
Do you want someone dealing withsomething that could really put
them in trouble when it's not around basketball?
So listen, like, Malik Beasley is in really a terrible
situation. Yeah, he could sign, and he'll
probably help someone right now.But you know, I think a lot of
(33:40):
teams will be reluctant to invest in the head or what could
be potentially a headache down the road.
Yeah, I I didn't realize that this thing is not over yet.
I you know, the reporting that Isaw was that he was clear.
But you bring up a good. Sharon, you got that wrong.
Sharon, you got that wrong. Wow, that's.
Wrong. That's deep.
(34:00):
So, so he's not just the only person being investigated.
This, this is a, this is a bigger thing going on here.
Yeah, Rosier. Rosier is another one Terry
Rosier guard on the Miami Heat. He is being checked out from
some stuff that went on in a game when he was still a member
of the Starlet Hornets. So listen, you look at the type
(34:23):
of year Terry Rosier had last year, awful.
The moment he got to Miami, you know, he, he, he hasn't been
what he's lived up to. And they wasted a first round
pick for him. And now my, my boss, Ethan
Skolnick has reported they will let him go for anything.
This has been lingering in Terry's mind, and it, I, I, it
(34:44):
presumably, has been one of those things that has, you know,
erect his focus. That's too bad.
I mean, I, I remember when TerryRozier was here in Boston and he
was looked upon as you know, that next generation of of solid
player. So it's, it's disappointing to
hear that these games are being played because there's no
(35:04):
question he has the talent. So if he's, if he's doing that
bad, then what's really going on?
So that's, that's tough. That's tough to hear there,
folks. There's a lot of drama.
That's the main idea here. Even if you're not actively
watching on a, on a, on a day-to-day game to game basis,
there's so much drama in the real lives of these folks.
(35:27):
And that's one thing that I loveabout Mateo.
Mateo was not afraid to do the research, do the interviews, hit
the beat, you know, put up the articles talking about all of
these other factors that essentially affect the game.
I mean, there's no other way to describe it, you know what I
mean? Speaking of which, LeBron James
(35:49):
was recorded admitting that his wife wants him to retire within
the next season or two. So, you know, I, I take a step
back and I think about that because at first, you know, the
first thing that comes to my mind is Tom Brady and Gisele
BĂŒndchen and how he, she, she told him she wanted him to
(36:12):
retire. You know, I think a year or two
before he, he left the Patriots and they were going back and
forth on it and he would, he essentially lost his marriage
because he would not retire. And, and she argued that she was
concerned for his safety and he had accomplished pretty much
(36:33):
everything you need to accomplish.
So what are you holding on to? We got money like let's raise
our family and, and, and, and really step into the next
chapter of our lives. And Tom Brady just couldn't do
it. So that ended.
Now I look at LeBron James, who's a very close friend to Tom
Brady's, by the way. And I wonder if Savannah James,
(36:55):
Lebron's wife, is kind of looking at it the same way.
Like, dude, I see you at home hobbling around.
I see what you got to do in order to get your body, you
know, prepared just to go out there and perform at the level
that you're performing. Something we've never seen
before. Player who's who's played as
(37:15):
long as as LeBron still playing at this elite level is just not
it's, it's unheard. It's never happened before.
So what are your thoughts on that, Mateo?
LeBron said it. That's a direct quote from him.
So it's not like anyone's makingit up.
But what are your thoughts on that when you heard that?
(37:37):
Well, luckily for Savannah, basketball is not nearly as
dangerous and well as as football.
Then he he'll never have to worry about, you know, crossing
through the middle and being hitwith it was something that could
make him a paraplegic or something.
Thank goodness. But, you know, it does bring up
(37:58):
the point, you know, Lebron's already hit the minutes
threshold. Like, he's got the records.
He's he's nobody has been this good for the for so long.
But what you're seeing right nowis someone who is in love with
being a star and like, the championships are not the
biggest priority for LeBron. And last year it was more clear
to me than ever. It's been getting that way for a
(38:18):
long time. But, you know, a year ago, you
know, we were talking about whathe needs to do to really give
the Lakers a chance. And I was telling you like he
can't be this dude who plays 35 minutes a game, which have been
the case for the like that sincelike 2019, because you know, you
already crossed 22122 years in the league.
You, you, you don't have the same level of takeover in games
(38:42):
that you used to. And listen, when you do that,
you're not really a team player.And if you're taking maximum
amount of the dollars now, listen, he, he opted into his
contract and he, and he took off, which was 52,000,000.
But I, I wasn't expecting him to, you know, take the, the
veteran minimum or something. But you know, at this point, you
(39:04):
know, if you're really serious about winning, why not a
discount? It's not really something he has
done since his Miami days, whichhe he did do that to.
So the team with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade can be assembled.
But you're when you're taking Max money and you know your,
your game doesn't really warrantit, you're not a team player
anymore. It seems to me like he's more
(39:24):
concerned with still being the king of the NBA when his impact
doesn't warrant it. And right now this is it's Lucas
team now. And you know, he, he could help
them win if, if he adjusts his game.
But I, I don't think he will play less minutes.
Like we talked about it, Tim Duncan when he was with the
(39:45):
Spurs towards the end of his career, he stopped playing over
30 minutes a game the last four,four or a few years of his
career because they wanted him fresh for the playoffs.
The last few years in the playoffs, in fourth quarters,
LeBron looks gassed. And you know, the fact that he
is not willing to change things tells me he's in love with
everything he already got. Now come on now, Matteo.
(40:08):
In fairness, Tim Duncan didn't have any cartilage in his knees
at that point. I mean, it was bone on bone, so
it wasn't like he could play at that level anymore even if he
wanted to. I would I'll disagree with you
on this point. You know, Tim Duncan put after
19 season, he was an elite defender When he retired, he he
(40:28):
he was playing at the level defending on screens.
He was a great shot blocker. He wasn't scoring as much as he
used to, but he would still giveyou 14 and 10 with with a great
defense. And you know, and he was playing
2829 minutes a game. If if LeBron was willing to do
those things, like I think he could be more effective, But you
know, when you're not playing, when, when you don't commit to
(40:49):
defense for more than, you know,a hot or little quick stretch of
the season, you know it, it doessomething to the the mental make
of the of the other players. They don't go as hard the rest
of the game. They're like, ah, if our leader
is not going to do it, why should I?
And, and let me just say this about LeBron because I, I saw
some, some pretty shoddy reporting out there from some
(41:11):
knuckleheads, people online speculating on top of it,
claiming that the Boston Celticsare potential spot for LeBron.
And it was one of the more embarrassing things I've ever
seen in my life because LeBron James has been Uber vocal about
the fact that he can't stand Boston sports fans.
(41:35):
He feels that in general, our city still harbors a lot of
racism that gets hurled at the athletes during games.
You know, when it when it happens in baseball, Lebron's
one of the first people to speakup.
Happens at basketball. Lebron's there to speak up.
He, he's a, he's a dog on a bonewith that.
He's very serious about it. Can't stand Boston in that
(41:57):
regard. So, no, there's nothing we can
offer LeBron James that would make him play here.
It would just never happen. Folks, got to do your, your
research. What's that?
Do you remember like 1314 years ago?
Like, listen, like, I don't wantto, you know, categorize all
Boston fans, but you I've seen things from Boston fans that are
(42:17):
a little different from other places.
Like for example, like around 1314 years ago, there was a fan,
it was a it was a woman. She approached Rajon Rondo at
this event. I think he was signing
autographs and she was wearing ashirt that said quote in green.
LeBron is a bitch. And he took his picture with
her. And it's just, yeah, like, he's
had a problem with that fan basein the past where like, they've,
(42:38):
or I should say, they, they've rubbed him the wrong way.
And when you look at the situation they're in right now,
their superstar player, Jayson Tatum, is going through an
Achilles recovery. They this looks like it's going
to be a gap year. And you know, listen, I really
do hope it works out, but Achilles tears are some real
devastating stuff. Would it be good for him at the
(42:59):
very end of his career to go to a team if Jayson Tatum is not at
the same? But I again, I really hope he
isn't. I really want him to be.
But we're talking about an Achilles.
Those things are very sensitive and a real pain in the you know
what to heal. So I, I, I couldn't see
something like that LeBron, LeBron going to Boston.
It I can't see him doing the Rajon Rondo wearing both
(43:23):
jerseys. But no.
So no. Yeah, that'll never happen.
It'll never happen real quick. Cooper Flag for For all of the
casuals out there who may not becaught up, why do they need to
get on the Cooper Flag bandwagonright now before the next season
starts? The next great white hope.
(43:43):
But this actually might be one for real.
Dude, listen, Blake Griffin recently and this really stunned
the crap out of him. He said he's the most skilled
prospect he's ever seen something to this effect.
And I was like, wait a minute. You know, a couple of years ago
we got this super freak down in San Antonio when Banyama, who I
wouldn't say is the greatest prospect ever, but you know,
he's on a short list of of some real amazing ones.
(44:05):
But this Cooper flag kid, why everybody needs to watch him.
He's got a lot of skills and he's a high level athlete.
I am expecting a rookie of the year season and potentially him
to also be on the short list of rookies who have made an All
Star team. And he's going to be in a
situation that really helps thembecause The Mavericks are not
some The Mavericks are not like some regular number one overall
(44:27):
pick team where they're the bottom of the league.
You know, they got really lucky at the lottery after they traded
Luka Don Sitchin. You know, they, he got the
number one overall pick, AnthonyDavis is there.
He's going to be someone who commands a lot of double teams.
Cooper flag plays the way he didin college.
He's going to be open on a lot of cuts.
And on top of that, D Angelo Russell, who is the replacement
guard at the moment while Kyrie Irving recovers from his from
(44:51):
his ACL injury. D Angelo's loves to play pick
and roll. He runs it to death.
And if you put Cooper flag as his Screener, you're going to
have a lot of situations where those two are thriving together.
If D'Angelo wants to pop and take the jump or if he wants to
hit Cooper on a on a on a cut oron a lob where he just slams it
(45:13):
over someone viciously. Those two are going to be a
problem together on this team. More so because of the type of
off ball movement, the strength,the skills that Cooper flag
creates. But make no mistake, Anthony
Davis, when he is healthy, it isone of the 1520 best players in
the league and he can really putting Cooper Flag in a
position to shine because of thepressure he's taken off of him.
(45:35):
So don't forget because him being the overall pick,
naturally they're going to be onnational TVA lot.
So you won't be able to miss him.
Wow, OK, so get your get your Cooper flag flags ready folks,
because we we got the next big superstar, so to speak.
Hopefully it works out that way because certainly the league can
(45:58):
never have enough stars, there'sno question about that.
And again, it keeps things competitive, which is always a
plus. Lastly, let's jump back to WMW
MB A for a second. Angel Reese.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding her.
It's clear that she is a solid player, although there is still
room to grow. A lot of people feel that
(46:19):
despite her rebounding numbers, she really needs to work on her
inside game. She misses a lot of shots on the
inside, which is crazy considering her size.
What's next for Angel? I mean, you know, really because
it clearly she's not getting thechampionship anytime soon.
Where do you see her career going and and is there anything
in particular that she personally needs to do in order
(46:41):
to put herself in a position where she could actually be a
winner in the WNBA? Angel started with Angel first.
She needs to keep doing everything she was up to in the
lab in the offseason. Many people are still giving her
a hard time for her abysmal start to the campaign, but after
(47:03):
10 games or so, she really kicked it into high gear and
she's having one of the best turnarounds I have ever seen
from a professional athlete. The best thing that happened to
her was Tyler Marsh telling her I want your offense to start a
little bit more from the perimeter.
And that sounds like sacrilege coming for me because I big bigs
are my favorite player and you naturally want them to eat at
(47:23):
close range. But here's the thing of what
makes an Angel special. She's got guard skills and she's
someone who can. She's racking up Dimes while her
teammates are not real score, a lot of them are not real scoring
options. So the next step for her
development, they gotta get her some better players because in
my estimation, if she had a teamaround her like Alyssa Thomas
(47:46):
does in Phoenix, one thing she would average, you know, 15-10
and eight, you know, be a tripledouble threat every night.
Angel, you know, her handle is getting better.
It's it's not one of those that looks super polished.
It could be a little clunky at times, but it's getting the job
done. And what's her real advantage is
her strength. She gets down going to the rim
(48:08):
and you know, and body, it's hard to stay on her hip because
of her strength. And what that creates is an
overreaction. Someone helping off of Angel's
teammate and she's a good passershe needs these shooters around
her to help her grow. I'm not sure if that's going to
be it in in Chicago with the sky.
They they have a very good draftpick coming up from one that
(48:29):
they can swap either with the sun or the mercury this year.
But their 2027 pick man, they swapped that with the with the
Washington. Excuse me, they didn't swap it
they traded it to the WashingtonMystics.
So, you know, if they are a bad team in 2026, they won't be able
to be in a position to potentially draft Juju Watkins.
And, you know, you look at the avenues they have for
(48:51):
improvement now, you know, asidefrom this upcoming draft, you
know, not much. And aside from that from
internal improvement or some free agency signings.
But you know, Angel, listen, I think she's going to continue to
evolve. You know, right, right now, I
would say she's one of the 15 best players in the league.
Last year, I I thought she was, you know, a quality of 4th or
(49:11):
5th starter deserving of her AllStar recognition.
But what I saw within the last couple of months to someone who
was guarded tighter, you know, her confidence came back and
that was the real difference between her now and at the
beginning of the her confidence was shot.
And right now she thinks she cando anything in the world.
And, you know, that's a large part of the game.
(49:32):
But specifically, you asked me what more things can she keep
focusing on, You know, still, you know, focusing on finishing
with both hands in the lab because she is there all the
time. And the point I made about
shooters, she is such a prolificoffensive rebounder, likely the
best in league history. The best time to pop a triple is
after an offensive rebound because the defense is naturally
(49:55):
sucked in because everybody tried to grab a rebound.
With her passing ability, I have0 doubts.
You know with a good team aroundher, four of her assists could
just beat offensive rebounds. His name is Mateo Mayorga.
This is my go to guy when it comes to professional
basketball. And word on the street is that
you, you started dipping your toe into the the boxing game as
(50:17):
well, right? Yes Sir, my editor and boss
Ethan Skolnick gave me the OK todo these things and we have hit
the ground running for our our boxing department.
With with the help of a great friend of the show, Mario
Serrano at Boxing Labs, we were able to interview Johannes Tayas
who unsuccessfully defended his WBA interim title on Saturday,
(50:42):
August 23rd at Caribe Royale. I have also been hanging out
with Devero Williamson, former heavyweight and NABF champion
here in Denver, Co. I also got to do a story on the
40 year anniversary of Lonnie Smith and his victory over Billy
Costello for the WBC Super Lightweight Championship in
1985. So yeah, we're, we're hitting
the ground running in boxing andwe, we, we have to go out of
(51:05):
passion behind that because, youknow, fighters are a different
breed of competitor because really it could be their life
when they step into the ring. And these guys have amazing
stories, and we're just trying to showcase all of that.
Well, that's good stuff man. Where can folks catch all of
your showcasing of of these talented athletes from from
(51:27):
different sports and what have you?
Mainly I am at Five Reason Sports Network, but you can also
find me at Pounding the Rock, which is the San Antonio
division of SB Nation and my personal sub Stack which is
Matteo's Hoop Diary and you justput Sub Stack and you'll find me
there. Before I let you go, man, you're
(51:47):
up in Denver, Co. So, so I got to ask you this
question here. What has been the best meal that
you've had up in Denver? And I'm not talking home cooking
either. I'm talking a place that
somebody can actually go to because I mean, listen, you,
you, you've had the good stuff, man, down in, in all over
Florida, Miami and all that goodstuff there.
(52:08):
Now you're up in Denver, which does have a reputation for
having some, some pretty good restaurants there.
But your palate is, is your palate.
So what would you say is the best meal?
Where did you have it and what was it?
You got if you when you guys come down here, there's a place
in Cherry Creek called the UrbanEgg.
(52:28):
They have this chicken and waffle eggs Benedict.
The sauce from the eggs Benedictmixing with the waffle and the
chicken makes the most incredible blend I have ever had
for this is perfect for breakfast or brunch.
One of the most amazing meals I've ever had in it.
And the portions are very large.What you want to do?
I like to get it with the hash Browns, which are loaded hash
(52:50):
Browns. They have bacon, jalapenos and
have cheese. All of that stuff.
It's it's outrageous. So define all about the perfect
(53:14):
life. Be yourself, let your spirit
lie. In this fashion you'll touch the
sky. Strictly for the culture.
We're so fine. Dress you in praise and show
(53:36):
your shine strictly for the culture.
Every day, visit www.strictlyfortheculture.ca.
(54:09):
Mr. Tony Shivani and we're desperately out of time on Duke
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You're locked in. Listen.
What we have here. Folks to the only show that
matters, the queen of the crop do gloves wrestling and there is
no one that does it better than your house.
I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass.
And I'm all out of bubble. This is Mateo Majorga of Five
(02:27):
Reason Sports, and you're listening to the Duke Loves
Wrestling podcast. Brothers and sisters, you know,
with the WNBA heating up, all the things happening in the NBA
on the horizon here, the Duke has to bring in his main man,
Mateo Mayorka, to let me know and let you know what's really
(02:50):
going on in professional basketball today.
So without further ado, welcome back to the Duke Loves Wrestling
podcast, Legitimately our favorite NBA analyst, WNBA
analyst and international man ofmystery, Mateo Mayorka.
What's going on there, bro? I'm.
Good man. It's great to be here.
(03:10):
It's been too long. How are you?
You know, I I am doing fantasticbecause you and I are are back
together again. We got the band back together
again. So, you know, can't go wrong
here, man. Every time you come on, I'm
always amazed at the response because, you know, do close
wrestling is primarily a pro wrestling and MMA show.
(03:32):
It's a combat sports show for the most part.
But when I do these basketball specials, you, you knock it out
of the park every time, bro. Well, thank you, ma'am.
I'm very glad to be coming on and to giving your audience to
goods. Absolutely so.
So let's just jump right into itbecause what the heck is going
on in the WNBA right now? Are are are we heading to a
(03:54):
lockout? Well, reporting Duke indicates
that the October 31st deadline will pass and there will be no
resolution from the WNBA PlayersAssociation and from the league
office. And this is very dangerous for
all sides involved because rightnow the WNBA is on a hot streak,
seeing exponential growth in such a short amount of time that
(04:17):
they've never seen and closing the doors could do tremendous
damage to that type of continuity.
What we know right now is that the players want a greater
revenue split than 12% shares that they are getting because,
listen, they are in full understanding that the league
has never been profitable. It is not now, but it will
presumably in the very short future that will change.
(04:37):
And they want to be on top of making more money while the
league is making more money so that they want their number to
grow when the WNBA's number grows.
And one of the latest proposals was the NBA offered to raise Max
contracts from the $250,000 range to the $1,000,000 range.
That is quadrupling it. But this would was not
acceptable to the players association because they want a
(05:00):
greater split. They they they want to grow as
the league grows. And last month at the All Star
game in Indianapolis there was ameeting between the players
association bigwigs and the league's higher ups to try to
get the ball moving. This was a big dud because
nothing materialized here. And this cannot be ignored.
This next .2 of the players on the players union side Nafisa
(05:25):
Collier and Brianna Stewart. They are a big threat to the
WNBA because they are the founders of unrivalled the
women's 3 versus 3 domestic league headquartered in Miami,
FL which competes in the offseason.
This is we created an Ave. for other NBA WNBA players to get
(05:46):
notice and get get more money and listen.
When you start threatening the dollars of a league, you become
their enemy and listen. This is a little bit of a
different example, but the same principle applies.
In the early and mid 70s there was the Oscar Robertson suit in
the NBA. Oscar Robertson, the head of the
players association, sued the NBA and its owners for better
(06:08):
workplace conditions, better payfor more, also pensions as well,
all of that stuff and they won. But that suit was not settled
until Oscar Robertson a year after he retired and he was
working at CVS, but the league still viewed him as the enemy.
You're looking at Nafisa Collierand Brianna Stewart, what they
have done, getting unrivaled on TNT Sports and on Max streaming,
(06:31):
which now Max's HBO Max. Again, this is some big time
stuff. And they are now a big threat to
the WNBA. But listen, the players, they,
they have that in their pocket, but they are no idiots.
They know that within the next five years, up to 2030, the WNBA
wants to add five teams through expansion and the expansion fee
(06:53):
is $250 million per club. There is money coming in.
And when you look at that, asidefrom the current attractions in
the league now like the Super rookie page, Becker's with the
right type of promotion from league partners and her team,
she could be the face of the league.
You look at someone like Angel Reese, close to 6,000,000
followers on Instagram. She is a superstar not just in
(07:13):
name but in game. And then someone like Caitlin
Clark, who's got like this MagicJohnson, Larry Bird type effect
where she's bringing a lot of casuals and making them hardcore
fans there. This is going to be growing.
And the WNBA players are not going to give the league and
ownership a pass when their number starts growing because
they need their numbers to startgrowing.
(07:34):
And another thing that's a very big sticking point for the
players that they will not relent on to my understanding is
they need more roster spots because the WNBA does a poor job
of managing for attrition late in the WNBA season.
And they take a little consideration knowing that these
ladies are playing overseas and now domestically and unrivaled
(07:55):
because the pay is not good in the WNBA or what it should be.
And what a surprise, you're seeing the most amount of
injuries up to this point you'veever seen in history of the
WNBA. So right now there doesn't look
like there's going to be any agreement before October 31st.
So it looks like there will be astoppage, Duke.
But from where I'm standing, theladies should not relent.
They should not cave. You know, it's interesting that
(08:16):
you bring up Unrivaled because that is a three on three women's
league that is based in the United States.
So traditionally these female players would have to go all
around the world, Europe mostly,but you know, some folks go to
Asia, the whole 9 yards there just to continue to make money
(08:38):
because the WNBA has paid so little compared to the, the, the
output that these ladies, these incredible athletes that
provide. So now with unrivaled, they can
stay in the United States, they can make more money and
basically stay in game shape forthe WNBA season.
So I think unrivaled as has turned out to be a asset, you
(09:04):
know, for the WNBA, even though they're separate entities.
But like you said, they are a threat at the same time because
if they're treating the players better, if they can continue to
to get big time television contracts, distribution, you
know, obviously the advertising money and what have you, they're
going to start competing in, in terms of how they're
compensating the players. And some players may leave the
(09:26):
WNBA and stick with unrivalled if they get paid well enough.
So it it's, it's that's an interesting little caveat there.
But overall, in your opinion, Mateo, you're, you're a guy that
pays attention to WNBA. You know the history, you report
on what's going on. Do these players have a point?
Do they deserve to get paid at the scale that they're asking
(09:51):
for? With without a doubt, they they
they should be get as close to possible as what they're asking
for. I would prefer they they get
everything they want. But when you when you're looking
at the quality, the product of the regular season and it's down
outstanding. These players are passionate,
you know, ferocious and listen, there's less games right now.
The the season added four more to 44 and with it being less
(10:14):
games, you know, it's not like 82 in the in the men's league.
Each one has a greater level of importance.
And right now it's, it's still relatively a baby league.
We're still the, the league's first year of operation was
1997. This hasn't been going on that
long. So right now we're only at 13
teams. There's a lot of concentrated
talent and you, you have a lot of high quality basketball every
(10:36):
night. You know, the one thing that I
didn't like about what the players did that, you know,
maybe minuscule hurt their casesat the All Star game.
You know, they, they wore those shirts that said pay us what you
owe us. And you know, they absolutely
should get paid what they but then they went out in the game
and they laid that stinker. You know, that didn't make any
(10:57):
sense because it was it's disrespectful to the fans who,
you know, pay to go there, you know, the ones who scheduled
their whole day around that event.
And it looks weird because the WNBA All Star game should be one
of those things that, you know, the players have as a as a
selling point be like, hey, we got this.
We got a high level exhibition that other leagues don't have.
(11:18):
The NBA doesn't have that anymore.
The NBA All Star game went to crap after the players got
spoiled, but it used to be something that David Stern could
say, hey, I have this and I can sell to the league partners.
But the WNBA players made a mistake in the last All Star
game, you know, treating the event like it was some rinky
dink game. And it wasn't like they did it
with bad intentions. A lot of them are tired.
(11:40):
They're they're they're beaten down from the regular season
because they didn't get much rest.
And again, a lot of them are areplaying overseas and unrivaled.
But that that'd be the only negative I would say that
they've had when you're talking about the regular season.
These are the best women's basketball players in the world
and there is a storyline every night.
Every night you will see something spectacular.
One night it was last week, Sonia Citron just going crazy on
(12:03):
opponent. Then the next night it was Paige
Becker's dropping a historic 40 point game.
Yeah, absolutely. And and I'm telling you, I'm all
in on Paige Becker's. I think she's fantastic, Love,
love her game and and she's justgetting started.
So she's going to be even betterthan what she is now, which is
scary. Everybody better be on notice
there. Speaking of which, I mean, when
(12:26):
we start talking about the people who are going to win the
awards at the end of the season here in the WNBAI mean, let's go
down the list here. Who's your rookie of the year?
Who's your MVP and why? Well, first I was starting with
the rookie of the year. It's without a doubt Page
Becker's I I know a lot of people are are gassing up Sonia
(12:48):
lately and she's been terrific. She's a player I would want on
my team every day, but that argument just seems like you're
trying to be cute there. There really isn't much of a
case. Paige Becker's scores more with
less help of her teammates. She creates more overreactions.
And the biggest difference makerfor me is that she has a greater
impact on her teammates than Sonia because she has doubled
(13:11):
her assist total. And another one that's big is
she has doubled her assist to turnover ratio.
She's very safe with the ball. And we're talking about Paige
Becker's, who plays on a on a team, the Dallas Wings, which
are an inferior group in the Washington Mystics.
And for parts of the season, like they've been Enrique
Gunbowale, who is supposed to bethe second most powerful weapon
(13:31):
on that team. And Paige has been catching more
schemes than usual. And again, last week she had a
40 point game, working 44 pointson 81% shooting.
That has never happened in the history of the league.
And she is a rookie. And she was doing it with the
other team loading up on her like crazy.
We're we're there is levels to this business.
(13:53):
Sonia Citron is an All Star, butPaige Becker's is someone who
could is likely going to be a Hall of Famer and could very
well be the face of the league. Oh, and you said a moment ago,
MVP. Excuse me?
Well, this one is this 1 is where it gets really a lot
closer. Duke, because I know you follow
my sub steps so this might seem crazy.
Nafisa Collier was the the lady I was gassing up at the
(14:14):
beginning of the year and her level of play is comparable to
Asia Wilson. But now I have Asia Wilson in
the lead because attendance is abig factor in this.
And listen, if Nafisa were to play the rest of the season, she
will have played 77%. If Asia doesn't miss any more
games, she will have played about 10% more.
When we're talking about a nip and tuck race, you know these
(14:37):
type of things matter. But lately, Mafisa, she's missed
10 games, but lately she missed seven in a row.
Her team won five without her. That is a very good percentage
without someone who I thought was the best player in the
world, and it's because her teamis so loaded.
That doesn't help her case because when you look at someone
like Courtney Williams, she doesn't get or she doesn't,
excuse me, she doesn't attempt many shots in the lane, but she
(14:57):
gets in the lane a lot to draw the dribble penetration and kick
outs to her teammates. She is someone who can create
those type of breakdowns. Asia Wilson doesn't really have
too much of that on her team, maybe aside from Jackie Young
and on a maybe a very good night, Chelsea Gray.
But another thing, the rest of the the Minnesota Lynx team, the
big rotation, Kornikova, Smith, Shepherd, and then you have such
(15:19):
a second high level weapon and Caleb McBride, who's just always
moving in such a fierce weapon when she's curling around
screens. Asia Wilson for the most part
does not have all of this. And right now, the Las Vegas
Aces are the hottest team in theleague, having won eleven
straight games. And the main reason is Asia
Wilson has elevated her play. She is playing at the level of
(15:41):
last year where she was the first player in league history
to be the to score 1000 points in a season.
You're seeing that player right now.
And the other big thing, she scores more with less help than
Nafisa as well. So to wrap this up, MVP Asia
Wilson right now and Rookie of the Year is Paige Becker's.
Wow, coming in with the hot takes here.
(16:02):
Mateo, he's not playing around here.
Oh, no, never. I I tend to agree with you,
though. I, I agree with you on on both
fronts there. Asia Wilson is, is playing the
type of ball that boy, if you could choose a WNBA player from
the past. I mean, who do you even compare
Asia to, you know? That's that's that's really,
(16:26):
that's really hard. You know she's got you're going
to think because Asia's a big. Yeah, so she's not hard.
She's not mine because she's a big.
But she, she's a big, but she's got a lot of guard qualities.
So like maybe like a combinationof like Lauren Jackson and Lisa
Leslie getting the best of both worlds here.
Like it's just one thing I'm super impressed by her is again,
(16:48):
like playing her like a guard. They will have her curl around
down screens, uh, pin downs backscreens and then and she'll pull
up for a jumper or they will runpick and roll with her.
No, she, she, she's ultra versatile.
And that jump shot once it gets to between 3 and 10 feet is
money. And that's what's really
interesting about Asia Wilson too.
(17:10):
That area between 3 and 10 feet is 1 of the hardest areas to
score. It's what's known as the short
mid range. And the reason why it's so
difficult to score is that is the area that gets clogged very
quickly when the defense is figured out who they want to
slow down in the lane, and it's usually her.
So the fact that she's able to be such a monster right now,
(17:32):
she's averaging 27 a game. And if she were to keep just
that up, she is going to get very close to 1000 points again.
And that's if she gets 27 pointsevery game the rest of the way,
which is about 6 or 7 more. But listen, like she is, she's
got a little bit of all of the greats in her.
And from what from what I understand, she's a she's a
(17:54):
studious, she's a studious player.
She watches a lot of film and she's always trying to get
better at practice. So her her work ethic is perhaps
not exceeded by anyone in the league.
Yeah, well said. I mean, you know, for folks
listening, the WNBA of 2025 essentially is the NBA right
(18:15):
before Michael Jordan. So, so we're, we're basically at
the beginning of Bird versus Magic.
So we got a long way to go. You know, if we're if we're
going to compare where the leagues are AT and where they
can go and just the talent, the skill level of the talent
(18:36):
continues to improve by so much.I mean, I, I said it, you know,
last time you were on the show, man, I remember watching the
first WNBA games. I think they they aired two or
three games on the same day whenit, when the league first
started. And Jackie Johanna Kersey was
one of the players. Now this is a Olympic track and
(18:59):
field legend, Jackie Johanna Kersey, who had played some
basketball when she was younger,but there were so few female
professional basketball players who at the time would be good
enough to be in the league. So they pulled people like
Jackie, which was crazy. Fast forward to today and there
(19:20):
were so many players who are notactively on a roster right now
who were excellent. So that just tells you
everything you need to know, man.
It's a competitive league. Everybody is is has improved in
terms of skill and athleticism, what have you.
We're literally at bird and magic right in the beginning.
(19:40):
So we're we're we're about 1979 nineteen 80 right now.
If we were to date what the WNBAquality is.
So you know what that means? We got a long way to go, folks.
And when you see somebody like Angel Reese, when you see
somebody you know, like Paige, it's like, whoa.
(20:01):
This, this thing is going to keep going And, and who's the
young lady in college right now?Juju, right the the the young
lady in college there who's tearing it up.
Yeah, and she, she, she's recovering from an ACL.
The other one is Lauren Betts, UCLA.
She she's particularly the top pick.
Yeah. And they're going to, they're
going to come in, they're going to, they're going to be some
stars. But the one that's really the
(20:22):
the attraction is Juju Watkins, because from my estimation,
Duke, she's well, well, well before she tore her ACL.
And I have no reason to believe she won't be the same player.
She was one of those type of players that who could get open
without a screen whenever she wanted.
And she's one of those bigger builds.
So she she looked like she had aWNBA ready body.
(20:44):
So, you know, one of the things that young players struggle with
is physicality. I don't think she will deal with
any of that problems like when she enters the WNBA, because
she's got an explosive first step and she's got power.
You're going to see bodies actually fly off her like on a
pinball machine. The other one is bets she's the
center at out of UCLA. She she's she's a close range
(21:08):
monster. One of the things I'd say she
needs to get better is on on on defense to be able to play in
more coverages. But we're talking about someone
who's only 21 years old. Those those things will come in
time. I know off the arrow about a
week ago we we talked about improving coverages with someone
like Li Yuru, who is now on the Dallas Wings, who spraying her
MCL and will no longer play thisyear.
(21:28):
At the beginning of the year, her drop coverage or her her
defense was not very good. She is now playing in more than
one coverage and she's very good.
So, you know, players get better, but those are the two to
keep your eye on in the future. Yeah, agreed.
Agreed 100%. So again, I mean, the, the
quality is just going to continue to improve, especially
as this next generation comes inand that older generation that
(21:52):
has really been running the league for the past, you know,
10-15 years starts to age out. I mean, we, we lost Sue Bird, we
lost Ayana Tarazi. I don't know how much longer
Stewie Stewie is going to be in the league, especially now that.
She has Tina Charles. Yeah, Tina Charles, you know, we
start going like this. These folks are aging out at
(22:15):
least out of the WNBA and that that next level.
These are people who have not had the same struggle as those
before them had. So there is more of a freedom.
They can just literally focus ontheir skills and and focus on
getting the job done as athletesas opposed to everybody else who
(22:36):
really had to be pioneers, You know, and and and once they get
this, this next level straightened out with the the
contract, I mean, Sky's the limit for whoever comes in the
league after that. So it's it's it's an exciting
time and it's an interesting time for sure for the league.
Real quick. This thing with the Connecticut
Sun, now, you know, I'm in Boston.
(22:59):
There's a lot of buzz out here. We have an ownership.
Well, we have some investors, let's say led by Steve Pagluca,
who, you know, intend on purchasing the Connecticut Sun
and they want to take that franchise and move them here to
Boston, MA. Now the league has stepped up
(23:22):
and they've said, whoa, whoa, pump your brakes here.
We did. We never approved that.
We just had an expansion. Boston wasn't part of it.
You can't just buy a team and put them wherever you want.
What's the real story here, Mateo, from from what you've
been able to gather here, what'sreally going on?
Duke The problem is Boston, not that like the league has
(23:42):
anything against the people or the city.
No, that place is too good for its own good.
The league knows it. Like right right now an
expansion fee is $250 million. And but the league is saying is
Boston wasn't asked for in the proposals for this round of
expansion. As if it matters.
You know, Paluca wants to buy anestablished team and and move it
(24:05):
over there. Listen, what the WNBA wants to
do is hold the the city of Boston to the side for the next
round of expansion in 2033 because they know the price of
the brick is going up, to borrowa term from the wire.
They know that they can get a lot more money.
And this is the league unethically sticking their
business in in something that should be a sale.
(24:26):
Because when you're looking at what Palliucca and his group can
offer right now, helping the league grow immediately and
helping improve A-Team immediately, let's go with the
former. First.
Last year, the Indiana Fever were the number one sellout
crowd in the league. And Caitlin Clark's not a lot to
do with that. But check this out.
The Golden State Valkyries this year are #1 in attendance.
(24:48):
They don't got that type of star.
And they probably may not for a while because they're not going
to be in that position to draft that high because they're
actually a good team. So the league is pretty much
sabotaging Palliucca because what, what he his proposal was
$325 million. The to my understanding, Kathy
(25:09):
Engelbert did not show that to the other owners.
And you know, you're you're not helping the situation here
because when you're don't, you know, when you don't provide
A-Team like Boston or you know, when there isn't A-Team like The
Sun that moves to Boston, You'renot getting the type of sellout
crowds that you saw with the Indiana Fever last year and what
(25:30):
you're seeing with the Golden State Valkyries this year.
They're they're number one in attendance.
For goodness sake. We're talking about Boston.
These are the fans of the Celtics and the people who bleed
for the Red Sox and Patriots. You're talking about things that
will be a sellout every night when they've had a few games
there already this year. They've been sellouts.
So there is already a history ora short history of it working in
(25:53):
this area because of Boston's rabid crazy fan base that is so
sick for in a good way for this stuff And the way that it's
really, you know, the the leagueis really hurting the what could
be the Sun is listen, Palliucca has said he would commit $100
million to a practice facility that the right now now the
(26:13):
Connecticut Sun do not have and they they would be moving from
Uncasville to Boston, MA right now.
The Sun are one of the few rinkydink organizations left in the
league and playing a state-of-the-art facility like
that not just doesn't just tell the players, Hey, man, you know,
doesn't just earn their trust. You know, they're investing in
all of us. But those type of things help
(26:34):
players get better and other people start noticing like, you
know, the the veterans, like, you know, the Brianna Stewart's
or, you know, the the Asia Wilson's, like, man, you know,
such a place is making moves andthey really invest in their
people. So there's that lost opportunity
there because there is no doubt then Boston would have sell out
crowds like you are seeing rightnow with the Golden State
(26:56):
Valkyries and you saw last year with the Indiana Fever.
Yeah, no doubt at all. No doubt at all.
And I'm going to put it out there right now my my old friend
Steve Palliuka. I need you to connect with Mateo
because you guys have a lot to talk about.
I mean, we got to figure this thing out, man, because here in
Boston, the business owners wantit.
(27:18):
So the business owners that are around the the garden, they want
that team. There's no question about it.
The fans want, OK, our elected officials want it.
We, we have a governor who's thefirst woman elected governor of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Maura Healey.
And then in Boston, we have the mayor, Michelle Wu.
(27:41):
She's the first woman elected mayor of Boston and she's the
first Chinese American elected mayor of Boston.
They are very serious about women empowerment.
They're very serious about women's sports.
We got a soccer team that we're building a stadium in
conjunction with and what have you.
There's a lot going on. Invicta FC, which is an all
(28:05):
female MMA promotion, they've put on a show here and they're
going to be coming back. Like there is a lot of of
movement and interest in women'ssports in the city of Boston, in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in general.
We have it, we have the infrastructure, we, we, we have
the people who are ready to spend the money, give us the
(28:27):
team, simple as that. So you know.
Here's another problem. Here's another problem the the
WNBA has a hard on for their owners being dual, for example,
like them owning an NBA team andAWNB A-Team, which critics of
this thought process, which theyhave merit to say that's really
stupid because you're you're implying that the WNBA can't
(28:48):
survive on its own. And I kind of agree with them on
that point. Well, not only that, you put
yourself in a position where youlimit how many women and people
of color are going to be owners because the NBA still has a
problem with that. I mean, they they've gotten a
lot better, but still, that's a challenge.
So the WNBA has no business playing that game.
(29:11):
That's a that's a losing game right there.
So you know, we're going to keepbeating the drum on that.
Again, Steve Palliuka, you know,let's let's figure this out,
man. We got to get you, get you and
Mateo together here, do an interview and and figure this
out because we got to get the word out.
We got to update people on what's going on.
We want that team. It's as simple as that.
We want that team, brother. So let's let's inform everybody
(29:34):
out there about what they can do.
Should they be writing or emailing or social media you?
Should they be bringing science,WNBA games, like what can be
done to continue to put the pressure on the league to do the
right thing on this. So I'm putting that out there.
Those are my words. So you hold me accountable for
it, folks. But I'm standing firm on it.
(29:57):
And for very selfish reasons, I want a WNB A-Team in Boston.
I won it yesterday, so figure itout.
That's right. Moving on here.
Let's go to NBA. Let's talk some NBA talk here.
Malik Beas Beasley, NBA player, one of the top NBA players,
excellent shooter. He he he's on a contract year.
(30:19):
So he he's renegotiating a new deal.
Very attractive a person that you know, damn near every team
in the league would pick up because he's that good.
He it is discovered that he has financial issues and he gets
investigated for essentially point shaving, for lack of a
(30:40):
better term. And, and, and Mattel in in a
minute here. You'll be able to correct me if,
if I'm, if I'm misspeaking on anything here.
But Malik Beasley was investigated for that and
everybody just kind of left themalone because they figured it
must be true. Well, lo and behold, Malik
Beasley's cleared of the investigation, no charges,
(31:03):
nothing. And now he looks like damaged
goods and, and it's not looking like he's going to get picked up
anytime soon. And if and if he does get picked
up, he certainly is not going tobe making the money that he
should have been making. So Matteo, first and foremost,
correct? Anything that I that I misspoke
about. But then also, what are your
thoughts from a general standpoint that should Malik
(31:26):
Beasley be gearing up for a lawsuit?
It's a big one, but listen, First things first.
The this investigation stemmed around allegations surrounding
prop bets made when Malik Beasley was still a member of
the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 season.
He was recently a Detroit Pistonand he was one of the best and
(31:49):
most accurate 3 point shooters in the league.
Because of just the attention that Kate Cunningham created and
Malik Beasley being a high levelrelease valve.
Here's the deal. The reporting that he is cleared
is not true our our friends in Detroit.
But put the spotlight on this first.
Malik's own attorney does not know if he will be charged down
(32:11):
the line. He may not be a target of the
investigation, but he's probablya subject still right now that
this, this is not the investigation, is not over that
we know. But listen, it's true.
He has not been charged. There isn't any, any of that.
There's no, there's no hint of acrime right now.
It's just still a very serious allegation.
(32:32):
And you, you look at that type of stuff hanging over a player's
head. Listen, you could sign him last
year. He was only making $6 million.
Considering what kind of situation he's in, I can't
imagine he would be signing for for more than that.
You could get a good player. He was compartmentalizing very
well last year because these problems were have been going on
for a long time. But here's the thing, it's not
(32:56):
just this investigation. You're talking about someone who
has composed himself, like Antonio Brown recently, like
there has been multiple parties who he has owed big money,
civilians in the five figures and he's just run out on them
and not paid them. Let's listen.
Only lowlifes act like that. And listen, you know, he could
(33:19):
be very well liked in the lockerroom.
But if you're a team, you're a coach, you're an executive, do
you want that type of influence around your young players?
Do you want someone dealing withsomething that could really put
them in trouble when it's not around basketball?
So listen, like, Malik Beasley is in really a terrible
situation. Yeah, he could sign, and he'll
probably help someone right now.But you know, I think a lot of
(33:40):
teams will be reluctant to invest in the head or what could
be potentially a headache down the road.
Yeah, I I didn't realize that this thing is not over yet.
I you know, the reporting that Isaw was that he was clear.
But you bring up a good. Sharon, you got that wrong.
Sharon, you got that wrong. Wow, that's.
Wrong. That's deep.
(34:00):
So, so he's not just the only person being investigated.
This, this is a, this is a bigger thing going on here.
Yeah, Rosier. Rosier is another one Terry
Rosier guard on the Miami Heat. He is being checked out from
some stuff that went on in a game when he was still a member
of the Starlet Hornets. So listen, you look at the type
(34:23):
of year Terry Rosier had last year, awful.
The moment he got to Miami, you know, he, he, he hasn't been
what he's lived up to. And they wasted a first round
pick for him. And now my, my boss, Ethan
Skolnick has reported they will let him go for anything.
This has been lingering in Terry's mind, and it, I, I, it
(34:44):
presumably, has been one of those things that has, you know,
erect his focus. That's too bad.
I mean, I, I remember when TerryRozier was here in Boston and he
was looked upon as you know, that next generation of of solid
player. So it's, it's disappointing to
hear that these games are being played because there's no
(35:04):
question he has the talent. So if he's, if he's doing that
bad, then what's really going on?
So that's, that's tough. That's tough to hear there,
folks. There's a lot of drama.
That's the main idea here. Even if you're not actively
watching on a, on a, on a day-to-day game to game basis,
there's so much drama in the real lives of these folks.
(35:27):
And that's one thing that I loveabout Mateo.
Mateo was not afraid to do the research, do the interviews, hit
the beat, you know, put up the articles talking about all of
these other factors that essentially affect the game.
I mean, there's no other way to describe it, you know what I
mean? Speaking of which, LeBron James
(35:49):
was recorded admitting that his wife wants him to retire within
the next season or two. So, you know, I, I take a step
back and I think about that because at first, you know, the
first thing that comes to my mind is Tom Brady and Gisele
BĂŒndchen and how he, she, she told him she wanted him to
(36:12):
retire. You know, I think a year or two
before he, he left the Patriots and they were going back and
forth on it and he would, he essentially lost his marriage
because he would not retire. And, and she argued that she was
concerned for his safety and he had accomplished pretty much
(36:33):
everything you need to accomplish.
So what are you holding on to? We got money like let's raise
our family and, and, and, and really step into the next
chapter of our lives. And Tom Brady just couldn't do
it. So that ended.
Now I look at LeBron James, who's a very close friend to Tom
Brady's, by the way. And I wonder if Savannah James,
(36:55):
Lebron's wife, is kind of looking at it the same way.
Like, dude, I see you at home hobbling around.
I see what you got to do in order to get your body, you
know, prepared just to go out there and perform at the level
that you're performing. Something we've never seen
before. Player who's who's played as
(37:15):
long as as LeBron still playing at this elite level is just not
it's, it's unheard. It's never happened before.
So what are your thoughts on that, Mateo?
LeBron said it. That's a direct quote from him.
So it's not like anyone's makingit up.
But what are your thoughts on that when you heard that?
(37:37):
Well, luckily for Savannah, basketball is not nearly as
dangerous and well as as football.
Then he he'll never have to worry about, you know, crossing
through the middle and being hitwith it was something that could
make him a paraplegic or something.
Thank goodness. But, you know, it does bring up
(37:58):
the point, you know, Lebron's already hit the minutes
threshold. Like, he's got the records.
He's he's nobody has been this good for the for so long.
But what you're seeing right nowis someone who is in love with
being a star and like, the championships are not the
biggest priority for LeBron. And last year it was more clear
to me than ever. It's been getting that way for a
(38:18):
long time. But, you know, a year ago, you
know, we were talking about whathe needs to do to really give
the Lakers a chance. And I was telling you like he
can't be this dude who plays 35 minutes a game, which have been
the case for the like that sincelike 2019, because you know, you
already crossed 22122 years in the league.
You, you, you don't have the same level of takeover in games
(38:42):
that you used to. And listen, when you do that,
you're not really a team player.And if you're taking maximum
amount of the dollars now, listen, he, he opted into his
contract and he, and he took off, which was 52,000,000.
But I, I wasn't expecting him to, you know, take the, the
veteran minimum or something. But you know, at this point, you
(39:04):
know, if you're really serious about winning, why not a
discount? It's not really something he has
done since his Miami days, whichhe he did do that to.
So the team with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade can be assembled.
But you're when you're taking Max money and you know your,
your game doesn't really warrantit, you're not a team player
anymore. It seems to me like he's more
(39:24):
concerned with still being the king of the NBA when his impact
doesn't warrant it. And right now this is it's Lucas
team now. And you know, he, he could help
them win if, if he adjusts his game.
But I, I don't think he will play less minutes.
Like we talked about it, Tim Duncan when he was with the
(39:45):
Spurs towards the end of his career, he stopped playing over
30 minutes a game the last four,four or a few years of his
career because they wanted him fresh for the playoffs.
The last few years in the playoffs, in fourth quarters,
LeBron looks gassed. And you know, the fact that he
is not willing to change things tells me he's in love with
everything he already got. Now come on now, Matteo.
(40:08):
In fairness, Tim Duncan didn't have any cartilage in his knees
at that point. I mean, it was bone on bone, so
it wasn't like he could play at that level anymore even if he
wanted to. I would I'll disagree with you
on this point. You know, Tim Duncan put after
19 season, he was an elite defender When he retired, he he
(40:28):
he was playing at the level defending on screens.
He was a great shot blocker. He wasn't scoring as much as he
used to, but he would still giveyou 14 and 10 with with a great
defense. And you know, and he was playing
2829 minutes a game. If if LeBron was willing to do
those things, like I think he could be more effective, But you
know, when you're not playing, when, when you don't commit to
(40:49):
defense for more than, you know,a hot or little quick stretch of
the season, you know it, it doessomething to the the mental make
of the of the other players. They don't go as hard the rest
of the game. They're like, ah, if our leader
is not going to do it, why should I?
And, and let me just say this about LeBron because I, I saw
some, some pretty shoddy reporting out there from some
(41:11):
knuckleheads, people online speculating on top of it,
claiming that the Boston Celticsare potential spot for LeBron.
And it was one of the more embarrassing things I've ever
seen in my life because LeBron James has been Uber vocal about
the fact that he can't stand Boston sports fans.
(41:35):
He feels that in general, our city still harbors a lot of
racism that gets hurled at the athletes during games.
You know, when it when it happens in baseball, Lebron's
one of the first people to speakup.
Happens at basketball. Lebron's there to speak up.
He, he's a, he's a dog on a bonewith that.
He's very serious about it. Can't stand Boston in that
(41:57):
regard. So, no, there's nothing we can
offer LeBron James that would make him play here.
It would just never happen. Folks, got to do your, your
research. What's that?
Do you remember like 1314 years ago?
Like, listen, like, I don't wantto, you know, categorize all
Boston fans, but you I've seen things from Boston fans that are
(42:17):
a little different from other places.
Like for example, like around 1314 years ago, there was a fan,
it was a it was a woman. She approached Rajon Rondo at
this event. I think he was signing
autographs and she was wearing ashirt that said quote in green.
LeBron is a bitch. And he took his picture with
her. And it's just, yeah, like, he's
had a problem with that fan basein the past where like, they've,
(42:38):
or I should say, they, they've rubbed him the wrong way.
And when you look at the situation they're in right now,
their superstar player, Jayson Tatum, is going through an
Achilles recovery. They this looks like it's going
to be a gap year. And you know, listen, I really
do hope it works out, but Achilles tears are some real
devastating stuff. Would it be good for him at the
(42:59):
very end of his career to go to a team if Jayson Tatum is not at
the same? But I again, I really hope he
isn't. I really want him to be.
But we're talking about an Achilles.
Those things are very sensitive and a real pain in the you know
what to heal. So I, I, I couldn't see
something like that LeBron, LeBron going to Boston.
It I can't see him doing the Rajon Rondo wearing both
(43:23):
jerseys. But no.
So no. Yeah, that'll never happen.
It'll never happen real quick. Cooper Flag for For all of the
casuals out there who may not becaught up, why do they need to
get on the Cooper Flag bandwagonright now before the next season
starts? The next great white hope.
(43:43):
But this actually might be one for real.
Dude, listen, Blake Griffin recently and this really stunned
the crap out of him. He said he's the most skilled
prospect he's ever seen something to this effect.
And I was like, wait a minute. You know, a couple of years ago
we got this super freak down in San Antonio when Banyama, who I
wouldn't say is the greatest prospect ever, but you know,
he's on a short list of of some real amazing ones.
(44:05):
But this Cooper flag kid, why everybody needs to watch him.
He's got a lot of skills and he's a high level athlete.
I am expecting a rookie of the year season and potentially him
to also be on the short list of rookies who have made an All
Star team. And he's going to be in a
situation that really helps thembecause The Mavericks are not
some The Mavericks are not like some regular number one overall
(44:27):
pick team where they're the bottom of the league.
You know, they got really lucky at the lottery after they traded
Luka Don Sitchin. You know, they, he got the
number one overall pick, AnthonyDavis is there.
He's going to be someone who commands a lot of double teams.
Cooper flag plays the way he didin college.
He's going to be open on a lot of cuts.
And on top of that, D Angelo Russell, who is the replacement
guard at the moment while Kyrie Irving recovers from his from
(44:51):
his ACL injury. D Angelo's loves to play pick
and roll. He runs it to death.
And if you put Cooper flag as his Screener, you're going to
have a lot of situations where those two are thriving together.
If D'Angelo wants to pop and take the jump or if he wants to
hit Cooper on a on a on a cut oron a lob where he just slams it
(45:13):
over someone viciously. Those two are going to be a
problem together on this team. More so because of the type of
off ball movement, the strength,the skills that Cooper flag
creates. But make no mistake, Anthony
Davis, when he is healthy, it isone of the 1520 best players in
the league and he can really putting Cooper Flag in a
position to shine because of thepressure he's taken off of him.
(45:35):
So don't forget because him being the overall pick,
naturally they're going to be onnational TVA lot.
So you won't be able to miss him.
Wow, OK, so get your get your Cooper flag flags ready folks,
because we we got the next big superstar, so to speak.
Hopefully it works out that way because certainly the league can
(45:58):
never have enough stars, there'sno question about that.
And again, it keeps things competitive, which is always a
plus. Lastly, let's jump back to WMW
MB A for a second. Angel Reese.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding her.
It's clear that she is a solid player, although there is still
room to grow. A lot of people feel that
(46:19):
despite her rebounding numbers, she really needs to work on her
inside game. She misses a lot of shots on the
inside, which is crazy considering her size.
What's next for Angel? I mean, you know, really because
it clearly she's not getting thechampionship anytime soon.
Where do you see her career going and and is there anything
in particular that she personally needs to do in order
(46:41):
to put herself in a position where she could actually be a
winner in the WNBA? Angel started with Angel first.
She needs to keep doing everything she was up to in the
lab in the offseason. Many people are still giving her
a hard time for her abysmal start to the campaign, but after
(47:03):
10 games or so, she really kicked it into high gear and
she's having one of the best turnarounds I have ever seen
from a professional athlete. The best thing that happened to
her was Tyler Marsh telling her I want your offense to start a
little bit more from the perimeter.
And that sounds like sacrilege coming for me because I big bigs
are my favorite player and you naturally want them to eat at
(47:23):
close range. But here's the thing of what
makes an Angel special. She's got guard skills and she's
someone who can. She's racking up Dimes while her
teammates are not real score, a lot of them are not real scoring
options. So the next step for her
development, they gotta get her some better players because in
my estimation, if she had a teamaround her like Alyssa Thomas
(47:46):
does in Phoenix, one thing she would average, you know, 15-10
and eight, you know, be a tripledouble threat every night.
Angel, you know, her handle is getting better.
It's it's not one of those that looks super polished.
It could be a little clunky at times, but it's getting the job
done. And what's her real advantage is
her strength. She gets down going to the rim
(48:08):
and you know, and body, it's hard to stay on her hip because
of her strength. And what that creates is an
overreaction. Someone helping off of Angel's
teammate and she's a good passershe needs these shooters around
her to help her grow. I'm not sure if that's going to
be it in in Chicago with the sky.
They they have a very good draftpick coming up from one that
(48:29):
they can swap either with the sun or the mercury this year.
But their 2027 pick man, they swapped that with the with the
Washington. Excuse me, they didn't swap it
they traded it to the WashingtonMystics.
So, you know, if they are a bad team in 2026, they won't be able
to be in a position to potentially draft Juju Watkins.
And, you know, you look at the avenues they have for
(48:51):
improvement now, you know, asidefrom this upcoming draft, you
know, not much. And aside from that from
internal improvement or some free agency signings.
But you know, Angel, listen, I think she's going to continue to
evolve. You know, right, right now, I
would say she's one of the 15 best players in the league.
Last year, I I thought she was, you know, a quality of 4th or
(49:11):
5th starter deserving of her AllStar recognition.
But what I saw within the last couple of months to someone who
was guarded tighter, you know, her confidence came back and
that was the real difference between her now and at the
beginning of the her confidence was shot.
And right now she thinks she cando anything in the world.
And, you know, that's a large part of the game.
(49:32):
But specifically, you asked me what more things can she keep
focusing on, You know, still, you know, focusing on finishing
with both hands in the lab because she is there all the
time. And the point I made about
shooters, she is such a prolificoffensive rebounder, likely the
best in league history. The best time to pop a triple is
after an offensive rebound because the defense is naturally
(49:55):
sucked in because everybody tried to grab a rebound.
With her passing ability, I have0 doubts.
You know with a good team aroundher, four of her assists could
just beat offensive rebounds. His name is Mateo Mayorga.
This is my go to guy when it comes to professional
basketball. And word on the street is that
you, you started dipping your toe into the the boxing game as
(50:17):
well, right? Yes Sir, my editor and boss
Ethan Skolnick gave me the OK todo these things and we have hit
the ground running for our our boxing department.
With with the help of a great friend of the show, Mario
Serrano at Boxing Labs, we were able to interview Johannes Tayas
who unsuccessfully defended his WBA interim title on Saturday,
(50:42):
August 23rd at Caribe Royale. I have also been hanging out
with Devero Williamson, former heavyweight and NABF champion
here in Denver, Co. I also got to do a story on the
40 year anniversary of Lonnie Smith and his victory over Billy
Costello for the WBC Super Lightweight Championship in
1985. So yeah, we're, we're hitting
the ground running in boxing andwe, we, we have to go out of
(51:05):
passion behind that because, youknow, fighters are a different
breed of competitor because really it could be their life
when they step into the ring. And these guys have amazing
stories, and we're just trying to showcase all of that.
Well, that's good stuff man. Where can folks catch all of
your showcasing of of these talented athletes from from
(51:27):
different sports and what have you?
Mainly I am at Five Reason Sports Network, but you can also
find me at Pounding the Rock, which is the San Antonio
division of SB Nation and my personal sub Stack which is
Matteo's Hoop Diary and you justput Sub Stack and you'll find me
there. Before I let you go, man, you're
(51:47):
up in Denver, Co. So, so I got to ask you this
question here. What has been the best meal that
you've had up in Denver? And I'm not talking home cooking
either. I'm talking a place that
somebody can actually go to because I mean, listen, you,
you, you've had the good stuff, man, down in, in all over
Florida, Miami and all that goodstuff there.
(52:08):
Now you're up in Denver, which does have a reputation for
having some, some pretty good restaurants there.
But your palate is, is your palate.
So what would you say is the best meal?
Where did you have it and what was it?
You got if you when you guys come down here, there's a place
in Cherry Creek called the UrbanEgg.
(52:28):
They have this chicken and waffle eggs Benedict.
The sauce from the eggs Benedictmixing with the waffle and the
chicken makes the most incredible blend I have ever had
for this is perfect for breakfast or brunch.
One of the most amazing meals I've ever had in it.
And the portions are very large.What you want to do?
I like to get it with the hash Browns, which are loaded hash
(52:50):
Browns. They have bacon, jalapenos and
have cheese. All of that stuff.
It's it's outrageous. So define all about the perfect
(53:14):
life. Be yourself, let your spirit
lie. In this fashion you'll touch the
sky. Strictly for the culture.
We're so fine. Dress you in praise and show
(53:36):
your shine strictly for the culture.
Every day, visit www.strictlyfortheculture.ca.
(54:09):
Mr. Tony Shivani and we're desperately out of time on Duke
Love Wrestling.
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