Future MVP Watch: Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards & Breakout Candidates

We break down which rising stars could capture their first MVP award in the next 3–5 years. From favorites like Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama, and Anthony Edwards, to strong contenders such as Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Davis, and Jayson Tatum, we evaluate their cases for becoming the face of the league. We also spotlight intriguing dark horses—Tyrese Haliburton, Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero, Evan Mobley, Cooper Flagg, and Zion Williamson—and debate what it would take for each to shock the NBA world. Tune in as we project the future of the MVP race and predict who’s destined to rise to the top.

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Episode Transcript

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
millions y'all.

Speaker 3 (00:08):
That's right, The Baseline NBA podcast is officially live. Just
go to millions dot co and go to our profile
the Baseline NBA Podcast to check out more dope content
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
And if you're looking to book with us, collaborate us,
or get with us in any way, that's the spot
to make sure that that happens, y'all.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Absolutely so be sure to go to millions dot co.
You already know.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Keep it real here the Baseline NBA Podcast. Your boy
Cayl gave Face Lee and my man warren Shaw hit
us up on millions.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Don't miss out.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
This is the Baseline discussing the hot button topics of
the NBA. Welcome everybody, you're tuned to the Baseline Cali
Warrenshaw discussing the hot button topics of the NBA. Man,
I cannot believe it is almost September, which.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Means that the NBA tip off will happen in less
than two months.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
And the irony of it all is when this does happen,
we are going to be seeing the NBA in a
completely new light with a little bit of the old
sprinkled in, right, Like, I'm sure everybody is going to
be excited about the new rollout taking place with the
partnerships that the NBA has going on with Peacock, NBC. Uh,

(01:33):
you know it's it's yeah, it's good Amazon. It's gonna
be crazy, but let's not forget they're doing a little retro,
right like bringing back the NBA on NBC. And if
y'all grew up during our era or you're you know
what I'm saying. You got folks. You know what I'm saying,
Your your dad, your uncles, your you know, your grandpappy
having those conversations about what they don't like.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
When you see the.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
NBA on ABC, Yeah, you know what I'm saying, they're
gonna start bring up the wow why On NBC it
was you know what I'm saying, and they had that
and then if you had the little craziness going on
with our man Kevin Hart, like, you would know what
we're talking about. So we're gonna get a little bit
of that, but you're gonna also get a little bit
of innovation as well too. So it's gonna be all exciting, right,

(02:14):
Like we get geeked up whenever the NBA challenges itself
and pushes itself into a different direction with the way
that it rolls out our consumption of the game of basketball.
And so we're just getting you prepped up for it,
like by having these great conversations rolling out the red
the red carpet. To my right hand man Www Dot Shaw,
sports a Net, Biggahuna P and C. My man, mister

(02:36):
Warren Shaw, what's good mister brother? Uh, my brother, What's
what's going on? Man? Are we are we getting amped
up for the for the coming of the season.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
I see with the shoulder bounce there too, brother, Yeah,
we absolutely are getting amped up. I was looking at
my calendar and said, damn many days at the end
of the month. I got to figure out kind of
like what that situation is going to be, like be
able to cover this year? Should I try to go
to see another team? Actually want to kind of make
you go see the magic instead of the heat this year.
So we'll see, stay tuned for that. But yeah, man,
it's an exciting time. And as you alluded to, I'm

(03:06):
watching all the social media feeds, seeing all of the
new partners, as you alluded to, gearing up for all
these great analysts and reporters that are now joining forces.
Cannot wait to see what mj has to talk about,
you know, one Peacock and the NBA on NBABC, Like
what that is going to bring, you know, trying to
well we have like those virable bites like we have
with Steven A and Kendrick Perkins. Like I don't know,

(03:28):
It's gonna be a really really interesting year that I'm
excited for. But we are still here, man. You know
what this year thirteen fourteen, I'm losing count. Rather, we're
going back into this joint and we have a great
show lined up for folks going into the NBA season
that absolutely you know, you brought up a really interesting
point because it is, you know, obviously been confirmed that
Michael Jordan will be an on air commentator or on

(03:51):
air analysts And this is what this is why I
love sports, right, Like.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
I really think sometimes we get consumed in compartmentalizing at
times pro athletes just being pro athletes, like they don't
know how to or can transition into different roles that
could actually be productive for how we want to consume
the game, see the game, you know, understand the game

(04:18):
and the nuances of it. I genuinely believe at times
there's this kind of force feed mentality that if an
athlete gets into the media space that they have to
operate as like a journalist would or as you know,
as an analyst would, or whatever the case may be.
And I just think like, sometimes we got to let

(04:39):
them grow into what it is that they should become
and just understand that they are now going to be
a part of that ecosystem and it is a necessary
need for them to be in that ecosystem. And I
use this as an example. Right, you look at Derek Jeter, Right,
Derek Jeter is somebody where he always managed to show
you what he was and how he was. It wasn't

(05:01):
always dictated by what he was saying in front of
the cameras. He said what was needed because that was
what was asked of him. But you really didn't get
a better understanding of how he is as a person
when he can invest the time and the effort into
giving you what it is that he wants people to
understand about the game of baseball, and you can see
how he is flourishing as a commentator with the Fox

(05:26):
panel that covers major League Baseball, and I find that
to be refreshing because I don't want Derek Jeter to
eventually become someone that.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
I got to see him on like first sake.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
If he wants to do that, that's fine, but I
know that if he approaches it, he's going to do
it in a way where it is a transition of
him treating it with the same professionalism that he treats
how he prepared himself to be a major League baseball player,
like he prepared himself to be an executive. And I
just want to make sure that what people have is
their expectations of Michael Jordan coming into that space. It's

(06:00):
not about him being was he as the owner, and
it's not just about him as just being the basketball player.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
It's a combination of all those things.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
It's about understanding his experiences and then finding a way
to bring that so that it's not something where it's
just clickbait, but it's really a true, nuanced understanding of
someone who chose to put himself in these specific spaces,
good or bad, so that this way we all can
appreciate why he is as great as he was or

(06:29):
what it is that he can truly bring to the
table rather than just being a name and a face
that's being added onto the list of what the NBA
is going to look like with this new rollout.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
There's a lot to unpack in that statement, and it's
almost kind of another show. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
Absolutely, I'm hoping that we have that conversation before the
season starts to do that. But I you know, I'm
trying to be much more open minded about these things
because I think we get too quick to be like, oh,
if he doesn't come off or he doesn't sound like
what we're so used to sounding like when we're having
these new spaces, we kill the momentum before it even
has time to flourish.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
I would imagine that siding that we're in right now
is going to be looking to tear him down at
every possible turn. That's just what I expect, because he
obviously is from the elder generation, so to speak, in
this time, and he may come off with some takes
that some people are going to say, oh to kind
of get off my lawn type of situation, and there
will be some who will be like, hey, well, he

(07:28):
knows what you're talking about. He's arguably the greatest player ever,
so to speak. I think there's going to be a
lot of discourse in that, and I think NBC knows
exactly what they're doing and bringing him on to kind
of play within that role. I just don't think he
will by nature be looking to try to be click
baity himself, to be very honest and what his opinions are,
but it will become clickbaity by nature of how we

(07:50):
consume NBA and obviously any type of social media content,
especially when it comes from our luminaries like MJ. So
that is something that will be very, very nuanced, but
probably at some point even get on some of our
nerves just because, like listen, he was just giving his opinion.
He wasn't trying to go viral. But that's the space
that we're in right now, and I think NBA and

(08:11):
NBC will figure out a way to make that play
to their advantages with plenty of streams, plenty of views,
and plenty of content. What I'm looking forward to you,
and the last thing I'll say about it is will
we get coverage now that is not just kind of
Lebron and the Lakers, right, Will NBA and NBC actually
get debate the lebron MJ.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Can there be balanced? Like, can there be balanced?

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah? Can we just get away from the kind of
the same narratives over and over and over again, Lakers Warriors,
you know whatever? It is, Like, I just I want
to hear some new stuff. And that's what I hope
Amazon and Peacock and others will be hopefully bringing to
the table here.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
And and to your point, Sean, I'm going to say
this because obviously we have our show that we got
to do. But to your point, what I'm also hoping
for is for all of these on air personalities that
are being brought on, I am hoping that they are
coming in with a mentality that this is an opportunity

(09:07):
for me to help do that. Like if it's one
thing that you get on your own podcast, you get
on your own medium platforms, and you have the freedom
to kind of do this as you choose. But then obviously,
because you weigh into is it whether or not clickworthy?
Is it getting me my streams, is getting my things?
You become very you know, you head your bets sort
of speak. This is an opportunity NBA is going to

(09:29):
make money. But the only way that the NBA continues
to make that money is you got to make sure
that you're bringing people into the fold. And to do that,
you have to understand that it's not just about only
the major markets. Maybe some of those executives and producers
can feel that kind of way because that's their safe space.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
But if you harness if you believe in your own community,
and the NBA is a global community, then you have
to believe that you cannot just be parsed in your
own partiality and perception of that. You got to make
sure that you take that same accountability, that same responsibility,
kind of like what we do. It's great if we
could always only talk about what the major markets are

(10:08):
doing in basketball, but we also understand that if it's
not for like the Detroit Pistons and the Memphis Grizzlies
and the Charlotte Hornets of the world and even to
some degree the Portland Trailblazers, Right, if it's not us
doing that, then who does it and who continues to
bring relevancy when those teams are on its uptick and
when they're on their downtick. And I want to make

(10:28):
sure that those on air personalities keep that in mind
as well too. I get it you're gonna get the
bag because because they're paying you to be of a
certain kind of way, But that doesn't mean that in
the greater scheme of things, your bag comes from the
NBA holistically, and it's thriving to continue to build up
its audiences. And that responsibility comes when you continue to

(10:50):
introduce people and keep people in and know about those
other teams because they still make up that percentage of
what the major markets don't make up.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
I mean, some of the answers matter to be there.
I haven't studied the scheduled release which did come out,
you know, while we were kind of in our hiatus here.
But you know, what is what are all those new outlets?
What shows are sorry? What shows? What games are they?
Are they broadcasting even within eleven PM start? Now? I
think it's on Amazon? Or like what games are are that? Right?
And is it? Is it always the same you know

(11:19):
six to eight teams that we know all the time,
or are your mid market and even kind of smaller
teams getting coverage on all these platforms with the NBA
literally having seven days of coverage on their major network
so to speak. Yes, you'll still have League Pass. But
when it comes to you know, ESPN, NBC and and
Amazon ABC, I guess as part of the whole you

(11:40):
know ESPN package as well too, what teams are being
covered throughout that? And that's the conversation, you know, And
do they shift? Do they pivot? Like you're things like hey,
this is no longer a great story, like we shouldn't
have covered the team anymore, not show them. But will
they go to a team that suddenly now becomes hot? Right?
What we see I'm sure we see a lot of Houston,
but what we see the detroits you know, of the world,
you know, And will the raining champs get they're they're

(12:02):
appropriate due? So all that is to be discovered and
to be determined here as in the weeks and months
ahead of the NBA season. But you know, we digress.
We have a much different show in line. But maybe
we'll circle back to this before the season starts.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
Absolutely, Calie Warrenshaw Baseline NBA podcast as always, be sure
to get them on a man at the Warrenshaw. You
can get it me at game Face, Leader shows, Twit
to Handle at NBA Basline, Available on all the major platforms,
you know where to find us. You can also go
to www dot the baseline NBA dot com. Do not
only check this episode, but also the plethora of episodes

(12:37):
that we've been delivering for your listening pleasures for oh
so long. Also, if you catch us on the YouTube channel,
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when you see the blue and white logo lashing out there,
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(12:59):
content creators. Nineteen Media Group be running these content streets.

Speaker 2 (13:03):
Man.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
So whatever your listening pleasure is, just know that nineteen
Media Group has got what you need, all right, Shaw.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
This week we're gonna highlight a little bit of the
conversation that I think now has a little bit of
room to breathe, right, Like, I think everybody has been
very much baked into the idea of saying Nikola Jokic
best player in the game of basketball, you know, right now,

(13:29):
arguably right three MVPs in four years, Shay Gilgess, Alexander
He's now an MVP, right, But what's gonna happen over
the next three to five years.

Speaker 1 (13:39):
What are we gonna actually be saying. Is it gonna
be the world of SGA and the Jokic? You know
what I'm saying?

Speaker 3 (13:48):
The combination or rivalry so to speak, of capturing MVPs
or there is there now really an opportunity of space
not to hit the reset button, but for us to
kind of like move the goal post a little bit
more forward now, right, like our eyes definitely on others
to probably step in over the next few years and

(14:10):
upset the apple cart of the perception of what MVP
should look like and who should ultimately be hoisting the trophy.
So Sean and I are going to dig in on,
you know, basically the pundent favorites that have been talked
about that are being discussed as potential favorites. We'll look
at some strong contenders, and then we'll also dig into
a few dark horses, people who you know, probably might

(14:31):
be flying under the radar, but I think we should
be watching very very closely as to whether or not
they should be in the MVP conversations over the next
few years. So great show on tap and I would
just say for you and yours, keep an open mind.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
You know what I'm saying, Let your mind.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
Blossom to the possibilities of having an open race for
someone to hoist the MVP trophy, because that's how it
should be. Cali waunts our baseline, NBA. Even Alexa doesn't
even have an answer for that. But we'll give you
an answer for that baseline, NBA.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
Don't go anywhere.

Speaker 3 (15:19):
We are back, Cali Warnshaw baseline NBA podcast and topic
for this week MVP candidates over the next three to
five years. We just had the the you know, the
awakening of SGA. But I even think sew and you know,
we've talked about this a few times. Wow, this was
definitely the year of the Oklahoma City Thunder. And no

(15:41):
one can question the effectiveness and the efficiency and the
way that SG went about his business of taking that
MVP trophy, right, I think, and I'm sure you may
feel the same way about this. He didn't run away
with it the same way that we saw Yokic runaway

(16:02):
with MVP legitimacy, you know, for the last four years,
right Like, there could even be an argument to say
that Jokic made a late run to kind of put
some pressure on SGA, but ultimately winning the MVP isn't
just you have a pretty good first half and then

(16:24):
you have this great on a heater, and then you
got one guy who literally from the beginning to the
end not just was a model of consistency, but was
a model of dominance and helped usher his team to
ultimately being the best team in the NBA, not just
by winning the trophy, but at the end of the
regular season. SGA was more so definitely deservative of it,
but in the end you never walked away with that

(16:46):
sense of, oh my god, he completely blew everything so
far out of the waters to the point where you're like,
the next three to five years is his and his alone.
I think that we can kind of make the argument
that there will be a couple of people who are
on the precipice, probably even knocking on the door, like
my man baby, does you know dream Bill you'd be
knocking on that door and saying, hey, I got DIBs

(17:08):
on this conversation about being MVP, And he doesn't have
to be jokicch or Yannis Attatakumpo.

Speaker 2 (17:14):
The funny thing about the MVP MVP conversation is we
always know is it's so narrative driven and we get
voter fatigue and the whole nine. So, like even the
odds for this upcoming season, it's Sga and Yo Kich
kind of at the top. Yo Kic is leading in
most most odds things that I've seen in where she
is kind of right there. So the opportunity to kind
of repeat is there. But the purpose of our conversation

(17:37):
is a right, who is a guy who can capture
their first MVP within the next three to five years? Right,
who are the most likely folks that are going to
have the talent, the narrative which is also very important,
and then also the types of season's team success that
we think are kind of like the magical elixir that
makes up what we love when it comes to MVP conversations.

(17:58):
Sga and and Yanna and Yokic, I've been you know,
the kind of like the names we've been seeing for
a very very long time kind of at the tops
of these of these conversations. And as you alluded to,
Sha had at miraculous season but didn't run away because
Jokic despite multiple MVPs previews to this at his best
season statistically, you know, of his career last year, So
there was just so much you know, consostination around all right,

(18:21):
well is it now SGA's time? Finally at what? Okay?

Speaker 1 (18:24):
See and I'm sorry, show show. I just wanted to correct.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
I just wanted to correct myself three and five years
because I forgot MB took MVP uh in between that
iteration of that time for so three and five years
for Jokic.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
But we know at the end of the day, like
these all these guys like they now they have multiple
or one at least under their belt. So part of
the conversation that we can have towards the end with
the names that we're gonna mention is are we more
likely to see somebody win their second, third, or fourth
in certain cases before some of these guys win they're first.
And that's a conversation maybe towards the end of the show,
but for purposes of what we wanted to do right now,

(19:00):
I think we've kind of divided this in like, who
are the guys who are most likely to win an
MVP within the next three to five years? And I'm
going to submit to you my top two. We had
some conversation off there about who the third person may be.
But I would be highly surprised if Luka Dacic or
Victor Wamanyama do not win an MVP within the next
three to five years. And all the things are there

(19:22):
for both of them. So I'm going to kind of
group them together in this pairing because they have narrative,
they have star appeal, and their teams are built for success.
You can you can debate the level of success for
both of those teams and how much they'll have, expecially
the next x amount of seasons, but these are both
guys who have all the talent in the world and
are are are striding in a way, especially with Wemby

(19:45):
really probably going to be the Defensive Player of the
Year multiple times in a row as well too coming
up here. In addition to just the world of the
talent has and then the Laker narrative that so that
surrounds Luca going into this and what it's going to
look like a comeback season. You know, he's skinny Luca now,
and everyone doubted him and Dallas, you know, got rid
of them before they could really, you know, really make
a play for him in the long term. To literally

(20:07):
be the future face of their franchise. I think these
two guys have the biggest and strongest case to be
MVPs in the next three to five seasons.

Speaker 3 (20:14):
I can't disagree with you one bit with this perspective, Shaw,
and I'm gonna I know you like to use numbers,
but I'm gonna use perspective a little bit and just
kind of give people an understanding of why I think
it's easy to select these as the top go getters
of getting an MVP within the next three to five years.
Let's just use Luca Luka Donkach for example in this

(20:36):
iteration right. One of the conversations that we had a
couple of weeks ago regarding to Luka Donkch was, you know,
was it necessary for us to see skinny Luca? Right?
Was it necessary for him to lose all that weight
and be this version of himself? And what's that going
to actually translate to, you know, this year and more

(21:00):
moving forward? If this is actually the quote unquote standard
right for him? And one of the things that I
took from this because I was very cautious in that,
and I'm sure you were as well too. Can him
being in that weight at that stature be sustainable to
play at an MVP level, which is what's going to
be necessary if the Los Angeles Lakers are going to

(21:21):
be in the conversation among one of the best teams
in the NBA, not even come next year, but just
in general. Right, if that is the case, then what
we will have said to ourselves is Luca can transform,
can morph himself into whatever is needed for him to
be at the highest level necessary to give whichever team

(21:41):
that he's on the best possible chance to win an
NBA championship. And that's something that I think doesn't often
get discussed. It gets kind of, you know, baked into
some of these little conversations when you want to use
numbers and things. What I'm looking at is when a
person is willing to transform himself in less than a season.

(22:02):
And let's go back and look at Jason Tatum. Let's
go back and look at Jalen Brown. Let's go back
and look at other players who ultimately had to change
the way not just their physique, but also maybe their conditioning,
maybe their style of basketball, maybe the way that they
go about handling their business, the way that they become
leaders to teams We don't often talk about it because

(22:25):
sometimes it's like that in an instant. But to see
Luca do something like that, given the circumstances of what
happened to him last year from the Dallas Mavericks of
the Los Angeles Lakers, to me resonates with the idea
that there may still something, there may still be something
in there for him that shows you that he is
willing to make the sacrifices to ultimately be that level

(22:47):
of great that is commanded of him, or maybe he's
commanded he's demanding of himself. And then I'll say this
with Victor woman Yama. When it comes to him, there
hasn't been a situation or circumstance that he has not
made the adjustments to and to your point, Shaw, which
is why it's so Hella scary has still managed to
show a level of dominance given a lot of the

(23:09):
iterations that has been kind of passed under what we
are seeing from the San Antonio Spurs. You couple that
along with what's happened with Greg Popovich, the movement that's
going back and forth on the back end of things,
and the restructuring of the roster, and yet you still
find Victor Woman Yama is putting up impressive numbers. It's
just a question of does it translate to catapulting the

(23:30):
San Antonio spurs into that conversation. I will say that
if another year or two passes, they will add up.
And so when you got two of these guys basically
taking two very different approaches and making their game evolve
the way that it does, it to me translates that
they eventually are going to be MVV MVP candidates, no question.
It's just a matter of when we are going to

(23:52):
start putting them in that conversation with whatever the standard
is for that year.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
Right and right and then the standard for that year.
I think is a great to pick that up. Luke
of this upcoming season has a lot of rioting on it.
The MVP conversation. You know, the Lakers can be I
don't know what three four seed maybe in the West.
While I think a lot of people would not put
them that high up, I don't really know his his

(24:17):
raw numbers are going to go that much, like ponentially
more than we've seen even in his hype in Dallas. Like,
I don't think that's what it's gonna be about. He's
not gonna all of a sudden go from like that
year he ever with thirty four to thirty five games
again average thirty eight. I don't think that's going to
be the case. But I think it's a matter of, like, well,
do we see a better level of defense and do
the Lakers you know, win as a result of him
being able to stay on the floor more often? Is

(24:38):
he healthier throughout the course of the regular season as
a result of this new, you know, skinnier version of himself.
Those are the narrative aspects that we're going to see
come into play because I don't think statistically we're going
to see that much more of a push from him,
especially when it comes to the offensive side of the basketball.
But you know, does he even try harder on defense?
Where it could also lead into the narrative some where

(24:59):
when Benyama has so much going for him is because
he does play on both sides of the basketball, He
could be the defensive player of the year and potential
MVP candidate while averaging gaudy numbers, you know, twenty seven
to twelve and three and a half, four blocks, four
assists a game on great percentages like that's nothing. This
needs at you know, especially when you come to the
defensive side of what he's potentially going to be doing

(25:21):
on that as well. But these two guys just have
so much talent, and I think they're both going to
have narrative plays going alongside for them, even though I
think Wemby might be challenged some maybe with the addition
of a Dylan Harper if he turned out to be
as good as he really is, not to mention Stefan
Castle and then obviously Fox there as well too, you know,

(25:42):
willing to say, hell, does he have too much help?
A la Jason Tatum as Tatum's star kind of to
kind of drop out of the MVP conversation because the
Celtics became just too good based on all the other
players that they added to their roster. But overall, these
two guys seem like they have by far and away
the longest runway within the shortest amount of time to
capture the narrative and potentially hoisten the MVP trophy.

Speaker 3 (26:04):
I'm gonna I'm gonna throw something here real quick, because
I know that the next step would be for us
to talk about that third party, right that the one
who we think is going to crash the party a
little bit over the next few years. There's two things
that I think people should pay attention to when we're
talking about what can cattle pull a guy like Luka
Donkicic and what may cattle pull the guy like Victor
women Yama for Luka donkic I want people to pay

(26:26):
attention to the clutch gene right clutch Player of the
Year candidacy. Right now, you can make the argument that
Luka donkach is probably one of the top three players,
and really one of the top players who's not in
that conversation because of the way that the metrics are skewed.
But if you're talking about a player who is going

(26:47):
to have numerous opportunities in order for us to show
just how great he can be in the fourth quarter
or more, that would be Luka donkaj right, Like, this
is a great chance for him to come into this
situation because we know that even with the way that
the Lakers are structured, they're not owing teams out of
the water. They're gonna be within games. So this version

(27:08):
of Luca, whether it's from a defensive perspective or an
offensive perspective, if the Lakers are going to be formidable
in those closely contested games. The equalizer is knowing that
you've got a guy who's got that killer instinct you
know what I'm saying, ice in his veins, and has
the opportunity to do that on a night and night
out basis on primetime television. That could be one way

(27:30):
that he gets catapulted very quickly into those MVP conversations,
no doubt.

Speaker 2 (27:35):
Right now, let me let mect only because I think
it's it's important to We've talked about Luca almost like
this singular helio centric entity on the Lakers. Is there
any way on God's bring or stem Luca can capture
an MVP with Lebron still on the roster? Imagine Like
I'm like, so that would be like within the next
year or two. While we're saying this is a three
to five year window, even with the narrative going into

(27:57):
this year with Skinny Luca coming into play, could it
actually happen with Lebron on the roster? That's the caveat
to it. I think that I just like I haven't
quite suck on my teeth into fully, I will say this,
if Lebron.

Speaker 3 (28:13):
Hands the reins over and when I say that, I
say that in its in its form of how Dwayne
Wade did that with Lebron James. You see what I'm saying, Like,
this is actually a great opportunity right this year alone,
with that level of greatness for you to quote unquote
on a night in that out basis, outshine the standard

(28:35):
of the NBA and say that it's okay, Lebron, you
can pass the baton to Luca now and he goes
and runs with it, and we see that as it forms.
It as it forms, it's very poetic, and it's the
kind of it's the kind of story that manifests itself
into us moving a guy right into that MVP conversation,

(28:56):
if only befo a couple of months, he gets thrown
right in there because he's taking it and he's running
with it.

Speaker 1 (29:03):
And I think that's what we want to see.

Speaker 3 (29:04):
We want to actually see the story being written as
it's happening, you know what I'm saying, And that would
be great. I'm with you, Shaw, I'm a little bit
like Woo, but I'm saying that for that to be
actually manifested true. These are those components by which Luka
Doncic can help elevate that conversation sort of speak, because

(29:26):
unless the Lakers are just going to be that dominant
and he's just scoring all those kind of points and
everything like that, all of the things that you're talking
about are the things that we're saying that Luca has
to be better at. All of that is going to
matter in the fourth quarter because typically that's when Lebron
has to step up and do those things. But if
Luca is the person doing that, if Luca is the
one who is now I'm not saying he's got to

(29:47):
be taking the best offensive player and defending them or
anything like that, but what I'm saying is is that
in those critical moments when they are gunning for him
and they know it, and he figures out a way
to stop that, I'm saying that play, he figures out
a way to like I'm saying, force that ball out
of that guy's hands. Now we're talking about, oh, he's
taking a step. We did that with Steph Curry, and

(30:09):
I think you can do the same thing with Luka
Dankic as well too. And one last thing I was
gonna say about this shaw Lukadankic doesn't have to be
top and maybe not even top fifteen as far as
defensive metrics go among guards in the Western Conference. But
he can't be twenty third, twenty four, twenty five. He
has got to at least be with top twenty. He's

(30:32):
got at least he's got to show some level of
improvement that also helps accentuate the offensive capabilities that we
know that he's capable of bringing to the table. He
shows those type of improvements, and the Lakers are that relevant,
are in the conversation, and we won't benign him, We
won't deny him of his rightful place of being in
that MVP conversation. It won't drop him out so easily

(30:55):
because of it either.

Speaker 2 (30:56):
Well, the one thing I will close with on this
these top two here is Lebron wanted eighty to be
that guy. I don't know that Lebron wants Luca to
be that guy, because the situation is just is switched
and Lebron for all intentsive purposes. By reports, Lebron hasn't
said it himself, but feels like the Lakers are kind
of forcing him out, and so I'd be interesting to

(31:17):
see how he does play this, especially this year, if
he does finish the season in the purple and gold,
how does he acquiesce, if you will, to the Batman
that Luca is obviously trying to be here as they
try to kind of usher Lebron's era out of LA
while still being competitive with the two of them kind
of in play. So that's where it would give me

(31:38):
a little bit of pause where I think Wemby might
have a slider a slightly better chance to get there
before Luca does, especially if Luca and Lebron are playing
together for another even one or two seasons.

Speaker 3 (31:50):
Absolutely my last take, Shaw, I'm sorry regarding victim woman Yama.
He just needs to continue to keep posting up these
impressive numbers. He right now doing the kind of things
that are kind of forcing the analytic guys to scramble
around and keep coming up with more metrics and more numbers. Right,
and he continues to keep doing that, He's gonna forever

(32:11):
be in this kind of conversation. I think at the
end of it would have just translates to is will
the state the San Antonio Spurs be relevant because of
those numbers that he is doing, But there's no question
he doesn't even have He doesn't have to be the
clutch guy. The Spurs can build around all of that,
but from quarters one to three, he can continue to
exude the level of dominance. And if the Spurs are

(32:32):
that good defensively in those fourth quarters, if the Spurs
are that good offensively in those fourth quarters, there's no
question Victor.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
Wein ben Yama is gonna have his hand.

Speaker 3 (32:40):
He's gonna have his imprints all over that, which would
the further just put him in that conversation each and
every single time. His level of dominance to me that
what we see doesn't just happen, It happens before them
cats even pull up in the bus.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
You know what I'm saying, That's what's going on right
now with Victor win bin Yama.

Speaker 3 (32:57):
And I was someone who's very skeptical about that just
because I just didn't see where all of that was
kind of coming into play. But these have now been
two years where we're seeing it and I'm saying, like,
he can just continue to keep doing that and he
is going to be completely fine. You're tuned to the baseline,
Cali warn't y'all discussing the hot button topics of the
NBA coming up strong contenders dudes that were like, they're flexing,

(33:20):
they're in the gym.

Speaker 1 (33:22):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (33:23):
You know what I'm saying, They're about to max out.
They're about to get some prs in there. But are
there are their prs good enough to outweigh to outlift
the first.

Speaker 1 (33:31):
Two guys we just finished talking about.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
You don't want to miss it here on the baseline,
we're back Cali warnts y'all baseline NBA podcast, and our
conversation is MVP front runners in the next three to

(33:55):
five years. Cat said, were talking about saying, can they
voice their first MVP trophy? You know what I'm saying,
All they got to do is leave frog yoll Kitchen SGA.
But that's light work. That's light work. It's the mother
dudes that it's the mother dudes that we'd be talking
about saying, you gotta get you know, I'm saying, you
gotta get around that bend.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
You gotta f one of them, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (34:12):
So we've just been.

Speaker 1 (34:13):
Talking about Victor Women Yama, and we just.

Speaker 3 (34:15):
Beish talking about Luca donkyshyall right, like they're obviously one
of the strongest candidates and I'd be remiss in saying, oh,
you know, well, what happens if Joel Embiid gets healthy again?

Speaker 1 (34:24):
And you know, will there ever be an opportunity for
Kevin Durant? Forget all of that, man.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
Let's talk about guys who really don't get that kind
of love, of that kind of conversation. If they do,
it's probably like for one or two weeks and then
something happens and they suddenly just get you know what
I'm saying X out of the conversation so quickly, so fast.
So who are we seeing as our strongest candidates that
are right behind Donk and one beg youon.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
So I'm gonna throw out probably three names, and I'd
say probably in the next two to three years is
there not necessary their window, but maybe the height of
where they'll have that opportunity. And as Anthony Edwards again,
we talk about narrative, we talk about likability, the skills set,
and then his team being being good. Minnesota made another

(35:11):
unprecedented to run in in the in the playoffs in
the Western Conference, and I think the Timberwolves and he
are just going to continue to rise and get better,
as will his star and the narrative that will surround
it when it comes to the media. The other two
guys slightly lower key in terms of their overall personalities,
but killers on the court and also have a great

(35:32):
opportunity UH to have success from from the from their
from their team side, because they're in the Eastern Conference,
and that's Shalen Brunson and Donnovan Mitchell. Uh. Brunson may
be the longest of the shot simply because obviously a
new coaching in the situation here, so we don't know
exactly what Woodson's going to be able to do with
him this year and and year subsequent to this. But
the Knicks are clearly one of the class teams in

(35:54):
the Eastern Conference, and that gives him also a very
very strong narrative, big market behind him. And and if
I slip things over to Donnovan Mitchell, the only question,
not the only question, but one of the big questions
I have of Mitchell is he the most important player
on the team. Right. We talk a lot about Evan Mobley,
which is a guy we can maybe talk about it
in another segment, but Mitchell has best player on the
floor capability and we've seen him do that in multiple

(36:17):
stretches through the course of his career, but just not
in a sustainable way to get team success that gets
into a conference finals and beyond. But I think those
three guys have a lot going for them. Obviously, three guards,
you know, maybe Edwards more of a wing if you're
thinking about it from that lens. But guys who have
a lot of capability, talent and have the leadership goals

(36:37):
on they're on their rosters to propel them to the
MVP conversation.

Speaker 3 (36:41):
I got to tell you the irony of you bringing
up these three players, Shaw, because it just didn't dawn
on me until you just started talking, you know what
I'm saying, until you started articulating your your, your your
points regarding all three of them. So let me let
me kind of speak to my you know what the
madness going on in my head about these three guys, right.
I find it crazy that we are now talking about

(37:03):
Anthony Edwards in this particular kind of light. But to
have done that, right, we had to look at what
led up to that. Really, his takeover of the Timberwolves
from Karl Anthony Towns. Karl Anthony Towns now moves over
to the New York Knicks, and yet we are talking
about Jalen Brunson being more of an MVP candidate than

(37:24):
Karl Anthony Towns, which ironically we would have been saying
to ourselves with the stature of the build and the
style of play to Karl Anthony Towns coming out of
college being the kind of player that he's been, he
should have already been in conversations to be an MVP,
and I think the only time that we even kind
of had an inkling of that was what his second year,
maybe his third year as a Minnesota Timberwolves. I mean,

(37:47):
you know, it's not like he doesn't have the ability
to have those numbers, but I'd be hard pressed to
say he's gonna be able to leap frog a guy
like Jalen Brunson, Right, And so I talk about that
in now now transition this to the irony of everything,
Anthony Edwards probably will have the best opportunity to run

(38:08):
with the idea of being an MVP because he no
longer has Karl Anthony Towns that he has to kind
of contend with being the alpha, so to speak, to
show those dominant that that level of dominance as one
of the faces of basketball However, it could very easily
do him and if the Minnesota Timberwills do not sustain
the level of success that they've had over the last
couple of seasons. Right, So, it's incumbent upon Anthony Edwards

(38:32):
to continue to elevate his game, and I think part
of that is going to be more on the defensive
side of things, and also showing his ability to counter
when he sees his his his contemporaries out there countering
against you know, the competition as well too, and figuring
out ways to still have dominant performances. Right, we talk

(38:52):
about Jalen Brunson. Jalen Brunson, his hurdle was getting past
the Boston Celtics, which he managed to do. The next
hurdle now is getting the New York Knicks to the
NBA Finals. If he figures out a way to do
that and still have the Knicks playing among one of
the top teams in the Eastern being one of the
top teams in the Eastern Conference, I don't see why

(39:13):
that cannot be the case. Regardless of what we're talking about.
He very easily has the inside track to be in
that conversation as an MVP person, right for Donovan Mitchell,
it's ironic for us to see that he should be MVP.
Like I'm not saying he only has to beat Dayalen Brunson,
but he has to figure out a way for the
Cavaliers to get past the teams that have impeded their

(39:36):
ability to get to the Eastern.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
Conference Finals and eventually the NBA Finals.

Speaker 3 (39:41):
Meaning you gotta hurdle either Jalen Brunson, you may have
to hurdle the Boston Celtics, you know what I'm saying.
But at some point Donovan Mitchell has to figure out
a way to elevate his teams in the most critical
matchups that have compromised him being taken seriously as an MVP.
I just find it ironic because at the end of
the day, we could be easily talking about how Jason

(40:04):
Tatum should be an MVP shot, you know what I'm saying,
and yet two or the three people that we're saying
are the strongest contenders may have to revisit this conversation
of possibly going through the Boston Celtics, possibly going through
a person a caliber like a Jason Tatum who may
never put in that conversation, may figure out a way
to put in that conversation. But whatever version of the

(40:24):
Boss and Celtics is, they're going to have to use
that team as a stepping stool in order to still
elevate them.

Speaker 2 (40:33):
You know, I hear you're saying. I mean, I don't
want to send the conversation creating you know, too far
to the left here. I'd say Brunson's thing right now
is actually getting past the Pacers. What the Celtics was
just as previous here, but two years in a row.
But remember, the MVP conversation is not has nothing to
do with playoffs success, Like the MVP is all regular season.
So what does a regular season numbers look like as

(40:54):
those teams head into the playoffs? And that's how the
MV people ultimately decided, unless you're going to talk about
it like not you know, from that, not from that
single year, like hey, that x amount of success the
previous year, and then what did they do like in
year two after they make it to the conference finals
or whatever. Like that's a complicated way I think of
looking at things per se. But I think, you know,
as we're looking in the kind of.

Speaker 1 (41:14):
I'm a complicated kind of guy. Show.

Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah, well, but I'm thinking about right two is years
Runson and Donovan Mitchell really do have opportunities to kind
of seize the Eastern Conference while the East has some
other air quote contenders that are probably eyeing them and
are probably not afraid of either one of those those
players and those rosters. I do think they have the

(41:36):
strongest cases when we're talking about their narrative side from
of any of any other Eastern Conference players currently not
not not not already mentioned, you know, And going back
to athink Edwards thinking really quickly, I honestly think Kat
learned a lot playing with with with Ant and learned
how to acquiesce, and he realized that the young dude
was was the president future of the roster, so he

(41:59):
knew he needed to be the number two. And he
didn't go to New York trying to use Sir Brunson
in the same way. He already kind of had a
year or two underd re spell Like, listen, that young
guy has kind of got it. I can really make
my hey, being like this really great support guy. Support
is you know, probably miscasting it and under something it
some but basically being the number two option in a
high level number two option in this offense and defense.

(42:22):
Kat understands that from playing with Anthony Edwards, and that's
why it's not going to be a problem with him
playing with Brunson and Brunson trying to get MVP Glory
on the mix.

Speaker 3 (42:29):
So I'm not saying that that that that that Karl
Anthony Towns will have a problem or brunts it. Well,
clearly not brunts it, because that was part of the narrative. Okay,
good I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't
missing I didn't want to make it seem like you
were misinterpreting what I was saying.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
I just want to make sure I was clarifying for
people to understand.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
I was reitering. If anything, I was learned a lot
and that makes him that makes his case really great
as a number two guy. But make sure that Brunson understands, like, hey,
he can't be the guy here, but.

Speaker 1 (42:58):
I completely I can. I completely agree with you.

Speaker 3 (43:01):
I think what I wanted to add on top of
this point Shaw was we're probably maybe we should also
and maybe this person is going to be when we
talk about dark horses, and we'll do that in a minute.
But Carl Anthony town should be in that kind of conversation, right, Like,
he puts up some really impressive numbers at his position
and what he does for the New York Knicks. Now,

(43:24):
he is a liability at times from a defensive perspective,
but that's where growth comes into play, right, So we'll
see what happens, you know, under the Mike Brown error
right of him having an influence on what Karl Anthony
Towns can do that can help accentuate the numbers that
he's not just putting up together offensively, what he can
actually contribute for the Knicks defensively. And what I'm saying

(43:47):
is is that it hasn't been for gone that we
didn't have situations when we were talking Jason Tatum and
Jaylen Brown both being MVP like players or being in
an MVP conversation. I think if the knickser is what
people are predicting for them to have, the kind of
season they're gonna have, you can easily put the both
of them into conversations respectively, because what Karl Anthony Towns
can give you from the four to five position could

(44:09):
certainly elevate him. You know what I'm saying very quickly
into that space, but also ultimately Sean, the Jalen Brunson
factor to me is that clutch gene of Jalen Brunson
being the kind of player that he's been the last
few years, especially in the fourth quarter.

Speaker 1 (44:23):
Again, it matters.

Speaker 3 (44:24):
It makes a difference unless the Knicks are just flat
out blowing out teams. And I agree with you in
my bad to you know, my peoples, I did not
want to be dismissive of what the Indiana Pacers. We
spent all summer in the last couple of years, and
even I myself have been bigging up the Indiana Pacers.
I do think though that especially the next couple of years,
this version of what we need to see about the

(44:44):
Pacers I'm very hesitant on. We're not gonna see a
real Tyrese Halliburton for at least a season, so we'll
see whether or not what version of him and what
version of the Pacers he's coming into is gonna look
like against the likes of the Knicks and and the
and the Cavaliers. I'm just talking about under the current
construction of what we currently see, because I think teams

(45:08):
like the Celtics and the Pacers may take a step back,
but if they are still in the conversation of being
in playoff contention, play in contention.

Speaker 1 (45:16):
Or whatever.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
I think that when we talk about MVP conversations through
the regular seasons, their performances against those type of players
and that caliber of team is going to make a
difference on.

Speaker 1 (45:27):
Whether or not they stay in the conversation.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
Well, you brought up Tatum a lot, and I think,
you know, I don't want to bring him up here.
I want to slide him down to potentially another part
part of the conversation. But there's one more guy who
want to bring up here, and there is a sliver
of a chance I think that Anthony Davis could get
into this conversation, you know, and that is you know,
probably more in the next two the three years and
not three to five years type of situation. But with

(45:52):
the bet that the Dallas Myrex have placed on him,
the luck that they've also got in Cooper Flag obviously
bolshitled by high every potentially coming back eighty has women
Yama like potential right offense defense guy that can you know,
you could run run, built for those things.

Speaker 3 (46:11):
Anthony Davis was the universal soldier right and victor women
Yama or you know, Andy Davis a determinator and then
Victor women Yama now is t two right like that.

Speaker 2 (46:23):
Seven for all intents and purposes, like and Ady still
has all the tools to really dominate basketball and be players.
I'm not the best player on the given night. So
while Dallas's success is it's going to be hard to
kind of determine, especially for this next year. If for
like two years from now, when they are fully healthy

(46:44):
with you know, a pretty strong, healthy roster, I wouldn't
rule it out that Ady could get into the conversation.
I don't know, people are just tired of him, and
I feel like, listen, he just doesn't have that, you know,
that that killer instinct that a lot of people want from,
especially an MVP caliber type guy. But I think a
similar narrative could be in place as well too, as
a guy who was on Sorrum honestly shipped from LA

(47:05):
when he was pegged to be the future of the
Lakers franchise. There's the talent, is there. We just gotta
see if the motivation will match that. In addition to
the winning that the Dallas Markicks have here, with the
next couple of seasons, one.

Speaker 3 (47:17):
Thing I want to like and to your point, Shaw
about the pathsway for Anthony Davis to be in that conversation.
I almost liking it to what we talk about when
we say Kevin Durant and Shay gilg just Alexander the
ability to dominate in small pockets. Right, You don't need

(47:37):
to take twenty five shots to have a dominant performance.
You don't need to spend excess of thirty five to
thirty seven minutes if all you gave me was thirty
one to thirty two minutes, and yet your numbers are
comparable to somebody that would need a full thirty seven
thirty eight, right, and those numbers can still historically measure

(47:58):
up to what we're talking about is the current standard
of the NBA. If there are only so many people
who I think are capable of doing that, Anthony Davis
is one of those people, Shaw, And I think that's
where we kind of.

Speaker 1 (48:09):
Have to come back.

Speaker 2 (48:10):
You know.

Speaker 3 (48:10):
What I'm saying to the reality of these things that
if these guys are healthy, right, can we not still
have them in that conversation If what they're doing is
so dominant and they don't need, you know, to exude
that you know what I'm saying, so many minutes to
be able to do it. I think, to me, that's
what I'm hoping to see, you know, to what you're
talking about is that level of dominance within a short

(48:33):
period of time.

Speaker 2 (48:34):
Yeah, So you know, we're rooting for Ady obviously for
his health and you know, everybody to kind of have
their best seasons that they possibly can. But I just
think his talent is warranted in terms of the conversation.
But we can absolutely go to break here. And then
there's a couple of guys who and one guy in
particular we've already even talked about who is trying to
be an ad light. I'd say, you know, in terms

(48:56):
of kind of a rising star that might have an
opportunity to captur an MVP glory here in the next
five years.

Speaker 3 (49:02):
Absolutely, you're tuned to the baseline Cali Warnshaw discussing hot
button topics of the NBA.

Speaker 1 (49:07):
Don't go anywhere. We got our dark horses coming up.

Speaker 3 (49:16):
We are back Cali Warrenshaw Baseline NBA podcast. What a
conversation that we're having, man MVP talk. You know what
I'm saying, and uh, probably it's it's it's it's only
right that we do that because the MVP of our
you know, of our podcast for so many years. I mean,
I get the opportunity to share this microphone with the
MVP himself, the man, the myth, the legend, uh my man,

(49:39):
mister Warrenshaw. So we've talked about the faves, we've talked
about the strong contenders. Now we get to talk about
dark horses. And I like where you were going Shaw
just before we hit our break, because you were like,
there was one guy. It's hard to say whether or
not we should just catapult him in Strong Contenders, but

(49:59):
I would we if you were remissed.

Speaker 1 (50:01):
If we're not like saying, Yo, this home.

Speaker 3 (50:03):
This guy's got to be in this conversation basically now
moving forward, and I know who you're talking about, but
I'm a I'm a laid out here's your opportunity, Shaw,
gracious with the knowledge.

Speaker 2 (50:17):
Well, that's so interesting because I hope we're talking about
the same person. Because I said a guy who is
kind of a d light and we've already kind of
alluded to him, right, and it would be Evan Mobley,
I think at this at this stage, because he is
somebody who has the offensive capability, defense capability, just finally
kind of showed that level of prowess. Made an All
NBA team this year, but then also has an all

(50:37):
All NBA guy and is on his roster, and Donophin Mitchell,
who we put as a strong candidate but mobilely by
many people's account, is the most important Cavalier because of
the probrial ceiling and the defense that he's able to play.
Obviously the switch ability as well too. He's somebody that
again three to five years from now, is he knocking
on the door of capturing MVP votes right or does

(51:00):
he more kind of have like a Chris Bosh career
where very good Hall of Fame like, but never dominate
in the way that you feel like, Okay, he was
really the main cog of the reason for a team winning,
so to speak. But I think Mobley has all the
talent in the world. But it will be really really
interesting to see how he and Mitchell pair alongside each

(51:21):
other or do they cancel each other out in terms
of the Cavaliers having ultimate success and for either one
of those guys making a strong MVP candidacy.

Speaker 3 (51:30):
I like where you're going with with with Evan Mobley
Shaw because you know me, I was. I was a
very staunch critic of Evan Mobley, and not because I
didn't see the potential and what you've been talking about
and what you've been.

Speaker 1 (51:44):
Laying out for the longest time.

Speaker 3 (51:45):
I've often felt like it's just something and how he's
played the game of basketball. You know, there's some guys,
and we did this in the beginning, in the early
early years with Anthony Davis. There's some guys that are
just so naturally talented in the way that they play
the game that they just make it look effortless. They
make it look like they just don't put in a
lot of work to do what just naturally comes good

(52:06):
to them, right Like God just touch.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
Them with you know what I'm saying, say, hey, go
out there and just you know, ball out.

Speaker 3 (52:13):
You know what I'm saying, don't even you know, don't
even exert a level of sweat and how you go
about doing it, young son. That's what we saw with
Evan Mobley, and now we're actually seeing a level of
hunger in him. We're seeing a level of aggressiveness in him,
and I think it's refreshing to see that in a
way don't know whether or not that's been influenced since

(52:33):
Donovan Mitchell has come onto this team, but maybe the
influence of Donovan Mitchell and what he sees in Evan
Mobley is now kind of allowing Mobley for him to
spread his wings, for him to show more enthusiasm and
how he can ultimately dominate that position, be among one
of the top three players at his position in the NBA.

(52:56):
So I agree with you Shaw in that sense. To me,
does it catapultim ahead of the person that I might
be thinking of? And it's not eighty light but it's
damn sure scary to that. And how about Pablo Boncio
for the Orlando Magic. Now, if the Orlando Magic, Shaw
become one of the top three four teams, which they

(53:17):
could very easily be in the next few of the
next few years. Right, what we're seeing from bon Caro
to me, can very much reflect something similar to those
numbers that we talk about with Carmelo Anthony and not
so much the fact that he's playing with such a
marginalized team. He actually has dominant numbers while still playing

(53:40):
with guys that can get eventually better right collectively, and
it all has started by them being great defensively, bon
Caro by all accounts has the measurements to literally score
as many points as the SGAs, the Donovan Mitchells, you
know what I'm saying, as as the Victor Yamas. But

(54:01):
those other numbers, those other intangibles, he has so much
opportunity and room. And if they decide to go the
way of a point forward style of basketball, Bonk Carrol
clearly has a skill set that allows him to be
able to run it as such, and since there's a
lot of question marks with the Orlando Magic and their

(54:22):
backcourt situation, there's no doubt he can elevate himself to
a Lebron like level for the Orlando Magic and do
things that are very reminiscent to what we remind ourselves
when we saw Lebron doing what he was doing with
the Cleveland Cavaliers. There is an opportunity there that I
think a lot of people have to pay attention to,
which can easily put bon.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
Caro as a dark horse favorite of MVP.

Speaker 3 (54:47):
And I know we're going to talk about another person
as well too, maybe talking about one kid that we're
talking about in Detroit, But I'm just saying that, like
given the talent measurements between those teams, bon Caro has
a lot more to work with to make better than
what Kate has because you can clearly tell that that
team can collectively get better. And Kay does not have

(55:07):
to be at the top, but he can certainly utilize
that to put him and put himself in that position.

Speaker 2 (55:12):
Yeah, I'm not gonna sneeze at the Cairo pick here
at all.

Speaker 3 (55:17):
Has he not been scary over the left like from
from the second half of the year and and man,
I felt so bad when he felt to that injury
the early part of last season, but man, when he
came on and essentially what he showed us in the
playoffs against the Boss's Celtics.

Speaker 1 (55:34):
Maybe it's okay that Tatum and Round are taking quote
un quota.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
Yeah, I mean, but he still has a long way
to go and turn the way. Yes, right, I think
that's some of the decision making. You can say, maybe
it's because there's not there wasn't the appropriate roster behind him,
so he's taking a lot of shots at the at
the end of a shot clock, you know, and not
getting the most efficient looks possible and doesn't have anybody
who is setting them up. They've improved all of those
things around him now, but I still think his handle
needs to get tied and does his overall, I think

(56:02):
focus on the defense side of the basketball. But there's
there's no doubt that this is a talented individual who
is still still scratching the service of what he can
ultimately become. And if you're saying, yeah, you know, I
think it's more on the latter part of the three
to five year timeline that we're talking about, but definitely
within this conversation and rebo possibilities, but all believes close
to those making in terms of trying to be a
better team than It's uncomfort like they're going for it

(56:23):
like this isn't oh well, we think we're all right,
and you know, maybe I'll throw a couple of chips
in like no, their hands down, like, hey, we got
we got our money up, we're paying our guys, We're
bringing in you know, star level talent, you know, even
all star level talents some degree, I think in Desmond
Bane and they feel like they have to have an opportunity.
So they know bon Caro and Wagner and Baine are
the future of this roster and let's see if Monkaro

(56:43):
has an opportunity to get into the MVP conversation.

Speaker 3 (56:47):
Final thoughts, Shaw, does it surprise you that we don't
have Jahn Morant in that conversation? Does it surprise you
that we wouldn't put Devin Booker in that conversation. I'm
not saying that I would be surprised by it. I
know that some people may be sitting here saying to

(57:08):
themselves like, well, how can we not throw them in
there about possibly being in a position to do that?
Or do they think that we think that they that
we've soured on the idea that there's that potential for
them to be able.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
To do to do that. Yeah, I think a lot
of a lot of it is again as narrative, and
you know, Jaw have a long long road to climb
before I think we're going to be thinking about him
in this space. And while I think the Grozzies still
have an opportunity to be a good team and even
heard from the West to conference, I'm just not quite
sure that the narrative is going to be in his

(57:41):
favor in a way to get him into this conversation
to really feel like, hey, he has a real opportunity
at the NVP now that he won't be an All
Star or something like that, even All NBA. But I
just don't see that. I think Phoenix has just taken
too far of a step back in terms of the
roster development for Booker to even sniff this conversation. Booker
is going to be a Hall of Famer himself, you know,
he seems to want to be a Phoenix Sun Life

(58:01):
for whatever reason. God bless him for the loyalty to that,
but that loyalty is not going to reward him in
terms of being an MVP candidate anytime soon. So that's
why I don't have any issue leaving these two guys
out despite the talent level that they clearly display on
a day to day basis on the basketball court.

Speaker 3 (58:17):
Yeah, I think this is all compelling stuff, right, And
I know that there are going to be plenty of
people that I'm sure people want to make sure that, Hey,
we should give acknowledgment too, So we want to hear
from you. We want to know what your perspective and
thoughts are. Are there people that should be on that
list that we should obviously consider, And I would challenge
everyone to say this don't just assume to say, Hey, nah,

(58:39):
your guys' lists is trash or whatever the case may be.

Speaker 1 (58:42):
That wasn't what we're trying to do here.

Speaker 3 (58:43):
I think what we're trying to do is really introduce
people to some names that only aren't in the forefront
of just the standard status quo mind, but more so
the collective mind of why we should be considering them.
So not just give us the name, but hey, give
us perspective, give us there's reasons why we should consider
quote unquote a Devin Booker, a Tyrese Maxi, a Pascal Siakam,

(59:07):
a Scottie Barnes. What a bet should us be saying, Hey,
these guys should be in the conversation within the next
three to five years to be discussed as possible MVP candidates.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
And where's the pathway go for that?

Speaker 3 (59:20):
I think that would make some great conversations and more importantly,
seaw what that does. It starts opening up a platform
to put their names in there for us to discuss,
rather than kind of sweeping in under or waiting until
after they have like this quote unquote blitz of a
mini campaign to be in that conversation.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
Let's start up the conversation. Now, let's get the warm up.

Speaker 3 (59:44):
The pre warm up's going right now about why we
want to start considering those additional dude, because as far
as I'm concerned, Shaw, I think it's awesome that we
can have fifteen people in the conversation being MVP.

Speaker 1 (59:54):
Wont know why.

Speaker 3 (59:54):
It's because everybody's e everybody is thriving, everybody is bawling,
and when everybod he is bowling, everybody is watching the NBA.

Speaker 2 (01:00:04):
Yeah, so I'm going to close with some really quick hitters,
and I mean really quick. You know, Kid has an
opportunity in Detroit. You know, I think maybe just as
good as Paolo. Different roster construction and different plate and
different talents set that that they possess. But I think
Kid can be in that conversation then way way way out.

(01:00:24):
And I mean super super, super dark horses I think
are Jason Tatum and Tyres Haliburton, and they're probably two
to three years away, but they come back from these
you know, devastating achilles injuries, lead their teams to great
regular seasons and you know, prominent one or two seeds
in the conferences. A couple of years from now, they'll
have some narrative. I think of both on their sides,

(01:00:45):
and it's both are guys that media seems to like.
Tyree's maybe a little less than Tatum. Tatum I think
has some shine and then you know, nine more off.
But they will have redemption stories that I think people
could get behind if they come back from return to
form and lead their team to a level of success,
and then I will say kind of been closing as well.
Maybe there's an opportunity in the four to five year

(01:01:07):
range that Cooper Flag is as good as everybody says
he is. Does he sniff this opportunity? But the one
guy who I know nobody is going to agree with,
and I mean nobody is Zion Williamson. And Zion will
never be an MVP candidate and with the Noorleans Pelicans,
I will never ever, ever, ever, ever ever happen. But
if he's moved, does it spark a luka donkics like transformation? Oh?

(01:01:30):
I can't believe they moved me. You know what, Now
is the year I'm going to get in shape. I'm
gonna show you. And I don't know. I think the
talent level is clearly there, the wanton desire is clearly
not there. But will those two things ever marry together
to allow Zion to live to the potential that we
all know he has. I just know it cannot be

(01:01:50):
in New Orleans. So if Joe D decides to trade
him at some point, look for Zion's redemption season to
be the one where he at least sniffs the MVP conversation. Potentially.

Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
I think I'm gonna go watching Lauren concert now.

Speaker 2 (01:02:06):
I'm I.

Speaker 1 (01:02:08):
Want to know.

Speaker 3 (01:02:09):
I want to I want to find Zion too. You
know what I'm saying. You know what, Maybe Lauren needs
to serenade our boy. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:02:18):
Give him some inspiration, give him some hope. You know
what I'm saying. Give him a little bit of inspiration,
give him some hope.

Speaker 2 (01:02:27):
Well, Jody trades trades on so we can at least
see if there's an opportunity to wark something different than
that young man's mentality, because the talent is clearly there.

Speaker 3 (01:02:37):
Oh my god, awesome show this week. Shaw a lot
of good stuff man, And again we want to hear
from y'all.

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
Man.

Speaker 3 (01:02:41):
Hit us up, man, get on the thread, get on
the on the on the channel, give us your perspective
of possible candidates. You'd like for us to say our
MVP worthy over the next few years, you know, and
and and lay it out for us, give us, give
us a perspective of why you would think that that
that's the case.

Speaker 2 (01:02:56):
Man.

Speaker 3 (01:02:57):
As always, Man, we appreciate each and every single one
of you. You know what I'm saying. Get ready, man,
Get excited.

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
Man. We got a lot of stuff happening.

Speaker 3 (01:03:05):
Man. Get ready to roll out some some really good content, man,
as we get closer to the NBA season. Oh and
Shaw wanted to give a quick shout outs to one
of our you know, former guests and obviously a colleague
contemporary in the media space, Taylor Rooks for getting hitched.
You know what I'm saying, shout outs, shout outs to

(01:03:25):
our girl, man and nothing. You know, it is nothing
better than, you know, continuing to pursue your happiness, not
just in your professional life, but in your personal life
as well too.

Speaker 1 (01:03:34):
Saw the picks on insta, Man, I just want to
give a shout out, man.

Speaker 3 (01:03:37):
She was such a great person to have on our
show some time ago, man, when she was with Bleacher Report. Man.
And I'm always happy to see our people out there
doing their thing on and off the on and off
the microphone man, So shout outs to her man, I
just wanted to make sure that I threw that plug
in there.

Speaker 1 (01:03:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:52):
Well, I mean, while we're giving shout outs, I think
keeping a little bit more local. But shout out to
our guy Robin Marks out there doing this thing at
fdfest as a speaker at that conference, and you know,
just really really grinding in terms of his his overall content.
Make sure you follow him, you know, believe in fantasy
Fantasy basketball. You know, it's always happening back around to

(01:04:14):
and then his show also on nineteen Media Group. You
know landa talk will be coming back here in the
latter minor all you know, only pin your sign, so
we'll stay tuned to that. But shout out to Robin
Man doing a race things here fineteen Media Group.

Speaker 3 (01:04:26):
Brothers.

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
So we on the riotse Man, we on the riose.
Like to see people's rides.

Speaker 3 (01:04:30):
Absolutely absolutely, Once again, we appreciate you and you have
popping all board with us this week with the baseline
Calie Warrenshaw.

Speaker 1 (01:04:36):
We appreciate you guys, you know we do, and we'll
catch up with you next time.