Autopsy Report: Mavs | Kings | Pelicans - Is the Worst Yet to Come? - The Baseline NBA Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
What's good. Everybody is your boy cal game Face Lee.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
And it's me Warrenshaw and we are officially live on
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That's right, The Baseline NBA podcast is officially live. Just
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
And if you're looking to book with us, collaborate us,
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Speaker 1 (00:30):
Absolutely so be sure to go to millions dot COO
you already know. Keep it real here the Baseline NBA Podcast.
Your boy Cayl gave face Lee and my man warren
Shaw hit us up on millions. Don't miss out. This
is the Baseline discussing the hot button topics of the NBA.

(00:50):
Welcome everybody, your tune to the Baseline Calie Warrenshaw discussing
the hot button topics of the NBA. We're back at
it again. It took for us to put them coaches
on the scrubs on and start dissecting the teams who
are no longer with us for the remainder of the year.
But it's always good man. We like to speak of

(01:10):
the debt because hopefully they will listen to what we
have to say and therefore inject life back into their
organization and teams. Again, we're ready to do the autopsy reports.
And as always, man, I love rolling out the red
carpet to my right hand man www. Dot Shaw sports
at net, Big Hunapi and see my man, mister Warrenshaw

(01:32):
repping out Fort Laida, A, Florida. What's good, mister Shaw.
I know that we're feeling alive because it is playoff season,
but it's also good to be amongst the deadly.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
I love the way that you, you know, introduce and
your fervor for our autopsic reports. And yes, I'm excited
for us to be able to basically ostlely a plutine
the living and the dead the other regions, if you will,
you know what I mean of this. NBA And we
have a couple of teams here, some more recently deceased.
One didn't even get into the play in situation whatsoever.

(02:08):
They've been gone for a little while, but perhaps a
big news. And as always, I'm doing it with my guys,
so you know what I mean, We go, like you said,
We're gonna scrub up, put the gloves on, dissect, get
the scoupsules, all the things out, all the tools necessary,
and throw everything on the slab. Brother, and see where
where it takes to bring these teams back to life.
For the twenty five posts.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
I'm telling you it's a sign. Right, It's in the air. Right.
We're doing this on Resurrection weekend. We're doing this just
as Sinners has been premiered over the weekend and has
been very successful. Another Ryan Kugler banger right. Shout outs
to Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan and the cast. Nothing
but good things. I think Rotten Tomatoes gave it a

(02:47):
one hundred percent. You know what I'm saying, Like, it's
like yeah, I mean like seriously, I think the signs
are saying that we are what we're doing. It's relevant work,
you know what I'm saying. What is it that they're
doing another? Uh? What is it Final Destination?

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Right?

Speaker 1 (03:04):
They started releasing you know, hints of the trailers for
that one. I think that that movie is supposed to
be coming out. Uh. Shout out to our man Tony Todd,
the late great Tony Todd. You know what I'm saying
the pillar, the foundation, the candy man himself. I'm telling you,
all signs point to we have like we are relevant
to the resurrection of these NBA teams to make them

(03:26):
a part of the conversation.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Well, I hope they appreciate it, because you know, hey,
you know most people have already forgotten about them and
no longer care. You know that they're no longer with us.
But here we are to just try to give them
some some give their fan base those who remember them,
some some new hope and some new light for us
to come here, you know, with a couple of other
couple months.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yea, yeah, listen, it wasn't too long ago we were
doing this on the regular for the Detroit Pistons. Look
where they wind up, right, So anyway, we got a
great show on tap for you as always. Man. You know,
just that time of the year we start talking about
the teams that are no longer a part of the
playoff are the extended NBA season conversation? What is it

(04:08):
that they need, What is it that they should be
looking forward to, you know as far as going into
next season. So we got three teams that we're putting
on the slab we'll be talking about the Dallas Mavericks,
New Orleans Pelicans, and the Sacramento Kings. So can't wait
to get into those teams. And as always, be sure
to get at my Manshaw Astra Sports NBA get at
me a game face Leader shows, Twitter handle at NBA
based on available on all major platforms, you know where

(04:29):
to find us. Go to www dot the Baseline NBA
dot com to not only check this episode out, but
also the great archive of shows that we have laid out.
And we've been on a great run, so you know,
if you've been wanting to find out who we are,
what we're about, you know who's around in our circle.
You know, definitely check out our previous episodes and we

(04:50):
certainly invite you along our journey as we continue to
cover not just the NBA but the basketball culture in general.
If you see us on YouTube channel like say Hello
to you and yours and if you see the blue
and white logo, that means that we are rocking with
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(05:11):
also the great family of content creators that are part
of the nineteen Media group family. There's so much good
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through nineteen Media. Please go check them out, give some likes,
give some comments, be a part of it, because what
we'd like to drop is for your listening pleasure. With
that being said, we're gonna get ready to start talking

(05:32):
about Team number one, putting them on a slab for
the autopsy report. But before we do that, hey, guys,
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start doing it big on the Autops Report first Team
on the Slab.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Don't miss it here.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
All right, we're back CALLI one Shot based one NBA podcast.
Time for us to do our coveted Autopsy Report first
team that we're gonna put on the slab. Shaw Let's talk,
uh Dallas Mavericks. Dallas Mavericks were unceremoniously exited the by

(07:25):
the Memphis Grizzlies. Now I will give it to the
Dallas Mavericks. You know they made it, so we should
actually question maybe the Sacramento Kings. I know there's gonna
be a point of conversation with regards to the Sacramento Kings,
but I want to talk about the mag real quick,
because I think so much has been thrown on what
has happened through the course of since the NBA trade deadline,

(07:48):
when obviously the big trade regarding Luka Doncic, and it's interesting,
like the I guess you could say, when the media
gets in front of some of the players, the players
are having like their own exit interviews, you know, externally
for us to get a feel and understanding of where
their mindset is and how they feel not only about
what has happened over the season, but also you know,

(08:09):
where they feel like they want to become, you know,
next year. And it was so funny that when they
did this interview with Klay Thompson, you know, I think
in a way he felt very solemn, like he felt like, man,
you know, I'm glad at least we came into this
situation that we won at least the playing game. Disappointed
that we're not participating in the playoffs. And I think

(08:32):
if you were listening to you'd have been like Okay,
that's cool, you know, like I can at least take that,
given what has happened to them in the last three months.
But when the reporter asked him, he says, you know,
did you expect the turnout from when you originally signed,
going all the way back to the beginning of the year,
did you expect it to turn out this way? And
he's like, damn, man, why do you got to put
in on me like that? You know what I mean

(08:53):
like and and I get it, I truly genuinely get it.
And we talk about the Dallas Mavericks and the misfortune
that they've suffered. But I'm really curious, Shaw, is that
only what it is? Because I feel like, no matter
how you slice it, no matter what happens here, I
feel like the ire of anger and disappointment is still

(09:13):
going to be fixated more on how the moves were made,
how it was executed, more or less than the actual
execution of the moves that have taken place, and where
the Mavericks wound up being by the time that the
season ended.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
The season for Dallas is defined by loss, and not
necessarily in terms of wins and losses in the record,
but the loss of a franchise, superstar, a generational talent,
somebody who's twenty sixty years old. Then the irony, you know,
a serendipitous as this NBA season has seemed to have been.
They lose on the seventy seventh day after the trade,
which also happens to be Lucadacta's number as well too.

(09:52):
So I mean, all the things, all the stars aligning.
I think in the most negative, you pull that number out.
I didn't.

Speaker 1 (09:59):
You're gonna have I have to cut this from to
make sure if in case any anybody from that No,
just like it's.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Just a wild situation. I mean, you know, and Nico Harrison,
I think just days before that, you know, they gave
this very cryptic and forced, closed door, no recorders, use
your pen and pad, you know, press conference that the
ownership governorship excuse me, made Nico Harrison kind of do

(10:25):
where he just chanced over and over defense win championship,
Defense win championships. It doesn't even really matter, like what
happened on the court at this point. Now this is
about can they reset their culture to some degree here
now fix some of the ills that they're going to
that they have seemingly internally even between governorship and general manager,

(10:47):
and then some of the disconnect that seems to be
there with the players and the coaches. This is where
this all needs to start. And you know, we're seeing
some hyperbole in my opinion about O Kyrie will be
back earlier than a lot of people would would think
he'd be back coming from this injury, Like he could
be back as soon as January and may or may
not be true, but I think that's more or less
to to kind of put some some some some sugar

(11:09):
onto what is a very very crappy situation here right now.
You know in Dallas has to go into offseason where
they don't have a lot of flexibility. Yes, still be
rumored to try to make some other moves, you know,
and other superstars potentially, but you had a superstar that
you did intially need to move on from, and it
just kind of all circles back to what they did
days before the NBA trade trade deadline and trading Luca Donkers.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
Sew, I'm gonna use this as my as my scalpel.
I'm gonna use this as my scalpel. It's really a
box scutter, but I'm gonna use this as my scalpel
because I want to I want to carve into the
heart of of what you just said a moment ago
regarding Nico Harrison's philosophy about defense and defense winning championships.
If defense is supposed to win championships, right, if that's

(11:54):
what we truly believe, then how are we sitting there
still saying that Jason Kidd is gonna still be the
head coach for the Dallas Now. I'm not saying that
Jason Kidd is not a legitimate good head coach, but
I think it's safe to say that Jason Kidd's repertoire
has always been his ability to build a solid foundation

(12:16):
of the guards down to the front court right like
he has had much more emphasis on getting players to
buy into how he played the game of basketball. And remember,
it took a long time before he actually became as
defensively savvy. He was never great, but he was solid, right.

(12:37):
I think the moves that were being made from the
course of last year to get the Mavericks to the
championship were defensive pieces. But at the end of the day,
it's always was a crap shoot because this still was
a much more offensive minded team and Jason Kidd had
always tapped into making sure that they were still as

(12:57):
good offensively to be able to compete, and the defense
kind of followed suit. Some of these guys had opportunities
to shine. They're good players, but even Jason Kidd knew
if PJ. Washington wasn't on it, right, if who else did?
Who else did they have? Last year? They had Hardy,

(13:18):
They had a couple of guys on there that were,
you know, streaky kind of players. But Jason Kidd put
him in the best position possible. And it is great
when you have Kyrie Irving and Luka Dankic, great offensive
players but marginally good defensive players. If the idea, the
concept is that defense wins championships, then that mentality needed

(13:38):
to have been adopted even in the off season in
their ability to just overall be a better defensive team.
Nico Harrison does what he goes and he signs Klay Thompson, who,
by all accounts, Lay Thompson is a good player, but
far from the defensive player that he kind of made
his calling when he was with the Golden State Warriors.
So even when you say defense wins championships, right, and

(14:01):
I understand you going you get Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis
is not going to cover up the scars that was
exhibited about the Dallas Mavericks and their ability to play
good defense even before the trade was made. Right, So
it's just interesting to me that it's it's not gonna
be me saying, oh, Jason Kidd shouldn't be coaching the team.

(14:22):
What I'm saying is is that even if you're going
to sell me on the idea the defense wins championships,
it's more than just the players. It's also about the
philosophy of what the coach is gonna ask of his
players to do, especially when most of those players that
you have left on your roster were not good, solid
players to begin with. You know what I'm saying, Like

(14:44):
that in that elk, You know what I'm saying, you
can't just mask it up by getting a superstar player
to start doing those things that was never a part
of the system to begin with. So I'm gonna find
it interesting to see whether or not there's gonna be
a clash in the philosophy, because as good as Jason
Kidd can be, he's only going to be as good
as the roster that is being presented to him. And
if there is a contradiction in how Nico Harrison makes

(15:06):
the kind of moves and gets the kind of players
he is, you're actually truncating the timeline for Jason Kidd's success.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
I mean, Dallas understands that they were a reasonably good
defensive team a lot of part of last season, even
with Luca on the roster. So that's where it's it's
perplexing I think for that. But again, this trade has
been dissected and analyst a thousand times over. For me,
where this season ends for Dallas is where everybody else
is going to say they failed, and by all accounts
they did. Nico Harrison is going to say, well, this

(15:36):
is it I get, I should get an incomplete because
he didn't get to see his vision with Kyrie and
Anthony Davis on the floor and seeing what that would
do to you know, an increased role for Naji Marshall
and then PJ. Washington and Derek Laveley because again Luca
was so well dominant. So what happens in an offense
that is a little bit more democratic, if you will,
you know, sharing the ball and relying on some of
those more defensive minded guys. So that's where I mean,

(15:59):
that's what his that's what his line probably should have been.
It's like, hey, I understand where y'all are saying, Hey,
I failed, I messed up. I traded a da da
da da. But because he didn't want to be be
in front of the camera anyway, he was going out
here and just trying to get off as fast as
he could with this kind of same rhetoric. Really it
is an incomplete but I know, for all all intents
and purposes, you know, the Dallas Marvericks team is is

(16:20):
is far off from where they thought they were going
to be last season at this time. Like I mean,
it's crazy.

Speaker 1 (16:25):
They were.

Speaker 2 (16:25):
They were on the run on run to the finals,
and now they're out, you know, in the playing tournament
with the roster that is very very much in balance,
I think, as you're alluding to, but Anthony Davis and
Kyrie Irving both's off injured stars that they're going to
have to rely upon unless they do something really drastic
over the course of the summer. And I don't know
a move that that's out there for them, especially with
how cap strap they really are without upsetting the space

(16:49):
up maybe trading Kyrie or flipping Anthony Davis again, which
would be another disaster. So Dallas, it's gonna be a
it's gonna be a tough and very long summer for
Nico Harrison.

Speaker 1 (16:57):
It's going to be a tough in the long summer.
And I I appreciate that you're gonna give or are
you giving him an incomplete?

Speaker 2 (17:04):
No, it's a failure. It's from his standpoint, he'd say, hey,
I need an incomplete because I haven't seen my vision
come to on the court.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
Right. So I think we vehemently will say that it's
a failure. The one part that I want to add
on to the reason why I think he failed is
he basically for the sake of saying that he wanted
to bring in Anthony Davis, which I'm not going to
scoff at, that he still wound up giving a lot
of capital to other teams that are obviously utilizing what

(17:33):
Jason Kidds spent the time and the effort. You know,
Max Christy, look at how he's being utilized. I'm just
it's interesting to me that for what Nico's even belief
in philosophy, in giving up Luka Doncic. In the end,
you know that having depth is what's going to get
you through. And it was obviously evident, or else we

(17:54):
wouldn't have had those weeks of us even wondering if
the Dallas Mavericks would have to forfeit games in order
for them to compete for the remainder of the regular season. Right, So,
even if it was a foregone conclusion they weren't even
gonna make the playoffs, right, shout outs to the Phoenix
Suns for making that come to fruition. But even if
that weren't to be the case as an organization, it

(18:15):
isn't cooming upon you said, you should not even be
in that situation under those circumstances. And if it means
you know, hey, I'm not gonna give up these kind
of guys that were part of what we did last year.
In order for us to be where we are, it
better be really really good. It rather have to be
really really solid, Like there would have to be no
reason for us to question if Anthony Davis is prone

(18:35):
to injury, even if you had the freak accident to
to Kyrie Irving, and I'm just saying that he basically
depleted the depth of the roster that Jason Kidd had
to work with. Even if you were gonna tell me
that that was the overall idem plan to get such
a great player, it's at the expense of to your point,
now Shaw, going into the off season, now you got

(18:57):
to start from scratch again, right, You got to start
from zero to replenish the depth that you ultimately had
at your disposal in the throes of wanting to even
make this deal, And that, to me is where I
think the biggest failure becomes, because I feel like even
in the immediacy of that particular trade and what you're
doing moving forward, it's still short sighted. Even everything that

(19:19):
Nico Harrison and or in the Maps organization have done
from not the trade deadline, I want to say, once
they started going through their struggles when they clearly weren't
going to be one of the top two teams in
the Western Conference, every move that they have made has
been a short sighted move that has not lent itself
to getting any kind of long term vision being put
in place, even at the expense of having two great

(19:41):
players that you've got in Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irvin.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
We'll see what ends up happening with with their own
draft capital here and if they decide to maybe move
on from that in any way to kind of bolster
the rest of this roster. There's a lot of conversations
out there, a lot about who and what they might
be interested in and how they might want to try
to cobble some contracts together. But I think, if you know,

(20:06):
I think Nico has to be very careful about sending
another mixed message because if you basically swap your defensive pieces,
if you will, for additional offense, you're just going to
get criticized. And he put himself into this corner in
this situation where I don't think he can make a
right move, you know, save getting you know, Yiannis or
something like that too for a beck of chips, and
we know that's not going to happen. So, you know,

(20:28):
I I've grown concern for the culture of the mass organization,
but also Nico Harris and the human being. While this
is a tragic, tragic professional mistake, some of the things
that have come about, the attacks on him, I think personally,
you know, and the death threats and the whole nine, like, oh,
way too far. It's way too far for any man

(20:49):
or any person to have to deal with on the
sake of a job. But the Stallas Madveris organization is
a proud one that it seems to be in a
little bit of disarray right now, all stemmed by what
they did, you know in February.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
Too much brunch with Jerry Jones. That's probably what it is, man,
They brunching way too much with Jerry Jones. Your tune
to the baseline Calie Warrenshaw discussing the hot button topics
of the NBA coming up. We got another team that
we're ready to put on the slab. Man, We're gonna
talk about the Sacramento Kings. What a disappointing way to
go out. And now couple that with some immediate moves

(21:25):
that were being made. Are they solid moves? Can't wait
to get where we come from when we talk about it,
don't miss it here on the baseline we are back
CALLI warn't y'all. Baseline NBA podcasts and our coveted autopsy report.

(21:48):
Time to put the Sacramento Kings on the slab. What
more can be said, y'all? What a disappointing way to
go out. You had home court advantage, in the play
in situation, and by all account, I'm sure that there
was a glimmer of positivity in that given what they
did in firing their head coach Mike Brown, bringing in

(22:09):
Doug Christy, they kind of figured out a way to
turn things around despite moving on from there. Arguably, you know,
one of their star players right supposed to be cornerstone
player in Darren Fox. They figured out a way to
get into the playing situation and everything was lined up
where you had a hobbled Dallas Mavericks team. You really

(22:32):
didn't even know what kind of roster Jason Kidd was
gonna be able to cobble together. You didn't know what
the you know, what the percentage of ready to play
or readiness to play would be. For Anthony Davis, he
comes out and he just basically owns the Sacramento Kings.
And so the exited, the exited, the exit interview sor

(22:54):
to speak for the Sacramento Kings, is what was that
all about? Right? Like, it's kind of like, why why
do you even bother showing up? You know, That's what
the sediment feels like. And I feel bad because again,
it just feels like the Kings can't get out of
their own way.

Speaker 2 (23:12):
Sacramento is a it's a rough, rough organization from the
top all the way down, and we are so far
gone from the vibes of you know, two three seasons ago,
you know, Mike Brown bringing them to their first playoff
run and Coach of the Year and all of that
to this and they're basically the Sacramento Bulls. You know,

(23:32):
you have Levigne and and Derosen on this and you know,
odd pairing that wasn't working in Chicago, so let's not
see if that can work here in Sacramento. They fire
or sorry, I guess they mutually part ways, you know,
with McNair as the general manager and now bringing you know,
Scott Perry. This team does seem to lack a lot

(23:53):
of direction. They have nine guys under contract going in
for next season, roughly about one hundred and sixty million
already committed in that Obviously the bulk about is Sabonis,
Levigne and Derosen, but not a whole lot of excitement
around that. You know, a guy who I know you
love close to your heart, Keigan Murray continues to just

(24:14):
kind of just be on the roster. I guess you
can say flashes and sparks here and there, but nothing
that really gets you super excited. And then the rest
of the team, I mean, save maybe a key on Ellis,
you know, because of what he can do defensively, there's
really not a whole lot that you're super excited about.
And this is a hard, hard splace to be because

(24:34):
then you basically are like the Chicago Bulls in the
Eastern Conference. You're consistently going to be in this nine
ten range, good enough to like, hey, get you know,
thirty plus wins, but not good enough to really be
a threat in anything, and then therefore you're not rebuilding.
I'm really to see what happens in summer with Sabonis
and you know, does he go go the route of
Fox or rumored what Fox said? Does he all say hey, no,
what hey, that's my time? You know, this is this

(24:56):
is this has been fun or maybe not so fun,
but you know, is there another place that I can
ultimately go? Uh, Sacramento is in disarray, but we'll see
what Scott Perry comes in and is able to do.
It's gonna have to have a conversation with the players, obviously,
have a conversation, you know, with del Christy as well,
and then ultimately figure out a direction. I'm not sure
what their draft capital is going into the summer as
well too, so that's something. But I know these are

(25:17):
pieces that even if you were trying to, you know,
maybe Sibonis get you something back. But I think they
do need to kind of tear things down here because
this is this is a little bit redderless in my opinion.

Speaker 1 (25:27):
I want to do something interesting, Sean. I want to.
I want to do a little experimentation. You know, body
ain't going nowhere. It's pretty, it's pretty, it's pretty dormant, right,
all right, it's pretty stiff there, so he ain't gonna move.
I want to. I want to assess your confidence on
some players. And when I say confidence, I mean do

(25:50):
you see them being the players that I guess we
we or maybe these gms might imagine themselves being. In
other words, how how close to them are they? Five
is saying they're really close to who they truly are.

(26:11):
One saying nah, I just don't see it. And I'm
speaking specifically to the Sacramento Kings right for the team
in general. So I'm gonna start with Demonta Sabonis, right,
He's a guy that plays the four, but primarily was
playing five, right, given the way that the roster was structured.

(26:34):
He's a double double guy, right, but yet he struggles
in the playoffs. Is this is you think that is
who he is? He's a really good, you know, forward,
but the limitations to his game do not make him
the kind of player that you try to do when
you've got a Jokic or that you've got a Giannis.

(26:55):
You see what I'm saying. So how close to the
five is he on that? Or how close to the
one is he on that? You get where I'm coming from. That,
That's what I want to I want to assess that
through their primary players, the four players that we're just
talking about, which is Si Bonus, Levigne, DeRozan, and Murray.

Speaker 2 (27:15):
You know, you know, I might be missing exercise a
little bit some but he let me let me say.
Let me say from this Vein Sibonis is a all
star level player who does belong on an NBA roster,
who can contribute to winning. I think when you're trying
to rely on him in the way that Sacramento is
in some sublance of an offensive hub, that's where he's

(27:37):
going to be miscast. So is the ro I mean,
is Sibonis at the peak of his powers? Absolutely, There's
not a whole lot more for him to go. And
I don't think he's going to regress, you know, at
this rapid rate as well too. I think he's got
another you know, three years of what he's say, twenty
eight years old, you know, another three years, four years
of this or close to this level type of production
for Sacramento. But in the role that they're asking him

(27:59):
to be in terms of this hub, it's you know,
I wouldn't have the confidence. So if it's a confidence meter,
I'm like, all right, at this point, I kind of
see what it is. You know, it's it's a tube.
But basically that's based on the rest of the roster
around me, because to me it I can't answer the
question without saying, well, they made the mistake of bringing
Levin and Derosan back together again and making that the
focal point if you will, of their scoring attack, if

(28:22):
you will, where Sabonis is the initiator, if you will,
of a lot of that offense. And again, when I
say in the hub, it's like, all right, he's the
one doing the dribble handoffs, you know, the screens and
you know, finding kuys and cutters and kind of spraying
things out almost a la a la joker. But it's
not the right role based on the roster makeup, especially

(28:43):
with the Levigne and de Rose and pairing, if that
makes sense.

Speaker 1 (28:46):
All right, So all right, let's go ahead and transition
to Zach Levine. You give up assets, right? You brought
this guy over along with his money. Right, and based
on what you're saying, zachly is not a good fit
with DeVonta Sabonis. So where are we with Zach Levine? Right?

(29:06):
He's an I guess you could say, an all Star win,
healthy caliber kind of player, right, can obviously be a
primary score. Right? Where is your confidence with him as
it relates to can he still give that for you?
Should that be the mindset of the Sacramento Kings and

(29:26):
saying that we want him to be that number one guy? Right?
Or where? Or do you see him on the other
side of that scale, the one side of the scale,
Like listen, this is a it was an admiration what
we're seeing because he's still he's healthy. I have no
confidence that I'm expecting to see this throughout the course
of all of next year.

Speaker 2 (29:45):
It's not about production. I think we you know, we don't.
I want to continue to utilize the terms empty calories
or whatever. I think Levin is a guy who can
get his numbers. Levin is a guy who can actually
hit clutch shots and obviously keep you in the game.
What he provides offensively is valuable, especially the first part
of this year. He was very efficient in Chicago, shooting
to three, you know, over twenty a game, everything, the

(30:05):
free throw shooting. He can be a valuable guy. But
if he's your lead guy, the guy who you need
to score, you need to lift others up. When it
comes to like the intangibles of being like a captain
on a team and even a veteran at this stage
of his career, that's where he's going to miss the mark. Like,
while I think he's he's transitioned in that he had

(30:26):
an Olympic run, I think if I remember correctly or
whatever the cases be, and it was like, all right,
well he's going to try to like play a little
bit differently. That hasn't really carried over, you know, since
since that time, and now he's just like he's kind
of like, hey, I'm gonna I'm gonna get mine because
he feels like, well, I'm the best offensive guy you
know in terms of shooting the basketball on this team,

(30:46):
and I know most rosters he has been, but same
thing miscast. If he's your number two, fine, you know, fine,
But the problem here that they don't have a number
one guy. And I don't know that they have a
number one guy in terms of the locker room and
the leadership aspectives will too. Malik Among's another guy who
who I think tries to bring some of that you know,
that swag into the space, but it's just not it's

(31:08):
just not working, especially in the mid in the middle
of the season where you had so much shermoil when
when you fired Mike Brown then he had the deer
and Fox situation. To me, maybe it's better. Maybe the
better question is well, have we seen enough? Do we
have enough runway? And Christy might be like, hey, I
just I've been here, but it's not my system. I
didn't get to really put it into play. Then we
traded guys in the middle of the part of the season.

(31:28):
So give me a full summer, give me a training
camp to truly get my system into place with this roster,
and maybe will be different. I don't think they will,
but that seems to be the common theme when situations.

Speaker 1 (31:41):
Like this happened for middling franchises. All right, let's go
to Keegan Murray. Right, listen, legitimate question here. Keegan Murray
to me, uh, he's a he could be a quiet killer,
but I think this season he's He's just been complete
mummified right, like there's nothing. He was just so non existent.

(32:06):
He had a couple of flashes the beginning of the
season that made it look like, hey, this guy really
Maybe Mike Brown sees that this is his opportunity for
him to step up, step up and step out. Who knows,
maybe that would have changed the dynamic about the appetite
of moving to get a guy like Zach Levine. But
now that you've got Zach Levine, I fail to see
where having Keegan Murray, there's no way that the two

(32:27):
of them can be on the same on it can
be on the floor together. I was watching games, I
was just like, he is just so non existent. He's
just camped out by the three point line. He's not
even exhibiting a level of physicality to show marginal success
to rebound the basketball. And listen, we've spoken about this.
Sacramento Kings is offensive opponents, they could be. They're not

(32:48):
a good rebounding basketball team without Sabonis, right, So my
whole thing is what do you do with a guy
like Keegan Murray because he essentially is a longer version
of Zach Levine. He can obviously be healthier, but there's
no aggressiveness in him, and it might take a couple
of years before you even get to that point. And
I don't know where there's that priority in doing so

(33:09):
under Doug Christie's system.

Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yeah, I mean know if I agree, I think in
terms of, you know, the duplicitness of Levine, they score
in very very different ways. You know, while Murray ken
spray out to three and shoot, you know primarily from there.
You know, the size alone makes him and he's not
nearly as bouncy as Zach is. But I think just
in terms of is it a fit, I think the
answer to that is a resounding no. What happens again,

(33:33):
He's twenty four years old, so you're like, all right, well,
we don't necessarily want to give up on him, but
you know, is he really the guy, and he's the piece,
and that seems to be the recurring theme for Sacramento,
at least for me. So if you were trying to
package Keegan, name your player, right, would somebody say, you
know what, maybe I can turn Keegan Murray into something.
I don't know that it's been exactly what he's wanted

(33:54):
it to be. I don't know that it's been what
Sacramento has wanted it to be, but I think it's hard.
You know, when he was such a high draft picked,
you're like, all right, well, we don't want to give up.
And I think, you know, the best thing for them
maybe would be not just like giving up, but by
getting some semblance of equity for him, you know, whether
that is in future draft capital or paying him alongside
a larger trade that puts the organization in kind of

(34:16):
What I think is that they want to be in
a win now mode. Now, win now for them is
not title contention, but it might be all right, can
we get back into hey we're a four or five seed,
and hey, we'll see what happens. But right now, this
is a proverbial playing team season after season after season
with no real pathway to a future that's different.

Speaker 1 (34:35):
Than that, all right. And finally, Sean, I want to
talk about DeMar de Rosen okad No.

Speaker 2 (34:42):
I mean I just say with the Rosen like we
say this a lot on the show, that he is
who we think he is at this stage. It's very
much that he can still contribute. You know, he doesn't
have an absorbient contract. He's in like like twenty twenty
five million or whatever the case to be for the
next three He's thirty five. So yeah, he's he's a
aging and he's another guy too. I think hey could

(35:04):
be ripe for a situation. You know, maybe they move
on from me if they were to keep Levine. I
don't see that they get get rid of all three
of those guys and totally to reset the table. But
I think one, maybe two of those guys ultimately it
makes some sense to move on from and DeRozan being
a consummate pro, being a guy who can maybe even
go and fill a high I mean, I mean a
super high level overqualify six men row somewhere for a

(35:26):
championship contender. Maybe there's there's an opportunity to be there
for him as well too, But I think he was
doing fine, you know, like okay with with Darren Fox
in tow there was obviously some bumps in the road there.
His numbers were a little bit down for a good
part of the season. Uh and then you know Fox left,
he was kind of just him and Sibonis for a
little while. Bring Levine in and it's like all right, well,

(35:47):
you know, and now he's back to the old ways
in Chicago. And that's what I'm saying, the pairing. The
pairing doesn't work. And that's what made that that that
trade so much more peculiar because you saw what it
was in Chicago. I don't know why they thought Sabonis
was going to be the magic bullet to kind of
fixed with that chemistry lacked in Chicago and figure that
that would be something that that the Sipherment the Kings
would be able to utilize.

Speaker 1 (36:06):
I think the biggest question that's going to really come
out of this for me in the offseason is who
is the alpha in this starting rotation, right, who ultimately
should should they be running through sort of speak. I'm
not saying he's got to be the person taking the
most shots. I'm not saying that he's but you can

(36:29):
clearly tell and even in that play in game, you
can just clearly tell that there's still no certainty about
who they're going through, and they can no longer afford
to hedge their bets on the players that they've got
this much money invested in to act and and and
comport themselves in that kind of manner. They have to

(36:51):
lean in on what will make them uniquely stand out
differently against the other competitors in that comference. And I
think they're gonna have to. They're gonna have to own it.
If if the if the combination of Christy and some
bonus yields something, then you start from there and you
work your way down. If you believe that it's the

(37:12):
combination of Christy and Levine, you start from there and
you work your way down, and everyone is gonna have
to fall in line with it. So it'll be it'll
be very interesting to see, you know, because before when
we were talking about this, y'all, you know we'll use
even the a moment ago. Nico Harrison has to know
what he has with Irving and Davis, and you start

(37:34):
from there in what you're building, and if what you're
putting around them is not becoming successful for what the
Mavericks are. You know that that's on Nico Harrison. He's
not putting the right players around right, no matter what happens.
And we can quickly talk about the situation now with
the Kings offering Scott Perry to be the general manager
and head of basketball operations out there. Listen, Scott Perry

(37:56):
has shown some track record of success, right, and this
might actually be a good thing, But I think a
lot of it has to be of what is the
mindset that Scott Perry is going to have based off
of what he's seeing and hearing from Doug Christie. If
they're going to continue with Doug Christy, now that we've
got some other head coaches available out there, they may

(38:18):
lean to someone that has a more direct philosophy of
how they coach up their stars and who they think,
you know, is going to have a better impact on
on their star players. You know, it's going to be
interesting to see what Scott Perry looks to do based
off of the decision making that they will make on
their head coaching role in the offseason.

Speaker 2 (38:38):
I mean to close the loop. I mean that's where
when you do an O top two poor like how
we do them, there always comes there's kind of like
these common commonalities and themes within them. And does change
come from like the top top, you know, the middle,
or kind of you know, the lower middle, if you will,
And by that I mean it's like the general management,
the coaching, and then the players, right And in some

(39:00):
ways it's usually kind of the lower middle, if you will,
because the players are the first ones, like, well, that's
the product, that's who needs to go out there and execute.
But sometimes if you feel like, hey, you have the
right mix of players, well then is it a coaching change?
In this situation, it was like, well, we've already changed
a coach, all right, Well now let's change the general manager.
And will the janitor manager ultimately decided to change the players.
And that's where Sacramento is. You have two of three positions,

(39:23):
you know what I mean, two of the top three,
if you will, situations already mixed and mixed and match
over the course of just the last year alone. And
you can say all three because they they obviously they
got off a Fox and brought in Levine as well too,
so they're just they're just trying things right now. And
I think now with Scott Perry being the latest try
of a fix and alixure. We'll see what Scott Perry

(39:44):
is able to do over the course of the summer
and how active they'll be coming up into the NBA
Draft and ultimately free agency this summer.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
All right, you're tuned to the baseline. Cali warren Shaw
discussing the hot button topics of the NBA coming up.
Got one more team to put on a slab. H's
a you know, this is trust relegious, man, this is
a Trestlecis episode. We always like to do a three
a threesome here on this on this episode, man, you know,
put put three on three on the slab. Man, put
three on the slab. We'll be talking about the New

(40:11):
Orleans Pelicans. Don't go anywhere. We're back, Cali Warnshaw, based
on NBA podcast. Time for us to discuss the New
Orleans Pelicans on our coveted autopsy report. Shaw And so,

(40:33):
since we were just talking about you know, upper management
moves being made, obviously the big conversation that also was dropped,
which kind of lent itself for us to have or
at least, you know, throw the Pelicans into the mix.
Here is the fact that the Pelicans have parted ways
with David Griffin is the is the executive. So with

(40:56):
that being said, let's not sugarcoat nothing. Man. The New
Orleans Pelicans had a disastrous season. There's just no getting
around it. Feel bad for Willy Green. I don't think
he and his wild as you know, imagination, given what
he was able to do for the Pelicans last year,
I don't think in as wild as views you imagine

(41:18):
that he would have to suffer and go through what
you know, just just wasn't a great season all together.
And I don't know where you go with this, sy'all,
like I don't know what you do about this particular
scenario situation. I will say this, though, Shaw, you and
I have both said that we were never completely confident

(41:41):
about the combinations of what they had as far as
rosters go, which may speak a lot more about why
it was necessary for Willy Green to still be the
head coach. And I think now there's that realization has
truly has to set in with regards to what the
Pelicans are going to need to do to hit that

(42:02):
reset button, but more importantly, really start being realistic about
what their vision is going to be The next three
four years because this right now is not sustainable with
what they've been doing and how they're going about doing it.

Speaker 2 (42:18):
Willie Green has had a treacherous time, I think as
a head coach, you know, trying to manage all the
injuries that this team has had in the last two
three seasons and the entirety of Zion Williamson's tenure. You know,
with this organization, it continues. And I say this a
lot on our show as World Too, you can be
very easily disillusioned by stretches of games. You know, there's

(42:41):
been stretches and peaks for the Nolan's publicans who are like,
oh wow, right, five seven games where they look like
world beaters and then an injury happens. And I think
that about the stage here now where they no no
longer need to believe in those stretches of games because
injuries are going to happen like that is their reality,
and they need to get off of these often injured guys.

(43:02):
He did so already with Brandan Ingram. You know, the deadline.
Whether you feel like they got enough for him or
that's a that's a debatable question by sending him into Toronto.
But the fit and then even in terms of like
the attitude that he was probably going to come back with,
you know, hey, they needed to they needed to make
a move. The bones of this team right now to me,
and these are not I want to say they're building blocks,
but I think these are pieces that can play no

(43:24):
matter who else is on the roster. And and to me,
you know, that's that's that's what Trey Murphy, I think
number one and Herb Jones. I think those two wing
guys doesn't really matter who else is around them per se.
And I say that with a little bit of a
grant of salt, but I think they can fit into
that You don't need to, Like Murphy got an opportunity
to show and do a lot more, I think offensively
because of some injury. So that's a learning thing that

(43:45):
you as the Pelicans have kind of in their back pocket.
But he's not a number one guy, right But I
think you keep those two pieces for sure, and then
figure out everything else. Do you need the John say
Murray on this team who you just got Remember he
got injured the beginning part of the year and then
got injured, you know, ultimately have a season ending injury.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
The CJ.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
McCollum conversation has been brought up, you know, at nauseum,
and then the biggest domino that's going to drop here
is with the dismissal of David Griffin, is the rumors
that Joe Jumar is being hired, is being brought in
to shop Zion whips, and whether you or not you
believe that to be true or not, it is the
biggest questions of Pelicans ultimately have to have to answer
this season. Are they going to give this another year

(44:22):
with with Zion or has it the ship has run
its course and it's time to try to move on
and reset this organization. I don't have that answer, but
I'd be interested in to think, you know, your your
your thoughts on that, you know, show Joe Dee move
on from Zion, and you know, are there good, good
opportunities for Zion elsewhere looking near and.

Speaker 1 (44:43):
Far hum, I think I see that boat taken off
over there by the by Chelsea's peer. Bro. Yeah. You know, look, man,
We've had these conversations so many times and people probably
have said, oh, Cale, they think you just hating on

(45:03):
on on Zion. It's like I'm not, I'm not hating
on Zion. I think Zion is a is a great player.
He is a great player when he's healthy and more importantly,
when his when his mind is right about his approach
to the game. You know, I speak about this in

(45:25):
the sense that, like we all in our every day
we don't get to we don't have the luxury of
having the person that we always want to work with.
It's gonna help get us to where we need to
be right. We're sometimes gonna work with people, We're gonna
be next to people who we may not love, like
we will never hang out, but I know that when
we get things done, things come out good. But it's

(45:48):
also recognizing where your role is right. And what was
one of the things I remember that we were chilling
with one of our very you know, good friends, our
boy noon Zeo, who was a a fever like he
was pro Zion Williamson. And what was the first thing
that I think we had our conversation. It is going
all the way back to you know, during your wedding weekend.

(46:11):
The first thing that I said is Zion Williamson to
me is like a one B two, a kind of
player that kind of those kind of tools that he
has could certainly make him an alpha. But how he
goes about his business and how he handles these things
and how he goes about doing those things, to me,

(46:32):
exhibits somebody. He needs someone next to him that is
going to put him in the best position possible. So
those numbers actually mean something, so that they actually have
weight to what's going on. The Pelicans have been so
hardened on making him the guy, not recognizing that there

(46:53):
were moments of and I want people to understand when
I say lack of immaturity, it is not as something
to diss someone. It is simply what it is. Because
the kid was young, he did not exhibit captain leadership
like kind of qualities for what that talent demands, and

(47:13):
he didn't know how to handle it. And you've seen it.
It was exhibited on and off the court because there's
an availability to be on the court when they needed him,
and things that were going on off the court that
became more of a distraction to what this Pelicans team's
expectations were sew. Wasn't it a few years ago that
we were talking about how the New Orleans Pelicans ultimately

(47:34):
would have been the best team coming out of the
Southwest Division. What has happened in those five to six
years that Zion Williamson has been quote unquote the pillar
of the New Orleans Pelicans, the backbone of the New
Orleans Pelicans. Where have the Pelicans been in the conversation
of the division? Forget the conference, just the division in
and of itself. The only reason why we even speak
about the New Orleans Pelicans having relevancy is because when

(47:57):
they went and they got Willie Green, we actually saw
how good of a coach Willie Green could potentially be.
And when you give him players that he can coach,
he can develop, he can implement, put out there extract
you know, you can see that they play hard, they hustle,
they compete. But then when he has to lean on

(48:17):
these superstar players who don't clearly exhibit or show the
maturation of understanding or the gravitas of what's necessary to
compete in that conference, when you're in the likes of
Jah Morant, the likes of a Luka Dankic and a
Kyrie Irving, right, this is pre Anthony Davis coming over.

(48:39):
When you're in the throes of that division, you can
ill afford to just kind of go through the motions
and you'll eventually, you know, it'll just come to you
because you're just so naturally gifted of putting the ball
through the hoop. Right, there was just more that was commanded.
Then they went and they made that move to get
you know, CJ. McCullum right, which again CJ. McCollum solid play.

(49:00):
Definitely a guy that could be a good face, but
nowhere in any imagination that I say he should be
the leader to help guide you know, a Zion Williamson,
because even we questioned that when he was playing next
to Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers. Right. So all
of these things saw really come to and it'll be

(49:21):
very interesting to see how Joe Dumars cultivates because Joe
Dumars had his stint where he elevated the Detroit Pistons,
put them in that position they were winning championships, and
then everything just kind of dropped off and he's been
very silent. He's been more on the back end of things,
having an influence on the back end of things. Now
I think he comes back to the forefront to an

(49:43):
organization that is completely in disarray, and I think it
really comes down to does he lean in knowing that
he has a really good coach in Willie Green, and
he's gonna get Willy Green to kind of players that
allow him to thrive as a head coach, or are
you just gonna continue to keep doing with the Pelicans?
Keep doing is hoping and praying for that unicorn to land,

(50:04):
and then you find a way to like just be
blinded by what all of that means, and he does
not show and exhibit the level of maturity to be
the backbone for a struggling franchise. It's like people talk
about how the Pelicans are cursed. These are those moments
when they lean so far into what just their one
player that they do nothing to ensure that, even if

(50:24):
that player is not the perfect player, the player that
they envisioned, that they have a roster that's going to
go out there and be competitive for years to come
or years to move forward with.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
I mean, I think they would argue the fact that, hey,
they did get Trey Murphrey and Herb Jones and those guys,
but they also got hurt, right to mean, this is
the team's true Achilles Hill. Nobody can stay healthy, no
matter how good or bad they are. Everybody on the
roster goes through long stretches of the game.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
Can I rebund on something? Can I rebund on something
real quick? Though? Shaw, I'm sorry, I agree with you,
But where I disagree with you is at how long
does it take before we actually start speaking about the
Trey Murphys? How long does it take before we actually
speak about the herb Joneses, because they still keep leaning
on the brandon Ingrams and the Zion. Williamson's right, Like,

(51:14):
I don't have a problem if a player gets injured
and you know, goes through the motions. What have a
problem with is they're guys who are completely eating minutes
and opportunities for guys who have shown that they are
more reliable and can work more within the system that
Willie Green has for those guys. And he spends time
with those guys, but it's hard to ask of them,

(51:35):
you know, Yeah, just be patient to take a back seat.
They see what's going on, what the happenings are with
some of these guys in some of these players, and
I think that in and of itself is what's causing
a lot of the conflict that is taking place, you know,
And I guess.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
I mean, I think you know, Jose Alvarado was hurt,
Jordan Hawkins was hurt. So it doesn't even matter if
it's a star player or a role player or and
then the bench guy. They all they all went down
at certain points this year for extended periods. And that's
again that's not to excuse you know, their their reliance
or maybe even over reliance on Bi and Zion Williamson
I think at times, but it's hard to just feel

(52:12):
the roster. I mean Jhontay Murray got hurt, alerted the
first game of the regular season, you know, came back
and then ultimately play whatever X amount of games and
got hurt for the rest of the season. Like it's
there they when you talk about curses. While we're not
necessarily superstitious here, something needs to change in terms of
the ore around this team, and that has to think
at this point, start with the players on the roster.
So b I was the first Domino to drop, Zion

(52:35):
is probably the second one. But they also have a
very good chance that are very high draft pick. That
is the only salvaging point I think out of this
very very dreadful season where they were like twenty fifth
I think in offense, twenty ninth in defense, and twenty
ninth in net rating. Like they just were getting their
doors blown off, you know, the majority part of the year.
And that's a lot has to do with those injuries.

(52:56):
So if they end up with the top two, top
three pick, maybe that's how they react the franchise, Maybe
that gives Joe Doumares even more confidence. And that's say
you know what, you know, the Zion soup stings are
are open because they'll have the they'll have the draft
lottery coming up here in a couple of weeks, and
that might help them set a direction in terms of
how fast they want to try to put accelerant on
what should be a rebrand and a more or less

(53:19):
a rebuild of this.

Speaker 1 (53:20):
I'm gonna put you on se I'm gonna put you
on the spot. Do you think that they should move
Zion Williamson, forget the draft, forget all of that. Do
you think that they should move on from Zion Williamson?

Speaker 2 (53:30):
Yeah? I do, I do, because you don't. Here's the situation.
You don't want to be the guy that trades a
talent of his of his oak. So what happens, you
trade him, and all of a sudden he stays healthy
for sixty five seventy games like he was last year,
and then you know, maybe that becomes more of the like,
that's the that's the fear, that's what David Griffins, what's
contending with. But Joe Dumars didn't drive Zion Williamson. So

(53:50):
if I'm J's like, I have no affinity to this
guy whatsoever, let me go out here. And and again
you can't you can't make a bad deal per se.
But if you get you know, draft equity back or
maybe another young superstar not young superstar, but a young
talent you can build around alongside some potential draft picks
to reset the proverbial cupboard here, then yeah, I think
you do that. And that's that's the that's the beauty

(54:13):
of coming in now and being hired in this position.

Speaker 1 (54:15):
You don't owe any of these guys anything, right, right,
I understand that, But I also understand this is what
I come to understand as well. To Shaw, there comes
a point where, even let's say that you're trying to
build a culture, whatever that culture is, you've already seen
where that one person is as as an individual what

(54:35):
that could mean to whatever the potential culture is going
to be. And you you can already tell whether or
not that is or isn't going to fit. It's not
about you know it's to some of these organizations, it's
probably more about the money. It's more about what the
history has spoken to because the Pelicans have obviously been
a part of the wrong side of history when it
comes to their superstars and the malcontent that happens when

(54:57):
superstars no longer want to be a part of that organization.
And I'm sure that that has already has all of
these executives trembling in their knees. Anyone who assumes that
role or position. The Griffins of the world don't want
any part of it. They want to they want to
still make it a likable destination. There just comes a point, man,
where you gotta be like, look, great player, I want
to see you thrive, and maybe this will help you

(55:19):
go do that, maybe this will change your perspective. But
I can't worry about that because any and everyone else
that I have on this roster or is going to
be on this roster, I can't see where you're gonna
have a positive influence on what they're doing. It's not
to say that you can't do that for other players
and other organizations. And I think if you're the Pelicans,
you gotta start from there. This is they may not

(55:41):
even realize that, y'all. This is a great window that
if you want to kind of establish that set, that
precedent you want it to be about. I'm not putting
it on the players to help set this tone. I'm
gonna put it on Willie Green. That's why he's there's
something that's good from what he does when it when
he gets the opportunity to do it, make it happen
because at least he's proven a track record that guys

(56:02):
will play for him. And I think that's where you
want to start. But it's you can't tell whether or
not that is or isn't gonna be the case when
you're always capitulating to what your superstars kind of go
through and you're not seeing where it resonates to the
rest of the team on how they're gonna approach the offseason,
how they're gonna approach you get what I'm saying. And
I think that's where it starts. I think, like if

(56:24):
you got two quality players, and Trey Murphy and Herb Jones,
look at what the dynamic of that relationship looks like
with him and Willie Green, and you start from there
because that will have an influence on whoever it is
that you get from your lottery pick. Now, if you're
gonna start with your lottery pick, what do you think
that's gonna say that Guys like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones,
who essentially busted their ass in an otherwise disappointing season,

(56:46):
that's like me being nice, and at the end of
the day, they're still being marginalized for their efforts on
how they can have an influence on the culture.

Speaker 2 (56:55):
I think. But then you still have to be careful
because I those are pieces you want on the roster
and not guys who you want in super future roles.
They need to be star in the roles, but not
stars of the team. And so for me, I think
the best case scenario is that they get a high
draft pick and they trades on. Maybe they flip Zion.
I don't think anybody out there is going to take
the risk of giving giving the Pelicans like a top

(57:17):
five pick for Zion, but you can maybe get in
the lottery because the talent is still very intoxicating. Right,
So if you I don't even know what team whatever
it is with a case you. But let's say the
draft lottery comes out in a couple of weeks, they
end up with the top two, top three pick pick five,
they keep that. Then they all say, hey, no, we're
going to flip Zion and they get another lottery pick.
It gives you two bites of the apple to get
two lotteries top style guys in here to reset that

(57:40):
roster immediately. I think Murphy and Jones are still young
enough in this is where hey, they can be a
part of something special. Then maybe they do get featured
for a little while while these young books are kind
of kind of you know, lurning their way. But to me, CJ.
McCom also probably has to go in that you can
keep de Jonte for stability at the point guard position,
assuming he can be back, you know, at the beginning
part of the next season. But that to me is
the best best case scenario for them. Get a high pick,

(58:02):
flip Zion for a lottery pick this year and start
your timeline immediately.

Speaker 1 (58:08):
I want to ask you this, if you look at
the rock the Houston Rockets roster, right, if let's say
we assume that everybody is completely healthy. Deonta Murray, CJ McCollum,
Dione Williamson, do you think the Houston Rockets still have
a better roster than the New Orleans Pelicans.

Speaker 2 (58:29):
I yes, I mean, in short, yes, I think Udoka
is also a better coach than will The Green at
this stage, even though Willie Green has been doing a
little bit longer in terms of at least in the
in the head coaching seat. Udoka obviously he's been around
the league for a very long time. But I think
the Rockets pieces fit together better and then they're they're
in line and as it's to maybe go after a

(58:50):
Katie this this summer, even seeing how this playoff run
ultimately goes here as we're recording still in the first round.
So but this Houston Rockets team, I would take them
a thousand times out of a thousand, even with healthy
New Orleans Pelicans team, just because I think their pieces,
their pieces fit better and the way that the coach,
especially with the defensive principles in mind there too, they
just have a longer runway.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
I think I think, you know, to end this part
of our our show. I would I'm thinking maybe we
need to start, you know, doing some blood transfusions. Maybe
infuse a little bit of Rockets blood into the Pelicans,
you know what I'm saying. You know, maybe infuse a
little a little championship DNA and someone in in some
of these, uh, some of these teams that we've been
autopsye it man, maybe that might have a little bit

(59:31):
of an influence of what's going on.

Speaker 2 (59:32):
They absolutely could need it, but they may be just
getting new blood in terms of new players period. You know.
But there's something about having that proverbial dog in you
with well that can catapult you into a stratosphere of
the of the NBA that not many can reach, and
New Orleans seems to lack that. And your point earlier
about Zion is not always about the talent, but it
is about the mentality. And while some people around him say, hey,

(59:54):
you know, he's very competitive, you know, just there's just
there's just been too many naysayers and and and negative
comments around him surrounding him. From my liking to think
that he's really like the pillar of a franchise that
you can truly build around.

Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
Yeah, listen again, great talented player, great talented player, and
hopefully like what we're talking about here. The situation that
happened with Luka Doncic being moved to the Los Angeles Lakers,
those things that reflect negatively on you if they take
it as a level of motivation and we see a
transformation in them, we see a mindset from that player.

(01:00:28):
Who's to say that it wasn't necessary that it had
to get to that point for us to be able
to now witness what we're witnessing. And I think we're
still in that same level of waiting mode when it
comes to Zion Williamson. And so that's the reason why
to me, and I think to you as well, saying
it clearly is never going to happen if he continues
to play as the New Orleans Pelicans, and I think
that is where they need to start really thinking about

(01:00:49):
moving on from that, even if if it's at the
expense of the organization prioritizing themselves first. If you're Zion Williamson,
I think you need that as well too. Look at
what happened to Anthony Davis, right, we don't get the
kind of Anthony Davis that we do get if he
doesn't get moved the way that he got moved to
the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Lakers can
thank the Pelicans for that very nice boat. Shout out

(01:01:14):
to our boy Jabari Davis on that one. Anyway, Man,
it has been a great episode man, good stuff all
around as always. Man. You know, I like when we
you know, without the tools for us to carve up
a couple of these teams. I gotta make sure next
time around though, I find a legitimate scalp or this
this box cutter might not cut it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:32):
You out here doing like Dexter style.

Speaker 1 (01:01:34):
Yeah, listen, I'll make it work with whatever. I'll make
it work with whatever.

Speaker 2 (01:01:39):
So anyway, I almost say they're dead. It doesn't matter.

Speaker 1 (01:01:42):
Anyway anyway, great show man as always, Man, we appreciate
you and yours. Let us know your thoughts. Man, where
we are with these three teams that we just finished
the autopsy in and we definitely have some more teams
to put on the slab once again, man for the baseline.
Cali Warrenshaw, we appreciate you guys, thanks for hopping off
board with us week and we'll catch up with you

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Autopsy Report: Mavs | Kings | Pelicans - Is the Worst Yet to Come?

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Autopsy Report: Mavs | Kings | Pelicans - Is the Worst Yet to Come?