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I Gave New Year's Resolutions to NBA Teams · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beecham.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: We are nearing the end of the year 2025.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: And you know, this is a time of year.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, some people on Twitter saying this is the filler part of the year post uh Christmas and pre-New Year's.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: I don't look at it as filler, ladies and gentlemen.
0:17
SPEAKER_01: All of these days are very important to me.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: I look at these days as times to kind of look at the year that just got through and try to figure out how you can be better in 2025.
0:26
SPEAKER_01: I know some people don't subscribe to the whole New Year's resolution thing.
0:29
SPEAKER_01: And for a moment in time of my life, I was one of those people, but I kind of do see the value of turning the page for a new year and say, hey, I'm gonna do this.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: Hey, I'm gonna do that.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: So in today's episode, we will be giving New Year's resolutions to NBA teams.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Things that I think they can improve on or things that I think they should be thinking about going into 2026.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: Before we get into it, y'all know we got to talk a little bit of the Bears.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm gonna be very candid with y'all.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: As I record this episode, the Bears have not played their Sunday night football game.
0:57
SPEAKER_01: So they could have won by 30 or lost by a million.
1:00
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
1:00
SPEAKER_01: But the one thing I do know is that for the first time in the last eight years, the Bears have won the division, and I cannot be happy.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: I don't care.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: Well, I do care what happens tonight, but I'm not gonna let that kill the vibes of saying that the Bears won the division for the first time in forever.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: So shout out to the Bears.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: Bear down, you know how it really goes.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Now, for this episode, there is no um no order in the teams that I'm talking about.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: I'm not getting to all 30 teams you can imagine.
1:22
SPEAKER_01: We just don't have the time for that.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: And honestly, when I was doing my research and I was trying to come up with New Year's resolutions for different, there was a good amount of teams where I just couldn't really think of anything of real value.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: Um, so let's just get into it.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: Starting off, can I start off with the Washington Wizards?
1:36
SPEAKER_01: Is that is that bad for programming to start off your episode by talking about the team that is six and twenty-three, somehow, not even the worst team of the league.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to the Pacers.
1:44
SPEAKER_01: But I do look at them and thinking about their rebuild, which is, I guess, in year three of this rebuild, but they had a few years before they got rid of Bradley Beal where they weren't very good.
1:54
SPEAKER_01: So like it feels like they've been rebuilding for forever.
1:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, but the thing I gave them for the New Year's resolution is that it's time to take the next step in the rebuild, right?
2:02
SPEAKER_01: I don't know exactly who they look at as like their real core young pieces.
2:06
SPEAKER_01: If you ask me, it is Alex Star who's looked really good in this um season.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna talk about him a little bit later once we get to Ask KB.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: Um Keyshawn George is high on that list.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: But after that, there's a couple different guys that are interested, but maybe not part of the super, super core.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: But I don't know.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: I look at this team and I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt to say that they're gonna end up with a top five pick, right?
2:25
SPEAKER_01: Let's just let's just say that.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: So those two guys, top five pick, I think it's time to not shift to say, oh, we're trying to be a super competitive team.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: But I'm I'm starting to truly dislike the idea of having the teams where your average age is 20 years old.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: And that's like obviously they do got Chris Middleton and CJ McCullough, and it's kind of bringing the average age up.
2:44
SPEAKER_01: But for the most part, this is like a super, super young team.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: And I want more vets in that locker room.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: I want more people that can try to help them be more competitive on a day-to-day basis.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: And I look at a guy like Alex Star and I look at a guy at George, I'm like, man, they could really benefit from having a dude that can set the table, like a just a true point guard.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: And it don't have to be Trey Young, it don't have to be Luka Doncic's level of talent, but just somebody to take them to the next level.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: Because I think that we look at that team, and we just did an episode a few weeks back of ranking the top young cores in basketball.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: And though their team, the 10 10 out of their players is 25 or younger, I didn't even really consider them as an amazing young core just yet.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: And I think that if they just had more pieces around them, exterior pieces that can come in and help those young guys hit the next level.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: So the New Year's resolution.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: Use some of that money that you're gonna come into.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: Bro, this team is gonna be so amazingly cheap.
3:33
SPEAKER_01: And I do want to give them credit from like the front office perspective, because they were a really cheap team going into the season.
3:39
SPEAKER_01: They say, hey, we'll take on Chris Middleton's contract at the deadline.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: Hey, we'll take on CJ McCollum and trade out um Jordan Poole.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: And I want them to use that cap space, not to go out there and go get some superstar players, but maybe do bring on some of the bad contracts in the league, but still players that can contribute to hit the next level.
3:55
SPEAKER_01: So let's move on from them to go to the San Antonio Spurs, who like for the last month of small ball, we've been having some conversation about the Spurs.
4:03
SPEAKER_01: My New Year's resolution to them is just stay pat.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: Now, for what it's worth, it is not the Spurs' way to make a big in-season trade.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: They just never really have done that, right?
4:14
SPEAKER_01: But there has, of course, been rumblings as far as like fans go.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: It's like, oh, should they trade for this guy?
4:19
SPEAKER_01: Should they trade for this guy?
4:20
SPEAKER_01: Are they uh really a contender compared to the Thunder?
4:23
SPEAKER_01: If they just had one more extra piece, could they be the favorite, if you will?
4:27
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just saying, this is one of those years that you just gotta stand pat.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: I really do like the OKC model of it all, where they did have their first year of being in the playoffs.
4:34
SPEAKER_01: And that entire year, when they were the one seed, there were so many conversations of should they trade for Cam Johnson, should they trade for this shooter, should they trade for that shooter?
4:43
SPEAKER_01: And then they used that year to kind of look at their first postseason and say, hey, these are the places we can get better.
4:48
SPEAKER_01: And after that, when they lost in the second round, they traded away Josh Gady for Alice Caruso.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: And Caruso came in and had multiple 20-point games in the next year where they were in the NBA finals, and they used that first year to kind of evaluate the talent they had on the roster and then made the move.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: And I kind of look at the Spurs in that way as well.
5:04
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it it's it's kind of similar in the way that they do have a top five player, just like that OKC team did in Shake Ears Alexander.
5:09
SPEAKER_01: They do have um a core nucleus that is really young, like the dub to Castles or the Chats to Harper, obviously different positions, but thinking about the overall age of these guys.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: So I would just tell them don't make the decision.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's one that they would make in the first place, but don't make the decision to go out there and be super biased, man.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: This team is as good as they can be right now.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: And it's funny to say that coming off a loss to what the Utah Jazz who just continue to have these good games.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: We had an episode of small ball or um numbers on the board.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: We were kind of going through the bad teams in basketball and trying to figure out are we like out on watching them live basketball again?
5:43
SPEAKER_01: And we got to the Utah Jazz.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: I was like, no, bro, I truly love watching Jazz basketball.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: They got something over there, and I don't know if it's something that's gonna turn into a playoff team eventually, but between George, between Mark and between Philip Howski when he's playing, the list goes on and all.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: I've been even seeing some some Cody Williams minutes that I ain't really hated, and that's saying a lot because Cody Williams, that first year, boy.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I like the things over there.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: Even Isaiah Colyer, even though I the eye test, and I ain't looked at the numbers, the eye test of the Coler and George minutes together look awful as far as like their defensive um stops and stuff, but offensively, I can like out I like his passing ability.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: So some things brewing over there, and I'm enjoying it because not only are they in a lot of games, they're high-scoring games.
6:24
SPEAKER_01: So if you have an offensive-oriented guy, whether it be the Jazz themselves or the team they're going against, you're about to see 130, you're about to see 125, 140 on any given night.
6:33
SPEAKER_01: Um, and and for a long time I thought that this was going to be a team that was gonna shut down some players, and this this still could be the case because we're only not even halfway through the season.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: But their team, their pick is top eight protected, and the more they play, the more I'm realizing that they don't really give a damn about that pick.
6:49
SPEAKER_01: And I guess their ownership told us that going into the season, and it was just hard to believe it, but I don't think they really give a damn about that pick.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: And we'll see, right?
6:57
SPEAKER_01: We'll see how many total games Larry Market ends up playing, or if they shut some dudes down uh down the line.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: But right now, they are tied for a playing spot.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: The Utah Jazz.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: I mean, the Western Conference general, the bottom of that west, you being under 500, you can still make it in, but they are so very close to being a postseason team, not a playoff team, but a postseason team.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, man.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: I got good vibes for the Utah Jazz right now.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: The next team we'll talk about is matter of fact, let's just go to OKC with it, um, since we just talked about the Spurs.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: I think that they should recognize the gap between them and the rest of the league is not as big as we thought.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, at one time they were 22 and 1, and we were saying, hey, it's it's like them in the field don't really matter anymore.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: I think the field is starting to matter as we can see like whether it be the lack of jump shooting in these games versus the Spurs or their um point of attack defense not being able to keep up with some of the faster teams across basketball, or Lou Dort regressing on the offensive side of the ball, or J Dub not being able to really flex his wrists on jump shots to Chet Homegrip being outplayed in certain matchups.
7:56
SPEAKER_01: The gap between them and the opposing teams are not that crazy.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: I still do believe that if you ask me today who's going to win a championship, I'm still rolling with the OKC Thunder right before the year of 2026.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: But we could be a month down the line, and I may think about it just a little bit more.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: And I think they need to recognize that.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: This, like the Spurs, they have not been a team to try to pull off a bigger trade or just a trade in general once we got to the middle of the season.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: But if there's any time to do it, it might be now.
8:22
SPEAKER_01: I still look at them and say, man, that that lack of jump shooting might be able to hurt them.
8:26
SPEAKER_01: And it almost did last year.
8:27
SPEAKER_01: They did win that championship, but like get into a couple game sevens.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: If you look at those numbers from the games, they end up losing in the postseason.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: It's no surprise that a lot of those games, a chunk of those games are games that they just really missed a lot of shots from three, whether it be a Dort, whether it be this guy, whether be a that guy.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: These guys, when they are wide open, just hadn't been able to put it into the basket.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: So recognizing that gap to me means that like don't just sit on the hands.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm not saying go out there and trade for Giannis, but don't sit on the hands, take the calls and see if you can improve the roster.
8:55
SPEAKER_01: The one part that does make it a little bit tricky is that the way you improve the roster when it matters is by getting one rid of one of your core guys.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: And I look at this team like they could add a KISPR, they could add a herder, just overall good jump shooters, but those guys are not gonna be on the floor in the last four minutes of the game.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: And that's when they really need that jump shooting.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: So in order to go get that, whether there be a, I don't know, a Trey Murphy whose name is probably not even available, by the way, they would have to give up one of their guys.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: And maybe it's just me going off the NBA championship uh haze of it all, but it it's it's hard for me to recognize whether or not they would trade a Hartenstein, whether or not they would trade a Dort plus some stuff, whether or not they would trade some of the more intriguing young players.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: Like I know Topic is probably not a guy you trade for, considering all the stuff he's going through right now, or trade him or Sorber.
9:40
SPEAKER_01: We've never really seen them in this position.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: I can't even say back against the wall because they still are the one seed and still have the highest chance to win it all.
9:47
SPEAKER_01: But it's just it feels like a somewhat of a back against the wall opportunity.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: So don't think that the gap is as big as it was a week and a half ago.
10:01
SPEAKER_01: Getting back to my new year's resolutions for teams.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to the LA Lakers.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: Oh no, man, man, man, man.
10:08
SPEAKER_01: And JJ Reddick said this is gonna be an uncomfortable practice.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: And right after practice, DeAndre Aiden said, Y'all really bought into that.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: I cannot believe how many just overall sound clips DeAndre Aiden has given us in the last like three years or so.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: Even if it wasn't the most uncomfortable practice, as JJ Reddick said it would have been.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: You can't just throw your coats under the bus, right?
10:28
SPEAKER_01: Y'all believed in that, y'all bought that.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: That's just the wrong answer.
10:31
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, my New Year's resolution for them, and this may feel counterproductive, is don't let these recent struggles change the overall game plan.
10:43
SPEAKER_01: It is easy to look at the Lakers who were just a two-seed not too long ago, look at them being on a three-game loser streak as I record this episode, see some of the games they've lost being like getting blown out on Christmas from the Houston Rockets, and think that you you have to shift the overall game plan.
11:00
SPEAKER_01: And in my mind, the game plan for the Lakers, since they've acquired Luka Dontich, is to just be good enough right now to be competitive and make the postseason, but look a little bit down the line and say, hey, in 2027, we'd be able to build the team around Luka.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: There's a conversation we had on numbers on the board a few days ago, where I personally don't believe that this current team is built for Luka.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: It's just the team that was built that acquired Luca.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: They did go out there and get an Aiden who has been fine, right?
11:26
SPEAKER_01: He's been more than fine, I would say, given um where he was just last season in Portland and all.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: Marcus Smart has allowed them to play a little bit of a higher level of defense when he's on the court.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: He's still giving you that passion and love to the defensive side of the ball that we see him give for the majority of his career.
11:40
SPEAKER_01: But for the most part, this team has not been built for Luca just yet.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: And the avenue to build yourself for Luca is really tough.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: And that's why we haven't seen him try to pull off a huge trade just yet.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: And it would be easy for Robalenka or for the Lakers to look at their a limited amount of draft capital, look at some of those contracts that they've accumulated between Vanderbilt, between Vincent, between the list goes of Maxi Kleber, and say, hey man, we package some of this up.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: We can go get an impactful player right now.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: And I'm looking at what the market is and the lack of players that are available because even the guys that we thought were really available, the Giannis's or the Anthony Davis of the world, they may not be available at all.
12:17
SPEAKER_01: And I see I could see you easily saying we package all this together and we boom, we go get this impactful player.
12:22
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just I'm struggling to figure out A, who that player would be, and B, would that player be impactful enough for me and us to look at the Lakers and say they can win four series in the postseason?
12:32
SPEAKER_01: I just don't see that.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: So it feels like a year that would be a bridge year and be okay with it being a bridge year.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, you got Luka Doncic under contract for a few more seasons.
12:40
SPEAKER_01: He seems pretty okay and happy as of right now.
12:42
SPEAKER_01: And if you can convince him, give me a year and a half's time, and I promise you, we build the team around you that you can feel empowered.
12:48
SPEAKER_01: Well, he, of course, he feels empowered, he's leading the league score, but you feel like this is a team that can compete, so be it.
12:54
SPEAKER_01: Just don't rush this process.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Just don't.
12:59
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm again just looking at the teams like, okay, who's available?
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Is that guy?
13:03
SPEAKER_01: If just in the hypothetical world, the most available guy that is that is the best available guy on the market, if he was traded to the Lakers today for the Packers that give up, do you think that that's gonna change them to be in the conversations with the Thunder or be in the conversation with Destiny?
13:16
SPEAKER_01: Probably not.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: So let's chill.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: Maybe kind of tough to do when you got a 40-year-old Brian on the team.
13:22
SPEAKER_01: Who knows what's gonna happen there?
13:23
SPEAKER_01: But I'm thinking that you have to think more long term right now.
13:28
SPEAKER_01: Because if you make the bigger decision now and you acquire somebody and give up majority of your assets to get there, and you still are behind somebody's teams, then again, you just set yourself back.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: So don't do it.
13:40
SPEAKER_01: This is not a New Year's resolution for this team.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: And maybe I'm just out of the know.
13:45
SPEAKER_01: Uh maybe it's really, really possible.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: But I look at the Minnesota Timbulls.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: Do I want to say this?
13:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I look at the Minnesota Timbulls and I say I'm starting to open up to the idea of trading a guy like Nas Reed in order to improve the overall point guard play.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: And the reason I'm saying this has nothing to do with Nas Reed not playing his best basketball right now.
14:08
SPEAKER_01: As I said at the beginning of the season, whatever happens with Nas Reed, I'm giving him a full pass on the season.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: He is still averaging 14, 6 and 3 on decent, decent enough splits.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: But given everything that happened in the offseason with him and his family, I couldn't imagine traveling every single day for my career and having to play basketball.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: So again, I I'm not even thinking about him at the as the player, but I'm thinking about the construction of this team and thinking about how some of these lineups that they have to go to, you know, in between when it is a Julius Randle and it is Nas Reed on the court, and just looking at how much that hemorrhages possessions for the opposing teams and shots for the opposing team.
14:44
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, man, as good as Nas Reed is, and he would be a valuable asset in the overall trade market if you were trying to acquire a point guard.
14:52
SPEAKER_01: I may feel okay with trading him away.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: Now the problem is what does that team look like?
14:58
SPEAKER_01: Who is the buyer of Nasreed in order to give you a point guard?
15:00
SPEAKER_01: I don't really know, right?
15:01
SPEAKER_01: I'm just I'm just speaking in general generalities at this point.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, but going to the season, I was like, yeah, there's no real world where like a Nasreed has felt so ingrained in the Minnesota Timbus, and he still is, don't get me wrong, that he feels like a guy that would have been out of trade conversations regardless of what his production was because the city is Nasreed.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: Nasreed is the city.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: But now as I sit back and I watch these this team play, and I'm like, yeah, they could use some help there.
15:26
SPEAKER_01: And because of, I won't use the word overlapping skill sets, but the the pieces of their bigs not fitting like a puzzle time in time makes me feel like that that may be a little bit more expensive.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: Again, it's not a New Year's resolution, but it's just a thought that I had a few nights ago as I was watching them play.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: Moving on to the next team, the Houston Rockets.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: My New Year's resolution to them is to just keep this starting unit that they've been running out.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: Now, Shengu missed the last game, and that was a Kevin Durant explosion, 30 points and a really efficient.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: It felt like I was watching 2011 Kevin Durant again, 2013 Kevin Durant.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: But uh keep the unit that is Amin Thompson, Kevin Durant, Albrecht Shangon, Jabar Smith Jr., Tari Eason.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: I'm okay with uh Josh Okogi not being in that unit.
16:09
SPEAKER_01: And if we can keep Tari Eason healthy, this feels like their best combination of talent to start a game and to close a game.
16:16
SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of that boils down to Tari Eason being as lethal as he is from three right now.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: And teams still have not respected his jump shooting, and it kind of makes sense, right?
16:25
SPEAKER_01: I mean, when you have a Kevin Durant, you have an Alpression Goon, these guys who in the half court on any given night can, you know, deserve a double team.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: We're okay with Tari Eason taking that three.
16:35
SPEAKER_01: The man is shooting 49% from three.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: I don't think that's sustainable that he's gonna end the season shooting almost 50% on threes on four and a half attempts.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: But I do feel like this is a real three-point shooter, right?
16:46
SPEAKER_01: I do believe he's a 40% three-point shooter at the minimum.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: So him being able to knock down those shots and him being able to still stir up so much trouble on the defensive end.
16:56
SPEAKER_01: I made the tweet yesterday um from their previous game that anytime you see uh he sees a loose ball on the court, he looks like like Jeff Hardy jumping off the turnbuckle, bro.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: He is jumping out of the gym.
17:07
SPEAKER_01: That loose ball is his regardless.
17:09
SPEAKER_01: And in the 203 minutes that him and Amin Thompson have played together, as you can imagine, they have a net rating of a plus 9.5 according to Databaller.
17:16
SPEAKER_01: And if you feel that while they are on the court, this team really guards up, and he is one of the few like true uh offensive shooting threats on the team.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: And don't get me started.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, if we just look at overall minutes, it's a plus 14.2.
17:31
SPEAKER_01: I was looking at the high leverage minutes.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: Um, but overall, they've been amazing.
17:35
SPEAKER_01: And if we add, let me just add the one guy here into this, and I'm doing this on the fly.
17:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I have not looked at these numbers.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: If we add the other shooter, yeah, I mean, this Reed Shepard added to that unit, and again, I'm just I'm not even just talking about the start unit anymore.
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Reed Shepard added to that unit.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: This is where you get your shooting.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: This is not going to be a team that's going to shoot a bunch of threes.
17:53
SPEAKER_01: We've known that this is not have this not has not been their identity, and the superstar they traded for Kevin Oran.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: Just don't shoot enough threes.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: He's never shot enough threes for his type of production.
18:00
SPEAKER_01: But if we could just have the few three-point shooters that we do have and have them go out and hidden efficient efficiently, then it's a win.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: I also didn't realize Kevin Arant's three-pointers per game right now, his 44% from three.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: Golly, he's efficient.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: It's the his four and a half attempts from three right now is the lowest he's shot in attempt-wise since 2012-13 in over a decade.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: And I just don't know what that's about.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: I just I've always wanted to see a year where Kevin Durant, this is never gonna be him.
18:32
SPEAKER_01: He's 37, for God's sakes, Kenny.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: He's never gonna do this.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: But if we can have a year where Kevin Durant shot nine three-pointers, I mean, even 10 three-pointers a night, can you imagine the type of production we can get from KD?
18:44
SPEAKER_01: It's just probably not gonna happen.
18:46
SPEAKER_01: It's just probably not gonna happen.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: And 10 three-pointers don't even sound like a lot to me no more.
18:51
SPEAKER_01: 10 3 pointers a game just feels like a normal shooter on any given team.
18:55
SPEAKER_01: A guy that has an ultimate green light.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: And Kevin Durant just has not done that.
19:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we know what his bread and butter is.
19:02
SPEAKER_01: We know what his bread and butter is.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: I'm looking at it right now.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, three-point attempts per game.
19:07
SPEAKER_01: If he shot 10, oh, never mind.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: If he shot 10 a game, that would put him top five.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: So it's it's super unrealistic to see for him.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: But like he's almost 40 years old.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: But no, I've been loving the Houston Rockets.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, they did have the little portion where they've been struggling to close out games.
19:24
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's part of the growing pains of acquiring a guy like Kevin.
19:27
SPEAKER_01: Um, we have had a few games where he has closed it out for them, but like sometimes he feels kind of outside of the action where it becomes Shingoon.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: And it feels like we haven't had many end-of-game situations where it was close where both of them were involved in the action, and we try to pick our poisonous defense.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: And I think that that will come with time.
19:45
SPEAKER_01: This is kind of like the growing pains part of the season.
19:47
SPEAKER_01: It's hard for me to overreact right now.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: Now, if we were talking about how clutch or uh the lack of clutch um possessions or the lack of clutch intensity later in the season, then we can really talk about it.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: Um when we come back, we got more resolutions.
20:06
SPEAKER_01: Before we go any further, we want to say thank you to the sponsor, DraftKings.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: You know all about DraftKings pick six by now.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: You can pick more or less on different players' stats for the upcoming games.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: Just pick two or more different players to your pick set, decide a stat, go more or less, sit back, relax, and see if you made the right decision.
20:21
SPEAKER_01: Y'all know for the entirety of small ball this season, we'd be doing these themes, these themes.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: I think last week's theme was like a rookie thing, and I don't remember how that went.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: Um I know that boy Khan hit.
20:34
SPEAKER_01: Get real soon, Khan, because he he had the ankle roll.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, but I got another theme pick set for y'all today.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: As always, I'll remind you to play responsibly and just have have fun if you are gonna play.
20:45
SPEAKER_01: All right, here we go.
20:47
SPEAKER_01: The four names I have today for my pick set.
20:50
SPEAKER_01: The theme is new team, same me.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, in some cases, it's new team, different me, but we're gonna get to that.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: These are guys that have changed teams over the last offseason that have been playing decent to good basketball that I just kind of want to, you know, you know, put them in the pick set right now, see if if they're gonna go more on their points, because all of these are more on point.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: Starting off with Michael Porter Jr.
21:12
SPEAKER_01: Hey y'all.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: Uh in the next segment, we're gonna talk about a little bit of the the Brooklyn Nets.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: But Michael Porter Jr.
21:19
SPEAKER_01: has been on one.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: And it's not even like, what are we, 30 games into the season for them?
21:23
SPEAKER_01: So you can't say this is a streak anymore.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: This is just who Michael Porter Jr.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: is.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of a testament to like it's just role and opportunity, right?
21:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh Michael Porter Jr.
21:35
SPEAKER_01: was the number one guy in the strap in his uh uh high school class, had all the back injuries, got the drop foot, yada yada yada.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: He goes to Denver, uh, doesn't play his whole first season, becomes a role player and played that role really well until they decided that it was time for him to go.
21:48
SPEAKER_01: And now he ends up in Brooklyn where he is averaging 26 points per game, seven and a half rebounds, and three assists.
21:55
SPEAKER_01: And I think the most surprising of it all is that three assists number, because that's just never been his thing.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: I am going more on points on Michael Porter.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: Again, we'll talk a little bit more Brooklyn Nets later in the episode.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: The next game is a guy we just talked about last segment, Kevin Durant.
22:08
SPEAKER_01: I'm going more on his points as well.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: As I record this episode, there is no um say on whether or not Shingoon is playing.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I don't know exactly where the line is right now.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: But if Shingun is not playing, and Kevin Durant may be able to do the same thing he just did against that Cavaliers team a few nights ago.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: So I'm going more on points there.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go to Desmond Bain.
22:26
SPEAKER_01: Desmond Bain has had a really good up and down or a really up and down season, but it feels like we're more up than any time.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: In their last game, he uh scored 24 points, and that's still without him really having the three-point shooting that we know him to have, where he is a career 40% three-point shooting.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: Right now, he's shooting 35% on the least amount of attempts since his rookie season.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: So I do believe the jump shooting will come around.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he has not hit a jump, a three-pointer in two games now.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: He was 0 of 2, then 0 of 6.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: So this might be the game that he gets back on track, but even in the game, some of these games that he has not hit three-pointers, it's still 24 points here.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: So he's been able to still be an effective player, even if the three-point shot is not fall.
23:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm going more on points there.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: And then the last name is Norman Powell, who maybe one of the funniest clips of the entire season is Bam Montabayo getting interviewed the other night when they won the game.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, and Ben Montabayo did not play.
23:17
SPEAKER_01: And Norman Powell's in the background, like, why are they interviewing you?
23:19
SPEAKER_01: He ain't he ain't even played.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: Norman Powell deserves to be interviewed, man.
23:22
SPEAKER_01: He's been playing some really good hoops.
23:24
SPEAKER_01: So I'm going more on uh storming Norman Powell's points where he's at 23.7 points.
23:30
SPEAKER_01: Who would have thought that in year 10 of his career, and I'm talking about last season, year 10 of his career, he'd be averaging as many points as he did and then be able to translate that the next season on a new team and average even more.
23:41
SPEAKER_01: He averaged 13 points a year before that.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: He did get up to what, 18 and a half his last year in Toronto, but again, 23 just feels like a whole nother level.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: And I've talked about it before.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: He's one of my favorite north-south players in ball.
23:55
SPEAKER_01: And he don't take long to make decisions.
23:57
SPEAKER_01: He don't take long to make decisions.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: He ain't gonna pass it a lot, but he don't take long to make decisions.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: And the most of the decisions, I'm gonna get that shot on the rim.
24:03
SPEAKER_01: And he's been hitting those shots.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: That's a pick set for today, man.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: Y'all let me know what you think.
24:08
SPEAKER_01: As always, please play responsibly.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to DraftKings for sponsoring.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: Now let's go back to our new year's resolutions.
24:16
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24:30
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24:39
SPEAKER_01: The first team I want to talk about getting back into these New Year's resolutions is the Brooklyn Nets.
24:44
SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't think this is this is cheating just like the Minnesota Timbers one we talked about.
24:49
SPEAKER_01: This is not a 2026 thing, but I'm ready for them to build like a like an actual good team for Jordy Fernandez.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: Because this is the second year in a row where the Brooklyn Nets have had a strike.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: You're like, man, that team is more frisky than we could have imagined.
25:03
SPEAKER_01: For the last month or some change, they have been the best offensive team in all of basketball.
25:08
SPEAKER_01: Better than the legendary OKC, better than the Houston Rockets, better than every other team in the league.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: It's been them.
25:14
SPEAKER_01: And then we did that segment on numbers on the board, and we were talking, and we got to the Brooklyn Nets, and I said, hey, I hadn't watched the Brooklyn Nets game start to finish in a month.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: Get the highlights, get the moments, because they do get early tip-offs if it is in Brooklyn.
25:26
SPEAKER_01: So get the first quarter and a half before I transition to the next game.
25:29
SPEAKER_01: Yesterday I sat back and I'm like, hmm.
25:31
SPEAKER_01: Let me watch this for a few different reasons.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: They were going against Minnesota, and I really like Minnesota playing basketball.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: And the second one is that Cam Thomas was back.
25:38
SPEAKER_01: Let's see what Cam Thomas does to this team.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: Cam Thomas is an electric offensive player, as y'all know.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: But if they're going to have that defensive infrastructure around him and Michael Porter Jr., who is eff it we ball players, it's become a fun team.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: And some of those younger dudes are starting to step up to the plate and play better.
25:55
SPEAKER_01: So shout out to the Brooklyn Nets.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: I don't, I don't know if this is smart, but when you have it, nope, you're never going to be able to ask the coach to lose.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: You're never going to be able to ask the players to lose.
26:05
SPEAKER_01: And as of right now, they are 10 and 19 and on a what three-game streak, and not even just a normal three-game streak.
26:11
SPEAKER_01: These are against some really solid to good teams between Minnesota and so on.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: So at the end of the day, I would say if you have some moment, have some time, go go watch a Netskay here there, man.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: It may surprise you, just like it surprised me.
26:23
SPEAKER_01: They got they uh they won against Minnesota, and it's just like it's a good team, man.
26:28
SPEAKER_01: It's a good, it's a fun team as of right now.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: They got like the by-committee thing, and I love by-committee teams, especially if they're gonna have an identity.
26:35
SPEAKER_01: So they got a win against Minnesota, they got a win against the 76ers.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: They had to held the Toronto Raptors to 81 points in 2025.
26:43
SPEAKER_01: They held a team to 81 points.
26:45
SPEAKER_01: So I just want to see them eventually just build a, I want to see what Jordy for Dandez could cook up if he had like a real roster around him.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: Moving on to the Atlanta Hawks, this one is pretty easy for me.
26:58
SPEAKER_01: I want to see them learn how to close out possessions.
27:00
SPEAKER_01: Part of this is Porzingis has not been healthy.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: And I think I just got an update right before we started filming that he might be able to play relatively soon.
27:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, but still, we some of these games they've lost on this recent uh little downskid.
27:13
SPEAKER_01: It's like obviously the defense is not good, but it's it's elevated to a whole new level when you don't have players that rebound well.
27:20
SPEAKER_01: I want to give credit to Nekka Kongwell, who's a glass crasher, even Jalen Johnson.
27:25
SPEAKER_01: But as a team, collectively, they're lacking some of that big man play, that big man rebounded.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: And again, some of that's Porzingis not being there.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: And it's a weird place for them.
27:34
SPEAKER_01: Like you sometimes I look at them like I want to see them be buyers, and sometimes I look at them and say, yeah, maybe a little bit too late.
27:39
SPEAKER_01: But if they can acquire somebody that can literally just rebound the basketball, I don't need you to do nothing else offensive, just rebound the ball, defense, close out defensive possessions.
27:47
SPEAKER_01: I feel like this team goes to a whole nother level.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: I would also like to see that happen eternally as well.
27:53
SPEAKER_01: I I'm not here to punch a man while he's down because Zachary Reeds, I say, has not been good this season.
27:58
SPEAKER_01: More recently, I saw his stats over the last 15 games versus Tajon Salon's stats, and Tajan Salon's stats looked better.
28:06
SPEAKER_01: That's not good.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, but so I don't want to kick him while he's down.
28:11
SPEAKER_01: But one thing that bothers me when I watch him play is the other thing.
28:14
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you're not talented enough to make this move.
28:16
SPEAKER_01: You can't make this jump shot.
28:17
SPEAKER_01: Some of that stuff you just can't control as of right now, as you're a year two player.
28:20
SPEAKER_01: It's the effort things, it's the rebound.
28:22
SPEAKER_01: Like for him to be a wing that is 6'8 and to average two rebounds, it blows my mind.
28:27
SPEAKER_01: There's a few dudes around the league that's kind of like that.
28:29
SPEAKER_01: My boy Modus Bazellas is in this camp as well.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's just this whole goddamn draft class when it comes to the wings.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: Y'all are too tall and too good off like um uh athletically to not get bored.
28:40
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, go out there, go get a board, go box somebody out.
28:44
SPEAKER_01: Stuff like that bothers me when I watch them play.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: So learn to uh close out possessions.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know if that means acquiring a big or doing it eternally, but you got if you get a stop and you get that second chance opportunity for the opposing team, they're 25th in the league when it comes to uh total possessions in comparison to their opponent.
29:01
SPEAKER_01: So I they're just not a team that's gonna get extra steals or get extra blocks if they retain or get extra offensive rebounds.
29:08
SPEAKER_01: So you definitely can't be a team that's given up offensive rebounds.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: They've been doing that for the last little stretch.
29:13
SPEAKER_01: Next team is the Orlando Magic.
29:16
SPEAKER_01: I want to see them help Palo Bencaro get his confidence back.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: They lost a game to the Charlotte Horns.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: It's a really embarrassing loss, so Paulo basically didn't do anything.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: The game after that, they played against the Denver Nuggets and got a really good win.
29:27
SPEAKER_01: We don't talk about that boy Anthony Black, who almost had a little 40 ball.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: Um, but in these games, since he's been back, he has not looked like the confident player that we know him to be.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: Um part of that could be just him coming back from the injury, and it's a groin, and sometimes you just can't move the same way as before a groin injury.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: But it feels like he may be overcompensating a little bit, seeing all of the noise and seeing how good the team was without him, and saying that, oh, they're playing in the flow.
29:53
SPEAKER_01: I kind of want to just be a piece, a cog uh uh on this machine.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: And there are times where I'm okay with that, right?
29:59
SPEAKER_01: You kind of want him to dial back where he was a couple last year and then years before that, but I think he went too far in the other way where I just want to see him get his confidence back.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: I want to see him be the offensive force that we know him could be he could be because again, it just helps this team be a lot better.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Now transition over to Anthony Black, who's been a dog.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: I don't even let me see.
30:19
SPEAKER_01: Can I do NBA last 10 game stats?
30:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't even know what the numbers look like for him for the last 10 games, but I promise you they're ricky, riky good because he has been on a whole nother level.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: If you've been listening to the show since the offseason, y'all know we did the most intriguing players list, and he was the first name I mentioned on the most intriguing players.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: And in that, I said that, man, they're gonna really need him to be to be good.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: Him being on the rookie scale contract, them investing as much as they did.
30:43
SPEAKER_01: Anthony Black over the last 10 games, he's averaging 19 points per game.
30:46
SPEAKER_01: Take that.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, they're going to need him to be good because they invested so much in Desmond Bain, and the rookie scale contracts become even more important when your team trying to compete.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: And we looked at his last year numbers of him being an on-ball player and how bad it was.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: And I suggest that, hey, maybe there's an opportunity for Anthony Black to transition to straight up three and D.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: Just play him completely off of the ball.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: And with Suggs being in and out of the lineup and Franz being out of the last eight games or so, they've empowered Anthony Black to just be back on the ball.
31:16
SPEAKER_01: And all of the numbers where he was dead last in the league on points out of uh picking rolls have gone up dramatically.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: And I was looking at it about a week and a half ago, and I don't want to bring those numbers because my signature count is down.
31:26
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like those numbers will be even higher now because he just had his best game of his NBA career.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: So a lot of the things I expected of him as far as some transitioning to a 3nd D guy are gone.
31:36
SPEAKER_01: He's straight up on ball bouncy and taking the ball out of Jamal Murray's hands when it matters.
31:41
SPEAKER_01: I have been in love with Anthony Black's play, and that was the reason why he was one of my the most intriguing players for the league to me in the league to me, because for a team to be this young, they needed one of these guys to really step up, and it has been Anthony Black.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: So much so that I saw Magic fans saying, like, what does this lineup look like when everybody is healthy?
31:58
SPEAKER_01: Because they feel weird about putting Anthony Black back on that bench.
32:01
SPEAKER_01: That's how good of a player he has been.
32:03
SPEAKER_01: And I don't have the answer.
32:04
SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a Jamal Mosley thing, but he's been incredible.
32:07
SPEAKER_01: And if this is just the beginning of something, then it makes the next decision, which I won't talk about.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: It makes the next decision for the Orlando Matic a little bit easier if Anthony Black can have this explosion of uh offensive uh upkeep and everything.
32:22
SPEAKER_01: Next team we got the Chicago Bulls.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: Y'all know it.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: We were gonna do an episode.
32:27
SPEAKER_01: I had to talk about the Bulls a little bit.
32:29
SPEAKER_01: Um just sale.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Ryan's though.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: You can sell the team, that would be great, but I mean like the players that are in the locker room, sell them.
32:36
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying that out of a point of frustration, don't get me wrong, but I don't know.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: It feels like an open market.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: There are a few guys on the team that I think will have some level of value, maybe not as much value as they did last season, like uh uh Kobe White, who would have been more valuable last season because he would have had two years in the contract, and now whatever team trades for him is gonna have to pay him next season.
32:54
SPEAKER_01: I would assume who is a guy that contributes to winning teams, if you ask me.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: So there's a few different guys that I feel like we should be picking up the phone and trying to get as many future assets as we can.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's what they're gonna do because it's the goddamn Chicago Bulls, but it's what I want and we want.
33:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm speaking for all Bulls fans, what we want.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: A few more before we get to our favorite segment, Ask KB.
33:14
SPEAKER_01: The Sacramento Kings.
33:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, quickly talk about the Sacramento Kings.
33:17
SPEAKER_01: My New Year's resolution to them is to keep playing the young guys, not at the expense of Russell Westbrook.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: Let Brody rock the hell out.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: I've been loving Russell Westbrook this season.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: But between uh Maximine Reynaud, who sometimes Reynard, sometimes Reynaud, I've heard it both ways.
33:32
SPEAKER_01: Between Keon, who just had his best game of the season, between my boy Cleek uh Neek Clifford, between my boy Cardwell, just let them all play.
33:39
SPEAKER_01: Because what are we doing other than trying to get lottery odds?
33:42
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, I think the Maximine Reynaud or Reynard um explosion for the last however many games makes me more intrigued about what the team can look like when Sabonis can come back because they only ever play four minutes together.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: Um, they were net neutral in those four minutes, is four minutes.
33:56
SPEAKER_01: I want to see lineups where Reynaud and Sabonis play together.
34:01
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be it's gonna look clunky, but I'm very curious of how his impact can be if he has another great to good to great passer on the floor with him.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: So keep playing the young guys.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: The last quick one we got is for the Phoenix Suns, and I'm just gonna make it straight to the point.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: Continue to take shots on reclamation projects between Dylan Brooks, between um uh Mark Williams, between Colin Gillespie.
34:26
SPEAKER_01: The list goes on and on.
34:26
SPEAKER_01: They've hit on some of these guys that other teams didn't want, and I truly like that about them.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: And they've been able to, whether it be Jordan Ott or the system, hope all of those guys have near career years, and I absolutely love it.
34:38
SPEAKER_01: When we come back, we got Ask KB.
34:44
SPEAKER_01: Ask KB is my favorite segment we do on a weekly because it gives you an opportunity to be a part of the show.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: All you gotta do is hit us up on Twitter with the hashtag ask KB or apply to the tweet.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: Hit us up on Instagram if you want to send a voice message or hell, be in the comment section of the YouTube video.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: All of these places are places you can go in order to be incorporated in the episode.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: The first one comes from Cash, maybe hashtag AskKB.
35:07
SPEAKER_01: I know it's very early in their careers, but did the Wizards make the right pick choosing Saar over Castle?
35:13
SPEAKER_01: I've seen a lot of debate on Twitter and feel like if Saar had better pieces around him, him play uh people would respect him and what he's doing more.
35:20
SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
35:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, it does kind of go into the conversation we had at the top of the show with the Washington Wizards that if, yeah, if they had a couple more just normal NBA players, good NBA players in the locker, maybe it would help Alex Sarr shine a little bit.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: But here's what I would say: if we were doing an NBA, a 2024 NBA redraft, I think 99% of people would take Stefan Castle number one.
35:45
SPEAKER_01: I don't think that's a controversial take.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: I think Stefan Castle as a guy that was looked at, and I went, I went back to look at some mocks, and I'll talk about that in a second.
35:52
SPEAKER_01: A guy that was projected to be like a high-energy defensive player with the potential offensive upside has already showed you, you know, 100 games to his career, whatever number is at, that the offensive upside is real and it continues to get better and better.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: And I think that we like the idea of a guy that can change his pace as a guard, a guy that can defend your best player, a guy that can get downhill a lot.
36:12
SPEAKER_01: So I think the redraft says says that.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: But also, as I went back to look at all of the mocks, I'm talking about BR, I'm talking ESPN, I'm talking CBS, I'm talking even independent guys, you know, guys that really care about the scouting, the drafting aspect of sports.
36:29
SPEAKER_01: Not a single person has Stefan Castle higher than Alex Saw on their mocks.
36:33
SPEAKER_01: So it's easy for us to say, oh, they should have taken Castle, but there wasn't anybody, at least as the whatever amount of mocks that I went back to look, not a single person had Castle higher than Saar.
36:44
SPEAKER_01: Saar was one on a lot of boards, Saar was two on a lot of boards.
36:47
SPEAKER_01: I saw Stefan Castle as low as six on some boards, right?
36:50
SPEAKER_01: So we could talk about progression, we could talk about the fact that, you know, Castle has a better infrastructure around him to make him look good, but I don't I don't like looking at that revisionist history and saying that, oh, they made the wrong decision because somebody may look better right now when there was no world where that player would have been drafted in that spot.
37:09
SPEAKER_01: 29 teams across basketball made the wrong decision about letting Nikola Jokic drop to the second round.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: But that like it would have been unrealistic for the number one pick to be Nikola Jokic, right?
37:18
SPEAKER_01: But now we know Nicole Jokic is the best player in that draft.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: So um I don't think they made the wrong decision.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: I do believe that what Alex Star has showed us this season, that he is a guy that will be an impactful, really good to maybe great NBA player for a long time in his league.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: I do believe that regardless of what the on-off defensive numbers say, that when the team is trying to be good, you will recognize on a nightly basis that he is a plus defensive player.
37:43
SPEAKER_01: And if he continues to round out his offensive game and continue to improve his touch around the basket and continue to just be more aggressive offensively, I think that we will go back and be like, oh yeah, Alex Starr was worthy of the pick that he was taking at number two.
37:56
SPEAKER_01: But it's a very good question.
37:57
SPEAKER_01: I I actually like the conversations around it.
37:59
SPEAKER_01: The next one comes from Denver Dispatch.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: Where would you rank Jamal Murray as a duo at their peak all time?
38:05
SPEAKER_01: Do they crack the top 10?
38:07
SPEAKER_01: Now, um I don't I don't know how to really answer this question.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: And the reason for that is there's still so much time left in these conversations.
38:20
SPEAKER_01: Because if you want to compare them to Stockton and Malone, obviously got the championship over those guys, but you want to compare them to Scotty and MJ, the guys that played uh the joke of a book of majority of their careers together, it's too early, right?
38:33
SPEAKER_01: There's a world where the different niggas still got two more championships, three more championships up their sleeves, and then we can have these conversations.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: But like there's just too, there's just too many between Magic Kareem.
38:44
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't know.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: Do you break up trios to make duos?
38:48
unknown: Right?
38:48
SPEAKER_01: Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, you can count that as a duo, but you also say, hey, Klay Thompson was here.
38:53
SPEAKER_01: So I can break that up as a duo and say Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, they had their success.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: MJ and Pippin, uh, Kobe and Shaq, like that, those are already a lie.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: Even Carl Malone and John Stockton.
39:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm it's a tough one because Carl Malone was a he underperformed postseason-wise, and because of that, they never really got to the the championship, obviously.
39:16
SPEAKER_01: So maybe that's more of a debate.
39:18
SPEAKER_01: Um, if you want to go way back to like the Bill Russell and Sam Jones, so like there's too many great all-time duos for me to say it's they're in the top 10 as of today.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: I think that they definitely have the potential to be in this top 10 by like especially Jamal Murray back making all-star appears, ladies and gentlemen.
39:39
SPEAKER_01: Like, that's a that's a real thing.
39:41
SPEAKER_01: But between, I ain't even mentioned Bird and Mikhail, right?
39:44
SPEAKER_01: Those guys.
39:45
SPEAKER_01: Um, this goes on and on.
39:48
SPEAKER_01: Wait, Wade and Braun, Kyrie and Braun?
39:51
SPEAKER_01: Like, what how do we how do we do this, y'all?
39:53
SPEAKER_01: So it's still too early, Denver dispatch, but there is a true opportunity from the end up like that.
39:59
SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of that has to do with again Nicole Leokic being so good, but they also have something that maybe some of those other duos don't have.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: Some of those other duos have like just the overall talent, overwhelming talent.
40:10
SPEAKER_01: The thing that the the Denver guys have is that not only are they super talented, but they play so well together that they are a one-two punch in in the single action.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: And some of those other teams, like, hey man, it's my turn to hoot because I'm a top 10 player, just like you, a top 10 player right now.
40:27
SPEAKER_01: But um, give it a little, ask me the same exact question in four years' time, and we'll really had a conversation.
40:32
SPEAKER_01: The next one comes from Ryan, Hasek Ask KB, is there a third player who you think will seriously contend for MVP this season?
40:39
SPEAKER_01: Or is it just another two-man race between Jokic and Shay?
40:42
SPEAKER_01: Hey, Ryan, I'm sorry to break it to you.
40:44
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you're a guy that thinks that there should be a third guy.
40:48
SPEAKER_01: Nah.
40:49
SPEAKER_01: You know what Luca would have to do to actually end up in this conversation?
40:53
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what Giannis would have to do?
40:55
SPEAKER_01: Well, Giannis may not be eligible by the end of it all with all the injury and stuff.
40:58
SPEAKER_01: But do you know what Giannis would have to do to actually end up in this conversation?
41:02
SPEAKER_01: The conversation right now is Shay is on the best team in basketball.
41:06
SPEAKER_01: Well, one time looked like it might have been an all-time team.
41:09
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it still has a chance, probably not.
41:10
SPEAKER_01: But not only just that, he came off last year where he had the best guard season almost ever, and some people would argue ever.
41:17
SPEAKER_01: And then came into this season, regular season-wise, and looked better.
41:22
SPEAKER_01: Looked like a better playmaker, closed out more games, been more efficient.
41:26
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of nuts to win a championship.
41:27
SPEAKER_01: Or win a championship in the MVP and say I'm better offensively.
41:30
SPEAKER_01: And then the other guy, Big Yoke, is like, I'm the best player in the world, one.
41:36
SPEAKER_01: I'm about to average another triple-double if we talk about just traditional statistics.
41:40
SPEAKER_01: And right now, my team is down three starters, and they've only played two games and they're winning one of those two games.
41:45
SPEAKER_01: My team is down three starters, and we should be able to just maintain three starters, and we should be able to maintain.
41:52
SPEAKER_01: They're starting the two-way guy at the four, and it just has not mattered.
41:58
SPEAKER_01: That's special.
42:00
SPEAKER_01: If you ask me today, right before the start of 2026, who's the MVP of the league?
42:06
SPEAKER_01: Today, right now, Jokic is my number one and Shay is my number two.
42:09
SPEAKER_01: And it could flip again.
42:10
SPEAKER_01: Hell, it was just Shay two and a half weeks ago.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: This is always a fluid conversation.
42:15
SPEAKER_01: Um but nah, I don't think I think it's a a distant, a really, really distant third place, like Luca or something.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: Um matter of fact, let's let's not do or something.
42:26
SPEAKER_01: Let's really say third place.
42:30
SPEAKER_01: That's tough, man.
42:32
SPEAKER_01: That's really, really tough.
42:33
SPEAKER_01: The third place spot.
42:35
SPEAKER_01: I think I'm just gonna say Luca.
42:37
SPEAKER_01: I know I said I'm gonna, I'm just gonna say Luca right now.
42:39
SPEAKER_01: Um I don't know.
42:42
SPEAKER_01: There's a huge but that lets you know there's a huge gap between one and two, huge gap between one and two.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: Okay, um, the last question that we have is an audio question.
42:51
SPEAKER_01: Let's see what y'all cooked up.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: Hey Kenny, this is Daniel.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'm currently playing golf, but I just wanted to ask if you're Kobe Altman at this current moment, would you prefer to trade Jared Allen or Darius Garland if the Cavs continue to be mediocre?
43:04
SPEAKER_00: As a Cavs fan, I've seen the offense as Mitchell as the leading point guard, and I think it becomes pretty simplified and it forces him to do a lot.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I would be interested to know your thoughts.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
43:15
SPEAKER_01: What a life.
43:17
SPEAKER_01: First of all, I want to say thank you because you are you are playing golf and you're actively thinking about Ask KB.
43:22
SPEAKER_01: That's nuts to me.
43:23
SPEAKER_01: That's the time I shut my brain off, and I'm just trying not to miss my birdie uh putt.
43:28
SPEAKER_01: Okay, my double bogey putt.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: You understand what I'm saying.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Um I wonder how because you it sounded like I heard a little accent in there.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: I don't know where the accent is from.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't know.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: It it kind of sounded a little bit Australian.
43:40
SPEAKER_01: I could be wrong.
43:41
SPEAKER_01: And I know that technically the Cavs have two Australian players, technically, technically, between Tyrese Proctor and Luke Trevor.
43:49
SPEAKER_01: So I don't know if you you got your fandom from there.
43:51
SPEAKER_01: But anyway, um, I think it's more likely that if they were going to make the trade and say who's the I man now, it would be Jared Allen.
43:57
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Jared Allen just basically at this point in time doesn't Close out NBA games anymore.
44:01
SPEAKER_01: I think he is a guy that can help bridge the gap for other teams that are not trying to compete for championships, like teams that need center play but aren't trying to win.
44:09
SPEAKER_01: Um and I feel like that might just be who he is as a player right now, which is completely fine.
44:12
SPEAKER_01: That's still a good ball player and all.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: But as you can see over the last couple weeks, Dirich Garland has looked like himself more times than not, and that's a little bit more intriguing.
44:21
SPEAKER_01: Well, I feel like trading away Jared Allen might be the easiest thing you can do, unless the report about Dirich Garland won in his own team where he can be the initiator is true.
44:30
SPEAKER_01: Then the decision was made for you.
44:32
SPEAKER_01: Because if somebody don't want to be here, you don't want them to be there.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate the the um the question and I appreciate all the questions as always.
44:40
SPEAKER_01: When we come back, let's talk New Year's resolutions.
44:47
SPEAKER_01: I myself am one of those people that try to self-reflect as much as possible, whether it be as a father, as a husband, as a content creator, as an analyst.
45:00
SPEAKER_01: I always try to self-reflect and figure out where I can be better because getting better is the ultimate goal.
45:05
SPEAKER_01: And like I mentioned earlier, I wasn't a person that looked at New Year's as a time to maybe flip a switch like some people do.
45:12
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm like, that's it's okay to kind of start fresh at a certain spot.
45:16
SPEAKER_01: So for this last little bit of the show, I kind of want to talk about the things that I personally want to be better at when it comes to everything in life.
45:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, the first one is maybe the toughest one of them all.
45:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, considering with us being here on Peacock and NBC and everything, my schedule has shifted from, you know, three days a week in studio to six days a week in studio, which is kind of nuts, but it's it's the way it is.
45:41
SPEAKER_01: The first thing I want to do is try to be more organized in my time to be more present at home.
45:48
SPEAKER_01: I have done a very poor job since the NBA season has started with maximizing my time.
45:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, because everybody knows one part of my schedule that is 100% set in stone is that basically about 6 o'clock every single day, I have to be in my office because that's when NBA games start, 6 o'clock central time.
46:02
SPEAKER_01: So from 6 o'clock to whatever the last possession is, let's say midnight, I'm watching games, taking notes, so on and so forth.
46:09
SPEAKER_01: But what am I doing in those that time leading up?
46:11
SPEAKER_01: A lot of the times I'm in the office, right?
46:13
SPEAKER_01: From 9 a.m.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: to let's say 2 p.m., the short day.
46:17
SPEAKER_01: And then from 2 p.m.
46:18
SPEAKER_01: to 6, I'm really without a plan.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes being without a plan has been detrimental to overall time with the girls.
46:26
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm talking my wife and my two daughters.
46:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna try my very best to like at the end of every week, and I'm using Sunday as the end of the week, try to have a schedule of like, okay, I know I'm being the office from this time, from this time.
46:37
SPEAKER_01: This is where I'm fitting in, you know, filming other YouTube videos because being a YouTuber still is my full-time job, believe it or not.
46:44
SPEAKER_01: Find the YouTube spot, and I don't know if that means shooting YouTube videos one day a week and just schedule them out.
46:49
SPEAKER_01: I don't know just yet, but I'm gonna try my very best to be more present.
46:53
SPEAKER_01: Um, because it's been tough, man.
46:55
SPEAKER_01: It's been really, really tough to like my youngest daughter is now five months.
47:01
SPEAKER_01: My oldest daughter is is about to be four in a couple months here, and they're inner, I can hear them in the other room having a grand old time.
47:08
SPEAKER_01: And because of my lack of scheduling, I'm in here doing something and I could have done four days ago, you know?
47:14
SPEAKER_01: So try my very best to um get my schedule down packed so I can be more present with the girls at home.
47:19
SPEAKER_01: And um, luckily I got the best wife, and she understands that right now, in this early stage of being with a new company, having a new schedule, it was going to be tough.
47:27
SPEAKER_01: And I'm hoping that I can use this next whatever to kind of figure some things out.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: The next thing is that been my new year's resolution for a long time, and I feel like I'm getting better.
47:37
SPEAKER_01: I'm still trying to gain weight, y'all.
47:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm still trying.
47:40
SPEAKER_01: I feel like since the in the beginning of before it was small ball, it was the Kenny Beach and Pod.
47:45
SPEAKER_01: We was talking about how I was weighing what I was weighing and how I was trying to get it up.
47:50
SPEAKER_01: And I will say, I'm I'm here to announce it in 2020.
47:55
SPEAKER_01: I started 2025.
47:56
SPEAKER_01: Don't laugh at me, y'all.
47:57
SPEAKER_01: Don't laugh at me.
47:58
SPEAKER_01: I'm being very candid here.
47:59
SPEAKER_01: I started 2025 weighing 130.
48:02
SPEAKER_01: Just a piece of paper of a man, right?
48:04
SPEAKER_01: As far as weight goes.
48:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, and right now, as we close, as we close out, as we close out 2025, when I weighed myself last a couple days ago, I was at 142.
48:14
SPEAKER_01: Now I know 10 pounds is like nothing, or 12 pounds is nothing to some of y'all out there.
48:19
SPEAKER_01: But for me, in my entire life, I've struggled with gaining weight.
48:22
SPEAKER_01: So getting 10 pounds up in one single year feels like a win.
48:26
SPEAKER_01: I'm taking it as a win, but it's not my end goal.
48:28
SPEAKER_01: If I'm being honest, my end goal is about 150 and 150 and cut.
48:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm I'm lifting a little bit.
48:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm doing my push-ups on the nightly.
48:35
SPEAKER_01: So I know I'll be in here wearing sweaters and hoodies and stuff, but trust, under here, I'm like, yeah, almost rock solid.
48:41
SPEAKER_01: I'm still not weighing a lot, but I'm rock solid.
48:43
SPEAKER_01: So continue on that plan of uh gaining weight, making sure that even when I'm not hungry anymore, that I continue to go because I know it's for the better of everything.
48:54
SPEAKER_01: Continue to make sure I get my three shakes a day because sometimes I'll be slacking and I get two, and I'm just I'm disappointed in myself as I lay in bed.
49:01
SPEAKER_01: Um and then on top of that, again, continue to cut myself out as far as making sure I'm lifting and being active because when you're sitting or you're you're watching games for six hours a day, it is very easy to end up in that was that sedimentary, was that the rock?
49:18
SPEAKER_01: Um, what do they call it when you you're sitting for six hours a day or you're not being active, you're not getting your 10,000 steps in.
49:24
SPEAKER_01: It's very easy to kind of live that life, and I'm trying my very best to not let that be me.
49:28
SPEAKER_01: So put on this weight, cut the weight up, enter a bodybuilder competition.
49:33
SPEAKER_01: Nah, I can't go that far.
49:34
SPEAKER_01: But those are my big ones.
49:36
SPEAKER_01: And um, be better.
49:38
SPEAKER_01: Damn, I'm being better everywhere, huh?
49:40
SPEAKER_01: Be better as a son and as a brother.
49:42
SPEAKER_01: So just check in on the family more.
49:44
SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, that's been another great edition of Smallball with Kenny Beachum.
49:47
SPEAKER_01: Leave a like, subscribe, tune in to Smallball and everything else on the Enjoy Basketball Hour, Monday through Friday, 12 o'clock Eastern.