Latest / The Stop and Pop / LeBron & Stephen A. Smith Confrontation, MVP Narrative, Tatum Overlooked by the League

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LeBron & Stephen A. Smith Confrontation, MVP Narrative, Tatum Overlooked by the League · The Stop and Pop

0:01
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to another episode of The Stop and Talk.
0:04
I got my good friend with here,
0:05
known him since college games at Lehman,
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Gabriel Lorenzo.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: How you doing, brother?
0:11
SPEAKER_02: Doing good, man.
0:12
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me.
0:12
SPEAKER_02: It's been a long time coming, man.
0:13
SPEAKER_02: It's been a long time coming, but we finally made it happen.
0:15
SPEAKER_02: I'm excited.
0:16
There's a lot of great storylines in the NBA and sports,
0:18
so hyped to be here,
0:19
bro.
0:20
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
0:22
SPEAKER_01: So first thing I wanted to ask you, since you are a Nets fan,
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Long-standing Dutch fan for a long time.
0:30
SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you about the D-Low situation.
0:32
SPEAKER_01: Ooh, see?
0:33
SPEAKER_01: I can't prepare.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you about the D-Low situation with him going to Brooklyn.
0:40
And for a second time,
0:42
and this time,
0:43
he made it clear that he wants to stay here.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: So what do you think about that?
0:49
SPEAKER_02: First of all, D'Lo, I'm glad to have him back.
0:51
We all know his best year in his entire career was with the
0:54
Brooklyn Nets.
0:55
SPEAKER_02: We saw what he did.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: He was an all-star.
0:57
SPEAKER_02: Kenny Atkinson was here, who now is in Cleveland.
0:59
So for him to be back and be able to put on a show like he is,
1:02
I'm excited for him.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: In terms of him wanting to stay long-term,
1:05
SPEAKER_02: listen,
1:05
SPEAKER_02: if it's in the Nets' plans,
1:06
SPEAKER_02: to be honest,
1:07
SPEAKER_02: as Brooklyn Nets fans right now,
1:08
SPEAKER_02: we know that we are looking into the future.
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And with having D'Lo wanting to be here,
1:12
you see the kind of player he is.
1:14
SPEAKER_02: He plays more freely.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: When he was in the Lakers, as we all know, there was pressure.
1:18
Every day having to come to work and think about whether or not
1:20
he was going to get traded,
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SPEAKER_02: that would be his last night with the Lakers,
1:23
SPEAKER_02: right?
1:23
SPEAKER_02: Now that you have him in the Brooklyn Nets and he's playing freely,
1:27
SPEAKER_02: a team which we all know is planning for the future,
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SPEAKER_02: why wouldn't you want him back?
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He's someone who's going to come bring good energy with those
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young guys who we're
1:34
SPEAKER_02: all trying to see what they can do.
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SPEAKER_02: And we're seeing what they can do.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: They can play very well.
1:38
SPEAKER_02: But it's all about the future for the Nets.
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SPEAKER_02: And for him,
1:40
SPEAKER_02: truly,
1:41
his numbers have increased a little bit compared to when he was
1:44
on the Lakers.
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He's averaging more in assists,
1:46
more in points,
1:46
and obviously his lead's games.
1:48
SPEAKER_02: However, him playing freely, this is good for his career.
1:50
SPEAKER_02: You saw what happened with Dennis Schroeder this past season.
1:53
SPEAKER_02: He was playing very well to start the year.
1:54
SPEAKER_02: We traded him to the Warriors.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: He obviously got traded multiple times.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day, it's a good situation for him.
2:00
SPEAKER_02: It's a good situation for the Brooklyn Nets because it works in tandem.
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SPEAKER_02: He gets to play freely,
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SPEAKER_02: and we get to develop the young guys,
2:05
SPEAKER_02: and he's perfect for the locker room.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: I totally agree with that.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: Do you think that him and Cam Thomas could work together long-term, or –
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Do you take this from night to time to move on for Cam Thomas?
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SPEAKER_02: What's the long term?
2:19
SPEAKER_02: This is the Brooklyn Nets.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: Players get flipped all the time.
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SPEAKER_02: Cam Thomas?
2:22
SPEAKER_02: I love Cam Thomas.
2:24
SPEAKER_02: And I know we want to keep Cam Thomas.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: But Cam's been here, what, three, five years now?
2:28
SPEAKER_02: He's been here before.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, he was here before KD, Kyrie, and James Harden got here.
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SPEAKER_02: He was here during them.
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SPEAKER_02: Sometimes it was in and out of the rotation.
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SPEAKER_02: Now he's here after them.
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SPEAKER_02: Nets aren't going anywhere this season.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: Next year, we'll see what we can do.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: Like,
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how long is Cam going to want to stay in a situation where the
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team doesn't really
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SPEAKER_02: have a future in terms of being contenders?
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SPEAKER_02: So for me, I would love to see them together.
2:50
SPEAKER_02: But I also understand, like, let's be real.
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If I'm playing on a – if we're on a big market team and we're
2:55
not playing well,
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how long are you going to keep a player before you flip them
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around to see what you
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SPEAKER_02: can get in the draft?
3:00
SPEAKER_02: Because it looks like that's what the Nets are going to do.
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SPEAKER_02: They have their pick.
3:02
SPEAKER_02: They have future Phoenix –
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Phoenix Suns picks,
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if I'm not mistaken,
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but they definitely do have New York Knicks picks.
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SPEAKER_02: So it's like they're trying to set themselves up for the future.
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SPEAKER_02: And if I'm the Brooklyn Nets, man, I'll do everything to keep him around.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: I love watching him play.
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SPEAKER_02: Cam Buckets is a bucket.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day,
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SPEAKER_02: if we're not winning and he's playing well,
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SPEAKER_02: it's in our best interest to trade him and get those picks,
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SPEAKER_02: to be honest.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
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SPEAKER_01: I can see them potentially keeping him,
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SPEAKER_01: but if there's a possibility of him getting swapped out for more picks,
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SPEAKER_01: then hey,
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SPEAKER_01: why not?
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SPEAKER_01: We're going to build towards the future.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, I feel like
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Brooklyn,
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they was in like a weird state with KD,
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Kyrie,
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and James Harden.
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SPEAKER_01: And we all know how that turned out.
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SPEAKER_01: And, you know, out of all that cam, he was still there.
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SPEAKER_01: He was putting up numbers,
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SPEAKER_01: even though he was at the rotation sometimes,
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SPEAKER_01: which for the life of me,
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SPEAKER_01: I didn't understand.
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SPEAKER_01: And, you know, he showed that he deserves to be here.
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SPEAKER_01: He deserves to be in the rotation.
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SPEAKER_01: To me, he is the best scorer on the team.
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SPEAKER_01: So why not keep him?
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why not and my question to you like you you know you know how
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the nets are every
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time they try to experiment with stars and everything there's
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young guys who are
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always on a team who are very valuable that end up being quite
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frankly collateral
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damage how do you feel about a play like cam thomas now he
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actually has an
4:18
opportunity to play freely but then the team's not winning
4:20
would you want to keep
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him um yeah i mean i mean he honestly he's been putting up you
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know 30 40 balls and
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SPEAKER_01: everything and
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and i feel like you know you need that guy that one guy who can
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get you a bucket no
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matter what the situation is so for a young team who's still
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trying to learn
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SPEAKER_01: who they are going forward.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: And Cam Thomas, we don't even know how he's going to be going forward.
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SPEAKER_01: He's still developing.
4:46
SPEAKER_01: Is he only like 23, 24?
4:47
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
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SPEAKER_02: He's right there.
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SPEAKER_02: And the wild part about it is,
4:51
SPEAKER_02: again,
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SPEAKER_02: the Nets,
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SPEAKER_02: if it wasn't for the KD,
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SPEAKER_02: Kyrie,
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SPEAKER_02: James Hart situation,
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SPEAKER_02: they would probably be in the situation that they are now,
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SPEAKER_02: right?
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SPEAKER_02: They had Kenny Atkinson, don't get me wrong.
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SPEAKER_02: He was building something.
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SPEAKER_02: However, what does that look like for the Nets?
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SPEAKER_02: What's the future like for them?
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It's like you either roll the dice and see if you can do
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something like they did in that era.
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SPEAKER_02: And now you're in a situation where you're trying to plan for the draft.
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SPEAKER_02: And does Cam Thomas fit that timeline?
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SPEAKER_02: Does he fit that future look?
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SPEAKER_02: So that's what it all comes down to right now.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I can definitely see him going forward because why not?
5:21
SPEAKER_01: You see what you got with him.
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SPEAKER_01: Keep trying to develop that.
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SPEAKER_01: You got D'Lo now who would love to probably play with someone like that,
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SPEAKER_01: but also had the ball in his hands a lot more.
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SPEAKER_01: And you got some pieces, but you got to hit on the draft, though.
5:32
SPEAKER_02: Have to hit on the draft.
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SPEAKER_02: We can't miss on the draft.
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If you miss on the draft,
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this will all be for naught because we have our picks.
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SPEAKER_02: We have other picks.
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SPEAKER_02: So for us, we have to hit.
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SPEAKER_02: You saw OKC's done.
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SPEAKER_02: You see now other organizations that also have a bunch of picks.
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SPEAKER_02: They have to hit.
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SPEAKER_02: The Nets also have to hit for all of this to make sense.
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SPEAKER_01: But, you know, it's funny.
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SPEAKER_01: I thought they would have got Cam Johnson in a deal before the deadline.
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I don't know what happened with that,
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but do you see him with this team going forward?
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SPEAKER_02: That's another thing.
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SPEAKER_02: Like, all of these players, we all know, like, they're playing freely.
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SPEAKER_02: They're doing what they're doing.
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They're not trying to think about all of that stuff because the
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team's not winning.
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SPEAKER_02: Like, there's a chance that all of these players could go.
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SPEAKER_02: Like, Cam Johnson's been having a great year shooting it.
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SPEAKER_02: He was in the three-point contest.
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SPEAKER_02: Cam Thomas, the same thing.
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SPEAKER_02: But before them, Dennis Schroeder was traded, right?
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SPEAKER_02: There's so many people who've been in and out because of that.
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SPEAKER_02: Like, our coach right now.
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SPEAKER_02: He's a great coach.
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SPEAKER_02: Coach of Team Canada.
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SPEAKER_02: But is he going to be here the long term,
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SPEAKER_02: or is he just here during the times where the team's not well,
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SPEAKER_02: then they bring in somebody else,
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SPEAKER_02: like they did Kenny Atkinson.
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The team was well,
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then they brought in Steve Nash,
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because that's what Kyrie and KD wanted.
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SPEAKER_02: So for me, it's like everyone on the team right now is, we don't know.
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SPEAKER_02: Like,
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SPEAKER_02: they could be moved next season,
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SPEAKER_02: during the offseason,
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because the Nets are in a place right now where they're trying
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to rebuild.
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They're trying to put themselves in a position through the
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draft to be able to
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SPEAKER_02: sustain success and be able to build something.
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SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
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SPEAKER_01: You don't think so?
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SPEAKER_01: No, I think that, you know, they have a lot to, you know, figure out.
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SPEAKER_01: And ultimately,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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they just have to hit on these drafts because that's really
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what it's going to come
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SPEAKER_01: down to.
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If you get a really solid player in this draft and they could
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potentially be in the top five.
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SPEAKER_01: So,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
7:09
SPEAKER_01: if you can land something there and a very good draft coming up,
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SPEAKER_01: you want to have something to build with.
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SPEAKER_02: Have to hit on a draft in order for this to meet something.
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SPEAKER_02: That's all.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree with that.
7:21
So switching gears to the team that's across the bridge with
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the New York Knicks.
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SPEAKER_01: So Brunch is out for two weeks.
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And,
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you know,
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the Knicks have been inconsistent with how they've been playing defensively.
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SPEAKER_01: Do you think this will really take a toll on the Knicks going forward?
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SPEAKER_01: Or will this be possibly beneficial because other players will have the
7:46
be able to step up in his absence and try to figure out all
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right i can really
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contribute to this team no matter what the situation is you
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asking me if the knicks
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are gonna be good without brunson that's what you're asking me
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yes anytime you lose
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jalen brunson your star your point guard of course everyone
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expects for them to not
8:04
SPEAKER_02: do well let's be real
8:06
Jalen Brunson this year,
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who's been a superstar ever since last year,
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his playoff run.
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SPEAKER_02: He's right there in the superstar talk.
8:12
SPEAKER_02: Carl Anthony Towns is on your team.
8:14
SPEAKER_02: He helped you as well.
8:14
SPEAKER_02: You're the number three seed.
8:16
SPEAKER_02: We all know that they are 0-9 against the Lakers,
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SPEAKER_02: the Cleveland Cavaliers,
8:20
SPEAKER_02: and the Oklahoma City Thunder,
8:21
SPEAKER_02: right?
8:22
So now that you're going to be without Jalen Brunson,
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we all know that's a huge blow.
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SPEAKER_02: But at the same time,
8:27
SPEAKER_02: to your point,
8:28
SPEAKER_02: there's an opportunity for other players to be able to step in like
8:30
SPEAKER_02: We've seen players not play well when all of them are out there.
8:33
SPEAKER_02: Mikael Bridges, there's been a lot of question marks about him.
8:35
SPEAKER_02: We traded from our nets, right?
8:37
SPEAKER_02: Question marks about what his role is and what he's doing on the Knicks.
8:40
SPEAKER_02: But now that Jalen Brunson is out,
8:41
SPEAKER_02: we're going to get to see him,
8:43
SPEAKER_02: guys like Josh Hart,
8:44
SPEAKER_02: guys all over in the lineup,
8:45
SPEAKER_02: in the rotation,
8:46
SPEAKER_02: who will be able to step up.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: But the question, again,
8:49
Are the Knicks going to be able to sustain and keep that number
8:51
three seed?
8:51
SPEAKER_02: Like, do we know if they're going to keep the third seed?
8:53
SPEAKER_02: That's two weeks, potentially three weeks without Jalen Brunson.
8:56
SPEAKER_02: That's a lot of basketball going into April when the playoffs start.
8:59
So for me,
9:01
I believe the Knicks are going to be just fine when Jalen
9:03
Brunson gets back.
9:03
SPEAKER_02: It's about weathering the storm.
9:05
SPEAKER_02: And I'm going to be real with you, man.
9:05
Anytime you lose Brunson,
9:08
a player like Brunson,
9:08
you're going to struggle.
9:09
SPEAKER_02: Just call it what it is.
9:11
SPEAKER_02: I feel like they're going to have to do what they can,
9:13
SPEAKER_02: but it is Jalen Brunson you're losing out on.
9:15
SPEAKER_02: That's not an easy person to replace.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's definitely going to be hard.
9:19
There's been a lot of talks about Mikel Bridges,
9:22
how he's been playing this year.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: I feel like a lot of people feel like he should be playing better.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: I feel like he's doing what he normally does.
9:29
SPEAKER_01: He gets you 15, 17.
9:30
SPEAKER_01: He'll get you the occasional 20.
9:33
SPEAKER_01: He plays good defense.
9:35
SPEAKER_01: What do you think about what you've seen from him so far?
9:38
SPEAKER_02: Listen,
9:39
we can't compare Mikel on the Knicks compared to Mikel on the
9:43
Nets because on that team,
9:44
SPEAKER_02: he was a guy that they wanted to.
9:45
SPEAKER_02: Literally,
9:46
SPEAKER_02: when we traded for him,
9:48
SPEAKER_02: Kevin Durant to Phoenix,
9:49
SPEAKER_02: he was averaging 25 for the rest of the season.
9:51
SPEAKER_02: This year,
9:52
SPEAKER_02: actually,
9:52
SPEAKER_02: excuse me,
9:52
SPEAKER_02: the year before when he played a full year with the Nets,
9:55
SPEAKER_02: he averaged around,
9:55
SPEAKER_02: what,
9:56
SPEAKER_02: 18,
9:56
SPEAKER_02: 19 points a game?
9:57
SPEAKER_02: And that was on a team that struggled, didn't make the playoffs, right?
10:00
SPEAKER_02: Now he's on the Knicks,
10:01
SPEAKER_02: in the NBA,
10:02
SPEAKER_02: any team you play on,
10:03
SPEAKER_02: any great team you play on,
10:04
SPEAKER_02: it's about a definitive role.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: And for him, his role is to be a three-knee wing.
10:08
SPEAKER_02: play defense, run the floor, bring energy, hit the shots.
10:11
SPEAKER_02: That's all his game is.
10:12
SPEAKER_02: So when you average 17, 15 on the Knicks doing that, you're doing well.
10:16
SPEAKER_02: So generally speaking,
10:17
SPEAKER_02: he's playing well,
10:18
but we all feel like the Knicks can be in an even better place
10:20
because there are games,
10:21
SPEAKER_02: like in those games where they're 0-9 against the
10:23
SPEAKER_02: top three teams in the entire NBA where he doesn't play well.
10:26
Or you look at his stats and it's like,
10:28
wow,
10:28
he missed all of his shots,
10:29
right?
10:29
SPEAKER_02: So they need him to step up.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: They really do.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: If they're going to win,
10:32
go to a conference championship like they didn't do last year
10:35
due to injury because
10:35
SPEAKER_02: Brunson went down again.
10:37
SPEAKER_02: They're going to need him to step up.
10:38
SPEAKER_02: Carl Anthony Towns has been their best player this year,
10:40
but Mikel Bridges has to be the guy to step up and be the X
10:43
factor because he's the
10:44
SPEAKER_02: third guy who's the number third option,
10:45
SPEAKER_02: who can be the best third option in the entire NBA.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:50
SPEAKER_01: It's been hard for me as a Knicks fan to really
10:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, what do you feel about this, man?
10:55
SPEAKER_03: I need to know.
10:56
SPEAKER_01: Because it's hard.
10:57
SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm saying.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: It's hard because it's like,
10:59
SPEAKER_01: you know,
11:00
SPEAKER_01: when the trade happened,
11:01
SPEAKER_01: Dr.
11:01
SPEAKER_01: McElbridge's trade for the Carnegie Towns trade,
11:04
SPEAKER_01: I wasn't too sure about it.
11:05
SPEAKER_01: Like, Cat is a good player.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: He's great.
11:07
SPEAKER_01: But we all know his questions about defense.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: And I was like,
11:11
SPEAKER_01: man,
11:11
SPEAKER_01: you know,
11:11
SPEAKER_01: like,
11:12
this is going to be hard because it's like we had a solid
11:15
defensive lineup.
11:17
before but then he lost heart and style mitchell robinson went
11:21
down he's in and out
11:22
the lineup again you know and diva genzo he's a good defender
11:25
too but you know
11:27
ultimately with this team here they come off the bench but
11:29
that's a good solid
11:30
piece to come off the bench ultimately we don't really have a
11:33
bench right now
11:34
except useful drive and mitch robinson's been out you know we
11:38
don't really have any
11:39
other big set precious and the um ariel kid so it's hard it's
11:45
hard right now and
11:47
SPEAKER_01: I think a few weeks ago I seen that game was like 0-9.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: I think at the time 0-7 against top teams.
11:52
SPEAKER_02: 0-9 now because they lost to Lakers.
11:53
SPEAKER_01: You see?
11:54
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
11:55
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, man, this is not good.
11:57
SPEAKER_02: Here's my thing to you.
11:59
SPEAKER_02: You did trade Julius Randle for Cat.
12:03
SPEAKER_02: How do you feel about the Knicks now with Cat versus Julius Randle?
12:07
SPEAKER_02: How do you feel about the Knicks with that team?
12:10
You know,
12:11
honestly,
12:13
for me personally,
12:14
I felt like we should have kept Julius Randle.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
12:19
But I feel like because of what Julius Randall brings to the
12:21
table as well,
12:23
SPEAKER_01: but it's no knock on Cat.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: Cat is great.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: But I feel like the fit was a little bit better.
12:28
Randall's a little more mobile defensively when he wants to
12:31
play defense than Carlton Townsend.
12:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
12:34
SPEAKER_01: So him with Mitchell Robinson, it would have made a lot more sense.
12:38
And now it's like I'm not sure how Cat and Mitch will play
12:42
together because,
12:44
SPEAKER_01: you know,
12:44
SPEAKER_01: they both be so foul-prone.
12:47
yo we saw it against the lakers too right he was at the floor
12:50
cat and you had
12:51
mitchell robinson at the five and mitch robinson played like
12:53
what like 12 minutes
12:54
or something like that yeah he was in like in foul trouble and
12:57
he just came back
12:57
from injury so it's crazy for the next place so it's like you
13:02
know and then the
13:02
next day doing it during the deadline to get another big
13:06
another big i was i was at
13:08
least saying like you know we gotta get somebody go get like
13:11
robert williams from
13:12
SPEAKER_01: portland get somebody but
13:15
SPEAKER_01: They didn't do nothing.
13:18
SPEAKER_01: To me, that's going to really hurt them.
13:19
Yeah,
13:20
and that's why now that you lose Brunson,
13:22
you don't have a legitimate big.
13:24
SPEAKER_02: You're going to ask Cat to do more.
13:25
SPEAKER_02: Mikael Bridges hopefully steps up.
13:27
SPEAKER_02: But McBride,
13:28
SPEAKER_02: again,
13:28
is going to come down to guys like him to be able to step in
13:30
because Jalen Brunson
13:32
SPEAKER_02: going down,
13:33
Mitchell Robinson and Cat not looking like they fit perfectly
13:35
like that playing together,
13:36
there's much more pressure for the New York Knicks going into
13:39
the playoffs.
13:39
There's a month left,
13:40
and Brunson's going to be out for two to three of those.
13:42
SPEAKER_02: It's going to be a big time.
13:43
Like,
13:44
all the weaknesses of the New York Knicks are about to be put
13:46
right in front of everybody.
13:47
Because,
13:48
again,
13:48
you have to have bigs,
13:50
and they're struggling with Mitchell Robinson and Cat.
13:51
And now that Jalen Brunson is going down,
13:54
it's something to look out for,
13:55
for sure.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
13:57
So the next one I wanted to talk about,
14:02
talking about Brunson's old teammate,
14:04
Luka Dodgers.
14:05
SPEAKER_01: Oh, man.
14:06
He ultimately,
14:07
you know,
14:08
has been traded to the Lakers,
14:09
and the Lakers have been looking good.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: with LeBron, Reeves, and Luka.
14:16
Do you think they're going to make a push with LeBron going
14:19
down for these next few
14:21
SPEAKER_01: weeks as well?
14:22
SPEAKER_02: Without LeBron, that's tough.
14:24
SPEAKER_02: With LeBron, heck yes.
14:26
SPEAKER_02: That's the scariest team in the entire NBA with LeBron.
14:29
SPEAKER_02: But if you're asking me just Luka and Austin Reeves,
14:31
SPEAKER_02: listen,
14:32
SPEAKER_02: Luka is a guy who's an offense to himself,
14:34
SPEAKER_02: right?
14:34
SPEAKER_02: You see the way he plays.
14:36
SPEAKER_02: He plays at his own pace.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: He controls all the –
14:38
SPEAKER_02: All the tempo.
14:39
SPEAKER_02: He controls the entire game.
14:41
SPEAKER_02: Coaches are frustrated to game plan against him because you see J.J.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: Redick.
14:44
SPEAKER_02: He says it, too.
14:45
If you play the kind of coverage that you play on Luka,
14:47
you're going to die.
14:48
SPEAKER_02: That's what Luka brings to a team.
14:50
But without LeBron now as a second running mate,
14:52
you're going to need Austin Reeves to step up.
14:54
SPEAKER_02: Rui Hachimura, who they need to step up.
14:56
SPEAKER_02: Dalton Canette, a rookie.
14:57
SPEAKER_02: He deserves a lot of praise.
14:58
SPEAKER_02: That dude is a knockdown shooter.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: Every time I should see him shoot, I feel like he's going to go in.
15:03
SPEAKER_02: Like he is a huge piece for them.
15:05
SPEAKER_02: In terms of making a run without LeBron these next,
15:07
SPEAKER_02: what,
15:07
SPEAKER_02: two weeks he's going to be out now with a groin injury?
15:10
SPEAKER_02: They could definitely do it.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: They've been, what, 10-2 since the Luka trade.
15:13
SPEAKER_02: They won eight straight.
15:14
SPEAKER_02: They just lost last night, obviously, to the Boston Celtics.
15:17
SPEAKER_02: But they have a chance to make a run.
15:18
SPEAKER_02: They're already the number two seed.
15:20
SPEAKER_02: LeBron will be back before the playoffs.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: For them, it's all about finishing as the number two.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: If they can finish the number two seed, they can avoid a lot of matchups.
15:28
SPEAKER_02: And for them,
15:29
I think you've got to get that number two so you can avoid
15:31
Denver as much as possible.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: You see what I'm saying?
15:33
SPEAKER_02: You want to avoid them as much as possible.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: So Denver's right there.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: I think with the loss last night, the Lakers moved to third.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: Probably with the loss today, Denver probably moved back to third.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
15:45
They're going to probably be flip-flopping for the rest of the season,
15:47
to be honest with you.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
15:49
SPEAKER_02: And then with that, too, let's say...
15:53
SPEAKER_02: LeBron misses out the rest of the season, right?
15:55
SPEAKER_02: You're now asking Luka to carry them throughout the rest of the season.
15:58
SPEAKER_02: And they got to go up against OKC, if I'm not mistaken.
16:00
SPEAKER_02: It's coming up in a few days.
16:02
SPEAKER_02: That's going to be tough.
16:03
SPEAKER_02: Luka, who also has his injuries.
16:04
We saw him last night,
16:05
too,
16:06
against the Celtics,
16:07
was in pain a little bit.
16:10
SPEAKER_02: So what's to say, moving forward, that he might not miss a game or two?
16:13
SPEAKER_02: And if he misses a game or two, we know the Lakers are going to not win.
16:17
SPEAKER_02: There's a good chance they're going to lose those games.
16:20
SPEAKER_01: And you know, there's a report that came out today that Luka is
16:23
SPEAKER_01: questionable for the next game.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: I believe tomorrow.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think him and someone else of Jackson Hayes.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: They're both questionable.
16:32
SPEAKER_02: But here's the thing, though.
16:33
SPEAKER_02: They play the Nets.
16:36
SPEAKER_02: But you know what's wild?
16:38
SPEAKER_02: I'm seeing all the teams.
16:39
As a Nets fan,
16:40
this is frustrating because I feel like they're trying to play
16:42
my team.
16:43
I'm starting to see all the top teams take their players off
16:45
when they go up against us.
16:46
SPEAKER_02: Like Jalen Williams, Shaq Holmgren didn't play against us, OKC.
16:50
SPEAKER_02: Shaq Xander did it, and they still won.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
16:53
SPEAKER_02: I feel like they're taking slates on my team.
16:55
SPEAKER_02: We're the day-off team.
16:57
that's what they treat them up the ladies now lebron's out luke
17:00
is going to sit out
17:01
i'm jackson hayes is out what if we see somebody where we sit
17:04
out they don't care
17:05
to lose to the nets no one cares about the nets because they
17:07
know they can still i
17:08
mean listen y'all going to get back there but it's just got to
17:12
be a long process
17:13
right now that's crazy so switching gears to the the celtics
17:22
yeah man the lake of
17:23
SPEAKER_01: drivers so jason tatum
17:26
SPEAKER_01: Feels like he's being overlooked and overrated.
17:29
SPEAKER_01: Do you feel like he's overrated?
17:31
SPEAKER_01: But I'm going to read the quote to you.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: In New York, I think it was the New York Times.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: I did my part.
17:39
Tatum said after leading Celsius and points,
17:41
rebounds and sits in the finals.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: It's the world we live in and everything is narrative based.
17:46
SPEAKER_01: The NBA has been around almost 80 years.
17:49
that's only only six people to lead a team in points rebounds
17:54
and assists in a
17:55
championship and i'm the only one that didn't really find the
18:00
mvp i'm the odd man
18:01
out and i'm okay with that they voted for someone else which is
18:04
cool i can control
18:06
what i can control whoever people want to vote for it's out of
18:11
my control what do
18:13
SPEAKER_01: you feel about that
18:15
SPEAKER_02: So he led his team in points,
18:16
SPEAKER_02: rebounds,
18:17
SPEAKER_02: and assists in the finals,
18:18
SPEAKER_02: and he still didn't get finals MVP.
18:20
SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
18:21
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to tell you right now, that's wild.
18:23
SPEAKER_02: He should have gotten it.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: Let's be honest.
18:25
SPEAKER_02: We're going by that.
18:26
But my thing is,
18:27
the first thing I think about,
18:29
he should have got finals MVP.
18:30
SPEAKER_02: What are you saying?
18:31
SPEAKER_02: Jalen Brown didn't deserve it?
18:32
SPEAKER_02: Your teammate?
18:33
SPEAKER_02: There's been rumors about how,
18:34
SPEAKER_02: and in the longest,
18:35
SPEAKER_02: them coming into the league,
18:36
SPEAKER_02: how they may not be on the same page.
18:38
SPEAKER_02: They have a power struggle.
18:39
SPEAKER_02: Who's the alpha?
18:40
SPEAKER_02: Who's the beta?
18:41
We've heard that throughout their entire careers when they were
18:43
playing together.
18:43
SPEAKER_02: And now Tatum saying this,
18:45
SPEAKER_02: I feel,
18:46
SPEAKER_02: listen,
18:46
SPEAKER_02: it's weird to say because at the end of the day,
18:48
SPEAKER_02: your teammate won.
18:49
SPEAKER_02: He could have prefaced it better.
18:50
SPEAKER_02: However, he should have won that finals MVP.
18:53
But here's the thing we got to talk about with Jason Tatum
18:55
because this is what I
18:56
SPEAKER_02: wanted to talk about.
18:58
SPEAKER_02: Tatum is a dude who has not slept on.
19:00
SPEAKER_02: He is who he is.
19:01
SPEAKER_02: He is a superstar.
19:02
But the difference between him and the other stars in the
19:04
league is that they
19:05
SPEAKER_02: individually have separated themselves from the pack from everyone else.
19:11
SPEAKER_02: Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP and NBA champion.
19:13
SPEAKER_02: We know what he does every night.
19:14
SPEAKER_02: Triple-double God.
19:15
SPEAKER_02: We know that.
19:17
SPEAKER_02: Shea Gilgis Alexander is what,
19:19
SPEAKER_02: 24-25,
19:19
SPEAKER_02: and he led the league in scoring last year,
19:21
SPEAKER_02: is going to do it again.
19:22
SPEAKER_02: MVP frontrunner last year and is the favorite this year.
19:25
SPEAKER_02: He separated himself.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: OKC is running through the league.
19:28
SPEAKER_02: You got Luka Doncic.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: We all know what he can do.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: He went to the finals last year.
19:31
SPEAKER_02: Kyrie led the Mavericks to that team.
19:33
SPEAKER_02: And even without Kyrie Irving,
19:35
they went to a conference finals in 2022 against the Golden
19:38
State Warriors where
19:38
SPEAKER_02: they ultimately lost.
19:39
SPEAKER_02: So we know what he can do.
19:41
Joel Embiid,
19:41
before he got injured,
19:42
was an MVP,
19:42
was a dominant 30,
19:44
12 a night.
19:45
SPEAKER_02: The thing with Jason Tatum is he can average 30, 8, and 4.
19:51
SPEAKER_02: He could have a bad game,
19:52
SPEAKER_02: and we'll see that he shot 7 of 24 for like 17 points,
19:55
SPEAKER_02: and his team still won.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: Shoot 7 of 18, 11 of 32 or whatever, and his team still won by like 15.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: So now we look at your team.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: You have Jalen Brown.
20:05
SPEAKER_02: You have Chris S. Porzingis.
20:06
SPEAKER_02: You have Derek White.
20:07
SPEAKER_02: You have Drew Holiday.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: Both of these guys, Olympians alongside Jason Tatum, right?
20:11
SPEAKER_02: You have all of these guys.
20:12
So when your team wins,
20:13
regardless of what you do,
20:15
we say it wasn't you individually.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: You have a team no matter what.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: That's why we look at guys like Anthony Edwards.
20:20
Like I said,
20:20
Luka,
20:22
Nikola Jokic,
20:23
Steph Curry,
20:24
LeBron,
20:24
KD,
20:25
they separated themselves.
20:26
SPEAKER_02: JT, on the other hand, it's like he has everything around him.
20:29
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
20:30
And no one here is going to sit here and say that he should
20:32
just go into a lesser
20:33
SPEAKER_02: situation to prove that he's that dude.
20:35
The bottom line is he's just in a situation where he has so
20:38
much that no matter
20:39
SPEAKER_02: what he does,
20:40
SPEAKER_02: his team is going to be good.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: So he's not overrated.
20:42
He slept on because everyone around him is just separated
20:45
themselves and he hasn't.
20:48
yeah i i feel the same way i was literally saying that during
20:51
the game it's like
20:53
you know you got holford holliday brown and when posse is
20:57
healthy that's four
20:59
all-stars on your team four all-stars whatever you want to look
21:02
at it and then you
21:03
got derrick white who made a push for almost making the
21:06
all-star team last year one
21:08
of the best all-around role players excuse me one of the best
21:10
all-around players in
21:11
SPEAKER_01: the league period exactly so
21:14
they are deep and that's why i feel like you know that's why
21:17
tatum doesn't get the
21:18
love that he deserves because he is also on a stacked team and
21:23
right no not for
21:24
tatum great player but you're in a you're in a great situation
21:27
like you you're a
21:29
poised to be repeating and ultimately building the dynasty if
21:33
subjects want to go
21:34
that route with how the cap space is going to be and they're
21:38
able to keep all their
21:39
SPEAKER_01: players together but you they're in a great situation so right
21:44
he feels like he's he's overlooked and you know you the range
21:47
is going they're
21:47
going to add up those numbers are going to add up and then
21:50
people are not going to
21:51
SPEAKER_01: be overlooking you anymore yeah
21:54
SPEAKER_02: And one thing that we,
21:56
SPEAKER_02: another thing that we have to talk about with Jason Tatum is you,
21:59
SPEAKER_02: whether,
22:00
SPEAKER_02: listen,
22:00
you haven't been in the MVP discussion despite having these 30
22:03
point per game
22:04
SPEAKER_02: seasons or 28 or whatever it is,
22:06
SPEAKER_02: because we know you have a monster squad.
22:09
No one is saying that you should go to a lesser team or have
22:11
lesser teams.
22:11
Hey,
22:11
Porzingis,
22:12
Jason Brown,
22:13
you got to leave so that way I can prove myself.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: No one is saying that.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day,
22:17
SPEAKER_02: Jason Tatum is in a situation where since he came into the league,
22:20
SPEAKER_02: was in the playoffs,
22:21
SPEAKER_02: conference finals almost every year.
22:22
SPEAKER_02: Remember 2018 when he ran up against LeBron?
22:25
SPEAKER_02: He had a crew with him, even without Kyrie Irving.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: So for us, it's not that you're slept on or you're overrated.
22:30
It's just that there are other guys who've individually
22:32
separated themselves.
22:33
SPEAKER_02: Luka Doncic isn't an MVP, but we see what he does.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: We see how he can carry.
22:38
Jason Tatum on the other end could have a bad game and would
22:41
still win the game.
22:42
SPEAKER_02: He didn't win finals MVP, didn't win conference finals MVP.
22:46
SPEAKER_02: Eastern Conference Finals MVP, but his teammate did.
22:48
And if he wants to be able to not be slept on,
22:50
he has to get those awards.
22:51
SPEAKER_02: And without getting those things, you haven't separated yourself.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: Yep, totally agree with that.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: And you know, for me personally, I feel like Brown is not far from Tatum.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: I feel like they're almost equal.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: So it's not a bad thing that Brown got the Finals MVP.
23:09
SPEAKER_01: You know, you got your Eastern Conference MVP.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: You got that.
23:13
SPEAKER_01: You got your reign.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: Hey, Larry Bird didn't get a fighter's MVP his first ring.
23:18
SPEAKER_01: Right.
23:18
SPEAKER_01: Steph Curry didn't get a fighter's MVP his first three rings.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: So, hey, you know, you got to look at it.
23:24
SPEAKER_01: You know, you got the ultimate goal.
23:27
SPEAKER_02: Got to say this because you just brought up Steph Curry.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: This is perfect.
23:30
And we got to talk about it because this is what we talk about
23:33
when we watch the
23:34
great players and why there's so much narrative and why the NBA
23:36
is story driven.
23:37
SPEAKER_02: People love a story.
23:38
SPEAKER_02: What Jason Tatum expressed in that quote,
23:41
he's expressing what Steph Curry had to deal with for the last
23:44
four or five years
23:44
SPEAKER_02: before he won the 2022 finals MVP.
23:47
SPEAKER_02: Because every year after they won, Iguodala had the finals MVP.
23:50
SPEAKER_02: Kevin Durant had it back to back years.
23:52
SPEAKER_02: Everyone was saying how,
23:52
SPEAKER_02: yeah,
23:53
SPEAKER_02: he's an MVP,
23:54
but he improved that he could be the number one option on
23:56
championship team.
23:57
SPEAKER_02: And now Steph Curry dealing with all of that going into 2022 NBA finals.
24:01
SPEAKER_02: He won the championship and the finals MVP.
24:03
That's why you saw that emotion come out of him when he won the championship.
24:07
SPEAKER_02: This is what Jason Tatum is having to deal with.
24:09
SPEAKER_02: The same thing that Steph Curry dealt with in 2022.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: It was a complete stat.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: And it's crazy how people really thought Steph Curry couldn't be the guy.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: When he clearly was the guy.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: Like, Iguodala got it.
24:23
SPEAKER_01: We know why he got it.
24:23
SPEAKER_01: He guarded LeBron.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: He put up good stats.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, KD is KD.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: But we know what Steph is doing.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: We know the type of player he is.
24:32
So we know that he deserved at least one of those finals MVPs
24:36
during that run.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, that last one was amazing.
24:42
SPEAKER_02: Look at Steph.
24:42
SPEAKER_02: Steph had better numbers than Andre Iguodala.
24:45
SPEAKER_02: And Iguodala still got the finals MVP.
24:47
So,
24:47
Tatum,
24:47
the same thing that happened to you has happened to Steph Curry.
24:50
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
24:50
SPEAKER_02: Steph Curry had to go out there and do what?
24:52
SPEAKER_02: Prove the doubters wrong.
24:53
SPEAKER_02: Go out and prove it on the floor.
24:55
SPEAKER_02: Jason Tatum, you don't want to be overlooked.
24:57
SPEAKER_02: You don't want to be slighted.
24:58
SPEAKER_02: You have to go out there and prove it on the floor.
25:00
SPEAKER_02: You have to go out there and win you the finals.
25:03
SPEAKER_02: This is why the greatest are considered the greatest.
25:05
SPEAKER_02: They don't just put up numbers.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: They have the accolades.
25:07
SPEAKER_02: People are starting to see it.
25:08
SPEAKER_02: We talk about the goal debate all the time.
25:10
SPEAKER_02: It's not just about numbers.
25:11
SPEAKER_02: It's about the accolades to solidify and separate you as an individual.
25:15
SPEAKER_02: Jason Tatum, that's what you got to do.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: You couldn't say it better myself, man.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: And you know,
25:22
SPEAKER_01: if the Celtics ultimately end up winning the championship this year,
25:25
SPEAKER_01: Tatum will probably get the finals MVP.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: Based off, you know,
25:30
SPEAKER_02: But he has to take it, bro.
25:31
SPEAKER_01: He has to take it.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: That's the thing.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: He has to take it.
25:34
SPEAKER_02: Look at what happened to him.
25:36
And we're going to talk about it because look at what happened
25:37
in the Olympics.
25:39
SPEAKER_02: There were games he didn't play.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: Why is that?
25:41
SPEAKER_02: It's not a slight to you.
25:42
SPEAKER_02: What they're saying is you're not on that level yet.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: You haven't separated yourself on that degree like the other guys have.
25:48
SPEAKER_02: So there are games you don't play.
25:50
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, you took it on the chin.
25:51
SPEAKER_02: You played it well.
25:52
SPEAKER_02: It's motivation going into next year.
25:54
SPEAKER_02: But that's what you have to understand.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: There are players like Steph Curry,
25:56
SPEAKER_02: like I mentioned,
25:57
SPEAKER_02: LeBron,
25:57
SPEAKER_02: who had to deal with all of this stuff.
25:59
SPEAKER_02: They had to go out there and prove it.
26:00
SPEAKER_02: And when they proved it, guess what?
26:02
SPEAKER_02: No one can say nothing anymore.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: He has to do that.
26:04
SPEAKER_02: Steph Curry has solidified his career.
26:06
SPEAKER_02: He's one of the all-time greats.
26:07
SPEAKER_02: Finals MVP.
26:09
SPEAKER_02: That put a stamp on it.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: Tatum got to do the same.
26:11
SPEAKER_02: And the beauty of it, he's only 26.
26:12
SPEAKER_02: So much time left for him to prove that.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, people forget how young he really is.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: He's not even 30 yet, so he's still got a lot to do.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: He's been 26.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: He's been good since he came into the league.
26:28
He literally was on the team that went to the conference finals
26:32
multiple times,
26:33
SPEAKER_01: and he's never missed the playoffs.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: So he has all the accolades.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: He's accomplished everything.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: So he just needs that finals MVP.
26:41
real quick like there was a graphic that was played on network
26:45
one time where they
26:46
had three different players you had one player through his six
26:49
years in the nba who
26:50
averaged 22 11 and something right and he was an nba champion
26:54
you had one dude who
26:55
SPEAKER_02: averaged 33 or something through his first six years
26:58
SPEAKER_02: All stars, MVPs, but no championship.
27:00
SPEAKER_02: And then you had a dude who was averaging 22,
27:03
SPEAKER_02: nine,
27:04
SPEAKER_02: and like five with an NBA championship,
27:07
SPEAKER_02: no finals MVP,
27:08
SPEAKER_02: but was in a conference final every year minus one of his career.
27:12
SPEAKER_02: And guess what people were choosing out of those three?
27:14
SPEAKER_02: Because it was a blind reveal.
27:15
SPEAKER_02: They chose the guy,
27:16
SPEAKER_02: the last guy,
27:16
SPEAKER_02: was in the conference finals every year,
27:18
SPEAKER_02: but one year of his career who has a championship in year six was 26.
27:21
SPEAKER_02: And guess who that person was?
27:23
SPEAKER_02: Jason Tatum.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: Jason Tatum.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: The other person was Michael Jordan.
27:26
SPEAKER_02: And the first person was Larry Bird.
27:28
SPEAKER_02: So, in other words, he's in a great place.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
27:32
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
27:34
SPEAKER_01: Tatum can't be mad.
27:35
SPEAKER_01: For real.
27:35
SPEAKER_01: He can't be mad.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: I get it.
27:37
I get he feels like he's slighted,
27:39
but,
27:39
you know,
27:40
like,
27:41
you're in great company.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: And you're still really young.
27:43
SPEAKER_01: You got time to really get that.
27:45
SPEAKER_02: 26, man.
27:46
SPEAKER_02: You trying to be the GOAT at 26?
27:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, good luck.
27:49
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:50
SPEAKER_01: So...
27:52
Keeping on the MVP topic,
27:54
so Djokic and Shea are the front runners for MVP this year.
27:59
SPEAKER_01: We've seen what Djokic did with the 30-20-20 game, first in NBA history.
28:05
SPEAKER_01: Shea and Djokic faced off today.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: Shea got the best of him this game.
28:10
SPEAKER_01: He had about 40 points.
28:13
SPEAKER_01: And Djokic,
28:13
SPEAKER_01: he did get hurt early in the game,
28:16
SPEAKER_01: had an elbow injury,
28:17
SPEAKER_01: but he still put up a near triple-double.
28:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
28:21
SPEAKER_01: Who do you feel is the MVP this year?
28:23
SPEAKER_01: And do you feel like the narrative shifts every year as far as MVP?
28:29
SPEAKER_02: Right now, this moment, 7.30 p.m.
28:31
SPEAKER_02: on Sunday, the MVP of the NBA is Shea Gilgis-Alexander.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: If you would have asked me that Sunday morning or,
28:38
SPEAKER_02: excuse me,
28:39
SPEAKER_02: Friday night after Jokic had his 30-20-20 game,
28:42
SPEAKER_02: to me,
28:43
SPEAKER_02: it would still be Shea Gilgis-Alexander.
28:45
SPEAKER_02: But the gap would have been this small.
28:47
SPEAKER_02: Because Jokic, with that performance, closed the gap.
28:50
SPEAKER_02: Before that, SGA was the frontrunner for the MVP, no question about it.
28:55
SPEAKER_02: He scored 40 points, eight rebounds, and five assists today.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: 48-5 today.
29:00
SPEAKER_02: Fourth straight 40-point game.
29:02
SPEAKER_02: He has 58 consecutive games with 20-plus points scored in a game.
29:06
SPEAKER_02: Shea Gilchrist-Alexander.
29:07
That dude is having as equivalent of a season as Kevin Durant
29:10
did in his MVP season.
29:11
SPEAKER_02: And Shea Gilgis Xander did it with a better true shooting percentage,
29:15
SPEAKER_02: better field goal,
29:16
SPEAKER_02: better three-pointer.
29:17
SPEAKER_02: And he is more efficient completely.
29:19
SPEAKER_02: If you just watch the way he plays,
29:21
SPEAKER_02: he's much more efficient,
29:21
SPEAKER_02: where he's shooting mid-range jumpers.
29:23
SPEAKER_02: He's getting to the baskets.
29:24
SPEAKER_02: He's doing all that.
29:24
SPEAKER_02: He's a three-level scorer like we've ever seen.
29:27
SPEAKER_02: Jokic,
29:27
SPEAKER_02: on the other hand,
29:28
SPEAKER_02: when it comes to the MVP voting,
29:30
SPEAKER_02: we see him year in and year out prove us in a new,
29:33
SPEAKER_02: different way,
29:33
SPEAKER_02: in a brand new way why he's the MVP.
29:35
We've never seen a guy who won so many,
29:37
who won so many MVPs like LeBron's won so many MVPs.
29:40
SPEAKER_02: We saw Jordan get MVPs.
29:41
SPEAKER_02: And then there's the photo fatigue factor that comes in.
29:44
SPEAKER_02: But with Jokic, he shows us a new way.
29:46
SPEAKER_02: This year, he's averaging a triple double.
29:48
SPEAKER_02: This is his greatest season ever.
29:50
SPEAKER_02: And yet we're talking about Shea Kuchis Alexander being the MVP.
29:53
SPEAKER_02: So in other words,
29:54
we're saying that Shea Kuchis Alexander's season this year is
29:57
better than Jokic's
29:57
SPEAKER_02: MVP last year.
29:58
SPEAKER_02: It's better than Jokic's MVP in 2022.
30:00
SPEAKER_02: It's better than Jokic's MVP in 2021, which we all agree is not true.
30:04
Especially this year,
30:05
the way that Jokic is playing better than those MVP seasons,
30:08
right?
30:08
SPEAKER_02: There is we all know that there's there's voter fatigue.
30:12
SPEAKER_02: We all know this voter.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
30:15
SPEAKER_02: We can deny that.
30:16
SPEAKER_02: But SGA is do one.
30:18
SPEAKER_02: SGA is the MVP right now.
30:19
And with the win today,
30:21
the gap is right back to where it was before the 30 2020 game.
30:25
SPEAKER_01: But, you know, I agree with that.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: But I want to ask you, why does it?
30:31
probably the same reason for tatum why doesn't donovan mitchell
30:34
get any love for
30:34
mvp he's best team the whole nba you're talking something
30:40
you're talking something
30:41
best team in the nba but the but donovan mitchell on that team
30:44
has evan mobley he
30:46
has darius garland he has jared allen who would have been an
30:49
all-star if the other
30:50
guys in the league weren't just so great he has two other
30:53
all-stars on his team
30:55
SPEAKER_02: arguably the coach of the year
30:57
my coach of the year Kenny Atkinson and look at his numbers 23
31:01
points four and four
31:01
I'm sorry that's not an MVP I've never heard of an MVP winning
31:05
MVP with 23 points
31:06
four rebounds forces is the numbers aren't strong enough and he
31:09
has a strong team
31:11
um yeah no problem but you know about that you know the numbers
31:22
the numbers don't
31:23
SPEAKER_01: lie but
31:25
SPEAKER_01: You know Nash won that MVP with like 16 and 11.
31:28
SPEAKER_02: 16 and 11?
31:30
SPEAKER_02: That's a double-double assist.
31:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
31:34
SPEAKER_02: Double-double assist.
31:35
SPEAKER_02: Donovan Mitchell averaging 23, four rebounds, four assists.
31:38
SPEAKER_02: He's done that almost every year of his career.
31:40
SPEAKER_02: Differences, his team is number one.
31:42
SPEAKER_02: So why is he being boosted up?
31:44
SPEAKER_02: I think he deserves some MVP voting.
31:46
SPEAKER_02: He deserves some recognition.
31:47
SPEAKER_02: But there's no doubt.
31:49
SPEAKER_02: It's between Jokic and SGA.
31:50
SPEAKER_02: It has to be.
31:51
SPEAKER_02: What do you think?
31:53
SPEAKER_01: I think so, too.
31:54
SPEAKER_01: To me, personally, I thought SGH had been MVP last year.
31:58
SPEAKER_01: And Jokic, man, his numbers are crazy right now.
32:03
SPEAKER_01: And he got better.
32:05
SPEAKER_01: And for me,
32:08
I think he got better because the fact that Westbrook is there
32:12
and he's had kind of
32:13
SPEAKER_01: like
32:14
in his ear like hey man listen this is what you gotta do yeah
32:17
exactly so like for
32:19
me like and you know this goes back to what i said a few years
32:22
ago about westbrook
32:23
westbrook gets all this knock about his play and everything i
32:26
always tell people
32:28
yep all of all the stars that westbrook's played with they had
32:32
their career high
32:33
SPEAKER_01: numbers with playing alongside kd paul george james harden lebron
32:40
SPEAKER_01: And then LeBron, LeBron's LeBron, but he cracked a 40K with Rushmore.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: Yes, he did.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: And then now he got Joker.
32:47
SPEAKER_01: And look what Joker's doing.
32:48
SPEAKER_01: So...
32:50
SPEAKER_01: You got to think about it.
32:53
SPEAKER_02: Listen,
32:53
SPEAKER_02: and here's the biggest case,
32:54
because now we're getting to a point where we're going to have
32:56
to split hairs.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: If we were voting, we would have to split hairs.
32:59
SPEAKER_02: Shea Alexander, best team in the West, what, 53 and 10, 53 and 11 now.
33:03
He's not only averaging 32,
33:04
7,
33:04
and 6 and 5,
33:04
but he also has an all-star on his team.
33:11
Jokic is the one guy we know who's won MVPs and has been the
33:14
best player and had
33:15
SPEAKER_02: his team where it is without an all-star.
33:17
SPEAKER_02: He's crewed up,
33:18
SPEAKER_02: but no all-star,
33:19
which is why I think he gets that much more recognition for the
33:22
MVP because,
33:23
SPEAKER_02: again,
33:23
SPEAKER_02: he makes a new argument for us every single year.
33:25
SPEAKER_02: When you thought Bodo Vertigo was going to keep him out of it,
33:27
SPEAKER_02: here he is showing us in a new way.
33:30
SPEAKER_02: That's what's going on with Jokic, no all-star.
33:33
You know,
33:34
I didn't think about that because he never had an all-star on
33:37
his team.
33:37
SPEAKER_01: I guess the first time he's had Russell Westbrook
33:40
SPEAKER_02: Jamal Murray, and now Aaron Gordon won out in this game.
33:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
33:45
SPEAKER_01: So it just doesn't show how great Jokic is.
33:48
SPEAKER_01: But I do feel like SGA died this year.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: The voters is narrative driven, right?
33:55
SPEAKER_02: The voters owe him one.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: And the voters are like,
33:57
SPEAKER_02: listen,
33:58
SPEAKER_02: for Jokic to get it this year,
33:59
SPEAKER_02: he has to do something that can't be denied.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: Because right now his season can't be denied.
34:04
SPEAKER_02: But a loss today is where it's like, OK, cool.
34:06
SPEAKER_02: SGA.
34:07
SPEAKER_02: I'm still with SGA.
34:09
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
34:10
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to say it again.
34:11
SPEAKER_02: I just want to say this one more time.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: I want to reiterate it again.
34:14
SPEAKER_02: SGA is the MVP today.
34:16
SPEAKER_02: Jokic with his 30-20-20 game closed the gap.
34:19
SPEAKER_02: After winning it today, OKC, Shea is the MVP.
34:23
SPEAKER_02: This dude, four straight 40-point games.
34:27
SPEAKER_02: 58 consecutive games with 20-plus scored in a game.
34:30
SPEAKER_02: Higher field goal percentage,
34:31
SPEAKER_02: higher true shooting percentage,
34:32
higher free throw percentage than Kevin Durant and Russell
34:35
Westbrook in their MVP season.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
34:38
SPEAKER_01: That's a good stat right there.
34:39
SPEAKER_01: Crazy.
34:41
SPEAKER_01: But,
34:42
SPEAKER_01: you know,
34:42
I always say that we always have those games where the two MVP
34:47
candidates go up
34:48
against each other in the regular season where the MVP talk is
34:51
really hot.
34:52
And then that one decided game,
34:53
it will show who's the real MVP that year.
34:57
SPEAKER_01: I remember specifically it was the year that Kobe got his MVP.
35:01
SPEAKER_01: It was him and Chris Paul in the front running.
35:04
and kobe was going at it like he went crazy he caught a reverse
35:08
dunk during that
35:09
game and when he caught that duck i was like that was over that
35:13
was like he's
35:14
getting it this year he went to finals that year yep so i feel
35:19
like that game today
35:20
for sga that solidified him as an MVP yeah and now that you
35:25
bring up kobe with that
35:27
SPEAKER_02: what about yokich and mb
35:29
SPEAKER_02: when they was meeting for that.
35:31
SPEAKER_02: Jokic got the better of him, but guess what?
35:34
SPEAKER_02: Embiid got the numbers and his team won.
35:36
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
35:36
SPEAKER_02: He ended up winning MVP.
35:38
And the beauty about this MVP race this year,
35:40
that today is just one game.
35:42
SPEAKER_02: They play again tomorrow.
35:43
SPEAKER_02: They play again tomorrow.
35:44
SPEAKER_02: They're playing a back-to-back.
35:45
SPEAKER_02: So Jokic has another opportunity to go out there and ball out,
35:48
SPEAKER_02: get a W,
35:49
SPEAKER_02: and bring it back to where the gap is closing.
35:52
SPEAKER_01: That's going to be good.
35:53
SPEAKER_01: Hopefully everybody's healthy for that game because...
35:56
SPEAKER_01: Sustaining all them injuries, hopefully they'll be fine.
35:59
SPEAKER_02: I want to say it one more time because it's important.
36:01
SPEAKER_02: SGA today is the MVP.
36:03
SPEAKER_02: Before this game, Jokic's 30-2020 game, the cap got closed.
36:07
SPEAKER_02: They played again today.
36:09
SPEAKER_02: OKC won.
36:11
SPEAKER_02: Shea had 40.
36:12
SPEAKER_02: Four straight games now.
36:13
SPEAKER_02: 58 straight games with 20-plus points.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: Field goal, true shooting percentage.
36:17
SPEAKER_02: Offensive box score.
36:19
SPEAKER_02: I didn't even mention that one.
36:20
Has a better offensive box score than KD and Russell Westbrook
36:22
in their MVP season.
36:23
SPEAKER_02: So right now, he's the MVP.
36:25
SPEAKER_02: But they play again tomorrow.
36:26
SPEAKER_02: So Jokic has another chance to close the gap back to where it was.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
36:31
So hopefully,
36:33
if Jokic can close the gap,
36:35
we're going to have a real run on our hands.
36:38
SPEAKER_02: That's a fact.
36:38
SPEAKER_02: That's a fact.
36:41
SPEAKER_01: The last topic I'm going to talk about,
36:43
we're going to talk about the whole LeBron and Stevie Day Smith situation.
36:47
SPEAKER_02: Oh, man.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: So, Stevie Day just got a $100 million contract from ESPN.
36:53
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we all know what Stevie Day is about.
36:56
SPEAKER_01: We all know that he is very outgoing when it comes to mistakes.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: He was not about... Muted.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: There we go.
37:13
SPEAKER_00: So he was not shy about his critique on Bronny.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: And he urged LeBron to stop with all of this.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: LeBron ended up approaching him.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: And we all know what he said.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: As a father, we all know what Bron's thinking, what he said.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: I want to know, do you feel like he did the right thing?
37:37
SPEAKER_00: Or do you feel like he was out of line?
37:40
SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like Stephen A was out of line?
37:43
SPEAKER_02: Listen, before I answer that question, I want to throw it back at you.
37:46
SPEAKER_02: You're a father now.
37:47
SPEAKER_02: You got a son.
37:49
SPEAKER_02: LeBron said what he said.
37:50
SPEAKER_02: Stephen A said what he said on the reporter side.
37:53
SPEAKER_02: How do you feel?
37:54
SPEAKER_02: You cover sports.
37:55
SPEAKER_02: More importantly, you're a father too.
37:56
So how do you feel being that you have both sides,
37:58
you know,
37:59
that you can see it from?
38:00
SPEAKER_00: I feel like LeBron is completely right about it.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: You know, um,
38:05
SPEAKER_00: You know, like all the talk about Bronny's not being ready.
38:08
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, LeBron probably knows he's not ready.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:11
SPEAKER_00: And Bronny probably knows he's not ready.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: That's why he's in the G League.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: He's down there balling the G League.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: He's averaging about 21 points.
38:17
SPEAKER_00: He's hooping.
38:18
SPEAKER_00: He's getting the experience down there.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: And he's coming up with the Lakers.
38:21
And he gets to watch actually,
38:24
you know,
38:25
them playing and trying to figure things out.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: And he's not getting a lot of time with the Lakers.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:30
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, he's still learning just being in that environment.
38:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: And LeBron approaching Stephen A,
38:35
SPEAKER_00: I feel like he did the right thing because it's like,
38:37
you're not going to keep talking about my son in this way when
38:40
we all know what it is.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: We all know that he's still learning.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: We all know he's still developing.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to keep going on with that.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: So I feel like LeBron was perfectly right.
38:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:51
SPEAKER_02: My turn, my turn?
38:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:53
SPEAKER_02: Listen.
38:55
SPEAKER_02: Listen,
38:56
we live in a society now where you're either all the way on
38:58
this side or you're all
39:00
SPEAKER_02: the way on that side.
39:01
SPEAKER_02: When a situation like this one right now,
39:03
SPEAKER_02: it's very in the middle because I'm a firm believer that in life,
39:08
SPEAKER_02: two things can be true.
39:09
SPEAKER_02: Three things can be true.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: Four things can be true at the same time.
39:12
SPEAKER_02: In this case, LeBron was being protective of his father.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: I mean, be protective of his son.
39:15
He's being a great father,
39:17
all of that stuff,
39:18
which is perfectly fine and he should do.
39:20
SPEAKER_02: Stephen A.,
39:21
SPEAKER_02: on the other hand,
39:21
SPEAKER_02: is being a guy who's a journalist,
39:23
SPEAKER_02: who talks about sports,
39:25
SPEAKER_02: who talks about narratives and stories all the time.
39:27
SPEAKER_02: So he's doing what he has to do.
39:29
SPEAKER_02: I understand people are going to say,
39:30
SPEAKER_02: well,
39:30
SPEAKER_02: Stephen A was showing lowlights while he was talking about Bronny James'
39:33
SPEAKER_02: career-high minutes against Philadelphia 76ers.
39:35
SPEAKER_02: Well, he wasn't disrespecting him.
39:37
SPEAKER_02: You know how many...
39:38
SPEAKER_02: The ticker on the bottom says,
39:39
SPEAKER_02: Bronny struggles in career-high minutes versus Philly.
39:43
SPEAKER_02: You know how many sports outlets,
39:44
how many sports personalities would take that and drag it and
39:48
say that Bronny had a
39:50
SPEAKER_02: horrible night or make a pun out of it?
39:52
SPEAKER_02: Like, Bronny... Bronny... Bronny...
39:55
SPEAKER_02: Bronny Tronny, something like that.
39:56
SPEAKER_02: He struggled, basically.
39:58
SPEAKER_02: They would run through it,
40:00
SPEAKER_02: but Stephen A.
40:01
SPEAKER_02: Smith was just talking about how he struggled and telling LeBron James,
40:04
SPEAKER_02: listen,
40:04
SPEAKER_02: we all know he's your son and you want him to flourish,
40:06
SPEAKER_02: but stop it.
40:07
SPEAKER_02: Let him develop.
40:07
Let him do his thing because the pressure you're putting on him
40:10
is what's causing
40:11
SPEAKER_02: all of the backlash towards Bronny.
40:13
I want to say this because it's considered a hot take when I
40:15
say this,
40:16
but
40:17
LeBron,
40:17
the way he approached Stephen A is perfectly right from a
40:20
father's perspective.
40:22
I would also say that LeBron also has to consider the heat and
40:24
attention and the
40:25
SPEAKER_02: spotlight he put on Bronny.
40:27
SPEAKER_02: He blurred the lines.
40:28
SPEAKER_02: He muddied the waters.
40:30
SPEAKER_02: He made a huge gray area where people feel like they can't tap.
40:33
Stephen A didn't say anything that people who cover sports
40:35
media haven't been saying.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: He said everything that everyone else is saying.
40:39
SPEAKER_02: LeBron,
40:40
SPEAKER_02: on the other hand,
40:41
he's the one in 2022 who said he will do whatever it takes to
40:44
play with Bronny.
40:45
He'll go wherever it is that Bronny is to go play,
40:47
which means if I'm an owner and I hear that,
40:50
SPEAKER_02: Guess what I'm thinking?
40:51
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to go and try to draft Bronny so I can get LeBron James.
40:54
SPEAKER_02: They're thinking about you, LeBron, right?
40:56
SPEAKER_02: And then on top of that,
40:57
SPEAKER_02: the year after,
40:57
SPEAKER_02: you tweet how Bronny is better than some of the dudes in the NBA.
41:01
SPEAKER_02: The media didn't say that.
41:03
SPEAKER_02: You said that.
41:04
SPEAKER_02: And because you said that, you brought attention on him.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
41:07
SPEAKER_02: LeBron deleted that tweet.
41:09
SPEAKER_02: And then he tweeted how,
41:11
SPEAKER_02: you know,
41:12
SPEAKER_02: just let my kid be a kid and enjoy basketball on the college level.
41:17
SPEAKER_02: Right.
41:17
SPEAKER_02: But then again, you delete that tweet.
41:19
But you also are saying that your son is good enough to play
41:22
better than the other
41:23
SPEAKER_02: guys who are in the NBA right now.
41:24
SPEAKER_02: But don't you want him to just play?
41:25
SPEAKER_02: Then don't bring attention to him.
41:27
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
41:28
SPEAKER_02: We find out on draft night that your agent,
41:30
SPEAKER_02: Rich Paul,
41:30
SPEAKER_02: who's your boy,
41:31
SPEAKER_02: basically your boy is talking for you,
41:33
SPEAKER_02: saying that if anyone drafts Brown,
41:35
SPEAKER_02: he's going to play overseas.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: That was crazy.
41:39
SPEAKER_02: Listen, no one is blaming LeBron.
41:41
SPEAKER_02: If I had a son, Jerry, you had a son.
41:42
If you guys had an opportunity to play together in the
41:45
professional league in the NBA,
41:45
SPEAKER_02: you can do everything you want to do to make sure it happens.
41:47
SPEAKER_02: No one's arguing.
41:48
SPEAKER_02: Nepotism happens everywhere in the league.
41:50
SPEAKER_02: But when you sit here and try to pretend and play both sides,
41:53
SPEAKER_02: like I'm innocent,
41:54
SPEAKER_02: but I'm also part of the problem,
41:56
SPEAKER_02: you can't do that,
41:57
SPEAKER_02: LeBron.
41:57
SPEAKER_02: And then on top of that, you bring your son in.
42:00
SPEAKER_02: And you have that moment the first game.
42:02
SPEAKER_02: And then after that, he's struggling.
42:03
SPEAKER_02: He's balling in the G League, averaging 21-5-5.
42:06
SPEAKER_02: Mack McClung is an MVP of the G League,
42:08
SPEAKER_02: averaging 25-4-5,
42:09
SPEAKER_02: a three-time slam dunk contest champion,
42:11
SPEAKER_02: right?
42:11
SPEAKER_02: Three-peated.
42:12
SPEAKER_02: He can't get minutes on the NBA roster.
42:14
So just because Bronny's balling on the G League level does not
42:17
mean that he is
42:18
SPEAKER_02: good enough to be on the NBA.
42:20
We know a bunch of guys who aren't good enough to play in the
42:21
NBA who are balling
42:22
SPEAKER_02: in the G League.
42:23
SPEAKER_02: So respectfully, two things can be true.
42:25
LeBron just has to understand he muddied the waters and he
42:27
grayed the heck out of the situation.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: I agree with that completely.
42:32
SPEAKER_00: You know,
42:33
SPEAKER_00: it is funny because,
42:33
SPEAKER_00: like,
42:34
SPEAKER_00: that whole tweet,
42:34
SPEAKER_00: I actually seen that tweet earlier today,
42:36
SPEAKER_00: too.
42:36
SPEAKER_00: Like,
42:36
someone posted it about LeBron saying he's better than a lot of
42:40
players that he see
42:41
SPEAKER_00: on League Pass.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: And – These cats I see on League Pass.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: Not just players, these cats I see on League Pass.
42:50
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, LeBron, he did break a lot of heat on Bronny.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: He put a lot of pressure on him.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: And –
42:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, he is your son.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: I get it.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: It's your child.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: You want the best for him.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: You want to push him.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: You're going to root for him.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: And you're going to defend him.
43:06
SPEAKER_00: But if you want to dish out all that stuff, I agree.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: You're going to have to be able to take it as well.
43:13
SPEAKER_00: So I totally agree with that.
43:14
I'm looking at my phone because I want to read something that
43:17
my brother sent me
43:17
SPEAKER_02: because my brother is a father.
43:19
SPEAKER_02: He has a daughter who I love, my niece.
43:21
SPEAKER_02: I miss her all the time.
43:23
SPEAKER_02: I go to Toronto.
43:24
SPEAKER_02: I miss her all the time.
43:25
SPEAKER_02: And we was talking about it because he's a huge LeBron fan.
43:27
SPEAKER_02: And we was talking about it, and I asked him a question.
43:30
SPEAKER_02: I asked him, you know –
43:35
SPEAKER_02: They only critiquing his game.
43:37
SPEAKER_02: That's what I said, right?
43:38
SPEAKER_02: And then he came back and said,
43:41
SPEAKER_02: if they spoke about my daughter the way that Stephen A do,
43:44
SPEAKER_02: if I see him,
43:45
SPEAKER_02: it's on site.
43:46
SPEAKER_02: So to me,
43:47
SPEAKER_02: it's like,
43:48
SPEAKER_02: I understand as a parent,
43:49
SPEAKER_02: if you hear something like that about your son,
43:51
SPEAKER_02: your child,
43:52
SPEAKER_02: you're going to have a problem.
43:53
SPEAKER_02: However, your son is not just your son.
43:55
SPEAKER_02: He's an NBA player.
43:56
SPEAKER_02: In 2009, you know this, you know this, Jared.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: In 2009,
44:00
SPEAKER_02: LeBron against the Celtics got fouled one game,
44:03
SPEAKER_02: tangled up with Paul Pierce,
44:05
SPEAKER_02: ran into the baseline where the fans are.
44:07
SPEAKER_02: LeBron's mom was in the stands.
44:08
SPEAKER_02: There was a little scuffle.
44:09
SPEAKER_02: It was nothing.
44:10
SPEAKER_02: You know, it was just transition or whatever.
44:11
SPEAKER_02: KG and Paul Pierce.
44:13
LeBron's mom was right there standing up trying to get into the
44:15
middle of it
44:16
SPEAKER_02: because that's her son,
44:16
SPEAKER_02: LeBron James.
44:18
SPEAKER_02: And LeBron, guess what he said?
44:19
SPEAKER_02: He told his mom, sit your bleep down.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: Like, stay out of this.
44:24
SPEAKER_02: Like, stay out of this.
44:25
SPEAKER_02: Sit your bleep down.
44:26
SPEAKER_02: Your mom is just trying to protect her son.
44:28
SPEAKER_02: But you also understand you're an NBA player.
44:30
SPEAKER_02: And KG was right there like, no, mom, it's okay.
44:32
SPEAKER_02: It's no big deal.
44:33
SPEAKER_02: Even he was like, nah, this is your mom.
44:34
SPEAKER_02: I'm not even going to go do that.
44:35
SPEAKER_02: We all understand that.
44:37
SPEAKER_02: And LeBron's doing the same thing for Bronny.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: But he also has to understand that he did this to Bronny too.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
44:43
SPEAKER_00: That's 100% agree because you go ahead and put Brody in that spotlight,
44:48
SPEAKER_00: you got to let him go through it as well.
44:50
SPEAKER_02: You got to let him go through it.
44:51
You ain't going to do nothing for him by trying to protect him
44:54
and Stephen A.
44:56
SPEAKER_02: Lastly,
44:56
SPEAKER_02: too,
44:57
SPEAKER_02: there's so much we can say about this.
44:59
SPEAKER_02: He pulled up on Stephen A. Rich Paul has his number.
45:01
SPEAKER_02: Maverick Carter has his number.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: Whatever.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: You don't want to get it.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: Whatever.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: You see him, it's on site.
45:05
SPEAKER_02: Whatever.
45:06
SPEAKER_02: But you made that choice.
45:08
You are the guy that people look at and say that you like to,
45:11
you know,
45:12
be all about narratives.
45:13
SPEAKER_02: People have been saying that about LeBron.
45:14
SPEAKER_02: He's very calculated.
45:15
SPEAKER_02: He knew cameras were around.
45:17
SPEAKER_02: He knew how he was going to be perceived.
45:18
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, for sure.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: There's a great chance that he also was motivated by that.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: I'm not saying I'm not trying to question him as a father or nothing.
45:24
SPEAKER_02: There's a great chance he was motivated by that.
45:25
SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to defend Stephen A.
45:27
I'm just saying there are so many people who get mad at Stephen
45:29
A who actually go contact,
45:31
SPEAKER_02: talk about it.
45:32
SPEAKER_02: Don't do that.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: The worst I've ever seen is Marcus Morris or Marky Morris.
45:35
After a game on the Wizards,
45:37
hit him on the backside,
45:37
like on some,
45:38
you know,
45:38
like good game.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: But come to find out that Marky Morris was actually mad at him.
45:41
SPEAKER_02: And Stephen A was like, all right, now I got a problem with that.
45:44
SPEAKER_00: But that's it.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
45:47
SPEAKER_00: I 100% agree because it is,
45:49
SPEAKER_00: like you said,
45:50
SPEAKER_00: it is a gray area with all this situation because,
45:52
SPEAKER_00: you know,
45:54
SPEAKER_00: Bronny,
45:55
SPEAKER_00: he clearly isn't ready.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, he...
45:59
SPEAKER_00: LeBron acted like he is ready.
46:00
SPEAKER_00: And Stephen A.,
46:02
SPEAKER_00: as a journalist,
46:03
SPEAKER_00: you know he's going to say something about it,
46:05
SPEAKER_00: especially the magnitude of Stephen A.'
46:07
SPEAKER_00: 's star power, I should say.
46:10
SPEAKER_02: Face of sports talk media.
46:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
46:12
SPEAKER_00: Sports talk media, you're going to be talking to town.
46:15
SPEAKER_00: You're LeBron.
46:16
SPEAKER_00: You're Bronny.
46:17
SPEAKER_00: You're talking to town.
46:19
SPEAKER_00: You got to take it.
46:20
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, you have to take it.
46:21
What do you think about the fact that LeBron did that during a
46:24
timeout in the
46:24
SPEAKER_02: middle of the third quarter,
46:25
SPEAKER_02: during JJ's huddle,
46:26
SPEAKER_02: that he went over there and did that?
46:28
SPEAKER_02: What do you think about that?
46:29
SPEAKER_02: That's what I'm saying.
46:30
SPEAKER_02: It was on site when you do that, right?
46:32
SPEAKER_00: You know,
46:33
SPEAKER_00: I thought if things were going to be said,
46:36
I thought they should have probably waited until after the game
46:39
or before the game.
46:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: And then,
46:41
SPEAKER_00: you know,
46:42
SPEAKER_00: ultimately,
46:42
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
46:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm a firm believer of,
46:45
SPEAKER_00: you know,
46:45
SPEAKER_00: if you're going to be out in this open trying to disrespect somebody,
46:50
SPEAKER_00: you got to give it back to them.
46:51
SPEAKER_00: I get that.
46:52
SPEAKER_02: You can just, you can take it.
46:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can just, you can take it.
46:55
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, Steve Day on TV talking about Bronny.
46:57
Yeah,
46:57
LeBron,
46:58
you know,
46:58
public figure out open during the game goes up to Steve Day.
47:02
SPEAKER_00: I get it.
47:03
But,
47:03
you know,
47:04
both of that,
47:04
all this could have been behind closed doors.
47:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: That's what I think.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, it is what it is.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, Brian probably was, you know, high off emotions.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: Probably seen Steven A. Just thought, I'm going over there right now.
47:17
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: You can think about it.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: Just black.
47:19
SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm going.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
47:20
SPEAKER_00: Like, I just saw him.
47:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm approaching him right now.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: Forget the game.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm going right now.
47:25
SPEAKER_00: And you see how Marquis Warren's right next to him every day, right?
47:29
SPEAKER_02: Scott Brooks, too.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
47:31
Right there,
47:31
like,
47:32
oh,
47:32
let me just,
47:32
you know,
47:33
because they do that all the time.
47:34
It's just like we're going to let any of our players go
47:37
anywhere by themselves,
47:38
SPEAKER_02: anywhere in the arena where outside of the line.
47:40
SPEAKER_02: So it's protocol.
47:41
SPEAKER_02: I get that.
47:42
SPEAKER_02: But the fact that they were right there,
47:43
SPEAKER_02: you know what I'm saying,
47:44
SPEAKER_02: and they were just minding their business like nothing's happening,
47:47
SPEAKER_02: they were trying their best to defuse it by not giving it any attention.
47:51
SPEAKER_02: But obviously got caught on camera.
47:53
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
47:54
SPEAKER_00: So that's why it looks crazy because, you know,
47:58
SPEAKER_00: Lakers, Stephen A, LeBron, the whole situation, it looks crazy.
48:03
SPEAKER_00: For real.
48:05
SPEAKER_00: It is what it is.
48:06
SPEAKER_02: You think he pressed him, though?
48:07
SPEAKER_02: You feel like Stephen A got punked?
48:09
SPEAKER_02: I don't think Stephen A got punked.
48:10
SPEAKER_02: I think it was more like, you're approaching me as a father.
48:14
SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to go there because I'm a journalist.
48:16
SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to personalize.
48:18
SPEAKER_02: How do you feel about it?
48:19
SPEAKER_00: I think it wasn't like he punked him or anything like that.
48:21
SPEAKER_00: I feel like they
48:23
SPEAKER_00: exchanged words and said some things.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it was, like, a punk or anything.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: I was just like,
48:27
SPEAKER_00: you know,
48:27
SPEAKER_00: I just think he came up there and was like,
48:28
SPEAKER_00: yo,
48:28
SPEAKER_00: listen,
48:29
SPEAKER_00: you need to tone it down with my son.
48:30
SPEAKER_00: Like, chill out.
48:31
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
48:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but, like, I didn't watch Stevie Day's, um,
48:35
take about it the next day on first take i didn't like see what
48:38
he said about it
48:39
did you see it i saw that i saw the stephen smith show as well
48:42
like what did he say
48:43
about it so basically he's uh he started off by saying he
48:46
didn't want to address it
48:47
but you know it went rival so that's why he wants to address it
48:49
because obviously
48:50
once it gets out there everyone sees it you got to address it
48:52
so he talked about
48:53
that and how he was at the game it was the middle of the third
48:55
quarter he wasn't
48:55
SPEAKER_02: expecting it to happen lebron approached him and he's like hey man
48:59
SPEAKER_02: Keep my son out of it.
49:00
SPEAKER_02: Whatever you say, stop talking.
49:01
SPEAKER_02: Stop effing with my son.
49:02
SPEAKER_02: And LeBron's like, what are you talking about?
49:05
SPEAKER_02: And LeBron's like, man, stop that, man.
49:07
SPEAKER_02: Stop playing with me.
49:09
SPEAKER_02: Like, man to man.
49:10
SPEAKER_02: Keep my son out of it.
49:11
SPEAKER_02: Stop effing with my son.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: But there's also a report out there.
49:14
SPEAKER_02: If you read LeBron's lip, he say, I'm going to say it one time, bro.
49:17
SPEAKER_02: Keep my son out of this bleep, bro.
49:19
So he addressed that and talked about how he's incredibly sad
49:22
because I wasn't
49:24
SPEAKER_02: talking to LeBron James,
49:25
SPEAKER_02: a basketball player.
49:25
SPEAKER_02: I was talking to LeBron James, the father, the person.
49:28
SPEAKER_02: And when that happened,
49:29
I just had no choice but to stand down because as a father of
49:32
two daughters,
49:33
SPEAKER_02: I totally understand it.
49:34
SPEAKER_02: I'll do anything for my kids.
49:35
SPEAKER_02: And when LeBron approached me like that,
49:37
SPEAKER_02: I knew he was coming from the place of a father,
49:40
SPEAKER_02: not the basketball player,
49:41
not the billionaire who does all the things with basketball and
49:44
on and off the court,
49:44
SPEAKER_02: the father.
49:45
SPEAKER_02: And from there, he decided to step down.
49:47
SPEAKER_02: On the podcast,
49:48
SPEAKER_02: he reiterated the same thing,
49:49
but went further to say that he's sad not only because LeBron
49:54
stepped him like that.
49:55
And as a father,
49:56
he was sad because he's also right about what he said and
49:58
stands by it.
50:00
SPEAKER_02: And he sucks because he's your son, but he's also a basketball player.
50:04
SPEAKER_02: And Draymond Green don't talk to him no more.
50:06
SPEAKER_02: And there are players in the league who will get upset at him.
50:09
SPEAKER_02: And obviously, you know, this is part of it.
50:11
He also revealed how him and Stephen A,
50:13
LeBron and Stephen A don't effort each other.
50:14
SPEAKER_02: Like, officially, they do not effort each other.
50:16
SPEAKER_02: Behind closed doors,
50:17
SPEAKER_02: they do not effort each other,
50:18
SPEAKER_02: which is probably part of the reason why LeBron steps in that way.
50:22
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
50:22
SPEAKER_00: Well, okay.
50:23
SPEAKER_00: Well, kudos to Stephen A for that because that's a real answer.
50:27
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
50:27
Like saying that LeBron sucked you as a father that I felt like,
50:30
you know,
50:30
I had to chill out.
50:31
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's real.
50:32
SPEAKER_00: I understand that completely.
50:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
50:35
SPEAKER_02: Everyone here,
50:35
SPEAKER_02: I don't have kids,
50:36
SPEAKER_02: but I'll tell you right now,
50:37
SPEAKER_02: I never get into a place where it's like,
50:39
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to mess with someone's kid because I know that someone's kid.
50:41
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
50:42
SPEAKER_02: Like,
50:42
if we're kids or whatever and there's another kid that we're in
50:44
a playground and
50:45
SPEAKER_02: some bullshit happens,
50:46
SPEAKER_02: parents are going to look at it and be like,
50:48
SPEAKER_02: they're just kids,
50:49
SPEAKER_02: right?
50:49
SPEAKER_02: Like, this kid ain't hurting my kid in a way.
50:52
SPEAKER_02: He's just a kid himself.
50:53
SPEAKER_02: But if it's another adult messing with my kid,
50:55
SPEAKER_02: oh,
50:56
SPEAKER_02: the lights go,
50:57
SPEAKER_02: like,
50:57
SPEAKER_02: something goes off in your head where it's just,
50:59
SPEAKER_02: no,
50:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm not allowing this.
51:00
SPEAKER_02: And I understand that.
51:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
51:02
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever had a moment like that?
51:04
SPEAKER_03: Hmm?
51:05
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever had a moment like that yet?
51:06
SPEAKER_02: You don't got to be nice, man.
51:07
SPEAKER_02: You ever had a moment like that yet?
51:08
I mean,
51:09
no,
51:09
because my kid is only seven months,
51:10
so there ain't nothing like that happening yet.
51:13
SPEAKER_00: You're right.
51:14
SPEAKER_00: You're right.
51:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying.
51:15
SPEAKER_00: Eventually, probably.
51:17
SPEAKER_00: Probably.
51:17
SPEAKER_00: Will an instant come out?
51:18
SPEAKER_00: I can see it, bro.
51:20
SPEAKER_00: Probably.
51:20
SPEAKER_00: It'll probably happen eventually.
51:22
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, I mean, I understand what LeBron's going through.
51:25
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, like we said, he put that target on Brody's back.
51:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
51:31
SPEAKER_00: He has to learn to deal with it.
51:32
He has to learn to deal with it because it ain't just Stephen A
51:35
saying these things.
51:37
It's a lot of these sports media talk show hosts that's saying
51:40
these things.
51:40
SPEAKER_00: So it's like if you say that to Stephen A, what about everybody else?
51:46
SPEAKER_00: Can't just single Stephen A out.
51:47
SPEAKER_00: The whole world is saying it.
51:49
SPEAKER_00: So it's a slippery slope.
51:52
SPEAKER_02: And what's wild about that,
51:53
SPEAKER_02: again,
51:54
SPEAKER_02: there were times,
51:55
SPEAKER_02: again,
51:56
SPEAKER_02: the ticker says,
51:57
SPEAKER_02: Stephen A says,
52:00
SPEAKER_02: Ronnie struggles in career-high minutes versus the Philadelphia 76ers.
52:05
How many sports media outlets and personnel do you know would
52:07
have taken that and
52:08
SPEAKER_02: made it even worse?
52:09
They would have described that in a much more controversial,
52:13
heated,
52:13
negative way,
52:13
trolling way.
52:14
SPEAKER_02: We all know that.
52:15
SPEAKER_02: So you got to give credit where it's due.
52:18
It's hard as a parent to hear that sometimes about your kid who
52:20
you know is your
52:21
SPEAKER_02: son that you've watched grow up,
52:23
SPEAKER_02: that you've spent so much time around,
52:24
SPEAKER_02: obviously,
52:25
SPEAKER_02: that is a part of you.
52:26
SPEAKER_02: However,
52:27
SPEAKER_02: when you tweet what you tweet and say what you say,
52:30
SPEAKER_02: you kind of put your son in that situation a little bit.
52:33
I'm sorry,
52:33
you put Bronny James,
52:34
an NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers,
52:36
in that situation.
52:38
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
52:38
SPEAKER_02: Come on, man.
52:39
SPEAKER_02: He's not just your son.
52:40
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
52:43
I don't think he understood the magnitude of the tweets that he
52:47
did and him being
52:49
SPEAKER_00: LeBron James Jr.
52:51
And then you put all that pressure on him and basically you
52:56
made it well known.
52:57
SPEAKER_00: Hey, wherever Bronny goes, I'm going.
52:59
SPEAKER_00: He better come to the Lakers or else.
53:02
SPEAKER_00: So it's a lot of stuff, a lot of layers to this whole situation.
53:06
SPEAKER_00: 100%, man.
53:07
SPEAKER_00: I don't think both of them are wrong.
53:10
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I don't think both of them are wrong.
53:13
SPEAKER_00: As a journalist, I understand what Stephen A is saying.
53:15
SPEAKER_00: And as a father, I understand what LeBron is saying.
53:17
SPEAKER_02: And that's it.
53:21
the only people who are saying that like you know like steven a
53:24
you know you're a b
53:25
or this you're that are the people who are online the trolls
53:28
man which we don't
53:28
give credence to anyway they're just talking it up they're just
53:31
yapping like the
53:31
kids say that's it exactly like he he knows the territory that
53:36
he's in he knows the
53:37
platform he has with steven a he knows he knows what it comes
53:40
with he said him and
53:42
iverson was really good friends and he wrote something about
53:45
alan iverson and they
53:46
stopped talking for a long time until you know they hashed it
53:49
out so steven knows
53:50
SPEAKER_00: what it is
53:51
yeah like that's a great example man 100 yeah yes sir i want to
53:57
thank you for being
53:58
on brother it's always good chopping it up with you we've been
54:01
talking for so long
54:01
to about doing this yeah and we finally got it done so i
54:04
appreciate you jumping on
54:05
hey thanks for having me man listen we used to do this all the
54:09
time in college it's
54:10
crazy how it comes full circle i appreciate it i see the work
54:13
you're doing man
54:13
SPEAKER_02: congratulations big up to you i'm so hyped to be part of this and
54:17
SPEAKER_02: Hey, listen, I'm happy to come back.
54:18
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of great basketball going on.
54:20
SPEAKER_02: The WNBA is around the corner, man.
54:21
SPEAKER_02: There's so many things we could tap into.
54:23
SPEAKER_00: And we definitely got to talk about WNBA because there's a lot going on.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: Yes, we do.
54:30
SPEAKER_02: Appreciate you, brother.
54:31
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, too, man.
54:32
SPEAKER_02: Have a great one.
54:33
SPEAKER_02: Appreciate it.
54:33
SPEAKER_02: Do it again.
54:34
SPEAKER_02: You too, brother.
54:35
SPEAKER_02: All right.